At the end of March, spring is coming but the chill is still there.
In the barracks of the commander of the Stone House of the Beiguan Army Fort, the bandit leader Redoan, who officially led his bandits to surrender, had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. The stool under him had no backrest, and there was nothing behind him without any sense of security to rely on.
Ledoan quietly raised his head and took a sideways glance at Art, who was looking through the inventory of personnel and materials, and then immediately lowered his head.
Redoan is really afraid of Art. The scene of the battle in Boulder Town was too terrifying. Even now, the skeletal heads of the former bandit brothers are still standing on both sides of the business road. Pedestrians and merchants do not dare to stay on that road. Ever since Art secretly appointed Redoan as his bandit-suppressing officer, Angus has been responsible for conveying secret orders to them. The mysterious sense of estrangement is very strong. In addition, Art's reputation has grown day by day in the past two years, and his title has been promoted step by step. Now he has hundreds of elite and powerful soldiers in his hands. The kind of self-restraint and self-prestige that has been in a high position for a long time makes Redoan feel heart palpitations.
It felt like a long time had passed. Art finally finished reading the inventory in his hand. Looking at Redoan who was already restless, Art said, "The number the sergeant major told me was 135,800 pfennig, but you gave me a full 150,000 pfennig. Why is that?"
Redoan thought that Art was dissatisfied with the small amount, and cold sweat suddenly broke out from his pores, and a thin layer of sweat turned into beads, "Sir, this is all the savings of my brothers and I. We have never robbed wantonly since we followed you. On weekdays, brothers have to consume food, drink, housing and transportation, and there is really no money left~"
Matt nodded without comment, and then asked: "I heard the sergeant major say that a few months ago you had more than sixty capable men, why did you only bring forty brothers this time?"
说到这个问题雷多安又是一阵心悸，他的脸色明显白了一下，战战兢兢地答道:「回～大人，当我宣布带领大家向明主投诚的时候有一些蠢货提出反对，我想着既然要投You have to rely on adults to ensure that the team is clean and free of scum, so I let those bastards who didn't agree with me pick out my team and send them away personally." Redoan said the word "leave" very seriously, for fear that Art would not understand.
Angus has reported these things to Art a long time ago, of course he knows.
"This is a good job. My military law has always been strict. Those brothers will definitely not be able to bear it. Rather than letting them defect due to being unable to stand the military law in the future, it is better to leave earlier." Art also said "leave" with a strong voice.
Redoan sincerely thanked Angus for his advice. After he announced that he would give up his free life as a bandit and join the patrol, many bandits did object, especially those ruthless bandits who were later torn apart by the black-robed patrols and had to join Redoan. They regarded the patrols and patrol officers as enemies.
Friendship lasts forever, come and go freely. This was the promise made by the bandit leader Redoan to the bandits who raised objections. After several repeated choices, twenty-three guys who were determined to be bandits finally chose to leave. Redoan has always been known for his kindness and justice, so not only did he not make it difficult for these twenty guys at all, he even took out a lot of money from his own small treasury and distributed it to the brothers who were about to leave, and then held a grand banquet for these brothers the night before leaving.
The result was also expected. The twenty brothers left forever early the next morning.
Matt threw the inventory aside and looked repeatedly at the uneasy bandit leader Redoan sitting on the short stool opposite. This guy was more like an honest farmer than a fierce and brutal bandit. If he didn't have his backing, it would be impossible for such a person to control a large bandit team.
"Ledoan, since you and your guys have officially become my team, you should act according to my rules."
Ledoan quickly raised his head and nodded repeatedly, "What should be given, what should be given, in the name of God, we will always be loyal to you, Your Majesty, and we are willing to sacrifice our lives for you, Your Majesty."
A smile of approval appeared on Art's face, "Okay! I officially appoint you as the bandit suppressor officer under the palace patrol officer in the south. There is also a squadron-level deputy captain position in the patrol team, and that is you."
Redoan doesn't know the military system of the Wells Legion very well, nor does he know how big this squadron-level deputy captain is, but now he doesn't dare to question Art's arrangement at all, and can only ask others after he goes down.
"As for the ownership of your several leaders and brothers, it will take some time to decide. What you have to do now is to take the surrendered brothers into the Welsh Army Recruit Team for a month of recruit training. I will decide their whereabouts based on their performance in the recruit training."
"But don't worry, I won't leave you alone. As a bandit suppressor, you will have thirty soldiers under your command, most of them are your old brothers. However, I will also transfer some key soldiers from the legion to your team to help you lead the army. You are a sensible person and should be able to understand my painstaking efforts."
Redoan stood up and straightened up, "I can understand it, I can understand it. This is because the adults are taking care of me."
Matt was very satisfied. This person may be honest, but he is definitely not stupid.
"Since you are already my people, I will not treat you badly. From now on, I will provide food, clothing, housing and transportation for the brothers, and you will not be short of a copper coin in your monthly military pay."
"After the recruit training is over, the bandit-suppressing officer and his soldiers will be stationed at Lane Manor, specifically responsible for helping me patrol (control) the county outside the county. Of course, the responsibility of eradicating bandits cannot be left behind."
Ledoan heard that Art would give him the responsibility of patrolling the county. After letting it go, this is a real job, and I finally don't have to worry about being ignored by Art. However, Redoan is also a little worried. Now his son works as a bodyguard beside Art, and his wife also follows Emma in the wooden castle to manage hotels and shops. He is usually very obedient. Of course, Art will not let such a person be ignored.
Matter talked with Redoan for a while to calm his uneasy heart. When he felt that it was almost done, Redoan planned to stand up and leave.
"Ledoan!" Art called out to Redoan who turned around.
“One hundred and thirty-five thousand eight hundred pfennigs will be turned over to the civil administration, and you can take back the rest of the money.” r/> "You do things for me, I have no reason to squeeze you! The money belongs to you."
The uneasiness on Redoan's face finally turned into emotion, and he repeatedly vowed to swear allegiance to Art to the death.
Most of the bandits who surrendered to Redoan were not criminals, and they all longed to return to a normal life. Even if they were soldiers, they were still bloodthirsty and drank swords. Especially those gangsters and big and small bosses with families, so these people did not have much resistance after entering the legion's recruits. They were easier to train than the newly recruited soldiers. After all, being a bandit also requires fighting.
…..
In early April, the wind clears the river, and the early spring breeze blows the valley green.
The southern part of the valley is bustling with activity. Nearly a hundred war slaves, under the supervision and command of construction officers, settlement officers and a team of peasant soldiers, are reclaiming wasteland with hoes, shovels and plows. They have taken advantage of the sunny weather to burn all the weeds in the wasteland. At this time, they are using heavy shovels and hoes to dig out the thick soil together with the grass roots.
This is the fourth large-scale reclamation of the valley. This time, the civil administration has designated more than 6,300 acres of wasteland for the cultivation officials and construction officials to take the lead. This year’s reclamation task is 2,000 acres, and the remaining wasteland will be reclaimed within the next two years.
This piece of land is located between the new village and the workshop area. It is the widest area between the mountains on both sides of the valley. It is certainly a relatively fertile area. However, because the two sides are relatively wide, it is not easy to draw water from the river for irrigation. Fortunately, the overall water level in the valley is low. It only takes more than ten feet to dig out the water. Therefore, the civil affairs still learn from previous experience and dig an irrigation well in the middle of every hundred acres of land.
“Sir, based on the fifteen acres of land allocated to each household under the two-plantation system, the land we are about to reclaim is expected to be able to support the land needs of 450 households. Coupled with the methods of retting and deep plowing that have been promoted, it is absolutely impossible to feed 500 households. "On the hill extending from the mountain range on the west side of the workshop area, Tunnel Officer Scott and several Tunnel Administrators accompanied Art as they looked at the busy reclamation land below the mountain. Construction Officer Lawrence was directing the war slaves to plow and dig in the black land where weeds had been burned.
· Relying on the "banditry" that broke out in the county and the large number of farm tools and livestock collected by leading the army to attack the southwest farm and Wincheston Manor, Ater's warehouse is now very full of farming equipment. Land is the foundation of everything, so Art asked the civil administration to reclaim wasteland on a large scale.
In the past six months, there has been no significant growth in the number of residents in Yate's territory. The land that has been reclaimed is basically enough for existing residents to cultivate. However, Yate knows that the proportion of farmers in his territory is too small. Without strong support from agriculture, he will be unable to maintain his current strength once the external environment deteriorates.
So after the beginning of spring, Art allocated 150,000 pfenniers to the civil administration and went out to buy grain and store it in several valley warehouses outside the center of the fort. At the same time, he ordered a large-scale reclamation of wasteland for grain cultivation. The civil affairs system of the valley has basically achieved self-sufficiency in food, but the supply of large troops is still very tight.
Att was very pleased to see the orderly work scene at the foot of the mountain. After two or three years of gradual growth, several civil affairs officials have become more and more mature. They are able to complete various tasks assigned by them under the leadership of Old Cooper. Ate himself only needs to issue orders and supervise inspections and acceptance results.
"Scott, you have done a good job in the settlement. After this land is reclaimed, I will go out to recruit people again, and then the burden on your shoulders will be even heavier."
Scott has now become a valley. He is basically a very important person in the civil affairs, second only to Civil Affairs Officer Cooper, so he has a very strong sense of accomplishment and ambition. Looking at the increasingly prosperous valley, he feels uncontrollable joy and excitement in his heart, especially when he gets personal praise from the lord.
"Sir, we are just doing our best under the leadership of you and the old housekeeper. All of this is managed by you and the old housekeeper." Generation, "Work with all your heart, that's good! If everyone can work with all your heart like you, then we will definitely build the valley into God's most prosperous paradise in the world."
After pointing on the hill for a moment, Art returned his gaze from the cultivated land at the foot of the mountain to around the hill.
On the hill, Civil Affairs Officer Cooper was personally leading a few middle-aged men who had worked as builders to point, write and draw around the hill.
Yes, Art is going to take action on this hill.
Where is the core of the Vale Barony? Definitely in the Valley Woodcastle. However, Art never considered building the Valley Wooden Fort into a strong city defense fortress. Even the Beiguan Army Fort was a hundred times stronger than the outside of the Valley Wooden Fort.
The reason is because Art knew that a wooden castle was not suitable for building a castle.
Since Art brought Ron to the hills extending out of this mountain range for the first time a few years ago, he had already decided to build a castle here. Art even reserved the name "Wellsburg" for it. This is why Art moved the workshop area to the foot of this hill.
Hunter originally did not include the construction of "Wellsburg" in his agenda due to lack of money in the treasury, but this time Art had some wealth in his hands, so he started to work on it.
Att doesn’t understand architecture, let alone city building, but Civil Affairs Officer Cooper is a real builder. Under Cooper’s leadership, the survey and planning of “Wellsburg” are in progress.
Att did not intend to build Wellsburg and put it into use as quickly as possible for military purposes like the Beiguan Army Fort, so he planned to slowly build Wellsburg into the core of controlling the entire valley in three to six years.
Matt walked to Old Cooper and saw that Cooper was using carbon rods to outline the outer structure of Wellsburg Castle on a piece of birch bark. From the birch bark, it could be roughly seen that Wellsburg would have a three-layer structure, with the outermost layer being surrounded by three sides. The middle layer is the flat land and gentle slopes under the hills, and the innermost layer is the large open space on the top of the hills... Art wanted to have a few words with Cooper, who was concentrating on drawing, but was interrupted by the sound of galloping horse hooves.
Ron rode a maroon war horse to the foot of the hill, jumped off the horse and ran directly to the top of the hill.
While walking, he adjusted his breathing. When he reached Art, he deliberately lowered his voice and said in a deep voice: "Master, there is an urgent battle report coming back from the north." As he said this, he presented a piece of paper in his hand to Art.
Matt glanced at Ron, took the note and opened it - there was a sudden movement of the Western Border Army, and 300 people rushed to Tinets.
"Bernard is here after all~"
"Get saddled! Rush to Beiguan Army Fort!"