In the bright and spacious teaching hall of the parish school in the valley wooden castle, thirty-two special training apprentices of different ages sat quietly on low stools behind wooden tables.

Some of them were bearded, some were just stubble on their chins, some were burly, some were thin, some were the heirs of declining nobles, and many more were the sons of merchants, squires, and burghers.

The origins of these people are also more complicated, except for the children of good citizens in the county of Tignats, most of them are refugees from all over the north who have fled the war, and of course, there are also children of the "primitive" lords in the valley.

The wooden tables in front of them were neatly laid with birch bark and charcoal sticks.

In addition to the apprentices who were being trained, there were also some middle and high-ranking figures in the valley sitting next to the lecture hall, and after learning the news that Art would personally come to the academy to teach the apprentices, many officials of the civil affairs took part to listen, and it was of course extremely honorable to be personally mentioned by the Viscount.

Naturally, several adjutants and stewards of the head of the Mubao will not be absent, such as Father Hamish of the Valley, Farna, a physician of the Valley Medical Workshop, Guy of the parish school steward and assistant to the civil officer, and the two first phase of the parish school apprentices who stayed behind to teach...... Even the Viscountess Lottie was invited to attend the meeting, as Lottie was one of the professors of the parish school, where she occasionally taught the apprentices the mysteries of accounting calculations.

Standing in front of a large wooden board in front of the lecture hall, Art was dressed a little grandly, and the set of viscount gowns that the court awarded him when he conferred the title of viscount made him look particularly dazzling, this set of gowns has not been used since he got it, and wearing it today is also to show the importance of these special training apprentices.

Words and arithmetic and the Code of Territories were taught by the professors of the parish school on weekdays, and Art did not plan to talk about them.

He picked up a charcoal stick made of hardwood and wrote the words "the art of management" on the large wooden board.

"I am from a down-and-out aristocratic background, and I have survived as a hunter in this barren valley and dense forest to avoid vendettas, and I spend my days with jackals and wild beasts. The wooden castle where you are now sitting was once just a low hunter's hut, and the place you can see when you raise your eyes was once a barren forest and valley without people. Art began his opening remarks.

"You must be curious how such a barren valley can become a paradise."

Art paused for a moment, "The answer lies in the word 'business'. ”

"My father-in-law, now Lord Galvin, Vice-Chancellor of the Counts of Burgundy, was nicknamed "Merchant Lord" because he was so bent on making money that he did not want to fight for his lordship, but he seemed to me to be a wise man with a great deal of skill. ”

"I talked to him about the mysteries of the art of management, and he told me a very simple story."

"There was a farmer who had only twenty eggs left in his house, but the farmer was very ambitious, and he wanted to turn the eggs into a ploughing ox, because a strong ploughing ox symbolized a rich and good life for the farmer. The most important thing is that two years later, he really did it. ”

After Art finished speaking, everyone in the hall whispered and thought it was impossible.

After everyone was a little quieter, Art began again, "How did those eggs become ploughing cows?" ”

"According to common sense, these eggs can be sold for three copper fennil at most, and a ploughing ox, even a calf, will cost two hundred pfennig, obviously this basket of eggs can't be exchanged for a ploughing ox."

But the farmer in the story is a man with a big head, and instead of taking the eggs directly to the free market in the market town, he spends a little money and goes to the market to sell a little paint and paint twenty eggs into eggs of different colors. Then he waited patiently, and soon, the day before Easter, the farmer went straight to the church in the market town with the eggs and prayed to God. Then he walked out of the church and stood in front of the church shouting loudly that these God-blessed eggs would become a symbol of Jesus' resurrection tomorrow Easter, and each egg would cost one and a half fennigs. ”

"Since the next day is Easter, there are always rich people in the market town who like holy things who are willing to spend money on those beautiful eggs, an ordinary egg is not worth much, but a painted egg is worth twice as much, a painted egg that enters the church and receives the holy light is worth twice as much, and a colored egg that appears at the door of the church on Easter Eve and receives God's blessing is worth several times."

As a result, a basket of eggs worth two or three pfennigs was sold by the farmer for a whopheniel, and it was quickly sold out. People love holy miracles. ”

With the thirty pfennigs in hand, the farmer went to the free market and bought five hens that laid eggs, and the hens laid many eggs for the farmer, and the day before Easter the following year, he sold them again in the same way he had done last year. Of course, there weren't many people in that market town who could buy eggs, so he hired a few guys from the same village to sell them further afield......"

"By the time he finished selling eggs the following year, he could buy a calf with the money he earned, but he didn't sell the calves, he used the money to buy hundreds of chickens, and hired two old peasant women to raise them, and by the third Easter he didn't have to buy eggs, because the hens laid eggs and sold them enough to buy a sturdy cow."

"This story was clearly made up by my father-in-law to inspire me. However, the truth that a basket of eggs becomes a ploughing cow is real. ”

"The art of management is a mysterious word, and we can't summarize its full meaning in one or two sentences. However, running this magical thing is always around us. ”

"The farmer inserts a few grains of wheat into the field, and then waits until the autumn when a few grains become hundreds of grains. In the process of turning wheat seeds into grain, farmers need to plough the fields, hoe the fields, water and fertilize, and this process is management. ”

"The merchant exchanged two silver coins for a barrel of Bordol wine in Burgundy, and then took it to South Lombardy and exchanged it for five silver coins. In the process of changing two pieces into five pieces, merchants need to purchase, need to transport, and need to bargain with buyers with great effort, and this process is management. ”

The so-called management, in its essence, is "tossing". If the farmer had just stuck to the old rules and honestly exchanged it for two or three copper fennigs, he would not have been able to conjure a ploughing ox in his life. It was because he was tossing around with those eggs that he got back a ploughing cow. ”

"The apprentices will soon be appointed as shepherd officers in all parts of the county. I need you to keep clearing wasteland, increasing grain taxes, and prospering the territory, and this process is actually a toss-up. ”

"There are some places that are already doing well, and the people don't think it's necessary to bother to reclaim the wasteland, but remember, don't stare at the eggs worth a few copper coins, what you need is the ploughing ox that symbolizes the status of a farmer."

"For me, if I run it well, I will have a steady stream of thriving my territory, my barn will fill up day by day, and my coffers will fill up day by day."

"For you, if you do well, you will be promoted and raised, and the lieutenants, stewards, adjutants, chiefs, and even nobles like your civil affairs officer Cooper......"

However, the "toss" in my mouth is by no means a random act. You need to be familiar with the strength of the population, the flat and rugged terrain, the fertile or barren land, you need to learn how to arrange the steps of land reclamation, you need to know how to plow in spring and harvest, how to make a summer supplement, how to register the people, how to cooperate with the tax collector to collect food taxes, how to support the army in wartime, and how to pacify the people in peacetime. ”

"The most important thing is that you have to think about how to deal with the local lords and squires, Tinies is my fief, yes, but I can't act rashly with those lords in the county who have already been granted fiefs and have been attached to the new monarch, this is what the court has explained."

"But my refusal to tamper with their fiefdoms does not mean that I do not exercise the power of my feudal lord, you are the representatives I have sent to exercise the power of the feudal lord."

"Step by step, you will become the affairs officer of the various territories, and you will become my assistants who actually control the territory."

"You must always remember that behind you is me, the Viscount of the Frontier of the Count of Burgundy, the true master of the county of Tignats, the commander of the Legion of Wales and the Garrison of the Southern Frontier, and anyone who dares to be your enemy is my enemy, and I and the sword in my hand will clear all obstacles for you!"

“...... Today I am here to give you a task for your apprentices. ”

"Recently, you should have studied the "Territory Code", a set of "Territory Code" brings together the wisdom and painstaking efforts of many civil officials, but its best application is the valley territory and those territories that directly belong to me, if it is forcibly promoted to the entire county territory, I am afraid it will not be effective. Therefore, I have also given you the task of amending a set of temporary decrees based on the "Territorial Code" and promulgating it throughout the county. I have already explained this matter to the civil administration, and you apprentices have also participated in the compilation and revision of the ......."

On the second floor of the lord's mansion, Viscountess Loti's belly began to bulge slightly, she went out to fight every year, but his wife's belly did not rest every year, if he couldn't pinch it, he would really have to take off his hat and look at the color.

"My dear, the story you told in the school today that egg turned into a ploughing cow was really told to you by your father?" Lottie asked as she gently kneaded Art's shoulders and pouted.

Art smiled, "No, I made it all up, and I wanted to make the big guy believe it more by using my father-in-law's fame." ”

"No wonder, my father doesn't tell such a ridiculous story, and it takes two years for eggs to become farming cows, if it's really so easy, we will sell easter eggs every day." Lottie guessed that it was the story that Art had come up with.

Art straightened up and retorted, "Although the story is a little fake, the truth is really the same. Isn't the so-called business just a constant toss? Do you think that if I hadn't been tossing and turning all these years, we would have the forces we have now? ”

"I don't want you tossing all day long now~ It's really good to be a little lord quietly guarding this valley~" Lottie said and couldn't help touching her stomach.

"It's good to think about, but now I still lose the opportunity to be a little lord quietly, not only me, but also my father and Felix can't be a little lord quietly, and getting involved in this whirlpool is not something we can leave if we want to......"

Art stood up on the armrests of the chaise longue, paced to the balcony outside the bedroom, leaned his hands on the railing, and looked at the peace and quiet of the wooden fort in the whole valley.

Suddenly, a figure on a horse galloping from the dense forest road to the north appeared.

Art turned and shrugged at Lottie, "You see, the messenger from the county town is here, it must be the order of the Besançon court......."

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Chapter 404: The Way of Doing Business