"What is your noble lord's name?"
"Snow Targaryen."
"Weird name, Snow?"
"Your Majesty's son, a small mountainous area like ours may become a large stone city."
One day when Snow checked in, he and Oran slept next door. There were many mountain houses here, but they were all dilapidated.
Several villagers whispered, after all, it was rare for so many armed soldiers to appear in the mountains.
In the early morning, when Snow opened the door, there was already a housekeeper waiting with all his front teeth missing.
"grown ups."
"you?"
"Answer all your questions."
"What does the lord want to do?"
"Knowing the number of people, acres of land, various sources of economic income and territorial laws, as well as various worship times, instructions from the upper lords."
"It sounds complicated, but I will study hard. What's your name?"
"You can pick one for me. From now on, I will be your loyal servant." The butler knelt down and kissed the toe of Snow's shoe.
"Arti, in my impression, this is owned by an uncle who looks like you."
"Thank you for the name."
Walking outside the house, the housekeeper Ati introduced the snow in the valley.
"There are one hundred and twelve people here, evenly divided between men and women. There are fifty-five adult workers. I mean those over thirteen years old."
"Every person has one acre of land, but the harvest is not good. The villagers borrow melted snow water from the valley to dig some ditches for irrigation."
There was one acre per person, and the lords occupied 70% of it.
"Our nearest territory is owned by the Countess (Mier), and we need to pay tolls, because our fruits, vegetables, wood, etc. are all sent to the market there for trade."
Snow listened and stepped on the lord's stone path in the mountain. After walking through it, he became more and more fascinated to see it. This was not a Viking-style lord's longhouse. Animals and wells were separated as much as possible to avoid the spread of miscellaneous diseases.
There are also several flower gardens.
The residents got up early to work, and the small bells in the mountains rang.
The lights of several houses were slowly turned on.
"Is this mine?" Snow's heart beat rapidly.
"Sir, do you have any orders today?"
"Your previous lord has just arrived, what should you do first?"
"Gather the people together, declare the laws, warn the bandits, and..."
Snow was stunned when he heard that the peasant girl was asked to warm the bed.
"A smelly, freckled woman, it's a great honor to serve the lord." the butler added.
"How many soldiers do we have?"
"Ten of them, divided into two classes, upper and lower, and five people from each class will take turns to patrol."
"Can you eat enough?"
"I won't die of hunger."
"Do you have free time seven days a week?"
"No, they will do various chores in their free time, but everything here belongs to the lord. They will cut down, hunt, fish, and collect honey. They will all come to you."
"I hate tediousness and love simplicity. I have set up a hundred rules. If you don't follow them in your heart, it's not as simple as three simple rules that you can abide by. I like this place and the people here. I like it at first sight. I ring the bell at noon and put it in my heart. Call everyone in charge, and we’ll have a meeting to discuss important matters.”
Snow moved the scene of her father's meeting to this scene.
At noon, as the new lord, he met with a middle-aged priest, a mountain businessman (usually helping farmers go shopping), a sergeant major (the leader of ten soldiers), and the steward Ati.
These four people are Snow's four chief stewards.
Oran was also watching from the small room.
As a king, his observation made the four people tremble all over, and one even fainted and had to be awakened by pouring cold water on him.
In front of Olan was a pile of black vegetables, his food, and a bowl of rye cakes.
Snow straightened up. He had seen how his adoptive mother and Uncle Guthrum gave orders to the newly conquered land.
But this is the kingdom of God, threatening these poor, timid-looking people with swords
not good.
"Listen, I know that you are diligent and hard-working. I took a tour this morning. All kinds of wild vegetables are grown on all the land you can plant. I will improve your dry ferry, introduce agricultural tools, make the land fertile, and make you happy. A smile on his face."
These empty words are beautiful, but they cost money.
Snow turned and looked at his father: "I hope to be exempted from the annual tribute for five years. I can guarantee that in the sixth year after five years, I will pay ten years of taxes at once."
Several subordinates understood these words and stretched their ears to wait for a reply.
If you can pay nothing for five years, that would be great. As for the future? Who cares?
Olan pushed the cake over and said, "Eat."
Snow did as she was told. The wild vegetables were very bitter and the cake was very salty, but they still filled her belly.
Food is precious, he understands.
"Xiao Nuo, do you know how many people in the kingdom are unable to eat such food and are hungry right now because of the Viking invasion? How many lords are worried about Sui Gong. If all the lords make such a request, the kingdom will be in crisis in an instant."
"Today, I have checked that there is still some land that can be opened up here. Cold-resistant crops can be introduced. About twenty acres of more land can be cultivated, and a few wild vegetable gardens can be established. The poultry in the valley can be gathered and raised, and then the south can be cultivated. The wood from the forest is taken and turned into handicrafts, transported to the south, and the iron materials and..."
"If a disaster occurs and all your birds die at once, if the seeds you bring cannot be grown because of too cold or the land is barren, if no one cares about the improved wooden crafts, if the iron materials are robbed midway, you have What countermeasures?"
"If a person is in a difficult situation, he must have the courage to change and make breakthroughs, otherwise there is no chance of success. My adoptive mother told me this through actions.
Our dragon boats have been to many places. Those small tribes who are content in their own country have no resources and just need to fill their stomachs. If any goods come into their hands, they will respect the items and even worship them.
But as long as you dare to pick up the sword and ride the wind and waves, the rewards can be dozens of times greater.
There are only about a hundred people here. After paying the annual tribute every year, what will be left? If there is any surplus, it depends entirely on the lord's relief and the people who are hungry every three days can balance the income and expenditure.
You give me a village, and I will be the lord of this place, their father, and the father will take care of his children. I hope that one day I can build this semi-abandoned mountain fort, and everyone's belly can be stuffed with wild vegetables and rye. "
Oran thought the smile on Snow's face was silly, but very clear.
He asked a lot of questions and thought about a lot of things in one day. Olan was very satisfied with his performance.
"No day can be delayed, and no one can be denied. There are difficulties in every position. You can't place your hopes on others.
This valley is poor and peaceful. If you want to change, you have to rely on yourself. You have a treasure, the White Eagle bloodline. You can use it to negotiate terms with the surrounding lords. This is my advice to you. "
No money, no people, nothing, Olan just left.
Looking at his father's figure fading away, Snow was not discouraged. People have to rely on themselves to survive.
The Vikings' swords once touched this place. It was one night when they crossed the mountains and attacked larger towns in the distance.
But the sword also left its mark in the Lord's House.
Snow touched the sword marks on the door again and again. He suddenly asked the sergeant major: "It is better to take by force than by hard work. How dare you rob others?"
For the old and weak valley of ten soldiers, this statement was tantamount to suicide, and the sergeant major immediately objected.
"Don't be anxious. You should have wild ideas and be cautious when doing things. I understand this."
After a while, he asked again: "Can I borrow money? Find the church or other lords?"
This question stopped the others, and Snow asked again: "Mortgage the land and pledge all the resources in this valley. We should do business. I won't let you go hungry. Go and do the calculations. A hundred days of rations in this valley will cost How much preparation do we need? Which route do merchants take through this area? Where can we go farthest for trade? Who is willing to lend us money?"
There must be a way, his father's words of loyalty swirled around, and Snow suddenly had an idea.
"Sold me?"
"Sir, what do you mean?"
"Timber can be sold, people can be sold, and blood can also be sold. Is there a widow around here? My dear daughter, I will marry her and use the gift money as our first pot of gold!"
This thought made the subordinates collectively petrified.
At that time, the surrounding Robb was given a village by Oran. The method he used was to endure starvation. After dozens of people starved to death, he scraped together a sum of money to trade, and privately accepted the help of his mother Mier.
Carry out the business of buying and selling slaves and rebuild the village.
I thought that Snow, being half a Viking, would propose something like this, but I didn’t expect it to be a marriage by sale!
Marriage is sacred but not sacred. Snow read his father's biography again and again.
His adoptive mother told him that marrying the Princess of Malm was an investment. At that time, he understood that when he was young,
Marriage can be a stepping stone, perhaps allowing you to fly higher than an eagle.
A lord could marry many women he didn't love without any responsibility.
Every male member of the White Eagle family perfectly inherited Oran's ideas on marriage, with some exceptions.
"Father said that I have bloodline that can be used. Just take it as his consent and go and find out. It doesn't matter how tall or short you are, how old you are, whether you are sick or healthy. I want money. I want a sum of money to help Shanbao. Let's see who wants it. My small goal before this year is over is that no one will be hungry for one day in seven days!"
A funny idea, but a little feasible.
Snow also asked someone to prepare ink and wrote a letter to her adoptive mother asking for help.
Make good use of all human resources to achieve your goals.
(Remember to bookmark it for next time reading!)
