Rosen sat in the newly purchased carriage and left the city from the south gate of Silver Moon Castle, all the way south, along a muddy country road to his knight territory.
He originally didn't intend to pay attention to the territory, but the news from Crescent Town made him think of a situation that might happen in the future.
Rosen had a vague feeling that if Fubosi failed to handle this matter and disappointed the count, then the matter might fall on Chapollet.
And if Uncle Shapolai goes to Crescent Town, he will definitely come to him for help.
With his current status, of course he could find reasons to shirk it, but he was not prepared to shirk it.
In White Horse Town, he said that he would greatly repay Chapollet's kindness.
As a trustworthy gentleman, if you don't say it, you will do it if you say it.
Another consideration is that if there is trouble in Crescent Town, it will be the center of a storm, which is very dangerous, but if done well, it can also take advantage of the power of the storm to soar into the sky.
By that time, his status has greatly increased, and he has also helped the earl solve big problems. Given the earl's character, he will definitely reward him generously.
Since you plan to speculate again, you naturally need to make arrangements in advance.
One of them is to be familiar with the affairs of the lord.
But now, he feels that he has underestimated the difficulty of going to the countryside.
Although the new carriage also uses Thurlow suspension, the road conditions on the country roads are really bad. There is a pit here and a bump there. If you go a little faster, the bumps will be unbearable.
"The road is really rough."
This is still in the plains. If it were in the mountains, there would be no way to go.
It can also be foreseen that the newly purchased carriage will need to be overhauled after this trip back to Silver Moon Castle.
Fortunately, the road is not far away, 15 miles in a straight line and about 30 miles in a roundabout way.
Starting at 7 o'clock in the morning, we walked through the fields in the southern suburbs, and then around the red leaf hills less than 100 meters high, and then we found another large plain with extremely gentle undulations.
Along the riverside path of a small river less than 10 meters wide, walk for 3 miles until you reach a crossroads. In the center of the road is a worn-out road sign covered with mildew spots, indicating that you should turn to the right and reach the village of Philander.
.
Seeing that they were about to reach the end of the field, Rosen asked the coachman: "Joy, have you heard of Philander Village before?"
Joey is a coachman hired by the city. He is in his thirties, honest and honest.
He smiled honestly: "I've heard about it. It used to be very good, so there were a lot of people in the village. But in recent years, it's no longer good. Many families with four or five people only have one pair of pants. Whoever goes out wears it."
Rosen was startled: "I remember that all the villagers were free people. How could they be so poor?"
"I heard it's because the river in the village is blocked. It often rises. When it rises, the road out is submerged. It also likes to flood crops. It can rise more than a dozen times a year."
"Is it the river outside?"
Rosen pointed to the creek on the side of the road.
"Yes, that's it. You see, there was a light rain last night, and the river has risen so much. If it rains more, the water will rise again."
Rosen turned to look at the river and found that the water was really fast and yellow, and the river surface was less than half a meter from the shore.
"Isn't anyone thinking about widening the river or building embankments?"
"Of course I have done this. But if you want to do it well, you need a lot of money to buy tools and materials. Who can afford this money?"
"It used to be better, but in recent years, the gentlemen of Silver Moon Castle have become more and more indifferent about the life and death of the farmers. They only care about harvesting. Sir, it's me who's talking too much!"
Rosen waved his hand: "It doesn't matter."
Soon, the carriage drove through a road that was almost like mud. Several times, the wheels got stuck in the mud.
If Rosen hadn't cast a spell to lift the carriage out, the carriage wouldn't have been able to move.
This incident made him very miserable. He felt that he was not like a knight riding a carriage, but a man carrying a carriage.
After finally crossing this section of muddy ground, we saw a big tree far ahead. The crown of the big tree extended out, covering thousands of square meters of land.
With the trunk of the big tree as the center, there are circles and circles of thatched huts. There are a dozen circles in total, about 300 houses, which correspond to the 367 households in the data.
It was almost noon, but there was no smoke from any shack.
Rosen asked: "Don't they have lunch in the village?"
Joey shrugged: "It should be something to eat, like a few cold potatoes or something."
"But I definitely won't burn firewood. There is a lot of rain in spring, and it is difficult to make a fire because the firewood is wet. In addition, the firewood has to be cut from the mountains, and the quantity is limited, so you have to use it sparingly."
Rosen understood.
Think about it, you only have one pair of pants, why would you want to make a fire and eat hot food?
After the carriage entered the village, a bunch of naked children emerged from nowhere, chasing after the carriage out of curiosity and fear.
Rosen took a look and found that both boys and girls had no clothes.
Each of these children has a skinny body, which makes them look like they have big heads.
His body was dirty and covered in mud, his hair was in a ball of cake, and his vaguely visible skin was frozen dark red, but he didn't know it was cold.
You can also see faces at the door of each shack and behind the windows.
The one standing at the door has pants, but the one standing behind the window probably doesn't.
I could vaguely hear the buzzing of discussion, but I couldn't make out what was being said.
Coachman Joey shrank back in fear: "Master, you have to be careful about these villagers, they are so poor that they dare to do anything."
Rosen also felt many greedy eyes, and knew that he had been negligent. With a thought, he created a constant triggering resistance field on himself and the coachman.
"Go to the open space under the trees in the center of the village. The steward I sent should be waiting for me there."
"Okay~"
The carriage drove slowly and slowly to the foot of the big tree.
This is the center of the village, and the villagers are a little wealthier, at least they have clothes.
Of course, it is very worn and has been covered with one or even multiple layers of patches.
The only person in the crowd who looked decently dressed was the professional butler Rosen hired with a 35-kroner annuity, the just 25-year-old Babas.
He was wearing a black butler's robe, with short, lean hair, dark skin, and a thin figure, but he had a smart and capable face.
As soon as the carriage stopped, he ran over to greet it regardless of the mud on the ground, and at the same time gave instructions to the villagers loudly.
"Quick, quick, spread the prepared leaves and hay on the ground to pave a path. Don't let the lord step on the mud on the ground!"
A dozen male villagers in ragged clothes and skinny faces immediately ran up and spread fresh grass blades under the carriage, all the way to the wooden steps of a two-story wooden building.
After the road was paved, Rosen opened the carriage door and stepped out of the carriage.
I have to say that this move of Babas satisfied him very much. He really didn't want to step on the mud, nor did he want to cast a spell because of this little trouble.
Standing on the temporary grass carpet, Rosen looked around at the villagers.
I just glanced at him and didn't say anything.
Babas immediately waved his hand to chase them away: "What are you doing around the lord? Get away! Get away! They all look like they are covered in fleas. Do you want to pass it on to the lord?"
The villagers immediately stepped back more than ten meters quickly, and then looked at Rosen timidly, with deep awe in their eyes, but also a hint of longing.
Rosen understood something after just one glance, and he was already prepared.
As soon as the idea came to mind, some copper kelins flew out of the money bag that had been prepared in the carriage and flew towards each villager. Each person received 20 kelens.
"I'll reward you, go on."
The villagers were overjoyed when they received the reward. Regardless of the mud on the ground, they knelt on the ground and shouted some random words of gratitude.
Such as 'Long live my lord, my lord is in good health, and my good lord has a safe life' and so on.
Rosen ignored it and rewarded the butler Babas with three more silver coins before stepping on the grass carpet into the only wooden house in the village.
The butler Babas was also very happy after receiving the reward. He followed Rosen a few meters away, like a pug, barely wagging his tail.
The reason why he flattered the lord Rosen so diligently was because he was born in Silver Moon Castle and was very aware of Rosen's noble status.
He can decide the future fate of himself and his family with just one sentence. If the slits of his fingers are opened wider, the benefits that leak out will allow his family to have enough food and drink, and live a decent life.
And if you anger him, you may lose your job at worst, or your life at worst.
On the other side, Rosen arrived at the wooden building and wanted to find a place to sit down, but found that both the tables and chairs were dark, dirty, and greasy, and the air was filled with the musty smell of rotten wood.
It was okay to sit down, and he wasn't picky about it, but the clothes he wore cost him 20 crowns and would be ruined if they were greasy.
So, I could only stand.
"Babas, you have been here for half a month. Do you have a full understanding of the basic situation in the village?"
Babas nodded immediately: "Yes, Lord."
"Introduction."
Babas immediately began to describe the situation in Philander Village in detail.
"Currently, there are 379 households in the village, with a total of 1,552 people, of which 1,261 are between 12 and 50 years old, 763 are male and 502 are female."
Rosen listened carefully: "Why are there so many men?"
"Two reasons. First, some beautiful women have married and left Philander Village. Second, some of them died during childbirth."
Rosen understood: "Keep talking."
"With the current situation in the village, gold coins can only be obtained by selling grain, meat from poultry and livestock, and game in the fields, mountains and forests."
"In addition, some silk and hemp are also grown in the fields, which can be spun into linen, but there is no weaving cart in the village, so we can only sell raw hemp."
"Taking it all together, if we adopt a 40% relaxed tax, we can make a profit of about 200 kronor a year. If we adopt a strict 60% tax, we can make more profits, but this may cause villagers to flee or even resist."
"in addition."
Rosen listened silently, waiting for Babas to finish speaking, and then he said, "Is there any way to change the current situation?"
Babas hesitated, but nodded.
"Dredging the rivers, building irrigation canals, paving the roads out of the village, and building several public toll facilities, such as water-powered mills and textile workshops, should be able to significantly change the situation in Philander Village."
"At that time, the annual tax will also increase significantly. It will be at least 700 kronor, and it may also be 1,000."
"So, how much is the minimum amount required?"
"If it's an ordinary level, you can spend no money and be exempt from taxes for two years. If you want to improve the project specifications and use stone materials to build it, you can be tax-free for two years. At the same time, there will probably be a gap of 1,000 kronor."
After saying this, he lowered his head and explained hurriedly, fearing that Rosen would be angry.
"Of course, after this money is spent, there will be no need to consider subsequent maintenance for at least thirty years, which will also perfectly demonstrate the virtue of the lord."
"You don't have to worry about labor. As long as there are enough tools and materials and a lunch is provided, the villagers can requisition them for free."
Rosen has understood
As a lord, he basically doesn't have to do anything. As long as the taxes are lighter and he doesn't give random orders, ordinary people in this world can live a good life.
But the current situation is generally that as long as you don't die, you will be squeezed to death.
Among all Babas' words, the words that moved his heart the most were the words 'The Virtue of the Lord'.
Another main purpose of his coming here is actually to earn the reputation of this virtue.
Looking at a group of villagers outside the wooden house whose life was worse than that of savages, Rosen said: "Then it will be tax-free for three years, and the rest will be as you say."
After a pause, he added: "Water conservancy roads and public facilities are all built with stone."
"Ah?" Babas couldn't believe it.
Rosen didn't want to stay in this dark and damp wooden house anymore, so he walked to the steps outside.
"Go and call all the people in the village, and then announce my order."
"Yes, Lord Lord."
The butler Babas happily called for help.
He was happy for many reasons. First, he would surely be able to make some money from such a big project.
Of course, I don’t dare to get too much, after all, the lord is a wise mage.
Second, once Philander Village is completed, his life will be much easier in the future.
After running around for a while, the Philander villagers quickly gathered in a clearing under a big tree.
Babas reported softly: "Lord, everyone in the family who has pants is here, men without pants are also here, and there are also many shameless women and children. There are about 1,300 people in total."
This is such a strange description.
Rosen said: "Next, I will say something, and you will shout something for me."
Shouting loudly is very tiring and hurts the throat, and this rough work has to be done by the subordinates.
"First introduce my identity."
Babas opened his throat and shouted.
"This is the new lord of Philander Village, Sir Rosen de Philander. He is also a very powerful divine seal mage. He is highly respected in Silver Moon Castle and has also killed people on the battlefield of Moonlight Town.
Hundreds of ice dwarf invaders, and were personally received by the count many times!"
With such an introduction, the villagers looked at Rosen with more awe and less greed.
"Tell me my orders again."
"The lord said that everyone's life is really hard, and he, who is kind and generous, feels very sad. Therefore, all taxes will be exempted for the next three years!"
"Let us cheer for the kind, generous and generous lord!"
This order was a real and huge benefit, and the villagers immediately cheered loudly.
"Let's talk about the project."
"The lord also said that the flooding in the village is too serious, the roads are too bad, and there are no mills and textile mills yet. He is prepared to spend a large sum of money to improve the situation!"
"This amount is a thousand gold coins!"
‘Wow~’
The villagers were shocked. This was a huge investment that no one could even imagine.
'Plop~Plop~Plop~'
Almost all the villagers knelt on the dirt and loudly praised the new lord with all the good words they could think of.
Rosen waved his hands to the villagers as a response.
At this point, the matter is finished and everything that needs to be known is known.
Rosen was too lazy to stay in this dirty Philander Village, which didn't even have a place to sit.
He looked at Babas: "Let's go, take my car back to Silver Moon Castle, go to the city to hire craftsmen, and hire some warriors to maintain law and order."
To do a big project, a lot of money must be handled, and he was a little afraid that his housekeeper would be killed by greedy villagers.
The butler Babas was immediately flattered: "Lord, I can ride a horse or a donkey back, so I won't dirty your carriage."
Rosen then used a 'low-level cleaning technique' on him.
"No problem now."
It's not quite clean, but at least it won't stain his new carriage.
Baba suddenly straightened his back and his face was full of pride, because being able to sit in the lord's carriage was a rare honor for a butler.
He couldn't help shouting at the villagers again.
"Villagers of Philander, you have welcomed a truly good lord, and good days are ahead!"
