Chapter 811 Arrangement of the Wounded Soldiers
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When Lottie followed Ollie out of the gate of Wellsburg, groups of citizens gathered around the disabled soldiers and walked happily along the commercial road outside the castle.
Whether they were peasant women working in the wheat fields or young women making fires and cooking at home, they all ran out of their homes after hearing the news and went to meet the brave soldiers who paid their blood for this territory.
Since the legions moved south, a group of soldiers would return home injured almost every once in a while. At this time, those territorial residents who are looking forward to the return of their families are always anxious and worried, fearing that their men or sons will be on the list of soldiers returning to the territory this time.
Because according to the regulations of the legion, only those legionnaires who have lost the ability to fight can return to the territory. If he is only slightly injured, he will continue to fight in the south after recuperating for a period of time.
This means that most of the soldiers who returned to the valley were severely disabled soldiers who were missing arms and legs.
Flowers, applause, food, wine, and the people along the way generously spent all they had at home to reward these young soldiers with glory on their bodies.
When the "parade" passed the gate of Wellsburg, everyone's pace gradually slowed down.
Here, the Countess of Wales, the Earl's son George Wells, and his mother Lady Galvin stood solemnly outside the gate, casting grateful glances at the soldiers who had returned to their territory due to injuries after months of fighting.
At this time, the government officials stationed in the fort also came out one after another, and stood in a row under the leadership of the old housekeeper Cooper, welcoming the surviving soldiers home in this solemn way.
He whispered a reminder to Cooper, who was standing behind Lottie, indicating that he would say something to everyone present.
Lottie took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the soldiers carrying simple crutches and sitting on the carriage.
At this moment, time seems to have frozen. Everyone stared at the mistress of the valley in silence, looking at her expectantly.
"Soldiers!" Lottie's tone was like that of a battle-hardened commander. "As a member of the Province of Wales, I am very happy to see you return alive to the land you love. The blood you have paid for this territory will always be remembered by everyone here. But please remember, don't be inferior or cowardly because of your injuries. On the contrary, this is the glory that will accompany you throughout your life. I hope that one day in the future you can proudly tell your children and grandchildren that these scars are the glory left by you fighting against the enemy for the prosperity and stability of the territory many years ago! May God bless you, and may God bless the Province of Wales——"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause~
At noon, when Lottie and some officials from the government went to the homes of these soldiers to express condolences and on their way back to Wellsburg, the maid Ollie was already waiting for her outside the gate.
Beside him, a soldier squad leader was waiting there with a wooden box in his hand.
"Madam!" Ollie ran towards Lottie excitedly.
"What makes you so happy?" Lottie said and walked quickly towards the gate of the mansion.
Because these disabled soldiers have returned to their territories, the government still needs to pay disability allowances to these people in accordance with regulations, and launch a series of follow-up assistance measures. As the mistress of the territory, Lottie is in charge of the financial power of the Province of Wales, and there is an urgent need to bring together government officials at all levels for discussions to implement the original plan to appease disabled soldiers as soon as possible.
Oli followed closely behind Lottie and said excitedly: "My master sent someone to bring you some things from the south~"
Suddenly, Lottie's pace slowed down and stopped in front of the soldier squad leader standing outside the gate.
Time, Lottie couldn't believe her ears. With a puzzled face, he asked: "What did the master bring me?"
"Yes, madam, he is right here. If you don't believe me, ask him." Ollie joked, pointing to the soldier on the side.
The captain of the combat team immediately spoke and said: "Madam, my lord ordered me to bring this back to you. There is also a letter he wrote to you. In addition, my lord asked me to tell you that the legion will end its southern expedition in the middle of next month at the latest, and he will lead his people back to the valley soon."
After hearing this, Lottie was stunned. After a while, she felt that her whole body suddenly became more energetic, and said to the captain of the combat team: "Send these things in~"
"I am willing to serve my wife!"
When the soldier squad leader left, Lottie asked Ollie to give him a reward of ten pfennigs to thank him for his hard work on the road.
After the soldiers left, only Lottie and Ollie were left in the huge lord hall.
The Countess, who was dignified and reserved just a moment ago, suddenly turned around and opened the wooden box eagerly in front of her maid like a little girl receiving a New Year's gift
When the box was opened, a snow-white silk dress suddenly came into view.
"Oh my god! Madam, this~"
At this time, the countess leaned forward gracefully, with an almost pious gentleness on her fingertips, and from the depths of the box lined with dark blue velvet, she lifted up a ball of brilliance that seemed to be woven by moonlight and clouds. It was an unparalleled white silk dress.
In an instant, even the dim light coming in from the narrow high window seemed to be captured and tamed by it, turning into colorful ripples that flowed silently on the skirt. The silk texture is extremely luxurious, as thin as a cicada's wings, yet flowing with a gentle and restrained luster like mother-of-pearl. Every inch tells of priceless preciousness.
The design of the dress is the pinnacle of complexity and elegance in this era. The tight-fitting bodice is intricately and precisely embroidered with patterns of winding vines and blooming roses using gossamer-thin silver thread and tiny freshwater pearls as bright as stars. Every petal and every leaf vein is vividly displayed, with a delicate relief on the pure white background, shining with a low-key and dazzling shimmer.
Oli's eyes widened as she stood aside, unable to take her eyes away from this gorgeous and elegant dress. In her memory, this dress must be the most beautiful dress she has ever seen since she was born.
At this moment, Lottie's eyes sparkled with a glimmer that had not been revealed for a long time. Although she grew up in an extremely wealthy family, she had never had such an expensive gift.
What’s more, this is a gift carefully selected for her by her beloved one during his busy schedule.
Lottie breathed a long sigh of relief, and the physical and mental exhaustion of the past few days and her dissatisfaction with her husband suddenly disappeared.
After folding the dress and gently handing it to Ollie, Lottie dug out a pair of exquisite deerskin boots, several pieces of valuable jewelry and the letter from home at the bottom from the wooden box.
"Madam, who was still complaining last night that the master forgot about you~"
"You damn girl, you just love talking nonsense!" Lottie hurriedly put the letter from home in her hand back into the wooden box, then carefully took the silk dress and put it in together.
"Okay, stop making trouble, move things to my bedroom, the old housekeeper and the others will be here soon——"
"Okay, madam."
After lunch, Cooper brought several government officials to the Lord's Hall, preparing to discuss the placement of the wounded soldiers returning to the valley and other matters with Countess Lottie.
"—Madam, according to our statistics, there are thirty-seven wounded soldiers in this batch. According to the standard previously stipulated by the master, we should pay each soldier a disability settlement payment of one hundred pfennigs, totaling 3,700 pfennigs. In addition, considering their lack of labor ability, the government needs to arrange another job for them that is suitable for their current physical condition and can support their families. "
"Old housekeeper," Lottie said, "the resettlement fee can be paid to them according to the normal process. This trivial matter does not need to be reported to me. In addition, I took several government officials to visit these soldiers in the morning and found that most of them had serious injuries to their arms, legs and feet. It's quite flexible. I remember that some of the newly built granaries have not been staffed yet. I think they can be arranged to take care of these places, so as to free up more people to work on the end of spring plowing." Everyone present nodded in approval of Lottie's decision.
This way, we can not only provide a living guarantee for these wounded soldiers, but also allocate more manpower to the most important spring plowing.
Then, Cooper continued: "By the way, madam, the master has sent someone back to tell us to organize a group of young men from the territory to the occupied areas in the south as soon as possible to resume local farming. But at present, spring plowing is the time when there is a shortage of people. We are considering continuing to recruit foreign refugees and sending these people to the south to solve the current shortage of people."
In this case, just follow the arrangements of the Government Affairs Office. But one thing must be remembered, the selection must be strictly based on the previous standards, and the recruitment conditions must not be relaxed because of insufficient manpower. "Madam, please rest assured, I will personally supervise this matter and strictly select." Cooper is still hands-on in many things.
Lottie looked at Cooper distressedly and persuaded: "Old housekeeper, your health is not as good as before. Just leave this matter to the young clerk below." She smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry, I can still move my old bones~"
After hearing this, Lottie shook her head helplessly.
After the government meeting, Lottie deliberately left Cooper behind and asked Ollie to fetch a light and soft cashmere jacket and hand it to him.
"Madam, what are you doing~" Cooper hurriedly excused himself.
Lottie hurriedly stopped, "Old housekeeper, I specially asked the caravan to bring this back to you from the north. It gets cold in the morning and evening in the valley, and you often run outside, so you must pay more attention to your health."
Cooper took the cashmere jacket and gently touched the white and soft wool on it, tears streaming down his face...