ps. Here's today's update, and also a plug for Qidian's 515 Fan Festival—everyone gets 8 votes, and voting earns you Qidian coins. Please support and show your appreciation!
Chapter 197: Resettlement
"Well? What happened to all that big talk? Each of you was so smug. 'There's strength in numbers'—sure, now we have plenty of people, but do we have enough grain to feed them? Fengle Plain has only just been stabilized, and we still need to provide a grain subsidy this year. At best, it'll be self-sufficient by next year. You all heard the numbers Director Spell and Director Kamola just reported—the family's grain reserves can sustain us for eight more months at most."
It was July twelfth now. That was barely four months until November, and from December through March everyone would be holed up for winter. Then what? By April or May next year, they'd have run out of grain. Over the past two-plus years, they'd poured so many resources and so much capital into developing Fengle Plain that it had been nothing but expenditure with virtually no return. Just when things were about to ease up, these fellows had gone and saddled the family with this massive burden!
Lorist was seething. The entire Northland had a population of just over eight hundred thousand. Last time they'd raided the Grand Duke's territory and relocated three hundred thousand. This time, these idiots had swept clean every lord in the Northland except the three allied families—the Kenmais Family, the Shahin Family, and the
"You originally thought you'd be able to seize large stockpiles of grain from those lords to supplement our supplies, didn't you? Well, now you're all stunned, aren't you? The Second Prince had been strip-mining the Northland for resources, waging reckless military campaigns. Do you know what field tax rate those lords had set? Seventy percent. Fifty percent of that went directly to the Second Prince. The commoners were left with barely enough scraps to keep from starving. Otherwise, why would they have been so willing and happy to surrender as your prisoners and march off with the soldiers? The food we gave them along the way was better than anything they'd eaten in a whole year—and they got to eat until they were full…"
Lorist smiled bitterly. On the road escorting Princess Sylvia, every supply station they'd passed through had been the same. Whenever mealtime came, the temporary camps would erupt in excitement. Every displaced commoner was beaming with joy, as though attending a feast. When Lorist went over to ask around, he learned that this vegetable porridge with dried magical beast meat was already a rare delicacy for these people—and on top of that, it was salted, and each person even received a thick slab of dark bread…
If these commoners had stayed in their original territories, they could have planted some potatoes or the like and harvested one more crop by year's end. The lord would have taken most of it, but with what remained, plus some wild vegetables they could dig up, they might have scraped through the winter until the winter wheat harvest—surviving with that kind of dogged tenacity.
But the
With grain in hand, one need not worry. If it weren't for these 280,000 commoners, even with an additional fifty or sixty thousand prisoners, the Family's grain reserves would have been enough to feed everyone for over a year and two or three months. They wouldn't have had to worry even if natural disasters or other emergencies struck. But now, saddled with this burden of 280,000 people, just as the two managers had calculated, they had only eight months of grain reserves left. Even if the potatoes and other crops planted at Fertility Plains were harvested by year's end, they could at most stretch things another two or three months — the books still wouldn't balance.
To settle these 280,000 people with distributed land and housing would take at least two years, and during those two years the Family would have to provide them with food. Developing the Black Mud Swamp required enormous manpower and resources, and would yield no grain output for several years. This burden on the Family's back wouldn't be set down for at least two or three years.
Lorist let out a long, deep sigh. He looked at the men before him with an expression of frustrated disappointment. "What, all of you tongue-tied? Speak up! We've brought all these people here — where are we going to find grain?"
Fatty Shrade, his face a picture of misery, said, "My Lord, you'd better make the decision. We were wrong — just tell us what punishment to administer…"
"Bring me the Family's territorial map, and also the old map of Count Spencer's former fief," Lorist ordered Reddy, who stood attending behind him.
"How many prisoners did we capture this time?" Lorist asked.
"A total of 63,248. Every survivor of the Northland nobles' coalition army was captured. In this battle, the Second Prince's Royal First Army suffered over ten thousand casualties — more than eight thousand dead and over three thousand wounded. We've already treated them, and in a few more months, once they've recovered from their injuries, they can be sent to perform labor service." Fatty rattled off these figures from memory without a moment's hesitation.
The Northland nobles' army of a hundred thousand had truly earned that title this time — no exaggeration, and there had even been a few extra. But now they had been completely annihilated. Not a single one had escaped, and even their home base had been swept clean.
"How many of the landed nobles are still alive?" Lorist asked again.
"Forty-seven, and over twenty more who resisted were hanged..." Fatty's voice dropped.
"...and their fiefs were destroyed by our family's armed forces. The residents all came with us — even if we let them go back, they'd just starve to death. We'll find a chance to redistribute land to them when the opportunity comes."
"Yes, my lord." Supervisor Kamola rose to his feet and answered.
Reddy brought over a map and spread it across the table.
"The mess you three created, you three will clean up. Knight Bodenfing, you'll take three heavy armor battalions and escort the prisoners to Black Mud Swamp for labor service. Remember two things: first, the wall and trenches from Turtle Mountain to Reclining Ox Hill must be completed by the end of November. Use the earth dug from the trenches to make mud bricks for the wall. When winter comes, splash water on it and freeze it into an ice fortress. I don't want to tangle with magical beasts again this winter. Even if another beast tide comes, it needs to be stopped outside this wall.
Second — you can slow down on the road through the middle of Black Mud Swamp. I'll have the Chariot Battalion work with you to eliminate those Ironback Bay Crocodiles. But the coastal road must be sped up. I want a passage to the coastal highland hills filled in as soon as possible. I hope that next year we can find a suitable spot on the coast to build a shipyard. Understood?" Lorist tapped his finger on the map as he spoke.
Bodenfing snapped to attention: "Yes, my lord, I will absolutely fulfill both requirements."
"Don't agree so quickly. That wall I mentioned — you need to widen it for me. It must be at least wide enough for two chariots to travel side by side." Lorist raised the difficulty. Two chariots side by side meant a minimum width of five meters — essentially doubling the workload.
Bodenfing was taken aback: "My lord, why would you need it wide enough for two chariots?"
"From Turtle Mountain to Reclining Ox Hill is over twenty li. Do you expect our family soldiers to run back and forth on it every single day? Making it wide enough for two chariots to travel side by side means that in an emergency, we can directly move the Chariot Battalion up there to set up defenses. Do you understand now?"
"I understand, my lord." Bodenfing rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sir Shrade, you have a great deal to do. First, the land allocation to all the Fertile Plains settlers must be completed before the end of the year, and planting during the allocation process cannot be delayed. It's still possible to get a potato crop in before November, so promote this heavily and expand the planted area. At this time, even coarse grains are life-saving food — the more planted, the better. After harvesting this batch of potatoes, you also need to organize the settlers of the Fertile Plains for winter wheat sowing. Tell them the winter magical beast tide won't come again, and let everyone plant with confidence. Next year, for our family's first year, the land tax will only be ten percent. The more they plant, the more they keep for themselves..."
"My lord, I know what to do. I'll handle it well," said
"Such small matters you can delegate to
Also, press forward with the construction of Bedrock's rear city. Whether it's the defensive walls or the residential district planning, everything must be completed before the end of next year. I'm tired of looking at that eyesore every day. Once those two locations are finished, you can begin preparations for building Bedrock's front city. That was your original proposal, and you will be the one to execute it."
"Finally, come over here and take a look at this map of the former Count Spence's domain. Rose, you come here too," Lorist said, slapping the map spread out on the table.
Fatty and Rose the Wild Tiger both obediently stepped forward.
"The former Count Spence's domain and the territories of several nearby lords — this large stretch of land is one of the Northland's rare regions with lush grass and abundant water. Look, there are also three large and five small lakes, making it ideal for large-scale cultivation and farming. I've given this area a name: Hing'an Plains. Starting today, these Hing'an Plains belong to our Norton Family.
Hing'an Plains can be divided into eight districts, just like the Fertile Plains. Sir Shrade, you are responsible for settling all two hundred thousand-plus commoners from outside into the Hing'an Plains. For dividing the districts, settling residents, and registering household records, I will have Administrator Codan assist you. Administrator Sperl will provide food and supplies, and Administrator Hanske will help you with statistics and planning. All requirements are to match those of the seven districts in the Fertile Plains.
However, after you've divided the eight districts of Hing'an Plains, you can concentrate your forces on developing three or four districts first. The remaining districts can wait for the population to grow before development. Remember, time is of the essence — use the previously cultivated fields on these lands to have those settlers plant potatoes first. Even a bit more grain harvested is a good thing. As for Rose, your three lancer cavalry battalions will be stationed in Hing'an Plains, responsible for security and vigilance." Lorist laid out the plan he had devised over this period for settling these commoners.
"My Lord, why don't we move all these commoners into the family's own territories? Look at the road from
Lorist shook his head gently. "The security of that region is still uncertain. I don't plan to develop this wasteland — perhaps in the future we could set up pastures there, but building towns and reclaiming the land can wait. I recall that three years ago, our supply convoy traveling from Maple Manor to Rock Fortress along this road was attacked by nearly a hundred hill barbarian cavalry. That time, Jorsk performed magnificently, shooting down over thirty hill barbarian cavalrymen in one go, and the rest fled into the Black Forest in terror.
As long as they're spotted, our powerful family forces can more than handle them. But if we were to develop this wasteland, the hill barbarians could use the Black Forest as cover to launch raids on our towns and reclamation villages under construction, causing heavy casualties. That would set off panic, and we'd have to commit extra troops to garrison the area — the losses would far outweigh the gains.
Right now, only four lord alliances remain in the Northland, so our external security can be assured at a basic level. We no longer need to rely on Rock Fortress's walls to protect the family's territories. As long as the towns and villages in the Hing'an Plains have reliable defenses like those in Fengle Plains, even if an enemy attacks, we can hold off the first wave and then our family's mobile forces can deliver a devastating blow to the enemy.
So, developing the Hing'an Plains is imperative. The Grand Duke of the Northland's invasion, the Second Prince's assault — in both battles our Iron Bear Family has made a name for ourselves. It's time to extend our claws and claim some territory, lest people keep calling us a bunch of turtles hiding in our shells. Does everyone understand what I'm saying?"
"We understand, my Lord," the family knights in the great tent answered in unison.
"Oh, there are two more matters. First, when dividing the eight districts of the Hing'an Plains, each district should set aside a plot of land to build a manor castle. Knight Shrade will handle this as well," Lorist said.
"My Lord, what is this for?" Fatty Shi was puzzled. Each district already had a central town, so why build an additional manor castle — was it meant to garrison troops?
Lorist smiled. "Our family already has six Gold-rank Knights. By convention and common sense, each Gold-rank Knight ought to have a manor castle. In recent years they've been slighted — the family had too many affairs to attend to and we couldn't spare the resources. Now that we can, we should prepare manor castles for them. The reason for building two extra is because of Termon and
Knight Shrade, you should put in some effort too — don't fall behind. And Dolles, don't get too obsessed with the power of war charions and steel crossbows. A blacksmith must temper his own body — you can't neglect your own cultivation. If you break through to the Gold rank, you'll get a manor castle too, and I can even put together another chariot regiment for you to command as its colonel."
"Really?" Dolles was overjoyed.
"I wouldn't lie to you," Lorist said with a nod.
"Alright then, I'll go back tonight and train hard…" Dolles thumped his chest and declared loudly.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Once the laughter subsided, Lorist put on a stern expression again. "Yuri, I hear you were the most enthusiastic during the sweep of the Northland lords — ran the fastest, captured the most lords, is that right? I'm entrusting the second task to you. In August, old Father Barek will be leading the woodworking masters from the artisan battalion to the Black Forest to find suitable timber. You'll take the ranger battalion to escort them. Not a single master is to come to any harm, understood?"
"Yes, my Lord, I understand. Just like you always say, every skilled master is one of the family's most precious treasures. I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe. If I'd known this was coming, I would have learned woodworking before…" Yuri's voice grew quieter and quieter, trailing off into muttering by the end.
"It's not too late to start now. I can give you two years off — come back once you've mastered the craft, and you'll become our family's first woodworking knight. In future battles, I'll even assign someone specifically to protect you," Lorist said, his sharp ears having caught every word of Yuri's muttered complaint.
"My Lord, I'd rather pass on that — otherwise the next time I go into battle, you'll probably order me to fight with a woodworking saw…" Yuri replied with a grimace.
The great tent erupted in laughter once more.
…
"The 515 event is coming up soon. I hope we can keep pushing for the 515 Red Packet Leaderboard, so that on May 15th, the rain of red packets can reward our readers and promote the work. Every bit of support counts, and I'll definitely update more diligently! (To be continued...)"