Perhaps they did not expect the so-called punishment to be so light. After hearing Gwen's words, the hunter siblings did not react for a moment. It was not until Gwen repeated his question that the red-nosed Tom nodded blankly. "Yes … My sister and I can find other settlements."
Homeless people would wander around the territories. Under normal circumstances, there was no pattern to their movements. They walked in places that no one knew, and they would also die in places that no one knew. But overall, there was a certain range of areas where they could settle down.
These areas were usually in the wilderness between the noble's territories. And this large piece of land in the north of Whitewater River, the east of Tannsang Mine, and the south of Kant's territory was such a place.
A large number of refugees from Condor Territory, Calore Territory, and many scattered villages and towns in the northwest wandered along the river and the forest to this area. They could have migrated to the more prosperous central region, but in the past two years, the poor harvest in the central and southern regions of the kingdom had led to a shortage of food. Although many places had recovered this year, the nobles were still on guard against the refugees. The nobles in the central region looked at the starving people from the "poor south" as if they were thieves and robbers. Therefore, for these homeless people, all the roads to the central region had been blocked, and they could only wander to the forest in the south.
According to the rough information, there were currently as many as thousands of starving homeless people living in the forest and wilderness. And because most of the refugees had migrated along the same route (or even came from the same place), these homeless people had a certain degree of connection between the settlements. Although the connection was very loose, it was like a net. As long as one of the nodes was grasped, then one could follow the line and catch the whole net in one's hand.
It had been more than half a month since Byron Knight had spread the news in the south through his underground channels. Some of the news about Cecil taking in refugees must have reached the ears of the homeless, but these poor people had long lost faith in the nobles. Before the Moon of Frost, the nobles would send mercenaries to kidnap them almost every few days. So it was almost impossible to make these people believe that there was a noble family in the world that was willing to accept and protect them.
But if they could have a group of refugees, who had fled with them and lived in the wilderness for a few months, or even a year or two, to spread the news between the various settlements, then it would be much easier to recruit the homeless.
Gwen planned to select a group of people from the dozens of refugees in front of him who were smarter, braver, and more trustworthy to be guides and messengers. He would rely on their persuasion to attract the homeless to settle down in Cecil's territory.
The Month of Frost was coming to an end. After the Month of Fog, winter would officially begin. They had to complete as many arrangements as possible before more people died of cold and hunger.
The red-nosed teenager in front of him (Maybe he was an adult? But he was too thin and weak) was a little reckless, but he was not a coward, and his eyes were not completely numb like most of the poor, so he could serve as a messenger.
"The Cecil family is reshaping the order of this land. Before the Cold Moon this year, all the homeless in this forest and the nearby wilderness can report to the Cecil family and become permanent and legal residents of this land." Gwen looked at the teenager in front of him and said to everyone around him. He deliberately emphasized that all this would only be effective before the Cold Moon, but he did not really set this limit. He just wanted to make this matter more credible and make the people in front of him feel pressured and anxious. "In order to let all the people in need receive the news in time, I want you — and other capable people — to find the hiding refugees. I will send soldiers to escort you and make sure you can complete this task alive."
Tom listened to everything with his eyes wide open. Gawain turned around and turned to the haggard refugees of the Southern Territory who had nothing but nervousness and numbness on their faces. "I know that you were originally honest people who followed the law and worked hard. However, your lords abandoned you. All the nobles in the Southern Territory abandoned you. No family or land allowed you to survive. You could only wander in the wilderness, eating grass, tree barks, and even moss and rats to fill your stomachs. Even so, the minions of the nobles still abducted you, harmed you, and even chased you all the way here! But from today onwards, you are standing on the land of the Cecil family, and from today onwards, I am your lord! You can live freely and safely on the land of the Cecil family, and you have to tell the people you know who suffered together in the wilderness that there is a place for them to settle down here! "
A little bit of light finally emerged from the pairs of turbid and numb eyes.
After all, they were still human, and they still had a heart.
Gwen did not expect these slow starving refugees to cheer and respond to him. After saying what he wanted to say, he took half a step back. Seeing that Leit had already cast holy light on all the wounded, he turned to Knight Philip and said, "Give some of the extra food to these people. Otherwise, in their condition, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to walk to the territory. Also, send a soldier back on a fast horse to tell Heti the news and let her be prepared. "
Giving out food after an inspiring speech was always the most effective way, especially in this era.
When the "liege" ordered his men to take out the food, these people would truly feel that they had returned to "human society". They would be convinced that their new "liege" would indeed feed them, and they would obey orders and maintain the most basic loyalty for this reason. The common people in this era were so simple and direct. This was the only kindness that Gwen felt in this world full of malice.
At this time, the black-haired girl who had just received Leit's treatment suddenly came up. She clutched her clothes nervously and seemed to have something to say. Gwen took the initiative to speak. "What's the matter?"
"Yes … Yes, My … My Lord." The black-haired girl seemed to stutter a little when she said the word "My Lord", but she still said it smoothly. "Is what you said true?"
"Of course it's true." Gwen laughed. "Do I need to lie to you?"
But the words of the nobles were never true.
Joan only dared to think this in her heart, but what she said was, "Can I go to other settlements with my brother? He has a leg injury and needs someone to take care of him. "
"If necessary, I'll arrange a horse or a carriage for him." Gwen had just noticed the problem with the boy's leg, but he still nodded. "Of course, you can still go with him."
The girl bowed her head deeply. "Thank you very much for your kindness."
A day later, Gwen and Amber led half of the soldiers back to the territory, escorting the two mercenaries who were captured alive.
Knight Philip, on the other hand, led the remaining half of the soldiers to escort the dozens of 'new population' behind them. As the refugees were physically weak, and many of them had chronic illnesses, Wright stayed behind to take care of them.
The holy light priest could also fight as well as a berserker.
Gawain was in a good mood. Although he had only brought back a few dozen new people on this trip, which was not even as many as the slave ships from Tanzania Town, he had successfully established a connection with the refugees in the wilderness north of Whitewater River. Their initial trust would develop on the basis of these few dozen people. When he thought of how much labor his territory desperately needed in this vast barren land, he was extremely happy.
Not to mention that most of these refugees were freemen who had some skills or at least a little knowledge. Their basic quality was better than the slaves he bought, which would reduce a lot of the cost of education in the future.
It was very difficult for serfs to become refugees because they were tied to the land. When a disaster struck, the local nobles would gather their serfs and use the lowest cost to keep them alive until the end of the disaster to restore production. Serfs who tried to escape would be caught and executed. On the other hand, the freemen who had a slightly higher status would lose all their support in this situation and have no choice but to leave their homes and flee.
So sometimes some people would joke that in some noble lands, the price of freedom was higher than being a serf.
However, Heti, who was in charge of the internal affairs of the territory, seemed a little worried. She found Gwen and asked, "Ancestor, do you really plan to gather all the homeless people in the wilderness north of Whitewater River before the cold month arrives?"
Gwen had already expected Heti to come to him. He smiled. "Is there pressure on food?"
"There is. If the information is true, the whole wilderness is now full of refugees. We will have to feed about four thousand people through this winter. After a period of population expansion, the territory only has two thousand people. We will have to feed more than twice our current population. And this is only a secondary problem. After all, food can be bought with money. Tanzania Town is rich and is willing to sell food to us at a low price. This aspect is easy to solve. The real problem is how to maintain order with so many new people. It was not easy for us to digest and absorb the purchased serfs and slave workers into people who understand the rules and abide by the law. If four thousand people come in at this time, I am worried that the results of our previous efforts will be destroyed. Even if the refugees did not mean to destroy it. "
"We increased the number of people from eight hundred to two thousand. The population has more than doubled, but order has not collapsed." Gwen smiled and looked at Heti. "So what is there to worry about?"
"That's because the previous increase in population arrived before the Month of Frost. The weather was warm, and there were plenty of jobs for those people. They could follow the people to open up wastelands, cut wood, and build houses. According to what you said, if there was labor, there would be transformation. Plenty of jobs would be the best way to digest and absorb the new population. But now, it's already the end of the Month of Frost, and soon it will be the Month of Frost. Soon, it will be the Month of Frost, and then it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when it will be the Month of Frost, when
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