In the ten days or so that the Liberation Army was stationed in the city of Saône, more and more shops on both sides of the streets began to reopen to pick up customers. Diners came and went in the tavern, and the smell of wine and meat mixed with the smell of bad beer wafted into the streets, provoking the homeless people who dragged their families and begged at the door to salivate. When they met a kind tavern, they would reward them with two mouthfuls of cold soup, and if they met those short-tempered fellows, they would have already come with their men dragging sticks to scold and drive them away.

The Moulin Rouge business was also thriving, and every day a large number of soldiers took bounties to find a girl to have fun. The guy in charge of the counter couldn't count the money every day, and the sound of jingling coins hitting the iron box could be heard from time to time......

The order in the city was not the same as it had been just a few days after the war ended. As the number of heads of soldiers who disobeyed military orders hung at the head of the city, the looting of the city's inhabitants became less and less. All thanks to Flender's strict management of the army. After all, those soldiers are also people who spare their lives, and their lives are worthless in the face of military law and the majesty of the rulers. finally picked up a small life on the battlefield, and he couldn't throw it into his own hands.

Seeing that Thorne City is firmly in his hands, everything is going well. Flender ordered the legionnaires and officers to rest for a while, and handed out some of the rewards for the attack on the city of Thorn, so that the soldiers could "treat" themselves. The rest of the bounty will be given once and for all the remnants of the city of Thorne has been wiped out.

After months of fighting, the soldiers and officers fighting on the front line are indeed exhausted. It makes sense to be able to recuperate after the final victory. So much so that on the day when the reward was in hand, the soldiers who couldn't bear the loneliness ran to the Moulin Rouge. The drunken ones went to the tavern to get drunk and enjoyed the rare delicacy with mixed fruit stew and toast.

During the rest of the officers and soldiers, Flender was not idle. According to the report of the officer in charge of military intelligence, in addition to the city of Thorne, there are still many "hostile elements" (Bernard diehards) in the surrounding estates and some castles who are armed against the "tyranny" of Flender.

Under the banner of the Thorne court, these people went about how Flender had brutally abused the inhabitants of the city after the breach, and how the barbarians who had come down from the mountains had ruined the women of the city.

There is even a saying that Flender once sent someone to deliberately have an affair with the former marquise, so as to create a justifiable reason for his usurpation of the power of the country~

Once these rumors spread throughout the Shell and even the Duchy before the situation was completely stabilized, it would have a negative impact on Flender's future rule. Even now that the city of Thorne has been breached, and Bernard and the little bastard have been imprisoned. However, Flender was not yet justified and officially inherited the position of marquis. Therefore, Flender can't sit still without completely cleaning up those remnants of the ruins.

Immediately, under the instruction of Flender, a regiment of the Liberation Army, in the name of maintaining the security and stability around the city of Thorne, secretly went to the place where the remnants of the bandits "entrenched" under the guidance of the sentry to carry out a clean and thorough purge.

As Flender's confidant and "blood" connection, Arter certainly knows about this. Under his supervision, some of the men of the Welsh Regiment also participated in the purge. However, they did not act with the Restoration, but led by Odo, went directly to the valley area west of the province of Saône, bordering the principality. The purpose of their trip was very clear: to clear the border of the remnants of the enemy and occupy the border fortresses, preconceived, to control the border ports by force, and to place a chess piece here for the future development of the European commercial banks.

As a "small businessman" with a sword in hand, Art has long set his sights on this inconspicuous piece of fat. As an important port of passage from Saône to the Duchy and the Kingdom of France, a large number of goods must pass through this place every year. This means that whoever masters this place will have a steady stream of gold coins in their pockets.

With the current size and profitability of the European comptoir, it is simply impossible to feed the gold-swallowing beast of the Welsh Army. And this giant beast is an important support for Art, and money is indispensable if he wants to expand his territory for himself in the future.

Once you control this place, it is equivalent to controlling the entire western trade route of the country. When the time comes, I don't know how many rich businessmen and tycoons will look at Art's face and act. Perhaps, a sneeze from Art is enough to make the western part of the country tremble~

Now, the heads of the five major comptoirs in the city of Thorne have disappeared for no apparent reason. Once this port, which was originally controlled by these guys, was swallowed by Art, his strength would far exceed the strength of the others combined. What's more, he still has that "windfall" fortune as a basis.

…………

"Tell the Marquis, after receiving your secret letter, the Earl of Kodor obediently sent someone to secretly transport five million gold coins worth of Fennigh."

The former hall of the Count's Palace in Bernard, which served as his temporary residence after Flanders captured the city of Saône. The officer who was in charge of the army's salaries and rations brought the expected news to Flender in the hall.

Flender, who was dealing with the recent military affairs, glanced up at the official and motioned for him to wait for a moment.

"Now, I don't have to worry about Count Kodor anymore. Immediately send someone to count the money, and then make a record. Someone would escort the coins back to Besançon. ”

Flender got up and said after finishing his business.

"Yes, Lord Marquis, I'll do it at once."

As early as the beginning of Flender's capture of the city of Thorne, he sent people to the city of Kodor to "convey" the news to the Count of Kodor in order to test the Count of Kodor's reaction.

He has been in charge of the province of Kodor for many years, and although the Count of Kodor is not good at military affairs, he knows Flender's thoughts very well, and he is reaching out to ask for money.

Flender's meaning was clear, since the Count of Kodor had already thrown himself into his camp, he had to show something. Now that the province of Thorne has been taken into his pocket, and the province of Codor was only in the middle of the process when the situation was not favorable to the court of the Thorne, this made Flender somewhat reassured. The province of Codor is the richest place in the province of Pét, after the department of Saône. Over the years, under the leadership of the well-run Count of Codor, he had amassed a lot of money, at least five million fennigh.

The battle for the succession left the people in a state of misery, stagnant productivity, and devastating damage. A large amount of money was urgently needed as a basis for the gradual recovery after the war, recuperation, and the development of production. Flender is now very poor, and the five million Fennig he had borrowed from the Templars is running out. If it hadn't been for the desperate capture of Thorn City, I'm afraid the Liberation Army wouldn't have lasted long.

As long as Count Kodor "pays" this "war tax", it can not only alleviate the current dilemma of empty treasury, but also weaken Count Kodor's strength, make him unable to gain a foothold with a lot of money, and stifle his opportunity to resist him, so as to stabilize the current situation.

…………

In order to be canonized as the Marquis of the Earl as soon as possible, Flender wrote a secret letter and sent it to the Kingdom of France, requesting that the Earl Kingdom belong directly to the Kingdom of France.

In this battle of the successors, the Kingdom of France invaded the borders of the principality when the eastern and western armies were fighting, so as to coerce the principality and make it dare not easily increase its troops to the west. To a large extent, this has reduced the military and political pressure on the Liberation Army.

In addition, the Bishop of Paris also declared his support for Flender as the new ruler of the country, giving Flanders his religious support. The Knights Templar also lent him a loan of five million Fennigh to support the Restoration.

It was with the support of the magnates of the Kingdom of France and high-ranking people in religious circles that the Liberation Army turned defeat into victory and seized the opportunity to defeat the Western Army in one fell swoop. Swearing allegiance to the Kingdom of France at this time would not only gain further support from them, but also use the power of the Kingdom of France against the Duchy.

However, Flender's ultimate goal was to maintain the relative independence of the country. Even though the Kingdom of France belonged to the Kingdom of France, it was separated by a principality, and in fact became an extra-legal state with a high degree of autonomy, and was not in any way under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of France. As long as the interests of the Kingdom of France in the Kingdom of France can be guaranteed not to be harmed, all the power of the Kingdom will be in the hands of Flanders.

Only with the support and canonization of the Kingdom of France, if the Duchy wants to swallow the kingdom in one go, it will not dare to do it because of the lion behind him. It was through this balance of power that Flender was able to monopolize the power of the country.

…………

Before receiving a reply from the Kingdom of France, Flender ordered the issuance of a notice of peace to the people of the country, one of the purposes of which was to inform the people of the world that in this battle of the successors, the Liberation Army had defeated the Western army, and Flender would become the future ruler of the country. In addition, because of the continuous weakening of the successor's national strength, the people's livelihood withered. There was an urgent need to reassure the populace and resume production after the war, so as to strengthen the country.

When the war began, many people fled their homes for generations and have been displaced with their families ever since. Death by starvation and freezing was everywhere. Those who survived had already fled to places such as the Duchy of Provence and the Duchy of Lombard and started a new life. But most of them were reduced from freemen to lowly serfs for a bite to eat.

According to preliminary statistics by the civil affairs officials of Besançon's court, nearly one-third of the labor force of the kingdom had been displaced or starved to death in the wilderness since the War of the Successors. Most of the young adults have long been drafted by the army to fight on the front lines. Most of the rest were old and weak, women and children.

Nearly half of the arable land has been abandoned, and grain production has been greatly reduced. The people's lives are miserable and full of grievances. For those who depend on the land for their livelihoods, it is a blessing to be able to fill their stomachs in peacetime. However, with the advent of war, it is often the last meal that is not the next. Many children die of hunger or strange diseases, which must have led to a reduction in the labor force in later years.

In order to quickly restore the country's strength after the war, Flender specially ordered someone to write a notice of peace and security, and then issued it to the entire country.

“…… First, the Liberation Army had defeated the Western Army, led by the rebel Bernard, and in a few days, Flender, the new ruler of the country, would accept the canonization of the Kingdom of France. ”

"Second, the Kingdom of France will be part of the Kingdom of France as a state with a high degree of autonomy under the Kingdom of France."

"Thirdly, all those who had fled the country because of the war were given the status of freemen and allocated land if they wished to return to the country. Grain grown is exempt from half-year grain tax. ”

"The Fourth ......"

On the streets of the city of Thorne, a group of people gathered around the newly issued notice on the wall, and a squire-like man was surrounded by a group of illiterate homeless people and beggars, reading aloud what was written on the notice.

When many homeless people and beggars heard that they had the opportunity to obtain land and were exempted from paying grain tax for half a year, they immediately exploded. I have lived all my life, and I will never have to pay all kinds of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes. This time, I don't have to pay taxes for half a year, which is a great thing. They went to the clerk who was sitting in a makeshift tent next to the notice and asked him.

One by one, when they heard that it was true, they rushed to register it, and then left happily with a small birch bark with an official seal indicating the ownership of the land.

"Your Excellency, you see, this trick of the Marquis really works. There's also a bunch of people over there~" Angus, who was standing next to the clerk, said to Art.

"Lord Marquis knows what these peasants care about most, so it's easy to see the results. These guys don't care who sits on the iron throne, which symbolizes royal power, they care more about who can keep them full and stop starving. As long as there is food to eat, they will obey you. ”

Art turned and walked towards the street on the other side. Angus and Ron followed.

Just as the group was about to reach the Wells Legion camp, Stanley followed from behind with a few members of the task force.

"Your Excellency."

Art turned around and saw Stanley's group appear, and he knew that what had been told to them a few days earlier had come to pass.

"How's it going with what I've told you to do?"

Stanley instinctively looked around, and then whispered to Art, "My lord, that old thing Bernard is right, there is indeed a secret room under the dry well outside the South City Gate. It was full of hundreds of iron boxes, and I estimated that there were seven or eight million fennigs. ”

"Seven or eight million?"

Art's eyes widened when he heard this, he never expected that the old thing Bernard was far richer than he had imagined.

"My lord? My lord? ”

Seeing Art's stunned appearance, Stanley shouted softly.

"Tell those involved in the operation not to disclose the location of this amount of money to anyone. Take care of these things for me there, and I will go and report them to the Marquis at once. ”

Art came back to his senses and ordered with a serious expression.

"Your Excellency, you mean we don't keep anything of our own?"

Stanley wanted to reconfirm Art's orders.

"That's right! The money must be collected by the Marquis himself, and we must not make any decisions. ”

It's not that Art doesn't dare to withhold some of the goods privately, he is planning for the future, something more important than this money~