Unknown Knight

After leaving Kudan City, Aix and his party did not stop in any other towns on the way to avoid any accidents. They only replenished supplies in the villages along the way and then headed straight for the territory.

After five days, everyone finally arrived back at the Talboliya Territory. The hunting team members saw the flag with the rising dragon pattern from afar and rushed back to the territory to report.

The newly built bell tower on the city wall in front of the gate of Neicun played its due role for the first time. The iron bell inside made a rhythmic "dang, dang, dang" sound, telling the people here that their respected lord had returned.

When Aix and his party arrived outside the city gate, they were surrounded by the citizens who rushed out. Many girls took out the flower baskets they had prepared for many days, which contained petals of various colors that they had collected. When Aix and his party came closer, they happily sprinkled the petals on their heads, making everyone feel like a heroic triumph.

The reason for such a lively scene is due to the organization and planning of Old John, Amanti and others, as well as the unremitting publicity work during this period.

Some time ago, the people only knew that the lord ignored everyone's advice and rashly went to Kugit to rescue people. This reckless behavior disappointed many people.

In the ignorant Middle Ages, the lower classes had no chance to read books and learn culture. At most, they could listen to folk songs and pass on ghost stories. In their concept, there was no such noble humanistic sentiment as chivalry, benevolence, helping the poor and the needy, kindness, brotherhood, compassion, etc.

In the eyes of many of them, this lord did not have the steadiness and superiority that a lord should have. Some even mocked their lord in private, saying that he was still too young and inevitably reckless.

Those who are mean and ungrateful by nature even said that Aix was stupid, too naive, and did not use his brain when encountering problems. The implication was that he was an incompetent lord, and was not even as good as those lords who collected only five or six tenths of their taxes. It was really hard to tell good from bad.

Of course, there are still many subjects who have the usual attitude of the lower class people, looking at this matter indifferently, without causing too much emotion or waves in their hearts.

It was only then that the two brothers realized the seriousness of the incident. In order to restore Aix's unfavorable image, after some thought and discussion, they packaged the incident in a rhetorical way, and then took every opportunity to spread the story to everyone they met. In their mouths, the whole incident became:

In order to prevent his subjects from being sold into slavery, the lord traveled thousands of miles to Kugit to rescue them. The journey was extremely dangerous and their lives could be in danger at any time, but the lord was not afraid and went there resolutely. What courage and kindness!

Being protected and blessed by such a lord, shouldn't the people living in his territory be happy? Shouldn't we celebrate? Isn't it a happy and glorious thing?

After hearing what they said, the people in the territory just laughed at first without much reaction. However, as the discussion on the matter deepened and public opinion gradually fermented, the people in the territory began to change their understanding.

They think back to their previous lives like pigs and dogs and compare them with their current food, clothing and housing. There is no difference between heaven and earth, but there is still an exponential improvement.

Soon, the subjects who knew their own situation completely changed their minds. They gradually realized that it was their lord's "stupidity" and "foolishness" in their eyes that saved them from their previous sufferings and enabled them to live a happy life today. However, this "stupidity" and "foolishness" in their eyes has now been redefined by the two old men, Amanti and Old John, and should be called noble sentiments of bravery and benevolence respectively.

The change in wind direction also brings many unexpected results. For example, when working now, there are fewer people who cheat and act slyly, and many tasks do not require too much instructions and arrangements from management personnel. The leaders know how to take the initiative to do the work, and their enthusiasm and initiative have increased a lot. They know that the current life is hard-earned, and there are fewer troublemakers causing trouble.

What's more, some of the subjects would pray in their hearts in their spare time and when they got up in the morning and evening to wish their lord good health and a long life, and that he could successfully rescue his people and return safely soon.

The beautiful girls also collected the flower petals for fumigating clothes, saying that they would sprinkle them on the lord when he returned, hoping that these petals could remove the bad luck he had picked up on his journey and bring him good luck and happiness.

Therefore, when Aix and his party rushed back to the territory, they received such a high-level welcome, which made Aix and his party a little uncomfortable for a while, but also made the two or three hundred tribesmen who returned to the territory together feel a lot more at ease.

On the platform in front of the lord's mansion, Aix took the bouquet of flowers that Yamila presented to him. Seeing that his beloved woman had obviously lost a lot of weight, he was sure that she must have missed him a lot during this period, so he couldn't help but hug her in his arms, causing the people below the platform to boo and whistle.

At this time, Amanti handed over a note, which meant that he should say something to boost morale regarding this rescue. Aix touched his nose, thought for a moment, and looked at the crowd of people below the terrace. It seemed that almost all the people in the territory were here. He paused and said loudly:

"Dear subjects! This time we went through untold hardships and fought bloody battles, killing one or two hundred Kugit people, and finally brought back my lost subjects, saving them from the suffering of becoming slaves, and allowing them to live a happy life like you from now on!

I want to solemnly tell you all, as long as you belong to my subject and live in my territory, my sword will always protect your safety, and my shield will always protect you from the wind and rain. I will not allow my subjects to be bullied, and I will not allow my subjects to be sold into slaves!

I will lead you to live a life of ease and happiness from now on!

Cheer up, dear people, let us cheer for this great victory together! I believe that with our joint efforts, our days will become more and more prosperous! Our territory will become more and more prosperous! We are the proud people of Talboliya!"

"Oh! Long live!" "Ah! Long live the lord!" "Wow! Long live! Long live the Talbolyans"...

All the subjects were shouting, roaring, and cheering various slogans excitedly, and the stage below had become a boiling ocean.

Aix and the other leaders on the stage also waved to the cheering crowd below with rosy faces. After the performance, Aix casually threw away the mink cloak that Yamila had put on him and returned to his villa which he had been away from for more than half a month.

At noon, Aix and the other leaders had a light meal in the lord's mansion. During the meal, Amanti and others reported on some major and minor events in the territory in recent times, and Aix also gave certain corresponding responses and opinions.

Generally speaking, nothing major has happened in the territory recently, and everything is proceeding step by step. Aix is ​​very satisfied with this. The few leaders who stayed behind have also initially acquired the ability of managers. They can find ways to solve any problems instead of avoiding and waiting. Just like Aix's personal image crisis this time, after listening to their detailed reports, Aix was very pleased. Even the political cadres in later generations are no more than this.

In the afternoon, Aix and his party first buried the bodies of the soldiers who died on the road in a specially designated cemetery outside the village, and then visited the families of the fallen soldiers. Not only were consolation money and pensions paid out, but they also gave them a lot of food and dried meat, and promised that their families would not have to pay any fees for the next five years.

And tell Yamanti that if the territory has any people-friendly policies in the future, these families should be given priority, and when workers are needed, good job opportunities should also be given to these families.

At the same time, Aix also asked Bandak and Fatis to regularly organize soldiers to go to their homes to help with farm work. The tradition of military and civilians being one family had to be established from now on.

The families were so moved that they burst into tears. The elders in the families kept holding Aix's hands and refused to let go. They had never been treated like this before. In the past, when someone in their family went out to fight with the lord, their bodies could not be found, let alone any pensions, consolation money, or preferential policies.

This made the people who heard the news and watched sigh with emotion, and some even wiped their tears. It also made them more deeply appreciate the kindness of the lord that the leaders had promoted some time ago, and they were glad that they followed a good lord.

Afterwards, Aix and his party came to Neicun to visit the fellow villagers who were settled there. The reunited families knelt down in front of Aix, with the elderly and children in tow, and wept bitterly as they recited Aix's great kindness. As Chinese people, the concept of repaying kindness is deeply rooted in their hearts. Their gratitude to Aix was sincere and came from the heart, which made Aix shed many tears as well.

Under his personal supervision, all matters of these new subjects were properly arranged, and there were no problems with food, clothing and other necessities. The only difference was that their current living environment was a bit cramped. There were about three or four hundred of them, but they were still squeezed into two resident groups.

After some calculation, it was found that there were now nearly 1,300 residents in the territory, and the original division was definitely not enough to accommodate them. Aix and Amanti redivided the territory on the spot, with 50 people in each group, and merged the original three groups into one large group, so the entire territory was divided into eight large groups in total.

Among them, the three large groups in the inner village of Tarboliya also include the administrative area, commercial area and military camp; the three large groups in the outer village also include the workshop area and school. There is a large group in each of the two planting sites outside the village, which is responsible for growing food, hunting and logging.

At present, the construction of inner and outer villages has been basically completed, and the two planting sites outside the village have also begun construction. Aix believes that with the current manpower, it will be basically completed in one or two months at most.