Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 106 Winter Festival (3K words, end of this volume)

The winter celebration of the pioneer territory was officially scheduled to be held on the day of winter dusk.

It indicates that the harsh winter is over and the new spring is about to come.

The municipal government began arranging to clear the snow on the streets three days in advance. Colorful cloth flags were hung at the doors of various factories, shops, and government departments, making the area that was originally full of gray concrete buildings become colorful.

Notices were posted early in the day in the Civic Square, announcing that on the day of the celebration, in addition to the traditional reserved event - the sharpshooter shooting competition, there would also be a grand garden party. Anyone could participate for free and win various prizes and delicacies through games and competitions.

Early in the morning, Father Colen got up and started to get ready. He kept urging Yurio to wash up and eat quickly, and then accompany him to the winter festival. If he arrived too late, he would not be able to get a good front-row seat to watch the shooting competition.

"Dad, your leg problems haven't been completely cured yet, so don't go out to crowded places."

The news that Yurio would be joining the Territory Defense Force after Winter Dusk quickly spread throughout the army. Several high-ranking officers of the Defense Force had already visited him in advance and had secretly expressed their goodwill towards him.

It was also through this relationship that he asked someone to get some magic potions from the medical center to find a way to treat Colen's father's increasingly serious foot sores.

Fortunately, the medicine prepared by Lord Egno was very effective. In just two days, several festering sores on Father Colen's feet healed and formed scabs.

Seeing that Father Colen still limped a little and was determined to attend the winter festival, Yurio could only smile bitterly and accompany him out, joining the bustling crowd and walking towards the Civic Square.

……

In the wide square in front of the lord's castle, the gallows and other inappropriate temporary facilities had been removed in advance, leaving only wooden stands to facilitate Harvey and other high-ranking officials of the territory to participate in the event.

Two rows of defense soldiers responsible for the lord's security were standing in advance around the stands. They were wearing new, thick black uniforms, carrying shiny silver magic spears on their backs, and stood in formation like javelins with their backs straight, tightly surrounding the stands where Lord Harvey was.

Several open temporary sheds were set up on the open space of the square. Outside the busiest shed, it was already filled with people who came to participate in the celebration. It was the place where prizes and delicacies for the garden party were distributed.

"Don't push, don't push! Only underage children are eligible to receive a fried chicken leg. Others have to participate in the garden party and get rewards before they can exchange them for food!" The staff responsible for distributing food was sweating profusely in the middle of winter. They cooperated with the soldiers to maintain order and tried their best to repeatedly reiterate the rules of the celebration to the surrounding residents.

The staff member next door, who was distributing prizes, was also sweating profusely, waving his hands at the top of his lungs. "Participate in the garden activities, try to throw rings, toss stones, guess riddles, and spell words... Get the prize coupons, and then come back to me to redeem the prizes..."

As he spoke, he held up the various prizes in his hands and displayed them. "Look! These are reindeer leather gloves, truly high-end goods. Twenty coupons can be exchanged for them for free. It doesn't cost a penny. Just participate in the game..."

"And this, a double-layered rabbit fur winter hat. Wear it when you go out at night and you won't have to worry about your ears freezing off. It only costs 18 lottery tickets..."

"Mead, freshly brewed on the farm this autumn, has a mellow, long-lasting taste. A glass is a treat after a hard day's work, and paired with smoked venison, it's simply divine! You can redeem a bottle for just ten coupons!"

Every time the staff introduced a prize, the crowd cheered, and more people immediately turned and walked towards the tent where the garden games were taking place, ready to line up to participate in the games and win these tempting prizes.

A huge bonfire pit made of stones was built in the center of the square. Several strong soldiers carried a dozen cattle and sheep marinated with spices, skewered them whole and roasted them over the fire.

The chefs in the food processing factory were holding various seasonings, their faces shiny with oil as they were roasted over the blazing charcoal fire. They kept applying spices to the cattle and sheep, and the aroma of barbecue could be smelled from a long distance away.

……

Harvey was sitting in the stands of the square wearing a thick bearskin coat. A heated fire barrel was placed at the bottom of the fur-backed chair under his butt to ensure that the frail lord would not catch a cold in the winter weather.

He looked at the crowded crowd in the square with a smile, and they enthusiastically surrounded the game sheds of the garden party. Amidst loud noises and laughter, they played various interesting games invented by him.

It seems that participating in the game in exchange for free food and prizes is still very attractive. On the day of the celebration, except for the defense forces responsible for security and the staff on duty at the medical hospital, everyone else had a full day off. The celebration's garden party attracted at least two-thirds of the residents in the territory to participate, and the square was packed with people.

The reason why a large amount of stored food and goods were consumed to hold this celebration was actually a question that Harvey had been thinking about and planning for a long time - how to enhance people's sense of identity and loyalty to their place of residence.

These refugees in the wilderness, who were originally displaced and living at every turn, will not understand what identity and loyalty are in a short period of time. A year ago, they didn't even recognize a single word on the bulletin board. They only cared about whether they could eat enough every day and whether they would freeze to death at night. The more ignorant and backward they are, the more short-sighted they are. This is the inevitable law of social development.

But now it is completely different. These people who have stable jobs, residences, and savings have initially developed a certain sense of home and understand that their interests are closely tied to the interests of the territory lords, and that they prosper and suffer together.

Harvey also gradually reinforced this sense of home through timely and full salary payments, the continuous improvement of the territory, and widespread literacy education. If this practice were to continue steadily for three to five years, it would become a consensus and tradition among all people. The people living in the territory would eventually realize that under Lord Harvey's leadership, their lives were a hundred times happier than those of the lowly commoners elsewhere. "Without comparison, there is no harm..."

……

The garden party was in full swing until noon, and the enthusiasm of the residents who participated in various interesting games and won delicious food and prizes remained unabated.

Everyone sat around the campfire in the square in groups of three or four, holding the dry food they brought with them, or the delicious food they exchanged for rewards, chatting and laughing loudly as they ate.

The Northern Army, to which Dave and Vaughn belonged, was not responsible for the security of the Winter Festival. Moreover, they had just returned from rotation at the Valley Outpost, and according to military regulations, they could enjoy a day of free leave.

"Hmph! Those guys from the Municipal Affairs Department recognized my identity and won't let me participate in the stone-throwing game, saying it's unfair to others..." Duff and Vaughn were not wearing officer uniforms today, but they were still spotted by the sharp-eyed person in charge of the garden party, who directly declined them.

Vaughn took two wheat pancakes filled with fat and meat, and ate until his mouth was full of oil. "It's a pity that we can only eat such delicious food during the Winter Festival. If the army could eat this stuff every day, I wouldn't even bother to come even if they carried me to participate in the event."

He pointed with his greasy finger at the people gathered around the stone-throwing ring booth, watching them clumsily throw one lopsided ring after another. He couldn't help but sneer, "We're soldiers from the Sharpshooter Corps. We're going to play with these clueless amateurs. We're not going to give them a chance to survive. We're going to take all the prizes..."

Wayne squeezed in from behind and whispered, "Hurry back to camp and change into your uniforms. The shooting competition this afternoon is the important thing. What? You want to lose to those bloodless wimps from the defense force?"

After Vaughn was promoted to battalion commander of the Northern Army, Duff and Wayne were also promoted to captains, each leading a team of 100 soldiers.

The clashes between veterans and new recruits still existed, but now they had transformed into a subtle rivalry and confrontation between the Northern Army, responsible for overseas operations, and the Defense Army, responsible for guarding the territory.

Vaughan won the first prize in the first shooting competition and was awarded an exquisite medal by the lord himself. He always wore it on his left chest and showed it off repeatedly, which really made several new battalion commanders of the defense army jealous.

We all come from the same background. You, Vaughn, just joined the army earlier. Why should you be superior to others?

The shooting competition at the celebration was a chance for the emerging recruits and defense forces to give these veterans of the Northern Army a chance to strike back and show their strength.

They are all elite shooters fed by magic bullets one by one. Who can be worse than who?
……

As a result, when it came to the shooting competition in the afternoon, several people were immediately hit by the rules announced by the lord himself.

"Whether in the Northern Army or the Defense Force, officers of the rank of captain or above are not allowed to participate in this shooting competition. This is to give new soldiers a chance to demonstrate their abilities."

"Damn it, if we don't let the veterans play, those new rookies down there may not be able to compete with the veterans of the defense army!" Duff frowned and complained in a low voice. This group of veterans naturally obeyed the lord's orders as if they were oracles, but being able to perform in front of Harvey in person and be rewarded was a goal they valued more.

"What should we do? Among these team leaders, I don't seem to find anyone whose shooting skills can compare with ours..." Wayne also frowned and thought.

Vaughn glanced around at the team leaders surrounding him and the others, and felt that everyone was surprisingly bad.

These team leaders also hunched their shoulders and lowered their heads nervously like chickens, not daring to step forward and make promises of victory under the ferocious gazes of the top bosses above them.

Tommy, the "smart guy" who was also the captain, squeezed in with a smile and whispered, "I've heard who the defense forces will send to participate in the competition. Do you want me to find someone to lead those outstanding guys to the public toilet, and then..." He raised his hand and gestured as if to push someone into the excrement bucket.

"The Northern Army wouldn't engage in such shameless, underhanded dealings!" Vaughn, realizing Tommy was up to something shady again, immediately rebuked him. "If we lose, the worst that can happen is we'll just keep quiet for a few days. When we get a new mission, we'll be able to crush them again."

Tommy was not angry after being criticized. He still smiled and pulled over a shorter soldier who was younger than him.

"His name is Zhugao, a soldier in my team. He's a better shooter than me. He used to hunt with his unique skill of blow-darts, and he never went hungry in the wilderness..."

Wayne's eyes lit up and he grabbed the soldier, who looked like he had just reached adulthood, and scared him so much that he almost tucked his head into the wide collar of his military uniform.

"Damn, I've heard of you, Bamboo Pole, right? You're the real star of the show!" He pulled the stunned Duff over and pointed at his shiny new officer's leather boots. "See? Captain Duff's boots are custom-made for non-commissioned officers. He has an identical pair at home. If you perform well, he'll give you a private reward!"

Dave nodded, then scratched the back of his head before slowly reacting. "Damn it, why did you use my things as a reward? Don't you have any of your own? You bastard!"

(End of this chapter)