Unknown Knight

After the enthronement ceremony, Aix left the city of Paraven in a hurry that same day, and even turned down the celebration banquet prepared for him by King Harlaus that night. The Harlaus Kingdom thought that the new Earl of Aix was really serious about his work. The huge amount of profits that had to be handed over forced him to go back and find a solution. When sending him out of the palace, the king felt a little embarrassed.

Little did he know that Aix was so impatient because he wanted to tell everyone the good news as soon as possible. As for the registration of the emblem and flag, he could only wait until they were made in the territory and then sent to the kingdom archives for registration.

When Aix returned to the valley and announced the news, the whole valley was in an uproar, and everyone held a bonfire party that night to celebrate.

After discussion the next day, Aix decided to move most of the valley's industries to the new territory of Talboliya Village, leaving only the snow salt processing workshop and some guards in the valley. The blacksmith shop, leather workshop, wood processing workshop, etc. were all moved there. The main reason was that the snow salt processing needed to be kept secret, and too many people coming in and out would inevitably increase the risk of exposure. In addition, the valley was small and the air could not circulate. The leather workshop could easily pollute the air and make the whole valley smelly.

When Aix and Amanti came to the village of Talboliya in the territory to check the situation, he finally understood why those nobles thought he was a fool. The entire village was deserted, there was not a single intact house, and the wooden roofs of the well-preserved houses had been burned down by the rebels.

"That's a good idea, sir. We can re-plan on the original site. These houses are built with stones from the mountain. They are sturdy and durable. We are few in number, so the original stones will be enough for building materials. We just need to cut down the wood from the nearby Black Forest." Yamanti comforted him.

Aix looked at the ruins and realized that this was all they could do now.

A week later, in the village of Talboliya.

After a tiring day, everyone was eating dinner in front of the campfire. Aix felt very regretful at the moment. He was fooled by King Harlaus. He couldn't help but ask himself: "Isn't every time traveler happy and fulfilled when building their own territory? Why don't I feel it? Why do I only feel bitter and tired! "

Looking at the two beautiful ladies, Yamila and Kress, who were eating together opposite him, he felt amused again. Both of their faces were stained, which was caused by cleaning the burned houses. Not only them, but more than 20 people in the village now have stained faces. Those stones covered with ashes are too difficult to clean, and they are dirty and choking. So far, not even a quarter of them have been cleaned, and it is unknown when the whole village will be built.

After dinner, Aix organized a meeting to discuss the current situation, but after much discussion, no specific solution was found. At this time, Desevi, who usually spoke very little, raised his hand and said:

"Sir, I am familiar with this area. I think we can recruit people to participate in the construction of the village."

"Recruiting people? Where do they come from? It's all wilderness here and there's no one to recruit." Aix asked back. He thought that Desevi would not speak without a purpose, so he stretched his neck and waited for her next words.

"The person is there." Desevi pointed to the dark forest in the distance. Aix looked confused, not knowing who she was talking about, the tree man?

"I object!" Having figured it out, Fatis stood up and continued:

"Sir, those bandits are not trustworthy. They are poachers, robbers, and tax-resisting rioters. They are absolutely not trustworthy. If we recruit them, they will only corrupt our morals."

"No one is born to be what you call a poacher, robber, or tax-resisting mob. They are just villagers from nearby, victims of dissatisfaction with King Harlaus's Forest Law. Their lives were originally pretty good, but this Forest Law made them impoverished, so they hid in the forest. Is this their fault?" Desevi roared angrily, and his words made Fatis' face turn red. He sat down and stopped talking.

Aix then vaguely remembered hearing Desevi say that her lifelong love was also a bandit, so she should be able to understand the plight of these bandits, so he gently said to her:

"Calm down first. I know what you said makes sense, but what Fatis said is also right. The lives of civilians in this world are all miserable. If they can't stand it anymore and hide in the forest to become bandits, how can I guarantee that they won't betray me if I recruit them?" Returning the question to the person who asked the question, Aix waited quietly for Desevi's answer.

"It's very simple, sir. You just need to cancel the persecution of them by the Forest Law, and they will come to your territory to settle down, build houses and cultivate the land. Only that fool would be willing to live in the jungle like a wild boar and endure the bites of insects and snakes." Desevi said.

"Well, that makes sense. Those who have constant property have constant determination. This is also a good idea." Aix said to himself. After a moment of silence, he said to Desevi:

"How about this? I am the newly promoted earl of the kingdom. I cannot directly cancel the Forest Law. They must also abide by the Forest Law in public. But I can guarantee that as long as they are in my territory, I will not care if they are not caught by the king's forest patrol team. Of course, I don't know what they do outside my territory, and I can't control it. Do you think this is okay?"

"Really? My kind lord?" Desevi asked in disbelief.

"Of course, and I have a better policy for them. As long as they come to settle here, I can give them land and houses for free. But as you can see, this house is just a piece of land now, and they have to build the house themselves." Aix spread his hands, causing everyone to laugh. Then he continued:

"And I have another policy that is even more attractive. The tax here is pitifully low. Each piece of land is only taxed one tenth."

As soon as Aix finished speaking, the people below immediately started to discuss. In this era, the lowest tax for civilians was 10% tax and 4%. Some ruthless lords even charged 10% tax and 6%. 10% tax was like giving them the land for free to farm. After a while, a member of the caravan asked timidly:

"Sir, can people like us also enjoy this discount?"

"You? Who are you?" Aix asked back, and before he could answer, he continued:

"Can you do the same? You are my relatives, how can I collect taxes from you? I promise here that as long as you follow me for one day, I will never collect taxes from you in my territory."

Silence, which lasted for more than 10 seconds, and suddenly someone shouted:

"Hail! Long live Lord Aix!"

Everyone else started shouting along, and a few brave guys from the caravan even wanted to pick up Aix and throw him into the air. Aix stopped them in time with his hands, then pressed his hands to quiet everyone down, and then said to Desevi:

"There is another condition for letting them come, which is that they must perform unconditional labor." Seeing that everyone was a little confused, Aix continued:

"What is labor service? It means that during the slack season, everyone has to work together to repair the roads and canals in the territory. These public facilities, like the territory has not been built yet, everyone has to work together to build the village. This is labor service, do you understand?" Seeing Desevi nodded, Aix continued:

"Of course, there is one more thing, that is, they cannot betray the village. Once they betray the village, I will take back the farmland allocated to them and drive them out of the village forever. Do you understand?" Seeing Desevi nodded, Aix stopped talking and stood there watching everyone looking at him with eager eyes, as if waiting for him to continue. After more than 10 seconds, someone couldn't help asking:

"Is it gone?"

"That's all, it's very simple." Aix spread his hands and said easily.

"Long live!" "Long live Lord Aix!..."

Everyone then cheered together. The guys just now seized the opportunity this time, and worked together to lift Aix up and throw him into the air, again and again...

Soon, at every major intersection in the Black Forest near the village of Talboliya, a notice was posted with a seal with a coiled dragon pattern on it. This was a seal designed by Aix himself. (Don't think too much about it. He just thought that seals were similar to totems. Since he was Chinese, there was nothing wrong with using his own national totem. At the same time, he also wanted to use this seal to tell himself who he was and where he came from.) The notice read:

The good man of Suno, the honorary lord of the kingdom, the lord of Talboliya, Count Aix, hereby informs all free people:

Due to construction needs, this territory is now recruiting a number of subjects, regardless of gender, age, or past experience. As long as they swear allegiance to this lord, they can get land for free. In the first two years, this lord will not charge any taxes, and will provide production tools and oxen for free. The number of places is limited, and those with special skills will be given priority.

Above, Count Aix

The reason why the ten-tenth tax mentioned before was not added was because Fatis and Amanti jointly prevented it, saying that it was against common sense. If the notice fell into the hands of other nobles, Aix would be boycotted by all the nobles, so this article could not be written to avoid giving them an excuse.

In addition, Aix also knew that these people basically could not understand the notice, so he asked all the caravan members who were currently participating in the construction to stop working, and to form groups of two, to be distributed at various intersections near the Black Forest, and to stop and preach to everyone they met. During the preaching, these caravan members informed them in detail of the preferential policies that were not written on the notice.

In order to achieve better publicity effects, he also specially had some small pieces of white bread and cheese made as small gifts for every pedestrian who stopped to listen to the lecture. Having stayed in the original world for nearly 30 years, he still knew this marketing trick.

Soon, the news that Lord Talboliya was recruiting people spread to every corner of the Black Forest in the central part of the kingdom.