After completing the testing of the Thermal Ray Gun, Gawain left the proving ground, along with Hettie and Amber - Rebecca and Jenny were going to continue to optimize the rune group, Nicholas Egg was going to return to the Mechanical Research Institute to design a new production line, and the two knights had their own tasks, so they didn't go with Gawain.

The success of a new weapon boosted Gawain's spirits, and his mood couldn't help but be happy, and in a happy mood, he looked at everything in the territory with much more optimism than before.

Halfway through the Frost Moon, the temperature is dropping day by day, and it won't be long before the southern land will enter a cold winter, but the first crops have already been harvested, and with the arrival of the king's promised food supplies and a steady stream of non-staple food purchased from Tanzanian Town, the territory will not have to worry about hunger this winter.

The Cecil family is perhaps the most generous nobles in terms of food - in other aristocratic lands, commoners often have to pay seven to eighty percent of the harvest as taxes, and serfs even need to pay close to ninety percent of the grain, so that even with the assistance of druid spells or fertility magic, the poor people at the bottom are always on the verge of famine, as long as the year is a little bad, starvation is common, and all kinds of wild vegetables, bark and even grass roots are frequent visitors to most of the poor pots, but in Cecil's collar, Gawain directly set the grain tax at one-half.

The people were grateful to Dade, but Gawain felt that the tax rate was still too high.

The other nobles levied very high taxes, partly because they often did not really care about the cultivation of their lands, nor did they improve their farming techniques or manage their labor effectively, so that the cost of their land was not high in itself, and it was impossible to maintain their extravagant life if the taxes were low, and on the other hand, their extravagance and extravagance reached a sensational level, and a small baron had to build a castle and provide for a steward, a valet or maid, four servants of the first class, and four maids of the first class. and a large number of handymen, washermaids, kitchen maids, grooms, etc., and endless feasts and hunts, and in the case of the nobles of faith, a large sum of money every year to the local church—which would be converted into taxes on the heads of the poor who did not have a good harvest.

But Cecil didn't need that.

And Gawain is also very clear about one thing: in the case of the magic energy industry has begun to take off, the economic output of the agricultural society will eventually be surpassed and replaced by industry, farmland used to be the main economic source of this world, but soon gold coins will flow out of the chain of factories and commerce, he does not intend to continue the development model of absorbing nutrients from farmers - only now that the magic industry is still just a seed, he must maintain this situation for the time being.

Sooner or later, the treasure troves in the mountains will run out of gold and silver, but Gawain is confident that he will move the territory from net expenditure to balance before it runs out - when the industrial output of the territory is sufficient for its own consumption and there is a surplus, it is time to send out caravans

As he passed the banks of the Whitewater, Gawain saw a large ship docked on the dock, and a large number of ragged men disembarking from the boats to be routinely registered and inspected, and in charge of these affairs were the clerks drawn from the 100-man Aid Corps and the literate soldiers of the territory: these people, after a period of adaptation and learning, were now able to take on this kind of work.

The population of the territory is still growing, and after confirming this year's harvest, Gawain boldly gave way to the "Population Introduction Office" in Tanzania to add a new batch of serf orders, and increased the propaganda to recruit displaced people, and now almost every three or four days, a boatload of people from the upper reaches of the White Water River is transported here to become the new inhabitants of Cecil Territory, and what is even more gratifying is that more and more displaced people are appearing among these people.

This means that the homeless who have been adrift have finally heard and believed the news of Cecil's frontiers, and that such things will lead to a steady stream of people moving in if they have a beginning.

In places where there is no shortage of people, the outcasts are indeed a major headache for the sheriff, but in the Cecil Territory, where Hetty and Gawain lose their hair together, the outcasts are simply gold flowing into the territory - but if they can afford it, they are not too much.

Compared with the slaves who have a clear price and a fixed cost, these displaced people who will continue to flow in are the most stable source of population for the future Cecil Territory.

"How's the housing security going?" Gawain's gaze fell in the direction of the dock and asked casually, "It's getting colder by the day." ”

"The wooden huts are sufficient, and according to the new method you have prescribed, the serfs or vagrants who arrive in the territory do not at first take part in agriculture and factory work, but first start to build their own houses, and in the process learn the labor system and educate them in the common sense, which is surprisingly good—they work very hard, and praise the kindness of the Cecil family in unison, and by the time they have completed these works, the basic system of labor and the common sense of life have been firmly imprinted in their minds."

"To build a home for oneself, everyone will give their all, very simple," Gawain smiled, "and the subtle education carried out in the process of this wholehearted labor is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than any whip and scolding." ”

As he spoke, he frowned slightly: "But a wooden house is no match for a brick house after all, especially in winter, even if we prepare enough hay and use mud to paste the walls, it will still be cold in the house." ”

"Your kindness is indeed touching, but the brick and tile factories are not able to keep up," Hetty shook her head regretfully, "There are too many new people to build brick houses for everyone." In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the lumberyards and sawmills had a large amount of timber stockpiled in advance, and the sawmills powered by the magic energy engine were extremely efficient, I am afraid that we would not even have enough wooden houses."

"Then at least ensure the supply of charcoal, so that they can survive the first winter," Gawain nodded, "Are all the new construction areas covered with hive nets?" ”

"Yes, according to your requirements, all areas are being laid with magic nets - even if not the whole area, at least the honeycomb structure is connected into lines, connecting every building area, and leaving exposed magic net interfaces everywhere."

The so-called magic net interface is actually a small section of magic guide material rods extending from the magic net unit, they are made of iron rods coated with a thin layer of mythril or cheaper black stone rods, one end of which is connected to the underground magic net, and the other end extends out of the surface, which can be regarded as the foundation laid by Gawain for the future development of the territory.

Although the magic network can carry out "wireless energy supply", as long as the magic network is directly above the magic network can be transmitted in a close distance, but this efficiency is not high, if a lot of "magic network interfaces" are reserved, you can prepare for the future development of urbanization, such as connecting street lights or giving magic to every household.

"Now there's one more question," Hetty hesitated for a moment, but decided to say it anyway, "it's about the evening school education you're advancing." ”

Gao Wen suddenly frowned: "Night school? What are the general education courses? What went wrong? ”

"You demanded that everyone in the territory must be educated, but now that there is a huge influx of people, and most of them are illiterate poor people, the number of teachers is completely insufficient," said Hetty, embarrassed, "We have added learning places in the center of the territory, in the west and in the south, and we have all the literate soldiers, craftsmen, and department heads take turns to teach after they have finished their work, but we are still too busy." Each 'class' has a limited number of people, and the new arrivals lack discipline, and once there are more people, the level of chaos is a disaster, and when there are fewer people, more classes will have to be added. ”

"Adding classrooms means adding teachers," Gao Wen frowned, "Didn't Tanzania send some secretary apprentices over there?" ”

"I've been sent to teach, but it's still not enough."

"Then recruit from the '100-Man Aid Group,'" Gawain decided, "In addition to the 'high-end talents' like Jenny, some of the ordinary craftsmen or apprentices are literate and should be interested in the additional allowance for teachers." In addition, you have to start spreading the word about the recruitment of workers in the steel mills, mechanical research institutes, etc., and tell the people that both freemen and serfs can work in the factories, but they must be literate and numeracy to sign up, and that working in the factories can be the same as the craftsmen, with additional food subsidies, so that they will be motivated to learn - and it will be easier to maintain discipline. ”

Hetty nodded slightly: "Yes, I understand." ”

Gawain thought for a moment and asked, "Is there anything else you need to report?" ”

Hetty looked at Amber next to her: "Her ability to walk and sleep is really amazing." ”

Gawain was stunned for a moment, turned his head to take a look, and saw that this half-elf was really following him with his eyes closed, as if he had been asleep for a while.

"When did this thing fall asleep?!"

Hetty looked helpless: "When we first started talking about building a house. ”

Gawain looked stunned: "In a way, she is really a talent. ”

And as soon as he finished sighing, he saw Amber waking up leisurely, Miss Half-Elf rubbed her eyes, looked at Gawain and Hetty, and asked curiously: "You two have finally finished talking?" ”

The corners of Gawain's mouth twitched, and he deliberately looked at Hetty: "Let's talk about steel production"

Amber closed her eyes: "Call me when the meal is ready." ”

Gawain was about to grab Amber's ear and twist it half a circle to see if she could wake up, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a soldier running towards her.

"Your Excellency!" The soldier ran up to Gawain and saluted, "There's a stranger in the territory!" ”

"Strangers?" Gao Wen was stunned for a moment, not knowing what urgency there was in this kind of matter, "Is it a homeless from the north?" If you come to take refuge yourself"

"No, the man is dressed in the clothes of the Holy Light Sect, he seems to be a missionary, but I don't know why he is working on the construction site right now."

"Huh?"