I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 175 Prisoners of War
In the early morning, when the iron-gray clouds cracked for the first time, Joachim was sharpening the wooden stick in his hand with a dagger. The dripping sound attracted his attention, and he put down the wooden product in his hand and looked outside the tent.

Raindrops hit the large iron pot outside the tent, making a sound similar to that of arrows hitting iron sheets. He tilted his head and watched the crystal arrows from heaven pierce the smoke above the military camp, splashing tiny brown flowers on the mud.

Joachim hated rain, especially the autumn rain.

It rarely rains in Bagnia in autumn, but once it does, the rain is extremely cold. When it falls on the body, it can soak the wool shirt under the chain mail. The coldness crawls along the spine like a snake, making people shiver even when standing.

Joachim was afraid of rain because rain meant death to him.

He was a soldier from Bagnia. When the king was still alive, Joachim was a soldier. After the king passed away and the republican members became the masters, he was still a soldier.

Soldiers, on the other hand, need to obey the orders of their officers.

Joachim was afraid of rain because last autumn, when the leaders of the Republic and the Restoration Army were fighting, he and his brothers obeyed the orders of their superiors and attacked the opposing Restoration Army.

It's just a war, which is a common thing for the people of Bagnia. In Bagnia, where the land is scarce, dying in battle is not a bad thing, but dying of starvation is a scary thing.

Therefore, Joachim and others had no psychological barriers to attacking the Bagnians on the opposite side. Even though he knew that his brother was on the opposite side, he did not slow down his pace forward at all.

Life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are in the hands of God. If he was beaten to death by himself or by his brother, Joachim would not have any resentment.

However, as they were moving forward, it started to rain. The rain came down suddenly and heavily, soaking everyone.

The war will not stop because of the rain, and the cold will not extinguish the raging fire in the hearts of the officers. The soldiers' fight continues.

This was a battle in the rain that lasted for three hours. Neither side won, and both sides lost.

Joachim never saw his brother again after the battle. He may or may not have died.

Joachim nearly died in the heavy rain, and half of his brothers in the same company fell.

Some people developed a fever that night, their foreheads were burning, their faces were pale, and they died within two days.

One person's wounds were soaked until they turned white, and maggots crawled out of the rotten flesh and fell off with the trembling. Soon he committed suicide.

Some people suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and could not eat or drink anything. They soon collapsed and died in a daze.

And other symptoms… Few of the dead can easily embark on the journey to the underworld.

The military commanders also knew about this, so they left the camp and placed guards outside. Apart from sending people in to deliver food and water every day, they no longer cared about Joachim and his men.

A doctor came in, but he was a veterinarian in the army. His best medical skills were bloodletting and amputation, so he had excellent knife skills.

A well-trained doctor can use a large knife to easily pry open a person's skin, allowing the blood to flow out slowly without pain, or he can chop off a person's arm with one knife, leaving the flesh and bones intact, with a smooth and flat incision.

Joachim thought the doctor was very skilled, but even he was powerless because he had no medicine and not even a few clean bandages.

After this heavy rain, Joachim, who also had a fever but luckily escaped death, hated and feared rain, especially autumn rain, which reminded him of the time when he was lying in the tent helplessly waiting to die, and he could always smell the stench mixed with water vapor.

Joachim's thoughts were pulled back by a muffled thunder. He quickly withdrew his gaze, picked up the wooden stick in his hand again, and tried to use the dagger to carve out a simple human-shaped statue.

This was the gift he promised to give to the little orphan in the refugee camp next door. For a child who lost his parents in the war, perhaps the only thing that could comfort him were these little things.

"Dang Dang Dang..."

The sound of the wooden stick hitting the bronze bell was particularly clear and harsh in the rain. He immediately stood up while sitting in front of the tent and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

Some people came out from the neatly arranged tents on his left and right, and looked towards the rain curtain under the erected canopy.

The person ringing the bell had not yet come close, but when Joachim saw this scene, his thoughts involuntarily diverged.

Joachim was a prisoner of war, but he felt as if he were not a prisoner of war.

He had seen soldiers of the Restoration Army who had fought against him, were defeated, and were captured. The commander had these people driven to an open space, and then built a wooden fence to lock them in, just like cattle and sheep.

Rich people can redeem themselves early and leave the cattle pen, while poor people will be locked up and eat a little porridge every day until they starve to death, or the superiors will find people called ransom brokers to sell them to mines or forestry farms.

If the Restoration Army captured Joachim, they would do the same.

Now Joachim is a prisoner of war, but there are many reasons why he doesn't feel like one.

He now lived in an open space surrounded by high walls, with guards at the gate to prevent Joachim and others from leaving.

Joachim thought this was normal. What was abnormal was that he and three other people lived in a tent. The tent fabric was smooth and tight. It would not leak air or water, and there was no smell of feces.

The floor of the tent was covered with a layer of wooden boards to isolate it from the muddy soil and insects underneath.

Joachim did not think it was strange for a knight to live in such an environment, but he was a little scared when someone like him lived there.

Because when they were first captured, Prince Chris sent people to the prisoner-of-war camp to capture many people, and then hanged them all or cut off their penises, which scared Joachim.

But later, when Ashim heard that those who were killed were either killing civilians for fun or raping decent women, he was no longer afraid.

Because Joachim didn't do these things.

In addition to the tents, Joachim and others can also eat three meals a day, one in the morning, one at noon, and one in the evening. Each meal is different, but each meal is rich in oil and water.

By now, Joachim not only did not lose weight, but was actually ten pounds heavier than before he was captured.

In addition to good accommodation and food, Prince Chris also generously distributed three sets of gray clothes, underwear, tops, pants, and three pairs of shoes to everyone in the prisoner-of-war camp. All of them were brand new and had never been worn by anyone else.

This was the first time Joachim wore new clothes, clothes that even his parents had never given him.

So, when Joachim learned that Prince Chris asked the prisoners to carry axes and go out to chop wood and clear wasteland, he and the other prisoners were very active. They were all afraid that the prince would drive them away because of their laziness.

The laborers who received the travel expenses and were sent home by Prince Chris regretted their decision. After learning about the situation here, they quickly ran back and hoped to work together. They did not want money, but only food and new clothes.

In this lean season, having a job with food and enough to eat is a good job, and if you can also get new clothes, it would be even better. Chris accepted these returning civilians and paid them wages, including prisoners of war.

However, Chris did not pay all the prisoners of war. He only paid wages to those who actively studied in the night school reform class and knew that their behavior was wrong.

For those who resisted learning and reform, and even deliberately damaged farm tools while working, Chris only gave them the whip.

To sum up, Joachim felt that he should be a prisoner of war, but it seemed not to be.

Just as Joachim was daydreaming, the bell ringer finally came over in the rain.

He was riding a donkey, wearing a green raincoat and a hat with its brim drooping, covering most of his face, leaving only a hint of beard on his chin. A large sack was tied to the donkey's back, which seemed to be filled with something and swayed with the rhythm of the donkey's hooves.

The bell ringer stopped in front of Joachim's tent, reached out to lift his rain hat higher, revealing a serious but slightly tired face. Joachim recognized him; he was the camp administrator, named Roderick, who worked under Prince Chris.

He was also a prisoner of war, but was promoted because of his positive attitude towards reform.

To be honest, Joachim also wanted to change his attitude, but he didn't know how. At the same time, those Chinese characters were too difficult to learn and write. Up to now, Joachim only knew twenty characters and could barely write his own name.

Roderick looked up and around in the rain, making sure that there was at least one person standing under the awning of each tent he looked at. Then he cleared his throat with satisfaction.

"Everyone, good news is coming to you. Prince Chris has a lot of things to deliver to the front line, so he needs manpower to form a transport team."

Roderick's voice echoed in the rain, appearing exceptionally clear and powerful. His eyes swept over the prisoners, as if looking for those who were willing to accept the mission.

Joachim's heart beat faster involuntarily. He knew this might be an opportunity, an opportunity to change his destiny.

"This time, unlike your previous trips to chop wood and dig dirt, Prince Chris has decided to pay everyone a salary. Twenty silver dollars are given for each trip. If you behave well and nothing is lost, you'll have the chance to join the prince's army."

Roderick continued, a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"Brothers, don't miss this opportunity. You must know how much you can buy with twenty silver dollars. The salary our masters of the Republic give us is only twenty silver coins a month. Now you can get twenty silver dollars in one trip.

If we work hard and run three times a month, we’ll have sixty silver dollars, enough to buy a cow back home.”

Twenty silver dollars! ?
Joachim swallowed hard; he had seen the Chris silver dollar before and sincerely believed that he would not trade it for the silver dollar even if he was offered five Bagna silver coins.

So, you can earn twenty silver dollars for one trip!

real or fake?

The prisoners exchanged glances with each other, some showed a hint of hesitation, while others seemed eager to try, but no one spoke for the time being.

"I know many of you think this is a scam, but why would a wealthy Prince Chris cheat poor bastards like you?"

Roderick's voice was clear but a little hoarse. It was obvious that he had said the same words many times in other places and was very familiar with them.

"Look at the awning above your heads, and then look down at your clothes and shoes. They are all new. Prince Chris is willing to give you these good things to live in and wear. Do you still think he would lie to you?"

"Are you going then?"

Joachim shouted.

"Of course I'll go. I'm the first one to sign up."

Roderick proudly took out an epaulette from his bosom and showed it to others proudly.

"I'm the captain of the transport team. I can command fifty people and twenty vehicles."

"I would like to go."

A voice spoke impatiently. Joachim turned around and saw that the speaker was a burly prisoner with a deep scar on his face, but his eyes were extremely firm.

"I would like that too."

Another voice rang out, followed by a third, a fourth... More and more prisoners raised their hands, their faces filled with desire and determination.

Roderick nodded, seemingly not surprised by the result. He got off the donkey, took out some papers from his arms, walked over, and handed the papers and pens to Joachim and several other prisoners.

"Come on, sign your names and make some preparations. We'll leave the day after tomorrow and pick up our things tomorrow."

"Get what?"

"Of course, it's something I can use on the road."

Roderick said proudly.

“Prince Chris is rich and kind, and he can’t bear to see you poor souls working for him get wet in the rain and freeze, so he prepared a lot of things for you.

For example, raincoats, water bottles, sleeping bags, and tents... In addition, there are weapons and armor... Hey, hey, I've checked out the equipment, it's all good stuff. You must remember to be grateful to the prince and don't desert after taking the things. "

Joachim nodded in agreement and quickly wrote his name on the paper, then handed it to Roderick, who then saw what the former was holding.

"what is this?"

"I carved the statue."

"What statue?"

"A statue of Prince Chris."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be such an activist... Hurry up and carve it and give it to me. I'll nominate you to be a team leader tomorrow."

"what!?"

(End of this chapter)