The four fiefdoms under the Xia Ya Principality have always been a difficult problem for Colin.

In principle, Oliver Gray is loyal to His Majesty the King, but the subjects under his rule have no direct subordinate relationship with Alan IV. Therefore, even if the Duke hands over the fiefdom, his subjects still have their own independent territory, even if

Even the king cannot force the withdrawal, which will trigger a strong backlash from conservatives.

Colin Wayne's identity is also a bit embarrassing. Although he is the legitimate Lord of Xaya, he does not have any title.

This is an irreparable flaw in the aristocratic system that attaches great importance to hereditary inheritance.

When Colin Venn wore a magic robe and was a disciple of Roman Sagan, every noble would treat him with great courtesy. But when he became a lord and joined the ruling system of the kingdom, even if

Being a disciple of the Magister will not bring him any bonus points.

According to Colin's ideas, the feudal lord system will be replaced sooner or later.

This does not even require him to think about it with the thinking of a time traveler, because whether it is the dictatorship of the Emperor of the Osik Empire in the Northern Continent or the parliamentary system of the Blue Alliance in the Western Continent, this kind of "subordinates' subordinates are not my subordinates."

The ancient feudal system cannot adapt to the trend of the times.

Tulum was originally no worse than Oshik, but after the latter had undergone several generations of reforms and paid a huge price, the now powerful Emperor of Oshik could easily mobilize the power of the entire empire. In terms of frontal strength, it had already surpassed Tulum.

Lun doesn't know how much.

"How much tribute was collected? Is it half?" Colin asked Madeleine.

"Half of it is money, and none of it is food and ore." Madeline said.

In a daze, Roderick seemed to see the lord again who was even more excited after discovering the power of the orcs on the city wall.

"It's perfect. This kind of paper is simply a work of art."

"Don't worry, Captain Roderick, not only here, but all the originally unusable land around the fortress will grow full of rye and wheat. In addition, a large amount of kidney beans and bitter thistles will be harvested on the mountains on the east side, and the fortress

Pasture will continue to grow on the large rocky ground on the north side, and a piece of land will need to be fenced there for raising livestock."

The original Oliver Gray really had nothing to do with them.

…

She admired, and then asked Harvey beside her: "A few more chamber of commerce representatives came from the Western Continent before, and they said they also wanted to sell phonographs as agents. Are they still there now?"

"Sir, I recently heard the news that Count Frank and three other barons have secretly turned to Duke Valante." Madeleine lowered her voice.

In fact, he had already anticipated this situation.

"Honestly, this is hard to imagine." Roderick sighed: "Brothers are afraid that their work will be in vain."

Sophia stood on a hillside outside Late Winter City, looking down at the hundreds of fortress defenders busy in the fields.

"He hopes we can open a branch to Winterfell."

The lords appointed by His Majesty do not carry any titles. This is obviously the first step in reducing Xia Ya's titles and titles. As the only four nobles with fiefs in Xia Ya, they cannot put their hopes in Ke, who is born to be a royalist.

On Lin Wynn.

"That means there is nothing." Colin was not angry, but rather funny. The last thing he lacked was money.

Colin nodded slightly, without showing any dissatisfaction on his face.

Madeleine's meaning was obvious, there was not much hope of using force to solve the problem.

However, Colin seemed not to hear what Madeline meant, and said thoughtfully: "Then there should be a lot of people in their territory..."

"Yes, I'm waiting at the hotel. I'll come and inquire every day."

"They occupy more than half of the land that can be planted in Xia Ya, and their combined strength is much higher than ours. What's more, they have Duke Valante supporting them now..."

This knight captain was also from a peasant family in Midwinter City, so he naturally knew how barren the land near the fortress was.

"Let them come over tomorrow and tell them that we have something new and they will be interested."

"Yes, Master. Is there any explanation in Mr. Wayne's letter?" After all, Harvey is an old butler who has been with the Feniya family for two generations, and other servants would obviously not dare to ask such a question.

"Is Midwinter City very poor?" Fenya asked.

…

Feniya was hesitant and a little confused: "It is said that the chamber of commerce only needs experienced store managers, and there is no need to even bring goods there."

Rodrick felt that he should say something, so he cleared his throat: "Sir, the fortress defenders are not only capable of fighting orcs."

…

Perhaps it was the Duke's long-term connivance that made these people feel confident.

"Wintertown?" Harvey tried to find the impression of this city from his memory.

There are only 2,000 defenders in the Late Winter Fortress, which is just enough to deal with the orcs, and they are completely unable to fight against the disobedient subordinates.

Colin looked at the taciturn knight with some surprise, and then thought that they might have been suffering for a long time.

From the perspective of these soldiers, they were fighting the orcs on the front line, and the nobles behind them not only did not help, but kept holding the Duke back. Perhaps they had wanted to redirect their bows and arrows a long time ago.

Roderick personally led the team down to the ground, and during the break, walked up the hillside.

Youjin Chamber of Commerce.

Although some leveling and treatment have been done, any farmer who has planted the land can see that it is impossible to produce a grain of grain on such hard gray ground where even weeds cannot grow.

"Please believe me." Sophia smiled: "Please believe me, Lord."

Thunder City.

…

And they did not turn in the tribute in accordance with the regulations. On the one hand, the harvest may indeed be bad, but more importantly, they may also want to test the bottom line of the new lord--it may not even be without the instructions of Duke Valante.

After Feniya read the letter sent from Dusk Winter City, she carefully observed the letter paper again and again, rubbing it with her fingers to feel its texture.

"How strong are the territories of Earl Frank and the three barons?" Colin was relatively familiar with the situation in the Late Winter Fortress, but obviously he was not very clear about the four territories that even Oliver could not control.

"Understandable."

"Miss Sophia, is it really possible to grow food in a place like this?"

"Yes, the Chamber of Commerce has opened branches in Xia Ya before, but none of them could last for more than a month. It was too desolate, there was nothing, and many civilians had never even seen what a copper plant looked like." Harvey answered.

“Can a store like this be opened?”

"However, I remember that Midwinter City is right next to Midwinter Fortress." Harvey said with a smile: "With Mr. Wayne here, it won't be a surprise even if a miracle happens."

"Yes." Feniya smiled.
Chapter completed!