Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Fifty years ago, at a wedding in the territory of the Earl of Menai, in front of the mountains, a few serfs from the Greenheart Monastery, fueled by drink, went wild and hung a "peasant shoe" at the top of a tall pole in front of the Monastery.

As the name suggests, a peasant shoe is the type of shoe worn by peasants.

Unlike the high boots that represent knights and lords, peasant shoes have no bootlegs but are tied to the lower leg with straps.

Hanging the shoe was originally just a crude joke, but the abbot of the Monastery, the elderly Earl of Menai, and the local municipal officials took the matter very seriously.

They came with soldiers and gathered the serfs, proclaiming that hanging the peasant shoe was a grievous insult.

After the lords' admonition, the serfs took down the shoe from the pole.

Why would such dignitaries as the abbot and the Earl be frightened by a pair of shoes?

Because they were acutely aware that these serfs were not really serfs; they were freeholder peasants and tenant farmers who had lived on these lands from time immemorial.

For generations, the abbots of the Greenheart Monastery had resorted to strong-arm tactics, threats, bribes, and even the use of forged documents and false oaths to turn these free men into serfs of the Monastery.

The peasants had never ceased to resist, through litigation, petitioning, and violence… all of which were suppressed by the Earl of Menai in league with the Greenheart Monastery.

The peasants lived in hardship and harbored anger, something the lords knew well, which is why they were afraid of a single shoe.

The shoe in front of the Monastery was taken down, but the shoe in people's hearts could not be removed.

The flag bearing the image of a peasant shoe subsequently became the symbol of every secret peasant society and their resistance to tyranny; these secret societies also came to call themselves the "Shoe Society."

As the burdens imposed by the nobility and the church grew heavier, not only peasants but also city dwellers began to join the Shoe Society enthusiastically.

Shoe Societies in various places tried to organize uprisings multiple times, which all failed due to leaks.

Ten years later—that is, forty years ago—in the territory of the Earl of Menai, another Shoe Society was born in a farmhouse.

This time, the leader of the Shoe Society learned from past lessons and adopted unprecedented security measures.

Secret signs, code words, oaths... and merciless and swift execution for traitors.

By virtue of tight security and the slogan "To overthrow all ecclesiastical and secular nobility and eliminate serfdom," the Menai Shoe Society quickly grew and expanded.

In this period, the land in front of the mountains was a complete powder keg, with farmers full of rage and lacking only a leader.

In the territory of the Earl of Menai alone, more than seven thousand farmers took the oath to join, and their network of contacts even extended to every region of the land in front of the mountains.

The leader of the Menai Shoe Society devised a whole set of plans for the uprising:

First, to seize the nearby city of Bruzza, as more than half of its residents either swore allegiance to the Society or sympathized with it.

By capturing Bruzza's church treasury, city treasury, and armory and arming themselves, the assembled troops would march without hesitation toward the territory of the Marquis of Denba.

Afterward, the advance should be relentless, not stopping anywhere for more than twenty-four hours.

Constant attacks, ever-expanding scales, until the entire region in front of the mountains was brought into the alliance of the Shoe Society, "to realize the Lord's justice on earth."

…

Bard sighed and then asked Winters, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Winters and Andre looked at each other.

"We've finally reunited, why be so serious?" Andre laughed loudly, pulling out something to show to Winters, "Look at this!"

Andre was overjoyed, he hadn't been as happy as he was today since returning from the wilderness.

Winters saw clearly, a Sword Cross Medal in Andre's palm, identical to the one he had received.

"One for each of us." Andre sneered coldly, then with some pride, "They think to win hearts with this thing."

"The matter I'm talking about is very important," Bard stubbornly interrupted Andre.

Senior Mason, sitting nearby, interjected, "What Bard means is, your actions now don't look at all like someone preparing for a rebellion."

"Yes, even the farmers' Shoe Society knows that rebellion is all about momentum," Bard's gaze turned steely, "You have to ride the wave forward, either getting smashed to pieces by the huge wave or unleashing a tsunami that destroys the world. But what are you doing? What do you really want?"

Mason scratched his head in frustration and sighed, "Bard and I have discussed this; if you really want to start a revolt, you shouldn't be putting out fires. Revodan conscripting grain? Not only should you not stop them, but you should also be helping Revodan.

Only when the peasants are driven to a point where they can no longer live will they be your capital for rebellion. The fiercer and stronger the fire, the better. But what are you doing? Exterminating bandits, allocating land, reclaiming wasteland, attacking grain convoys... this isn't adding fuel to the fire, but dousing it with water. Do you understand?"

Winters didn't answer; he wanted to keep listening to what Bard and Senior Mason had to say.

The four were sitting by the riverbank, falling into silence.

Bard, who was usually silent and reserved, had countless things to say today.

"To the peasants of Newly Reclaimed Land, you are not the Shoe Society; you are not the towering wave that changes the world. Instead, your actions serve to patch up the old power structure."

Bard grew increasingly agitated, speaking faster and faster, "The peasants used to pay taxes to the army and the council, now they pay them to your Montaigne lordship, what's the difference? You're not a peasant revolution! You're nobility rebelling! This is [the lord of Wolf Town rebelling against his sovereign]!"