In addition to the fire from the fireplace, there was a mahogany lamp stand by Barov's table, the top of which was divided into four branches, the middle branch was the highest, and the other three were surrounded by a triangle. A candle burns on each branch, and the light that blooms quietly is like a dazzling mountain.
The smell of pine oil filled the room, like a sweet and moist smell of dead wood, making people drowsy. But in Border Town, he couldn't ask for more. Sophistication and elegance had nothing to do with this poor place. It would be nice to have a house that could keep out the wind and rain, not to mention that he now owned a large group of houses.
His office was in a courtyard not far from the castle, and it was also the location of the city hall built by the previous lord. Of course, the lord took all the staff away when he left, and the place has now completely become the territory of the minister's assistant.
The sound of rustling in the house and the cold wind whistling outside the window constitute two different worlds. At a wooden table piled high with books and old scrolls, Barov was scrambling to write. There are also low log long tables on both sides of him, which are usually not used, only used for books and manuscripts. When needed, he would call in his disciples, crouch at the low table, and organize materials or write the first draft of documents for himself.
The candles on the lamp holder had been changed three times, and Barov never stopped the pen in his hand except when he got up to change them. Time was an extremely precious thing to him. There is still a stack of documents waiting for him to deal with, and the financial expenditure proposed by His Royal Highness also needs to be carefully reviewed.
Now Barov works an average of five hours a day, but he doesn't feel tired at all. On the contrary, here he can let go and use his energy in his body. This is the taste of power, he thought. There is no need to cower behind the mentor's ass. All apprentices are under their own orders, and no one dares to hold back or stumble. As long as the orders of His Royal Highness are completed, the specific governance process can be controlled by oneself.
It would be perfect if the prince's orders were more normal, Barov smacked his lips a little regretfully. For example, in this document with Roland's personal seal in front of him, it said that it asked to send people to Liuye Town to recruit managers and buy a brig. After the second article, it is specially written: Considering the price, the captain, helmsman and sailor may not be needed.
He could not laugh or cry after reading it. Without these people, who would drive the boat back with you? Let them walk back on their own after buying it? Also, what to buy a boat for? This is the most important point. The trade between Border Town and Liuye Town is very stable. Even if the ore trade needs to be expanded after the winter is over, it is only necessary to notify the other side to increase the number of ships. Buying your own boat is not worth it at all, not to mention that the small town pier can only be used for docking, there is no dock maintenance, and no sailors take care of it, and it will be abandoned soon. Maybe it's His Highness's whimsy happening again
As for the first item, he can understand it.
At present, there is no free time in the city hall from top to bottom. The more than ten people brought by Barov are responsible for supervising business and trade, making statistical reports and settlement of income and expenditure. He took over the administrative and legal work himself - which is obviously unreasonable. If His Royal Highness wants to separate these departments, it is necessary to expand the employment scale of the City Hall. For a very normal reason, the Assistant Minister did not want to let go so soon. The satisfaction of having all the rights in the hands of one person is too fulfilling. He thought that even his teacher, the kingdom's finance minister, was only in charge of the money bag of Greycastle, but he was the king's hand.
Ahem, well, it only works in Border Town, he added in his heart. Although His Royal Highness Roland had promised so, there is still a long way to go before he can ascend to the throne. Barov found that he did not know when, but the fourth prince was re-incorporated into the ranks of the king contenders. In the past, he would never have thought that this wicked and ignorant dude could be crowned king.
Ever since he came to Border Town, his surprises have never stopped. So far, Border Town is still under the guard of the militia team, standing in the western border, and it seems that it can last for a long time. This alone is worthy of praise. In addition, not to mention the strange things he fiddled with, even his grasp of people's hearts is not like the fourth prince in Greycastle, but a devil who knows everything.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and Barov reluctantly stopped what he was doing and said loudly, "Come in."
The one who pushed the door and entered was one of his proud disciples, "Pen" Yarrow.
"Teacher, another "rat" has been caught. "
"Oh? Did you ask anything?"
"He said it was sent by the second prince, and found wrapped cement powder, some coins and a letter from him." Yarrow stepped forward and handed Barov a cowhide-wrapped envelope, "Others The information is still being interrogated. Teacher, what to do with him…”
"As before, after the questioning, all the information will be organized into a book. Then sentenced guilty and hanged." Barov wrote lightly.
"Yes," Yarrow bowed and saluted, "Then the disciple retire."
The door was closed again, and Barov did not continue working immediately, but went back to the desk, opened the seal with a letter opener, and took out the letter.
The fourth... he thought to himself.
Long before the arrival of the Demon Moon, Roland Wimbledon called him to discuss this issue.
His Royal Highness believed that when the cement, the new type of snow powder and the witch were revealed one by one, the eyeliner buried by the brothers and sisters would definitely be unable to hold back and reveal their traces from the lurking. This is the best time to sweep away the mice. Barov agreed with the first half of the prince's sentence, but disagreed with the second half. In his opinion, there are more than 2,000 people in Border Town, and it is impossible for everyone to follow them. They don't have the manpower, and they don't have the time to guard against these sneaky people.
In the end, His Highness said indifferently, "How could there be no one? Every citizen in Border Town is our eyes."
At that time, Barov only thought that the other party was completely whimsical, and let these ignorant and dull civilians monitor the possible rats? This is simply impossible!
And the truth is, he was wrong.
When the first census was conducted after the winter, Roland specifically explained that he wanted to make it clear to all the aborigines who had stayed here for more than five years: Although the plot to burn food in Changsong Fortress went bankrupt, it still did not give up, and sent the enemy to lurk. around everyone. Most of them disguised themselves as relatives of the townspeople or businessmen who were too late to evacuate, looking for opportunities to harm everyone at any time. If anyone sees anything suspicious, report it to City Hall immediately. Once verified, they will be rewarded with twenty-five silver wolves.
It turned out to be surprisingly effective.
Although some false positives started, it didn't take long for the first rat to be caught.
At that time, Barov remembered Roland proudly saying something that sounded very awkward.
what's going on? He thought about it, yes... "Let the enemy fall into the sea of people's war."
It's really weird word formation and syntax, the minister's assistant shook his head and spread out the stationery in his hand.
The guy called "Groundhog" repeatedly emphasized in the letter that various phenomena show that the fourth prince Roland Wimbledon has been replaced by the devil, and Barov can even read his fears between the lines. Thinking of His Royal Highness's use of people's hearts, the minister's assistant could not help but feel a sense of recognition. He took a deep breath and moved the letter to the candle, and soon the scroll was engulfed by the flames and turned into fly ash.
Even so, that's a devil who doesn't fear the Stone of God's Punishment and can empower him, isn't it