“…… Ladies and gentlemen, the situation in the valley is not very clear. In order to survey the valley in the coming days, I think it is necessary to give you an overview of the southern part of the valley. ”

After breakfast, Art gathered everyone into the open space outside the tent and prepared to arrange the next task. But in view of what happened in the morning, he felt it was necessary to remind those present of the arduous task of the survey.

The twenty or so people gathered in a circle immediately pricked up their ears and listened to Art's admonition. Matthew and Ron sat on either side of Art.

"There are two main difficulties we will face when we survey the valley. First, the terrain. On the whole, the whole valley is mainly mountainous, with dense forests and deep ravines, and slippery roads. Although there are many flat wastelands, they are not yet cultivated, and the dwarf pine shrubs are overgrown and difficult to navigate. Second, it is summer now, and poisonous snakes and beasts often haunt the valley, and it is impossible to prevent it. Once encountered, if it is not handled well, it will be life-threatening. ”

"This~"

When one of the government officials heard this, he choked up as soon as he spoke.

Art set his eyes on the man, and instead of blaming him, he encouraged his men to speak their minds. After all, these people can be said to be powerless, and they cannot be expected to be as brave and good at fighting as the legionnaires.

"If you have any ideas, just say them, and you don't have to be restrained."

The officials looked left and right, but all they thought about was nothing more than their own personal safety issues. For them, if they really encounter those fierce beasts in the mountains, I am afraid that most of them will become a piece of meat in the mouths of those guys.

In the middle of the night, a slightly chubby official, with a dull complexion, dressed in coarse linen clothes, spoke: "Lord Earl, you also know that we serve in the government office on weekdays, so let's write and calculate. If you encounter a wild beast in this valley, I'm afraid it will be ......" The official immediately bowed his head in shame.

"You kid, with your physique, it's enough for several wild wolves to eat." Ron teased the officer, causing everyone to laugh.

After the laughter, Art raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said, "You can't be blamed for this. After all, you are not the material to be a soldier, and the wilderness naturally does not belong to you. Since you said it, then I'll make the personnel arrangements for the survey after entering the mountain......"

Considering the size of the entire valley, Yate had to divide the entourage into groups to improve the efficiency of the survey.

"Ron and Matthew followed me, and then a government clerk and two soldiers. The rest were arranged according to the standard of two officers and four soldiers, with six men in each group. In addition, there will be no change in the personnel of the baggage team, you just need to do your part. ”

"Yes, sir." The people answered the command.

After assigning the task, Art gathered several officials separately and explained to them the precautions during the survey.

The valley will henceforth become the core of the entire province of Wales. Therefore, the survey involves elements such as valley topography, topography, water source, and land.

The clerks held a quill in one hand, listened and memorized, occasionally asking a few questions.

It wasn't until noon that Art assigned the survey tasks to the various teams one by one.

…………

“…… Ron, you ride fast, and get back to Wooden Castle and bring me those two hounds. ”

"Hounds? Master, we are surveying this time, and we are not hunting, what are we doing with hounds? Ron was puzzled.

"What nonsense! Get me back to the wooden castle, and be sure to bring the two hounds in the evening. If you misunderstand my business, military law will deal with it! Art gestured and raised the whip in his hand, his expression serious.

"Yes, sir."

After a while, Ron rode his horse and galloped north......

At sunset, a man, a horse, and two hounds arrived at the camp where Art and the others were.

When he had eaten and drunk, Art ordered the people to rest early and begin their survey of the valley early tomorrow morning. He went into the tent and studied the map of the valley......

The night was getting dark, and the area around the camp was beginning to fall quiet. In the tent, Art stood alone at a table made of improvised wooden planks, holding a quill in his right hand and sketching on parchment from time to time. The golden beer in the corner of the table had gone from a full glass to half a glass, and only half of the candle still shimmered with a yellowish glow.

By the dim light, it can be seen that the map of the valley on the parchment is no longer as concise as it was at the beginning, with more lines, graphics, and textual annotations.

Just as Art was coming to his senses, Ron walked in with Matthew pushing open the curtain.

"Sir, according to your orders, I took all the food in sacks with my baggage team and hung it on a few big trees about two hundred paces from the camp. The hounds were also tied to the gate of the camp, and barbed bushes were also placed around the camp~"

Art put down the quill pen, rolled up the parchment, folded it, and placed it in a wooden box beside him.

"Hmm~" Art nodded his head.

The reason for this arrangement stems from the encounter with a black bear this morning. Once the food in the camp attracts the black bears, it is inevitable that there will be a disaster. And with the protection of the hounds, Art can sleep peacefully.

"Go back and rest, and by the way, tell the people of the baggage team that they will prepare breakfast as soon as it is dawn. It's time to get down to business after dinner~"

"Yes, sir. You also rest early. With that, Ron and Matthew exited the camp.

On the second day, after breakfast, everyone packed up the camp and began the mission of going south to survey the valley. According to Art's plan, it would take about twenty days to complete the survey of the valley.

While Art was struggling to build a territory, the northern part of the Princedom of Burgundy was in turmoil. A great drama of power and interest is quietly unfolding......

…………

After half a year of recovery, the state of the Marquis of Burgundy has improved significantly, all of which is naturally inseparable from the wise leadership of the Marquis Flender and the efforts of a number of important court officials and subordinates.

Through a series of measures to encourage production, the development of commercial trade and agriculture, as well as foreign exchanges, the economic situation of the princely state of Burgundy improved significantly.

Taking the palace tax as an example, at the beginning of the battle for the successor, most of the records recorded in the financial books were the court's external debts. On several occasions alone, Flender borrowed money from the Order totaling more than eight million Fennig. Combined with the money borrowed from the nobles and nobles who supported Flender, the court was in debt to more than eleven million finnigs. Although many captures were made in the battle of the successors, they were still not enough to make up for the shortfall. Coupled with the day-to-day expenses and the necessary inputs in the early stage, there is not much left in the financial books.

Fortunately, the princely state of Burgundy entered a period of relative peace after the war, and there was less resistance to the development of production.

In addition, Arte's father-in-law, the court chancellor of the exchequer, Galvin, had been in business for many years and was quite business-minded, and had close relations with the business aristocracy and bureaucrats everywhere. In addition, a series of measures introduced by the court to develop commerce and agriculture were introduced. Flender himself also led by example, taking the lead in cutting down on food and clothing, reducing expenses, increasing sources of money and reducing expenditure, and putting an end to the extravagance of the court. Soon, Hou Guo embarked on the fast track of development step by step.

In about half a year, in addition to the monthly expenses, the treasury now has a surplus of more than one million fennigs. The development of commerce, trade and agriculture in the Hou State also improved significantly.

It is true that some of the important courtiers who saw the Princes of Burgundy step by step out of the shadow of war and into the right track, began to feel compassion, intending to take advantage of this thriving cash cow, and not to waste their part in the battle for the successor. Among them, the most obvious manifestation is probably the palace Prime Minister Balwin......

…………

“…… Lord Gongxiang, this is the tax details of this month, please take a look~"

In the official room of the Provincial Mansion of Jonah Province, where the Prime Minister of the Imperial Court Balwin was, the housekeeper of the Inner House came to Balwin with the checked account books of the province of Jonah for the month, and bowed his head and bent down to report to Balwin, who was lying on a large mink chair enjoying the service of the maids beside him.

Balwin opened his eyes slightly, got up slowly with the help of the maid, and yawned. Having drunk late into the night, Balwin felt a little dizzy, and then lay back and collapsed on the mink chair.

"Read!" Balwin raised his finger slightly, and his body remained motionless.

"Yes, Miya-sama." The housekeeper glanced at Balwin, who had his eyes closed, and then glanced at the maid standing beside him, revealing a lewd smile. Then he opened the books......

"Lord Gongxiang, this month's tax has increased by 120,000 pfennigs on the basis of the previous month, reaching 870,000 pfennigs. According to the reactions of the people below, there has been a significant increase in the number of traders coming and going to the province of Jonah this month, and part of the increase in tax revenue comes from here. In addition, according to your instructions, the tax collector has raised the tax a little on the basis of the previous one, and the rest is the new ......" The housekeeper of the Inner House moved his gaze from the account book to Balwin, and when Balwin did not answer, he continued to report.

"After deducting the part that should be handed over to the palace treasury, there are less than 800,000 pfennigs left......"

"Huh?" Hearing this number, Balwin suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the housekeeper of the Inner House.

"Lord Gong, do you mean to reduce the part of the tax handed over to the court again?" The head of the Inner House seems to have become a roundworm in Balwin's stomach. After all, since Balwin sat in the position of prime minister of the court, the taxes that the province of Jonah should pay to the court have been reduced again and again. All this is the hand of the chief of the inner house at the behest of Balwin.

Last month, according to the royal treasury, the province of Jonah paid only 5,000 pfennigs more than the province of Longxia. Although the province of Jonah was a little poorer than the provinces of Saône and Lucesen, even so, the taxes were much higher than in the more remote and impoverished midsummer. In particular, after Balwin was elected prime minister of the court, many merchants rushed to his position in the princely state of Burgundy, injecting a lot of fresh blood into the commerce and trade of the province of Jonne. Because of this, the tax revenue in the province of Jonah has continued to rise. Coupled with the tribute paid to Balwin by those who cling to the powerful, the court prime minister can be said to have made a lot of money. The rise in political status brought him endless wealth......

Even so, Balwin was not going to let go of a coin that could go into his pocket.