Lord Harland.

Chapter 256 Opening the ban

After the demarcation was completed, Baron Harden was assigned to Richard, and the Redeemer army commanded by Zachary also left Iron Lion Castle (formerly Harden Castle) and entered the Earl of Donny Martins.

The land near the Barony of Harden is a well-developed land. Not only does it have a complete castle, but it is also easy to resume production. It does not require too many resources from the Harland family.The newly sealed territory has a lot of flat land and salt lake minerals. If all of them are developed, the strength of the Harland family will be greatly improved.

The Earl of Donny Martins has a very large area, covering an area of ​​more than [-] square kilometers, second only to several duchies.However, the Earl of Martins is weak, the territory is sparsely populated, and the products are not abundant.Such a vast area cannot be effectively defended by Count Martins' army.

King Charles put too much burden on Earl Martins, which caused the Earl of Martins to fall twice, and the population accumulated in the territory was robbed by orcs.

In just three years, two earls died in a row, and the strength of the Martins family's years of management was almost completely lost.

In the end, King Roger took office, pulled the Martins family, allocated a special loan of 30 gold coins, and sent an army of redeemers to the Martins County to help the Martins family maintain the situation.

Despite the presence of a Redeemer Legion, the orcs invaded Gascoigne from the Counties of Martins.

Because of the large defensive area, coupled with the rapid development of the Harland family, and the relatively stable defense lines around the territory, the Kingdom of Roger transferred the illustrious Zachary Redeemer Legion to the Earl of Martins and reorganized it into the Iron Lion Army.

Although the political standing failed, Zachary ushered in the opportunity to stand up again.

In the two consecutive battles of the orc invasion, Zachary's troops made great achievements. The army under his command has redeemed his crimes and reorganized into the central second-line army.

Leading his subordinates to make great achievements in battle, Zachary's performance won the affirmation of King Roger, and once again sat on the throne of the head of the Central Army.However, Zachary's political status is still far from being comparable to when he was the head of the Northern Legion, or even his old subordinates William, Tengwei and others.

It is very difficult to transfer from the head of the second-line army to the head of the main army.Unless an indisputable military exploit is made and a beautiful victory is won, it will be difficult to achieve such a big leap.

The Dawn Plane is a world where one's mighty power is all in one person, and wars in the world of demons rely on strength. Although tricks are useful, they cannot determine the outcome of a war.

If Zachary wants to get back up again, he still needs to struggle for many years to achieve a brilliant victory.

It may even be impossible to climb to the previous height in a lifetime.

The opportunity to change a person's destiny may be once or twice in a lifetime. Once lost, it is difficult for this opportunity to reappear.Unless the talent is excellent, or the luck is superior.Like Li Cha, become the person who changes the situation.

Although Zachary is brave and good at fighting, he is powerful and can be called a good general, but he is not someone who can turn the tide and change the situation.

Richard was promoted to the hereditary earl, and the political influence of the Harland family increased greatly.

At this moment, within the Kingdom of Grant, there are only a dozen or so great nobles who dare to touch the interests of Harland's territory.

The territory is prevented from infiltration, and the task of guarding against spies can finally be relaxed.

In fact, in recent years, after seeing the tragic situation of the Cisse family, ordinary barons and viscounts no longer dare to provoke the Harland family, and no longer send spies to the Harland territory.

When encountering business disputes, he did not dare to easily touch the interests of the Harland family.

As his strength gradually increased, Li Cha's situation became better.

If you become a great nobleman this year, you can also adjust policies, promote the circulation of goods in the territory, and activate commercial activities.

Li Cha is going to distribute goods to Nolan after winter.Brown sugar, hemostatic ointment, burn ointment, white wine, enchanted weapons, animal skins, fur cloth, and materials for magical beasts can all be sold in Nolan.

Relying on the power of the hereditary earl, Richard no longer needs to cooperate with the court nobles to do business in Nolan.

As a great nobleman, at least he has the right to fair competition when doing business within the Grant Kingdom.

This right is very critical to the commercial operation of Harland's territory.

Starting next year, commercial profits should increase a lot.

Even though many minor nobles were dissatisfied with the invasion of the market by goods from Harland's territory, which caused the outflow of gold coins.They can only negotiate with the territorial caravan politely, and dare not directly rob and kill people like they did a few years ago.

In the Kingdom of Grant, the political status of the viscount and the earl are almost completely different, and their deterrence to the outside world is also very different.

After Richard participated in the promotion ceremony, he did not stay in Nolan for too long, but returned to the Earl of Harland.

On the second day after returning, Li Cha carefully weighed the pros and cons, and abolished the decree prohibiting the migration of the citizens.However, in the secrecy-related departments, outsiders are still prohibited from visiting or approaching.There are now red arrow warning signs erected outside the secrecy-related departments. After more than ten years of blood lessons, no matter whether the free citizens of Harland Territory or ordinary slaves, they all have the concept that they should not approach the area marked by the red arrow.

Today, most of the secret-related departments in Harland's territory are related to magic, the threshold is very high, and it is relatively difficult to leak secrets.

Some key technologies, such as making alchemy bombs, are all controlled by the core of the territory.

Even if the citizens can move freely, the impact on the secret department will be relatively small.

The anti-migration decree mainly controls the speed of information dissemination. Although it has played a very good role in countering espionage and preventing leakage of territorial crafts, the population cannot circulate, which seriously suppresses commercial activities.

Without commercial activities and population circulation, the market will not be able to exert its power.

This year there are already 9 free citizens in Harland Territory.

The consumer market formed by [-] free citizens is second only to the capital Nolan in the Grant Kingdom, and the market size is equivalent to a big city like Black River Fort.

After weighing the pros and cons, Richard decided to let go of the ban, support business development, and make the territory more prosperous.

Although the Harland Territory has experienced war this year, it has not affected the industrial and agricultural production of the Territory.

The Orc 59th Legion did not invade the hinterland of Harland's territory, and was blocked outside the military depot. Although the wheat seedlings in the swamp basin were trampled a lot by the army fighting, resulting in a decrease in production of thousands of acres of farmland to varying degrees.Compared with the overall situation in Harland's territory, the summer and autumn harvests have not been greatly affected.

This year is not considered a bumper harvest year, nor is it considered a disaster year. The grain harvest is neither high nor low, and it is considered an average year.

The orcs invaded this year, which seriously affected the cultivation of new fields this year.

Both the Swamp Basin and Graveson Castle are not far from the front line, and these two areas are the focus of Harland Territory development.

This year's land reclamation work can only be carried out in the hinterland of the territory. It mainly develops the southern area of ​​Fort William and Fort Sophia, and reclaims about [-] acres of land, most of which are dry fields.

Because it is the first year, the yield will be relatively low. Despite the application of farmyard manure, the average yield per mu is less than [-] catties.Next year, half of these farmlands are going to be planted with cotton to expand cotton production.

This year, Richard was promoted to earl and gained a large new territory.Especially in the former Barony of Harden, about 26 mu of farmland has been reclaimed.

Canals and waterwheels have also been built on the farmland, and the infrastructure is very good.

Richard relocated the civilians from Baron Harden to Harland, leaving a large area of ​​farmland barren and clogging the canals.Now it is still necessary to relocate the population, dredge the canals, and resume production.

Although Uncle Soros was promoted to a hereditary baron, he did not choose to go back to manage the territory, but still served in the army of Harland Territory.

Cousin Kent retired from the Warcraft Cavalry Brigade and came to the Castle of the Brave to manage the territory of the Soros family.

The territory that Soros was awarded was also the fiefdom of the former Harden family. This fief is in the north of the Baron Harden, and it is the fiefdom of Baron Harden's eldest son, Baron Leon.

There is a river in this territory, which is a tributary of the Kaiya River. The Kaiya River is a very important river in the northern border area. It is a natural danger for the Gascoigne Province to defend against the orcs, and it is also the most important tributary of the Heihe River.

There are rivers in the territory, so naturally there will be no shortage of water sources. On both sides of the valley, many paddy fields can be reclaimed.

Baron Leon has been operating in this territory for several years, bought tens of thousands of slaves, and reclaimed more than 8 acres of farmland.In the northernmost part of the territory, a castle was built in a dangerous location, and it formed a line with Platos Castle as horns.

Although the citizens of the Barony of Leon were captured by the nearby nobles, the Farmland Castle could not be taken away.

With this foundation, it will be relatively easier to resume production next year.

Members of the Soros family are all officers in Harland's territory and do not operate other industries.

Uncle Soros' annual military salary is 120 gold coins, plus the welfare subsidy from the territory, the annual income is about [-] gold coins.

The salaries of cousins ​​Kent, Morgan, and cousin Audrey are slightly less, plus various subsidies, the annual income is about 120 gold coins.

Running a territory requires a lot of money, but the Soros family is relatively frugal on weekdays, and they also made some money running the mercenary group back then.In Harland's territory these years, he basically didn't spend much money.

After obtaining the fief, Soros directly handed over [-] gold coins to Kent, and called all family members, including several illegitimate children.

"Kent, this money is almost all of my savings, and now I will take it out and give it to you to manage the territory.

You are my eldest son and the first heir to the territory. I will hand over this territory to you to inherit.

Our family can be promoted to a hereditary noble and restore the glory of our ancestors. Apart from good luck and the support of your cousin Li Cha, it depends on the unity of the family members.

This territory not only has the hard work of you and me, but also the hard work of your younger brother Morgan and younger sister Audrey. If it weren't for their meritorious service, our family would have to wait a few years to obtain the fiefdom.

You got all my savings, and you will also help your younger siblings in the future. I am 58 years old now, and I can still work for more than ten years. I will continue to accumulate military exploits and help Morgan to be promoted to the baron.When the time comes for Morgan to manage the territory, you must also take out [-] gold coins to support your younger brother's business. "

The Soros family is the first generation of hereditary nobles. The family members are relatively close, and the internal struggle is not obvious.

Before Kent managed the territory, Soros made it clear and clarified the inheritance rights.

According to the unspoken rules within the general nobles, Soros' territory should be inherited by Morgan, who is more talented.But after careful consideration, Soros decided to hand over the territory to Kent.In addition to the factor that he prefers Kent, Soros has a certain degree of certainty.Before retiring, he was able to help his second son to be promoted to a hereditary nobleman, and the family obtained a second fiefdom.

Kent and Morgan have cousin Richard as a big backer, and Soros' sons are enough to keep the family business.

Kent is 38 years old and has been an officer for 20 years. In the early years, his salary was relatively low and he didn't save much money.After coming to the territory of Harland, as the occupation level increased, the military salary also increased, and he had already saved [-] gold coins.Adding the [-] gold coins donated by his father and the [-] gold coins funded by Richard, Kent has about [-] gold coins in his hands.

With the original capital of [-] gold coins, Kent ordered [-] slaves from the Duke of Guise for [-] gold coins through the channel of the Harland family.Then he spent another [-] gold coins to buy [-] slaves from the Black River Fort slave market.

With the remaining gold coins, Kent bought a large amount of grain, wool cloth, cattle, and farm tools from Harland's territory.

In late August, Kent brought the first batch of more than 500 slaves into the Barony of Leon, and began to clean up the castle, clean up the weeds, and do a little preliminary work to prepare for the resumption of production next year.

Richard also funded a batch of weapons and equipment for his cousin Kent, allowing him to arm some of the slaves.Kent has a family tradition of breathing, and the initial stage is easier than that of aristocrats of commoner origin.

The Barony of Leon has a good foundation, and the land is relatively fertile. It doesn't need a lot of capital investment in the early stage, and it can sell grain to make money after re-cultivation next year.

After the autumn harvest was completed, Li Cha started a new round of patrolling the territory.

As the area of ​​the territory grows larger and there are more and more villages, it is impossible for Li Cha to inspect all the villages by himself.

Now he can only choose some representative villages, go down and see for himself, and observe the living standards of the residents and the development of the local economy.

Li Cha left Fort William on a horse with a dozen or so entourages, and started his annual tour of the territory.

Many officials have persuaded Li Cha's habit of being easy-going and easy-going.

The bureaucrats in Harland's territory have always hated Richard's contact with the grassroots.But no matter what they said, they couldn't change Li Cha's mind.

Although the governance of the territory needs to rely on the bureaucracy, but without a strong force, Richard does not need to compromise with the bureaucracy at all.The political and economic treatment of soldiers and officers in the Harland territory is better than that of the bureaucrats.

(End of this chapter)