In mid-March, as the temperature gradually rose, the valley leaders who had rested for a winter walked out of their homes one after another, carrying the farm tools they had received from the civil administration to their fields.

The displaced people who had been recruited were also resettled in Tignats and Wales Valley, one per hundred, and spread out into the unexplored wastelands under the command and protection of civil officials and peasant soldiers......

Spring returns to the earth, everything recovers, and Wales is full of vitality.

Early in the morning, Art instructed Cooper to summon all the officials of the Ministry of Administration to come to the Valley Wooden Fort to discuss the matter. This was the first meeting of the Welsh Department of Administration since its inception. Therefore, Cooper and his ministers of government affairs deliberately dressed up and changed their appearances one by one, looking quite like court officials.

After everyone arrived, Yate put out the focus of civil affairs work this year.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now that Wales Province has been established for more than a month, we must seize the time to open up wasteland and carry out spring ploughing, so that the autumn food can be guaranteed, so that tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the territory of Wales Province will not starve."

"The reason is simple, Wales is newly established, and it is unrealistic to expect the land in the county that has been cultivated to feed tens of thousands of people. Now the vast wasteland that stretches from the south of the valley to the north of Lombardy belongs to my territory, and the displaced people recruited in the early stage are basically in place. Therefore, it is necessary to take advantage of the beginning of spring to organize the people to open up the wasteland. Strive to reclaim all the wasteland and turn it into fertile land before winter comes. ”

Everyone nodded their heads.

"In addition, while the Ministry of Tunning is reclaiming to the south, the Ministry of Construction cannot be idle. You must organize your men to build a trade road that can accommodate three carriages in parallel to the south, and run along the river all the way south.

We have visited the southern part of the valley twice before, and I have also ordered people to search for ancient books, there is an ancient trade road in the south, but now it has been swallowed up by barren forests, you can try to find out the ruins of the ancient road, and carry out restoration construction along the ancient road.

The construction of commercial roads does not require speed, but the roadbed must be solid, and drainage ditches must be dug on both sides. Later, post stations were built every ten miles or so along the trade route as a place for future caravans to stop for food and lodging.

In the future, houses will be built on both sides of the trade road with the post station as the center, and the village will be formed. The displaced people will be resettled in these villages one after another, and the surrounding land will also be allocated to these people for cultivation. ”

"Lord Earl, most of the displaced people are currently clearing the wasteland under the leadership of the Ministry of Tun Affairs. Most of our construction department is building Welsburg, and we don't have that much manpower to build the trade road. ”

Lawrence tells Art about the current predicament of the Construction Department.

Atla thought for a moment, "In this way, we don't have enough farming tools and cattle anyway, so we will first assign one-fifth of the people under the Ministry of Tun Affairs to the management of the Ministry of Construction." In addition, the civil administration continues to recruit displaced people and assign them all to the Ministry of Construction, which is responsible for the construction of the southern part of the valley. ”

"Yes, master, I will arrange for the civil affairs to be responsible for continuing to recruit." Cooper spoke.

"Good! You are now all senior officials of my Welsh Ministry of Administration, and the future prosperity of Wales depends to a large extent on you. As long as you do your best to build this new land, I will never treat you badly! ”

"I want to serve the Earl!"

The crowd stood up and said loudly.

…………

On the border between the northern part of the city of Tignets and the province of Lucesinn, the head of the European merchant house on horseback, Sarth, glanced from time to time into the dense forest behind him. The guards responsible for escorting the caravan were also on high alert.

Before leaving the city of Lucesen, the steward of a shop in the Lucesine branch of the European Comptoir hurried to the station where the caravan was located in the middle of the night and informed Salter of one of the most worrying things~

According to a merchant in the city who was friendly with the European Continental Merchant House, because the European Merchant House relied on Arte's position in the War of the Successors to transport grain, grass, baggage, weapons and other materials for the Restoration Army, and then monopolized the north-south trade of the entire Hou Kingdom after the war. Only those comptoirs who were on good terms with Yate could get supplies from Yate. Many other merchant aristocrats were not satisfied with the current status quo and wanted to rebuild their own trading market.

Previously, they may also crack down on the European comptoirs. But now the European Merchant House, as a court charter firm, is not only supported by Flender and Balwin, but also extremely large, and has established close ties with the major chambers of commerce in the north and south, and the cost of acquiring goods is far lower than that of these commercial aristocrats. As a result, their supply is difficult to sell and they have been in a state of loss.

Seeing that they were about to be unable to hold on, these red-eyed businessmen simply took a risk, secretly formed a team, dressed as bandits, and robbed the goods purchased by the European Continental Comptoir, in an attempt to bite off the transportation chain of the European Merchant House step by step.

However, the caravan guards of the European Merchant House numbered more than a hundred, and they were well-equipped, and their combat skills were not comparable to ordinary caravan guards. So I can only follow all the way and wait for the opportunity to move.

Coming out of Lucesen, Salter ordered everyone in the caravan to be on high alert to prevent the gang from taking advantage of the opportunity to loot the goods.

In this way, the group trembled through the province of Lucesen and came to the border of the province of Wales. Along the way, except for a few groups of homeless people, I didn't find anything unusual.

Arriving in the city of Tignac, Salter finally breathed a sigh of relief. After arranging the affairs of the caravan, he hurried back to the valley to report the situation to Art.

…………

“…… That's the case, my lord. Early the next morning after learning the news, I rushed back with the caravan, and finally breathed a sigh of relief when I arrived at the county seat~"

Sitting at the long table in the Wooden Castle Lord's Hall reporting to Art, Salter had palpitations, and a layer of cold sweat oozed from his forehead.

"Sart, you're doing a great job. Thank you for your hard work~"

Art got up and walked to the wine cabinet on the side, poured a glass of wine for Salter and handed it to him.

"Come, take a sip of wine first."

"Master Xie."

Salter quickly got up and grabbed the wine glass. I drank all the wine in the glass in one go.

Yat, who was sitting at the top, held his chin in his right hand, thoughtfully.

"By the way, my lord~" Salter said suddenly, "I also heard from a friend merchant in the city that Count Lucesen is also a little dissatisfied with our caravan. ”

Lost in thought, Art suddenly looked up and motioned for Salter to continue.

"Ever since the caravan became a royal chartered firm, there was no need to pay taxes to the local lords when they passed through various places. As a result, those who live on taxes have lost a lot of money, and they have become resentful of us, and have demanded that the court revoke our privileges. The most dissatisfied of these was the Count of Lucesinn. ”

"Nowadays, the European commercial banks are dominant, and other small commercial houses cannot compete with us. It is certainly unrealistic to rely on them to feed their men. ”

Listening to Salter talk about the current predicament of the European comptoir, Art repeatedly thought about how to deal with it in his mind~

…………

On the second day, Yate convened the stewards of the firm to deliberate. In view of the current series of situations that are not conducive to the development of European commercial banks, it is believed that it is unrealistic to completely monopolize the commercial trade of the Hou Kingdom, which will also cause public anger and make too many enemies, which is not conducive to the future development of European commercial banks.

After everyone deliberated, Art made a decision. Unite the smaller merchant aristocracy and take advantage of their geographical presence to provide them with low-priced goods. First, it can win them over and resolve the grievances in their hearts. Second, it can also be used to expand the influence of the European trading houses, so that everyone is tied to this huge carriage.

In addition, Arte also instructed Salter to make a special trip to visit the Earl of Lucesen Province when he went north next time. From the profits of the European Merchant Houses, he took out 50,000 fennigs every year as the transit fee of the caravan, so as to resolve his grievances and reduce unnecessary trouble.

According to the current speed of recovery of the Hou State, Yate also asked the commercial bank to speed up the business layout at the meeting. It is not only necessary to build warehouses and hoard goods in various important towns in the north and south. They also set up post stations for caravans and caravans under their own names to rest and provide food and lodging. In addition, it is also used as a place to gather information, and to collect details of merchants who come and go, changes in the price of various goods, and increases and decreases in production. This laid the foundation for the future development of the caravan.

Finally, in view of the development trend of European commercial banks, Yate Chartered Salter recruited a group of people with business experience, and the apprentices of the Civil Affairs Academy will also be given priority to be placed in European commercial banks, so as to improve the efficiency of the operation of the commercial banks. At the same time, it lightens the burden on Salter and allows him to focus more on the strategic direction of the comptoir.

In the end, Art sent a secret order to Stanley, who was laying out nets in various parts of the Hou Kingdom, asking him to arrange a special team for the European Merchant House......

............

After arranging the European business house and civil affairs, Yate was not idle. Spend your days in the Chamber of Secrets thinking about the development of Wales.

Once the construction of the territory of Wales is complete, the next step is to continue to expand southward. If you don't plan your next move in advance, it's easy to be in a passive position and be slaughtered by others.

At present, few people know the status of this nameless valley sandwiched between several major principalities. But Art knew it in his heart. Once Wales completes the development of the valley, many people will start to get angry. Not only because of the forgotten fertile land here, but also because of its rather important commercial position.

If you don't take advantage of the time to accumulate strength now, you can only become the target of being slaughtered and carved up by neighboring countries at that time.

The truth of being prepared for danger in times of peace, Art understands it very well.

…………

When the construction of the valley was being carried out in an orderly manner, several uninvited guests from the south of the mainland quietly came~

In the grass less than half a mile from the border outpost, four people in tattered clothes and scarred outcasts looked in the direction of the outpost from time to time under the cover of the grass.

"My lord, in front of you is the outpost set up on the border in the province of Wales~"

A man in a shabby cotton jacket and a pair of linen trousers said to the bridge of his nose, who was also dressed in the same way.

"Listen to me," several people immediately gathered around, "from today onwards, try not to speak, and look at me in everything." If it's exposed, don't even think about living! ”

"Yes!"

"Answering my questions later can't be so neat! Back to make people suspicious. ”

"Good~"

"Yes~"

"Hey~"

…………

On the border between Wales and Provence, a small town is already taking shape.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The soldiers at the border post under the Welsh Provincial Garrison Corps shouted to a couple of men in tattered clothes.

"What about you, what are you doing there? Hurry up and get checked. ”

As soon as the soldier's words fell, one of the leading men glanced at the people behind him and walked all the way to the checkpoint.

"What are you doing?"

The soldier in charge of checking the passers-by asked.

"Old ~ Master, we were originally farmers from Vilno, south of Provence, and our hometown was attacked by mountain bandits last fall, and the village was slaughtered and burned by mongrel mountain bandits. Seven or eight young people in the village went to the lord's house to pay taxes and grain, and only then did they get their lives back.

In the past few months, we had been following the caravan to do some livestock to make a living, but we never thought that the caravan would be robbed by robbers outside Kitsby. The caravan guards were killed, the goods were robbed, and our eight guys were killed four more on the spot~"

As he spoke, the man half-hid his face and sobbed.

"Now that your employers are gone, what are you going to do in the north?"

"Sir, we don't have any rations on us. I heard from the villagers near the border that the towns in the north recruit displaced people, although it is a little farther, but there is a chance to live, so we will ~. ”

"That's the case~" The soldier sympathized with the plight of several people.

"You guys go over there and register~"

"Master Xie ~ Master Xie ~"

After thanking a few people, he walked to the side of the civil affairs official to register, and explained his background and origin in detail.

Although these four guys were dressed in tatters, they were still quite strong, so they quickly passed the selection of civil officials, and it didn't take long for them to drive north with one hundred or ten other newly recruited homeless people under the leadership of a civil affairs official~

…………

It was just dark, and the group arrived at Boulder Town.

Once inside the fort, the four able-bodied men walking among the other outcasts looked around, trying to take note of the layout and defenses of Boulder Town.

Along the way, several people eagerly asked the accompanying civil officials about the situation of the Earl of Wales.

"This lord, who are you Earl, why have you never heard of it before?"

"It's normal that you haven't heard of it. Our Earl is no ordinary man. He was originally a hunter in this mountain, but he was somehow made a county magistrate by the court. Later, because of his outstanding military achievements, he became the new earl of the Hou Kingdom step by step, and he was a confidant of our country. ”

There was a sense of pride in the civil officer's tone.

The man with a slumped nose greeted him with a smile and said all sorts of flattering words.

"Where does the Earl live, and shall we have the pleasure of meeting him?"

"Lord Earl lives in the Valley of Wales, but you are really lucky, what kind of training is the army doing in the wasteland during this time, Lord Earl has been temporarily staying in Boulder Town for the past two days."

The clerk suddenly stopped, turned to look at the person in front of him.

"Hey, I said what are you doing with so many inquiries about our Earl?"

"I~"

"The people behind hurry up to follow, the military fort will be closed as soon as it gets dark!"

Just as the man didn't know how to answer, a certain officer in Boulder Town, who was in charge of relocating the displaced people to the front, suddenly ordered loudly. The officer stopped asking, but ran to the back of the procession, urging him to hurry into the fort.

"It's dangerous!"

The man muttered inwardly.

…………

Before dark, these homeless people were stationed in the camp area of Jushi Town.

After a tiring day, Yat, who inspected the army's field training, leaned on the railing of the window on the second floor of the command post that had just been built in Boulder Town, and watched as this group of newly recruited homeless people walked towards the temporary shack south of the castle under the guidance of civil affairs officials, and these young and strong homeless people will be sent to the Wells Valley to expand their territory after a period of observation in Boulder Town, and these people will become the people under Art's rule~

"Lord Earl!" Legion Deputy Angus shouted to Art, who was leaning over the railing.

"Sergeant Major, what's the matter?"

Art's gaze shifted from the group of outcasts to Angus.

"Lord Count, I have important military affairs to report to you."

"Come on!"

"Yes!"

Angus then strode upstairs. Art then closed the propped up window as well.

One of the homeless people who passed by had been staring at the handsome-looking man on the second floor until the moment the window closed.

"Hurry up, the front is where you are temporarily living today~"

In the distance, the voice of a civil affairs officer was heard.

............

It's night.

In the temporary shack in the south of Boulder Town, several men sat in the corner of the shack and whispered~

"Do you see clearly, that man is the Earl of Wales?"

"Sir, I'm sure! The officer downstairs called him Lord Count. Definitely the person we're looking for. ”

"Very good~"