In a room covered with sky-blue carpets, large bookshelves, precious paintings, and silver lampstands, Belk? Loren stood respectfully at his desk and greeted Edmund Edmund Brown, who was sitting behind the desk. Moen reports on what he's seen in the East.

The young prince, dressed in a black coat and bearded, listened to every word of the report with a serious and serious expression, while Belk always maintained a sincere respect, unwilling to let his report be flawed in the slightest:

"The bandits in Hall and Rentatel have subsided, and a batch of unmarked gold coins have been found in their hideouts, and through the identification of the Finding Spell, it has been preliminarily determined that these gold coins are indeed from the local lords - after you issued the relevant control decrees, there are still some local nobles who are secretly raising 'black gloves'......"

"This is already an act that is expressly forbidden, and it must be severely punished, and the nobles involved have two choices, either reduce their titles by one level, or hand over half of the land or money of equal value." Edmund? Moen said with an unhappy look on his face.

Belk then reported on a series of changes and the current situation in the rear of the Eastern Frontier, and also mentioned the recent activities of the White Sands Mining Company, and Edmund made all sorts of appropriate arrangements based on his report, some of which Belk could not handle or that others could handle, and Edmund would talk a little about his disposition, or have an open and honest discussion with the young marquis in front of him.

Frank, serious, fair and patient.

Regardless of with Edmund? No matter how many times Moen came into contact with him, Belk couldn't help but have similar words in his mind.

He looked at this prince who was not much different from his own age, watched the other party seriously think about the solution to the problem, and put forward all kinds of admirable solutions, and could feel that the other party was really trying to govern this land and find a way to bring prosperity to this kingdom, and this belief and action were the reasons why he was sincerely loyal to the other party.

However...... Dark corners remain.

A trace of loss and confusion appeared in Belk's heart, and before he could speak, Edmund noticed the change in his expression, and the prince cast his gaze: "Belk, what else is going on?" ”

Belk frowned, but did not hide it: "Your Highness, in many areas of the eastern border, your serf freedom bill has appeared unexpectedly...... Setback. Only a few serfs actually received freeman status, and most ...... Still tied to the land, there has been little progress in land reform in these areas, and factories have been unable to recruit anyone – not even training. ”

Edmund looked at him quietly: "Why? ”

"There are all sorts of reasons – but most of them are due to barriers set up by landowners. Some of them demanded that the serfs buy their 'share of land' in order to be free, some demanded that the serfs hand over the entire harvest of the first year, and some drove the serfs out of their farms or orchards after they had declared them freedmen......"

Edmund closed his eyes slightly, as if to keep his breathing calm, and then he opened his eyes, his eyes deep: "So, the serfs who have been 'free' can't live, can they?" ”

"Yes, they eventually had to go back to their masters, 'voluntarily' to go back ......"

This time, Edmund was silent for a longer time, and it wasn't until half a minute later that Belk heard a calm voice from ahead: "I know. ”

"Your Highness, we should probably ......"

Belk couldn't wait to speak, but was interrupted by Edmund in the middle of speaking: "Belk, I'll discuss this matter with Duke Loren - he has more experience with land." As for you, there is a new task. ”

Although Belk was still thinking about the serfs, his loyalty made him immediately respond to the prince's new instructions: "Your Highness, please command." ”

Edmund's expression became serious, he picked up the glass of water in his hand, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and then said in a deep voice: "About the cult activities that have become more and more rampant recently, about those cultists who are dying......"

……

After walking out of the main hall of the castle, Belk? Loren's steps seemed heavier than before.

He thought that the stale conservative aristocracy and the roving bandits and demagogued people in the east were already great obstacles and problems, but he did not expect that there would be another great trouble in the Solinburg area.

All things will die...... When did such a dark sect that only dared to intrigue in the gutter become such a great harm? They even reached for the Great Wall, to the Gondor Wasteland?!

According to His Royal Highness, the corruption and spread of those cultists within the kingdom has long been beyond people's expectations, they have spread among the poor, among the citizens, and even among the transcendents, among the nobles, and their doomsday theories are obviously absurd and crazy...... But why do so many people just believe and self-destruct?

A cold but refreshing north wind blew, and Belk suddenly woke up, and he noticed that the wind and snow outside had stopped for some time, and that only large swaths of silver covered the courtyards, paths, and rooftops.

The squire knight led the horse and walked over, and bowed respectfully beside the young marquis: "My lord, you want to ......"

Belk waved his hand and told the squire knight to step back: "Take the horse back, I'm going to walk around the city—on foot." ”

At this time, most of the populated places have turned into depression and desertion, even the famous "Solin Fort" in the eastern part of the Whitsunday Plain is no exception, outside of the warm castle, the whole city inhabited by civilians is cold and deserted, and the number of passers-by is quite limited even on the widest streets.

But in fact, the fact that you can see ordinary passers-by on the streets is already a manifestation of the bustle and prosperity - at least there are still people who are willing to go out in this cold weather, and at least the most basic business and social activities are operating among the city's common people, which is difficult to see in the ordinary countryside.

Belk did not ride a horse or wear armor, but wore a wolf's skin and a knight's suit, and wandered freely through the streets of the western part of Solinburg.

Since the Legion of the Easterners occupied the city that once belonged to the royal family, he has not had the opportunity to wander the streets in such a casual manner, as the heir of the Duke of the Guardian of the East, he always has countless things to learn and busy, and today although he accepted a new task arranged by the prince, this task is not immediately available - he first needs to arrange for his subordinates to collect and summarize information on heretical sacrifices, missing people, and the spread of abnormal diseases in the surrounding area, and then he can act in person, and before that, He finally had a little bit of free time.

It's a pity that this leisure time is in winter, and he doesn't have the opportunity to see too many interesting scenes of the people.

Walking aimlessly, looking at the deserted streets, Belk finally sighed.

There's really nothing to see, and winter walks are the most boring.

The young marquis turned around and prepared to leave the place.

However, just before he could take a step, an abrupt sound suddenly reached his ears.

The voice was mixed with the sound of cursing and body hitting, and there was a faint muffled grunt.

Belk frowned and looked in the direction the voice was coming from, which was still two blocks away—a distance that the average human hearing would never have heard.

He stepped forward, and his figure streaked a series of phantoms across the almost empty street, and in a few seconds he came to the mouth of the alley, and saw what happened in the alley—

Several tall, muscular men were gathering around, punching and kicking an emaciated figure that had curled up on the ground, curling and curling rude words, while on the ground near them, a wooden basin had been knocked over and a dozen pieces of clothing were scattered around it.

This disgusting scene made Belk's face gloomy, and he immediately shouted, "Stop—what are you doing?!" ”

The sudden shouting made the people who were committing violence stop suddenly, and they turned their heads to look in the direction where the sound came from, and they all had anger on their faces, as if they wanted to teach the meddlers a lesson, but after seeing the tall young man at the entrance of the alley, these people were stunned and silent almost instantly, accompanied by a few soft gasps.

"Big ...... Adult ......"

Someone muttered, and Belk looked at the person who spoke up, "What's going on here?" ”

He had vaguely guessed their identities after seeing their strong figures, neat clothes, and their expressions that instantly recognized him.

"Your Excellency...... I...... We are teaching a man who has sinned," said the first speaker, tremblingly, "she ...... She's a washerwoman, but she stole her employer's clothes......"

She?

Belk looked down and saw that the thin figure who had been curled up by the beating was getting up little by little, trembling towards the clothes scattered on the ground and the wooden basin, her yellow, dry hair scattered behind her head, wearing a shabby garment that could no longer be seen in its original color, and many strips of rags tied around her legs to protect against the cold, she glanced up to reveal a face that was not too bloody, withered and yellowed by malnutrition.

She was a woman, not beautiful at all, only her eyes made a little impression on Belk.

But if she's beautiful, she's probably going to face more than just punches and kicks here.

Belk lowered his head and calmly looked at the washerwoman who was picking up the clothes—some of them still had residual moisture and were about to freeze on the ground: "Whose clothes did you steal?" ”

The washerwoman lowered her head and said in a soft voice, "No one stole it, my lord." ”

"Look, my lord, she's still lying!" One of the men standing around immediately shouted, "She stole ......"

"Stole yours?" Belk looked up at the man who spoke.

The man was immediately silent.

"Stole yours?" Belk turned his gaze to the next person.

The man was equally silent.

"Yours?" "Or yours?"

No one answered.

"Very well, at least you don't dare to lie any more," Belk watched them, each word shrinking their necks a little more, "so that I don't have to send your corpses back to the East." ”

These people are the soldiers of the Eastern Frontier who are on duty to rest.

Aside from the soldiers who occupied the city, few would be as strong as them, wearing warm winter coats, having extra energy, and instantly recognising Belk in regular clothes? Loren.

Belk lowered his head again, looking at the washerwoman who had already picked up all the clothes and bowed her head by the wooden basin: "Are you a local?" ”

The washerwoman still lowered her head, as if she didn't dare to look up: "...... Yes, my lord. ”

Belk nodded, his gaze returning to the scum of the soldiers, he took a breath, but slowly calmed down the magic in his body.

Army, disciplined, this is the order of Prince Edmund.

"Bully the civilians, deceive the commanders, go to your centurions, and receive thirty lashes each, and confinement for a week, and halve the salary for this month."

The scum left in fear and frustration.

The washerwoman was still on her knees on the ground, her head bowed, with her tub and clothes that needed to be re-pulped.

"Raise your head."

Belk said calmly.

He saw that the other man raised his head slightly, but quickly lowered it again, keeping his eyes level ahead.

Belk sighed inwardly and crouched down, meeting the other's eye level, looking at the malnourished face that had nothing to do with beauty, at the eyes that were mixed with awe and numbness.

On other occasions, in the banquet halls of the castle, countless beautiful ladies from famous families would be willing to pay the price of a manor in exchange for a chance to be able to meet him at such a close distance.

"Those people are the scum of the East, and they can't represent the armies of the East."

The washerwoman immediately lowered her head and responded, "Yes, sir." ”

Belk frowned, looked at the other man's thin and tattered clothes, and then took out two gold coins from his arms.

He pondered for a moment, put the gold coins away, and rummaged through the other pocket for a long time, finally finding some copper plates and cut silver pieces.

He tossed the coins into the washerwoman's tub and stood up, "This is the compensation that the East has given you—you can use them to buy bread and change into warm clothes." ”

The washerwoman's eyes fell on the tinkling coins, and she carefully put them away, with a light and serious movement, and when she had done all this, Belk heard the other suddenly ask:

"My lord, can you give everyone bread and warm clothes for the winter?"

This unexpected question made Belk stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to tell the other party - of course he could.

He's the eldest son of the Duke of Guardian, is it Belk? The Marquis of Loren, the future master of the East, had countless estates and estates in his private name, even if half of them had been donated to legions or distributed to serfs and tenants in the territory in response to Prince Edmund's decree, he was also able to distribute winter food and clothing to every commoner in Sollinburg.

But the washerwoman had already stood up, bowed respectfully, and departed with the tub and the clothes in it.