The wide streets of Rocky Harbor are littered with ragged, yellow-skinned figures. The farmer's village had been completely burned down, and the houses and possessions were gone, and these people were now refugees with no money and no permanent residence, living on the streets.

The city's buildings were also burned to the ground, and the fire to ward off the plague burned almost half of the rocky harbor. The ferocious and relentless fires destroyed not only the plague and houses, but also the daily necessities of food, livestock, clothing, money, etc., all of which were the source of subsistence for the people.

Brant hurried down the street, surrounded by a large crowd of people in addition to the two knightly guards who followed him. These were the lords who helped him run the city, including the commander of the city defense regiment, the magistrate who maintained order in the city, the treasurer in charge of the revenue of the territory, the grain officer, the civil protection officer... At this moment, these adults followed behind, waiting for the command of Count Tyrell in front of them.

As Brant walked along the road towards the port, he asked, "How long can the city's food stocks last?" He knew very well that food was related to the survival of hundreds of thousands of people in the entire city, which was the most urgent problem at present, and it was a hidden danger that he urgently needed to solve.

The grain officer hesitated and said, "I'm afraid... At best, it can only be maintained... 70 days. He wanted to say three months, but he decided to keep it to a minimum, and he couldn't be sure that the food in the warehouse would last for three months in the face of the steady stream of refugees pouring into the city.

"Send cargo ships to the nearby trading port cities to procure the necessary food," added Brandt, after a moment's hesitation, "and cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and other domestic animals will also be purchased in large quantities." ”

The abandoned fields in Rock Harbor need to be recultivated, and cattle are needed to cultivate the fields, and there is not much farmland to be cultivated by manpower alone. There is also meat food that people need, and domestic animals such as sheep, pigs, and chickens also need to be re-raised. And all this knowledge about how to govern the territory was carefully taught to him by Master Ealin, and Brant kept it firmly in his heart over the years.

"My lord," the tribune reminded, "there are no more ships available in the entire harbor except for a few rowing boats. "In order to eradicate the plague once and for all, all the ships were burned to the ground, and the contents of the storehouses were encased.

This answer was tantamount to pouring cold water on his head, and Brandt felt a chill in his heart. If there is no boat, there is no food, there is no hope. This was the last thing Brandt wanted. He pondered for a moment and asked, "How many days will it take to build a new large cargo ship?" and he told himself that since there was no cargo ship, the only way was to rebuild it.

The tribune, who followed Count Tyrellle, stepped forward and replied, "My lord, it will take at least 40 days. ”

Brandt asked, "How many ships can be built at the same time at this rate?"

"It takes about 25 to 30 days to build one. ”

"30 ships will be built at the same time, and all cargo ships must be completed within 40 days. Brandt's tone was unmistakable. He needed ships, big cargo ships capable of carrying food.

"Then I'm going to gather all the craftsmen in the city. ”

"The craftsmen who build ships will be paid three times as much as usual," Brant sharply emphasized, "but all cargo ships must be sturdy." He feared that in such a short period of time, the cargo ship that had been built in a hurry would be flawed. The loss of any single ship full of food could leave hundreds or thousands of people starving.

"Yes, Lord Tyrrell. The tribune bowed, then turned and walked away alone.

Observing the situation on the streets, Brant then ordered, "Lord Garron, prioritize the daily needs of the craftsmen and their families. He did this so that the craftsmen could have enough body and devote all their energy to building ships.

"Yes, sir. Galen Arryn agreed.

Brandt could only put the food problem aside for now, and then he had to give instructions on how to settle the victims in the city. The soldiers burned down the houses and property of the peasants, forcing thousands of peasants to lose their homes and land, to the point of incurring their revolt and resentment. Brandt, on the other hand, must not allow people to cause panic and riot in Rocky Harbor, and he needs to pacify his subjects in his realm.

"Lord Davonne," Brandt asked, turning to the side, "how many of the victims are there in the city?" and it took him a long time to write down the names of these people and the positions they held.

"8,500 people. Sir Davon Pike replied.

Brandt asked, "How many people are there in the whole city?" This is a matter of concern to him, the number of people in a lord's fief is directly related to the development and taxation of the territory.

Sir Davon whispered, "About 113,000 people. "The sheriff could only give a relatively general number, and there were so many people in the city that he could not give an accurate answer in a short period of time.

The Rock Harbor was originally home to nearly 230,000 people, but this terrible plague claimed 120,000 lives in just a few months. This number is already more than half of the people of the entire territory, and the large areas of land are uncultivated, so that the land is deserted and the food is scarce.

"The law and order in the city must be maintained, and all the victims of the disaster must be left to you, and these suffering civilians must be properly settled. "Brandt made up his mind that he could not allow any more casualties.

"Yes, Lord Tyrrell. Sir Davon's tone was a little stiff. Resettlement of the victims was a very difficult problem for him.

"Thank you, my lords, go and get busy!" commanded Brandt, "and I will go with Sir Maureen to the docks. ”

The lords in charge of the city obeyed the Count's orders, bowed to their allegiance lords, and then turned and retired. At this moment, only Brant and Ser Maureen, and the accompanying knightly guards were left to accompany them.

"Sir Morin," asked Brandt, "how many soldiers are left in your command of the city's garrison?" "Aside from the plague that broke out in the Rocky Harbor territory, he knew almost nothing about the state of the entire realm. He always had a lot of questions to ask because he needed to know so much.

"Lord Tyrrell," explained Sir Maureen, "more than half of the soldiers of the garrison have died of the plague, and now there are less than 1,000 men left. "Sir Maureen was a middle-aged man with a wide sword brow and a broad face, his tall and stout build, giving him a rough sense of oppression. But he was very respectful and humble in front of his allegiance lord.

Brandt pointed sharply, "How much?" When he heard the number, his dull mood felt lost again, and the bad news fell on him like a heavy stone, weighing him down. He never thought that being a lord would have such troubles and confusion.

"654 people. Sir Maureen reported truthfully. He didn't dare to hide it, and he couldn't hide it at all.

Brandt's brows furrowed, and he sighed in his heart, there were far fewer soldiers left than he had imagined, not only the loss of half, but the fact that he could not even gather a garrison. Now he can only pin his hopes on the heralds who are responsible for conveying his orders.

In the Golden Lands, the ruling Lords of Islam in order to strengthen their position and to guard against the possibility of rebellion or rebellion by their vassals. More than 500 years ago, Duke Brandon Islam made two immutable rules.

For one, the lords and lords of the Islamic family must send one of their children to Boulder City, where they will be raised by the Duchess, and when these children reach the age of seven, they will begin to learn chivalric etiquette and skills, and when they reach adulthood, they will join the Knights of Glory.

Second, the vassals under the command of the Islamic family must not recruit more than 3,000 private soldiers. The Earl Lord can recruit up to 3000 soldiers, and the Baron Lord can recruit private troops between 800 and 1000 soldiers.

Earls with a population of more than 100,000 usually built a city in their territory and recruited 3,000 soldiers in their fiefdom, which was slowly transformed into the so-called city defense regiment. In contrast, the baronial lord, who only owned a town or castle as a fief, recruited a private army of 1,000 people as much as possible, forming the size of the city defense reserve.

In addition, Duke Brandon Islam has assembled three elite fleets, which are mainly responsible for patrolling the narrow sea area east of the Golden Land. These three fleets are the Rock Harbor Fleet, the Lane Island Fleet, and the Shago Island Fleet.

In other words, Count Brant Tyrelll had a far more than 3,000 soldiers and nearly 10,000 soldiers, which was several times more than any other county. But now it became his biggest problem, he actually controlled less than 800 soldiers, and his uncle Sir Roger Tyrelll's Rock Harbour fleet had more than 7,000 soldiers. After a long silence, Brandt spoke again, "Sir Morin, recruit a new group of soldiers from among these plague victims. They will not starve or freeze when they join the garrison, and they will also be rewarded with fifty gold coins. ”

"My lord, how many soldiers are recruited?" asked Sir Maureen.

"It is enough to recruit the garrison regiment, and the age control is 18-40 years old. He desperately needed to build up his own force, and although a few thousand recruits would not be able to fight in battle for a short time, it should not be a problem for them to hide within the walls to defend the city if they were properly trained.