Due to the dragging down of the refugees, Art's team did not arrive at the northern edge of the dense forest until the afternoon of the fourth day. Ron and Jason, who had rushed back to report the news, were leading Odo, Cooper, Bass, Kazak, Scott and Lawrence to wait quietly in the open space at the edge of the dense forest.
"Sir, is this your fief?" Angus was full of expectations for the valley he was about to come to. During the more than half a year of following Art on the expedition, he heard Ron Odo and others talk about the words Valley Castle and Valley Land more than once. From everyone's conversations, he could see the important position of this valley in everyone's hearts. This land would also be the place where he would live in the future, so Angus also had a little expectation in his heart.
Like the recruited refugees, when Angus saw a dense forest between two mountains at the end of the wasteland, his feeling of disappointment was palpable. He did not expect that the valley Art mentioned was this dense forest in the mountains.
"Can crops grow in this dense forest? Do we need to recruit refugees to farm in this place?"
This is the first question in the mind of everyone who arrives here for the first time.
"Angus, this is just the entrance. It takes half a day to walk into the actual valley. However, the carriageway leading to the valley wooden castle has been basically built, so the time to reach the valley wooden castle has been shortened by more than half." Cooper saw the doubts in Angus's heart and quickly explained to Angus who followed the team into the dense forest.
Sure enough, after walking less than twenty steps into the dense forest, a ten-foot-wide carriageway that ended at the edge of the forest appeared in front of everyone. There were a lot of neatly stacked timber piled on both sides of the carriageway.
"Sir, during the half year you went on the expedition, Scott and the others organized manpower to repair the carriage road, filled in some loose roads with stones, and reinforced wooden bridges in several sections across streams. Those carriages that were not taken away by the caravan were also dismantled, loaded, and brought back to the wooden castle for storage. The remaining twenty steps can be completed in two or three days." Cooper, the old butler accompanying the team, introduced the construction status of the carriageway to Art.
Att jumped off the horse and stood on the carriage path and kicked the road with his spurs. The hard road could allow the carriage to pass safely. He turned around with satisfaction and said to Scott who was following Cooper: "Well, this road is very well built. Scott, you all have worked hard. I will give you credit in two days. Now that the army is back, you will lead people to open up the remaining sections of the road starting tomorrow. Next time the caravan comes back, it can directly pass through this road. Driving the carriage back to the wooden castle, Scott was quite proud. Although the roadbed construction of this carriage road was mainly completed under the command of Cooper and Lawrence, the subsequent repair and reinforcement was carried out by Si. It was completed under the personal command of Court, but this honest farmer still maintained his usual modesty and said: "Sir, this carriage road was completed under the command of the old butler and Lawrence. I just made some minor repairs."
"I will not forget the contribution of Cooper and Lawrence, but you also put in a lot of effort, and I will not forget what should be remembered."
At looked around the road a few more times, and told Cooper: "Cooper, after a while, you will send someone to open a piece of space suitable for a camp at the edge of the dense forest near the road intersection." We will build a garrison camp in the future. Most of our troops will be stationed here. Firstly, we can use this camp to guard the north entrance of the valley. Secondly, we can also control the entire northern wilderness. We will build a camp the size of an outpost first, and then gradually expand it. There are enough tools in the wooden fort, and the materials for building the camp will be the wood cut from the road."
"Okay, sir, I will send people here tomorrow to build the road. After the road is opened, they will stay and build the camp." Cooper wrote down Art's arrangement.
………
Walking on the convenient carriageway, it took only an hour for everyone to complete the distance that used to take a morning, and soon the team approached the wooden castle in the valley.
Angus followed the team around a low hill, and a flat open land appeared in front of his surprised eyes. There were seven or eight thatched wooden houses scattered in an orderly manner. A large circle of pointed birch fence as high as a person on the outside densely surrounded the settlement. In the fence, there were houses, stables, barns and workshops. A single courtyard with three wooden houses and a small stable was enclosed in the fence. The trees within a radius of more than fifty steps around the outer fence were all cut down. The gentle slope in front of the fence gate and the open space around the fence were pruned land. Go down the gentle slope along the wooden fort gate and cross the wooden bridge over the stream in front of the gate. Less than half a mile to the south, there is a flat training ground. Tuba is leading dozens of soldiers to fight and train in the field. A little further south, there is a wheat field covered with thin snow.
"Sergeant Major, we call this settlement a wooden castle. The small courtyard in the wooden castle is my house. I have been living in that wooden house over the years. The wooden castles were built one after another after old Cooper came. The open space opposite the wooden castle is our training ground. The wheat field to the south was cultivated by Cooper himself. Follow the path next to the wheat field and continue to walk south along the creek for a short half. "Oh, after passing through a canyon, there is a large area of flat and fertile land. Before the army set off, we had cultivated more than a hundred acres of the most fertile farmland along the river in the valley. In the past six months, they have cultivated a lot of new farmland. I will go to the valley to inspect, and you can come with me to take a look." Art introduced this valley wooden castle to the surprised Angus beside him.
Angus stared at the wooden castle where the smoke was rising and the dozen or so castle residents waiting at the gate of the wooden castle. He turned his head and asked Art, "Sir, is this the hunter's cabin you are talking about?"
Matt nodded.
"No wonder you tried every means to turn this place into your knight territory. It turns out that there is such a paradise hidden in the wild valley and dense forest." Angus couldn't help but praise.
"Okay, let's go, this will be your home from now on, go and have a look." With that, Art led the team towards the wooden castle...
The moment Art rode his horse and led the army into the wooden castle, the residents waiting at the gate of the castle bowed and saluted, welcoming Lord Art Wood Wells, the first lord of this abandoned valley in hundreds of years.
Both the soldiers and the residents of the valley fort, their hearts are extremely excited at this moment. Except for Art himself, everyone in the valley is a person who has entered this valley one after another in the past two years. Some of them are refugees who have lost their homes due to the war in Provence, and some are... Some of the bankrupt farmers whose land was drained by their lords were untouchable labor slaves who struggled to survive by brute force in the corners of the city and in the mines. Some were bandits who were forced to live in the mountains and forests and made a living by robbery. Of course, there were also prisoners of war kidnapped from the battlefield by Art's army and brought to the valley.
No matter what, when Ater was officially knighted and granted this knightly fief, as the first people and soldiers under Ater, this land will naturally become their land and home. As long as Ater's status is stable, they can farm, harvest and reproduce on this land reasonably and legally, and from their contacts in the past two years, they have also determined that Ater will become a good lord...
At was also very excited. It only took him two years to go from a hunter who made a living by hunting in the dense forests of the valley to a knight with an army and territory. Although he was not a commoner in the true sense, as a descendant of a declining noble who lost his territory and lord, this His achievements were worthy of his father who died in a foreign land with hatred. Everything that followed was his struggle for himself and the Wells family. He firmly believed that he could go further... Putting aside the thoughts in his mind, Art returned to the reality in front of him.
“Master, after I left the caravan and returned to the wooden castle in the valley, I led people to expand the wooden castle again. I knocked down the original barn and weapons depot and built two new ones. I also built two new houses in the wooden castle. I built two carpentry workshops and a blacksmith shop next to the kitchen. It was difficult to expand the stables and animal sheds in the wooden castle, so I rebuilt them on the south side of the wooden castle. A large livestock shed. In the future, in addition to horses and mules, other animals can be fed in the stable outside the wooden castle. The houses in the wooden castle can currently meet the daily living needs of fifty people, but if we need to increase the number of permanent troops or residents in the wooden castle, we will need to tear down the outer fence and rebuild it." Cooper briefly introduced the new layout of the wooden castle to Art.
"In addition, except for those who were selected by Odo to join the army as new recruits, the people brought back from Tarburg and the young refugees recruited by the caravan were all transferred to the valley to reclaim wasteland. The craftsmen were temporarily left to work in the wooden fort. Scott specially sent peasants and soldiers from the fort guard team to look after them. These people are not very accustomed to here, but there is no sign of escaping for the time being. "
Matt has just returned from the expedition and does not have the energy to pay attention to these chores yet. "Cooper, you and Scott and the others will discuss the matters in the valley first. I have just returned from outside and need to rest for a day or two. You can sort out the matters in the valley. I will hold a meeting in two days. You will report them together during the meeting, and we will discuss them one by one at that time."
"Okay! Then you go back to the house to rest first. I will make arrangements for the food and lodging of the others. Today is a day worth celebrating. Now there is a little more food and supplies in the wooden castle in the valley. In the evening, a few people will be sent back to the wooden castle in the valley to attend the dinner prepared for you and the returning army." Cooper has always arranged these things very carefully, and Art is very relieved.
"Sergeant major, this will be your home from now on. Let Ron take you around in a while. Cooper will arrange food and accommodation for you. I want to go back to the room to rest. If you feel bored, come here. Look for me in the small courtyard." Art held Angus's shoulder and pointed to the independent small courtyard in the wooden castle, then handed the reins of the war horse to Ron, and while taking off his belt, he walked straight to the long-awaited small wooden house...
At the gate of the wooden fort, Cooper and Scott were leading a few fort residents to prepare food and temporary accommodation for the last group of troops returning victoriously and the new refugees. Otto and several officers also walked to the training ground opposite...