After dealing with Eagle Claw Fortress's matter, Li Ang went back to White Deer Fortress.
Noel took his troops and said goodbye to Li Ang. His mission has been completed and he will go back to report the situation to Isildur.
Most of the Horn Caller Rangers have also scattered back home on the road. Now that there are no foreign enemies, the Rangers will not go to war.
Li Ang even asked Vendathir to take the girl rangers to the forest to the east of White Deer Fortress. Lesley was planning to build a trade zone with the Noldors there, and Vendathir, the 'tribune', had to cooperate.
Of course, the main purpose of Li Ang is to let the Noldos go back and promote it, so that more Noldo Elves can come to White Deer Fortress.
Now Li Ang only has two hundred people left in his hands.
One hundred of them are Pendor soldiers, still the most loyal non-commissioned officers of the original batch.
The other one hundred are the male Noldo Ranger led by Risadiran, which is the other half of Vendathir's students.
These Noldo Ranger have now become the bodyguards of Li Ang, and Risadiran is now the guard captain.
This is actually what Vendathir means - she values Li Ang's safety now more than anyone else.
Those girl rangers are not suitable to follow Li Ang around. Their beauty and worth are likely to attract covetous attention. If they cause unnecessary trouble, it will make Li Ang more dangerous.
But male Noldo Ranger don't have this worry, they just need to wear a hood like Risadiran.
One hundred Noldo Ranger, this must be the most luxurious Guards lineup in the entire continent.
The Noldor would be so protective of Li Ang, of course, because of the 'magic' they saw with their own eyes...
Although Li Ang has already told Vendathir, Buckley Continent also has gunpowder, and it is something that everyone can use.
But Vendathir still believes that this is magic - the vast majority of Noldo Elves also insist that the explosion of gunpowder is a product of magic, and the explosive pack is a magic item made by Li Ang. If it can create magic items, then it is considered Archmage.
Of course, it is understandable that the Noldor have this concept. After all, people in the Middle Ages did regard various chemical reactions as magic, witchcraft or alchemy. Anyway, they are almost the same type as magic.
Older people are basically stubborn, and Noldor, who is several hundred years old, is no exception.
They think it is not surprising that Buckley Continent has people who can make and use magic items. The Noldor originally came from another continent.
And Li Ang is a Barkley person...
As for Li Ang insisting that this is science and not magic - the Noldor are artificial. This is probably because the two continents have different names for things like "magic".
After all, the Noldor all saw it, it was Li Ang who guided Wendy to send out 'Arrow of Thunderstorm', and blew up the city gate with one arrow...
They felt that it was what they saw with their own eyes and could not be wrong.
Li Ang simply doesn't explain it - it's really hard to explain to these guys who don't understand science and are full of tradition...
And Vendathir didn't ask Li Ang much about things like 'magic' or 'Archmage', because she didn't know anything about it and didn't know how to ask.
Vendathir is only considered a young person among Noldo Elves. Her age would be equivalent to a human being in her twenties, and she really doesn't understand anything about ancient magic.
In addition, for Noldor, having magic or not actually means the identity of master and servant...
If Li Ang is an elf, then under this misunderstanding, Vendathir and these Noldo Ranger are likely to directly regard Li Ang as their master. After all, this is their long-standing tradition, and it is even engraved in their genes.
But the problem is that Li Ang is a human being.
This makes Vendathir very tangled. Whether it is Li Ang's help to the Noldor or Li Ang's Archmage identity, they all deserve the highest level of respect and protection she can give Li Ang, but you can't let a human become the master of the Noldor, right?
Human life is too short...
So Vendathir simply didn't ask. The Noldor's arrogant self-esteem couldn't tolerate them turning a blind eye to everything they saw, but they also couldn't tolerate a human being becoming the master of the Noldor.
Only Wendilf understood that this was indeed not magic, because she knew very well that she just shot an arrow normally.
But similarly, Wendy doesn't know what to say. She doesn't understand the principle and can't explain it...
Coupled with her purple eyes - she looks exactly like Sindar Elves who has a high level of magical talent. The Noldor now almost think of her as Elf King.
If it weren't for the fact that Wendy still needs to 'learn magic' with Li Ang, maybe the Noldor would have taken her back and forced her to take the throne...
Li Ang also didn't expect that this joke would be taken completely seriously. It was so careless that it was indescribable - he now somewhat understood why the elves were so powerful in the first place, but ended up in this situation...
But this misunderstanding is also a good thing. At least it will make Noldo Elves more willing to cooperate with him. Li Ang is even ready to really train Wendilf into Elf King.
White Deer Fortress.
Today's White Deer Fortress is so different from before, Baron Godric can hardly recognize his own territory.
The people are still the same, and the place is still the same, but it seems that many things are not what they used to be.
From the time I came to Long River Town as Commander of Eastern Military Affairs, I haven't come back for more than half a year, but now Godric almost doesn't know the road...
Between Wheat Fragrance Territory and Long River Town, the originally bumpy dirt road actually became so spacious and smooth?
There's even a 'bus'...
Godric originally rode a horse when he came back from Lion City, but after meeting the team leader John at Wheat Fragrance Territory Square, he also tried riding back to White Deer Fortress.
It was originally just an ordinary box carriage, but Godric gave me a novel experience.
The horse-drawn carriage stops at the wave of your hand, you throw money into the self-service coin box or you show your monthly ticket and get on the bus directly, find your seat and sit down, and then either look out the window at the almost endless wheat fields, or chat with the people sitting next to you - everyone is like this, looking very familiar.
Moreover, the people in the car basically didn't bring much luggage, and they were obviously accustomed to frequent trips between the two places.
The carriage covered the 100-mile distance in just two and a half hours - basically the same speed as riding a horse.
The speed was very fast on the flat and spacious road, and since the horses would stop at roadside stations every few seconds, the horses also got a rest along the way.
On this road, the average speed of horse carriages can reach almost forty miles per hour. In this era, this is a complete miracle. In the past, only the Gatu people horse team could move with such efficiency on the grassland.
After arriving at White Deer Fortress, the surrounding wheat fields seemed to be more numerous - that was what Amy learned from Li Ang and asked the civilians in the territory directly under the jurisdiction of Godric to plant them.
The surrounding area of White Deer Fortress belongs to the direct jurisdiction of Godric, which means that those wheat fields are the property of Godric.
This makes Godric feel extremely comfortable...
He really didn't expect that in the six months since he handed over White Deer Fortress to Li Ang, he could actually get tens of thousands of acres of land!
"Sir! Ah, Lord Godric is back!"
White Deer Fortress The guards at the city gate are still those archers. They are very happy to see Godric back.
"Are Li Ang and Amy in town?"
Godric looked around. These old subordinates seemed to be in good spirits, and he was very pleased.
"Misses Lord Li Ang and Amy led troops to support Baron Leofric of Brave Shield Fortress a few days ago... This is amazing! Sir, you don't know that Lord Li Ang can actually command Noldo Elves! It seems that it is still a regular Noldor army..."
The archers talked to their old lord about recent events and planned to send Godric to the main building.
But Godric didn't let them leave their posts. Since Li Ang didn't come back, he planned to take a walk first.
White Deer Fortress built a huge new barracks close to the city wall. Godric could see that this was originally supposed to be used to hold prisoners - a small number of the Bacchus Empire soldiers are still locked up in these barracks.
He knew that Li Ang had defeated Livius before and captured many people, but it seemed that most of the prisoners had been ransomed.
Now this barracks is being renovated. A foreman said that Lord Li Ang is going to turn this place into a military camp, and Noldo Elves will live in it...
Godric doesn't have any bad feelings towards Noldo Elves. After all, he knows that Li Ang has Risadiran under his command. He just thinks this seems a bit unbelievable. Is this place going to be converted into a Noldor military camp?
This means that the Noldor regular army that the archers just mentioned will serve Li Ang for a long time?
And White Deer Fortress seems to have been expanded again, but not because of the barracks, but because more people are doing business.
This expansion did not cost anything, nor was it to increase defense. It just formed a comprehensive market under the main castle mountain of White Deer Fortress - it was formed automatically by small traders.
The area at the bottom of the mountain facing the city gate is one of the few spacious flat areas in White Deer Fortress. In the past, there were only some shops and hotels, but not many people.
But now the place is very busy. At first glance, there must be nearly a thousand people, and there are hundreds of vendors alone.
Although the vendors are not large in scale and most of them set up street stalls, this place where goods are gathered attracts many people from surrounding villages.
Godric knows the population of the entire county - there are only 10,000 people in total, but the number of people who come to White Deer Fortress for shopping actually accounts for one-tenth?
This ratio subverted his previous understanding.
In fact, Wheat Fragrance Territory's wholesale market has subverted his perception - Wheat Fragrance Territory's wholesale market now has dozens of stores. This small place with a poor geographical location can actually surpass many large towns in its overall shipment volume!
This is because many merchants of Long River Town will first send the goods to Wheat Fragrance Territory, and then resell them by companies under Wheat Fragrance International.
As long as you become a supplier or agent of Wheat Fragrance International, you will not have to pay commercial tax at Wheat Fragrance Territory. These merchants will naturally ship goods in Wheat Fragrance Territory.
Anyway, Long River Express is here, and Long River Town can also be transported by water, so the transportation cost is already very low.
Of course, to become a partner of Wheat Fragrance International, you need to pay a deposit first - as for whether the deposit will be returned when you withdraw, we don't know yet.
Because no businessman has withdrawn yet, after all, it is tax-free, and Wheat Fragrance International will bring them orders from other places.
Of course, you have to pay rent to occupy the warehouse Wheat Fragrance Territory, and the rent is not cheap. After all, there are many businessmen who need warehouses.
These days, basically no one can understand this kind of platform operation. The only one who can get some knowledge is Amy, a good student who has followed Li Ang throughout the whole process.
Aier County Nearly one-tenth of the people go to White Deer Fortress to sell souvenirs or shop every day. This is actually because people in the county have more channels for commodity circulation.
There are almost no markets in the countryside. If you want to sell souvenirs, of course you can only go to White Deer Fortress. After selling the souvenirs, you will have money, so you will naturally buy some things back.
Digging out a valuable rare medicinal material from the mountain, catching a good game, or getting a good piece of leather... This is enough for people from the surrounding villages to go to White Deer Fortress and spend a long time shopping in the market.
The circulation of goods has accelerated, and there are more methods of cashing out. Naturally, more people will go to White Deer Fortress every day.
The small vendors of White Deer Fortress are not just sellers. They will buy local specialties and then go to the wholesale market of Wheat Fragrance Territory to sell to the resident merchants. At the same time, they also purchase the goods at the wholesale market of Wheat Fragrance Territory and sell them back to White Deer Fortress.
So they will travel frequently between the two places.
The merchants of Wheat Fragrance Territory rely on Wheat Fragrance International, have more shipping channels, and can also carry out some processing and production. They can naturally sell the purchased local products.
This allows White Deer Fortress and Wheat Fragrance Territory to form greater cargo output capabilities, and the continuous circulation of money has gradually changed the lives of people in the territory.
In fact, the money in people's hands is still the same, and the money itself has not increased. But as long as the flow of money speeds up and frequent back and forth in people's hands, it can make these people's lives better - wealth increases in the process of movement.
Money is not wealth, materials and ideas are.
This is actually the effect brought by the tax-free zone. It seems that not collecting taxes is a loss for the lord, but in fact, it can get more. The business logic is like this, often the free ones are the ones who make the most money.
Godric looked at all this with joy. He felt that it was a good thing that he went to work at Long River Town. Although he encountered a lot of troubles at Long River Town, looking at White Deer Fortress's current prosperity, Long River Town's troubles were nothing.
Only the main building of White Deer Fortress has remained unchanged. It still looks as simple as before. There are still no maids inside, and the guards are still the same old acquaintances.
"Lord Godric, are you back?"
The knight guarding the main building stepped forward to greet his old lord.
"I didn't expect you to still be guarding here. Didn't Li Ang and Amy both go out..."
Godric Seeing that this knight is still fulfilling his duties, he is a little surprised. After all, the lords in the castle are not here, so the guards are not lazy?
"Miss Amy has told us that no one can enter the main building. Lord Li Ang has put a lot of valuable things in the building and the cellar. I can't afford to pay for them if they are lost. Oh, the cellar is the former prison, and the one downstairs..."
The knight pointed to the prison entrance at the bottom of the main building, which was guarded by several soldiers.
"Oh? It seems that he has made a lot of money again... what is it?"
Godric obviously wants to see it.
"There should be some grain seeds in the cellar, which cannot be exposed to light until they are planted. They are very well protected, and Lord Li Ang has arranged for soldiers to patrol outside all the time."
The knight pointed to the highest point of the building again. "There are some things on the top floor, but Miss Amy doesn't allow anyone to go up to the top floor. I don't know what's inside."
"Since the grain seeds cannot see the light, forget it... I would like to take a look at the things on the top floor..."
Godric also knows that some grain seeds cannot be exposed to light when they are stored. They will germinate easily when exposed to light. If the germs die in the cellar, they will not be able to be planted next year.
But the things on the top floor sounded so mysterious, and he became a little curious.
"Then I can't send you up, sir, I can't go to the attic."
Of course, the guard knight will not stop his real lord, but he also abides by Amy's requirements and appears to be very disciplined.
He was originally a member of the Guards of Godric. He couldn't join the Guards if he didn't follow the rules.
Godric patted the knight on the shoulder approvingly and went upstairs.
Several rooms on the top floor were locked, but Godric found the key in the room where he used to work. The keys these days are big and long, and a child like Amy who is afraid of trouble would not carry them with him...
One of the rooms on the top floor contained a lot of foul-smelling black particles in many large jars.
Godric didn't know what this was, but out of an old soldier's intuition, he felt that it might be related to weapons.
In another room, there are some iron shells and small clay pots, and some of the iron shells have wooden handles, which look like drum hammers or short sticks.
If this thing is used to knock people, is it too short?
It's a little too light...
Godric didn't understand it clearly, but those iron shells and wooden handles are hollow, and they should be unfinished products.
It seems like there's nothing mysterious about these things, right?
Amy actually didn't even want the sword practice room on the top floor and turned it into a warehouse?
Godric thought he had hidden a lot of treasure...
In fact, Li Ang and Amy really can't find a suitable place.
Black powder needs to be protected from moisture and cannot be hidden anywhere in the wild, otherwise everything will be ruined in a few days.
The same is because black powder is extremely susceptible to moisture, and the source of saltpeter is temporarily unguaranteed and cannot be wasted, so it is best not to directly package it into explosive bags or grenades.
Because there is really no way to save it if it gets damp after being packaged. This thing cannot be dried...
In order not to waste materials, it is best to assemble enough before use.
In fact, the things in these rooms have not had time to be put into production, because this is not a warehouse, but a laboratory.
The raw materials are not kept here.
The reason why it is placed on the top floor is to avoid moisture on the one hand, and on the other hand - if there is an accident in the basement, it will be troublesome. The top floor is safer after all...
When the lord returned to White Deer Fortress, Godric had been waiting for two days.
When Li Ang came back, since Amy did not follow him back, the ban on entering the main building was never lifted, so no one could notify Godric.
As a result, Li Ang saw this uncle lying on the bed reading a novel in his room - the book "The Centurion's Combat Career" under his pillow.
Godric watched it with gusto, and didn't even notice that Li Ang was back...
"Aha, Lord Godric, long time no see!"
Li Ang stared awkwardly at the door for half a minute, but Godric was completely immersed in the ocean of knowledge and didn't notice him at all - the lord could only say hello.
"Huh? Ah! Oh! You're back!"
Godric stood up in a hurry, with a half-embarrassed and half-stiff smile on his face - basically the same expression as Li Ang's face now.