Ten days later, the company commander Colin received an order from Art, leaving fifty men to garrison the fort, and Hans and Bury returned to the camp near the valley basin to garrison the original number of defenders. All the men and horses of the baggage team, 50 crossbowmen and the remaining 50 infantry returned to the Beiguan military fort. The garrison on the south side of the valley will be regularly delivered in the future, including food and grass for the mountain people under Christopher.

Oliver's task force continued to lurk in enemy territory for a while, reporting back to the valley as soon as the enemy returned.

A few days later, Colin and his men arrived at the valley as scheduled, where they were warmly welcomed by the people. During this time, it was known that the soldiers of the Welsh Legion had marched to the south of the valley to defend against the Lombards. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the news that the Lombards had been driven out.

Later, Art called Colin to the official room on the first floor of the wooden castle......

“…… Colin, you guys did a great job this time. After you go down, count the soldiers' military exploits, and then I will ask the government to distribute their bounty. Art said to Colin who came to report while burying his head on the paper and reading the official documents.

Colin glanced at Ron next to him, with a smile on his face, then turned his head and said excitedly to Art, "Thank you, Lord Earl, I'll count it as soon as I get back." If you hadn't had someone build that fortress in advance, we wouldn't have driven the Lombards out so easily. ”

"Is everything arranged for the south?" Art put down the quill pen in his hand and blew on the ink on the paper.

"It's all arranged. In addition, according to your instructions, I have asked the craftsmen to find a suitable place around the basin for the construction of a house. As soon as the men sent by the Ministry of Construction arrived, they could begin to build houses for those under Knight Christopher. ”

"Hmm." Art nodded. "That's good. Now they are also part of the valley and cannot be treated differently. What's more, Christopher is still my father's old genus......" Art choked up suddenly, and did not continue.

"Alright, you can bring all the soldiers back to the Beiguan Military Fort. After I went back, I took a two-day break, and then continued training. After a few moments, Art spoke.

"Yes, Lord Earl~"

After Colin left, Art handed the letter written on the table to Ron and sent it to Bob, and then flew the pigeon to Besançon. This is Arte's good news to Flender, as well as about the defense of the southern border.

Now that the secrets of the valley are known to the world, there is no guarantee when the Lombards will intervene again. If they hadn't taken the lead in capturing the valley and built a strong defense, the Lombards would have caused a lot of trouble for Art. The most effective way to dispel this idea was for the Duke of Lombardy to show his fist in Wales and garrison a standing army in the southern part of the valley to intimidate the Lombards.

As a result, the plan for the construction of the valley had to be adjusted......

…………

On the morning of the second day, Art summoned the three high-ranking officials of the government office, Cooper, the chief of the government, Scott, and Lawrence, the construction officer, to the first floor of the wooden castle and began to adjust the current construction of the valley.

“…… I'm sure you're all familiar with the battle that took place in the south of the valley some time ago," Art glanced at the few people present. "That's why I've summoned you here today."

Cooper, who was sitting on the right hand side of Art, nodded, and said, "Isn't it that the old man plans to start construction at the mouth of the valley in the south while going south along the valley?"

Art nodded slightly, but Scott and Lawrence turned their gazes on Cooper.

"Big~" As soon as Lawrence spoke, Cooper reached out to stop him.

"I wonder what the master is going to do?" Cooper voiced the doubts of several people. On the way to Wooden Castle, several chief officials were discussing the purpose of Yate calling a few people. Sure enough, several people's guesses came true.

"At the moment the southern side of the valley is completely controlled by our men, and it turns out that the Lombards are not at all able to break through our defenses at the moment. But just because you can't break through now doesn't mean you won't be able to break through in the future. I don't think they'll be fighting the valley anytime soon, but we can't afford to let that slacken. Therefore, I intend to use the fort in the southern part of the valley as a base to build a military fort similar to the Beiguan Military Fort. I haven't thought of a name yet, so let's call it Nanguan Military Fort for the time being. Yate clapped his hands and said.

"Nanguan Military Fort?" Cooper and the others replied in unison, looking at each other, full of doubts.

"That's right, Nanguan Military Fort. The valley starts from the Beiguan Military Fort in the north and reaches the fortress at the mouth of the valley in the south. In the future, the whole valley will become the hinterland of the province of Wales, and these two military forts will become a barrier on both sides of the valley. At present, the southern side has not been developed and the foundation is weak. If it is really built from the north to the south, once the enemy breaks through the southern fortress, it will inevitably affect the construction of the entire valley~"

When Art said this, several people suddenly realized, and then they understood the intention of their lord (master).

"My lord, is there any flat and fertile land on the south side of the valley like the village between the valleys? It doesn't matter if it's a small place, as long as you can grow food. "Scott has already intended to send some people to the south to clear the wasteland.

Art burst out laughing when he heard this, because the canton, who was already a little enchanted with the land, couldn't help but shake his head.

"Your Excellency, it's time for you to take care of him. This guy is now sending people everywhere to clear the wasteland, and if you hadn't set aside some open space on both sides of the trade road to build houses for the new lords, this guy would have turned those places into farmland......" Lawrence quipped, causing several people to laugh.

"Aren't I afraid that there will be more and more people in the valley behind, and the farmland will not produce enough food?" Scott touched the back of his head and spoke his thoughts.

"Scott, you're doing the right thing, all the land in the valley has been cleared. Although the southern part of the valley is not as flat as several villages in the valley, there is still some land that can be cultivated into fertile land. If all the land is reclaimed, it will be enough to feed tens of thousands of people."

Hearing Art say this, Scottle blossomed.

"Okay, now let's get down to business. At present, an improvised road has been opened along the trade road, barely enough for horse-drawn carriages. Lawrence, you send a thousand men from the Ministry of Construction to the south of the valley, use the fortress as the base, and build a military fort similar to the Beiguan Military Fort based on the terrain there. Remember, the fort must be built entirely of stone, and the quality must be reliable, and no corners should be cut or hasty. The military fort is a matter of safety in the valley and must not be numb. ”

"Rest assured, my lord, I will send some of the craftsmen who built Willsburg to the design supervisor, and they are some of the best craftsmen in the valley." Lawrence said confidently.

"Hmm." Art nodded slightly in agreement. "In addition, with the military fort as .asxs., send some people to build a passage to the north. In this way, the progress of the construction of the trade road will be accelerated considerably. Also, you may build some houses along the valley north, for the time being, for the laborers who have been sent to build the fort. ”

"Yes, sir." Lawrence replied.

"Scott, you also send a thousand men from the Ministry of Tunning to reclaim all the reclaimable land in the south of the valley and plant seasonal grain and vegetables. At that time, the grain and vegetables produced in the southern land can be supplied to the laborers who built the military fort.

"Yes, sir."

"When the time comes, I will ask the baggage team to organize people to transport all the materials needed for reclamation and construction to the south. Rations for those people will also be delivered by them on a regular basis......"

After arranging the construction of the southern part of the valley, several people left the wooden fort and went to work separately.

…………

In mid-June, the weather was already a bit hot. It has been almost half a year since the end of the War of the Successors, the province of Wales has been established. Although there was a lot of chaos during this period, fortunately it was properly handled and did not have much impact on the construction of the territory.

In the fields, the grain seeds sown in early spring are thriving, adding life to this nascent territory. In addition to the first land to be reclaimed, such as the inter-valley land, in the past six months, the men and horses of the cantonment department have reclaimed nearly 10,000 acres of land along both sides of the river to the bottom of the hillside, and these lands have been sown with grain in an orderly arrangement. From the hillside in the distance, these vast tracts of land covered with green crops stretch out like a green belt to the south. Soon, the whole valley will become a desirable paradise.

A few years ago, this would have been unimaginable to Yat. The wilderness of Bigu, which no one cared about before, has become a paradise on earth in the blink of an eye. Once the valley is built, goods from the Southern Continent and beyond will be transported to the Northland via this centuries-forgotten trade route. When the time comes, it will become a link for the whole of Europe. Yat, as the owner of the valley, will also be a figure to be reckoned with.

…………

"Father~Father~"

Yate, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly felt a small hand on his shoulder and kept shaking, and then opened his eyes half-open~

"George~" Art rubbed his eyes, only to see little George's watery eyes staring at him motionlessly.

"Father, you said you were going to take me to the river to fish today. Have you forgotten again? Little George, who was already close to the edge of the bed, said playfully, his eyes full of anticipation.

Since little George was born, Art hasn't been with this guy well. All the while, little George was Lottie's care. Now, Art is finally free, so after processing the official documents yesterday, he decided to take little George and Lottie out for a visit, so as to do his duty as a father.

Art rolled over and stroked little George's round face with his hand. Said: "How can you forget what your father promised you." Then he kissed little George on the forehead.

After breakfast, Art led the family happily towards the river. Ron and Ollie also went with them.

On the way to the river, from time to time the people greeted the Earl's family and warmly invited them to his home, but they were politely refused.

Seeing that the people are now living and working in peace and contentment, Art is very relieved......