At the southern border post, the commanders of the post, Simon and Benjamin, were accompanying Art and the others on patrol around the post.
Simon, the commander of the outpost, fell half a step behind and explained to Art: "Sir, after receiving your order, we began to strengthen the wall of the outpost. Since the beginning of summer, a group of refugees who fled from the south to the north have stopped near the outpost. Benjamin and I discussed it, took out the food stored in the outpost, and recruited a group of young refugees to repair and strengthen the wall for us. Now not only the wall of the outpost has been reinforced. , even the perimeter of the wall has been installed with tall spikes. After the outpost wall was reinforced, the refugees staying around the outpost spontaneously built a half-person-high fence around their shacks. "
Art had long expected that the outpost on the North-South Avenue would become more and more lively, but the rapid development of the outpost was beyond Art's expectation.
A few months ago, there was only a border outpost with five people stationed here and four or five temporary shacks built with dead branches and rags and curtains. But a few months have passed, and two thatched houses, seven or eight shacks, and a large circle of low fences have been built around the outpost on the mound. The place has almost turned into a simplified version of a small mound-outdoor "castle".
Art looked at the increasingly popular border outpost with surprise on his face, and boasted: "Simon Benjamin, I saw you two correctly!"
"Sir, this is all your fault. If you hadn't led the army to wipe out the bandits that were rampant in the south some time ago, no one would have dared to come here." Simon was modest and did not forget to praise Art.
Yate waved his hand and smiled, and said: "Since this place can really develop into a village settlement, let it continue to expand and strive to become a new border town. Anyway, this is our territory now, and no one dares to give me any advice on the construction of the territory. When we return from this trip north, I will select a few more capable brothers from the wounded and retired soldiers to strengthen the garrison here. When the manpower is sufficient, you will have to patrol up and down the stream frequently to prevent those profiteers and refugees from sneaking in from other parts of this stream."
"A lot of refugees have gathered here. Just do what I said last time and surround it with a pointed fence in the open space next to the outpost. Turn this place into a small border market. Build a thatched shed in the market place and prepare a few iron pots and a few bunks. It can be used as a small hotel. Arrange a few reliable people to run it. In the future, traders from north to south can stop and trade here. Then you can go back to the market. Collect some commercial taxes from the business travelers who have stopped in the past to maintain the operation of the market. "
"As for those refugees who are willing to stay permanently, you can also select them and register them, so that they can become our subjects, and then select a group of young farmers from the registered subjects to serve as farmers and soldiers. When the outpost is short of soldiers, these young farmers and soldiers can be used."
“Most of the land around the outpost is not suitable for farming, but a small amount of land along both sides of the stream should be able to barely grow some low-grade crops. After the refugees are registered as subjects, those farmers whose families have young men and women joining the peasant soldiers will be allocated a few pieces of land along both sides of the stream for them to cultivate. Like the valley, these lands will not be cultivated in the first year. After collecting any taxes, five taxes and one tax will be levied. After five years of farming, it can still be farmed by farmers permanently..."
"You should discuss this matter with the old steward when you return to the wooden castle next time and ask him to check it for you. Then see if the wooden castle can provide some support in terms of cattle, farm tools, grain, and other materials."
Building a new market place, registering refugees as territorial residents, and trying to cultivate the barren land on both sides of the stream were all improvised by Art after seeing the current situation at the border outpost. Since this was the territory entrusted to him by the palace, of course he wanted to make this barren land prosperous.
After explaining these things, Art looked back at the barren land on both sides of the stream. After struggling for a moment, he finally decided to take out what he had been thinking about for a long time.
"Simon, I will give you another special task, which you will be responsible for personally."
Simon thought that Art was going to give him an important secret mission, so he hurriedly listened.
Att's ear whispered beside Simon, and from time to time he pointed to a piece of land by the stream near the outpost, and pointed to the stables in the outpost and the piles of dung outside the outpost.
Simon’s eyes grew wider and wider as he listened to Art’s words, and his face became paler.
"Sir, how can this be done??? Allowing seeds to grow in these filthy things is blasphemy!!! If the church finds out, I'm afraid we will all have to be burned at the stake. Besides, the seeds are added with dung. Can it really grow in the land that is filled with excrement? ”
Matt knew that for the extremely devout believers, “manure” was definitely an unclean thing. Anyone who dared to spread manure on the ground would be destroying the land blessed by God. Moreover, excrement is a material used by witches, wizards, and demons to cast spells. If you dare to use this as fertilizer, it is normal for the crops in the field to reduce production. If the yield is high, you will be burned at the stake.
"Simon, so I asked you to do it yourself, and the most important thing is to insert a cross on each side of the fertilized and fertilized land. A monk once told me that after four crosses are inserted in the east, west, south, and north, the land will become the holy soil protected by God. When the seeds are sown, find four of the most devout believers to kneel in front of the four crosses to pray, and then water them regularly. Leave the rest to God and miracles."
Simon was dubious and asked: "Sir, can the cross really drive away the evil things in the feces and make the food harvest abundant?"
“Simon, we must believe in the miracles of God. I heard this method accidentally from a passing monk. He said that God has the ability to turn unclean things into nourishing things. These piles of human and animal excrement and weed sludge will become the power to germinate seeds through God’s influence.” Art knew that if manure was forcibly implemented, it would definitely cause huge resistance, but if the power of God is involved in this process, then everything that happens in the future will be a miracle.
Seeing that Simon was still doubtful, Art said: "Just think that I am eager to prove God's miracles. Anyway, if it fails, it means that our hearts are not pious enough, which means we still have to continue praying to God."
At any rate, Art has already arranged it, so Simon simply stopped thinking about it and nodded in agreement.
“Okay, let’s go back to the warehouse and see if Salt and the others have finished counting the goods.” As he said this, Art turned around and led everyone towards the outpost.
As soon as Yat and the others stepped into the gate of the outpost, the guard tower reported that a caravan was coming from the south.
"Let's go take a look." Art turned around and led a few people towards the roadblock on the commercial road in front of the outpost. He stood aside to observe and motioned to the sentries and officials to ignore his presence.
Four escort coachmen drove three carriages with flags slowly towards the outpost. When they reached the stone bridge, the leader of the convoy stopped and looked at the outpost for a few times. He walked alone to the roadblock and said to the sentry: "Man, we are a caravan from Provence. Can we pass? This is our lacquered document." Apparently there was no outpost here when they came before.
The sentry took the document and was about to give it to Art, but Art waved his hand and pointed at the official.
The clerk took the document from the sentry, opened it and looked at it. It was indeed stamped with the seals of the Minister of Finance and the Trade Guild of the Count of Burgundy.
"Are you transporting goods for the Dean family? My master has a relationship with the Dean family, and all convoys related to the Dean family will receive preferential treatment." The official asked.
"The Dean family? We don't dare to have any friendship with the Dean family." Obviously this caravan has some issues with the Dean family.
"What kind of goods are you bringing? Do you have any goods from South China?" the official continued to ask.
"There are no goods from the south, only some furs, bacon and dried fruits. I heard that the north is getting more stable now, so we went north to buy grain with an empty truck."
"How much are these goods worth?"
"One hundred and fifty pfennigs, maybe a little less."
The clerk estimated the value of the goods, and then motioned to the sentry to check. The sentry inspected the carriage carefully and nodded to the official.
"Pay the transit merchant tax of five pfennigs, and your convoy will be protected by the palace's southern border patrol officers within Tyniec County. If there is an emergency, you can use the tax documents we give you to come to the outpost or a garrison camp on the west side of the trade road twenty miles northeast of here. "
The leader took out five pfennigs and handed them to the clerk. He took a piece of birch bark stamped with the Howling Wolf heraldry and looked at it carefully for a long time. It was the first time that he had seen a document issued after paying taxes, although the document was just a piece of birch bark with a few lines of words written on it.
"You have to take this document. There will be patrolling soldiers behind to check whether you have this document. If you lose it, you will be detained as trespassing on the border." After hearing this, the leader quickly put the palm-sized piece of birch bark into his arms.
"By the way, in the future, if you have southern goods, weapons, armor, refined iron and other goods, you can send them here for trade. We will buy your goods at a high price, and as long as the caravans that trade with us take one-tenth of the southern goods, they will be exempted from the entry commercial tax." The official added.
The leader nodded and replied: "As long as you can give us a reasonable price, we will trade with you."
“Very good, you can also tell the merchant brothers in Provence when you go back. This place welcomes business brothers from all over the world, and we will treat you as honored guests.” After the official said, he waved behind him, and the sentry in front of the horse moved the roadblock to allow the convoy to pass smoothly.
Matt watched the process of inspection, tax collection, issuance of documents and release at the outpost, and was very satisfied, "Very good, just do this..."