Gwen left the test site with Heti and Amber after completing the test. Rebecca and Jenny had to continue optimizing the rune group, Nicholas had to return to the Mechanical Research Institute to design a new production line, and the two Knight had their own tasks, so they did not go with Gwen.
The success of a new weapon boosted Gwen's spirit, and he could not help but feel happy. In a happy mood, he looked at everything in the territory more optimistically than before.
Half of the Moon of Frost had passed, and the temperature was dropping day by day. It would not be long before the southern land entered the cold winter, but the first batch of crops had been harvested. Coupled with the arrival of the food promised by the king and the non-staple food purchased from Tanzania Town, the territory did not have to worry about hunger this winter.
The Cecil family was perhaps the most generous nobles when it came to food. In other noble lands, the commoners often had to pay seventy to eighty percent of the harvest as tax, and the serfs even had to pay close to ninety percent of the grain. In this way, even with the help of Druil's spells and fertility magic, the poor people at the bottom of the hierarchy lived on the edge of famine. As long as the year was not good, starvation was common. Various kinds of wild vegetables, tree barks, and even grass roots were common in most of the poor people's pots. But in Cecil's territory, Gwen directly set the grain tax to half.
The people in the territory were grateful, but Gwen felt that the tax was still too high.
The other nobles charged extremely high taxes. On the one hand, they often did not care about the farming in their fief, nor did they improve their farming techniques or carry out effective labor management. As a result, the harvest of their land was not high enough to sustain their extravagant lifestyle. On the other hand, their extravagance and extravagance had reached a shocking level. A small baron had to build a castle and provide for a butler, a valet or maid, four first-class servants and four first-class maids, as well as a large number of handymen, laundry maids, kitchen maids, coachmen, and so on. On top of that, the baron had to hold endless banquets and hunting activities. If the nobles were religious, they would donate a large amount of wealth to the local church every year. All of this would be converted into taxes on the poor who did not have a high harvest to begin with.
But Cecil did not need any of this.
And Gwen was also very clear about one thing: with the magical industry in its infancy, the economic output of the agricultural society would eventually be surpassed and replaced by industry. Farmland was once the main source of the world's economy, but soon gold would flow out of the chain of factories and commerce. He did not intend to continue the development model of absorbing nutrients from the farmers. But now, the magical industry was just a bud, and he had to maintain it for the time being.
The gold and silver stored in the mountain treasury would be used up sooner or later, but Gwen was confident that the net expenditure of the territory would be balanced before the wealth was used up. When the industrial output of the territory met its needs and there was a surplus, it would be time to send out the caravans …
When he passed by the Whitewater River, Gwen saw a large ship docked at the dock. Many people in ragged clothes were disembarking from the ship for routine registration and inspection. The ones in charge of these matters were the scribes and literate soldiers of the territory. After a period of adaptation and learning, these people were now able to undertake such tasks.
The population of the territory was still increasing. After confirming this year's harvest, Gwen boldly let the 'Population Introduction Office' in Tanzania Town add a new batch of serfs and increase the recruitment of refugees. Now, almost every three or four days, there would be a full boatload of people being transported from the upper reaches of the Whitewater River to become the new residents of Cecil's territory. And what was even more delightful was that there were more refugees among these people.
This meant that the homeless drifting outside had finally heard and believed the news of Cecil's development. And as long as there was a start, there would be a steady stream of people moving in.
In places where there was no shortage of people, refugees were a major problem for the sheriff. But in Cecil's territory, which was so short of people that Heti and Gwen were losing their hair, refugees were simply gold flowing into the territory. As long as one could afford to keep them, there would never be too many.
Compared to the slaves who had a fixed price and fixed cost, these refugees would be the most stable source of population in Cecil's territory in the future.
"How's the housing situation?" Gwen's eyes fell on the direction of the dock and asked casually. "The weather is getting colder day by day."
"There are enough wooden houses. According to your new method, the serfs and refugees who arrive in the territory do not have to participate in agriculture and factory labor at first. Instead, they start to build their own houses and learn the labor system and general knowledge in the process. This method is surprisingly good. They work very hard and praise the kindness of the Cecil family in unison. By the time they finish the work, the basic labor system and general knowledge of life have been firmly imprinted in their minds."
"Everyone will do their best to build their own home. It's a very simple principle." Gwen smiled. "And this kind of subtle education in the process of wholeheartedly working is more deeply rooted in people's hearts than any whip or scolding."
As he said that, he frowned slightly. "But a wooden house is not as good as a brick house, especially in winter … Even if we prepare enough hay and use mud to cover the walls, the house will still be cold."
"Your kindness is really touching, but the output of the brick factory can't keep up." Heti shook her head regretfully. "There are too many new people. It's impossible to build brick houses for everyone. In fact, if it weren't for the sawmills and sawmills, and the high efficiency of the sawmills driven by the magic engine, I'm afraid we can't even guarantee enough wooden houses. "
"Then at least ensure the supply of charcoal and let them get through the first winter." Gwen nodded. "Is the Honeycomb Magic Net laid in the new buildings?"
"Yes, according to your request, the Magic Net is laid in all areas. Even if it can't be laid in all areas, at least it can ensure that the Honeycomb structure is connected to each building area and left exposed Magic Net interfaces everywhere."
The so-called Magic Net interfaces were actually small rods of magic conductive material that extended from the Magic Net unit. They were made of iron rods plated with a thin layer of mithril or cheaper black stone rods. One end of the rods was connected to the Magic Net underground, and the other end extended out to the surface. It was the foundation that Gwen had laid for the future development of his territory.
Although the Magic Net could provide 'wireless power supply', and as long as one was within a short distance of the Magic Net, the efficiency was not high. If many 'Magic Net Interfaces' were reserved, it could be prepared for the future development of the city, such as connecting street lights or connecting magic to every household.
"Now there's another question." Heti hesitated for a moment before deciding to say it. "It's about the night school education that you are promoting."
Gwen suddenly frowned. "Night school? Those general education courses? What's the problem? "
"You require that everyone in the territory must receive education, but now there is a large influx of people, and most of them are illiterate poor people. The number of teachers is completely insufficient," Heti said with difficulty. "We have added learning places in the central, western, and southern areas of the territory, and let all the literate soldiers, craftsmen, and department managers take turns teaching after finishing their work, but it's still too busy. Each 'classroom' can only accommodate a limited number of people, and the newcomers lack discipline. Once there are too many people, the chaos is simply a disaster. And when there are too few people … we have to add more classrooms. "
"Adding more classrooms means adding more teachers." Gwen frowned. "Didn't Tanzania Town send some secretarial apprentices?"
"They have been sent to teach, but it's still not enough."
"Then recruit from the 'Hundred Support Group'," Gwen decided. "In addition to 'high-end talents' like Jenny, there are also some ordinary craftsmen and apprentices who are literate. They should be interested in the extra subsidies for teachers. In addition, you have to start promoting the recruitment of steel factories, mechanical research institutes, and other places. Tell the people that no matter if they are free people or serfs, they can work in the factories, but they must be literate before they can sign up. The workers in the factories will be like the craftsmen, with extra food subsidies. This way, they will be motivated to learn, and it will be easier to maintain discipline. "
Heti nodded slightly. "Yes, I understand."
Gwen thought for a moment and asked, "Is there anything else to report?"
Heti looked at Amber next to her. "She's really good at sleeping while walking."
Gwen was stunned. He turned his head and saw that the half-elf was really walking beside him with her eyes closed. She seemed to have fallen asleep for a while.
"When did this guy fall asleep?!"
Heti looked helpless. "When we just started talking about building the house."
Gwen was stunned. "… In a way, she's really a talent."
Just as he finished sighing, Amber woke up slowly. The half-elf lady rubbed her eyes and looked at Gwen and Heti. She asked curiously, "You two finally finished talking?"
Gwen's mouth twitched. He deliberately looked at Heti. "Let's talk about the steel production."
Amber closed her eyes. "Call me when the meal is ready."
Gwen was suddenly at a loss. He wanted to grab Amber's ear and twist it to see if she would wake up. Suddenly, he saw a soldier running towards them from the corner of his eye.
"Sir!" The soldier ran to Gwen and saluted. "There's a stranger in the territory!"
"Stranger?" Gwen was stunned. He didn't know what was so urgent. "Is it a refugee from the north? If he came here to seek refuge … "
"No, that person is wearing the clothes of the Church of Holy Light. He seems to be a missionary. But I don't know what happened. He's now working on the construction site."
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