In summer, the warm and moist airflow from the Claw Sea meets the cold air from the northern wasteland, forming continuous rainfall that falls on this barren land.
Sitting in the office, looking at the drizzle outside the city, this feeling is quite pleasant. Apart from the humidity, there is nothing bad about summer. It is not like the southern part of the Empire, or Tyrell and other areas, which are plagued by mosquitoes in summer.
However, the summer in Kislev is not too hot. If there is a safe and beautiful town, Kislev can be called an excellent summer resort.
"Sir, what's for lunch?"
The butler Muros walked in from the door, with a calm and peaceful expression on his face as usual.
"Noodles, let's get some eel noodles, the kind with mashed potatoes. I always think noodles can fill my stomach."
Rhodes smiled. After saying that, the butler Muros turned and left to arrange the lord's lunch.
After a while, a bowl of fragrant boiled eel noodles was served to Rod's table.
"Let's get together."
Seeing Muros standing aside, Rhodes invited the old butler to have lunch with him. In private, Rhodes had no airs at all. This was one of the reasons why many servants were willing to loyally follow their lord.
"Thank you, sir. I've had lunch."
The old housekeeper answered with a smile.
…
"How is the construction of the city wall going?"
After lunch, Rhodes chatted with Muros about business matters.
"Not bad, the progress is quite fast. According to your plan, one-third of the project has been completed. It is expected to be completed in another two months. In autumn, before autumn comes, we can definitely build this stone road
wall."
When Muros spoke, he deliberately emphasized the word "stone wall" because before this, no one had ever thought that the project would be built at such a fast speed. For the construction project of the outer city of Blackhammer Castle, Rhodes adopted
To put it simply, the rubble wall is to collect local materials and use those discarded stones to build the city wall. Since the rubble stones have not been processed, most of them have edges and corners and different sizes. After they are piled up, the gaps are filled with cement.
After the adhesive is dried, a natural stone wall is formed. This is the most efficient way to build a wall. Otherwise, with the existing labor force of Blackhammer Castle, the stones would have to be cut and then neatly put up.
Even if it is piled up, I am afraid that the city wall will not be completed in three to five years. The use of cement is more important to bring the entire wall together to form a whole.
"Okay, let the workers speed up. We have to race against time. Those beastmen don't know when they will come to attack the town. Completing the city wall as soon as possible will be very helpful to improve the confidence of the people."
Rhodes said.
"I understand, sir."
Muros nodded.
"Muros, there is another question that I would like to discuss with you."
Rhodes suddenly turned around and asked.
"You say."
"Those Norscans, how do you think we should manage them next? Their numbers are getting larger and larger."
Rhodes sighed. This is almost a professional army. In addition to training, they also hunt. However, the small-scale Norscan army is easy to manage. Once the scale increases and there are no battles, it will be a disaster.
big trouble.
"I think they need a place to go, a place to vent their anger."
Muros lowered his head and spoke softly.
"I have allowed businessmen to build brothels here."
"No, it's not a brothel. That place alone is not enough."
"What do you mean?"
Rhodes raised his head and asked.
"These Norscans need a place where they can fight in peacetime."
Muros suggested to.
"arena?"
Rhodes frowned.
"Yes. Fighting and women. Now that they have one, they need the other. The arena can satisfy these people's needs."
"but……"
"I understand your concerns, sir. If you don't want to turn it into an open movement like the Iron Ring City, you can build it underground."
Muros said with a smile.
"I understand, this project can be included in our city construction plan. There is no need to allocate manpower for the construction for the time being, but once the city wall is built, this is the next step."
After Rhodes finished speaking, his eyes returned to the map again. The northern map hanging on the wall of his office became the object that Rhodes stared at for the longest time in the past two days.
"Muros, there's one more thing. I want more farmers to go out of the city and cultivate new land outside."
Staring at the map, Rhodes said thoughtfully. Economy and military are indispensable. In terms of military, with the Norscans as a powerful force, there is no need to worry too much about the defense of Blackhammer Castle for the time being. However, to support this
With an army, the economy must keep up. Although the furs obtained from hunting and the wood obtained from logging can provide good economic income.
But this cannot last long, because once winter arrives, hunting operations will be restricted. There will be fewer animals in the forest. Every time you go hunting, it may take a long time to find a lone animal. In this way, furs cannot be obtained in large quantities.
It can be said that furs are scarce throughout the winter. Once the evil moon approaches again, the number of beasts and werewolves will increase again. Fighting with beasts in the wild is only a fool's business. Therefore, once
Throughout the winter, Blackhammer Castle lost two sources of income-timber and furs.
For this reason, Blackhammer Castle must cope with the long winter at any time.
"The new land... sounds good, but my lord, I am afraid that no one is willing to go to the suburbs to cultivate farmland. With all due respect, people in the towns don't have a sense of security yet. Let alone go to the suburbs."
Muros told the truth. He was a loyal butler, and Rhodes liked people who were realistic. Unfortunately, Muros was old. Rhodes didn't know how many years he could still work. He was almost seventy years old, and his legs and feet were a bit weak.
I'm in a bad situation, but my mind is still very flexible and clear.
"So I plan to help these adventurers build towers." Rhodes said, "Using the materials we used to build the city walls."
"What's the purpose of the tower? To protect it from wild beasts?"
Muros asked.
"Not only to avoid wild beasts, it can also be used as a beacon. In other words, when a wild beast attacks, the farmer can hide in the tower and then light the beacon, so that the guards on Blackhammer Castle can
We learned the warning of the Beastmen's incoming attack as soon as possible and sent troops to support the farmers who were in danger. Of course, the cost of building the tower must be paid by Blackhammer Castle. At the beginning, we always need policy encouragement, not
?"
Rhodes said.
"Sounds feasible. But what about crops? You know, if it's wheat, with the climate in the north, it can only be harvested once a year. If there's a snowstorm, farmers may not get anything from their work for the whole year."
Muros still had sorrow on his face. He had stayed in this castle for decades and was already familiar with the operations of Black Hammer Castle. Basically, before Rhodes took over Black Hammer Castle, the economy here relied on
That mine produced ore, which was then sold in exchange for crops and currency to maintain the soldiers' salaries and rations. In Rhode's father's generation, it almost went bankrupt several times.
"I've already thought about it - potatoes. A specialty from the New World. They are cold-resistant, drought-resistant, and have a short growth cycle. Buried underground, they can avoid being destroyed by wild beasts and various strange beasts."