The matter of taking over the Iron Mountain Lords was much more complicated than expected, and by the time Red had sorted it out and reported to Roy in the lord's study, only the last rays of the sunset in the west remained.

"Lord Roy, the population of the Iron Mountain Territory includes Lord Denham and others imprisoned in Blackstone Prison, a total of 1,348 people, including two Bronze Knights, 45 official knights, 153 probationary knights, and 1,150 ordinary lords."

"Of the 1,150 ordinary lords, less than 30 are engaged in farming, and they mainly live on both sides of a small tributary of a river that flows through the Iron Mountain Territory, relying on barren land for cultivation and producing very little food."

"The rest of the ordinary people are basically engaged in mining and its extended forging industry."

"Lord Denham levied a very heavy tax on the lords of Iron Mountain, 90 per cent of all income was paid, but taxes could be substituted for servitude, and the tax was reduced by 20 per cent for each labor force in the family who was involved in mining."

"Under such a policy, each family basically needs two laborers to participate in the mining industry in order to barely have enough to eat."

Roy listened quietly to Red's debriefing.

Although he doesn't like to take care of such trivial matters, as a lord, he must always know.

The mining of ore in this era, to put it nicely, is a mining operator, to put it bluntly, it is "black mine", which is not only extremely hard, but also ridiculously dangerous.

Mine collapses are not uncommon, but they happen once or twice a year, and many people die as a result.

Lord Denham's policy, in the final analysis, was to force the people of the Iron Mountain Territory to mine, so as to support the Iron Mountain Lord's 200 knights.

This is a deformed structure.

Normally, 5 lords support one apprentice knight, 20 lords support a regular knight, and 100 lords support a bronze knight, which is the healthiest and longest-lasting ratio.

The strength of a knight does not come out of nowhere, the stronger the body, the greater the energy that needs to be consumed, and the higher the requirements for the quality and quantity of food.

With the number of knights in the Iron Mountain Domain, 1,865 lords are needed to provide for normal support. However, there are only 1,150 lords in the Iron Mountain Territory, and if you want to support such a number of knights, it will inevitably lead to an extremely difficult life for a large number of lords.

It's no wonder that the people of the Iron Mountain Lords have such low loyalty to Lord Denham.

After learning the general situation of the Iron Mountain Territory, Roy spoke: "Uncle Red, how much grain inventory is there over there in the Black Stone Territory?" ”

"In order to survive the winter, the Black Stone Collar has prepared a sufficient amount of grain, even if the people of the Black Stone Collar have not prepared food, it will be enough to last until the beginning of spring next year."

Red said like a treasure.

As the "steward" of the territory, he is very clear about the size of the Blackstone Territory.

"In this way, if you publish it, the tax of the Iron Mountain Collar will be reduced to the same 50% as the Blackstone Collar. Set a minimum fixed tax value according to the average tax paid by the people of Tieshan Ling last year, ensure that this minimum fixed tax value is less than 50% of the average tax paid, and at the same time, the system of substituting taxes with service remains unchanged. ”

"Provide minimum material support for the families of mining workers who die in accidents such as mine collapses."

"In addition, you arrange to count the existing grain reserves in the hands of the people of the Iron Mountain Territory, this year is the first year that we have taken over the Iron Mountain Territory, and we must ensure that no one will starve to death or freeze to death this winter."

Hearing this, Red nodded, and then said worriedly: "Lord Roy, I have a preliminary understanding before, in the hands of the people of the Iron Mountain Domain, the grain reserves are far from meeting the minimum requirements for winter, if we want to provide food, the existing food reserves of the Black Stone Collar and the Iron Mountain Collar are not enough, and we need to continue to purchase them." ”

"Approaching winter, all territories are stockpiling grain, and those who still have the spare power to sell grain to the outside world are estimated to be the only red collar in the north that is separated by five collars from the Black Stone Domain."

"The road is long, and there are mountain bandits on the road from time to time, so I guess I will need to escort them myself."

"Then it's up to you to go out, take all the knights, and go to Chiling to buy food, as long as the premium is not too excessive, it's acceptable." Roy said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Red nodded in response.

"As for those apprentice knights of the Iron Mountain Territory......" Roy muttered: "You select 50 people to stay, mix with our apprentice knights of the Blackstone Territory, and then arrange for the patrol of the Iron Mountain Territory after some training, and the rest will be sent home." The official knights were imprisoned first. ”

"Understood." Red replied.

"Well, that's roughly the case first, we'll fine-tune the details later, you deal with it first."

After Red left, Roy rubbed his eyebrows.

Rather than dealing with government affairs, he prefers to practice breathing.

After a simple meal, Roy was about to start practicing the breathing method, but at this moment, he vaguely felt something and turned his head to look at the corner of the study.

The shadow is like a fluid, rising against the current, outlining a slender figure in tight black clothes.

It's Lilia, the Witch of Shadows.

"What's wrong, Miss Lilia?"

Roy wondered.

"Vivien is awake, and she wants to see you." Lilia, the shadow witch, bowed slightly, and then spoke.

"Is Miss Vivien awake......" Roy nodded, "I'll take a look." ”

……

When Roy walked into the lord's bedroom, the first thing he saw was a blonde girl sitting on the edge of the bed.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught the attention of Vivien, the witch of light, who raised her head and looked at the handsome young man standing in the doorway, blinking her eyes, her eyes as ignorant and pure as a newborn fawn.

"Witch of Light, Miss Vivien, hello, this should be the first time we have met in the true sense of the word, I am Roy Turumbel, Lord of the Blackstone Collar and the Iron Mountain Lord."

“…… Hello. The voice was so low that it was almost inaudible came from the mouth of Vivien, the witch of light, and in the eye with Roy's eyes, she subconsciously avoided her gaze, and her two hands tightly grabbed the quilt on her body, and her white and tender little earlobes crawled out of a faint flush.

The performance of the "......" Witch of Light Vivien, on the contrary, made Roy stunned.

Is it so socially phobic?

Or was Vivien shy because she could sense the outside world during the previous process of removing pollution, and she felt it clearly when he touched the "closest part of the heart"?

Calming down, Roy walked to the side of Vivien, the witch of light, and stopped about one meter and a half.

This distance, which is standard social distancing, is the least likely for both parties to get nervous.

Roy looked seriously at Vivien's eyes a few times, until the flush on her earlobes spread to the side of her face, and then he withdrew his gaze and nodded to Lilia, the shadow witch beside him:

"As of the current situation, Miss Vivien's condition is stable, and there is no sign of pollution getting out of control or continuing to increase."