In a room covered with a sky-blue carpet, furnished with large bookshelves, valuable oil paintings, and silver lampstands, Belk Lauren stood respectfully in front of the desk and reported to Edmund Moen sitting behind the desk that he was Stories from the East.
Wearing a black coat and growing a beard, the young prince listened to every sentence in the report with a serious expression, while Belk always maintained his sincere respect, unwilling to let his report have any flaws:
"The banditry in Hall County and Rentuttle County has subsided, and a batch of unmarked gold coins were found in their hiding place. Through the identification of the object finding spell, it is preliminarily judged that these gold coins are indeed from the local lords. After the relevant control laws, some local nobles are still raising 'black gloves' in private... ”
"This is already a prohibited behavior and must be severely punished. The nobles involved have two choices, either reduce their title by one rank, or hand over half of the land or money of equivalent value." Edmund Moen said with an unhappy face .
Then, Belk reported a series of changes and status quo in the rear of the Eastern Territory, and also mentioned the recent activities of the White Sands Mining Company. Edmund made various appropriate arrangements based on the situation he reported, some of which were For matters that Belk could not handle or someone else could handle, Edmund would also talk a little bit about his disposal plan, or have an open and honest discussion with the young Marquis in front of him.
Candid, earnest, fair, and full of patience.
No matter how many times he came into contact with Edmund Moen, Belk couldn't help but think similar words.
He looked at this prince who was not much older than himself, watched the other party seriously think about the solution to the problem, and proposed various admirable solutions. He could feel that the other party was really trying to govern this land. Find a way to bring prosperity to this kingdom, and this belief and action is what makes him sincerely loyal to the other party.
And yet... dark corners remain.
There was a trace of loss and entanglement in Belk's heart, and before he spoke, Edmund noticed the change in his expression, and the prince cast his gaze: "Belk, what else is going on?"
Belk frowned, and did not hide it: "Your Highness, in many areas of the Eastern Border, your serf freedom bill has experienced unexpected... setbacks. Only a few serfs have truly obtained the status of freedmen, and most... are still bound in the On the land, affected by this situation, there is almost no progress in land reform in these areas, and the factories cannot recruit any manpower or even conduct training."
Edmund looked at him quietly: "Why?"
"There are various reasons, but most of them are due to the obstacles set by the landowners. Some of them require serfs to buy 'land' to be free, some require serfs to hand over all the first year's harvest, and some are announcing The serfs were directly driven out of the farm or orchard after they were granted the status of freedmen... ”
Edmund closed his eyes slightly, as if to keep his breathing calm, and then he opened his eyes, his eyes were deep: "So, the serfs who have been 'freed' can't live, can they?"
"Yes, they eventually had to go back to their masters, 'voluntarily' going back..."
This time, Edmund was silent for a longer time, and it wasn't until half a minute later that Belk heard a calm voice from ahead: "I see."
"Your Highness, we should perhaps..."
Belk couldn't wait to speak, but was interrupted by Edmund in the middle of speaking: "Belk, I will discuss this matter with Duke Laurent about the land. He has more experience. As for you, you have a new task."
Although Belk was still thinking about those serfs, his loyalty made him immediately respond to the prince's new instructions: "Your Highness, please order."
Edmund's expression became serious. He picked up the water glass in his hand, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and then said in a deep voice: "About the more rampant cult activities recently, and about those cultists of death of all things..."
…
After walking out of the gate of the main hall of the castle, Belk Lauren's footsteps seemed heavier than before.
He originally thought that the stale conservative nobles, roving bandits, and bewitched people in the eastern border were already a huge obstacle and problem, but he didn't expect that there would be another huge trouble in the Thoringburg area.
The end of all things will... Such a dark sect that only dared to play tricks in the gutter, when did it become such a huge hazard? They even reached out to the magnificent wall, to the wasteland of Gondor? !
According to His Royal Highness, the corruption and spread of those cultists in the kingdom has long been beyond people's expectations. They spread among the poor, among the citizens, and even among the extraordinary, and spread among the nobles. Their doomsday theory is obviously absurd. Crazy... But why do so many people just keep believing and destroying themselves
A cold but invigorating north wind blew, and Belk woke up suddenly. He noticed that the wind and snow outside had stopped at some point. At this moment, only large swaths of silver covered the courtyard, paths and on the roof.
The knight attendant came over leading the horse, and bowed respectfully beside the young Marquis: "My lord, do you want to..."
Belk waved his hand and told the knight to step back: "Take the horse back, I'm going to walk around the city."
At this time of year, most places where people live together have turned into depression and deserted, even "Sorlingburg", a famous big city in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain, is no exception. Outside of the warm castle, the entire urban area where civilians live is cold It is deserted and there are few pedestrians. Even if you walk on the widest street, the passers-by you can see are quite limited.
But in fact, being able to see civilian passers-by on the street is already a lively and prosperous reflection, at least some people are willing to go out in this cold weather, and at least the most basic commercial activities and social activities are still operating among the common people in this city , which is hard to see in ordinary countryside.
Belk didn't ride a horse, nor did he wear any armor. He just wore a wolf fur cloak lined with knight's uniform, and wandered casually in the streets and alleys of the western city of Solinburg.
Ever since the Eastern Realm Legion occupied this city that once belonged to the royal family, he has never had the opportunity to walk the streets in such a casual manner. As the heir to the guardian duke of the Eastern Realm, he always has countless things to learn and be busy. Although he Accepted the new task arranged by the prince, but this task cannot be started immediately. He first needs to arrange for his men to collect and summarize information on heresy sacrifices in the surrounding area, missing people, the spread of abnormal diseases, etc., and then he can act personally. Before, he finally had a little leisure time.
It's a pity that this leisure time is in winter, and he has no chance to see too many interesting folk scenes.
Walking aimlessly, looking at the deserted streets, Belk finally sighed.
There is really nothing to see, and winter walks are the most boring.
The young Marquis turned and prepared to leave the place.
However, just before he took a step, a sudden sound came to his ears.
The sound was mixed with cursing and beating the body, and there were some suppressed muffled hums.
Belk frowned, and looked in the direction of the sound, which was still two blocks away from the distance that ordinary people's hearing would never be able to hear.
He stepped forward, and his figure flashed a string of phantoms on the almost empty street. After a few seconds, he came to the alley and saw what happened in the alley
Several tall and strong men were standing there, punching and kicking a thin figure curled up on the ground, cursing loudly, and on the ground near them, a wooden basin was knocked over. On the ground, a dozen pieces of clothing were scattered around.
This disgusting scene made Belk's face darken, and he immediately shouted: "Stop what you are doing?!"
The sudden shout made the violent people stop suddenly. They turned their heads and looked in the direction of the sound. They were all angry at first, as if they wanted to teach the intervening people a lesson, but when they saw clearly at the entrance of the alley After the tall young man, these people stunned and stopped almost instantly, accompanied by a few soft gasps.
"Big... my lord..."
Someone murmured and spoke, and Belk looked at the person who made the sound: "What happened here?"
After seeing these people's strong figures, relatively neat clothes, and their expressions that instantly recognized him, he had already vaguely guessed their identities.
"My lord... I... we are teaching a criminal," said the first person tremblingly. "She... she is a washerwoman, but she stole the clothes of her employer..."
she
Belk lowered his head and saw that the thin figure curled up on the ground because of the beating was getting up bit by bit, tremblingly crawling towards the scattered clothes and the wooden basin, her yellow and dry hair Dispersed behind her head, she was wearing a shabby dress that could no longer see its original color, and many rags were tied around her legs to keep out the cold. And dry and yellow face.
She was a woman, not at all beautiful, and only her eyes made a more profound impression on Belk.
But if she's pretty, she's probably facing more than just punches and kicks here.
Belk lowered his head and calmly looked at the washerwoman who was picking up the clothes. Some of the clothes still had moisture and were about to freeze on the ground: "Whose clothes did you steal?"
The washerwoman lowered her head and said softly, "No one stole it, my lord."
"Your Excellency, look, she is still lying!" One of the men standing around immediately shouted, "She stole..."
"Stole it from you?" Belk raised his head and stared at the man who spoke.
The man immediately fell silent.
"Stole it from you?" Belk turned his gaze to the next person.
That person was also silent.
"Your? Or yours?"
No one responded.
"Very well, at least you don't dare to continue lying," Belk stared at them, and every word made these people's necks shrink a little bit, "At least I don't have to send your corpses back to the East."
These people are Eastern soldiers on duty.
Few, other than the soldiers occupying the city, were as strong as they were, with warm winter clothes, extra energy, and the instant recognition of Belk Rollen in his uniform.
Belk lowered his head again, looking at the washerwoman who had picked up all the clothes and stood by the tub with her head down: "Are you a local?"
The washerwoman still lowered her head, as if she didn't dare to look up: "... yes, my lord."
Belk nodded, and his eyes fell on the scum among the soldiers again. He took a breath, but slowly calmed down the magic power in his body.
Army, be disciplined, this is the order of Prince Edmund.
"Bully civilians, deceive the chief, go to your centurion, each receive thirty lashes, confinement for a week, and half the salary for this month."
The scum left in panic and frustration.
The washerwoman was still kneeling on the ground with her head bowed, her tub and the clothes that needed to be re-starched were placed beside her.
"Looked up."
Belk said calmly.
He saw the other person raised his head slightly, but quickly lowered it again, keeping his eyes straight ahead.
Belk sighed in his heart, squatted down, and was at eye level with the other party, looking at the malnourished face that had nothing to do with beauty, and at the numb eyes mixed with awe.
On other occasions, in the banquet hall of the castle, countless beautiful ladies from famous families would be willing to pay the price of a manor in exchange for a chance to meet his eyes at such a close distance.
"Those people are the scum of the East and cannot represent the army of the East."
The washerwoman immediately lowered her head and responded, "Yes, my lord."
Belk frowned, looked at the other party's thin and tattered clothes, and then took out two gold coins from his pocket.
He thought for a while, put away the gold coins, then rummaged in another pocket for a long time, and finally found some copper plates and cut silver pieces.
He threw those coins into the washerwoman's wooden basin, and then stood up: "This is compensation from the Eastland. You can use them to buy bread and change into warm clothes."
The washerwoman's eyes fell on the jingling coins, and she carefully put them away, her movements were light and serious. After doing all this, Belk heard the other party suddenly ask:
"My lord, can you give everyone bread and warm clothes for the winter?"
This unexpected question made Belk stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to tell the other party that of course he could.
He is the eldest son of the Guardian Duke, the Marquis of Belk Lauren, and the future master of the East. He has countless manors and fields under his personal name, even if half of them have been donated to Prince Edmund's decree. The legion may be distributed to the serfs and tenants in the territory, and he is also capable of distributing food and clothes for the winter to every civilian in Thorinburg.
However, the washerwoman stood up, bowed respectfully, and left with the tub and the clothes in it.