Chapter 432: Household registration! Land division!

Amidst the chaotic yet solemn atmosphere, the work of registering the identities of the starving people began.

The next morning, at the porridge distribution point outside Quemubao, a strange checkpoint appeared in front of the large pot boiling wheat porridge.

It was a table made of two wooden boxes pieced together, with a Salvation Army soldier sitting behind it, not holding a long spear in his hand, but clutching a quill pen.

An account book was spread out in front of him, and his face wore an expression of facing a great enemy, looking even more nervous than the soldiers on the castle walls.

Old Hanke, standing in front of the table, was the same.

He carried his broken wooden bowl, wobbling to the table, not knowing what kind of play these soldiers were putting on again.

He just wanted to eat.

Looking at Hanke walking towards him, the soldier straightened his expression and said in an official tone.

"Name?"

"Han, Hanke!" Old Hanke stood straight and responded like reporting.

"Village?"

"Vil, village?"

"It's where you originally lived!"

"Wheat Field Village..."

The soldier was silent for a while, the quill pen tapped on the table, and he looked up at Old Hanke.

"... How do you write it?"

Old Hanke was dumbfounded.

He had lived for most of his life, only knowing that his name was Hanke, and this name was inherited from his late grandfather.

No one told him how to write this word either? "How would I know... I, anyway, my name is this!" He was sweating with anxiety, fearing that if he couldn't write his name, he wouldn't be able to eat this bowl of porridge.

The soldier in charge of registration was also in a difficult position, looking at the anxious Hanke and the restless crowd, not knowing what to do.

He also only recently knew how to spell his name, how would he know how to write other people's names? The two stared at each other, one anxious to eat, the other anxious to complete the task, and the scene fell into a stalemate for a while.

Just at this time, a thin, scholarly-looking man squeezed to the front and whispered to them.

"Officer... that, I know how to write it."

He was probably starving, really couldn't wait any longer, so he stood out voluntarily.

The soldier heard this as if he had been granted amnesty, happily turned the account book over and pushed it to the man.

"You come!"

The scholarly man hurriedly took the account book and quill pen, completed the registration in a few strokes, and then returned the account book and quill pen to the soldier.

"Done..."

The soldier took the account book and looked at it, only to see that the handwriting was beautiful and neat, the lines were smooth, and it didn't look like a farmer's name at all, so he couldn't help but look at the man suspiciously.

"Is this really his name?"

The scholarly man was stunned for a moment, was confused by this question, and said with a wry smile.

"This... how would I know what his real name is, anyway, 'Hanke' is written like this."

"My name is Hanke!" Old Hanke blushed and declared again.

"..." The scholarly man didn't speak, he just felt that he was caught between a chicken and a duck.

The soldier had a flash of inspiration.

"You write another 'Siluoke' for me."

The scholarly man immediately followed suit and wrote another name in the account book handed over by the soldier.

The soldier knew this name, because it was his own name. Not long ago, he learned how to spell this word from a caravan clerk, but that ghost-like scribble was completely incomparable to this "artwork" in front of him.

Never expected that his name could be written so beautifully, the soldier also liked it very much, wishing to copy it a few times immediately, and imprint these strokes in his mind.

Of course, this matter can wait until the work is finished.

Looking at the man who wanted to retreat back to the team, he hurriedly grabbed the clerk's shoulder and said with a smile.

"You come to help me register! I'll teach you how to do it! Don't worry about the porridge, you eat with us!"

The scholarly man was stunned for a moment, never expected that he would suddenly receive a job, and hurriedly agreed timidly.

"Yes, yes!"

How dare he say no? However, thinking that he had nothing to do anyway, and this army that had changed its flag didn't seem bad, so he sat in the position vacated by the soldier and cooperated to do the registration work.

With the help of this suspected intellectual, the speed of the team finally accelerated.

The impatient Old Hanke also got his wheat porridge as he wished, and there was an extra wooden plaque with words carved on it in his hand.

That was the "identity card" the soldier handed to him after he completed the registration, with a line of words scribbled on it, including his name, the village where he lived, and the number.

According to the soldier, there is no need to register from tomorrow, and instead, food will be received according to the identity card.

To be honest, he quite likes this "ornament" with his name carved on it.

Squatting in a corner of the camp, Old Hanke picked up the bowl full of wheat porridge and took a sip, muttering vaguely in his mouth.

"... So my name is so good-looking."

On the other side, at the end of the registration team, the scholarly man finally received his food.

In addition to wheat porridge, there was also a piece of smoked meat as a reward for his work.

He thanked him and prepared to leave, but the soldier called him.

"Wait a minute, your name hasn't been written yet."

Hearing that he had to register his name, a flash of panic flashed on the man's face, after mumbling for a long time, he said in a low voice.

"What are you registering this for?"

The soldier didn't hide it, and said straight to the point.

"This is the Saintess's meaning, one is for convenience of management, and the other is to allow you to return to the original village in an orderly manner."

"... Return?"

"That's right, staying here is not a way, the land around the castle can't support so many people."

Didn't you drive us over? This is like breaking a person's leg and then giving a crutch back.

The man slandered in his heart, but didn't dare to say it to his face, just said another concern in his heart.

"But what about the famine?"

The soldier said with a smile.

"Saintess is precisely to solve this problem! In order to avoid missing the window period of spring plowing, we must restore the abandoned farmland as soon as possible... Rest assured, we will not let you go hungry during this period, we will ensure the supply of food."

The man nodded, his heart felt a little more at ease, hesitated again and again, and finally wrote his name in the account book.

He didn't believe in those demons with green headscarves, but he was a person who helped priests copy scriptures, and he still had faith and awe in his heart, believed in Saint Xisi, and also believed in Saintess and the oracle in her mouth.

As long as it is not for settling accounts in the future, he doesn't seem to have anything to be afraid of...

Let's believe them one more time.

Although Old Hanke's registration went very smoothly, not every old farmer was as lucky as him.

Except for an account book with neat handwriting submitted by Siluoke's registration point, most of the registration points submitted were a book of ghost symbols that were more obscure than magic books.

There must be fooling around under the adjustment.

Facing the impossible task assigned above, the soldiers closed one eye and opened the other to finish the job, and the starving people queuing for porridge also drew two strokes with a pen to count as their names.

By the way, due to his clever performance at work, the soldier named Siluoke has been exceptionally promoted to a hundred-man commander, responsible for managing the hastily formed household registration department.

Now the whole department has only two people, one is Siluoke himself, and the other is a starving person responsible for helping him copy... It is said that the person used to be a monk in the church, responsible for copying scriptures.

Daring to stand out to help at this time, the monk's courage is considered fat. After all, just a week ago, those guys with green headscarves were a group of "cannibals" who threatened to slaughter the castle and the church, and converting to the Holy Light seemed to be a matter of yesterday.

Inside the military tent, the atmosphere was mixed with joy and worry.

The officers of the Salvation Army seemed to be divided into two factions, one faction was the "Return Home Faction" that supported the Saintess, they were mostly farmers, and they supported the Saintess's decision to divide the land to everyone.

After all, they were originally for dividing the nobles' land to start an uprising, but they were blinded by killing and only cared about grabbing, but forgot the original purpose.

As for the other faction, it was the "Decisive Battle Faction" that was still loyal to Unlike Kailan's will.

However, rather than saying they were loyal to Unlike Kailan, it was better to say they were loyal to reality. After all, any general with strategic vision knows that if the battle is not fought, farming is meaningless.

Three cavalrymen rushed over and set a fire, and they could ruin the land that three hundred people had worked hard and sweated to cultivate. Without a stable order, production is out of the question.

This metaphor may be a bit exaggerated, but the words are rough and the truth is not rough, they didn't burn the nobles' granaries less when they were fighting guerrilla warfare. And these granaries are said to be the nobles', but they are basically in every village, and the ownership is actually not something that can be explained in one sentence.

"It's just nonsense!" A thousand-man commander couldn't help but slap the table and said with flying spit, "We are here to siege the city, not to play with pens! What have we been doing since we surrounded the castle outside? I bet the Earl in the castle is probably laughing at us for not even being able to build scaling ladders and catapults!"

Facing the thousand-man commander's anger, Bulunnan didn't speak, just quietly waiting for Kalian's reaction.

He was also very hesitant in his heart.

He actually wanted to ask about the siege at yesterday's meeting, but he didn't find a chance to speak until the end.

On the one hand, he felt that Kalian's idea was very good, he had been considering the future of his brothers a long time ago, but in fact, he didn't have any ideas himself. Before becoming the leader of the Green Forest Army, he was just a hunter, and even leading troops to fight was learned in the dry, governing a piece of land... This hasn't started yet.

However, on the other hand, he felt that this was not a way to go on like this. After all, Earl Sailong's castle was still there, kindness could indeed condense people's hearts, but it could only condense people's hearts, and could not replace force.

Pairs of eyes looked at Kalian, or looked at the god behind her.

They were waiting for a new oracle.

Kalian's gaze was unprecedentedly calm, everything was as Mr. Kelin said, with the gradual expansion of strength, they were no longer satisfied with patiently waiting for God's gift, and the originally dim ambition was moving.

That is human desire.

After all, they really have an army of one hundred thousand now, and mobilizing another one hundred thousand cannon fodder is not a problem at all.

"God has never promised to take you to siege the city, He only promised that the gate of the castle would open, don't tamper with your wishes. On the contrary, you promised to listen to me, before our contract is completed."

Looking at the thousand-man commander who couldn't speak, Kalian continued.

"In addition, I also bet with you that the Earl in the castle is definitely not laughing at us, he is more afraid than anyone else now... even more than the soldiers under his command."

The thousand-man commander's dissatisfaction obviously did not subside, but he really couldn't think of any words to refute, and could only try to persuade her from another angle, trying to let her know that what she was doing was unrealistic.

"But... it's chaotic outside, and no one will settle down to farm in this situation! I just want to say, you are doing something meaningless—"

"Then let them settle down," Kalian looked at him calmly, "Let them believe that the sword in your hands is not a tool to enslave them, but a weapon to defend them."

This sentence made the whole tent quiet.

The thousand-man commander's throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't say a word.

On the contrary, Thomas standing on the side had his eyes slightly brightened, as if he saw something wonderful, although his barren language couldn't describe what it was.

Saint Xisi above, this sounds really wonderful! The lord's sword should not be a tool to enslave the people, but should be a weapon to defend the people! He had never heard any priest or lord really say this, but he hoped to write this sentence into the Holy Word Book!

"... Let's discuss something practical."

Another thousand-man commander who had been silent spoke slowly, casting his gaze at the Saintess who seemed to be glowing.

"I admit that your idea is good, but it is too difficult to execute. Let alone those starving people, and the brothers under my command, even I only recently knew how to write my name, and the names of those villages are even more so, some remote villages are not even called the name on the map."

"This is indeed a problem," Kalian nodded gently, casting her gaze at everyone around, "And what I want to discuss with you today is precisely how to solve this problem."

Everyone exchanged glances, all with expressions of helplessness.

And just at this time, Thomas, who had been silent, suddenly cleared his throat and stood out voluntarily.

"I... am a merchant of the Luo De Kingdom, by rights I shouldn't intervene in your affairs, but I am a devout believer after all, I can't let my brothers connected by blood fall into hell and ignore it."

Having said this, he paused and quickly entered the topic.

"There are quite a few clerks in my caravan who can read and write, and handling accounts is our line of work. I can assist the officers to complete the registration work, including the paper and pen needed for the registration work... We will find a way."

Anyway, those soldiers also took his paper and pen to use, and he would have eaten this dull loss even if he didn't offer it.

It is better to say it here, but it can be used as a favor, and then ask for it back as appropriate after the battle is over.

If the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng can restore order, this is of course a good place worth operating.

Kalian cast a grateful look at him.

"Thank you, the people of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng will remember the efforts you made for them."

After speaking, she looked at the pragmatic thousand-man commander and continued. "Mr. Thomas can help you, not only that, his people can also teach you simple spelling. I know this is difficult, but for the sake of our better days in the future, I hope you can learn from his people with an open mind."

The pragmatic thousand-man commander looked at Bulunnan silently, and seeing that the latter did not object, he looked at Kalian again and said in a deep voice.

"I have no opinion..."

Kalian nodded, and then cast her gaze at Siluoke, the "Head of the Household Registration Department" standing in the corner of the tent.

Until yesterday, Mr. Siluoke was just a big soldier, and obviously didn't expect that he would have the opportunity to stand in this tent.

"In addition to Thomas's caravan, I believe there must be people who can read and write among our starving people. They may have been shopkeepers operating inns, or adventurers, or merchants selling wood for the lord, or monks in the church..."

"They are afraid to expose their identities because of fear, worrying that the knowledge they possess will bring about a disaster, and what we must do first is to eliminate their fear, let them believe that we are not destroyers of order, but builders of a new order."

"In this way, they will naturally join our team one after another, just like the gentleman who assisted Sergeant Siluoke in completing the registration. In the future, we don't have to rely on others, and we can rely on our own strength to bring back the order we destroyed with our own hands."

This sentence deeply touched Bulunnan, so much so that he fell into deep thought, and like yesterday's military meeting, he didn't ask about the siege until the end.

Wait a little longer...

Perhaps as the Saintess said, they could take down this castle without bloodshed? Moreover, his thoughts were no longer on that castle, but drifted to a farther place.

He had firmly believed in the justice in Unlike Kailan's mouth, as long as the castle and the church were pushed down, everything would be fine, but what he saw along the way seemed to be blood and death.

On the contrary, now, he saw colors he hadn't seen before in people's eyes.

That seemed to be hope...

It wasn't just Bulunnan and the starving people who saw hope, the soldiers standing on the city walls were the same.

The siege had lasted for several months, and the harsh winter did not starve the rebels outside, but instead allowed those rebels to wait for the light of Saint Xisi before them.

That was a rumor circulating in the army.

It is said that a Saintess was born among the rebels, who used "truth" to influence that group of murderous thugs, made them take off the damn green headscarf, and believed in Saint Xisi again.

This itself was nothing strange, the farmers of the Laine Kingdom were originally a cunning and flexible creature, whoever gave them food was the Saintess, and the opposite was a witch.

The soldiers on the city walls were not surprised by this, but were brooding over why Saint Xisi chose a group of murderous thugs.

In their view, they were of course the righteous side, after all, no matter how they were, they only took the food that originally belonged to the lord from the village, but they didn't lift the pot lids of those farmers, let alone dig out the wheat bran they pasted on the walls.

Mainly because they couldn't find the food hidden in the farmers' homes, but those green headscarves who were originally farmers knew very well where the good things in the neighbors' homes were hidden.

A depressing atmosphere shrouded the head of every besieged soldier.

Even if the priest in the castle told them that the so-called Saintess was just a village girl self-proclaimed by the rebels, even the priest couldn't explain where the food in the hands of those rebels came from.

It couldn't be given by demons, right? That would be too blasphemous.

It is worth mentioning that although the people in the castle were separated from the people outside the city by a moat, the information between them was not completely blocked, and it was impossible to restrain them just by the orders of the officers.

At first, when the rebels surrounded the castle, both sides were in a confrontation, but as time went on, the castle could not be attacked for a long time, and the rebels also adopted the siege tactic, so this restraint was not so strict.

Some soldiers would secretly throw stones wrapped in notes outside, and secretly help their families, neighbors, and even old lovers who couldn't hide in the castle with the rations they saved.

However, the recent situation seemed to be the opposite.

The starving people outside were no longer hungry, but the soldiers on the castle could only gnaw on cold and hard dry bread, watching the people outside light fires to cook porridge, drooling with envy.

There was not much firewood in the castle, and it was impossible to waste it on cooking, which were all winter material reserves.

Regardless of which porridge or bread is more nutritious, of course, the way others eat looks more fragrant...

"Dear Camille, recently the 'priest' of the Salvation Army started teaching us to write. This letter was written by the priest for me, but the name at the end was written by myself, isn't it good-looking?

In addition, please don't worry about me, we are no longer hungry recently. Those soldiers you call rebels registered our names, decided to send us back to our original hometowns in batches, and let us start farming the land there again.

They also said that in the future, that land will belong to us, and we don't have to work for the lord anymore. As for the seeds, they will find a way, we just need to focus on our own lives.

I really hope the war ends soon, I miss the days before so much. At that time, we lay on the big haystack together to bask in the sun, drinking the pumpkin porridge made by mother, and milky white fish soup, do you remember I said I would make it for you? I never forgot.

——Judy waiting for you to go home."

Sitting on the city wall, a soldier named James was looking at the crumpled letter in his hand, his face full of complex expressions.

He was not called Camille, nor did he know any Judy, just because his family had served the lord for generations and happened to know how to spell.

As for this letter, he picked it up while patrolling, wrapped around a piece of hard bread, and a bribe copper coin was stuffed inside... it seemed to be trying to bribe the person who picked up the letter.

Of course, he couldn't be bought by a mere copper coin, and take the huge risk to find that love seed named Camille, but he still couldn't help the confusion in his heart...

"Priest? How could those rebels have priests?" He muttered softly, reading the letter that was not long again and again, and couldn't tell whether he was convincing himself or mourning the beautiful time that had passed.

Before the chaos army approached the Brass Pass, their days had been very good.

No one was hungry.

Nor did anyone die because of another person's ambition.

At that time, he never thought that before he fought against the demons of hell and the devils of chaos, one day he would fight with the people of his hometown first.

"What are you doing?"

A majestic voice came from behind, startling James who was immersed in the letter.

He subconsciously wanted to hide the letter, but met the stern gaze of the Knight Commander.

Without any hesitation, he immediately stood straight and reported loyally.

"Officer, I picked up a letter!"

"Give it to me!"

"Yes!"

James handed out the letter in his hand tremblingly, and at the same time silently prayed for the soldier named Camille.

The Knight Commander read the letter in his hand with a dark face, read the words in the letter again and again, but unexpectedly did not break out as James expected, just silently put the letter away.

"Where did you pick it up?"

James swallowed a mouthful of saliva and pointed to the crenel next to him. The crenel was facing a rugged slope, and the slope was covered with trees and bushes, which was not easy to be seen by the sentry tower.

"Just around here... maybe it was shot up by a slingshot."

The Knight Commander nodded and said expressionlessly.

"Continue patrolling, don't let go of any movement. If you pick up anything again, hand it to me immediately."

James breathed a sigh of relief and said respectfully.

"Yes!"

On the other side, Camille's letter was transferred several times and reached the hands of the commander, Knight Lei Deng.

Seeing this letter, this loyal knight did not have any hesitation, immediately came to the Lord's Hall, and handed it to Earl Sailong·Gade who was pacing back and forth on the red carpet.

After reading the letter in his hand, Sailong was so angry that his lips were white and his shoulders were shaking.

Finally, he fiercely crumpled the letter in his hand and threw it on the ground, jumping with rage.

"Pass my order! Find this Camille for me!"

"My Lord, absolutely not!" Lei Deng was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly lowered his head and pleaded earnestly, "This soldier named Camille has not committed any mistakes, we cannot punish him just because someone wrote him a letter, he didn't even pick up this letter! Now the morale in the castle is already low, if we mess up our own position, it will only give the rebels outside an opportunity!"

Although Earl Sailong is not a lord good at management, he is a person who listens to advice after all.

He obviously realized this too, and it was meaningless to vent his anger on an insignificant soldier.

Even, this might be the rebels' trick, and whether this Camille exists is not certain.

The heaving chest gradually calmed down, he waved his hand, signaling those guards who were ready to act to return to their original positions.

However, the anger gathered in his chest did not dissipate.

He couldn't figure out how the starving people outside were full, and how many forces were sponsoring this stupid and meaningless uprising, giving food and weapons.

"... Never expected that these rebels were so vicious, thinking of the trick of dividing the land."

Regardless of whether they finally fulfilled their promise, this promise was enough to make the mud-legged people who followed them crazy.

"What I am worried about is precisely this matter, the letter in your hand is likely just the tip of the iceberg we discovered. And in places we haven't discovered, I'm afraid the rumors have already spread."

Lei Deng looked at the Earl with a stiff face with a solemn expression, and continued in a serious tone.

"If the situation continues to develop, let alone the people outside the castle, I'm afraid even the people inside the castle will not be able to sit still..." ===== CHAPTER 433 =====