In a room covered with sky-blue carpet, furnished with large bookshelves, expensive oil paintings, and silver lamp stands, Belk Lauren stood up straight. Loren stood respectfully in front of the desk and bowed to Edmund Burke, who was sitting behind it. He was reporting what he had seen in the Eastern Region.
The young prince, who was wearing a black coat and had grown a beard, listened to every word of the report with a serious expression. Belk maintained his sincere respect and did not want his report to have any flaws.
"The bandits in Hall and Rentato have been quelled. A batch of unmarked gold coins was found in their hideout. Through the identification spell, it was preliminarily determined that the gold coins were indeed from the local lords. After you issued the relevant regulations, there are still some local nobles who are privately raising 'Black Gloves' …"
"This is already a prohibited behavior and must be severely punished. The nobles involved have two choices: either their title will be reduced by one level, or they will hand over half of their land or the equivalent value of money." Edmund Belk said. Mo En said with a displeased expression.
Then, Belk reported a series of changes and the current situation in the Eastern Region, and also mentioned the recent activities of the White Sand Mining Company. Edmund made various appropriate arrangements according to Belk's report. There were some things that Belk could not deal with or had other people to deal with. Edmund would also talk about his plans or have a frank discussion with the young marquis in front of him.
Frank, serious, fair, and full of patience.
Ignore Edmund? No matter how many times Belk met Moen, he could not help but think of the same words.
He looked at this prince who was about the same age as him. He looked at the prince who seriously thought about solutions to problems and proposed various admirable solutions. He could feel that the prince was really working hard to govern this land and think of ways to bring prosperity to this kingdom. And this belief and action was the reason why he was loyal to the prince from the bottom of his heart.
However … the dark corner still existed.
Belk's heart was a little lost and tangled. Before he spoke, Edmund noticed the change in his expression. The prince looked at him and asked, "Belk, what's the situation?"
Berk frowned but didn't hide the truth: "Your Highness, in many areas of the Eastern Region, your Serf Freedom Act has encountered unexpected … setbacks. Only a small number of serfs were truly freemen, and most of them... were still bound to the land. Affected by this situation, there was almost no progress in the land reform in these areas, and the factories could not recruit anyone — even training was not carried out. "
Edmund looked at him quietly. "Why?"
"There are various reasons — but most of them are due to obstacles set up by the landowners. Some of them asked the serfs to redeem their 'land' in order to gain freedom, some asked the serfs to hand over the first year's harvest, and some directly drove the serfs out of the farm or orchard after announcing that they had gained the status of a free person... "
Edmund closed his eyes slightly, as if he was trying to keep his breathing calm. Then he opened his eyes with a deep look in them. "So, serfs who are 'free' can't live, right?"
"Yes. In the end, they had no choice but to return to their master's side. They returned 'voluntarily' …"
This time, Edmund was silent for a long time. Half a minute later, Belk heard a calm voice coming from the front, "I got it."
"Your Highness, perhaps we should..."
Belk could not wait to speak, but he was interrupted halfway by Edmund. "Belk, I will discuss this matter with Duke Loren. He has more experience with land. As for you, there is a new task. "
Belk was still thinking about the serfs, but his loyalty made him immediately respond to the prince's new order. "Your Highness, please give me your orders."
Edmund's expression became serious. He picked up the cup beside him and drank some water to moisten his throat. Then he said in a deep voice, "About the more rampant cult activities recently, about the followers of the End of All Things …"
...
After walking out of the castle's main hall, Belk's footsteps were heavy. His footsteps were heavier than before.
He thought that the conservative nobles, roaming bandits, and the deluded people in the Eastern Region were already a huge obstacle and problem. He did not expect that there was another huge problem in the Solin Castle area.
The End of All Things … a dark cult that only dared to play tricks in the gutter, when did it become such a huge threat? They even extended their hands to the Great Wall, to the wasteland of Gondor?!
According to His Highness, the corruption and spread of those cultists in the kingdom had long exceeded the expectations of the people. They spread among the poor, among the citizens, and even among Extraordinary individuals and nobles. Their doomsday theories were clearly absurd and crazy … but why would so many people believe in them one after another, and self-destruct?
A cold but invigorating north wind blew over. Belk suddenly woke up from his stupor. He noticed that the snow outside had stopped. Now, there was only a large patch of white snow covering the courtyard, the path, and the roof.
Knight came over with a horse and bowed respectfully beside the young marquis. "My lord, you …"
Belk waved his hand and asked Knight to leave. "Take the horse back. I'm going to walk in the city."
At this time of the year, most places where people lived had become desolate. Even Solin Castle, a famous city in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plains, was no exception. Outside the warm castle, the entire city where the common people lived was cold and cheerless. There were very few people on the streets. Even if one walked on the widest street, the number of people on the streets was limited.
But in fact, it was already a sign of prosperity to see the common people on the streets. At least there were still people willing to go out in this cold weather. At least there were still the most basic business and social activities among the common people in the city, which was very rare in the countryside.
Belk did not ride a horse, nor did he wear armor. He just wore a wolf fur cloak with Knight's uniform inside. He casually strolled in the streets of the western part of Solin Castle.
Since the army of the Eastern Region occupied this city that once belonged to the royal family, he had not had the opportunity to walk in the streets in such a casual manner. As the successor of the Guardian Duke of the Eastern Region, he always had many things to learn and busy with. Today, although he accepted the new task assigned by the prince, this task could not be carried out immediately. First, he needed to arrange for his subordinates to collect and summarize the information about heretics, missing people, and the spread of abnormal diseases in the surrounding areas. Only then could he act on his own. But before that, he finally had a little leisure time.
Unfortunately, this leisure time was in the winter, so he did not have the opportunity to see too many interesting things.
Walking aimlessly and looking at the deserted streets, Belk finally sighed.
Indeed, there was nothing to see. Walking in the winter was the most boring.
The young marquis turned around and was ready to leave this place.
But just before he took a step, an abrupt sound suddenly came into his ears.
The sound was mixed with cursing and hitting, and there was also a faint muffled groan.
Belk frowned and looked in the direction of the sound. It was still two streets away. Ordinary people's hearing would not be able to hear it.
He stepped forward, and his figure flashed across the almost empty street. A few seconds later, he arrived at the entrance of the alley and saw what was happening in the alley.
A few tall and strong men were surrounding a thin figure that was curled up on the ground, punching and kicking it. They were cursing loudly and crudely. On the ground near them, a wooden basin was overturned, and a dozen pieces of clothes were scattered around it.
This disgusting scene made Belk's face turn gloomy. He immediately shouted: "Stop! What are you doing?!"
The sudden shout made the violent people stop abruptly. They turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice. Originally, their faces were filled with anger, as if they wanted to teach the person who interfered a lesson. However, after seeing the tall young man at the entrance of the alley, these people almost instantly became dumbfounded and quiet, accompanied by a few soft gasps of cold air.
"My … My Lord …"
Belk looked at the person who spoke and asked: "What happened here?"
After seeing these strong men, neatly dressed, and the expression on their faces, Belk had vaguely guessed their identity.
"My Lord … I … We are teaching a lesson to a criminal," the person who spoke first said in a trembling voice. "She … she is a washerwoman, but she stole her employer's clothes …"
She?
Belk lowered his head and saw the thin figure that had curled up on the ground due to the beating was slowly getting up. She was trembling as she crawled towards the scattered clothes and the wooden basin. Her dry, yellow hair was messily draped behind her head. She was wearing a tattered shirt that had lost its original color. There were also many rags tied around her legs to protect her from the cold. She raised her head and looked at Belk. Her face was dry and yellow due to malnutrition, and there was not much color on her face.
She was a woman, not beautiful at all. Only her eyes left a deep impression on Belk.
But if she was beautiful, she would have to face more than just punches and kicks.
Belk lowered his head and calmly looked at the washerwoman who was picking up the clothes. Some of the clothes were still wet and were about to freeze on the ground: "Whose clothes did you steal?"
The washerwoman lowered her head and said in a very low voice: "No one, my Lord."
"My Lord, look, she is still lying!" One of the men standing around immediately shouted, "She stole …"
"Stole yours?" Belk looked up and stared at the man who spoke.
The man immediately became silent.
"Stole yours?" Belk turned his eyes and looked at the next person.
That person was also silent.
"Yours?" "Or yours?"
No one opened their mouth to answer.
"Very good, at least you don't dare to continue to lie," Belk stared at them. Every word made their necks shrink a little bit, "At least I don't have to send your bodies back to the Eastern Region."
These people were the soldiers of the Eastern Region who were on duty.
In addition to the soldiers who occupied the city, there were very few people who were as strong as them. They wore warm winter clothes, had extra energy, and could instantly recognize Belk who was wearing civilian clothes. It was Lorren.
Belk lowered his head again and looked at the washerwoman who had already picked up all the clothes and was keeping her head down: "Are you a local?"
The washerwoman still kept her head down, as if she didn't dare to look up: "… Yes, my Lord."
Belk nodded and his eyes fell on the scum of the soldiers again. He took a deep breath and slowly calmed the magic in his body.
The army had discipline, this was the order of Prince Edmund.
"Bullying civilians, deceiving officers, go to your centurion. Each of you will receive 30 lashes, a week of confinement, and half of your pay for this month."
The scum left in fear and frustration.
The washerwoman was still kneeling on the ground with her head down. Beside her was her wooden basin and the clothes that needed to be re-starched.
"Raise your head."
Belk calmly said.
He saw the other party slightly raise her head, but quickly lower it again, keeping her eyes level.
Belk sighed in his heart, squatted down, and looked at the other party's eyes. He looked at the malnourished face that had nothing to do with beauty. He looked at the pair of eyes that were filled with awe mixed with numbness.
In other occasions, in the castle's banquet hall, countless beautiful ladies from famous families would be willing to pay the price of a manor in exchange for the opportunity to look at him in such a close distance.
"Those people are the scum of the Eastern Region, they can't represent the army of the Eastern Region."
The washerwoman immediately bowed her head and responded: "Yes, my Lord."
Belk frowned, looked at the other party's thin and tattered clothes, and then took out two gold coins from his pocket.
He thought for a moment, put away the gold coins, and then rummaged for a long time in another pocket. Finally, he found some copper coins and cut pieces of silver.
He threw the coins into the washerwoman's basin, and then stood up: "This is the compensation from the Eastern Region. You can use it to buy bread and warm clothes."
The washerwoman's eyes fell on the jingling coins, and she carefully put them away. Her movements were light and serious. After doing all this, Belk suddenly heard the other party ask:
"My Lord, can you give everyone bread and warm clothes for the winter?"
This unexpected question stunned Belk for a moment, and he subconsciously wanted to tell the other party – of course he can.
He was the eldest son of the Guardian Duke. Marquis Loren was the future master of the Eastern Region. He had countless manors and fields under his name. Even if half of them had been donated to the army in response to Prince Edmund's decree, or given to the serfs and tenants in the territory, he still had the ability to give food and clothes to every civilian in Solingburg during the winter.
However, the washerwoman had already stood up, respectfully bowed, and left with the basin and the clothes in it.
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