Chapter 256: Opening the Ban

After the demarcation was completed, the Barony of Harden was assigned to Richard, and the Redeemer Army commanded by Zachley also left the Iron Lion Castle (formerly the Harden Castle) and entered the Earldom of Donny Martins.

The land near the Barony of Harden is a mature and developed land. Not only does it have a complete castle, but it is also easy to resume production, and it does not require the Harland family to invest too many resources. The newly sealed territory has a large amount of flat land and salt lake minerals. If all are developed, the strength of the Harland family will be greatly improved.

The Earldom of Donny Martins is very large, with an area of ​​more than 60,000 square kilometers, second only to several dukedoms. However, the Earldom of Martins is relatively weak, with sparsely populated territory and poor products. Such a vast area cannot be effectively defended by the army of Earl Martins.

King Charles put too much pressure on Earl Martins, resulting in the loss of Earl Martins twice, and the accumulated population of the territory was robbed by the orcs.

In just three years, two earls died in succession, and the strength of the Martins family's many years of operation was almost completely lost.

Finally, King Roger took office, helped the Martins family, allocated a special loan of 300,000 gold coins, and sent a legion of redeemers to the Martins Earldom to help the Martins family maintain the situation.

Despite the presence of a legion of redeemers, the orcs still invaded the Gascoigne Province from the Martins Earldom.

Because the defense area was too large, and the Harland family developed rapidly, the defense line near the territory was relatively stable. The Kingdom of Roger transferred the Zakli Redeemer Legion, which had made great military achievements, to the Martins Earldom, reorganized it into the Iron Lion Legion, and unified the command of all the troops in the Martins Earldom.

Although the political team failed, Zakli had another chance to turn over.

In the two consecutive orc invasions, Zakli's troops made military achievements. His army had redeemed its crimes and was reorganized into the Central Second Line Legion.

With his subordinates making military achievements, Zakli's performance won the recognition of King Roger, and he once again sat on the throne of the head of the Central Legion. The troops were expanded to 16,000, and the weapons and equipment were also increased a lot. However, Zakli's political status is far from being comparable to that when he was the commander of the Northern Legion, and even inferior to his old subordinates William, Tengwei and others.

It is very difficult to be transferred from the commander of the second-line legion to the commander of the main legion. Unless you have made undisputed military achievements and won a beautiful victory, it is difficult to achieve such a big leap.

The Dawn Plane is a world where personal power is concentrated in one person. The war in the Middle Demon World relies on strength. Although strange strategies are a little useful, they cannot determine the outcome of the war.

If Zakli wants to get up again, he still needs to struggle for many years and achieve a brilliant victory.

He may not even be able to climb to the height he once was in his entire life.

The opportunity to change a person's destiny may only come once or twice in a lifetime. Once lost, it is difficult for such an opportunity to appear again. Unless you are extremely talented or extremely lucky. Like Richard, you become a person who changes the situation.

Although Zakli is brave and good at fighting, strong and powerful, and can be called a good general, he is not someone who can turn the tide and change the situation.

Richard was promoted to hereditary earl, and the political influence of the Harland family increased greatly.

At this moment, in the Kingdom of Grant, there are only a dozen noble families who dare to touch the interests of the Harland territory.

The task of preventing infiltration and guarding against spies in the territory can finally be relaxed.

In fact, in recent years, after seeing the miserable situation of the Sisse family, ordinary barons and viscounts no longer dare to provoke the Harland family, and no longer send spies to the Harland territory.

When encountering business disputes, they dare not easily touch the interests of the Harland family.

As his strength gradually increased, the situation faced by Richard became better.

This year, he became a great noble, and he could also adjust policies to promote the circulation of goods in the territory and activate commercial activities.

Richard was ready to distribute goods to Nolan after winter. Brown sugar, hemostatic ointment, burn ointment, white wine, enchanted weapons, animal skins, woolen cloth, and magic beast materials that are special products of the northern border can all be sold in Nolan.

Relying on the power of the hereditary earl, Richard no longer needs to cooperate with the court nobles to do business in Nolan.

As a great noble, doing business within the Kingdom of Grant at least gives you the right to fair competition.

This right is crucial to the business operations of Harland Territory.

Starting next year, the commercial profits should increase a lot.

Even though many small nobles are dissatisfied with the invasion of the market by the goods of Harland Territory, which has caused the outflow of gold coins. They can only negotiate with the territory caravan politely, and dare not directly rob and kill people as in previous years.

In the Kingdom of Grant, the political status of the viscount and the earl is almost the same, and the deterrent power to the outside world is also very different.

After participating in the promotion ceremony, Richard did not stay in Nolan for too long, but returned to the Earldom of Harland.

The next day after returning, Richard carefully weighed the pros and cons and abolished the decree prohibiting the migration of the territory's people. However, the confidential departments are still prohibited from outsiders to visit and approach. Outside the secret departments, red arrow warning signs are now erected. After more than a decade of bloody lessons, whether it is the free people of Harland Territory or ordinary slaves, they all have the concept of not approaching the red arrow area.

Nowadays, most of the secret departments in Harland Territory are related to magic, with very high thresholds and relatively high difficulty in leaking secrets.

Some key technologies, such as the manufacture of alchemical bombs, are personally controlled by the core layer of the territory.

Even if the people can migrate freely, the impact on the confidential departments is relatively small.

The ban on migration mainly controls the speed of information dissemination. Although it has a good effect on counter-espionage and preventing the leakage of territory technology, the population cannot circulate, which seriously suppresses commercial activities.

Without commercial activities and population circulation, the market cannot exert its power.

This year, there are already 90,000 free people in Harland Territory.

The consumer market formed by 90,000 free people is second only to the capital Nolan in the Grant Kingdom, and the market size is equivalent to that of a big city like Black River Fort.

After weighing the pros and cons, Richard decided to lift the ban, support commercial development, and make the territory more prosperous.

Although Harland Territory has experienced war this year, it has not affected the industrial and agricultural production of the territory.

The 59th Orc Legion did not invade the hinterland of Harland Territory and was blocked outside the military station fort. Although the wheat seedlings in the swamp basin were trampled by the army fighting, thousands of acres of farmland were reduced in varying degrees. Compared with the overall situation of Harland Territory, summer harvest and autumn harvest were not greatly affected.

This year is neither a bumper year nor a disaster year. The grain harvest is neither high nor low, and it is considered an average year.

The invasion of orcs this year has seriously affected the reclamation of new fields this year.

Both the swamp basin and Graveson Castle are not far from the front line, and these two areas are the focus of development in Harland Territory.

This year's reclamation work can only be carried out in the hinterland of the territory, mainly developing the southern areas of William Castle and Sophia Castle, and reclaiming about 60,000 acres of land, most of which are dry fields.

Because it is the first year, the yield will be relatively low. Despite the application of farmyard manure, the average yield per mu is less than 70 kilograms. Next year, half of these farmlands will be used to plant cotton to expand cotton production.

This year, Richard was promoted to earl and obtained a large new territory. Especially in the former Baron Harden Territory, there are about 260,000 acres of farmland that have been reclaimed.

Canals and water wheels have also been built on the farmland, and the infrastructure is very good.

Richard moved the civilians of Baron Harden to Harland, leaving large tracts of farmland barren and canals blocked. Now it is necessary to relocate the population, dredge the canals, and resume production.

Although my uncle Thoros was promoted to hereditary baron, he did not choose to go back to manage the territory and still served in the army of Harland.

Cousin Kent retired from the Warcraft Cavalry Brigade and came to the Brave Castle to manage the territory of the Thoros family.

The territory that Thoros was awarded was also the fief of the original Harden family. This fief is located in the north of Baron Harden and is the fief of Baron Leon, the eldest son of Baron Harden.

There is a river in this territory, which is a tributary of the Kaia River. The Kaia River is a very important river in the northern border area. It is a natural barrier for the Gascoigne Province to defend against orcs and the most important tributary of the Black River.

There are rivers in the territory, so there is naturally no shortage of water. A lot of paddy fields can be reclaimed on both sides of the river valley.

Baron Leon has been operating in this territory for several years, buying tens of thousands of slaves and reclaiming more than 80,000 acres of farmland. He also built a castle in the northernmost part of the territory, choosing a dangerous location, and connected it with the Platos Castle.

Although the people of Baron Leon's territory have been captured by nearby nobles, the farmland and castle cannot be taken away.

With this foundation, it will be relatively easy to resume production next year.

Members of the Soros family are all officers in the Harland territory and do not operate other industries.

Uncle Soros's annual military salary is 120 gold coins, plus the welfare subsidy of the territory, the annual income is about 200 gold coins.

Cousin Kent, Morgan, and cousin Audrey have slightly less salary, plus various subsidies, the annual income is about 120 gold coins.

It takes a lot of money to operate a territory, but the Soros family is usually frugal, and they also made some money from operating the mercenary group. In recent years, they have basically not spent much money in the Harland territory.

After obtaining the fief, Soros directly took out 6,000 gold coins and gave them to Kent, and summoned all family members, including several illegitimate children.

"Kent, this money is almost all my savings. Now I will take it out and give it to you to manage the territory.

You are my eldest son and the first heir to the territory. I will give this territory to you to inherit.

Our family can be promoted to hereditary nobles and restore the glory of our ancestors. In addition to good luck and the support of your cousin Richard, it depends on the unity of family members.

This territory is not only the result of your and my hard work, but also the hard work of your brother Morgan and sister Audrey. If it weren't for their merits, our family would have to wait for a few years to obtain the fief.

You have obtained all my savings, and you must help your brothers and sisters in the future. I am 58 years old now and can still work for more than ten years. I will continue to accumulate military merits and help Morgan be promoted to baron. When Morgan manages the territory, you must also take out 6,000 gold coins to support your brother's career."

The Soros family is the first generation of hereditary nobles. The relationship between family members is relatively close, and internal struggles are not obvious.

Before Kent managed the territory, Soros made it clear and clarified the inheritance rights.

According to the unspoken rules among the nobility, Soros's territory should be inherited by Morgan, who has better talents. But after careful consideration, Soros decided to give the territory to Kent. In addition to the fact that he liked Kent more, Soros was certain that he could help his second son become a hereditary noble before retiring, and the family would obtain a second fiefdom.

Kent and Morgan have their cousin Richard as a big backer, and Soros's sons are enough to keep the family business.

Kent is 38 years old and has been an officer for 20 years. In the early years, his salary was relatively low and he didn't save much money. After coming to the Harland Territory, as his professional level increased, his military pay increased, and he had saved 1,500 gold coins. With the 6,000 gold coins funded by his father and the 2,000 gold coins funded by Richard, Kent had about 10,000 gold coins in his hands.

With the original funds of 10,000 gold coins, Kent spent 4,500 gold coins through the channels of the Harland family to order 1,000 slaves from the Duke of Guise. Then he spent another 3,000 gold coins to buy 500 slaves from the slave market of Black River Fort.

With the remaining gold coins, Kent bought a large amount of food, woolen cloth, oxen, and farm tools from the Harland Territory.

In late August, Kent brought the first batch of more than 500 slaves into the Barony of Leon and began to clean up the castle, clear the weeds, and do some preliminary work in preparation for resuming production next year.

Richard also funded his cousin Kent with a batch of weapons and equipment so that he could arm some slaves. Kent has a family breathing method, which makes it easier for him to start than a nobleman of civilian origin.

The Barony of Leon has a good foundation and fertile land. It does not require a large amount of capital investment in the early stage. After the restoration of cultivation next year, it will be able to sell grain to make money.

After the autumn harvest, Richard began a new round of inspections of the territory.

As the territory became larger and larger, and there were more and more villages, it was impossible for Richard to do it himself and inspect all the villages.

Now he can only select some representative villages and go down to see them in person to observe the living standards of the people and the development of the local economy.

Richard rode a warhorse, took a dozen followers, and left Fort William with a light carriage and began his annual territory inspection.

Many officials have advised Richard against his habit of liking to travel light.

The bureaucrats in the Harland territory have always hated Richard's contact with the grassroots. But no matter what they say, they can't change Richard's mind.

Although the governance of the territory depends on the bureaucracy, Richard does not have to compromise with the bureaucracy because he does not have strong power. The political and economic treatment of the soldiers and officers in the Harland territory is better than that of the bureaucracy.