By the afternoon, Victor's convoy had arrived on the outskirts of Blinor.

The last month of the water season is the season of heavy snowfall. The entire city and the surrounding wilderness were covered in silver, and the thick snow kept most creatures curled up in warm nests, reluctant to move, but in Blinor it was a different story entirely.

Before entering the royal capital, there was no snow to be seen on the wide road, and many young men in sheepskin jackets, carrying brooms and shovels, kept patrolling both sides of the road, and whenever they found something wrong with the road, they would repair it in time.

"There are so many people. Alice leaned against the window and sighed.

Victor took a look and saw that there weren't many people, but compared to the Western Territories, where even the roads were covered with snow, there were indeed people here.

"Have you never been to the royal capital?" Victor wrapped his arms around Alice's waist and lowered the thick curtains. The inside of the carriage was comfortable and warm, but the open windows on a snowy day still made Victor feel a biting chill.

Alina leaned over and said, "It's the first time we've come to the royal capital. When the family moved west, it was through the Duchy of Wellington. ”

"Blinor is very prosperous and densely populated, with more than 60,000 registered inhabitants, and at least 100,000 undocumented freedmen, more than the total population of the Centaur Hills. The mayor of Blinor was most worried about mass migration. As long as the homeless people pass by the royal capital, most of them are reluctant to leave. Victor took Judy's hot coffee and took a sip of it.

"Judy, have you been to the royal capital?" said Victor with a smile to Judy.

Judy hesitated for a moment and said softly, "I've been here." That was a long time ago. ”

"Victor, are you familiar with Blinor?" asked Alina, beside her.

"I lived in Blinore for 6 years...... But never really got to know the city. With that, Victor pulled the bell, and not long after, the voice of the captain of the guard, Gru, sounded outside the car window: "My lord, what do you command?"

"Inform the Knight Sheehan ahead that we are going through the south gate. Victor said.

"Yes. Gru answered and ran towards the front of the convoy.

After the convoy entered the middle of the kingdom, Knight Sheehan of the Imperial Palace, led a team of knights to replace Count Elote and began to take charge of the defense, and he did not refuse Victor's request.

The convoy was at a fork in the road, turning south, and Judy asked in surprise, "Honey, why don't you go to the west gate?"

"Sister Judy, does it make any difference?" asked Alice curiously. Along the way, three women share a carriage and serve the same man, and they are already called sisters.

Judy smiled softly and explained, "The north gate of Blinor connects to the Kite Fort, and only the army can pass through it in normal times. The West Gate leads directly to the inner city and was the main gateway for the royal family and nobles to enter and exit. The east gate connects to the outer city and can be used for caravans. Anyone can walk through the south gate, but ...... From there, you have to walk through the shanty towns of the freedmen. ”

"It is only through the west gate that we can see the whole picture of Blinor. Victor said.

The convoy moved slowly, and after two quarters of an hour, the noise outside the car became noisy. Victor opened the window and saw that the convoy was already driving on the road in the shantytown.

Shanty towns are residential areas for displaced people, and they have always been dirty, messy, and poor. Fortunately, the snow was covered and the weather was freezing, and the convoy did not smell any peculiar smell in the shantytown, and the low shacks were wrapped in snow, but they looked elegant and clean. The inhabitants of the shantytown saw the noble convoy approaching from afar, and they were bold and clever, and hurriedly cleared the road, maintained order, and saluted Victor's carriage flatteringly. Timidly and cautious, they hid behind the hut and looked from afar, and when the convoy was far away, they gathered together in twos and threes, discussing something with each other. More than a dozen ignorant children followed the convoy, curious to see what was going on, but were soon stopped by the adults.

In fact, there were only a few people watching the noble carriage. Victor found that there were church-set relief points at intervals, and most people were busy queuing up to receive alms from the church.

March and April are the most rainy and snowy seasons of the water season, and farmers who have been busy all year long will stay at home and spend the two most leisure months of the year. But for those freedmen who lived by work, these two months were the most difficult time when they could not find work and the weather was cold. Fortunately, the church carries out relief and alms at this time of year to help the freedmen who work to survive the severe cold, and this relief activity is called cold relief.

The Han Ji was only for those free people who had no status, whether they were rich or poor, and could receive alms. As is customary, half a loaf of black bread per person a day, a small piece of bacon every ten days, and a sheepskin jacket for the old and infirm women and children who have no winter clothes. Of course, warm clothing will eventually be returned to the church. Most civilians will never encroach on the property of the church, and they will try to compensate the church for the loss if the temporary clothing is stolen or lost. As for those who dare to use their brains, they will be beaten to death by the believers without the help of the holy warriors.

While the cold was still going on, the elders of the ranks of the freedmen, those who had received alms, first knelt in the snow and gave thanksgiving, and after receiving the black bread, they thanked the church attendants for their kindness, and their faces were filled with happy smiles. This heartfelt joy was contagious, and the attendants of the church and the paladins in charge of alms smiled sincerely, touching the child's little head, holding the old man's arm, greeting the woman politely, or patting the young man on the shoulder, making fun of each other, and laughing heartily.

"The good deeds of the church are admirable. Victor, when we go to the cathedral to pray, donate more money. Judy said softly, and she was a little touched by the warm scene in front of her.

Victor smiled. The aristocracy, though arrogant, also had compassion, but they only stayed on the surface of the church's charity, and could not see the deeper things.

It is true that the Church defends the common people, but as a military group and charitable organization that exists on the basis of faith, the Church inevitably inhibits the development of the common people. The freedmen outside Blinauer toil for a year and depend on handout for the winter, and there must be a church reason for this. If the common believers are the foundation of the church's survival, then hunger, war, and cold have become important conditions for the church to harvest faith and grow its strength.

Victor is a bystander, but there is no need to proclaim it loudly, his biggest problem now is that the rise time is too short, there are too few vassals, in the absence of a ruling base, the faster the development of the freedfolk group led by Randall, the greater the possibility of being seized by the church, including the freedfolk caravan. Victor observes the lives of freedmen just to find a suitable solution.

"Judy, do the Buryatiats count the population of freedmen in their territories?" asked Victor.

"This ...... All I know is that the family has a registered population of about 60,000..... No one counted the displaced people, and when the ant plague broke out, they all ran away. Judy's face flushed slightly, she rarely bothered with the affairs of the realm, let alone the affairs of the freedmen.

"My dear, what do you mean by a registered population?" Alina couldn't help but ask,

Seeing that Alice also pricked up her ears, Victor asked strangely, "Didn't you learn how to manage the territory in Black Castle?"

The twin sisters shook their heads at the same time, their expressions a little unnatural. They are the personal maids prepared by the York family to attract the great knights, and they can have children and manage the castle, but they cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the territory, otherwise the York family will be counterproductive. However, Alina and Alice clearly feel that Victor prefers capable helpers, but they are not as talented as Lilia in this regard.

"Scheduled population is the word of the church. Regardless of whether there is a disaster in the territory, the local lords will ensure the livelihood of the non-registered population, and the church will take care of the relief work for the non-registered population. In general, the children of vassals and vassal families were the registered population of the territory, and the rest of the freedmen were outcasts. The homeless people come today and leave tomorrow, and even the church has no way to count the exact number of people. Judy gave Victor a seductive look, the question just now was a bit more difficult for her.

Victor said disapprehantly: "The number of displaced people is indeed difficult to count. In times of disaster, the lord must protect the registered population, and the clergy of the church will organize the evacuation of the displaced people. As far as I know, the Gambis has a registered population of 900,000, and the number of displaced people is at least more than 500,000, and perhaps far more. ”

"So many people?!, what about our Randall Collar?" asked Alice.

Victor smiled silently, but was very depressed inside. Randall's registered population is less than 2,000, and the remaining 7,000 or so are homeless, which is a manifestation of Randall's family's lack of heritage, and it is not even as good as a hereditary barony.

Seeing that Victor didn't mean to answer, the three women wouldn't ask questions. As the convoy continued on, the surrounding scene was different again, with shops lining the road, and low-rise shacks replaced by two-storey wooden buildings, including small buildings of blue brick. The pedestrians on the road, both in appearance and dress, were much better than the people in front, and when they saw Victor's motorcade, they took off their hats and greeted each other, looking very educated.

Judy stared at her watery apricot eyes and said in disbelief, "Is this really a shantytown?"

"Isn't it more prosperous than the business district of Wild Willow City?" Victor continued, "There are very few nobles who have set foot in the world of free people, and we don't know much about them. However, there were also wise and stupid, industrious and lazy, and there were many brilliant merchants, craftsmen, and entertainers, some of whom were naturally rich, perhaps richer than many vassals. So, if you make good use of the homeless, they will make our territory more prosperous. ”

Judy was thoughtful. Victor asked Yeliucheng to recall the population and absorb the displaced people, but she didn't say anything, but she still had some resistance in her heart. Today, seeing the prosperous side of the Blinauer shantytown, Judy begins to re-examine her own perceptions.

The York family could not directly intervene in the Buryat territory, and Victor did not have enough talent to control the situation in Yehwillow City, so he could only influence the Buryat family's decision-making from top to bottom through Judy, and realize the plan of commercial corridors and population absorption.

Although it is not an overnight thing to change the concept of the noblewoman who has been clothed and fed since childhood, as long as she is willing to cooperate wholeheartedly and absorb the homeless people and manage the territory according to the agreement between the two parties, she can save a lot of trouble. This is also the reason why Victor took Judy on a tour of the shantytown.

Three quarters of an hour later, the convoy finally entered the West Gate. The guards at the city gate had already been informed, and when they saw the Knight squad of Sheen from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they immediately moved out of the way.

The layout of Blinor's outer town was basically similar to that of Blackcastle, and Victor was so familiar with it that he lost interest after looking at it for a while, and only Sister Alina watched the scenery outside the car with great interest.

The outer city was very large, but fortunately the roads were wide and orderly, and even then it took the convoy two quarters of an hour to reach the gates of the inner city. After Victor was fully dressed, he took his woman and stepped out of the carriage. Seeing the convoy turn to the stables in the outer city, Alice couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to walk?"

"Ellie。。。。。 Oh, beautiful lady, of course no need to walk. It's just that the roads in the inner city are narrow, so you need to change carriages here. Knight Sheehan really couldn't tell who was who the two sisters with the same body and appearance were, so they had to awkwardly arrange a special carriage.

Blinor's purpose-built carriage, small and elaborate, could only accommodate a maximum of three people. Victor and Sister Alina share a car, and Judy is alone. After the carriage pulled by the pony drove into the inner city, the Alina sisters realized why they had to change the car.

The streets of the inner city are only 5 meters wide, and the bluestone pavement is so smooth that it has been deeply rutted by the wheels that come and go, and it is on these ruts that the carriage they ride on. The houses on both sides of the road are made of limestone, which looks very imposing, but it is a little crowded. Pedestrians rarely greet the convoy, and only when they make eye contact, do they bow slightly.

Seeing that Sister Alina nodded frequently, and the smile on her face stiffened, Victor couldn't help but smile: "Don't look at both sides anymore, are you tired? It is rare for nobles to ride in special carriages in the inner city, just because they have to keep nodding their heads. ”

"How do the nobles of the royal capital usually travel?" asked Alina.

"The great nobles will ride in closed carriages, and the counts will be below...... "Victor sighed, "there are as many barons as dogs, and the viscounts are all over the ground." ”

“...... Burst. The Alina sisters each rested their heads on Victor's shoulders and laughed wildly.

As is customary, Victor was the first to visit the central cathedral in Brinor. In Victor's current capacity, he was not qualified to let Archbishop Lazarus come forward to receive him, so the four of them, under the guidance of the church priest, pretended to pray, and donated 1,000 gold soles, and then they left the church with charity.

Walking out of the church door, it was already getting dark. Knight Sheen greeted him and asked, "Lord Viscount Randall, Lady Judy, where are you going to stay tonight?" ”

Victor said to Judy, "Judy, you will stay in the family villa tonight." ”

Judy nodded submissively, she was now the head of the family, and in every sense of the word, she had to stay in the family villa.

"Knight Sheehan, please send someone to escort Madame Judy to the Buryat family's dacha. ”

When Judy was gone, Sister Alina and Knight Sheehan were watching Victor, waiting for his decision.

Victor clearly sensed that there were still many pairs of eyes staring at him in the dark. If he chooses to stay in the mansion of the York family, it is equivalent to confirming the identity of the male pet, and he will become the laughing stock of the aristocratic circle tonight. Victor can not care about fame, but he can't weaken his own voice. Therefore, he had no intention of staying at the York family's estate.

Victor was reluctant to contact Sophia because he was afraid of revealing his flaws. Now, as a popular shooter of the silver rank, and there are 30 alchemy militiamen by his side, he has firmly suppressed Sophia. What's more, Sophia, that woman, he hasn't slept either.

"Go to the Marquis's Palace. ”

"Ah......" Knight Sheehan asked crampedly, "the marquis?"

Victor said angrily: "Can it still be the Marquis Palace? Of course it is the Marquis of Wimbledon!"

"Oh...... Lord Viscount, please get into the carriage. Knight Sheehan was embarrassed to greet his retinue.

So, Victor took the two juniors proudly and went to see his real wife.