Ibinister Plains was the largest plain in the eastern part of Freia, spanning thousands of miles of fertile land.
In ancient Hez, Ibinister meant land of light and could also be translated as fertile land under the sun.
In countless literary works, the Ibiennese Plain was described as a land of abundance, full of sunshine and flowing with honey. It was a land blessed by the Mother Goddess of the Earth.
After Stellin I, the founder of Aueras, took over the plains, he decided to build a royal city there to serve as the foundation for Aueras to stand tall in the eastern part of the continent.
It was only after Stellin III ascended the throne that the city was completed after nearly 80 years of construction. One could only imagine how large the city was.
From Stellin III to Stellin VII, the successive kings of Aueras invested a considerable amount of money and effort into the expansion and remodeling of the royal city, allowing it to expand further and further.
By the time Stellin IX ascended to the throne, the royal city had become one of the four great cities of Freia. It was the largest city in the eastern part of the continent and had a population of more than a million. From then on, the royal city was known as the royal capital.
The entire Ibinister Plains was under the jurisdiction of the royal capital. The four citadels, nine towns, and 56 villages under the royal capital provided sufficient resources for the millions of people in the royal capital.
At the same time, it brought about a flourishing commercial activity in the royal capital, making it the largest commercial city in the eastern part of the continent. It could be said that the prosperity of the royal capital could affect the economic development of the entire kingdom, or even the entire eastern part of the continent.
Lake Branopes was the second largest freshwater lake on Freia, as well as the largest inland lake in the eastern part of the continent. It was located right next to the Ibinister Plains and the rich freshwater resources brought the agricultural development of the plains year after year. At the same time, it also ensured the water needs of the millions of people in the royal capital.
The successive kings of Aueras placed great importance on water projects. They dug a canal in the Ibinister Plains and built an irrigation network to ensure a good harvest while also providing the royal capital with a transportation channel.
"Actually, you don't have to go to the capital first before heading to Calleben Village. That will only prolong the entire journey."
Donobi pointed at the map and drew a straight line on it. "You can pass through Lake Branopes and head for Kleben Village. That way, you'll be able to save at least two days of travel."
"Can we cross Lake Branopes?" Claude asked.
"Of course, I hired three riverboats to deliver goods to Culleburn in November.
However, it is winter now, so the boat cannot enter the lake. However, there is a thick layer of ice on the lakeside, so you can cross the lake directly on the ice.
Or you can hire a guide from the village of Bulada, which is by the lake, to take you across, and that will be more secure, "said Donobie, the merchant, confidently.
"Then can I hire you to lead the way?
Mr. Donobie, "said Claude," I would not trouble you if I were not pressed for time.
But as you know, the weather and this unfamiliar place will make us waste a lot of time looking for the way to Kleben Village. If you don't mind, I'm willing to pay you a crown. "
Claude had no other choice. Having someone to lead the way was much better than the three of them running around like headless flies.
The entire plains were covered in a thick layer of snow. If they followed the national highway to the royal capital and Kleben Village, they wouldn't lose their way.
But if they left the national highway and went in a straight line like Donobie said, while it looked simple on the map, it would be easy for them to lose their way in unfamiliar places.
"Well …" Donobie hesitated.
His friends, on the other hand, agreed with Claude's suggestion. "Let's go, Donobie. It'll only take five to six days for the round trip.
Since you'll miss the date you promised your wife, why don't you help these three warriors and bring them to Kleben Village? You'll be able to earn some wine money and some extra income.
As for your wife, we'll let her know when we get back. That way, she'll prove that you're not going home because you're trying to earn some money and not because you were seduced by some other woman. "
"Well, well, I'll take you there," said Donobie the merchant, who had made up his mind, not denying the attraction of a crown to him.
The blizzard lasted for two days and one night before stopping.
The snow on the road was more than half a meter thick.
It was already the 11th of the 1st of the 1st month. They had to report on the 15th, which meant that they had to reach Kleben Village by the 14th of the 1st.
For the sake of convenience, Claude took Donobi's advice and no longer rode a horse. Instead, the three of them squeezed onto a snowplow Donobi had brought along for delivery and had their three strong horses follow behind it.
Donobie wasn't lying. It only took them two days and two nights to reach the entrance of the royal military academy.
After giving Donobie a crown and shaking his hand to bid him farewell, Claude and the other two looked at the snow-covered military academy suspiciously.
There's no mistake about it. The only thing that looked decent was the sign of the royal military academy. Myjack even dusted off the snow on the sign to make sure there weren't any mistakes.
"This place seems to have been abandoned. Look, there aren't even any sentries outside the gates," Myjack muttered.
"Let's go in and ask." Claude had no choice but to lead the way.
"Hey, hold it right there! What are you doing?!"
The moment they entered the gate, they were stopped. It wasn't that there weren't any sentries, but that the sentries were hiding in the sentry post.
"You're here to report?"
A few soldiers came out of the sentry post and looked at Claude and the other two suspiciously. "How did you get here?
Didn't you get the notice? "
How did we get here? Claude was speechless, but he still found it strange. "What notice?
We came here on home leave and ran into a huge snowstorm. We were afraid that we wouldn't be able to make it to school in time, so we hired a guide and crossed Lake Branopes to Kaleben Village. "
The soldiers came to a sudden realization. "So you didn't come from the royal capital. No wonder I was wondering how you got here when the roads aren't connected. You took another route.
So, you didn't get the notice? The snowstorm two days ago buried most of the royal capital and the road from Kaleben Village to the royal capital is covered in snow. It's said that the deepest part is more than a meter deep and it's impassable.
That's why the opening of the royal military academy has been delayed to the first of February. The notice has already been sent to the trainers of the various troops. "
Claude and the other two were dumbfounded. What were we supposed to do then? We came all the way back to report to school and cancel our leave. Even if we could report to school now, where were we supposed to go?
Even if they returned to 1st Ranger Tribe, they wouldn't be able to find anyone to take charge of them. Skri's letter told them that he had been relieved of his post and that 1st Ranger Tribe would be reorganized.
In other words, even if Claude and the other two rushed back to the royal capital, they wouldn't be able to find 1st Ranger Tribe. Not to mention, Skri had already transferred their files to the royal military academy and 1st Ranger Tribe had nothing to do with 1st Ranger Tribe anymore.
"Go to the office building over there and look for Lieutenant Colonel Manrique. He's the highest-ranking officer here. I believe he should be able to solve the problem of canceling your leave and reporting to school," one of the sentries suggested.
The so-called office building was actually a two-storey wooden hut built with logs. Half of the first floor was a basement, which meant that it was about two meters deep. That way, the roof of the second floor could be slanted to the ground without having to worry about being crushed by the snow.
Lieutenant Colonel Manrique was a very simple looking middle-aged officer. He was wrapped in a thick fur coat. Because this semi-underground office was very gloomy and cold, he did not light the fireplace to save energy.
Only when Claude and the other two arrived did he personally light up the fireplace.
Claude told them the reason they came to look for Manrique and the matter was quickly resolved. He didn't try to shirk his responsibility and went to look for the three's files personally. Then, he brought over the training roster of the military academy and stamped the three's names with a registration and cancellation stamp before signing his name on it.
Claude breathed a sigh of relief. The military academy delayed the registration date and there was half a month's difference between the three's leave and the registration date.
If Manrique didn't help Claude with the paperwork, even if Claude did report to school on the first of the second month, he would have to be punished by military law for the half a month's delay and would even have to be recorded in his file. That would greatly affect his family leave in the future.
Even if Claude objected to it, the delay was a fact.
Even if it was caused by special circumstances, the higher-ups would have to discuss how to deal with it.
The military law, on the other hand, would have to be carried out first. It couldn't be helped. Those were the rules of the military.
As for why it happened, it had nothing to do with them.
After completing the paperwork smoothly, Claude had a good impression of Manrique.
He asked Manrique curiously why he had to do everything himself. Didn't he have any adjutants, orderlies or guards to run errands for him?
Manrique replied with a bitter smile. The military academy didn't assign him any and he didn't recruit anyone either. The main reason was simple: he didn't have the capital to do so.
There were a lot of people in his family who were old and young, and all of them relied on his lieutenant colonel salary to make ends meet.
After all, his family lived in the royal capital and the cost of living there wasn't low. With his income of two crowns a month, it was barely enough for his family of nine to live a decent life.
Two crowns a month was quite a decent income. Claude's interest was piqued. He asked Myjack to bring over the two bottles of fruit wine he bought from Tusk Tavern so that he could have a good chat with Manrique.
He was now a captain of the kingdom and his monthly salary and benefits amounted to one crown. To Claude, that was already three times the salary of his late father, Morssen.
After downing two glasses of fruit wine, Manrique started talking. He was bored staying here alone anyway. He said that he hadn't had such a good time drinking since he got married.
His background was simple. He was born a commoner. After graduating from the cadet academy, he entered the ministry of the army and became a civilian officer. He worked his way up to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After all, he was in the ministry of the army and it was easier for him to rise through the ranks. Many of his classmates who graduated with him were still majors.
A civilian officer like Manrique would forever be a clerk in the ministry of the army and wouldn't have any real power. At most, he would be the assistant of a department head.
Manrique, on the other hand, didn't have much ambition. He was quite satisfied with his current situation. His biggest wish was to handle all the matters he handled diligently without making any mistakes.
Manrique got married at the age of 27 and married his neighbor's daughter, who was also his childhood sweetheart.
After he was promoted to major, both his parents grew old and he and his wife were only children. As such, taking care of four elderly people became the couple's burden.
Coupled with their three children, they had a family of nine.
As the two pairs of parents grew older, the regular medical expenses became the biggest expense for the family. Their savings were gradually spent on this.
Manrique said that he had forgotten how many years it had been since he bought a bottle of fruit wine to drink. The cost of living in the royal capital was much higher than in other parts of the country.
After talking with him for a while, Claude was shocked to find that even normal honey bread was twice as expensive as it was in other parts of the country.
The rye wine in the taverns cost three to five fennies a glass, but the taverns in the royal capital were selling it for one sunar. That was two to three times the price.
As for coming to the Caleben military academy, Manrique regretted it a little. He didn't know how he managed to catch the prince's eye and be promoted to the head of the administration.
Had it not been for the extra income of one crown a month, Manrique wouldn't have agreed to leave the ministry of the army.
However, when Lieutenant Colonel Manrique arrived here, he discovered that this military academy was still in the preparatory stage.
From what he heard from his friends in the royal capital, the future of the academy wasn't looking good.
It wasn't just the academy. It was said that even the formation of Ranger was in trouble.
Had Claude not been a captain and a knight's badge, Manrique wouldn't have been so willing to divulge such information to him.
Perhaps it was because Manrique had too much to drink and wanted to find someone to vent his worries to. So, Claude quickly found out why he didn't have a good opinion of the academy.
Prince Hansbach wanted to form Ranger because he wanted the royal family to have a reliable armed force that would only obey the orders of the royal family. He wanted to prevent any nobles from joining the army.
But at the same time, the formation of Ranger was met with resistance. Be it nobles who were close to the royal family or not, they didn't want the royal family to have an independent armed force.
The war had just ended and the kingdom lacked the funds to rebuild.
That was why lack of money was the best excuse.
The four ace corps, Reddragon and Gryphon, would be stationed at the borders of Nasri to intimidate the enemy.
Bluefeather, on the other hand, would be stationed at the border of Askilin and Canas to guard against enemy invasions.
As for the royal guard, they would return to the royal capital.
The first three of the four standing corps would be stationed in the territories of the three newly conquered duchies. That was something they couldn't do without.
That was why Ranger, as a mobile corps, became a thorn in the side of many nobles and ministers. They suggested disbanding the corps to save on the kingdom's military expenses. Even the Caleben military academy, which had been set up to train the basic officers of Ranger, was caught in the crossfire and had its funding cut by more than half.
The delay in the opening of the academy was due to the snowstorm as well as the need to raise funds.