On the first Sunday of July, after careful planning and preparation, Art finally decided to set off on this day.

Early in the morning, with the help of Lottie, Art put on the armor specially prepared for this trip south to the valley. Reconnaissance is not like fighting a war, let alone a tour, and it is inevitable to encounter some emergencies. Only with careful preparation can possible surprises be avoided as much as possible. Although Art is currently an earl, he still decided to check every place in person and find out the situation in his territory.

Given that the southern part of the valley is full of wilderness hills and canyon rapids, the mountains are high and densely forested. At this time, it is summer, and poisonous snakes, beasts, insects and ants are infested impermanently. Art had previously made a special trip to ask Cooper to instruct the weaving workshop to make two sets of armor suitable for all those who went to the southern valleys.

The inner lining is mainly made of cotton and linen with good air permeability. Because of the humid climate in the valley, ordinary cotton clothing can easily adhere to the skin after sweating, which will inevitably lead to a series of skin diseases. The valley is sparsely populated, undeveloped, and unaccompanied by a healer, and if you fall ill, the consequences are unimaginable.

In addition, the workshop also made a set of perforated and breathable long-sleeved leather armor for each person from cowhide, and even had a high collar to protect the neck. The valley's dense forests are full of thorns, and if you are not careful, your skin will be cut, and if the infection is not treated, it will pose a deadly threat to the injured.

In addition to the requisite armor, each person was equipped with a cape and waterproof coat to face the unpredictable bad weather in the valley.

…………

“…… My dear, when will you be able to come back when you go out this time? Lottie asked softly as she helped Art straighten the folds in her armor, glanced up at her husband, and asked softly, her tone full of reluctance.

"I think I should be able to come back at the end of the month~" Art said casually, then picked up the stainless steel dagger on the table and plunged it into the scabbard at his waist.

Knock knock~

Art stomped her foot, twisted her body, then tugged at her collar and turned to grab Lottie's weak shoulders with both hands.

"I'll be back soon, and the affairs of the territory will be left to you and the old butler......" Art confessed, kissed Lottie on the cheek, and walked out of the wooden castle gates......

…………

Outside the gate, the survey team members who had been waiting here for a long time were whispering around a few mules~

According to the previous arrangement, there were a total of ten soldiers in charge of guarding this time, all of whom were hunters. The baggage team sent five men, five horses and five mules and horses to be responsible for the food supply of the expedition and the feed supply of the horses. In addition, there were five officials sent by the government who knew how to draw maps to assist Art in the survey, plus the guard officer Ron and the military judge Matthew and Art himself, a total of twenty-three.

The hunter-turned-soldier in charge of guarding and opening the way was in high spirits, and he was extremely excited to follow Yat south to explore the valley. Each of the ten men was armed with a horned riding bow, and each of them contained fifteen light arrows and heavy armor-piercing arrows in a quiver made of cowhide on his back. A short sword and a short sword at his waist, and an emergency dagger in a scabbard tied to his feet. In addition, each horse had a thick sac made of linen behind each horse, which was used to store marching cooking utensils and daily necessities. Inside the pouch are not only whetstones, flints, but also animal fat for emergency use and some simple foods such as hard bread and jerky. In the middle of the pouches on either side were the soldiers' personal marching tents and bedding and other household items.

When several government officials learned that the southern part of the valley had been uninhabited for hundreds of years, inaccessible to people, and infested with wild beasts, their faces were a little less excited and more worried. But it was a great blessing to be able to go with my own Earl, and to have many guards. The horses were not equipped with swords, except for the almost identical household items to the soldiers. As they needed to help Art survey the valley, they had ropes and drawing tools such as quill pens and parchment.

The baggage team sent a few experienced guys this time. In addition to the necessary horses, there were five mules and horses carrying the people's grain and grass and feed for the livestock. Given the terrain in the southern part of the valley, Spencer did not arrange for a carriage, but selected a few strong mules and horses to help the expedition carry supplies.

When Art's figure appeared outside the door, the chattering crowd immediately stood and looked at Art.

"Ron, are you all ready?" Art said as he walked down the steps.

"Sir, everything is ready. Grain, grass, drinking water, and some bulky items were carried by mules and horses, and dry food and personal items were carried by our own horses. I have the emergency medicine prepared by the medical workshop. Also, I brought a few barrels of Welsh beer from my mother's grocery store~" Ron touched his head and smiled.

"You still know me......" Art smiled slightly, very happy.

"The old housekeeper said that the craftsmen in the workshop area made some scimitars and grappling hooks for chopping miscellaneous trees and thorns for our trip to the valley this time, and we just went to get them directly when we arrived in the workshop area."

"It's still the old housekeeper who thinks about it~" Art looked up at the sky, the sun had already appeared on the eastern hills, and the temperature had begun to rise. "Everyone, get on the horse!"

"Get on the horse! Launched! Ron shouted to the crowd in response to Art's voice.

Art glanced back at Lottie, who was standing at the door of the wooden castle, the corners of his mouth pursed slightly, and waved goodbye. Lottie slowly raised her right hand and beckoned to Arte.

"Everyone, let's go!" A moment later, Art, who was already on horseback, ordered the survey party to pull out......

In the past, it took half a day to ride a horse from the wooden castle to the workshop area. However, after the widening and repair of the road by the Ministry of Construction, the road connecting the north and south of the valley is large enough to accommodate three horse-drawn carriages at the same time. The group did not delay on the road, and it only took half a day to arrive at the workshop area.

At noon, everyone had a big pot meal with the craftsmen in the workshop area. Yate listened to the production situation and personnel transfer in the workshop area in recent months, and also inspected the workshop area accompanied by the manager of the workshop area, and gave some guidance on the production arrangements behind the workshop area.

Before leaving, in addition to bringing the road-opening tools created for the survey team in the workshop area, Yate also called the main stewards of each workshop together.

“…… Ladies and gentlemen, the Workshop District is where it is today because of your contributions. At present, the government is concentrating all human, financial and material resources to build the territory. While they are doing their part, you cannot be idle. Nowadays, the construction of the valley urgently needs agricultural tools and other reclamation materials, and the training of recruits also requires more weapons and armor. In addition, the number of people in the territory has increased several times, and the daily necessities are also urgently needed......" Art said, picking up the wine naan on the side and pouring a sip of beer.

"So, your main task at the moment is to step up production and ensure supplies. At the same time, the size of the valley is gradually expanding, and more materials will be needed, and you will need to train apprentices while you are producing. I have already told the government that after a period of time, we will gradually expand the scale of each workshop based on the existing workshop area. Later, the weapons, paper, textiles, beer and other materials produced in the workshop area were sold to the north and south through caravans, in addition to meeting the consumption of the territory. "Yate is already planning for the future of the Workshop District.

"Please rest assured, Lord Earl, the old butler has also explained before, and all workshops are training apprentices in accordance with the orders of the government government, and at the same time stepping up production. In addition, the government has also sent a lot of people to assist in production, and our efficiency has been much higher. The workshop steward spoke.

"That's the best," Art nodded with satisfaction, "as long as you do your best for the valley, as the Earl of Wales, I won't treat you badly." I can tell you right now that once the new workshop area is completed and put into operation, you and your apprentices will each receive a bounty of no less than one hundred pfennig~" Art intends to reward this group of skilled craftsmen in the most tangible way possible.

"Lord Earl Xie!" The crowd replied in unison.

…………

“…… Master, you're too generous to that group of craftsmen, aren't you~"

Shortly after leaving the Workshop District, Ron couldn't help but mutter. Matthew, who was riding behind the two, nodded in agreement.

Art turned his head and glanced at Ron, "Generous? I'll tell you honestly, I'm pretty stingy. Do you know how much it costs at least a year to hire the craftsmen with the highest level of craftsmanship in the Workshop District? ”

"How much?" Ron asked casually.

Arte immediately held out two fingers.

"Two hundred?"

"Two hundred?" Art shook his head. "Two thousand pfennigs!"

"What? Two thousand! Ron's eyes widened in disbelief in his ears. They just bang around in that place every day, and they can earn 2,000 pfennig a year? ”

"Oh my God~" Matthew also muttered, stretching out his fingers to the side to calculate.

"Master, the money for raising a craftsman can support dozens of soldiers." Ron, who has always been flexible, calculated this way.

"That's nature!"

"Sir, in my opinion, you might as well use the money from the craftsmen to recruit more soldiers. When the time comes, the goods captured will be much more than the wealth created by the craftsmen. Ron had a little calculation in his mind.

"Fart!" Art gestured and raised his whip, trying to whip Ron, who was following behind.

Ron immediately raised his right arm to block, revealing his eyes to look at the helpless Art.

"Ron, thanks to you've been with me for so long, why haven't you even learned a bit of business acumen......" Art slowly withdrew the whip.

"I~" Ron felt a pang of shame and stopped talking.

After leaving the workshop area, the group walked on the wide trade road built by the construction department. As far as the eye can see, the gravel-paved trade road meanders south along the river, like a gray-white jade belt. The land around the road that has been reclaimed has long been green.

Walking on the road, from time to time, laborers and farmers greeted Yate, and Yate smiled politely in response.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the survey team finally came to the end of the reclamation land and was about to enter the survey area. When it was dark, the resting tent had been set up by several soldiers. The men and horses of the baggage team picked up a large pile of firewood around the area and prepared to set up pots to make rice.

In the evening, after a full meal around the fire, except for the two soldiers on duty, the rest of the people went into their respective tents. In the next period of time, they will travel around the barren valley, assisting Art in surveying the topography of the valley and paving the way for the future development of the valley.