"Who is scolding me?" Art slowly raised his head from the wooden table in the study room on the second floor.
Early in the morning, Art bent over the table and began to deal with various general affairs reported by the Welsh Provincial Military Affairs Office and the Government Affairs Office, as well as the layout for the further development of the European Commercial Bank.
As a province, military and political officials at all levels in Wales have become accustomed to using official documents to handle affairs.
Due to all the complicated things these days, Art felt quite tired. As soon as he finished processing some of the literary strategies, he felt that his head gradually became heavy and pressed against the table little by little. Not long after, a sound of snoring came~
The weather is still cold in early spring, and the charcoal fire placed on the table gradually burns to ashes, until the last spark is extinguished, the cold air from the window invades, and the temperature inside the house begins to gradually drop. The heat on Art's body slowly dissipated, and his body began to become cold, and then there was a sound of sneezing in the room.
"Dear, what's wrong with you?"
Lottie, who was busy in the next room, opened the door and walked in.
A~A'sneeze～
At sneezed a few more times in succession, tightened the mink fur coat around him, and shivered. Then he took out the silk scarf in his pocket and wiped the corners of his mouth.
"I'm fine."
At reached his hand over the brazier to feel the remaining heat.
“Look at you, you are so busy that you don’t even know that the charcoal fire has gone out!” Looking at the ashes left in the brazier, Lottie complained in a low voice.
"Oli, go get some charcoal quickly, the brazier in the master's study is out."
Lottie walked to the door of the study and shouted loudly.
"Okay, ma'am~"
After a while, Ollie brought some charcoal in a basket and rekindled the extinguished charcoal fire in the study. After a while, the temperature inside the house began to rise.
After Art sent Lottie away, he rubbed his cold hands and began to pick up the quill and write on the paper. The air exhaled from Art's mouth and nose was particularly eye-catching under the light, and sounds of stamping feet could be heard from time to time in the room.
Despite this, Art still braved the cold in his study to review and process all the affairs of the military and government of Wales Province in recent days. If these large and small matters pile up like a mountain, it will become even more of a headache. After taking care of the military and government affairs, Art put Salt's previously prepared expansion plan for the Continental Commercial Bank on the table to study ~
Like Flanders, both of them were men who led troops in war. Although he prefers life on horseback, since he is a lord, he must do his best to manage his territory. Territory construction is not only related to the lives of the people in the territory, but more importantly, Art also maintains an army of thousands of people. The size of the army is still gradually expanding, and the number of people in the territory has also doubled.
More than a thousand soldiers and horses, and tens of thousands of people in the territory, all these mouths need to be fed by Art.
In any era, the army is a giant gold-swallowing beast. If we only rely on the money captured in wars to support the army, we can barely sustain it in the short term. But the war must end one day. If you want to maintain the operation of the army at that time, you must find another way and return to normalcy.
For At, apart from supporting the army by operating territories, the fastest way is to do business.
Nowadays, by controlling the economic lifeline of the princely country, the European Continental Commercial Bank puts hundreds of thousands of pfennigs in gold coins into Art's pocket every month. Although the Continental Commercial Bank also distributes part of its profits every month to the dignitaries of the principalities headed by Flanders and Baldwin, as well as the dignitaries and bureaucrats of the Principality of Provence in the south, even those who are closely related to the Continental Commercial Bank will also fill a bowl of soup from this big pot. However, due to the huge profits, Yate, as the core of the European trading house, naturally put most of the profits into his own pocket.
As long as Art delivers the profits belonging to those people to them on time every month, no one will find out how much money the Continental Commercial Bank makes every month. Even if there are a few greedy guys who want to make more money, they still have to see if they have the ability.
A few days ago, Art ordered Sart to bring together those merchant nobles who were dissatisfied with the European trading houses dominating the north-south trade of the princedom, provide them with supply of goods, and use their shops all over the princely country to occupy more markets and earn more profits.
Most people are grateful for Art's move, but there are still some guys who take advantage of the decline of the European trading houses and want to grab more benefits. In their view, the reason why Continental Commercial Bank is willing to provide them with supplies is obviously because their previous practices have paid off. If you don’t take the opportunity to take a few more bites, you won’t have the chance in the future.
But within a few days, those few business aristocratic leaders who had opened their mouths to the lions of European trading houses were either burned to death in their homes, or were found drowned in a cold river, or even drunkenly fell into a dung pile outside a family's house.
In the eyes of outsiders, these people all died due to accidents. But those who pay a little more attention will find that these people have once opposed the European Continental Commercial Bank and have made further progress after the European Continental Commercial Bank took a step back.
All of this is nothing more than the masterpiece of some of the task forces led by Stanley. Their mission is to deal with those stubborn people and clear the stumbling blocks for the advancement of European trading companies.
Him Since then, no merchant or nobleman has ever been heard of who dared to be dissatisfied with the European trading houses, at least no one had an angry look on their face. They all knew in their hearts that those dissatisfied guys would be sent to see God by Art.
After most of the profits of the European trading houses were put into Yate's pocket, except for part of them used to maintain the operation of the trading houses, almost all the rest was invested in the construction of the territory and the expansion of the army.
The Province of Wales was first established, and everything started from "One". The entire valley to the south of Art's newly ennobled territory was almost a wilderness. Although the land is fertile, all this is based on having enough people and farming tools.
At the beginning of Art's promotion to the earl of Wales, the civil affairs officials, under the leadership of Cooper, went around recruiting refugees, purchasing farm tools, livestock, and grain seeds. The previous accumulation of the valley alone was unable to provide food and drink for these tens of thousands of territorial residents. In addition to other expenditures, the entire province can barely support it.
If it weren't for the huge gains in the Succession War and the millions of money accumulated by the Continental Commercial Bank through this war, Art would not have been able to recruit enough people as planned. The Welsh Legion also captured millions of pfennigs during the war. Part of it was used for the army, and most of it was also invested in the construction of Wales.
Hence, the army and European merchants injected a steady stream of golden blood into this new land, nourishing it.
At the same time, most of the soldiers in the Welsh regiment came from the families of the people who had previously settled in the valley. Almost every young man in the family was drafted into the army and became the backbone of the army.
After these people became mercenary soldiers in the legion, they enjoyed high military salaries and welfare benefits. According to statistics, the military salary of a legionary soldier, his share of the trophies captured in battle and post-war military rewards are enough to support a family of four. This is also the reason why the young and strong people in the valley join the legion one after another. The moment the legion recruits a soldier, it indirectly supports the rest of the soldier's family.
Although Art's territory has not yet been able to exert sufficient advantages, it is also supporting the development of the legion in some aspects.
In addition to providing high-quality soldiers to the legion, the weapons produced by the Valeland Arms Workshop ensured part of the weapon supply for the Wells Legion during the War of Succession. Although the quality cannot keep up with those produced in countries such as Lombardy and Swabia, it at least ensures that legionnaires will not go into battle empty-handed to kill the enemy.
At least one-fifth of the food and supplies for the Welsh Army's previous expeditions were provided by the Valley Territory, in addition to entrusting the caravans to purchase them. These grains and grasses were exchanged by the civil administration from the people in various places, which effectively solved the legion's grain and grass problems.
At present, the paper produced by Gungling Paper Workshop has basically been finalized. According to Art's arrangement, the Bibles transcribed on paper have been bound into volumes and sent to the bishops and senior clergy of churches in various places. Based on the previous response, these senior faculty members were full of praise for the Wells paper and sent a large number of orders to the Wells Province. It is hoped that through these papers, a large number of Bibles can be transcribed and the gospel of God can be conveyed to believers.
Once these papers, which are as valuable as gold, spread through the influence of the church, they will be sold to the entire princely country and the surrounding principalities with the help of commercial banks. At that time, there will be a steady flow of gold coins flowing back.
In a sense, the Welsh Regiment provided military protection for the province of Wales. The Continental Trading Company became the purse strings for the development and expansion of the Welsh Army and the Province of Wales. When the potential of the Province of Wales is developed, it will become a strong backing for the Welsh Army and the Continental Commercial Bank.
The three of them are like three carriages, becoming Art's right-hand assistants in expanding his territory...
…..
Throughout the day, Art was busy in the study on the second floor.
After finishing all these complicated official matters, the setting sun was slowly setting over the treetops on the top of the mountain in the west~
At placed his quill lightly on the pen holder in the upper right corner of the table, stood up and stretched. He drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and took a long breath.
At this time, the sounds of the residents talking to each other came from outside the house.
Ate slowly walked towards the window, resting his hands on the window frame and supporting his chin, enjoying the rare leisure~
Watching the hunters in small and five groups holding bows and arrows, carrying hares, pheasants and foxes on their shoulders, returning home with their loads, talking and laughing. The newly appointed Earl's thoughts returned to that winter day a few years ago~
Back then, I was just like these people who went into the mountains to hunt with bows, arrows and daggers, just to fill their stomachs. But the difference is that back then, I was alone, but now they are a group of people. As time has passed, the thatched huts of the past have become today's wooden castles, and the surrounding wasteland has been replaced by houses.
Ate did not break his promise. The down-and-out little nobleman finally turned around~
At the time when Art was thinking about it, a heavy footsteps came from downstairs. Not long after, Ron, Art's personal bodyguard, knocked on the wooden door of the study.
"Ron, what's the matter?"
"Sir, someone from the border post came to report that a Lombard caravan wants to enter the border. The leader of the group specified that he wants to see you, saying that he has something important to discuss with you, and that you are definitely interested. The border post does not dare to make a decision, so report back immediately."
"A caravan from Lombardy?" Art thought silently in his mind.
"How many people are they?"
"There are only about twenty, three carriages. Among them, there are fifteen caravan guards, and the others are coachmen and handymen."
h Ron elaborated.
Matt was silent, thinking to himself, "Why did the Lombard caravan suddenly appear at the border at this time? Why did this caravan leader ask to see me again?"
After a long while, Art finally spoke, called Ron to his side, and whispered: "Go to the border post immediately, let our people seize their goods first, and keep everyone alone, and then you~"
"Yes, sir. I understand~"
Ron turned around and exited the study, quickly went downstairs and rode towards the north.
At the window, Art frowned slightly and watched Ron's back disappear into the dense forest. Then he wrapped his mink coat tightly around his body, turned around and walked towards the house.
………
Late at night, in a row of neat barracks built in a semicircle to the north of the border outpost, a group of guys who claimed to be Lombard businessmen were detained alone in the military barracks of the border outpost. The cargo of the three accompanying carriages was also impounded and temporarily stored in a warehouse.
The night is slightly cool, and a bright full moon hangs high in the clear sky. From time to time, insects chirped in the grass around the barracks, and the withered yellow weeds swayed in the breeze.
Every once in a while, an eight-man patrol appears around the barracks. On weekdays, there is no need for patrols around the barracks. But tonight, the officer on duty at the border post temporarily arranged a patrol team to be responsible for the security around the barracks and to prevent the suspicious people from escaping. According to the above statement, these people are likely to be spies sent by Lombardy, and must be strictly guarded against.
In the middle room on the north side of the barracks, a middle-aged man wearing a woolen coat and a felt hat looked calm. He was wrapped in a woolen blanket and leaning against the wall inside the bed, with his eyes slightly closed.
At noon today, this man came to the border post with his caravan in the name of a merchant, saying that he had important matters and needed to meet with the Earl of Wales. The officer at the border outpost said that he had no right to make decisions without authorization and needed to send someone back to the valley to report to the Earl. The group of people were then gathered in a house and the goods were seized.
A moment ago, a scarred officer came to check on this group of businessmen who claimed to be from Lombardy under the guidance of the outpost officer. After observing for a while, the border post officer detained more than 20 people alone at the man's instruction.
The guy leaning against the wall at this time never thought that he would be imprisoned in a hut not long after he led people to approach the border post. The man thought about it, wondering which part had gone wrong.
Two days ago, in order not to attract attention, the caravan of more than 40 people was divided into two waves in Kitzby, Provence. A group of people went to Wales to meet the Earl of Wales, Art. Another wave of people changed their route and entered the Burgundy Kingdom via the Kodore border, and then went all the way north to inquire for information.
Logically speaking, there are no loopholes in his own arrangements, and it is impossible for spies from the Province of Wales to be arranged into Provence. Why were my people detained here not long after arriving at the border? The caravan leader was puzzled. From this point of view, the newly promoted Earl of Wales is indeed not an ordinary person. Otherwise, the Duke of Lombardy would not have gone to great lengths to send someone to find out the details of this person.
In the following days, except for the soldiers delivering meals, the detained businessman never saw anyone again. He really didn't understand what kind of medicine the Earl was selling in his gourd.