Cecil's territory, in the Lord's study.
The recent migration report was sent to Gwen's desk. Gwen looked at every number on the report with a particularly engrossed expression.
The situation was not much different from what he had expected. After the arrival of the Month of Recovery, a new wave of migration had begun, and this time, the number of refugees moving into Cecil's territory far exceeded the number of serfs and slaves purchased.
The news of Cecil's territory accepting refugees had spread throughout the autumn and winter, and now it had already spread to every corner of the Southern Territory. Even the most ill-informed civilians knew that the territory next to the Gloom Mountains was almost unconditionally absorbing foreign population, and that anyone in that land had the opportunity to obtain land, houses, and the status of a free person. During the entire period of the Month of Frost last year, Gwen spared no effort in promoting this matter, and now he was finally seeing the results.
Byron Knight released a large number of employment messages through his mercenary channels in the Southern Territory and effectively fulfilled every transaction. Thus, the merchants who operated ships and caravans tasted the sweetness of this process and built enough trust in Cecil's territory. Thus, the work of receiving refugees entered a state of a virtuous cycle.
Now, there was no need for Byron Knight to take the initiative to send people out. There were fixed "migrant caravans" running between various territories and doing this "new business". Those bold and careful caravans who had good relationships with mercenaries could find displaced people or people who wanted to go to Cecil's territory for various reasons. These merchants held permits issued by Duke Cecil and transported these people to Cecil's territory free of charge. Then, they would receive a reward from the government office according to the number of people transported. Some mercenaries even put down their weapons and bought several caravans to start a similar business — collecting refugees and immigrants and sending them to Cecil's territory. This had become a business.
In the process, Gwen took action several times to punish the reckless behavior of those who did not abide by the law. He executed a group of criminals who tried to kidnap and sell people or abuse immigrants. This was considered to have set the rules for this "business" and also imprinted Cecil's strict laws in the minds of the merchants and mercenaries.
Compared to the increase in the number of immigrants, what made Gwen happier was the optimization of the new immigrants' occupational structure. Last year, the immigrants to Cecil's territory were basically slaves and vagrants without any skills. Under normal circumstances, people like craftsmen and scholars would not fall into the situation of being homeless and sold as slaves. Therefore, this kind of technical talent was all "poached" at a high price. However, in the recent few batches of immigrants, there were already skilled craftsmen who voluntarily moved to the territory. The appearance of these people meant one thing: the attraction of Cecil's territory was increasing.
People had stubborn suspicions and prejudices about this land located at the foot of the Gloom Mountain Range. This was difficult to change in a short period of time. However, Cecil's territory had indeed gained a firm foothold here. Moreover, technical talents were treated exceptionally well here. Under the drive of enough benefits, people's suspicions and prejudices would be compromised.
At the end of winter, Cecil's territory had a population of more than 14,000 people. For this era, this population was enough to be called a "medium-sized city." However, for Cecil's territory, which was rapidly developing its magical industrialization, this population was still not enough to establish a set of industrial system. Now, with the increasing number of immigrants and the continuous optimization of the immigration structure, the population problem that had been plaguing Gwen had finally begun to gradually ease.
Putting down the report in his hand, Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. He then stood up and prepared to move his body. But just as he was about to stand up, the study's window suddenly opened automatically, and a gust of cold wind blew into the room.
Gwen raised his hand and knocked on the air. "Can't you come in through the door once in a while?"
Amber's figure appeared with the knock on the head. The half-elf lady covered her head and looked at Gwen with dissatisfaction. "Why do you Cecil's people like to knock on people's heads? Two days ago, I was joking with Rebecca, and she also knocked me on the head with a stick. Can't you leave some good ancestral teachings for your descendants? "
"Knocking people on the head is not my ancestral teachings. Knight is better than the mage." Gwen glanced at the half-elf. "Tell me, what's the situation? At this time, you should be wandering around the city, fishing."
"I'm patrolling the territory for you!" Amber retorted, then raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the dock area. "There's a new ship at the dock with a group of people who want to settle here. But the situation is a bit complicated. The people at the registration office can't make a decision, so I came to see you."
"Immigrant ship?" Gwen frowned. He did not know what to report. "As long as it's not a malignant infectious disease, a few categories of prohibited criminals, and people who are trafficked here, can't they just register and send them to the buffer camp? And even if it's the three situations I just mentioned, there should be corresponding regulations. "
"The new situation." Amber spread out her hands. "It's heretics who are being persecuted by religion."
Gwen was stunned. "… Huh?"
Soon, he and Hu Po arrived at the dock area in the north of the city. In the brand-new open space of the dock, which was paved with cement, he saw the soldiers maintaining order, the ship owners explaining the situation to the soldiers, and the new immigrants who were frowning and haggard.
"The seigneur is here! The seigneur is here! "
Soon, someone noticed Gwen's figure (his two-meter-tall body was indeed eye-catching). The crowd immediately saluted and retreated. Gwen walked to the center of the incident. He first quickly looked at the "heretic immigrants" who were obviously uneasy.
There were more than twenty of them, men and women, as well as a few children. They were all dressed differently. Some were wearing ordinary linen clothes, while others were wearing high-grade woolen jackets. But overall, these people could be considered to be average or above average among the commoners.
These people, who were supposed to lead a worry-free life, had obviously gone through a long and uncomfortable journey. Their faces were pale and haggard, their hair messy and greasy, their cheeks sunken, and they shivered in the cold wind. They looked around in fear, and even more so when they saw Gawain. This was a sign of long-term nervousness and worry about life and death.
Looking at the situation of these people, Gwen thought of the situation that Amber told him on the way. At the same time, the "refugees" also knelt down and saluted after confirming the identity of the noble in front of them. The bearded boatman in a brown jacket also knelt down and said, "My lord, I'm only responsible for sending these people here —"
Gwen raised his hand and stopped the boatman from arguing and bluffing. "Stand up first. Where did these people come from? "
The refugees stood up, and the boatman also stood up nervously and bowed before Gwen. "My lord, they came from the Divine Plains."
"That's a long way …" Gwen frowned. "What's the so-called 'exiled heretics' all about?"
"That's too serious, my lord," the boatman said hurriedly. "These people are afraid of being implicated because someone in their local church is practicing witchcraft. They dare not stay in their hometown, so they ran away …"
Gwen nodded and looked at the shivering people. He pointed at one of them and said, "You, tell me what's going on."
"We … we didn't do anything, but those priests said that we're the … pawns of the cultists. They took our … our house and drove us out …" The one whom Gawain had chosen was a sturdy man who looked honest and honest. He stuttered, either because he was nervous in front of a great noble or because he was born this way. "We've been arresting people and burning … burning people. It's too … too …"
"Hey, stop it, you're dirtying my lord's ears with your stuttering!" A woman beside the man interrupted him. She looked nervous as she bowed to Gawain repeatedly. "Master, we're all honest commoners. We farm or do some small business at home …"
"Who determined that you are the pawns of the heretics?" Gawain directly interrupted these people who could not even describe their own situation and asked a straightforward question, "Which church's pastor is he from? On what basis did they make that judgment? "
"It's … the priests of the Church of Holy Light," a man in a woolen coat said. "Last winter, a few families in the city were kidnapped by the heretics, and the bodies were only found a few days later. Later, the priests of the Church of Holy Light and Knight found the heretics hiding in the city. After burning those heretics, they began to search the city … They said that only the Holy Light could distinguish the heretics hiding among the ordinary people, so everyone believed what they said."
As Gawain listened, his brows slowly furrowed.
Amber came up to him, tried to tiptoe and whispered, "Hey, I'm telling you, I'm afraid it'll be troublesome to bring these people in …"
Gwen was expressionless. "Troublesome?"
"The priests of the Church of Holy Light are super difficult to deal with," Amber muttered. "And their noses are sharper than a dog's, and they like to associate everything with 'evil', 'heretics' and so on. If you bring in these people who were expelled by the Church of Holy Light, maybe they'll use it as a pretext to make a fuss. "
"This kind of trouble doesn't matter," Gwen said casually. "The Church of Holy Light has their own investigation, I have mine. In Cecil's territory, we have to follow Cecil's rules. Follow the procedures and check these people. Call Pitman over to see if there's really an evil reaction on them. If there's no problem, just send them to the buffer camp. "
Gwen did not believe the "heretical judgment" made by the Church of Holy Light, especially after hearing the experience of these people. But he would not blindly believe these refugees because of his doubts about the Church of Holy Light, so he would confirm their identity before letting them into the city. Pitman could identify the breath of the fallen Druil's theurgy. So far, the little old man's judgment was very accurate. He could confirm whether these people were believers of the Universal Endgame, and if they were the Eternal Sleepers …
That was even simpler. Gwen just had to go online and see if there were any unfamiliar IIs around him.
As for the Child of the Storm … Gwen thought there was no need to worry. Those guys had completely retreated from the land and were now in full swing fighting with the Deep Sea Idlers.
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