blueteamnovel Chapter 41 The Turmoil in People's Hearts
Chapter 41 The Turmoil in People's Hearts
The carriage wheels rolled slowly along the muddy road, and pedestrians made way for the noble flags fluttering on the carriage.
Lina had never been to a town before, and she peered out the car window, finding everything fascinating.
After passing through two narrow alleys filled with clutter and overflowing with sewage, we finally saw a large grocery store.
The storefront of this shop is quite bright, with intricate vine patterns carved on the wooden signboard, though the edges are slightly worn, revealing the marks of time.
-- Ferret Trading Company
Normally, these large grocery stores are comparable to modern supermarkets, offering almost all the daily necessities except for food and controlled ironware.
For example, pottery, leather boots, stew pots, firewood, and other miscellaneous items.
However, the variety of goods is very limited, and they are basically produced in batches by hand in various workshops, with varying quality.
If you want high-tech goods such as glass, perfume, and bronze mirrors, you have to go to high-end boutiques, which are mainly operated by nobles or cross-regional trading companies with high-ranking guards.
Top-tier luxury goods imported from other lands, such as spices, magical items, and gear crafts from the Goblin Continent, are only available for sale in the Imperial Capital.
If you want to buy from a merchant in a remote area like Frost City, you have to pay a deposit to reserve the item in advance, as they don't usually keep stock on hand.
In addition, large trading companies also deal in raw materials such as wool, cotton, raw silk, minerals, herbs, leather, and flax, mainly engaging in bulk commodity trading.
The prices of goods varied greatly. The North was rich in wool and flax, which cost only a few copper coins per kilogram, while cotton from the South cost more than ten copper coins per kilogram due to transportation difficulties.
Richard had come all this way and had many things he wanted to buy.
Earthenware jars, needles and thread, ropes of various thicknesses, vegetable seeds, canvas, leather, and so on.
Besides these, the most common materials are linen and clean wool. If you want finished linen clothing, bedding and sheets, you have to buy the raw materials and process them yourself unless you order them in advance from a workshop or caravan.
...
Inside the trading company.
A shopkeeper with a goatee was sitting behind the counter, wiping a copper kettle in his hands with a worried expression.
Richard and the others entered.
His gaze swept over quickly.
He was dressed in a snow-white fox fur robe, with a finely crafted sword scabbard made of top-grade animal hide slung across his waist, exuding an air of grandeur.
Behind him followed a beautiful maid with fair skin and a sharp-looking guard, who immediately recognized him as a guest of high status.
"Good day. May I ask what your distinguished guests would like to order?"
Richard did not reply.
He simply paced back and forth in the lobby of the shop with his hands behind his back, his eyes scanning the goods for sale on the shelves.
Lina intended to follow behind, but then suddenly remembered something, took out a folded list, and handed it to the goatee-bearded boss.
"Well..."
"Sir, these are the items our lord wishes to purchase. Please take a look."
Upon hearing this...
The goatee-bearded shopkeeper bowed respectfully to Richard's retreating figure before taking the shopping list from Lina's hands.
For a long time.
He shook his head with a wry smile.
"My lord, I have the pottery jars, needles and thread, and other miscellaneous items you requested."
"but..."
"We don't have any linen or wool. If you're in a hurry, you'll have to look elsewhere."
Richard picked up a silver-plated hair clip from the shelf and examined it. Upon hearing this, his brows furrowed.
"It's the peak trading season at the end of spring, how come such a large trading company like yours didn't stock up on enough inventory in advance?"
Goatbeard let out a long sigh.
He lowered his voice and said:
"Yesterday, Viscount Brad issued an emergency order that all military supplies, such as linen, wool, leather, and herbs, were forcibly requisitioned."
"I do have a lot of goods in my warehouse, but they have been sealed up by the army and I have no right to sell them. Please forgive me, my lord."
Richard felt a chill run down his spine.
He clipped the silver-plated hair clip to Lina's side, admired it for a moment, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned to the goatee and said:
"Could you tell me what exactly happened in the North? Is Viscount Frost going to send troops?"
The goatee glanced instinctively at the doorway, and seeing that no one was passing by, he said in a serious tone:
"I only found out about it the day before yesterday. About ten days ago, a tribe of orcs suddenly crossed the border from the eastern Cape of the North and attacked Black Raven Territory."
"Those orcs are incredibly fierce, numbering in the thousands, and I've heard there are over three hundred extraordinary orc warriors among them."
"They burned, killed, and looted; almost all of the dozen or so villages in Black Crow Territory were razed to the ground."
"The grain and livestock have all been looted, and some free people have even traveled all the way to our Frost City to escape the disaster."
Speaking of which...
The owner's goatee was trembling slightly, as if he had been frightened by the refugees' description.
"The Black Crow's army couldn't hold out. I heard that someone saw the Black Crow Lord abandon the city and flee to Frostfoil Territory with his confidants."
"I suppose that's why Viscount Brad forcibly requisitioned military supplies and levied war taxes."
...
Upon hearing this...
Lina moved closer to Richard, instinctively grabbing his arm with both hands, her pretty face showing unease.
Once war breaks out.
The majority of those who died were defenseless civilians and serfs.
Without a doubt, before the Black Raven Lord abandoned the city and fled, the battlefield must have been littered with the corpses of serfs used to weaken the orcs.
Those free citizens who run slowly through the city certainly won't have a good ending either.
Even if they flee to other territories, if they lose their assets and have no skills, they can easily become new serfs.
...
Im's expression also changed slightly. He walked to Richard's side and whispered:
"My lord, a tribe of orcs numbering over a thousand, along with several hundred extraordinary beings, is no small matter for the Northern Territory. Our Chifeng Territory must also make preparations as soon as possible."
Richard gave a calm "hmm" and gently stroked Lina's hand, offering her a share of courage.
Looking at the entire Northern Territory.
The strongest territories are undoubtedly Frostfoil Territory and Wolf Territory, each possessing several hundred cavalry and several thousand extraordinary warriors.
Besides.
The army also possesses various high-level magical forces, such as mages, healers, alchemists, and beast tamers, to assist in combat. This lineup is comprehensive in all aspects.
This doesn't apply to other territories.
It was almost identical to Black Crow Territory, with only a few hundred extraordinary soldiers and only a dozen to several dozen cavalry.
and.
The configuration of high-level magical power is incomplete.
An orc tribe with combat strength equal to that of the Black Crow Territory was able to force the Black Crow Lord to flee in disarray.
This only shows that this orc tribe possesses several high-level magical powers that can determine the course of a battle.
This is very strange.
Richard stroked Lina's arm, seemingly lost in thought.
Just as humans have slave-catching teams, some fierce and poorly clothed alien races also have similar raiding teams.
They would invade human territory and carry out small-scale raids after the snow melted in late spring.
However, they rarely hurt people or burned villages; they usually just looted some food and supplies and left without going too far.
Because they knew that if they truly angered the empire, they would face annihilation.
and so.
Richard found it particularly strange that the orc tribe had come out in full force this time.
Centuries ago, the Empire drove the orcs out of the North and forced them to live a wretched life in the Cape. Now they dare to cause trouble again?
What were you thinking?