After saying these words, Joshua did not wait for the suddenly noisy crowd to quiet down, but continued to speak on his own: "Some of you should already know me, but today's theme is not this - Perhaps you still don’t know that my father, the old lord, died in an accident, and my uncle invaded the main city while I was away, expelled my knights, and planned to seize my title."
"You must have deep memories, because not long ago, their patrols were still showing off on my streets, but don't worry, they have completely disappeared and will not come again."
At this time, he paused, waiting for the surging crowd to digest the news, and then loudly said: "Because I have killed everyone in charge."
The originally tumultuous crowd was silent for a moment, followed by a burst of cheers - everyone present had been threatened and blackmailed by the foreign patrol, otherwise, no matter how cold the winter was, there wouldn't be many people. When going out, the people in the North are simple and simple. If these days continue for a few more days, there will definitely be someone behind the scenes, but since my lord is doing it for me, I naturally have to celebrate first.
As for the naked promotion of force like killing people... Only truly powerful people can lead knights and soldiers to expand territories, resist the black tide, and protect their own territories and people. Since the new lord has shown his force, then Then cheer for him.
Amidst the cheers, Joshua concluded succinctly: "My citizens, you can live as before and walk freely on your own land. All those who have been extorted and harmed can come to St. Laurent." Cathedral to receive compensation - don't try to lie, the priests of the God of Punishment are watching you. Well, that's pretty much it, one year's tax exemption for families with new babies this year, over."
Even bigger cheers came, and Joshua waved his hand casually downward, then turned and walked off the high platform.
"Firefly, let's go, Artanis and the others will take care of the rest."
"Yes Master."
Time flies, November 15th, the frost moon, six days after the declaration.
Frost spreads with the wind, everything freezes, and white completely covers fields and pastures. Farmers have harvested the last wave of cold-resistant plants, while herdsmen drive their cattle and sheep back to their sheds. Everyone begins to prepare to face this winter.
In the disputed continent Mycroft, from the end of the vast sea in the far north to the end of the far south, every inch of land is incredibly fertile, and the growth of plants is also unusually fast due to the influence of magic. The two are multiplied together, and the product is the source of disaster that troubles all human forces, [Black Forest].
Outside the center of human power, at various fortresses on the frontiers of civilization, the rapidly spreading black jungle continues to grow, expanding like a plague, wantonly encroaching on the space for human survival. Countless monsters growing in it act as pioneers, turning into a black tide. , destroying towns and villages, and using the blood of corpses as fertilizer to nourish a black forest. These cursed trees can grow to tens of meters high in just three years. The tree canopy is overwhelming, all kinds of plants are spread in the forest, and the miasma is filled, just like another world.
The frontier fortresses that are relatively close to the Black Forest must be surrounded by dense forests or huge grasslands, with countless monsters lurking in them, watching eagerly. There is only a path paved with blood and bones connecting the rear as the only passage.
Because of the severe cold, the Northland is relatively stable in this regard. The cold inhibits the activity of plants, and the cutting speed can easily exceed the growth speed of these plants. Therefore, the pressure on the Black Forest Fortress in Moldavia is not as high as the southern frontier of the empire. His peers are so big.
This situation has both disadvantages and advantages. Because of the characteristics of plants and land, the lives of civilians in this world are not difficult. They are at least much happier than the civilians in Joshua's previous life in the Middle Ages. Due to the special characteristics of the earth, no one has to worry about food. However, the vitality of food in this world is comparable to that of weeds. One acre of field can harvest at least three crops of wheat a year. Even in a place like the North, two crops are very simple. Sometimes the wheat mutates, and even requires a wizard and a deity. Rui came to control and not let them grow out of bounds.
Although cattle, sheep and other pastoral animals can easily return to the wild due to magic, they also grow very quickly. As long as the feed tube is enough, they can quickly get out of the larval stage in about two weeks, and they can grow up in about three quarters. The speed at which it can be officially harvested is unbelievable. After all, it is a magical world with magic, and it is normal no matter how strange it is.
In the other courtyard in the west of the city, Joshua sat in the study, frowning and looking at the letters in his hand.
After becoming a lord, he was not necessarily very busy. He did not need to do all kinds of chores to maintain the order of the city and the territory under his name. In fact, all the warriors needed to focus on was to manage the people who worked under him.
What really troubled him were all kinds of letters.
As the successor to the Earl of the North and the new lord of Moldavia, since the day before yesterday, there has been an almost endless supply of courtesy letters from other nobles in the empire, not to mention the allegiance of the knights in Joshua's own territory. Clerk - He must prepare a ceremonial reply to every letter, and make different replies based on the history and status of the other party. This is the most basic etiquette for a noble.
Where has Joshua done this kind of thing before? Every time he wrote this thing, it was a kind of painful torture for him. Several times, the warrior uncle wanted to smash the desk in front of him with one punch, but he used great willpower to hold it back.
"Tsk, damn, the lord's mansion was completely destroyed. The several civil servants who used to help my damn dad draft documents were all driven away by my damn uncle. Now those people are probably spending the winter in their hometown in the countryside, and they probably won't be able to be called back in a short time. "
After finally signing a reply to a letter to a certain Marquis of the Frontier with beautiful cursive calligraphy, Joshua temporarily put down the halfling pen in his hand and drank a cup of tea to relax his mind.
The old servants and government affairs management team around the old earl have all been scattered due to Danlia's actions, and most of them have gone back to their respective homes to spend the winter. Now Joshua is almost a bare commander, and he can only do everything by himself. This kind of The situation will probably continue until the spring of next year. Fortunately, you only need to reply once, and once you've done it, you won't have to do it again.
"Master, there is another letter for you."
The energetic voice of the silver-haired Shenji came from the hall. He had done nothing in the past few days. He just kept delivering letters to Joshua and occasionally helped deliver meals.
"This is the first letter today..."
Joshua couldn't help but sigh, but after covering his forehead for a few seconds, he seemed to have figured something out, and then he said seriously to the direction of the hall: "Yingying, if there is still a letter next time, you can do it yourself Open it and take a look. If it's not very important, don't leave it to me. You can just reply casually."
"Hey, can I? But this letter looks expensive."
Yingying ran to the study door with an envelope that looked very luxurious, even gilded on the edge. She opened her green eyes and asked doubtfully: "I'll fill it out? Isn't this good?"
"...Give me this letter, the rest is no problem."
Joshua stood up and picked up the gilded envelope: "I think your writing might be better than mine."
He was not talking nonsense. Although Yingying looked younger, in fact, the database in her mind had everything except being a bit old. Her imperial capital-style calligraphy was much better than what Joshua, a professional warrior, could write. The format of the replies is mostly the same and is not a problem.
After opening the envelope in his hand, Joshua took out a platinum invitation.
"… banquet?"