Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine

Revodan.

As the Piaoqi Troops lined up, Colonel Skul strolled along the banks of St. George River, inspecting this familiar yet unfamiliar city for the last time.

The stone path was shrouded in pale blue smoke, with piles of pine branches and mugwort burning in the middle of the street, filling the air with a strange fragrance—said to ward off the plague.

Huge logs continuously passed through the curtain of smoke, drifting downstream.

The logs were drawn ashore by boatmen, and men wielding axes, having waited a long time, split the branches into firewood, and the thick main trunks were sent into the noisy water-powered sawmill.

Rebuilding homes required timber, and winter heating required fuel.

The Rebels' government lifted the logging restrictions, and the material and energy accumulated in the forests for hundreds of years were being released anew.