Cecil Collar, in the Lord's Study.

The recent population migration report was sent to Gao Wen's desk, and Gao Wen looked at every number on it carefully, and his expression was extremely engaged.

It was not much the same as he had expected—after the month of recovery, a new wave of emigration began, and this time, the number of displaced people who moved into Cecil's territory far exceeded the number of serfs and slaves that were purchased.

After spreading and spreading throughout the autumn and winter, the news of Cecil's acceptance of the displaced people has now spread to all corners of the southern border, and even the most ill-informed civilians know that the pioneer territory next to the Dark Mountains is absorbing foreign populations almost unconditionally, and that anyone in that land has the opportunity to obtain land, houses and freedmen.

The Byron knights released a large number of mercenary news in the south through their mercenary channels back then, and effectively fulfilled every transaction, so those merchants who operated ships and convoys tasted the sweetness in the process, and also established enough trust in Cecil's territory, so the work of attracting the displaced people entered a kind of virtuous circle.

Now that there is no need for the Byron knights to send people on their own initiative, there are fixed "migrant caravans" running between the various territories and doing this "new business", and those caravan owners who are brave and careful and have good relations with mercenaries can find displaced people in various places or people who want to go to Cecil's territory for various reasons, these merchants carry the permission documents issued by the Duke of Cecil, transport these people to Cecil's territory for free, and then receive payment from the government office according to the number of people transported, Even some of the mercenaries laid down their swords and bought a few caravans and started a similar business - collecting outcasts and immigrants and sending them to Cecil's territory, which became a trade......

In the process, Gawain took action to rectify several unlaw-abiding and audacious acts, and executed a group of lawbreakers who tried to abduct and sell people or abuse immigrants, which can be regarded as setting the rules for this "business", and also imprinted the concept of Cecil's strict laws and regulations in the minds of those merchants and mercenaries.

Compared with the increase in the number of immigrants, what makes Gawain even happier is the optimization of the occupational structure of new immigrants - last year, the people who moved into Cecil's territory were basically slaves and vagrants without any skills, and people like craftsmen and scholars would not be reduced to homelessness and slavery under normal circumstances, so this kind of skilled talents were all "dug up" at a large price, but in the recent batches of immigrants, skilled craftsmen who have voluntarily moved into the territory have appeared, The presence of these people means one thing: the attraction of Cecil's territory is growing.

There is a stubborn suspicion and prejudice about this land at the foot of the Dark Mountains, which is difficult to change anytime soon, but Cecil has indeed established himself here, and there is an exceptionally good treatment for technical talents, and the suspicion and prejudice of people will give in when driven by sufficient interests.

At the end of winter, the city of Cecil Lord had a population of more than 14,000, which was enough for this era to be called a "medium-sized city", but for Cecil Lord, who was rapidly building a magic industrialization, these populations still had a lot of loopholes for the establishment of an industrial system, and now, with the increasing number of people moving in and the continuous optimization of the immigration structure, the population problem that has always plagued Gawain has finally begun to gradually ease.

Putting down the report document in his hand, Gao Wen exhaled with relief, and then stood up and prepared to move his body, but just as he was about to stand up, the window of the study suddenly opened automatically, and a cold wind blew into the room.

Gao Wen raised his hand and knocked in the air: "You can't come in through the door once in a while?" ”

Amber's figure emerged with this brain collapse, and Miss Half-Elf covered her head and looked at Gawain with dissatisfaction: "Why do you Cecil family like to knock people's heads?" I was joking with Rebecca the other day, and she was going to hit me on the head with a stick - can't you leave some good ancestral teachings for future generations? ”

"Knocking people's heads is not my ancestral teaching, knights are better than mages," Gawain glanced at the guy, "Tell me, what's the situation—you should be walking around the city fishing at this o'clock." ”

"I'm patrolling the territory for you!" Amber retorted with a glare, then raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the docks, "There's a new ship on the docks, with a bunch of people on board who want to settle here...... But the situation is a bit complicated, and the people at the registry office can't make up their minds, so I'll come to you. ”

"Migrant ship?" Gao Wen frowned, he didn't know what to report about this kind of thing, "As long as it is not a malignant infectious disease, several types of criminals who are prohibited from being accepted, and people who have been abducted and trafficked here, why don't you just register and send them to the buffer camp?" And even the three situations I just mentioned should have corresponding handling regulations. ”

"The new situation," Amber said, "is a heretic ...... of religious persecution"

Gawain: "...... Ha? ”

Soon after, he and Amber were on the docks north of the city, where he saw the soldiers maintaining order, the shipowners explaining the situation to the soldiers, and the sad-faced, haggard newcomers in the new, cement-paved dock lot.

"The lord is here! The lord is coming! ”

Soon someone noticed Gawain's figure (the two-meter-tall figure was indeed conspicuous everywhere), and the crowd of onlookers immediately saluted and retreated, and Gawain walked to the center of the incident, first taking a quick look at the "heretic immigrants" who were clearly in a state of uneasiness.

There were twenty or so men, men and women, and a few children, and they were dressed in a variety of ways, some in ordinary burlap clothes, some in woolen coats of the highest class of the age, but on the whole, they were all dressed in the middle or upper condition of the common people.

And these people who were supposed to live without comfort had obviously gone through a long journey that was not very comfortable, their faces were pale and haggard, their hair was messy and greasy, their cheeks were sunken and shivering in the cold wind, and their eyes looked frightened and frightened when they looked at Gawain, which was a sign of chronic mental tension and constant fear for life and death.

Seeing the condition of these people, thinking of what Amber told him on the road, Gawain guessed what happened to these people, and at the same time, these "refugees" also knelt down and saluted after confirming the noble status in front of them, and the bearded boat boss in a brown coat also knelt down, and said: "Lord Lord, I just sent these people over-"

Gawain raised his hand and stopped the defense and deflection that the ship boss was about to start: "Let's all stand up first." Where do these people come from? ”

The refugees stood up, and the boat boss also stood up nervously, and bowed in front of Gawain: "Back to the master, you are from the Holy Spirit Plain." ”

"What a short journey...... Gawain frowned, "what's the matter with the so-called 'banished heretics'?" ”

"That's too serious, lord," said the boat boss hurriedly, "these people ran out because there were people in their local church who practiced sorcery, and they didn't dare to stay in their hometown for fear of being implicated......

Gawain nodded, looked at the trembling people, and pointed to one of them: "Tell me what the situation is." ”

"I ...... We didn't do anything, and those pastors said we were cultists...... of the minions, seized our house...... house, and kicked us out......" Gao Wen picked out a sturdy man who looked very honest and honest, he stammered, and he didn't know if he couldn't help but be nervous in the face of the big nobles or was born like this, "We are arresting people everywhere and burning ...... Burn people, too ...... It's ......"

"Hey, don't say it, you stammer, you stained the lord's ears!" He was interrupted by a woman next to the man, whose face was full of nervousness, and bowed to Gawain repeatedly, "Master, we are all honest civilians, farming or doing some small business at home......"

"Who determined that you are cultists?" Gawain directly interrupted these people who couldn't even describe their own situation clearly, and asked a straightforward question, "Which church pastor?" On what basis do they judge? ”

"Yes...... "Last winter, several families in the city were kidnapped by the cultists, and the bodies were found a few days later, and then the priests and knights of the Church of the Holy Light found the cultists hiding in the city, and after burning the cultists, they began to search the city...... They say that only the Light can discern the cultists hidden in ordinary people, so everyone believes what they say. ”

Gawain's brow furrowed slowly as he listened.

Amber leaned over to him, tried to stand on her tiptoes and whispered, "Hey, I'm telling you, I'm afraid it's going to be a problem to bring these people in......"

Gao Wen's face was expressionless: "Trouble? ”

"The priests of the Holy Light Sect are super difficult," Amber muttered, "and they have a more stringent nose than a dog, and they like to associate everything with 'evil' or 'heresy' or anything like that. If you bring in these people who have been expelled by the Light Sect, maybe they will take advantage of it. ”

"This kind of trouble doesn't matter," Gawain said casually, "The Holy Light Church has their censorship, I have mine, and in Cecil's territory, I have to follow Cecil's rules." Review these people according to the prescribed process, call Pittman as well, see if they really have a sorcery reaction on them, and if it's okay, send them to the buffer camp. ”

Gawain didn't believe in the "heretical judgments" made by the Church of Light, especially after hearing about these people's experiences, but he didn't blindly trust these refugees because of his doubts about the Church of Light, so he would confirm their identities before putting them in the city. Pitman was able to recognize the aura of fallen druids, and so far, the little old man's judgment was quite accurate, he could confirm that these people were not followers of the Society of the End, but if they were Eternal Sleepers......

That's even simpler, Gao Wen just went back to the Internet and saw if there were any unfamiliar IPs around him.

As for the Children of the Storm...... Gawain didn't think there was any need to worry, those guys had completely withdrawn from land, and were now fighting against the deep-sea salted fish spirits in full swing.

And if it weren't for the members of the three dark sects mentioned above, the remaining cultists who were not in the climate would basically not be able to conceal the cross-examination and observation procedures in the buffer camp.