Looking at the doubtful villagers in front of her, Catherine explained.
"I have come here for two purposes. The first is to find out the situation in Obote Territory, and the second is to accommodate the refugees here depending on the situation."
"You must have seen it, right? Most of this place has been destroyed by civil strife, the troops are completely missing, and the fields have also been destroyed. If you want to clean it up, it will take a long time."
"Why don't you follow me to Barony Rigit and become our citizens. Compared with the dilapidated houses and scarce food sources here, there will be brand new houses and delicious food to make you comfortable."
"What do you think?" Catherine asked.
The villagers here have long been hungry. When they heard that there were houses and food, they immediately decided to follow.
"I am willing to go with you, my lord."
They all answered.
"Very good." Catherine showed a satisfied smile.
Immediately ordered the soldiers to distribute the remaining food in the territory to replenish the villagers' strength.
After all, they still have to walk for a while. With their current physical strength, they might not be able to walk in the territory at all.
Soon, these villagers started to eat voraciously. To ensure that they would not choke to death, Catherine also distributed some water to them.
After eating and drinking, all the villagers looked at Catherine gratefully, and at the same time looked forward to the future territory.
"Let's go to Barony Rigit."
Catherine gave the order immediately.
"Yes, sir."
The soldiers behind him replied loudly.
A group of people, together with the villagers behind them, began to move towards the northeast.
That night.
In the endless forest, a bonfire lighted slightly, emitting bursts of smoke upwards, which also provided a bit of warmth for the people around.
Pushing aside the dense branches and leaves in front of them, Catherine and Marcus walked into the temporary camp with the soldiers behind them.
The soldiers on duty in front of them recognized the identities of the two, so they did not stop them too much.
"I only hunted three elk, and I hope everyone can eat them." Catherine said.
"If you add the seasonal vegetables I collected from the territory, it would be enough." Marcus speculated.
They handed over the elk to the soldiers, and the two returned to the campfire to warm themselves.
Originally, according to the progress of Catherine and the others, they could return to Barony Rigit before the night came.
Naihe has the villagers behind him to follow, which also slows down their forward speed.
Seeing that it was impossible to reach Barony Rigit before night, Catherine decided to find a place to temporarily station after discussing with Marcus.
The villagers they brought still gathered together in twos and threes, relying on the bonfire to keep warm, but it could be seen that their eyes were full of expectations for the future, and they also trusted Catherine and the others.
Several soldiers worked together to carry the elk's body to the river for cleaning, and then used a long sword to cut the elk in front of it into small pieces that could be eaten.
On the other side, the rest of the soldiers worked together to build a simple stove. Fortunately, the accompanying villagers provided them with an iron pot for cooking, otherwise they might have to eat half-baked barbecue.
They fetched some clean water, and put seasonal vegetables and pieces of meat into the pot.
In less than a while, a burst of fragrance wafted out of it, causing everyone who had worked hard all day to swallow their saliva.
After the cooking was completed and the lid was opened, the soldiers who had been hungry for a day all focused their eyes on the meal.
The soldier in charge of cooking understood everyone's psychology at this moment, and immediately served the meal plate that had been prepared a long time ago, poured this broth into it, and distributed it to the soldiers and villagers.
Catherine and Marcus were also very generous in ordering the soldiers to eat their meals first. As extraordinary beings, their body structure is more resistant to hunger than ordinary people, so they will not be too anxious.
Of course, the soldiers in charge of cooking would not really let the two officers starve by the side. On the way to distribute, they also took time to bring broth far exceeding the amount of ordinary people to the two officers.
In this way, everyone in the camp happily enjoyed this delicious dinner.
After the meal, Catherine and Marcus discussed the itinerary for tomorrow's departure. After all, it is also a period of preparation for the war, and it is better to rush back to the territory as soon as possible.
After the discussion, the two also arranged night duty together, confirming that the soldiers would be on duty in the first half of the night, and the cavalry would be on duty in the second half of the night.
In the morning, the sky lightened slightly.
Several soldiers poured clear water into the bonfire to completely extinguish it.
The villagers in the distance are packing up and saluting, waiting for departure.
The soldiers also assembled under Catherine's order.
After everyone was ready, Catherine and Marcus took the lead, and the group continued towards the direction of Ridgete again.
The time it took this time was not too long, mainly due to the fact that everyone got a good rest last night, so the speed of travel was also much faster.
The marching team arrived in the Rigit Territory before noon, and the villagers in the territory all looked at the team curiously. No, it should be said that they were the refugees from Burke Village behind the team.
Catherine got off her horse and walked up to the head of Mai Ke Village to discuss with him the resettlement of the group of refugees.
"Little Catherine, what's the matter? Who is that large group of people behind you?" The old village head asked suspiciously.
"Grandpa Odette, this is Lord Kane's plan, and he wants to find some new sources of soldiers." Catherine replied.
The old village chief looked at the group of scrawny villagers behind him, they didn't look like soldiers at all.
"I didn't mean you, little Catherine, can these people be soldiers? They all look so weak."
Catherine explained with a smile: "Grandpa Odette, you misunderstood. They are the villagers of Burke Village led by Leaud. They have just experienced the crisis of civil strife and food shortage in the territory, which is why the current situation occurs."
The old village chief said in relief: "So that's the case, hey. They are also poor people who have suffered so much."
"Yes, Grandpa Odette, we will send them to the territory this time, and we need you and me to work together to resettle them."
The old village chief rubbed his chin and thought about it: "No wonder my lord asked me to build some houses quickly a few days ago. It turned out that it was for the refugees who came here."
Catherine heard what the other party said, and hurriedly asked, "Oh? Grandpa Odette, how's the progress?"
"There are only one or two newly built houses that can be used, and there are still a few empty houses that are not used in the village. This should be enough for these refugees to live in, right?"
"Enough, enough." Catherine nodded repeatedly.
"Only in the farmland, they also need to be allocated, but don't worry Grandpa Odette, our army can help these people open up new farmland."
When he heard that the other party wanted farmland, the old village chief frowned. You must know that these fields are the property of their village, and outsiders are not allowed to join.
Fortunately, Catherine mentioned later that they could develop it by themselves, so his brows loosened just now.
"It's good to be brave, there is no farmland left in the village."
Catherine said: "Then I would trouble you to guide them to familiarize themselves with the new house. I still need to report to Lord Kane."
"Understood, you go, little Catherine."
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(end of this chapter)