SWDnovel #514 - North County and Seechinger
#514 - North County and Seechinger
Rummaging through the cupboard, Horn found a letter opener, sat down at the dining table, and broke the wax seal on the envelope. Reaching inside, he pulled out another envelope.
Horn blinked, brandished the letter opener, and continued to open the inner envelope, then pulled out an even smaller envelope from inside.
If Armand hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought some old brother from Black Snake Bay was messing with him again.
Fortunately, this time, in addition to the small envelope, there was also a note written on birch bark paper in the outer envelope.
Horn picked up the note and glanced at it, finally understanding that a count from North County had asked Myura's father to forward it, and then it was sent to Myura.
This explained the three layers of envelopes.
The duke who sent the letter was a highly respected old count from North County named Sechinger Urinotz.
His territory, Dragon's Breath Township, bordered Langsand County.
After opening the last small envelope, inside, besides a ring as a token of identity, there was only a short message of a few hundred words.
While Armand was ladling porridge for Horn, Horn quickly read the strange letter, which was sometimes crude and sometimes elegant.
Putting down the letter, a playful smile appeared on Horn's face.
He put the letter aside, mixed the scraps of beef and mutton from the dinner into the rice porridge, and spooned the rice fruit into his mouth, Horn's eyes gradually losing focus.
North County is located to the east and slightly north of Langsand County, and is one of the five mountain counties.
It is divided into three townships: Dragon's Breath Township, Grey Mist Township, and Stone Cliff Township.
Its area is slightly larger than Langsand County, but its population is only over 200,000, about one-third of Langsand County.
The main reason for this is still the same problem—mostly mountainous and forested terrain with scarce arable land.
With great difficulty, there is Stone Cliff Township, whose Kara Mountains have abundant grassy hills and meadows, allowing for small-scale cattle and sheep grazing.
This was originally a treasure land, but it happened to be adjacent to Angus Fort in the Ember Fort Territory of the Norn Kingdom.
Angus Fort is famous for its beef and cheese, and they also need this important pasture, not only need it, but need more.
With the unique simple folk customs of the North County people, it is naturally impossible to indulge them. The herdsmen fight every day, and as a result, no one makes any money.
Although the two sides call each other Norn people and North people, there is almost no blood relationship between them.
The reason why this place is called North County is simply because the indigenous tribes who originally lived in this area were called the North Tribes.
The Norn people of Ember Fort Territory were all driven and migrated from the north by the imperial pioneering knights.
The current Norn Kingdom and the so-called Norn people are what the Leia and Fran people west of the Dragon's Sleep Mountains call them.
In essence, they are hundreds and thousands of indigenous tribes from the Eastern Continent with different languages. After learning from the Empire and feudalizing, they jointly formed a group and kingdom.
This is why Norn lords often do not call themselves counts, but rather Great Chiefs, which is a title evolved from chieftain.
The North Tribes lived here longer than these Norn people, and they were even more unyielding.
Many of those Norn people were forced to convert and intermarry under pressure during the pioneering wars, but the North Tribes at least held out until after the pioneering wars.
However, now the mountain people of North County, in addition to retaining some basic animistic customs, are no different from the Cush people.
This Sechinger Earl of Dragon's Breath Township is a descendant of the chief's family of the original North Tribes.
And this time, the letter is both related and unrelated to the North labor issue.
To be precise, this Dragon's Breath Township Earl seems to be trying to divide the cake. He requested a meeting with Horn and is about to bring two thousand two hundred diplomatic ambassadors to visit.
In the letter, he plans to have these two thousand two hundred diplomatic envoys stay in Joan Fort as liaison officers.
It would be even better if Horn was willing to provide them with part-time jobs.
Seeing this brazen appearance, Horn probably guessed that he was envious of the richness of Langsand County.
Currently, due to Horn confiscating the homes of monasteries and nobles in both Lower River County and Langsand County, a large amount of gold coins has flowed into the market.
This means that local prices have increased, and wages have also increased.
In the eyes of outsiders, a mason has an income of dozens of dinars a month, which is too rich.
However, Sechinger is quite principled and did not pretend not to know, but made it clear that he was here to discuss this matter.
After all, he defeated the armies of the Edict League, and Sechinger does not cause trouble or seek trouble.
"Your Grace?" Seeing that Horn was distracted, and the porridge in the bowl was gone, but still needing to be ladled, Armand reminded in a low voice.
"Oh." Horn handed the letter to Armand, "Take a look, I'll have two more meat pies, and then it's time to leave."
Horn stuffed the meat pie into his mouth and swallowed it, while Armand quickly read the letter: "Lord Sechinger's request seems a bit excessive, but after all, he is Melia's man, Your Grace, what do you think?"
"What do I think? Isn't Myura also Melia's man? Isn't he still obediently working for us now?"
"You want to subdue this Sechinger Earl?"
"No, I want to subdue the mountain people of North County." Horn picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and sent the dinner plate to the kitchen, "He is secondary."
Turning around from the kitchen, Horn picked up a red lacquered briefcase from the table.
"Armand, go and bring me the North County atlas and related notes and excerpts from the cabinet in my study."
Stuffing the documents on the table and a few slices of bread from the cupboard into the lacquered leather briefcase, Horn put on a woolen coat and hat.
"Are we having lunch together?" Armand, who was next to him, put the atlas into the briefcase, Horn walked to Jeanne who was still gorging herself.
With a mouthful of porridge, Jeanne didn't even look up: "I might have to eat with the recruits in the barracks at noon. If I don't watch them, they'll definitely cause chaos."
Bowing his head and kissing the top of Jeanne's head, Horn picked up the packed briefcase and, amid Jeanne's protective cries, snatched the meat pie from her plate.
"Is everything packed?" Horn asked Catherine, who was standing up in her nightgown, like a little wife, adjusting Horn's collar.
"Packed."
"Okay, then I'll take you there at noon." Opening his arms, Horn hugged Catherine, "I'll leave the Saintess Bank and the sugar to you."
"Don't worry."
After saying goodbye to Jeanne and Catherine, Horn left with his suitcase. Outside the courtyard, Pasrik, as the guard's coachman, was already waiting with a felt hat.
Holding the wooden handrail of the carriage, Horn looked up at the distant mountains.
They were sandwiched between the red tiled roofs and cyan blue towers in the field of vision, the morning light rested on the mountain tops, turning half of the sky into a glass blue.
The morning mist shrouded the distant sun so red and bright, the crowing of chickens and the rising of smoke, the air was filled with the smell he often smelled in the countryside when he was a child.
The smell of honeycomb coal.
Finally, there is a bit of a hometown feel.
Sitting in the carriage, Horn put the briefcase beside him, looked up at Armand who was getting in: "So, what's the schedule for today?"
"We have to go to Saint Advent Hall first to deal with the documents that weren't finished yesterday, and several legion commanders from the Exorcism Court want to report on military needs, and we also have to meet with several wealthy merchants.
If we're fast, before noon, we have to go to the Lubyanka Monastery. They said the holy oil has finally been refined."