Alcohol Ban Lifted

The management of the food supply for the troops in Two Rivers Territory during peacetime is relatively lenient. During holidays, the troops are allowed to drink alcohol, but excessive consumption is not permitted, and the duty personnel must be guaranteed their right to do so.

The Bask have a very special history when it comes to barley wine.

The barley used to brew it was a superior variety introduced by the plantation to a small noble family in the Northlands, originally grown together with alfalfa for silage.

The original ale in this world was a grain liquor brewed from wheat, so in order to ensure the food security of his territory, Victor directly banned all wheat brewing.

The territory's alcoholic beverages are mainly imported from foreign merchant guilds, but this has not had a significant impact on the territory's economy. After all, these imported beverages are too expensive for ordinary Freemen and soldiers to afford.

However, this approach worked well at first, but as the territory's population expanded, the one-size-fits-all policy became inappropriate.

Later, after the territory began to grow beets for sugar production, Victor even had people try to brew wine from the beet pulp left over from sugar production. Unfortunately, the wine produced tasted very bad and was very cloudy, not even as good as ale, and could only be used as the lowest-grade beverage.

It wasn't until Victor led his army north to conquer the Blazing Fire Tribe that the plant hunters accompanying the army discovered a special plant in one of the Blazing Fire Tribe's vassal tribes.

The people of this tribe call it the Sleepy Grass. The flowers are poisonous and can be fatal if ingested, but the fruit, when juiced and drunk, can help with sleep.

After the plantation reported the plant to Victor, he discovered that it looked very much like hops from his previous life, also known as hops.

He then assigned someone to brew wine with the fruit of this plant and barley. This time, after several attempts, they finally succeeded in brewing it before winter.

After returning to his territory, Victor made a special trip to taste it. The taste certainly couldn't compare to the specially blended modern beer from his previous life, but the unique aroma that this special plant gave the beer was unparalleled, making it even better than wheat beer.

Many people who tasted it for the first time liked the wine, so Victor simply named the plant "Fragrant Hop," and the wine was also called Fragrant Ale, or barley wine.

It quickly became popular throughout Two Rivers Territory, especially among the military.

On the one hand, the main ingredient of this wine is barley, which is grown in large quantities within the territory for use as animal feed, without crowding out grain cultivation, and the cost is low; on the other hand, this wine tastes good and has a low alcohol content, so many people can drink five or six liters in one go without getting drunk.

The problem is that current production is too low; even if all of it were supplied to the military, it wouldn't be enough.

However, considering the military, especially the combat troops that were about to be deployed, Victor specially issued a note allowing these troops to purchase the liquor first, so this batch of Fragrant Ale was bought up by several regiments and fleets.

Gutierrez was pleased to hear Bask say that, since the General Staff and the Military Academy didn't offer such perks, and he had only tried it once; there was nowhere to buy more.

However, Marvin did not stay with them in the end, saying he had work to do, and then left.

Bask later explained to Gutierrez that the captain of the Marvin Regimental Commander never drank alcohol; it was his personal habit.

Gutierrez expressed his understanding, after all, he knew before he came that the two most serious senior officers in the entire Two Rivers Territory were Marvin of the Third Regiment and Santos of the Second Regiment.

Both of them were very serious people with a simple lifestyle, quite different from James and Ron, Regimental Commander came from noble families.

Over the next few days, Gutierrez led his squad to various parts of the regiment to give speeches, telling the soldiers about the rewards for this expedition and boosting morale.

Meanwhile, the Third Regiment, along with other units, began to break camp and head towards Sea Song Town.

"It seems our Military Judge have done a good job. They've quickly integrated into the new unit. It's rare that James and Ron didn't throw any tantrums."

Victor flipped through the report Saruman handed him, which contained a record of the Military Judge's performance of their duties in the various regiments over the past few days.

"Yes, it's all thanks to your excellent guidance, sir. After all, these Military Judge are all your students and have listened to your lectures quite a bit!"

Saruman praised it.

Victor put down the report. "These Military Judge were indeed handpicked by me. They are not only brave and skilled warriors, but also quick learners and good communicators. Many of them have served as my bodyguards."

Actually, I was also hesitant. Given their talents, it would be a waste for them to be Military Judge. However, this system has just been established and needs a group of capable people to maintain and improve it.

Saruman, send someone to tell them that I will reassign their positions again in a year. They won't be stuck as Military Judge forever; they need to maintain their ambition.

"Yes, sir!"

This could be considered a pie in the sky that Victor was dangling at these Military Judge, but since he had a very good reputation, everyone liked the pie, and even Saruman's face was full of envy.

After all, the lord's personal guarantee was more valuable to these officers than anything else.

"How's the fleet doing? Captain Jack and Sodoma should have received their new toys by now!"

"Yes, Your Excellency, after those two received the new icebreaker, they took the ship and went out to sea immediately without wasting any time."

"It's a pity that the port in Sea Song Town is not yet completed. Once the seawall is closed, it will be able to keep the sea ice out to sea and turn our port into a completely ice-free port!"

When the Sea Song Town of Sea Song Town was first being built, Victor was drawn to its unique topography, believing it to be a natural ice-free port.

Unexpectedly, in winter, sea ice from the open sea drifted into the bay with the ocean currents, affecting the use of the pier during the winter.

Fortunately, there is still a way to salvage the situation. The Number One proposed a solution: to build a seawall on the side of the port to block the sea ice. However, this seawall is still under construction.