night!
The bright moon hangs high in the sky.
Bernie led the villagers to the edge of Earl Bancrown's estate.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Bernie turned around and saw the entire village, men, women, and children, forming a large procession. Many villagers were driving cattle, sheep, and carts.
The land ahead is Count Bancrown's territory; everyone is safe now.
"Let's take a break and then we'll go!" Bernie announced.
So everyone went to find a place to rest.
Some children fell asleep in their mothers' arms, while the mothers sat on the oxcart and the fathers drove it.
"Bernie, the tax officer who came this afternoon didn't mention any forced conscription or taxes!" a villager said as he sat down.
"Yes, he said that in three days all the villagers will go to Cliff Rock City, where a very important decree will be announced publicly. There's a tree standing at the city gate, and whoever carries the tree to the gate of the Earl's main castle will be rewarded with a golden dragon." A man said, "Bernie, you're very knowledgeable and a frequent visitor to noble households. Tell me, what does Earl Gavin mean by this?"
"Fake!" Bernie said decisively.
"The decrees issued by Lord Gavin can't be fake, can they?"
"The Westerling family's reputation is ruined. They're getting poorer every day. How could they possibly reward you with a golden dragon? Everyone, the Great Demon Mountain has taken over Rocky City! Brothers and sisters, the Mountain is in charge now. The Westerling family has fallen. Miss Jenny, such a beautiful girl, actually married the Mountain. Tsk tsk tsk, poor Miss!"
"I heard that it was Duke Tywin who arranged the marriage, and there was nothing that Earl Gavin could do about it."
"The Mountain isn't human, he's a humanoid beast, don't you think so?" Bernie took a few sips of his drink and said, "Let's go, keep going. Once we cross that hill, we'll be on Earl Bancrown's land. I know the Earl, I guarantee you'll have land to cultivate and mines to dig."
The villagers burst into laughter, while the women cursed Bernie, saying he would be childless.
As the procession crested the hillside and entered the territory of Earl Bancrown under the bright moonlight, countless torches suddenly lit up ahead, and a general in gleaming armor rode out of the woods.
Bernie and the villagers were shocked, and the timid villagers ran away as fast as they could.
Bernie looked closely and saw a flag behind the general, which depicted a bull.
He was overjoyed and shouted, "Don't be afraid, everyone! It's Count Bancrown's banner!"
The general wore a helmet and had lowered his mask, so no one could see his face. Behind him were only twenty riders.
"Go back, this road is blocked," the general said.
Bernie ran up to him beaming: "General, I am Bernie. I am very familiar with Earl Bancrown. You must have seen my performance at the Earl's house. I am the one who imitates the sounds of all kinds of birds and beasts."
"Get out!" the general shouted, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Those who don't want to die, get back. This road is blocked."
"General?" Bernie wanted to say something more.
choke!
The general drew his longsword and shouted, "No citizen of the Westerling family's territory is allowed to pass through this road. Even if you enter Earl Bancrown's territory, the Earl will not take you in. I advise you to go back to your village and not cause me any trouble here."
Bernie and the villagers looked at each other in bewilderment!
Faced with the longsword, who would dare to step forward?
That evening, Bernie and the villagers had to return to their village. Bernie and two other young villagers went on a longer journey, to other earls' territories, where soldiers guarded the roads and forbade crossing. Even if the villagers crossed the border, they would be driven back.
*
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Although the people who returned to the land were filled with fear, strangely enough, when they realized that it was difficult to escape, once they returned to their villages, a sense of attachment arose, and surprisingly, not a single household fled.
The rumors began to subside, and some villagers suspected that these rumors did not originate from the Westerling family. Upon closer investigation, they found that they did not know who had made the rumors.
Everyone received a decree personally issued by Earl Westerling, which was displayed on the village's notice board. The decree bore the Westerling family crest, not the Mountain's three dogs.
The decree states that Earl Westerling has a new decree to issue to all the people of the land. All subjects who receive the decree must arrive at Blackrock Square in Casterly Rock by noon three days later. However, before the new decree is issued, the Earl has erected a wooden pillar at the gate of Casterly Rock. Anyone brave enough to move the pillar to the gate of the Earl's main castle will be rewarded with a golden dragon.
*
On the day of the Mountain and Jenny's family wedding, the entire city of Casterly Rock was packed with its citizens. People had all come to Blackrock Square in Casterly Rock after receiving the Earl's decree.
At midday, Leonard Westerling, heir to the city of Cliff Rock, emerged from the Earl's main castle, mounted his steed, and led several guards, shouting as he went: "Whoever has the strength to move the wooden pillars at the main gate will be rewarded with a golden dragon."
Leonard kept shouting from the main gate of Casterly Rock all the way to the main gate.
A wooden pillar had been erected there since morning, guarded by two soldiers. A huge crowd had gathered, making it impossible to move. People pointed and whispered among themselves, but no one dared to step forward and move the wood.
"Among the thousands of people of Westerling, is there not a single one with the courage?" Leonard shouted to the crowd.
"Me!" A citizen stepped forward, a burly man with thick lips and a broad face; it was none other than Bernie's wife, Bull.
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Bernie huddled to one side, then egged the Bull on with a few words, and the Bull stepped forward.
Bernie told the bull that he would never leave her for the rest of his life if she earned a golden dragon by moving wood and gave it to him.
So the bull stepped forward.
The moment she stepped forward, the entire audience was in an uproar. No one had expected that the brave Westerling who had stepped forward would actually be a woman with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
This greatly embarrassed Leonard Westerling.
There were at least 1,300 households in the Westerling territory. After careful calculation of the household register by her sister Jenny and mother Hibel, the latest statistics show that there are now more than 1,500 households in the territory. The more than 200 newly added households are those that appeared after the nobles returned the land.
With so many people, thousands of them, couldn't you find even one with courage? Instead, only a woman came forward!
With the crowd cheering and Bernie's encouraging gaze, the bull walked over. Young Master Leonard had no choice but to nod and signal the soldiers to make way. The Westerling family, whose fortunes had declined and whose credibility had been overdrawn, summoned all its citizens to Casterly Rock to announce a new decree. Lord Mountain had conducted this experiment to establish his credibility among his people, but he never expected that the one who dared to come out and move the wood would be nothing more than a burly, stupid woman.
This would surely make Counts Damon and Leo, who were watching the spectacle from the main castle corridor, laugh their heads off, and if word got out, it would tarnish Westerling's reputation.
Westerling has no man's guts!
Thinking about this, Leonard felt a wave of shame and could hardly breathe!
The bull had no idea what Bernie was up to. Bernie was just there to watch the show, and then he would leave and wander through the Seven Kingdoms. He had contacted a drama troupe that would be performing in Lannes Harbor, and then he would board a ship and head south, performing in places like Highgarden in the Riverlands and Old Town, the largest port in the Seven Kingdoms.
The bull lifted the wooden post; it was heavy, but the bull was strong enough. In front of the bull, Leonard and two guards cleared a path, and behind the bull, a huge crowd of onlookers followed.
When Earl Damon saw that the person who dared to step forward and move wood on Earl Gavin's land was actually a clumsy, strong woman, he burst out laughing.
Count Leo couldn't help but smile broadly.
Earl Gavin's face turned bright red with shame.
Mrs. Hiber went straight into the room, unable to bear the sight.
Jenny and The Mountain were standing in the corridor. Jenny looked strange, while The Mountain's expression remained unchanged.
The Mountain even whistled with ease.
What he is about to announce will leave Count Leo and Count Damon stunned, Count Gavin in disbelief, but will win the hearts of all the people in the territory.
Although the bull has not yet finished moving the wood, the plan for recruiting soldiers and enriching the people of the Demon Mountain has been successfully launched and will be unstoppable.