Ten days later, company captain Colin received Art's order to leave fifty men to garrison the fort. Hans and Berry returned to the camp near the valley basin to garrison, and the original number of garrison troops remained unchanged. All the men and horses of the baggage team, fifty crossbowmen and the remaining fifty infantry returned to Beiguan Army Fort. The food and grass baggage of the garrison in the south of the valley will be delivered regularly later, including the food and grass provided to the mountain people who were originally under Christopher.
The task force led by Oliver will continue to lurk in the enemy's territory for a period of time. Once the enemy returns, they will immediately report to the valley.
A few days later, the troops led by Colin arrived at the wooden castle in the valley as scheduled and were warmly received by the people. By this time it was well known that the soldiers of the Welsh Legion had marched south of the valley to defend themselves against the Lombards. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that the Lombards had been driven away.
Afterwards, Art called Colin to the official room on the first floor of the wooden castle...
"...Colin, you have completed the mission very well. When you go down, count the military merits of the soldiers, and then I will ask the government to distribute their rewards." Art said to Colin who came to report while immersed in the paper and reviewing the official documents.
· Colin glanced at Ron next to him, with a smile on his face, and then turned to Art and said excitedly: "Thank you, Lord Count, I will do the statistics as soon as I get back. If you hadn't asked someone to build that fortress in advance, we wouldn't have driven the Lombards out so easily."
· "Have things been arranged in the south?" Art put down the quill in his hand and blew the ink on the paper.
"It's all arranged. In addition, according to your instructions, I have asked the craftsmen to find a suitable place for building houses around the basin. As soon as the people sent by the Construction Department arrive, they can start building houses for the people under Knight Christopher."
Hmm." Matt nodded. "That's good. Now they are also part of the valley and cannot be treated differently. What's more, Christopher is still my father's old relative..." Art suddenly choked up and stopped talking.
"Alright, take all the soldiers back to Beiguan Army Fort. After you go back, take a rest for two days, and then continue training." After a while, Art said.
"Yes, Lord Earl~"
After Colin left, Art handed the letter written on the table to Ron and sent it to Bob, and then sent it to Besancon by flying pigeon. This is the good news that Art wrote to Flanders, as well as the defense issues in the southern border.
Now, the secret of the valley is known to everyone, and there is no guarantee when the Lombards will intervene again. If they hadn't taken the lead in occupying the valley entrance and building a solid defense this time, the Lombards would definitely have caused a lot of trouble to Art. In order to dissuade the Duke of Lombardy from this idea, the most effective way is to show the fist of the Province of Wales and station a standing army in the south of the valley to frighten the Lombards.
As a result, we have to adjust the plan for valley construction...
…
On the morning of the next day, Art summoned three senior officials of the Government Affairs Office - Government Affairs Office Chief Cooper, Tunnel Officer Scott, and Construction Officer Lawrence to the first floor of the wooden castle to start adjusting the current construction of the valley.
…"I believe you all know something about the war that took place in the south of the valley some time ago," Art glanced at the people present. "This is why I summoned you here today."
Cooper, who was sitting on Art's right hand side, nodded and said, "Is it that the master plans to start construction at the mouth of the southern valley while going south along the valley?"
Art nodded slightly, but Scott and Lawrence focused their attention on Cooper.
"Big~" As soon as Lawrence opened his mouth, Cooper stretched out his hand to stop him.
“I wonder what the master’s plan is?” Cooper asked several people’s questions. On the way to the wooden castle, several chief officers were discussing the purpose of Art calling a few people there. Sure enough, several people's guesses were fulfilled.
"Currently, the south side of the valley is completely controlled by our people. Facts have proved that the Lombards are currently unable to break through our defense line. But being unable to break through now does not mean that they will not be able to break through in the future. According to my estimation, they will not be able to break through in the short term. We are planning to build another military fortress in the valley, but we cannot slack off. Therefore, I plan to use this time to build a military fort similar to the one in the southern part of the valley. I haven’t decided on a name yet, so I’ll call it Nanguan Military Fort.” Art agreed.
"Nanguan Army Fort?" Cooper and others replied in unison, looking at each other, full of doubts.
“That’s right, Nanguan Army Fort. The valley starts from Beiguan Army Fort in the north and ends at the fort at the mouth of the valley in the south. In the future, the entire valley will become the hinterland of Wells Province, and these two military forts will become barriers on both sides of the valley. At present, the south side has not been developed and the foundation is weak. . If it is really built from north to south, once the enemy breaks through the southern fortress, it will inevitably affect the construction of the entire valley~" After Yat said this, several people suddenly realized, and then they understood the intention of their master.
"Sir, is there flat and fertile land in the south of the valley like the villages in the valley? It doesn't matter even if the area is smaller, as long as food can be grown." Scott has already intended to send some people to open up wasteland in the south.
Att burst out laughing after hearing this, because the station officer in front of him, who was already somewhat obsessed with the land, couldn't help but shake his head.
"Sir, you should take care of him. This guy is now sending people to open up wasteland. If you hadn't left some open space on both sides of the trade road to build houses for the new residents, this guy would have turned those places into farmland..." Lawrence joked, causing several people to laugh.
"Am I afraid that there will be more and more people in the valley behind, and the farmland will not produce enough food?" Scott touched the back of his head and expressed his little thoughts.
"Scott, you did it right. All the land that can be cultivated in the valley has been reclaimed. Although the south side of the valley is not as flat as the villages in the valley, there is still some land that can be cultivated into good farmland. If all the land is cultivated, it will be enough to feed tens of thousands of citizens."
Hearing what Art said, Scott became very happy.
"Okay, let's talk about business now. A simple road has been opened along the trade road, which is barely enough for carriages to pass. Lawrence, you can transfer a thousand people from the construction department to the south of the valley. Based on the fortress, rely on the terrain there to build a military fort similar to the Beiguan Military Fort. Remember, the military fort must be built entirely with strips of stone, and the quality is The quality must be reliable, and we must not cut corners or do things hastily. "
"Please rest assured, sir, I will send some of the craftsmen who built Wellsburg to supervise the design. Those people are the best craftsmen in the valley." Lawrence said with confidence.
“Yeah.” Art nodded slightly to show his agreement. "In addition, use the military fort as the starting point and send some people to build the northward passage. In this way, the progress of the trade road construction will be accelerated a lot. Also, you can build some houses northward along the valley to temporarily accommodate the laborers sent to build the military fort."
"Okay, sir." Lawrence responded.
"Scott, you can also deploy a thousand people from the garrison department to reclaim all the land that can be reclaimed in the south of the valley and plant seasonal grains and vegetables. At that time, the grains and vegetables produced in the land in the south can be provided on-site to those who are building the military fort. Labor force.
"Yes, sir."
"At that time, I will let the baggage team organize the manpower to transport all the materials needed for reclamation and construction to the south. The rations of those people will also be transported regularly by them..."
After arranging the construction matters in the southern part of the valley, several people left the wooden castle and went to work individually.
………
In mid-June, the weather is already a bit hot. It has been nearly half a year since the War of Succession ended, and the province of Wales was established. Although a lot of troubles occurred during this period, fortunately they were properly handled and did not have much impact on the construction of the territory.
In the fields, the grain seeds sown in early spring are growing vigorously, adding vitality to this new territory. In addition to the first reclaimed land such as the valley land, in the past six months, the troops of the Tunnel Department have reclaimed nearly 10,000 acres of land along both sides of the river and down the hillside. These lands have been sown with grain in an orderly manner. Viewed from the distant hillside, these large areas of land covered with lush green crops stretch out to the south like a green belt. Soon, the entire valley will become a desirable paradise.
A few years ago, this was unimaginable to Art. The wilderness that no one cared about in the past has suddenly become a paradise on earth with vast tracts of fertile land. Once the construction of the valley is completed, goods from the Southern Continent and other regions will continue to be transported to the Northland via this trade route that has been forgotten for centuries. By then, this place will become the link between the entire European continent. As the owner of the valley, Art will also become a figure not to be underestimated.
“Father, you said you were going to take me to the river to fish today. Did you forget again?” Little George, whose height was already close to the edge of the bed, said playfully, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Since little George was born, Art has not spent time with this guy. Lottie had been looking after little George all this time. Now, Art was finally free, so after finishing the official documents yesterday, he decided to take little George and Lottie out for some fun, so that he could fulfill his responsibilities as a father.
Matt turned over, put his hand on little George's round face and stroked it. He said: "How can you forget what father promised you?" Then he kissed little George on the forehead.
After breakfast, Art and his family happily walked towards the river. The young couple Ron and Ollie also went together.
On the way to the river, people from the territory greeted the earl and his family from time to time, and warmly invited them to their homes, but Art politely declined them all.
Seeing that the people in the territory are now living and working in peace and contentment, Art is very happy...