Oak Village is a small, nameless village, and apart from the striking thousand-year-old oak tree in the village, there is hardly anything different from other small villages.

When the army arrived, it was already twilight, and the soldiers could see smoke rising from the village at dusk, and a faint smell of wood smoke in the air.

Like most of them, poverty is still the norm here, and every old house is like a poor owner living in it, and despite its shabby and mottled age, it still waits for guests from afar with the greatest enthusiasm it can give.

"This place is more decent than my house." Ninia said sadly, "The Herodes almost burned it down."

It's not quite accurate to say this, in fact, the Herodians only occupied the place, and before they could destroy it, it was the harpy sent by the lord who burned the village.

Out of love for Vincent, Ninia selectively ignores the actual situation, after all, the Herodians should not be held fully responsible, regardless of the facts?

"My lord, our village is stronger than here," said Centurion Malf in a reassuring tone, "and it would be a rich place if it weren't for those skin-picking cult madmen."

What is certain, however, is that there is hope beyond the pervasive old image of poverty.

The soldiers heard the laughter of the children but echoed through the streets of the village, and when they saw the army, instead of hiding in fear, they followed them, greeting the dusty crowd with innocent smiles on their faces.

Some children recognized some of the group's acquaintances and waved excitedly.

"The soldier who helped us dig the well is here again!" The children jumped up and down and shouted, "Go tell the village chief and the adults!"

All the armies had worked for the people in the territory, and some of the soldiers from Lange assisted in drilling wells throughout the territory, and as disciples of Vincennes' drilling skills, no one was better at digging wells.

Soon, the village chief trotted over from the village, welcomed the army into the village, and entertained the soldiers for dinner.

The people of the village came out to welcome them, not out of compulsion and helplessness, but out of gratitude.

The drilling of the well alone saved the village, which was on the verge of disintegration due to lack of water, and the return of the caravan gave new hope to the impoverished villagers.

The slightly older teenagers are more interested in the female knights who lead the group, and nothing arouses their imagination and excitement more than the powerful and beautiful older lady.

The hundreds of energetic and mighty soldiers behind them gave them inspiration, and many of them made up their minds at that time that they must find a way to become the soldiers of the lord, and poverty did not kill their heart's desire, on the contrary, they now found a way to change their fate.

In addition to the villagers, the village's resident priest also appeared in the welcoming procession, and a young priest appointed by Bishop Beckman himself stood on the side of the road and personally recited the blessing scriptures, the scene was full of sacred rituals.

Although Ninia, as the Chosen Choice of Light, is also worthy of this treatment, the messenger of the God of Light and Order chanted and prayed for the demon army, which is a spectacle that is absolutely not seen in other territories.

The food prepared by the villagers was not very rich, but the hot soup, hot bread and some meat were good enough for the marching army.

Ninia has become accustomed to eating in the villages of the territory, and the lord is very concerned about the food security of the army, in addition to the barracks, when going out to perform military tasks, sometimes arrange for local food to be provided in advance, so that the combat army can not be dragged down by logistics and act more efficiently.

If there are food supplies at the destination, the lord will send someone to negotiate the purchase, and if the local people are poor and lack of food, Vincent will send someone to deliver the materials in advance, and the villagers only need to provide labor services.

Fair trading and giving the people some proper benefits is one of the secrets of the lord's support from all over the world, after all, in the past, where the army passed, it was not even without destruction and looting, and the people would be greatly ruined.

After the meal, the soldiers camped outside the village as usual, not occupying people's houses to avoid disturbing the people.

night

When the curtain fell, the bright stars bloomed in the night sky, and the village fell silent, and there was peace everywhere, as if the gods were watching over this small village.

Under the thousand-year-old oak tree, Ninia and the village chief talked about the local situation, they were not the first time they had met, and they were not strangers to each other, but the village chief was still a little nervous in the face of the lord's henchmen.

"Thanks to the lord, since four wells have been dug in the village, not only have people water to eat, but also the land can be watered, and our life has begun to improve." The village chief said gratefully, "Although there was no bumper harvest this year, the harvest was barely enough to eat, and next year everyone will be able to produce more food if they work hard."

"Alas, if you want a good harvest, four wells are not enough...... Ninia sighed, "My hometown is also as short of water as here, and the Herodians are to blame for destroying the Sweetwater River and making the northern part of the territory short of water for decades."

"Yes, King Herod has forsaken us, and wants to die of thirst." The village chief was indignant, "It's sad and pitiful that my father is willing to die for this group of villains."

As early as the counterinsurgency, Vincent announced the evil deeds of the Herodes in the war, and thirty years have passed since the incident, and there are a large number of witnesses to this kind of thing among the people, and it is not difficult to find the truth with a little investigation.

The truth can make people feel the same hatred, digging wells to restore hope to the people, and wherever they have sworn allegiance, the lords will find ways to solve the problem of water shortage according to local conditions, and so far more than 40 wells have been dug for the villages in the north.

Of course, not all of them are short of water in the north, and there are places where there is no shortage of water.

"In previous years, when there were no wells, how did you farm locally?" Ninia asked, "There is a ditch in the village, and I heard that you buy water every year?"

Hearing the matter of "buying water", the village chief's face became gloomy again.

"Buying water is a desperate move, after all, we can't starve to death, and the only ones who have water are the Nolen family further north. The price they ask for water is getting higher and higher, and sometimes the grain they get from farming is not enough for water."

"Where does the water come from in the land of the Nolan family?" Ninia knowingly asked, "Aren't they short of water?"

"Hmph...... Those rich and bad men can bring water from Herodes, and not only will they have water to grow their own land, but they can also sell it to the surrounding villages, and if they don't have money, they will accept it." The village chief said, "Thanks to this method, the Nolen family's land has expanded several times, and if they listen to them, they can live, and if they don't, they will starve to death."

In fact, Ninia has known about this for a long time, and the Nolen family is powerful in the northwest of the territory, which everyone knows, but the rebellion was all over the place before and didn't care about it.

Where there is water, there is food, where there is food, there is money, where there is money, there is force, the surrounding villages cannot be provoked and cannot be avoided, they are either annexed or abandoned and relocated, the Nolen family has become the local overlord, and there is no respect for the lord.

The previous Earl of Dacoolas got their benefits, and only cared about looting in the Silver Dragon Castle, not only did not find a way to control the local forces, but also handed over the power of tax collection to them, which justified the expansion of the Nolen family's power.

With the support of the Herodians, and the connivance of the previous lords, the Norren family was already the most powerful in the territory, and apart from the fact that there was no open rebellion, anything else was intolerable to Vincent.

Even so, they dare to demand tax cuts?

"My lord, I swear that we won't give them a single copper coin this year!" The village chief swore in front of Ninia, "We will build the wall, and even if they come, we will not obey."

It's not groundless to say this, the Nolen family has its own private soldiers, and they have the money to recruit mercenaries, and they will definitely not be polite to deal with these small villages around them.

Want to buy water? In the face of violence, weak villages sometimes have no choice at all.

As the lord said, the Nollon family collected a local water tax, and this would destroy the foundation of the lord's rule in the region.

"Don't be afraid, they don't dare to encroach on the place where the lord is sheltering." Ninia comforted the village chief, "Besides, they must pay for what they have done, and the lord has already taken action."

"Do you mean?" The village chief first looked surprised, and then became suspicious, "You are here to punish them...... They

The sin is deserved, but the number of this army......

"Punishment with the army? No, it's not in accordance with the laws of the territory." Ninia shook her head directly, "The lord has already sent someone to collect taxes."

"Collect taxes?" The village chief was surprised, "If you want those guys to pay their taxes honestly, the tax collectors are not enough."

"It depends on what kind of tax collector collects the tax." Ninia's smile was very playful, "Your Excellency said that in the world, only taxes and death are inevitable......