The first Sunday in July, after careful arrangements and preparations, Art finally decided to set off on this day.
Early in the morning, Art, with the help of Lottie, put on the armor specially prepared for this trip south to the valley. Surveying is not like fighting, nor is it like traveling around the mountains and rivers. It is inevitable to encounter some emergencies. Only through careful preparation can possible accidents be avoided as much as possible. Although Art is currently an earl, he still decided to visit every place personally to find out the situation in his territory.
In view of the fact that there are many desert hills and canyon rapids in the south of the valley, the mountains are high and the forests are dense. At this time, it was summer, and venomous snakes, beasts, insects and ants were everywhere. Art had previously asked Cooper to instruct the textile workshop to make two sets of armor suitable for traveling through mountains and rivers for all personnel heading to the southern valley.
The inner lining is mainly made of cotton and linen with good breathability. Because of the humid climate in the valley, ordinary cotton clothing easily adheres to the skin after sweating, which inevitably leads to a series of skin diseases. The valley is sparsely populated and undeveloped, and there are no accompanying doctors to follow. Once you get sick, the consequences will be disastrous.
In addition, the workshop also used cowhide as raw material to produce a set of perforated and breathable long-sleeved leather armor for each person to wear. It even has a high collar to protect the neck. There are many thorns in the dense forests of the valley, and the skin will be scratched if you are not careful. Once the infection is not treated, it will pose a fatal threat to the injured person.
In addition to the necessary armor, each person is also equipped with a cloak and waterproof coat to face the unpredictable and bad weather in the valley.
………
“…My dear, when will you be back when you go out this time?” Lottie helped Art straighten the wrinkles on his armor, looked up at her husband, and asked softly, her tone full of reluctance.
"I think I should be able to come back at the end of the month~" Art said casually, then picked up the stainless steel dagger on the table and inserted it into the sheath on his waist.
咚咚～
Matt stamped his feet, twisted his body, then pulled his collar, turned around and grabbed Lottie's weak shoulders with both hands.
"I'll be back soon, and I'll leave the affairs of the territory to you and the old housekeeper..." After explaining, Art kissed Lottie on the cheek, and then walked out of the castle gate...
…
Outside the gate, the survey team members who had been waiting here were talking in low voices around a few mules~
According to the previous arrangement, there were ten soldiers in charge of the escort this time, all of whom were hunters. The baggage team sent five people, five horses, and five mules and horses to be responsible for the food supply for the survey team and the feed for the horses. In addition, there were five officials sent by the government who knew how to draw maps to assist Art in his survey, plus the bodyguard Ron, military judge Matthew and Art himself, for a total of twenty-three people.
The hunter-turned-soldier who was responsible for guarding and clearing the way was very excited and was extremely excited to follow Ater southward to explore the valley. Each of the ten men is equipped with an ox-horn riding bow, and there are fifteen light arrows and armor-piercing heavy arrows in the quiver made of cowhide on the back. There is a short sword and a short sword at the waist, and there is also an emergency dagger in the scabbard tied to the foot. In addition, each person has a thick sack made of linen behind his horse to store cooking utensils and daily necessities. The bag contains not only whetstones and flints, but also emergency animal fats and simple foods such as some hard bread and dried meat. In the middle of the bags on both sides are the soldiers' personal marching tents, bedding and other daily items.
Several government officials learned that the south of the valley had been uninhabited for hundreds of years, inaccessible to humans, and wild beasts were everywhere. Their faces became less excited and more worried. But it is a great blessing to be able to go with my Lord Earl and have many guards. In addition to the horses being equipped with almost the same daily necessities as the soldiers, these people were not equipped with swords. Since they needed to assist Art in surveying the valley, they had some drawing tools such as ropes, quills, and parchment on them.
The baggage team sent several experienced guys this time. In addition to the necessary horses, there are also five mules and horses carrying everyone's food and livestock feed and other supplies. In view of the terrain in the southern part of the valley, Spencer did not arrange a carriage, but selected a few mules and horses with excellent endurance to help the survey team carry supplies.
When Art's figure appeared outside the door, everyone who was talking about him immediately stood up and stared at Art.
"Ron, are you all ready?" Art said and walked down the steps.
"Sir, everything is ready. Grain, drinking water and some large items are carried by mules and horses, and dry food and personal items are carried by our own horses. The emergency medicines prepared by the hospital are stored here. In addition, I also brought a few barrels of Welsh beer from my mother's grocery store~" Ron touched his head and smiled.
"You still understand me..." Art smiled slightly, very happy.
“The old housekeeper said that the craftsmen in the workshop area made some machetes and grappling hooks for us to explore the valley. We can just pick them up when we get to the workshop area.”
“The old housekeeper is so considerate~” Art raised his head and looked at the sky. The sun had already appeared on the hills in the east, and the temperature had begun to rise. "Everyone, get on your horses!"
"Get on your horses! Get on your horses!" Ron followed Art's voice and shouted to everyone.
At looked back at Lottie who was standing at the door of the wooden castle, pursed his lips slightly, and waved goodbye. Lottie slowly raised her right hand and waved to Art.
"Everyone, let's go!" A moment later, Art, who was already on horseback, ordered the survey team to set off...
In the past, it would have taken half a day to ride a horse from the wooden castle to the workshop area. However, after the Ministry of Construction widened and repaired the road, this road connecting the north and south of the valley was large enough to accommodate three carriages traveling in parallel at the same time. There was no delay on the sidewalk, and it only took half a day to reach the workshop area.
At noon, everyone had a big pot meal with the craftsmen in the workshop area. Art listened to the production situation and personnel transfers in the workshop area in recent months. He also inspected the workshop area accompanied by the workshop area manager and gave some guidance on the production arrangements behind the workshop area.
Before leaving, in addition to bringing the road-opening tools built by the workshop area for the survey team, Art also called together the main stewards of each workshop.
"...Everyone, the workshop area can't be what it is today without your contribution. At present, the government is concentrating all human, financial and material resources to build the territory. While they are contributing, you cannot be idle. Nowadays, the valley construction urgently needs farm tools and other reclamation materials, and recruit training also requires more weapons and armor. In addition, the territory's citizens have increased several times, and living supplies are in urgent need of replenishment..." Art said, picking up the wine naan beside him and taking a sip of beer.
“So, your current main task is to step up production and ensure the supply of materials. At the same time, the scale of the valley is gradually expanding, and more materials will be needed. While you are producing, you also need to train apprentices. I have told the government that after a while Based on the existing workshop area, the scale of each workshop will be gradually expanded. In the future, in addition to meeting the territory's consumption, all the weapons, paper, textiles, beer and other materials produced in the workshop area will be sold to various places in the north and south through caravans. "Yate is already planning for the future of the workshop area.
"Please rest assured, Lord Earl, the old butler has also explained before that each workshop is training apprentices and speeding up production in accordance with the government's orders. In addition, the government has also sent a lot of people to assist in production, and our efficiency has also been much higher." The steward of the workshop area said.
"This is the best," Art nodded with satisfaction. "As long as you do your best for the valley, as the Earl of Wales, I will not treat you badly. I can tell you now that once the new workshop area is completed and put into operation, you and your apprentices will each receive a bounty of no less than one hundred pfennigs~" Art planned to reward this group of skilled craftsmen in the most practical way.
"Thank you, Earl!" Everyone replied in unison.
………
"...Master, you are too generous to those craftsmen~"
Shortly after leaving the workshop area, Ron couldn't help but muttered. Matthew, who was riding behind the two men, nodded in agreement.
Art turned his head and rolled his eyes at Ron, "Generous? Let me tell you the truth, I'm quite stingy. Do you know how much it costs at least a year to hire the highest-level craftsmen in the workshop area in various parts of the Southern Continent?"
"How much?" Ron asked casually.
Matt immediately stretched out two fingers.
"Two hundred?"
"Two hundred?" Art shook his head. "Two thousand pfennigs!"
"What? Two thousand!" Ron's eyes widened and he couldn't believe his ears. "They just work in that place every day, and they can earn two thousand pfennigs a year?"
“Sir, the money needed to support one craftsman can support dozens of soldiers.” Ron, who was always smart, made a calculation like this.
"Fart!" Art gestured and raised his riding crop, wanting to whip Ron who was following behind.
Ron immediately raised his right arm to block, revealing his eyes and looking at Art who had a helpless face.
"Ron, thanks to you following me for so long, why haven't you learned any business acumen..." Art slowly retracted the whip.
"I~" Ron felt ashamed and stopped talking.
After leaving the workshop area, the group walked on the wide commercial road built by the Construction Department. Looking up, the commercial road paved with gravel stretches southward along the river, like a gray-white jade belt. The reclaimed land around the road is already green.
· Walking on the road, laborers and farmers coming and going from time to time greeted Yat, and Yat mostly responded with a polite smile.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the survey team finally reached the end of the reclaimed land and was about to enter the survey area. When it was dark, the rest camp had been set up by several soldiers. The men and horses of the baggage team picked up a lot of firewood in the surrounding area and prepared to set up pots to make rice.
At night, after a group of people gathered around the fire and had a hearty meal, except for the two soldiers on duty, the others got into their respective camps. In the next period of time, they will travel around the deserted valley, assisting Art in surveying the topography of the valley, and paving the way for the future development of the valley.