Roger left Kent Town early the next morning and headed towards the Changhan Peak in the northwest of the kingdom.【】
Alonso III's order made it clear that this time he was going to negotiate with the barbarians. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he should not bring troops there, and even bring as few guards as possible. Roger didn't have any objections to this.
Anyway, thousands of soldiers are in the secondary space of the castle and can be summoned to fight at any time. It is more convenient for one person to travel alone.
In fact, Roger didn't even bring an entourage and went on the road alone. Although Bonnie felt that Roger was not safe like this, she originally wanted Sophia to accompany him. In fact, if she didn't know about Roger's territory,
Unable to live without her, Bonnie really wanted to accompany Roger on a trip in person. But as soon as the dragon girl heard that this destination was the cold Changhan Peak, she immediately and resolutely refused. The dragon girl hated the cold weather the most, and Chang Hannv always refused.
Hanfeng is definitely one of the places she least wants to go.
Roger didn't force Sophia and simply went on the road alone. Lisa wanted to follow Roger so that he could have someone to serve him along the way. However, the road to Changhan Peak was long and the place was cold all year round.
It was bad, so Roger did not agree to the girl's request, but asked her to stay at home and wait for him.
Without the encumbrance of others, Roger traveled much faster than before. It didn't take long for him to cross the entire Kingdom of Thorne and arrive at the northwest border of the kingdom.
Speaking of which, apart from the barren Kent County, the area near Evercold Peak in the northwest region is the most difficult place in the kingdom. It is cold all year round, and even in the summer the high mountaintops are covered with snow. In winter, there are accumulations of snow everywhere.
Snow, if you go out, you need to bring a shovel to carve a path through the snow that is half a person deep.
The cold climate makes the annual production period of plants very short, that is, in the months of summer and autumn, the earth can be a little green. At other times, the earth is either white or withered and yellow. But as a popular saying on earth puts it:
The possibility of life is limited, but there are many wild animals living in this land with a difficult environment.
These animals migrate to the south to spend the winter every cold winter, and in spring they gather under Changhan Peak to breed their young. This happens every year. Because Changhan Peak is inaccessible, it has become a paradise for these animals.
However, wherever there are prey, there are hunters. Although the environment around Changhan Peak is harsh, there are still humans surviving. Most people here make a living by hunting, and only a few people plant some crops on the land near the south. And among the hunters
, I suspect that the barbarians living on Changhan Peak are the most outstanding.
These barbarians, both men and women, are tall and strong. They are not only excellent hunters but also brave warriors. However, because they are not large in number, they are divided into many tribes and live scattered, and there is no strong cohesion between them, so there is no
The barbarians established their own country.
These barbarians are nominally ruled by the kingdom, but in fact the kingdom's binding force on them is very weak, and both parties are in a state of peace. Every year, the barbarians bring their prey to Beifeng Town in exchange for some similar iron tools.
, daily necessities such as salt. Of course, they will also symbolically hand over some game as tax, and then return to the high mountains.
For the local lords, it was fine as long as these barbarians were not there, and they were left to their own devices. For so many years, the two sides had always been at peace with each other.
But for some unknown reason, the conflict between the barbarians and the kingdom has become more and more serious in recent years. Last fall, hundreds of barbarians actually formed a group to attack Beifeng Town, almost reducing the entire town to ruins. The local lord
Baron Doug urgently asked for help from the kingdom, but at that time the kingdom was in the predicament of a three-front war, so it had no time to take care of this northern border town.
In order to appease the barbarians, Alonso III sent an envoy to negotiate with them, asking the barbarians to put forward their demands, and promised to formally negotiate after the winter. The barbarians obviously did not want to offend the Kingdom of Thorne too much, and agreed
Following Alonso III's proposal, the siege of Beifeng Town was lifted.
Now that the affairs of the Three Kingdoms in the southern desert have been settled, and the cold winter has passed, the kingdom has sent Roger again to the Changhan Peak in order to completely solve the problem of barbarian rebellion.
In fact, with the current strength of the Thorne Kingdom, it is not difficult to deal with several barbarian tribes. However, the barbarians are scattered on the steep and very cold Changhan Peak, and it is very difficult to encircle and suppress them. It is very likely that a large number of barbarians will be used.
The army, but in the end, instead of destroying the barbarians, it completely angered them. This was the last thing the kingdom wanted to happen.
After all, the conditions near Changhan Peak are so harsh that it cannot support too many troops and is not suitable for stationing a large number of soldiers. If the barbarians are angered but fail to completely eliminate them, Beifeng Town and the areas controlled by the nearby kingdom will be in trouble.
, it might even cause greater chaos, so the kingdom hopes to resolve this issue through negotiation.
In fact, Alonso III made it very clear in his order to Roger, and the conditions given by the kingdom were also very loose in terms of negotiations. As long as the barbarians recognized the rule of the kingdom and promised not to attack the kingdom's territory in the future, what other taxes were there?
All of them will be spared, and the king will also pardon them for their previous sin of siege of Beifeng Town.
Even from Roger's perspective, the terms offered by the kingdom were favorable enough, and the barbarians should have no reason to refuse. So he was full of confidence in this negotiation, but he did not expect that so many things would happen in the end.
, had to use force to solve the problem.
"Changhan Peak..." Looking at the mountains that were getting taller and taller on the horizon, Roger couldn't help but exclaimed: "It's really spectacular!"
Although it is already spring, the main peaks of Changhan Peak are still covered with thick white snow. The highest peaks are covered with snow all year round, and even the barbarians who are well adapted to severe cold and high mountain life do not dare to climb up easily.
.
However, there is already a lush area at the foot of Changhan Peak. Moistened by the snow water, both moss and grass grow very luxuriantly, covering the earth with a green spring dress. At the intersection of the two rivers, there is a mountain with a
A small town with tall stone walls, this is Beifeng Town, Roger’s temporary destination for this trip.
"Finally we're almost there." Roger, who arrived in the town, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and murmured to himself: "When you enter the town, should you directly identify yourself, or should you inquire first? Yes, let's find out first.
With the situation here, it’s better to reveal your identity again!”
Roger was thinking about two questions along the way. The first was why Alonso III sent him; the second was why the barbarians rebelled.
Roger had some idea of the first question. Alonso III either believed in his ability or had some action against him, so he deliberately moved himself out of the territory.
It would be best if Alonso III believed in Roger's ability, but if it was the second possibility, Roger wouldn't worry. As long as Roger didn't rebel openly, Alonso III couldn't do anything to him, otherwise
It will chill the hearts of all the nobles in the kingdom. If you just want to do some conspiracy, you don't have to worry about anything. With Sophia and Bonnie in Kent Town, there will definitely be no trouble. And Roger also left a phone number for them.
, if there is any emergency, you can be contacted immediately, so you don’t have to worry too much.
So the question that bothers Roger the most right now is why the barbarians rebelled. Roger is keenly aware that if the reason cannot be found out, this negotiation will definitely not have a good result. In order to find out why the barbarians rebelled,
The truth is, a private visit via incognito or something like that is naturally the most suitable.
Roger, who had made up his mind, did not identify himself and was allowed to enter Beifong Town after paying the toll tax.
Compared with the prosperous Kent Town, Beifeng Town looks much shabby. The buildings in the town are almost all made of stone. Except for a few houses and the church in the center of the town, all other houses are
It's short and old, giving people a very depressing feeling.
All the roads in the town are the simplest dirt roads, because the snow has recently melted, turning the roads into mud. The roads were pressed by the wheels of the carriages, and many pools were formed, some of which were unexpectedly deep. Roger said
I witnessed a guy accidentally stepping into a pond, and the dirty water in it almost reached his knees. The unlucky guy fell down in the mud pit before he could scream, and his whole body was soaked in muddy water.
"This is a lousy place. The toll tax actually costs two silver coins. Entrance and exit in Kent Town is free. It's a money grab here!" Roger said to himself as he looked at the riddled roads: "We collected the money and didn't build it properly.
Territory, the lord who comes here is not a good person!"
All in all, Beifong Town gave Roger a very bad first impression, and his evaluation of the lord here, Baron Doug, was not much better. However, although Beifong Town was dirty and shabby, the toll tax was ridiculously high.
, but at this time, there were also many businessmen gathered in the town.
After a winter's rest, hunters will sell the best furs they hunted in autumn and winter, and merchants will come to buy the hunters' harvests at the right time. Roger also entered Beifeng Town as a merchant.
For this reason, the town's guards specifically reminded him that all transactions conducted in Beifeng Town would be subject to a 30% tax. If he dared to evade taxes, all goods and funds would be confiscated!
Roger didn't take this too seriously, since he wasn't really here to do business anyway. At this time, Roger just wanted to find a hotel to stay in, preferably a hotel with a bar, a hotel with a bar.
It was the easiest place to get information. However, before Roger could find the hotel, his attention was attracted by a burst of shouting coming from the center of the town.