The outer town of Vistock has always been inhabited by freemen. It would be a mistake to simply call this a slum or a shanty town.

There aren't many tall and grand buildings in the outer town, and the houses here are a bit crowded, making the streets seem unusually narrow.

However, this kind of crowding and narrowness reveals the taste of prosperity.

The long, crooked, narrow gravel pavement has been rubbed away by the flow of people, and the taverns, inns, and grocery stores on both sides of the street are extremely cramped. The two-storey buildings are all made of earth, with red pine bark-clad facades that reflect the undulations of fish scales in the sunlight, and the faint scent of trees that freshens the air on the street. Many of the shops are lined with wild garlic, salted fish, bacon and bunches of sausages, and it is clear that the inhabitants of this area are relatively affluent.

It stands to reason that the freedfolk enclaves of large cities are densely populated, and the markets here should be noisy, noisy, and lively. But this street is deserted, the road is clean, the shops are crowded, and there are two armored swordsmen standing every few tens of meters, they hold the hilt of their swords, facing each other across the street, and their sharp eyes always scan the surrounding movements. In this case, let alone the free people, even the wild cats did not dare to show their heads.

On the other side of the long street, hundreds of elite soldiers escorted several nobles on the neat road. These aristocrats, dressed in elaborate leather armor, walked and chatted, stopping from time to time to point to the shops on the street.

"Victor, this street has just been renovated and is fairly clean. In normal times, it is full of filthy sewage, and the stench is unbearable across both streets. ”

It was an old man with a clear face who spoke. He was dressed in swamp dragon lizard leather armor, which was of high quality, well-made, and simple but tasteful in decoration. His face was covered with the traces of the passage of time, his hair was a little gray, but the number of black hair was far more than the white hair, his eyes were bright, his face was ruddy, his waist was straight, and he looked extremely tough despite his age. The old man's voice is warm, his temperament is elegant, and his gestures show the majesty of the superior.

This old man is none other than the owner of the city of Weststock, the Duke of Wellington of this generation.

As the Duke of Wellington spoke, Victor was observing with interest the bacon hanging from the wall. If he was not mistaken, this wild boar bacon was Randall's specialty.

Randall raises more wild boars than humans. At the end of last year's windy season, Randall led the slaughter of 7,000 pigs at a time, and he could not eat enough pork. In order to preserve these meats, Victor adopted the method of making bacon in China, salted pork with wild spices and salt, took it out after dozens of days, hung it with hemp rope strings, dried the water, and then slowly smoked and roasted with purple cane skin and firewood. The bacon not only has a unique flavor, but also can be stored for 8 months.

Being able to see bacon in the Free Folk Merchant District of Vistock indicates that Randall's trade with Wildwillow has begun, and it also radiates to the surrounding territories.

Lilith has done a great job, and I must reward her when I go back!

Victor suppressed the joy in his heart and said to the Duke of Wellington, "My lord, I am very sorry that my willfulness has caused you trouble. ”

"Lord Randall, it is a merciful virtue to pay attention to the suffering of the people, and your good deeds will be favored by our lord. Next to him, a middle-aged man wearing a bishop's robe and holding a scepter praised Bishop Sein, who was in charge of the south-central and southern dioceses of the Kingdom of Gambis.

It took Victor nearly two months to reach the central city of the Duchy of Wellington, Vystock, in the middle of the Earth Season. Along the way, Victor was greatly treated and hospitable by the lords along the way, and as soon as he entered the south-central part of the kingdom, the Duke of Wellington sent a grand knight of the family to meet his convoy. As they passed through each of their clan's domains, the heirs of the local lords and the priests stationed there, accompanied by attendants and paladins, were seamless.

On the day of Victor's arrival in Vystock, the Duke of Wellington hosted a welcome banquet at the mansion, which was attended not only by important figures of the Wellington family, but also by Bishop Sein. Victor, Judy and the Duke of Wellington had an in-depth exchange on the affairs of the Buryat Territory and reached a series of consensuses. Over the next three days, the Wellington family held various banquets, tea parties, and balls for Victor.

After three days of entertainment, Victor finally couldn't take it anymore, and he told the Duke of Wellington that he still had to visit the Southern Lord, and could not stay in the city of Vistock, and made a request to visit the freedfolk merchant district.

Victor did not expect that the Duke of Wellington would have the entire street closed, and the Duke himself and Bishop Sein would personally accompany him.

The Duke and the Bishop accompanied a viscount to visit the dwellings of the inferior at the same time, which was no longer Sylvia's face, and Victor understood that he was enjoying the treatment of a golden knight. It's all thanks to Roland!

In this aristocratic world of blood-only theory, Roland "kindly" let Victor step into the circle of the great nobles, which did greatly enhance his status and influence, but this was not what Victor wanted.

Victor has too many secrets, and he hates to be the object of attention, such as how to sneak into the dark forest in a few days, check the ruins found by the alchemy militia, and then sneak out without noticing.

"It's not much of a hassle. The Duke of Wellington shook his head and said, "In fact, every six months these freemen renovate the streets and houses. Victor, do you know why?"

Victor cleaned up his mood and said with a smile: "Is it because there are too many young and strong laborers?"

"That's right. The Duke of Wellington said: "The number of displaced people in the south-central part of the kingdom is huge, second only to the central part of the kingdom, and we have nearly 120,000 displaced people in the Duke of Wellington. The Duke paused, pointed to the surrounding houses and smiled, "Many lords regard the homeless as a burden, and they do not understand the value of the homeless. You see, I hired displaced people to build the outer town of Vistock, which seemed to cost money and food, but I collected rent, transaction tax, management tax, and security tax from these shops every year, and in just ten years I recouped all my investment. Now, the markets in the outer town are creating wealth for our Wellington family every day. ”

"I used the income to continue to hire displaced people to build roads, bridges, castles, villages and towns, and sentry posts. The infrastructure of the Duchy of Wellington is very good, but I didn't actually spend a copper sol because it was the wealth of the exiles. ”

In addition to this, Wellington's consular families more or less employed a number of homeless hired laborers, and the vassals had enough time to be trained as militia and engaged in other aspects of production, such as making pottery, wood, ironware, tanned leather, woven linen, cashmere blankets, and so on. Not only did this extra income make life easier for the people, but they could also pay a certain amount of money to cover the labor, and I hired the homeless people to do the labor at a cheaper price. ”

"In our duchess of Wellington, the number of artisans is very large, and the quality of the militia is comparable to that of soldiers in other realms, all because of the large number of displaced people in the realm. ”

Victor couldn't resist being amazed by the Duke of Wellington's insight.

Prior to his visit, Victor had filled in information about the lord's family. The history of the House of Wellington dates back 1,000 years, when the founder of the family was a knight of the ancestors of the Augustian family. Because of this relationship, the Wellington family was loyal to the Auguste family and was in charge of the second largest grain producing area in the Kingdom of Gambis. The Wellington family and the August family have been married many times, and the family has produced 1 queen and 2 golden knights, so it can be said that the heirs of this family have royal blood. At present, the Wellington family has 4 direct knights, 4 branch knights, 36 knights, more than 200 trainee knights, and 4,000 elite soldiers.

The Duke of Wellington of this generation was an ordinary nobleman. It is relatively rare for ordinary nobles to inherit a family. Most of the rulers of the lord families are knights, and that is because knights have a much longer lifespan than ordinary nobles, and if the heir of the family is an ordinary nobleman, I am afraid that he will not wait for the day when he will inherit the title. The Duke of Wellington's father, who was also an ordinary aristocratic scholar, died before the Duke, who recalled his eldest grandson from the Silver Tower and inherited the Dukedom title on his deathbed.

As a result of interrupting his studies, Wellington did not receive the title of Master Scholar, but his scholarship was not inferior to that of Master Scholar. The Duke of Wellington himself was a close friend and advisor to His Majesty the late King Lane, and with the support of the royal family, he secured the position of duke. As such, the Duke of Wellington was a strong reinforcement to Queen Catherine and Prince Edward.

However, the Duke of Wellington had helped Ryan develop a strategy to divide the York family, and his courtesy to Victor was not without consideration for easing the relationship between the two sides.

"Victor, what you said is that the real purpose of establishing an independent trade zone in the Buryat Territory is to bring in displaced people, right?" asked the Duke of Wellington, with burning eyes.

Victor's eyes froze, and he didn't say anything, "It's just the right time." ”

"Austin fell into the trap of outsiders and hunted down the heir of the family, and his death was self-inflicted. ”

The Duke of Wellington nodded and continued, "It's a fact that the Centaur Hills need a population. ”

"Victor, you probably don't know. Master Edwin and I are also good friends, and we are both supporters of absorbing the wisdom of the common people and enriching the knowledge reserve of the White Tower. ”

Wellington, who had attended Sophia's wedding to Victor, told Victor as an elder: "I have studied the new farming system that Edwin created in the Centaur Hills, raising wild boars, grazing cattle and sheep, and growing wheat and sweet potatoes, which is indeed a great initiative. I believe it won't be long before the York family recovers. As he spoke, the Duke of Wellington shook his head regretfully, "It's a pity that only the Centaur Hills that have experienced the baptism of ant plague can adopt this new agricultural and pastoral production system. However, the House of York had to achieve the purpose of raising cattle and sheep before wild beasts and monsters could regain the wild. This will require a large number of young and strong laborers, not to mention the urgent construction of the three major fortresses. ”

Victor exhaled lightly and praised, "Your Majesty's eyes are like torches, and I admire your wisdom. ”

The Duke of Wellington smiled reservedly and said slowly: "Bringing in the homeless is not a simple matter, I don't know if you are ready. ”

"Please advise the Duke. Victor asked sincerely.

"Free people are vulgar, and if they are not properly guided and controlled, they breed evil, cause turmoil, and bloodshed from time to time. Any lord would have a headache over the security of the outcasts. With that, the Duke of Wellington saluted the bishop of Seon next to him, "So, you need not only the help of a seasoned sheriff but also the church." ”

"The Duke is right. Sean nodded, and said, "Your Excellency Randall, it is a good deed that the Centaur Hills are willing to settle the homeless, and I fully support Lord Lazarus's suggestion. But I have to warn you that this is also a risky thing to do, and the slightest carelessness can have disastrous consequences. ”

"For a long time. The migration and resettlement of the displaced people was done under the guidance of the Church. You do need the help of the church. Sain sighed and said, "The affairs of the Centaur Hills are now in charge of Bishop Perro. I suggest that you ask Bishop Pero for more priests and paladins to help you pacify the populace. ”

Lazarus accepted Victor's request that the diocese in charge of Sein not interfere with the relocation of displaced people to the Centaur Hills. When Sain received the archbishop's letter, he was shocked, angry, and anxious.

The population of the diocese is an important criterion for evaluating the merits of the bishop, Lazarus is about to be promoted to cardinal archbishop, the position of the archbishop of the Gambis is about to be vacated, the four bishops of the Gambis are each gearing up, ready to fight, how can Lazarus's attitude not make Sain suspicious at this critical moment.

The Centaur Hill is now under the jurisdiction of Perro, is the archbishop ready to support Pero on the throne? The anxious Sain approached the Duke of Wellington for a solution with this question, and he was very convinced of Wellington's wisdom and vision.

The Duke of Wellington had long since lost patience with the growing number of outcasts, and he was overjoyed by the information provided by Theon, who was confident that he could keep the population of his realm within the most reasonable range if done correctly. The Duke of Wellington told Sain that it would be beneficial for him to lead the outcasts into the Centaur Hills, because it would greatly drain Bishop Perot's energy, and if Pelo did not handle it well, the church would blame him, and if Pelo did a good job, the church would let him continue to preside over the affairs of the Centaur Hills, which was tantamount to eliminating one of the most powerful competitors.

Bishop Seine was determined to cooperate with the Duke of Wellington to guide the migration of the displaced people and add a burden to Peroga.

The devil wants the church to intervene!

Victor knew nothing about the intrigues of the Duke of Wellington and Bishop Thane, and had no interest in the internal rivalry of the Church, and he had already drawn up a comprehensive plan to absorb the outcasts, and there was no need for the Church to appease the outcasts.

"Thank you, Your Excellency, for the reminder. Victor didn't think so, and he still had to pretend to be grateful on the surface.

Bishop Sein said enthusiastically: "Your Excellency Randall does not need to thank me, I am just following the teachings of my lord. But......" Sein frowned and asked, "Lord Randall, a lot of food and supplies are needed to settle the displaced people. Are the Centaur Hills ready?"

"Huh. ”

Victor smiled coldly in his heart, the Duke of Wellington and Bishop Sean sang and harmonized, he had already seen it.

The Duke of Wellington preached the benefits of the outcasts, and the Bishop of Theon was in charge of beating the side drums, and now that he was in charge, he wanted nothing more than to make a fortune from Victor. It's a pity that Victor is not ready to spend money to resettle the homeless!

Victor didn't know any economic theories or human resources, but when he looked down from the lord's point of view, it was not difficult to find that the Duke of Wellington's theory that the homeless people created wealth was untenable.

Victor has planted the earth, herded sheep, moved bricks, and worked as a cook, and he only recognizes the most simple truth, planting one grain of wheat and reaping ten grains of wheat, and turning two sheep into a flock of sheep is called creating wealth. In addition to renewable agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, the rest of the handicrafts, services, commerce, and even industry, high-tech industries can create civilization, but not wealth, and these industries are at best redistributing social wealth.

Producing automobiles is more profitable than farming! However, can automobiles fill their stomachs? If all the peasants go to build automobiles, will social wealth increase? The bottom layer determines the superstructure, and once the bottom shrinks, the top layer will be in turmoil, the upper industry will collapse, the bottom layer will be affected only by the collapse, and if the bottom layer is finished, it will be completely finished. Agriculture and animal husbandry production is the underlying industry, and if there is no grain grown in the field, what is the value of cars, mobile phones, airplanes, and cruise ships? What wealth can we talk about?

The Duchy of Wellington was overcrowded, and the output of the land simply could not feed so many people. The Duke of Wellington did accumulate wealth through the sale of handmade goods through trade, but this wealth needed to be used to buy food to keep the realm running. Looking at the whole kingdom of Gambis, how much grain can it produce? The more the population, the greater the demand for food, the higher the price of food, as the population increases, the Duke of Wellington gets less and less profits, and the burden is getting bigger and bigger.

The freedmen repaired and rebuilt the street, and the Duke of Wellington's predicament can be seen. In addition, Victor also knows exactly what the Duke of Wellington is planning.

Each lord would store wheat in case it was needed, and the wheat would spoil after three years of storage. Victor was very sure that all the three years of old food in the Duke of Wellington's hands were donated to the church, so that the church could help the homeless. The Duke of Wellington apparently intended to dump the outcasts into the Centaur Hills and sell the old grain to the House of York, in order to gain Victor's favor by the way.

Hehe, throw off the burden, make money, earn favors, that's such a cheap thing! I'm sorry, people, I want it! But you still have to keep them for me!

"We weren't prepared. ”

Victor shook his head, and a hint of pride flashed in Duke Wellington's eyes, but he soon heard Victor say, "However, we are not ready to bring in the outcasts!"

Victor looked at the bewildered Bishop of Seon with an innocent face, and with the Duke of Wellington's city, his face couldn't help but twitch.

After a moment of coldness, the Duke of Wellington smiled gracefully and mysteriously: "Victor, you are leaving tomorrow." I'm going to give you a gift that you're going to love! ”

"Oh?!" Victor asked curiously, "My lord, can you give me some hints?"

"A unique crop!"