When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1009 Barto, wake up!
"you are?"

Looking at this eloquent middle-aged farmer, Sherley keenly sensed that he was no ordinary farmer.

The middle-aged farmer took off his straw hat, revealing a face scarred by arrows: "I am Hugh Allen, the centurion of this place."

"oops!"

Before Sheryl could speak, Anselm behind him suddenly exclaimed and stepped forward: "Hueylen? It really is you! Damn it, I almost mistook you for someone else!"

"...Anselm? You've come to Thousand Rivers Valley too?"

“Leia is in such a mess, and I heard the Franz are going to garrison Longsong City. Who dares to stay? Aren’t they afraid of Franz retaliation?” Anselm complained. “But you, when did you get here?”

"When else could it be, when I get conscripted into the Kingdom's army and turned into a farmer?" Hugh Allen patted his chest. "Fortunately, everything went as planned, and I'm already a member of the Holy Alliance."

After this conversation, the people around realized that the Hueyren and Anselm families had once been neighbors.

However, Hueyron's family were refugees, and he himself had always worked as a farmhand for Anselm's family.

Since good, hardworking and intelligent farmhands are hard to find, and the two had grown up together, Anselm treated Hueyren quite well.

Although nominally master and servant, the two often worked together in the fields and were practically friends.

However, during the Kingdom's civil war, Hueyron was captured and forced into labor. He later surrendered and was given land, where he remained in the Thousand Rivers Valley.

Because of his excellent plowing skills and his helpful nature, he was elected as a centurion four years ago.

"Yes, I'm so happy today." Hugh Allen met an old friend in a foreign land, and naturally they had a lot to talk about. "How about this, I'll take a few of you to a pub for dinner and drinks, it's on me."

"Great!" Hunchback Worin was overjoyed to see someone treating him to a meal.

Bartolomew and Sheryl were naturally in favor, so the group went to find a tavern nearby to sit down and chat.

Midway through the journey, Sherley approached Hugh Allen, wanting to ask who the genius was who invented the rice-wheat-coating method.
"That priest was named Julien, from County Hotham. He was originally a village priest in the countryside and had previously supported the church."

However, after the Lancers ravaged various villages and Bishop Barniforth turned a blind eye, his faith collapsed and he converted to the Church of the Holy Way.

He later passed the examination and became a wandering monk.

During the Second Thousand River Valley War, he infiltrated behind enemy lines and led a group of moralists to attack King Gigi's army.

After the war, he was transferred to the neighboring priestly town to serve as chief priest.

This trajectory of rise to power is quite normal; the vast majority of high-ranking monks in the Holy Alliance currently come from this background.

However, many clergy members from the original church generally have an invisible ceiling, namely, the position of chief priest.

Although Horn claimed to treat everyone equally, the monks, who were originally from the Salvation Army, had implicitly formed a set of unspoken rules.

Those who were originally church clergy members were not allowed to be promoted to priest or higher.

However, it was Julien who, through his reform of rice and wheat cultivation, managed to get his name before the Pope.

Horn wouldn't engage in any underhanded dealings with you. He simply called you over, sent you to St. John's University to study theology, and appointed you as the deputy sheriff of South Mande County.

This is no small promotion; it's equivalent to skipping the village guild and being promoted to the county guild.

Given the current situation, after two or three years, one could become a county magistrate, or even be promoted to the Imperial Order.

Which of the priests in the neighborhood isn't envious?
In the past two years, every household or priestly order near a river or with water resources has been working hard and quickly to achieve rice and wheat intercropping.

It was common to see itinerant monks and even priests personally carrying hoes and digging irrigation ditches, working harder than ordinary oxen and horses.

Thanks to the construction and restoration of irrigation facilities in various places between 1449 and 1453, it was not difficult to implement this rice and wheat intercropping method.

However, this method is not applicable everywhere. For example, in County Hotham, there are many streams and a long tradition of sluice gates.

But counties like Longsand don't have as many tributaries, and they didn't have a tradition of sluice gates, which would be too expensive to build.

Not to mention mountainous terrain.

Fortunately, Julien was indeed skilled. Based on the mountainous terrain, he collaborated with Enrico and water conservancy experts from the University of Santander to develop a plan for slope pond irrigation suitable for mountain valleys.

This involves building tiered ponds on the hillside to regulate the flow of mountain streams and create ponds.

Then, channels are drawn from the pond and extended along contour lines to irrigate the farmland.

If this slope method is effective, then the northern Scrab Plains and Northshire can also use this method to increase grain production.

Listening to Heyren's introduction, Sherry was filled with mixed emotions.

Such professional bureaucrats existed in parts of the royal regions of Fran and Leia, but they were also subject to barriers.

Commoners have a high ceiling, minor nobles have a low ceiling, only major nobles have no ceiling and can hold positions like county magistrate.

Julien was a commoner, a village priest by birth, and even a member of the clergy of the church.

If the church were to handle things the way they do, it would be absolutely wicked and corrupt.

However, in the Holy Alliance, as long as one has political achievements and ability, one can be promoted from a junior monk to a priest or even a deputy county magistrate within four years.

A commoner becomes a county magistrate...

Thinking of the orphan commander of the garrison at Shattered Stone Plains to the north, Sheri couldn't help but sigh.

The Church was arguably the place in the Empire where the ceiling on social status was least obvious, with about a dozen commoner popes throughout history. These commoner popes could even get high-ranking nobles to kiss their toes.

Regardless of the era, archbishops of noble birth often occupied more than two-thirds of the church positions.

Even so, it attracted a large number of talented young people of humble origins to come and join them.

No wonder the artisans and citizens of Leia are migrating in droves, even paying their own way to build their own lines to the Holy Alliance.

Sherley suddenly remembered "fairness," one of the four pillars of the Holy Way, and perhaps this was the external manifestation of this doctrine.

Following Hugh Allen, the group found a tavern.

Hugh Allen immediately ordered sausages, braised river clams, stir-fried chickpeas, and other appetizers to go with his drinks, along with a dozen draft beers.

Seeing this arrogant attitude, Anselm was taken aback: "You little rascal, you've struck it rich, huh?"

"Get rich my ass." Hugh Allen picked up a roasted chickpea and popped it into his mouth. "Am I not the centurion? Everyone in the centurion district comes to me with everything. After I finish my own work, I still have to meddle in other people's business."

Fortunately, County Hotham performed well last year and received an extra subsidy for the centurions.

They didn't give out any money, but they did give out a bunch of things like tinware, spices, sugar, vegetable oil, and beer coupons.

I get four or five beer coupons every month. I was busy harvesting and planting for the first two months and didn't have time to drink them, so I've saved up a dozen. If I don't drink them soon, they'll expire.

"Oh, is that so?" Anselm quickly picked up his wine glass to hide the envy that was about to spill from his face.

How come something from the ditch is doing so well?
Who gave you the title of centurion? Did I agree to it?

Damn it!

Anselm gritted his teeth, took a big gulp of wine, and let out a burp.

Barto from Fran stared at Hueyren with immense envy; both of them were from humble backgrounds!
Why wasn't it me who was captured by the Kingdom's army to be a laborer?
Setting down his glass, Hugh Allen immediately asked, "Hey, how's things back home while I was gone? How did you end up in Thousand River Valley?"

“Need I say more?” Anselm became dejected at the topic. “This duke’s soldiers, that knight’s soldiers, the Farran army, Leia’s army, mercenaries…”

No matter who comes, they'll plunder the land...

I was doing alright, but then that church, trying to please the French, insisted on...

I had no choice but to mortgage my land and borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to barely make up for the cost of this year's spring planting...

Guess what? Our village was requisitioned as a military camp, and everyone was kicked out...

Seeing that things were going badly, I had no choice but to flee with the money I had borrowed from loan sharks. There were agents and debt collectors from the Holy See Bank everywhere in this empire, so no one dared to work as a long-term laborer...

There were no debt collectors from the Holy Alliance, so I went through many channels, sometimes going three days without food for nine meals, before finally finding the Holy Alliance's rescue ship...

Sigh, never mind, what's the point of talking about this?

Anselm downed half a glass of beer in one gulp, his face crestfallen. "How's it going on your end? Judging by your expression, it must be going incredibly well, right?"

"I'm having a tough time too, but it's not as dangerous as it is for you."

He picked up his glass, took a swig, and made a bitter face.

"Sigh, didn't Thousand River Valley not pay taxes a couple of years ago? I was thinking of repairing the thatched hut and replacing the old furniture."

I originally suggested we go for a timber-framed house, and my family agreed.

Then the stonemason we hired said that timber frame houses are not sturdy, so we should grit our teeth and build a brick and mortar first layer, and a timber frame house for the second and third layers.

I think that makes sense; there's no need to skimp on this money.

Well, the first floor of the brick house is finished. I said it's almost done.

The stonemason then said, "You've already built the first floor, why not grit your teeth and persevere..."

Guess what happened in the end? I built a brick house, and the stonemason charged me this much.

I begged and pleaded with everyone I knew to borrow money to cover the losses.

What? You want to pay it back for a lifetime? That's not quite right. Saying you'll pay it back in ten years sounds a bit crazy. Eleven years, I guess. It'll take about eleven years to pay it back.

My son? Don't even mention it, he's my eldest son.

I worked myself to the bone to send him to primary school. He was clearly old enough to go to middle school and become a wandering monk or a clerk, but he insisted on going to a crafts school.

What's so great about being a craftsman? Don't they still work like beasts of burden? It's much better to be a clerk in the government.

"Thinking about it, my second son is eight years old this year. We've been putting it off for a whole year, and it's time for him to start school. That'll be another big expense..."

With a sigh, Hugh Allen picked up his beer and gulped down the rest: "Tell me, how am I supposed to live like this..."

"Boom-"

"Hey, Barto? Barto, what's wrong? Barto, wake up! Barto—"

　Photoshop couldn't hold back anymore, and I still missed the deadline. I should have posted it first and then made the changes...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)