In May 7569, a rebellion broke out in the city of Ascending Rock in the southeast of the Kingdom of Duoduo, killing and wounding more than 3,700 people. Hora Ludwig was killed in battle when he encountered a gang of bandits fleeing from Dwemick.

When the news of the murder of Count Jinlique broke, there was an uproar in the aristocratic circles. A joint investigation between the royal family and the Church determined that the unrest in the Marquis de Dwemick had been caused by Lord Warmont Dwemick, the magistrate of Ascending Rock, who had dispersed the settlement of the displaced people.

King Dodor severely reprimanded Lord Wammun's lord, Marquis de Dwemick, and ordered the Dwemick family to pay 200,000 gold soles and 300,000 gold soles worth of goods to Hora's heirs. The Marquis de Wemick stripped Vamont of his title and family name and placed him before the Inquisition. According to the New Testament of Light, the inquisitor Trigovar sentenced Vammon to 25 years of 25 years in the defense of the Twilight Forest with a total of 376 men, after which the survivors were exiled to the Eastern Alliance. At the same time, Pope Clement was outraged by the tragedy at the Rock City, and he dismissed Bishop Salz from his post and recalled him to the Holy See, where he was demoted to the rank of monastic priest. The three patriarchs of the Cardinal Council jointly signed a fatwa prohibiting the lords from dispersing the camps without authorization, and the Cardinal was solely responsible for the relocation of the displaced people.

By the time Victor received the fatwa, he and Sylvia had already returned to Rose Manor.

It snowed heavily for three days in a row, the mountains and rivers were bleak, the sky and the earth were white, and the quiet and chic Rose Manor was dressed in silver.

The crystal flower room of the manor is as warm as spring and full of vitality. There is flue floor heating under the blue brick floor, and there are red copper water pipes scattered in the flower room. The servants used a special crank mechanism to pump hot water into the brass pipes. The hot steam penetrates through the holes in the copper pipes, rendering the colorful crystal flower houses like a fairyland.

"Did you do it?"

Victor retracted his gaze from the snowy scene outside the crystal flower room, and turned his head to see Sylvia sitting on a wicker chair with her slender legs crossed, sipping coffee. She wore a goose-yellow low-cut tunic dress, and her sun-kissed blonde hair fell over her shoulders, revealing her long and graceful neck and a snowy chest.

Her sitting posture is not dignified, but it is very kind, full of languid and seductive charm, like a wife facing her husband.

Victor shrugged his shoulders in Silvia's clear blue eyes, not knowing what she was asking.

"The outcasts of Rock City are fighting. Sylvia reminded as she squeezed the silver spoon and stirred the coffee.

"It's not me......" Victor hesitated, shook his head and said, "I'm not sure if it's mine." ”

Goldwater City is more than 400 kilometers away from Ascending Rock City, and the alchemy crows released by Balor can only fly to the Alchemy Tower. Victor returned to Randall's collar before he could see the mercury report. He really didn't know the specifics of the Great Weapon Fight in Ascending Stone City right now.

However, even if the outcasts in Rock City were secretly planned by Mercury, Victor would not feel guilty about it.

From ancient times to the present, as long as it involves the struggle for land and water, it often leads to bloody conflicts, with wars on the outside and wars on the inside. This kind of thing is not subject to the will of the individual, but is a matter of social structure and political system. The feudal lords and the church could not prevent the conflict between the lords and the exiles, and could only wait for the conflict to erupt and then make amends.

From Victor's point of view, it doesn't make a difference if the big fight takes place in Ascending Rock City or other territories, he just needs to make sure that Randall's territory and the centaur hills are stable.

"The king of Gambis changed his fiancée and died a palace minister. The court count of the Kingdom of Dordor was killed. Thousands of displaced people were killed and wounded in Dengshi City. Victor sat down across from Sylvia and asked with a smile, "The nobles of Gambis are concerned about Anna. The nobles of the Duoduo are concerned about the attack on Hora...... My dear, why are you paying attention to the outcasts that no one is interested in?"

Sylvia took a sip of her coffee, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "Honey, do you think I shouldn't leave Anna alone in the Kite Castle?"

The dust settles on the city of Brinor, and the lords return to their respective domains. The House of York returned to the Centaur Hills, but Anna was left alone in the palace. Sylvia didn't even have a family attendant for her. Although it is unlikely that the four princely families will murder the noble daughter of the House of York, Victor was impressed by the determination of the Bastern Palace to fight to the death.

The brutality of the palace struggle is by no means comparable to that of ordinary families. The four princes have countless ways to clean up a little girl who doesn't know the world.

Victor shook his head and said, "Roland told me that the former King Ryan didn't even protect her mother. If Anna had a problem in the palace, she didn't even have anyone to talk to. ”

"Ryan can't even protect Queen Irene, what can I do to protect Anna?"

Sylvia was relieved and said quietly, "That guy Bastern dares to offend my majesty, isn't ......he afraid that the York family will interfere in the internal affairs of the royal family? If there were people from the York family around Anna, they would be the first to be eliminated by the four princes. Therefore, Anna is now a child of the Auguste family, and she will be safer. ”

"From the standpoint of the family, August and York signed a marriage contract, and the Kite Castle got the formula of the Golden Elixir, and we also got the secret refining potion formula of the Kite Castle. As for Edward and Anna's private affairs, none of them mattered. If Anna is murdered, I will send another child to the Kite Castle and slaughter a court marquis by the way. ”

"I want to see how many marquis of the four major princely families are enough for me to kill. Sylvia rolled her eyes and smiled, "This kind of thing doesn't need to be warned in advance, just speak with facts." ”

Victor realized. Sylvia glanced at him, and said, "How easy is the queen?, Anna can only rely on Edward now, and the pressures of court life will make the two little ones develop a deep bond." This contributes to their transcendent knightly path. ”

"Your willingness to care about Anna means that you also care about the York family...... I am happy. ”

Sylvia smiled, took her lover's hand, frowned, and said, "However, we are now facing a major hidden danger, and I need your advice. ”

"What's the hidden danger?" asked Victor in surprise, blinking.

"What's the toughest problem for the Dwemick family right now?" Sylvia poured a cup of fragrant hot coffee and handed it to Victor.

Victor took a sip of his coffee and said tentatively, "They're isolated diplomatically and tradely?"

Sylvia shook her head lightly and said, "More than four hundred elites led the convoy to kill Hora in Dwemick, how did they come here? how did they retreat? where they hid? how to solve the supplies? Will this kind of raid still happen? Without first clarifying these issues, no lord can sleep well." ”

A barony of 20,000 people can mobilize thousands of militia, but the elite who can really pull out to fight is generally not more than 500 people. Otherwise, there will be big problems with the functioning of the territory. An army like the Bear Regiment that can span countless territories and run thousands of miles cannot be taken out by any powerful lord.

Of course, the Xiong Tuan was able to do this to this extent, mainly thanks to the backbone role of alchemy humans. Without the Alchemy Tower, Victor would not have been able to throw an army thousands of miles away. It's just that Victor can't tell anyone the secrets of the Alchemy Tower now. He thought for a moment, and said with a slight meaning: "Don't you know all this? My smuggling caravan has taken over many cottages and used them as transportation nodes and logistics supply depots for the bear regiment. Later, no matter how much Sophia expands the Golden Regiment there, my bear regiment will be able to take root in the nearby mountains and forests. ”

Sylvia pondered for a moment and said, "Regardless of the combat effectiveness of the Bear Regiment, it is indeed an extremely deterrent army. ”

"Honey, are you interested in the bears?" asked Victor, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Not interested. ”

"Huh?"

Sylvia shook her head slowly. Victor was surprised inexplicably, only to see her purse her lips and smile and say: "The bear group relies on the development of cottages, and will face two problems, which are destined not to last long." ”

"I want to hear about it. Victor said.

"If there is an army that uses the cottage near Randall's territory, it threatens the safety of the Randall family. What would you do?"

Victor was stunned for a moment, and said unwillingly: "But ......"

"But what?" said Sylvia, stroking her hair lightly, and said with a smirk, "However, you only want to do business through the mountain people and the lords of various places, and you are not prepared to coerce them by force? Do you believe this kind of argument yourself? In the past, the lords tolerated your smuggling caravan and colluded with the cottages, and also valued the smuggling trade. But the bear regiment attacked and killed a great knight in the Marquis of Dwemick, and now who dares to say that the smuggling caravan and the cottage are no threat to themselves? When Sophia's golden regiment and the lords reach a secret trade agreement, what is the use of the smuggling caravan? The first thing that the lords of various places have to solve is the surrounding cottages. ”

"This is an external problem for the bear group. Sylvia paused and asked with a smile, "You spent a lot of gold coins to maintain the smuggling node, right?"

Victor sighed, shook his head, and said, "Most of the profits from the smuggling trade are used to maintain the smuggling node. ”

"If I were Sophia, I would trade with my left hand and arm mercenaries with my right hand, and first coerce and lure the lords from all over the world to join the Golden Regiment. After the Golden Regiment is formed, is it necessary for her to spend a lot of money to maintain the armed forces of the mountain people? Even if she wants to keep the Bear Regiment, the lord of the Golden Regiment will not agree!"

"You don't even know if the homeless weapon fight in Rock City was planned by your subordinates. This means that you can't effectively control things thousands of miles away. If the lord cleans or buys the surrounding cottages, you will not be able to support the mountain people in time. They either fled or surrendered. Sylvia shook her head, looked into Victor's eyes, and said softly:

"Don't take the lord for a fool, my dear. The cottage is too far away from you, too close to the lord. If you stretch your hand too long, you will be chopped off. ”

Victor was dumbfounded for a moment, and said unwillingly: "If there is a problem, I will solve it...... I'll always think of a way. ”

"I'm convinced of that. ”

Sylvia reached out and rubbed Victor's face, smoothed her furrowed brows, pinched a smile, and pouted, "Honey, the bear ball is insignificant...... Migration is the big problem. Help me figure it out. ”

Victor said helplessly: "Then you have to describe the problem clearly." ”

Sylvia let go of her lover's face, frowned, and said, "The main reason why the bear group was able to successfully penetrate the Dwemick Territory was that there was chaos in the Dwemic Territory. ”

The Dwemick led the outcasts to the camp, upsetting the balance and causing chaos in the territory's surveillance system. It was by taking advantage of the Dwemick Leader's defenses that the bear group quietly infiltrated the attack position. If Dwemick's army had the eyes and ears of the outcasts, it would be impossible for the Bear Regiment to send hundreds of people into the territory of a powerful marquis.

Victor nodded, acknowledging Sylvia's opinion.

"The great fighting that took place in Rock City proves that the outcasts and the people of Dwemick are not of the same mind. Sylvia said with a sad face: "Those outcasts have lived in the Dwemick Territory for hundreds of years, and they are still not recognized by the Dwemick family's lords, let alone my Centaur Hills?"

"Because of the Great Arms Fight in Rock City, the Cardinal Council has completely taken over the migration of the displaced people of the kingdoms. Clement's political influence swelled several times at once. The Centaur Hills and the Kingdom of Neville were the places where Clement envisioned the settlement of the homeless. According to the original agreement, Renma Hill will receive at least 400,000 displaced people......"

Victor's eyes flashed, and he said softly: "Can't the Centaur Hill accommodate 400,000 displaced people? I don't think it's a big problem for the Centaur Hill to accept 500,000 people now." ”

"It's too early, it's too fast. Sylvia shook her head and said, "Clement is certainly very strong when something happened in Rock City, but he must make a decision as soon as possible on the issue of organizing the migration of the homeless. And I'm not ready. ”

"The House of York originally had more than 60,000 people. When Ant-Man invaded the Centaur Hills, the other families gave up defending their territory. I took over their people, more than 50,000 people. Until now, I haven't fully digested this large population. After that, 120,000 homeless employees were recruited. If Clement gets me another 400,000 people, how can we control more than 500,000 displaced people with more than 60,000 people in our York family?"

“...... The guest is strong and the host is weak, which is a problem. Victor nodded, and then smiled again: "Of the 120,000 homeless people in the Centaur Hills, more than 80,000 are with me, don't I have no trouble? As long as the displaced people enter the Centaur Hills in batches and in an organized manner, we will have time to settle them. ”

Sylvia glanced at Victor angrily, and sighed, "It's bad for the church to organize the migration of displaced people...... I have a way to clean up the loose outcasts. A large-scale armed battle broke out in Kedeng Stone City just now, with thousands of dead and wounded, and now who dares to use strong means to deal with the homeless? These homeless people have a church as their backer, and their number is large, and they will inevitably coalesce into a huge force. How do you let my people control them?"

"If anyone instigates these outcasts to oppose the House of York...... Moreover, the 400,000-strong exile force was able to sway even the pastor's opinion. There will be a political force in the Centaur Hills that is not under my control!"

Sylvia rolled her blue eyes, changed her weak expression, grabbed Victor's wrist, and said pitifully, "My dear, you have a lot of experience in managing the homeless. I can only rely on you now. ”

"Rely on me!"

Victor laughed, patted Sylvia's soft and slender hand, stood up, and said in a high-spirited manner, "I already have a belly case...... But before you can solve this problem, you must believe that population resources are the greatest wealth in ......the hands of the lords!

Sylvia was noncommittal, lacking interest. Victor suddenly scratched his head, his countermeasures involved a major change, although Sylvia is as wise as the sea, but after all, she is limited by the times, I am afraid that she will not be able to accept it for a while. Victor paced back and forth for two steps, deciding to change the way he talked.

"I had a nightmare when I was younger. I was standing under a tree, with a queen in red beside me, and a wolf rushing towards me in the distance, and I was so frightened that I ran forward. However, I ran for a long time and stayed where I was. I shouted, "Why is this happening?" The Red Queen said arrogantly, "Here, at your current speed, you can only stay where you are." If you want to get to another place, you have to run twice as fast!"

Sylvia held her sharp and charming chin and asked with interest, "Later?"

"Later, I woke up scared. ”

Sylvia sneered and shook her head, "The Queen in Red...... Must be ...... at double speed What do you want to say?"

The law of the Red Queen of the Earth World was shamelessly borrowed by Victor.

"I think there are two meanings. First I had to run faster than a wolf to survive. The wolf must run faster than I do so that he doesn't starve. So the animals that run slower will either be eaten or starved to death. To not move forward is to go backwards, and to stagnate is to perish. That's competition. ”

"Competition is everywhere, both individually and familyly. "If the York family wants to compete and win, they can only keep up with the times and put themselves in a leading position," Victor said. ”

Sylvia smiled, "Very interesting dream...... And what does the Red Queen represent?"

Victor smiled faintly: "If one of you runs too fast, there will be a force that will drag you back to the same place." ”

"For example, if a knight pursues an enemy, the knight's squad can't keep up with his speed, and if the knight chases down alone, he and his squad are in danger. Therefore, the speed of the knight squad limits the speed of the knight. In the same way, family change is influenced by inherent forces. ”

Victor's eyes burned and he said, "I mean the lords and vassals. ”

Sylvia sat up straight and asked with a radiant look, "You want to change the vassal system?"

"No, if you run too fast, you'll be dragged back......"

Victor shook his head and said, "My dear, do you know why I am reluctant to accept the Sabertooth Tiger Knight, because the ideas and traditions of the knights will hinder the development of the Randall family. After a pause, he smiled bitterly, "However, Randall's leadership has grown to this day, and my followers have begun to hinder my footsteps...... The vassals and vassals of House Randall were reluctant to accept more outcasts. ”

Sylvia's eyes sparkled, and she bowed her jaw, "It can't be too fast, and it can't be too slow...... And what's your solution?"

"Under the people, above the displaced people, set up a transitional class. Victor shook his slender index finger and said, "I don't plan to give up population resources. At the same time, I also have to take into account the interests of the people. ”

"The traditional village is the most basic administrative unit of the family. Villages produce food, make goods, build armaments, breed offspring, train soldiers, train artisans, and control their territory. If you go back up, the people of the village originated from a family. They are very united and have a family mentality. Even a lord can't shake the power of a village. Victor shook his head and smiled: "The problem is that they are xenophobic. ”

"Hmm. Sylvia nodded and encouraged, "Go on, dear." ”

"How did the village convert the displaced people......? The village forces only absorb the children of the homeless who are good-looking and healthy. And their parents and relatives will always be homeless. Victor said: "The speed of persuasion to adopt and convert displaced people is too slow to keep up with the changes of the times. If 400,000 displaced people poured into the hills, the lords of the House of York would indeed not be able to digest it. ”

"You're worried about the formation of groups of displaced people into forces similar to those of the consular villages. Then we can't let the displaced people huddle together for warmth, and we can't let the people be xenophobic. Victor spoke out his countermeasures.

"Break up the displaced people into small families attached to the consular villages. I call this kind of family a tenant. ”

"Tenant?" Sylvia chewed for a moment, then asked, "How?"

"Families who rent land from their lords are tenants. ”

Victor elaborated: "The tenant families had to obtain a temporary residence permit from the lord to separate them from the church. Secondly, tenant households are monogamous and cannot exceed 12 people, so as not to form small forces. Tenant families of more than 12 people arranged for their own redundant family members, or the lord classified him as a vagrant hired laborer. Finally, the lord designated the dependent villages of the tenants to be assigned to them for basic productive labor. In this way, the families were freed from the heavy work of agriculture and had more time for military training, artisan trades, and the production of goods and armaments. ”

"Very exciting!" Sylvia urged, smiling like a flower, "Go on, dear." ”

Victor smiled and said, "We need to distinguish between tenant families and homeless labor families, so that tenants are more dependent on the lord, and avoid the power of the homeless gangs. Therefore, we must give some special rights to the tenants. ”

"First of all, the children of tenant families have the right to education. ”

"Children between the ages of 4 and 8 are not able to work and have limited food needs. They can host in general schools run by the church and the consular villages, receive free education, and cultivate a loyal family mentality. Only then did the rest of the tenant family have time to work and expand production. Families can only choose to be adopted by a general education school. In addition, we have established a military school and a craftsman school on top of the general education school. Tenant families who want to invest in land have to pay for their children to further education. Both schools point to mercenaries. That is, the children of tenant families had the opportunity to join mercenary legions and eventually become vassals or vassals. ”

"Secondly, tenant families have the right to rent land. Victor touched his nose and said succinctly: "In this way, help them accumulate family wealth and establish dependency with their lords." ”

Sylvia knocked on the table and shouted coquettishly: "Specific, specific, don't try to fool around!"

"This ...... They take 30 percent of the harvest. Victor said cautiously.

"Thirty percent?" Sylvia's beautiful slender eyebrows gradually raised, and asked, "The church takes one percent, the people take three percent, the tenants take three percent, and how much do I have left?"

"Sancheng...... Actually, it's one percent, and you have to consider vassal and lord annuities. Victor moved back without moving.

Sylvia stared at her beautiful blue eyes and said angrily, "Yicheng, I'm not as good as a tenant as a lord?"

Victor showed an amazing desire to survive and quickly remedied: "Baby, don't worry. You have to look at the total, the people and horses are all yours, you also have minerals, forests, cattle, sheep and pigs, all kinds of commodities...... By the way, there's also the transaction tax. ”

"That's not going to work! Food reserves are very important!"

"There is no shortage of food, it is all stored in the bakery of the village office...... When you need it, you can take it out and use it. Victor said disapprerovingly: "Besides, what's the use of food in the lord's name?

Sylvia stopped, clasped her chest with one hand and held her chin with the other, "That makes sense...... However, the lord can't take advantage of it without regard for his reputation, right?"

"Purchase with money. Victor smiled slyly, "Don't forget, we can mint coins." ”

Sylvia was stunned for a moment, her eyes were bright, she bit her red lip, and said in a coquettish manner: "Honey, you are really a genius...... How can I reward you?"

"Why don't you stay at Rose Manor and let me serve you well, and when Trisley returns, you can go back to Randall. ”

Victor embraced the glamorous and charming Spirit Knight into his arms, shook his head and said, "Honey, I'm not in a hurry to go back to Randall, but I need to patrol Raven Town. ”