Chapter 838: Pigs Eating Acorns and People Eating Acorns (Breaking Update 3/5)
The speed of the Silver Dragon Express is indeed outstanding.
The original plan of the Parliament was to spend a whole night sailing out of the long fjord outside Nevis and into the deep sea; and then use a whole day to land at the port in the northern part of Aioland.
Then, we took the carriage arranged by the mage tower at the port and traveled overland for two days. We changed horses along the way, and people took a break from the carriage to speed up the journey. It is estimated that we will reach Luo Si Kang Ling on the morning of the third day.
Generally speaking, the speed of the mid-level mage's journey will not exceed the arrangement of the council. And it seems that there is no need to send an airship alone for this matter.
As a result, Grete flew away directly on the silver dragon! Silver dragon! Adult silver dragon! The flying speed of adult dragons is several notches faster than the council's way of changing boats and then changing cars, even if the person stops and the car does not stop!
"By the way, did we forget something just now..."
Watching the graceful figure of the silver dragon disappear into the clouds, Master Norwood and Aurora stood side by side, fascinated. After a long time, Aurora patted her forehead and murmured:
"It always feels like I've overlooked something..."
"By the way! Review meeting! Notify the review meeting!" Master Norwood came to his senses later than him. Although he came to his senses later, but because of his rich social experience, he thought of what happened earlier:
"Boss, they took the Silver Dragon there! They will arrive tonight, the slowest, the slowest, and they can arrive tomorrow morning! You have to inform the mage tower over there to guide them and indicate their destination!"
"Yes, but don't fly too far..."
The two of them were in a hurry. Hurry up and contact Archmage Carlisle and ask him to contact the review committee and pass the news on as soon as possible!
Don't forget that when people arrive here, you still don't know who the parliament sent over there!
Grete arrived at Roscommon Ridge early the next morning. As expected, most of the time was spent correcting the direction.
Fall down, find a mage tower, and ask for directions; fly for a while and feel something is wrong, fall down again, find another mage tower, and ask for directions...
And it’s really too late to bother, so I’ll find a place to open a [shelter cabin] to sleep, and fly again tomorrow.
I can find the place in this way. I can only sigh that the shape of the mage tower in this world is very special and the mana fluctuations are obvious enough, so it is really easy to find.
The Mage Tower led by Luo Sikang had obviously received the urgent news from the Parliament. Three bonfires were lit outside the Mage Tower, with red, blue, white and three-color smoke pillars pointing straight upward to guide the guests who had flown from afar.
When Cerela retracted her wings and gradually landed, the owner of the Mage Tower, an 8th-level magician, was already standing outside the tower with four or five disciples, eagerly praying.
"You are finally here!" As soon as the strong wind flapping by the dragon wings subsided, the 8th-level mage stepped forward quickly and spoke urgently:
"Thank you for the support sent by the parliament! We have communicated with Count Rothko many times, but he has always disagreed, and we cannot interfere too much..."
His hair was messy and his eyes were bloodshot. He didn't know whether it was because of the bad negotiations in the past few days or because he was doing experiments day and night. Grete also stepped forward and saluted slightly:
"Yes, I am here on behalf of the Council. Where is the Count? Can we see him at once?"
"Earl..." The host of the Mage Tower was a little embarrassed. His eyes swept over Cerela, Bernard, and Apa one by one after landing on the ground and transformed into a human form. He quickly greeted with his eyes. Then he half-turned around and looked towards
Mage Tower raised his hand:
"The count is a devout believer. At this time, he should be praying at the Spring Temple. Moreover, according to the etiquette of the nobles, he should submit the invitation in advance and wait for the other party to respond before visiting..."
Grete almost wanted to say, "It's already this time, don't worry about etiquette." But think about it, killing him without saying hello would seem like ruining the place;
When he was visiting his hometown, the Viscount sent someone to his door that day, wanting to invite him to a banquet and interrupt his family gathering. At that time, he was also in an extremely angry mood;
Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. Wait a moment, wait a moment, and pray, just pray.
He reluctantly nodded and followed the Archmage into the Mage Tower. After the two sides chatted, and with the information given by the council, Gretel realized that the situation was far simpler than he thought, and far more troublesome than he thought:
First of all, Luosikang County is vast and sparsely populated. The entire county has nearly 2,500 square kilometers of land, and the population is only about 200,000. Excluding the nobles, temples, mages, and warriors, besides these people, there are probably poor peasants...
Looks like 180,000?
"Can't you feed 180,000 people?"
Grete asked in shock. With 2,500 square kilometers, on average, there are only 80 people per square kilometer!
One square kilometer, 80 people, not to mention farming, even if they go up trees to catch birds, go into the water to catch fish, eat grass roots and bark, they can survive this famine!
How do you do it so that there are hungry people, disaster victims, and refugees? You can't handle it, and you need to ask the parliament to send someone?!
"this……"
The presiding mage smiled awkwardly:
"This, the matter is more complicated... In short, you will know when you see the earl..."
Grete really felt that something was wrong. Not only did this county have a small population, but it was also poor. Normally, the mage tower in a county town and the presiding mage should have a level of 10 or above. The person in front of me was only level 8?
Even in Heartland City, where Gretel was born, which is a barren and remote hinterland where even sea fish are rare, the Newman County it belongs to, the presiding officer of the county mage tower is all level 10 or above. This one, level 8?
Parallel imports, right? Or is Luosikang County too poor to support people and mages? Or is it not that the place is too barren, but a man-made disaster?
Gretel's doubts turned decisively towards the direction of man-made disaster when the Earl's Mansion invited him to a banquet. Earl Luo Si Kang was very enthusiastic. As soon as he received the message from the Mage Tower, he immediately sent someone to invite him and sent him to the Earl's Mansion.
The best carriage.
The dark walnut wood and thin gold and silver wires are coiled into a magic circle, which is as smooth as a mirror to the touch. As soon as you enter the carriage, the temperature and the outside are two different worlds. It is actually added with [cold and heat resistance] all year round.
This magic.
Grete let out a sigh of relief. This carriage is nothing in Nevis. Almost all fifth-level mages can afford it. That’s because Nevis has a large concentration of low-level mages, mage apprentices, and craftsmen.
.
But, here?
A county with a mere 200,000 people needs to support the nobles, mage towers, temples and the army, and maintain such a high consumption level? What does it rely on?
Gretel soon knew what to rely on. Roscommon County has its own specialty, and that specialty is quite famous.
At the banquet at the Earl's Palace, servants in embroidered liveries pushed a ham on a trolley with a special silver bracket, and passed by the guests one by one to show it to everyone.
The chef wearing a white top hat looked at his clothes. He should be a nobleman. He was a so-called butler of food. He stood up and smiled:
"Please see, the hooves of this ham are pure black. This is the proof of the black-footed pig, a specialty of the Roscombe area. This pig grows in oak pastures with sparse woods, grows up eating wild herbs and olives, and when the acorns are mature
When they were young, they fed almost exclusively on acorns..."
Gretel's eyes were downcast and he remained calm, but he was secretly frowning. Growing up in an oak pasture? Only eating acorns?
The oak tree is the sacred tree of the Order of the God of Nature. This black-footed pig occupies a large area of oak pasture. Does the Order of the God of Nature know?
Of course, there was indeed no priest of the God of Nature at this banquet. I don’t know whether he was too busy rescuing the refugees to care about it, or because he had nothing to do with the Earl’s Mansion and ignored him at all.
The chef continued to introduce with a faint proud smile:
"This kind of pig hind leg meat is cured with pure rock salt and hung in a quiet, almost constant temperature underground wine cellar. The best craftsmen oil it regularly and adjust the hanging position and meat surface.
Orientation. Let the ham mature slowly in its natural environment."
He raised his voice slightly:
"The best ham needs to be matured for four full years in this environment."
It sounds very similar to the commentary of "On the Tip of the Tongue" or "Flavour**"... Grete smiled in line with social expectations and calculated quickly in his mind:
Only eating acorns, how many acorns does a pig eat during the fattening process? How much forest land does it occupy?
Obviously these woodlands cannot be cultivated. So, in addition to being used for pig herding, how much land is there for people to farm in the entire County of Roscommon?
Damn it, the data is too small to calculate. It would be great if we could know the annual ham production here...
While Grete was making quick calculations, the chef took a sharp knife from the waiter and gently cut it on the surface of the ham. The knife penetrated the meat with a smooth and silky process, and after slicing off a small piece of ham with a waxy yellow shell,
He changed to a sharp knife and gently passed it across
He held a knife in his right hand and a special square silver tweezer in his left hand, holding the sliced ham. The ham was as thin as paper, slightly translucent, and long. It was obvious that the cutter's hands were very strong and very stable.
Maybe a knight?
Gretel thought indifferently.
"The black pig grew up eating herbs, olives and acorns, and was carefully marinated and matured. Its meat color changes from pink to rose red, mixed with white fat, showing beautiful marble patterns."
The second son of the earl took over the introduction and smiled at everyone:
"The meat is light and soft, mixed with the unique acorn aroma, and the taste is extremely delicate. If you taste it with your mouth, you can directly feel its unique flavor. Everyone, please."
At this point, the chef had already sliced off a piece of translucent ham that was one inch wide and half a foot long. With a slight shake, he rolled it on the slicing knife. At the host's signal, he sent it to Grete, the most distinguished guest from afar today.
before.
The chef bowed slightly, held the ham motionless in front of Grete, smiled, and signaled with his eyes:
Smell it, then eat it.
Grete was also somewhat knowledgeable, so he did not change his expression under the cover of the mage's armor, and bit into the piece of ham. After chewing it, it was indeed good, very tender, and very delicious, but it didn't seem to be what they said.
Olive scent?
Acorn aroma?
Rich and sophisticated flavor?
what is that?
"This smell is not caused by them, right?"
Cerela's thin voice reached his ears through the magic sound transmission. Gretel almost laughed. Well, to confirm whether it really has this special flavor or whether the seller is just bragging, he should try to conduct a double-blind review...
Put Jinhua ham, Yunnan Xuanwei ham, and hams of this kind together. It is best to use specially adjusted raw food methods. Then, blindfold your eyes and do not allow you to look. You can only taste them and tell them which number the ham is.
Variety?
He looked sideways and saw Cerela frowning with her slender eyebrows, chewing twice, pausing, chewing twice more, with a confused face. Chewing twice more...
Hey, gone!
I haven't tasted it yet!
"Ah, Miss Elf, are you interested in our specialties?" The host smiled and raised his voice:
"Anda, give the beautiful elf lady another piece!"
Everyone takes it for granted that special care is given to women who come from afar. As for Bernard, he is not so lucky: one piece is only enough for one person, whether you chew it slowly or swallow it whole.
After a round of empty tastings, Gretel saw various ways to eat ham with honeydew melon (the honeydew melon this year is not good, so just make do with it); ham with red wine; ham with bread and so on.
It's still the same feeling as before. It's really good, but the legendary kind, the fat of the ham slowly melts in the mouth, the rich and layered taste, gradually blooming like a flower bud, accompanied by the unique fragrance of fruit and wood, etc., Grete is not the least bit.
Didn't eat it.
Seemingly seeing that the distinguished guest was not satisfied with his meal, the second son of the earl thought for a moment and whispered a few instructions. Soon, another trolley was pushed out. This time, the second son of the earl stood up in person and took the sharp knife that sliced the meat.
:
"Of course, Luo Sikang's delicacies, the treasures among treasures, are the only ones that can be used as a feast for the queen and as a sacrifice to the gods. Distinguished guests, please taste it."
Another thin piece of ham was wrapped around the tip of the knife and presented to Gretel. This time, Gretel just sniffed it lightly and smelled the familiar strange aroma.
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the other person. The second son of the earl, who was already middle-aged and had been in charge of the family business for more than twenty years, nodded slightly and smiled:
"This is a carefully selected magic pig cub that grew up in the oak forest of our family's ancestral land. Growing up, it drank magic spring water and ate the fruits of oak trees that were more than a hundred years old and had strange powers.
"
Grete chewed the ham and closed his eyes slightly. Once, twice, three times. The fresh natural breath filled his mouth. Even he, a nearly fake priest of the God of Nature, would not mistake that kind of power.
Ancestral land?
Your family’s ancestral land?
A woodland watered by magic springs, with oak trees possessing strange powers?
He opened his eyes and covered the coldness in his eyes with a polite smile:
“Very impressive taste.”
"Yes, yes." The count's second son said proudly:
"In the entire County of Roscommon, 40,000 hams are produced every year. Only the carefully made hind legs can be called Rothko hams, while the front legs can only be called black-footed pig hams. And there are less than a hundred hams of this magic pig every year.
.”
"It's a great honor to taste it. I think I will remember this taste."
Except for the acorn squash ham, the other dishes at the banquet were mediocre. Gretel was not satisfied with the food, but the others at the banquet ate with gusto. After finally finishing the meal, everyone moved to the living room, and Gretel couldn't wait to ask the question:
"I was entrusted by the Magic Council to come all the way from Nevis to take over the task of resettling and transporting hungry people. May I ask how many poor people there are currently unable to make a living? When can the transport begin?"
"this……"
The smile on the face of the host of the banquet, the second son of Earl Roscombe, Knight Peña, froze. He looked to the left asking for help. The Archbishop of the Temple of the God of War looked straight ahead and turned a deaf ear;
Looking to the right again, the Archbishop of the Temple of the Spring Goddess smiled bitterly and gave him a "helpless" look.
The host of the local mage tower stood next to the parliamentary envoy and stared at him coldly. It seemed that he had accumulated a lot of resentment, but he did not file a complaint immediately.
"This... is more troublesome..."
He bit the bullet and said:
"The local area is basically made up of tenant farmers. As you know, tenant farmers are not allowed to leave the territory at will... According to the laws and established rules of the kingdom, all tenant farmers belong to the lord... You see, I am only my father's second son, there is nothing I can do
Be the master..."
"Yes! Liberating the tenants or allowing them to relocate is something that only the head of the family can decide, and Peña cannot overstep his authority!" Another guest at the banquet spoke up.
Grete remembered that before the banquet, he was introduced as the third son of a local viscount. The others who echoed or nodded were not the nobles who inherited the title, either the second son or the youngest son.
"What about the count himself?" Gretel ignored the guest and stared straight at Knight Peña:
"Or, what about his eldest son, the heir to the title?"
"Father and eldest brother are both in the royal capital." Seeing that the other party did not force him to make a decision, Knight Peña obviously became more courageous. He raised his eyes and looked directly at Gretel:
"As nobles, they need to fulfill their obligations and are in the royal capital almost all year round. Not only my father and eldest brother, but also the nobles in this area are away from Aiolan Island almost all year round."
Grete frowned. He looked around and saw several noble heirs and the two archbishops of the temple nodding slightly, knowing that this was the truth. After thinking about it, he asked with a glimmer of hope:
"What about the freedmen? Are there any freedmen who are in trouble, unable to survive, and need to be relocated?"
"Mr. Master, you are joking. Since you are a free citizen, why can't you survive? If you really can't survive, you have become a tenant farmer. How can you move around at will?"
Grete choked on his throat. He looked around silently, his eyes swept over everyone present, and raised a cool smile:
"In this case, I will not force you to do anything beyond your authority. Mr. Knight, do you guys mind if I take a look around in Roscommon County?"
"Of course, of course! We will arrange a guide right away"
"No need. It's just Roscommon County, I won't get lost."
Gretel held his breath and galloped away. He summoned two phantom horses and rode side by side with Serira. Bernard followed behind on Appa and immediately rushed out, running along the sparse oak forest. After a while, Serila suddenly raised her ears and reined in the horse tightly:
"Grete, did you hear that?"
"What?"
"There"
After running forward for a while in the direction pointed by Cerrela, Gretel also heard the sounds coming from the wind. Screams, curses, begging, whippings, the sounds reached his ears, and they were so tragic and shocking.
Then he urged his horse forward. On a wooden frame at the entrance of the village, a man with bruised flesh and blood was tied to a wooden frame. Gretel frowned slightly, casually spilled a piece of healing magic, and asked the person who whipped him:
"Why does this man need to be beaten?"
"Master Priest!" The person who wielded the whip didn't know whether he was the village chief, a soldier, or someone else. He quickly put down his whip and came over to salute. When Grete asked, he moved his body intentionally or unintentionally to cover the wooden frame:
"This guy does not deserve your sympathy! He is a thief! He actually dares to enter the master's territory and steal acorns to eat. It is a heinous crime!"
****
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Ireland is really sparsely populated...
The figures for 2020 are 5 million people in the country, an average of 71 people per square kilometer... That's it, including the 1.2 million people in Dublin...
The population of County Roscommon is 64,500…
During the Great Famine in Ireland from 1845 to 1850, the population was 8 million... For the sake of this number, I multiplied the population of County Roscommon by three...
I don’t even know how such a low population density can cause famine and starve to death... I have checked the Great Famine in Ireland from 1845 to 1850, and I still can’t believe it...
ps:
I placed an order on Dingdong Neighborhood Group and saw that he said he could deliver the goods tomorrow... I felt a little less panicked... At least there was a shortage of food. If I grabbed the food a day in advance, I would still be able to eat it the next day...