Since the last "Hongmen Banquet" was held to entertain Laheim, the nobleman from Erengrad has become more at ease. However, Rhodes still has to seize the time and take over the daily management of Blackhammer Castle.
For a whole week, Rhodes spent a whole week in Muros' bedroom. It has been a full year since he left Blackhammer Castle. Many things are not clear. During his absence from the castle, the old butler Muros could say
He is the top leader of the entire Blackhammer Castle. All matters large and small go through his hands. He knows the current situation in the territory better than anyone else.
According to Muros's idea, since there was no threat from the beastmen, civilians have come here to settle here one after another and seek a way to survive. A large number of people have been assigned to work in the mines. At present, the workers in the deep mines are already saturated.
, and can no longer accommodate new workers.
The scale of the mine has reached its maximum scale after Lahem's investment and expansion. It is almost impossible to expand the scale of the entire mine. If it is forced to expand, according to engineers, it may damage the rock formations, thus affecting the
The foundation of Blackhammer Castle. This is absolutely not allowed. Therefore, the development of the Deep Pit Mine can be said to have reached a bottleneck period.
Most of the subsequent immigrants went to the North Shore dock area, where there are emerging industries, various freight and transit services.
However, due to lack of planning, this piece of land, which was originally considered the best, became a mess, just like the scene Rhodes saw when he landed on the shore after returning from Kislev City. The streets were narrow and congested, with barns, goods
Warehouses, brothels, wooden hotels, market stalls, and houses with mud walls and tiled roofs were all mixed together in an disorderly manner. Although it was not a refugee camp, it looked just like a refugee camp.
But this is not surprising. Laheim is a noble of Erengrad. He came to Blackhammer Castle not to settle here for a long time, but to make money. When he makes enough money, he will naturally go back. Erengrad returns
If I don’t go, I will at least go back to Kislev.
Therefore, it is natural that he would not pay attention to the entire development plan of Blackhammer Castle. Before Muros became the general manager, he was just a personal butler of the lord. He had no idea of overall planning, and even if he had, he would not have the ability to implement it.
After all, Lahem will also hinder him if there is no profit. The simplest way is to demolish the house and rebuild it. Trade will be affected in the short term. As a noble Lahem who aims at profit, he is naturally unwilling to do this.
.He will do everything possible to obstruct the implementation of the policy. Inciting the people to make trouble is the simplest way...
For such an already developed urban area, Rhodes did not intend to carry out drastic reconstruction, because that would inevitably shake the already stable market. In Rhodes' heart, he only regarded the land on the north bank as the old city.
The new city still needs to select a site, but it will not be expanded in the short term because there are still a lot of internal things that need to be sorted out. For example, as the population expands, the economy develops, and the number of prisoners increases, should we consider setting up special prisons and dungeons for detention?
In the past, there were only a few hundred people in the town, and there were very few criminals. Everyone in the neighborhood knew each other. It is different now. The increase in the immigrant population has brought instability to public security. These criminals are currently only detained in Black Hammer.
If a special prison is to be built in the basement of the fort, how will the funds be arranged?
Another example is that because of Lahem's exploitation, many workers in the mine can barely maintain food and clothing. Once they get sick or injured, they have no money to find a doctor. Being oppressed like this for a long time can easily lead to large-scale strikes or even riots. This
It is also a problem. There are countless similar problems. Managing a castle is sometimes more difficult than fighting a war. Rhodes knows that for a long time in the future, he will probably have to sit in an office and deal with all kinds of trivial matters. At least in Muros
This was what it was like before I got better.
The most urgent thing to deal with right now is undoubtedly the issue of the refugee flow. After the Erengrad rebellion ended, a large number of refugees fled to various parts of Kislev. The slightly wealthy people fled to the empire or further afield, while those who were impoverished
People just want to flee to Kislev or various castles, towns and villages within the territory.
As a result, a large number of refugees poured into the northern border, and Blackhammer Castle was no exception. When Rhodes entered the city, he saw a large number of ragged civilians gathered outside the city in the River Bend area, setting up simple tents and standing in the cold wind.
However, Rhodes had already thought about and prepared for this problem. Ever since the news of Erengrad's massacre reached Rhodes' ears, Rhodes began to think about the issue of refugee flows.
After all, a big city of 100,000 people cannot be massacred all at once. Some people will definitely take advantage of the chaos and escape. Many of them left before the queen ordered the massacre because they were worried about the fate of the city. What's more
Some left when vampires appeared in the city, such as the first batch of refugees received by Blackhammer Castle and nobles like Laheim. But now, the entire northern border has ushered in the second wave of refugees, which is also the main group.
The number of this wave of refugees far exceeds the number of the first batch of refugees.
For this reason, after discussing with others, Rhodes decided to hand over the vast land that Catalina sealed to him to these refugees for free. Of course, this is a huge project, and it is not about flood irrigation, but careful planning. After all,
Not everyone in this group of refugees from the south is a farmer. Some of them are small traders in the city, some are workers in workshops, some are barbers, blacksmiths, laborers, prostitutes, hooligans, etc... these
People don't know how to farm. If they are sent to the countryside like driving ducks to the shelves, it is equivalent to leaving them to fend for themselves.
Therefore, in order to coordinate the arrangements and distribution, Rhodes established a refugee working group, which was responsible for registering refugee information, recording their specialties and physical health conditions. The refugees were then labeled as belonging to blacksmiths, and were arranged to be sent to the city.
At the blacksmith shop, let the blacksmith bosses hire them at the minimum wage.
He was originally a barber and surgeon, so he was assigned to the castle to form a surgical team. On weekdays, he was responsible for treating various injuries and illnesses for the residents of the town. During wartime, he accompanied the army to the front line to treat soldiers injured in battle at any time.
Rhodes had communicated with Lyanna about this work, and she was responsible for the formation of the medical team. Goddess Sharak needed such people the most to save the world's wounded.
As for those ruffians and small traders, there was no work for them here, so Rhodes called them together and gave them two choices. First, follow the farmers to learn how to farm and cultivate, and Black Hammer Castle would provide the most primitive seeds.
and some daily necessities. As for whether they can survive in the cold wilderness, they can only rely on themselves. The second option is to become a member of the logging team and follow the Blackhammer Castle logging team to periodically enter the Black Forest to log wood. Although it will
There is danger, but the danger is far less than it used to be.
It turns out that people's fear of the unknown is far greater than their desire for wealth. Most of the refugees chose the latter, following the logging team into the big forest to cut trees and receiving a fixed salary. After all, they had never engaged in agriculture and had no idea what the land could grow.
How many crops are completely uncertain?
Those who were originally farmers were grateful to Rhodes for this policy. They were originally employed by farmers or nobles, and most of the food they earned every year had to be turned over. They thought that as refugees wandering to a strange place, they would be subjected to more severe consequences.
Severe exploitation was not possible in Blackhammer Castle. Not only did the lord not ask for food to be turned over, but he also provided them with seeds and daily necessities for free. The only condition was that they had to cultivate their own farmland. It was a bit more strenuous, but it was better than before.
Life has become much better. The most important thing is that they see hope of surviving.
Of course, this tax-free policy does not last forever. Rhodes's regulations are that in the first year of reclaiming wasteland, there is no need to turn in any grain. If there is a harvest in the second year, 20% of the grain must be turned over; in the third year, 30%; in the fourth year,
40% per year; and so on, up to the fifth year, 50% of the grain will be collected, and no increase will be made. The actual situation will be fine-tuned at that time. For example, if there is a snowstorm, flood, etc., and the grain harvest fails in any year,
But he still has to hand over 50% to 60% of the grain, which is simply driving people to death. Rhodes will not do this. Doing so will destabilize the people and the rule will not be stable.
It seems quite weird that half of the harvest must be turned in, but in fact, in the Middle Ages and Old Continent, such a rule was considered benevolent. The official rule of the Knight Kingdom of Bretonnia is that farmers must turn in 90% of their grain harvest, which is simply a blessing.