The castle hall of the Severcro Fortress, which had always been deserted, was now "overcrowded", with young men dressed as acolytes going in and out with stacks full of scrolls and parchment written all over it, and the round tables on both sides of the hall were also stacked with various manuscripts, and the tables at the back were also stacks of yellow linen paper, waiting for an adult to take them.

On the long table in the center, the knights who should have been gathered were also gone, and several elderly people in gray cloth robes and several young people in extremely inconspicuous clothes sat up, flipping through the parchment sent by the acolytes one by one, and then sending it to the "Lord of Severcro" on the main seat.

The current lord is still wearing the rag robes of the past, but he has a long sword from his father hanging from his waist, which looks very out of place.

"All the iron ingots brought from Salion were sent to Master Gendry in the blacksmith's shop, and he asked him to urge his apprentices to repair the armor of the knights, and to make a few spare weapons for the new knights of the Knights of the Dawn. Jim watched as he gave an order to the busy boys behind him: "Store the rest and don't mix it with Caesarea wine—half of the last batch of iron ingots is gone!"

"Understood, Lord Best. The boy took Jim's warrant and hurried out of the hall and ran toward the castle's blacksmith's shop.

"About the new Severcro Gate you designed, Lord Best. An old man turned his head and bowed his head slightly to Jim, "We've done the math." It would require quite a bit of iron ingots, as well as fine oak imported from Fort Kenne, which would cost a lot of money!"

"Don't forget that this is Savencro, the old man. Jim looked at him seriously, "It's not the lord's army that we need to guard against, but the threat of the orcs." The gate is a weak point in the defense, and there are not enough turrets and soldiers, so it should be paid more attention. ”

“...... How forgetful I am. The old man was stunned, and quickly lowered his head: "Then follow your opinion, all in order to resist the possible attack of the orcs." ”

"But you're right, we can't afford all the expenses - the walls and moats aren't finished yet. Jim nodded helplessly: "Send someone to Salion to borrow it in a few days, the Grand Duke of Ultok will not refuse us, he has just made a lot of money." ”

"But what shall we pay?" asked the old man, "there seems to be nothing left in the castle to pledge." ”

"I'm trying to copy the glass of the Romans - it's almost successful, but of course it needs to be debugged, and it's very rough. Jim grinned, "When it's done, we'll be able to pay off all our debts." ”

"Okay, if there are no problems, please go back all, the work is not over yet. Best lay down behind his chair and waved his hand tiredly: "Gentlemen, don't forget your duty. ”

"At your disposal, Lord Best. They got up and saluted him, and then left the halls of the castle one by one, leaving Jim alone.

Jim sat there and waited until he saw that all the people were gone, and then he slowly got up from his chair and stretched to relax—unlike his able-bodied father, he was physically and mentally exhausted from such a heavy workload.

Just as old Best guarded Severcro with his sword, Best guarded Severcro with his pen and book - he summoned all the clerks and old men who knew how to write from the castle to serve himself, and went to the castle to obey orders, plan construction and management policies.

But even so, his work is still very heavy, and most of it still needs to be figured out by himself. These summoned "clerks" can only deal with some basic matters, they do not know how to count, they do not know how to build and plan, and it is difficult for them to put forward any constructive suggestions.

Theodore was at the other extreme in this respect—the senators knew better than the young Caesar how to manage cities and farms, plan roads, recruit artisans, and even summon militias on the fly, in an orderly manner and never in a hurry.

Therefore, Theodore can rest assured that he will throw the Roman territory to these "loyal" officials, and lead the Roman legions to fight one enemy after another, without worrying that the territory will become a mess.

Jim, who always wrote in the halls of the castle, already had the nickname "Knight of the Robes" among the knights of the fortress - the lord spent more time on parchment than on horseback and sword.

Jim knew very well that he might not be able to catch up with Liliang as strong as his father, so it was impossible for those brave knights to obey him, so he did not deliberately stop those rumors, and the slightest rumor could not have damaged any majesty - at least he thought so.

Although Jim had done his best to build walls, arrow towers, moats, towers, and all sorts of defenses, and was confident in them, he didn't really want to test how good they were—and if he could, he would never need them for the rest of his life.

"Lord Best!" a knight squire suddenly burst into the hall and knelt down on one knee in front of Jim, "The knight commander has ordered me to report to you." ”

"What's going on?" asked Jim softly, "You don't have to do that, you can stand up and talk." ”

"Yes. The attendant quickly stood up and wiped his sweat: "Refugees, there are many refugees coming towards Severcro, the number is surprising and ......"

"Then contain them, no matter how many people there are. Don't forget that they are our compatriots, and if we don't protect them, should the orcs protect them?" Jim asked rhetorically, "Remember that my father once lost face in front of the northern lords for refusing to take in refugees, and such an unhonorable thing cannot happen a second time." ”

"But this time it is inevitable that it will be completely different from the previous ones, and there are countless of them!" The squire argued a few words, and found that he really did not have the talent for this area, so he forcibly grabbed Jim's sleeve and ran out: "I'm very sorry, but please come with me to have a look, and I'll understand when I see you!"

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Before he reached the city walls, Jim could hear a loud noise, even louder than the most lively autumn fair. But there was no shouting or laughter in the noise, only a desolate cry and a hair-raising cry.

The workers who built the walls had returned to the walls from the outside, and the inner gates that had been built were tightly closed, and the steel hinges fixed on them were pulled up to lock the gates.

Seeing this, Jim couldn't help but be even more angry -- the knight commander was obviously arrogant and wanted to keep the refugees out of the gate. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but quicken his pace, and ran up the city wall quickly, leaving behind the attendants who had been walking in front.

The sturdy knight commander was standing at the top of the stairs at this time, pacing back and forth anxiously, and when he saw Best coming up, he hurriedly greeted him, beating his chest and saluting: "Salute to you, Lord Best!"

"Weishenme is going to close the gates? I don't seem to have given the order. Jim didn't give the toiling knight commander half face, which in his opinion already involved the question of whether his authority was solid: "Or do you think you can call the shots in place of the lord of Severcro?"

"I don't have that right, and I don't have the slightest idea of it, it's all for the safety of the Bester family and the Evercro Castle. The knight commander answered his question meticulously: "If it is just an ordinary refugee, naturally they dare not act on their own." ”

"What the hell is going on?" Jim frowned, "Really, really serious?"

"You just have to look at it for yourself and you'll know what's going on. The knight commander shrugged, "Actually, if you get a little closer to the parapet, you can see those people. ”

"I only trust my eyes. Jim snorted, turned around and walked towards the wall, "I don't need to tell you that I'll see it for myself." ”

By the time Jim got on the parapet, his anger and suspicion had all turned into the same emotion - shock!

"The Radiant Cross is on top......! What's going on in the South? That's at least 20,000 people!"

Jim shouted incredulously, the overwhelming atmosphere was overwhelming, and the black oppressive figure blocked the perimeter of Severcro Castle. If it weren't for the fact that there was a moat that was almost completed, they would have blocked the gate as well.

And not far away, on the horizon under the sun, there is an endless "long-distance army", which is rushing towards the castle under the Broken Mountain. To be sure, there will never be just 20,000 people!

"We can't let them into the castle, Lord Best. The knight commander stood behind Jim, too, with a numb scalp, and whispered, "The castle doesn't have that much food to feed these refugees." They'll eat up all the food in a week's time, and then the whole castle will starve to death!"

"Hunger and hardship can turn the most mundane of farmers into bloodthirsty demons, and once they fall into despair, they will even attack the castle. The knight commander said, "We must give them some warnings lest they will inevitably be aroused by anger." ”

"Warning?" Jim looked back at him, "What warning?"

"I'm afraid they won't leave so easily. The knight commander shook his head, "Let them know to keep their distance and leave the castle gates." ”

"Archer!" shouted the knight commander, "Arrows!"