Lolist felt that he was the biggest idiot in the world. He wanted to give himself two tight slaps in the face.
He was greedy when he gave the order, but he did not think of the consequences. Now he understood that having more people did not mean that they were powerful. Instead, they were asking for trouble.
When Lolist gave the order to move, he was only thinking of how to slap the stupid Duke of the North in the face and let him know how powerful the Norton Family was. At the same time, he wanted to turn the so-called prosperous area of the north into a wasteland and let Duke Lujins remember this lesson.
But what Laurist didn't expect was that the soldiers under his command completed the mission perfectly. With the help of the fake Norton Family soldiers under Knight Henned's command, the number of people and villagers who were forced to migrate from the Grand Duchy had reached 280,000.
When Laurist finally saw the statistics, he was stunned. He didn't expect there to be so many people. He remembered what he said when he gave the order to move, "… I want that bullsh * t duke to not be able to find a blacksmith to forge weapons, a groom, a farmer to farm, a tailor to mend his clothes, and a servant to serve him tea and water. Other than the nobles, officials, and merchants under him, I want him to have no one to use …"
There were more than 70,000 people in the northbound convoy, and there were more than 100,000 refugees from the Andinac Kingdom. In addition to the 280,000 people who were moved, there were also more than 30,000 captives, and there were also those who were originally in the Norton Family's territory. The total population was estimated to be more than 500,000.
It was not that it was overcrowded. With the size of the Norton Family's territory, there would be room for another million people. But the problem was that the Norton Family's territory was, to put it bluntly, a piece of wilderness that had not been developed at all. In a short period of time, how to settle such a large population became the biggest problem for Lolist.
Now, Lolist regretted giving up the Grand Duchy of the South. So what if he took it by force? As long as he had a strong armed force, who could do anything to him? But he did not think so much at the time. He gave the order to loot, burn, and move everything. All he wanted was to return to the Norton Family's territory. Sigh, if I knew this would happen, I would not have done this. But since they came, I can't let them go back, right? Loriste heaved a deep sigh.
Fatty Shi reminded Lollister sternly, "Locke, we've seized more than seven hundred million catties of rations from the grand dukes and the lords along the way. This is because we've just harvested the winter wheat. In addition to our reserves, we still have more than 800 million catties of grain. Although the number is huge, we now have to support more than 500,000 people, and the monthly expenditure of food consumption is about 40 million catties. That's why we need to arrange for our people to be stationed there. Otherwise, we'll run out of food in 20 months. "
"Don't think that twenty months is a long time. We won't be able to do it this year, but the most important thing is next year. If we don't develop enough fields to last until the harvest of the winter wheat, we will really have a famine."
"What do you think?" asked Loriste.
Fatty Shi took out a map of the Norton Family's territory and pointed it out to Loriste. "From Monolith Castle to Maple Forest Manor, there's a large wasteland on the side of Blade Peak Mountain. There's enough space to set up more than a hundred villages. If each village has four to five hundred households, we can settle nearly 200,000 farmers and reduce the pressure on us.
It's almost June, and we have to use a month to survey the terrain, decide on the location of the villages, and arrange the villagers' itineraries. Then, we'll use three months to build residences, cultivate the fields, and plant the winter wheat in November. When the winter wheat is harvested next year, these 200,000 farmers should be self-sufficient, reducing the pressure on our food reserves. "
"What do you plan to do with the remaining 300,000 people?" asked Loriste in a low voice.
"I've seen the plans for Monolith Castle and the mountain city that's about to be built. I think that choosing a suitable location and building another three or four towns will be enough for everyone to live and work in peace and contentment. It'll only take one or two years to build," answered Fatty Shi without hesitation.
Loriste nodded. "Then, I'll leave the settlement of the villages and the development of the family's territory to you. Come up with a settlement plan within a month, and I'll order everyone to cooperate with you."
Thurkamp walked in and said, "Sir …"
"What's the matter?"
"Sir, Elina is pregnant and about to give birth …"
"What? You mean Elina … "
"We found out last October, but you had already gone to find a caravan by then, and we couldn't contact you. She's about to give birth in a few days … "Thurkamp said.
Alright, at the end of August last year, after defeating the 4,000 Northland Legion troops sent by Duke Lujins, Lollister returned to Maple Villa and rested for two days. Maid Elina must have been chosen during those two days.
Loriste couldn't sit still anymore. Last September, he left Monolith Castle to find a caravan. Now, it was the end of May, almost nine months, and his first child in this world was about to be born.
"Shredder, I'll leave everything here to you. I'll go back to Maple Forest Manor first. If there's anything urgent, send someone to inform me." Loriste prepared to leave immediately.
"Yes, Sir … Also, congratulations," Fatty Shi shouted from behind.
Elina was only Loriste's maid, and the child she gave birth to could only be considered Loriste's first illegitimate child. But no matter what, this was Loriste's first bloodline descendant in this world.
On his way to Maple Forest Manor, Loriste met a messenger who came to report good news. This morning, his maid Elina gave birth to a chubby boy after nine months of pregnancy, and both mother and child were safe.
Why was it nine months? Wasn't it supposed to be ten months? After calculating for a while, Loriste finally understood. A month in this world was 35 days, and nine months was more than ten months in his previous life.
The first thing Loriste did when he returned to Maple Forest Manor was to see Elina, who had just given birth, and the newborn child. However, both of them were tired and sleeping. Loriste didn't want to disturb them, so he only glanced at them briefly before leaving his bedroom quietly.
Outside the courtyard, the white-haired Belluniac was waiting for Loriste. He bowed to him and said, "Sir, your knight is waiting for your orders."
Overjoyed, Loriste hugged Belluniac and said, "Brother Belluniac, you're already a Gold Knight?"
Belluniac nodded, "Yes, Sir. I advanced to the Gold rank in February, and I've been waiting for your summons for more than three months."
Loriste thought back to last year, when he returned to his family's territory, he immediately went to see Belluniac, who had been recuperating in Northern Field Town for two to three years. Only then did he discover that Belluniac had been poisoned by the so-called potion master of Northern Field Town, Dunbasen. At that time, the four major families of Northern Field Town had done this to cripple the only Silver Knight in the Norton Family. However, Loriste had seen through their plot and brought Belluniac back to his own residence in Maple Forest Manor. Not only did he cure the poison and recover from his injuries, he even gave Belluniac a high-level Wood Attribute Warrior Energy book. He wanted Belluniac to recover and advance to the Gold rank before coming out to serve the family.
Now, more than a year had passed, and Belluniac had become a Gold Knight. This meant that Loriste had another high-level warrior under his command.
"There's no rush. Now that the family's territory is in ruins, you have plenty of opportunities to serve the family …" Loriste said.
Before Loriste and Belluniac could continue their conversation, Steward Spear ran over and said, "Sir, the old chief wants to see you …"
Another year had passed, and the old chief, Clancy, was indeed old. He dragged Loriste and nagged for a long time. He didn't care if Loriste had defeated the Grand Duke of the Northern Lands, how many resources and people he had robbed, or how strong the family's armed forces were now. What he cared about was Loriste's marriage. He wanted Loriste to marry a lady from a prestigious family as soon as possible and give birth to a son so that the Norton Family would have an heir …
After finally getting rid of the old chief, Loriste asked Steward Spear, "What happened to the old chief?"
"Sir, after the first snow at the end of last year, the old chief wanted to take a look at the family's forbidden grounds. He didn't let us follow him. But he didn't come back at night. We anxiously went to look for him, only to find that the old chief's wheelchair had slipped into a ditch by the roadside due to the slippery snow. The old chief fainted from the fall and was frozen in the snow for half a day. After we rescued him, he started to have a fever. Luckily, Sir left behind a lot of healing potions, and we managed to save the old chief. But after that, the old chief's mind started to become muddled. He often mistook people for others and forgot what he had just done … "Steward Spear replied.
"Sigh … Forget it. If there's nothing else, don't disturb the old chief. Let him rest well," Loriste ordered, feeling depressed. Laurist ordered, in a gloomy mood. Last year the old seneschal had been so shrewd, every inch an old fox. Now, he was like an old child, quickly forgetting what he had said. He kept holding Loriste's hand and nagging over and over again. In the end, he even wanted Loriste to marry Miss Bai Sha as soon as possible. They had been engaged for so long, it was about time for them to get married …
The old chief thought that Loriste was the young master who had passed away. Loriste didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After explaining for a long time, the old chief became more and more confused. Loriste had no choice but to find an excuse and leave.
It was all because of the so-called family's forbidden grounds. If it wasn't for the corpse cave, the old chief wouldn't have fallen like this. It was obvious that he had a stroke. Loriste decided to find a chance to destroy the family's forbidden grounds. He absolutely couldn't accept the fate of his body slowly rotting in the corpse cave after he died.
After leaving the old chief's courtyard, Knight Henned appeared in front of Loriste with a bruised nose and swollen eyes.
"Eh? Why are you still here? "Loriste was very curious.
Three days ago, Henned had excitedly rushed to Maple Forest Villa with a few of his personal attendants to pick up his mistress. Loriste thought that he had already gone back after picking up his mistress. Why was he still here, and with such an expression …
"Locke, but you said that if they were willing to go with me, I could bring them back, didn't you?" Knight Henned looked very angry.
Loriste nodded, "Yes, I said that. What happened?"
"I saw them. They all suffered a lot here, and they were very happy to see me. I asked them, and they were all willing to go back with me, but your people refused to let them go and even attacked me. I didn't fight back for your sake. That's why I ended up like this, "Knight Henned began to complain.
"Who refused to let them go?" Loriste's face darkened. There were nearly a thousand women who had survived in Northern Town. When he brought them back to Maple Manor, he specifically told them not to bully or enslave them. He just wanted them to rest quietly for a period of time to heal their physical and mental wounds. When they were almost recovered, he would bring them back to Rock Castle so that they could find a man they liked, start a family, and start a new life.
"Steward Spear, tell me what this is all about. Also, what did Knight Henned mean when he said that the people he was looking for had suffered a lot? Did you ignore what I told you and not take it to heart? Tell me, who made them suffer and refused to let them go? "Loriste questioned Steward Spear, who was standing next to him.
"S-Sir, it's not my fault. It's, it's Miss Bai Sha …" Steward Spear was so scared by Loriste's thunderous anger that she trembled.
"Bai Sha?" Loriste was stunned, "What did this woman do this time?"
He turned to Henned and asked, "Was it that red-haired woman who refused to let them go with you?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Henned quickly nodded, "That woman was too shrewish. Even if she thought what I said was a little harsh, she shouldn't have hit me. Although I'm a Golden Knight, I never hit women. Not to mention, a group of women jumped on me and bit me. I could only turn around and run … "
Loriste wanted to laugh. Henned must have offended Miss Bai Sha and those women in the past with his flirtatious words. They deserved it.
At the same time, he let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't a man in the villa who disobeyed orders and provoked those women.
"Tell me, Steward Spear. What did Miss Bai Sha do to those women to make them suffer?" Loriste asked coldly.
"Sir, it's like this. Miss Bai Sha is also a family knight, but you never asked her to do anything. The family's guards have nothing to do with her. After those women from Beiye Town arrived at the villa, Miss Bai Sha got the old steward's permission to take care of them. She drew a copy of the basic combat energy diagram that you left behind and brought it to the women's residences to encourage them not to forget the humiliation they had suffered and to be independent. Only after they awakened their combat energy would they not suffer the same humiliation … "Steward Spear began to narrate.
Loriste and Henned looked at each other, speechless …
"In the past six months, almost a hundred of those women have awakened their combat energy. Miss Bai Sha organized them and formed a female guard team. She brought them to practice with swords and spears every day. Last time, I told them to train their courage, so I chased away more than ten cows, goats, pigs, dogs, and other livestock from my place. I locked them up in the small courtyard and had the woman who had awakened her Dou Qi kill them alive. In the end, the entire manor was in chaos. I even alerted the guards of the family. Only then did they clean up the livestock that were running around in a frenzy.
The old steward fell at the end of last year and was a little confused. He was very obedient to Miss Bai Sha. Sir, you weren't here, so we couldn't do anything about it. Now, those women who had awakened their combat qi were getting fiercer and fiercer. More than a month ago, when the garrison went to harvest the winter wheat, they saw them helping out in the fields. Some of them teased them with their mouths, and as a result, those women swarmed them and beat them until their heads bled. Because of this, Knight Pacico went to find Miss Bertha, but he was taught a lesson and came back dejectedly. That's why we don't dare to mess with those women anymore …
As for the suffering you mentioned, I think it must be because Miss Bai Sha asked those women to train their bodies and awaken their combat energy, grow vegetables, raise chickens, and feed pigs. Some women who used to be pampered couldn't bear the suffering … "Steward Spear speculated.
"Exactly. My beauties all complained to me that it was very hard. They had to wash and cook in the winter, and their hands were callused. I was heartbroken, so I asked them to pack up and come with me. Then, that red-haired female knight of yours came with a group of rough women and refused to let us go. I only said a few words, and they pounced on us, "Henned complained.
"Forget it, I'll bring you there and pick up your women." Lolist smiled bitterly. He had to deal with this matter.
Everyone had their own ambitions. The same rice raised many different people. This saying from his previous life was very reasonable. Not all women could become independent after experiencing a disaster. For example, the women that Henned wanted to pick up had been spoiled since they were young. They were used to relying on men to survive. Miss Bai Sha was dreaming if she wanted these women to become independent.
The surviving women of Beiye Town lived in a courtyard to the north of the villa. There was a flat space in front of it, which was probably where the women usually trained. Lolist followed Steward Spear to the front of the courtyard. He ordered the women who were standing guard to gather everyone. He was going to announce their punishment today.
Miss Bai Sha was the first to rush out. She was stunned when she saw Lolist …
"Stand to the side. I'll deal with you after this is over," Lolist said coldly.
Miss Bai Sha stood to the side angrily.
Soon, all the women gathered in the empty space. Lolist's voice wasn't loud, but every woman heard him clearly.
"I am Earl Norton Lolist. Perhaps some of you know me. From my perspective, you are the children and relatives of traitors. I can sell you to slave traders and do whatever I want with you. But considering that your father and brother colluded with the Grand Duke of the Northern Land to lead a wolf into the house, causing your family to be destroyed and you to suffer great misfortune, as your lord, I sympathize with you, so I mercifully pardoned your sins. From today onwards, you are free.
As for your future, you are free to choose. One, you can rely on your friends and family, or you can stay here and rely on yourself. Two, you can follow me to Monolith Castle and start a new life with a man, or you can choose to be a maid of my family's knight and find a suitable job for yourself. Third, I will establish a female battalion. Those who have awakened combat power can choose to join. I will give them the same treatment as the guards of my family. Of course, those who haven't awakened combat power can join as reserve members, but apart from free food and lodging, they won't enjoy the treatment of an official member. If they awaken combat power in the future, they can officially join the female battalion.
I'll give you three days to think about your future. I'll ask Steward Spear to register your choices. You can ask her if you have any questions. That's all. Dismissed. "
"Henned, you can take your beauties away. Steward Spear, ask them if they are willing. If not, then forget it, "Lolist ordered.
After Henned and Steward Spear left, Lolist turned to Miss Bai Sha. "I'll also give you two choices. One, you can be in charge of the female battalion, but I'll take my brother's child. Two, take good care of my brother's child and don't interfere with family matters. "
"Why can't I take care of the female battalion and the child at the same time?" Miss Bai Sha was displeased.
Lolist shook his head. "Your personality isn't suited to be a good mother. You've never had a child before, so you don't know the pain of pregnancy. You won't be able to give the child the love of a real mother. Either you become a female general or a good mother. Your choice. "
"I can find a nanny …" Miss Bai Sha said.
Lolist sighed. "I understand your choice. From now on, you'll be in charge of the female battalion. I'll give you the rules and management plan in a few days. I'll have someone take the child away tonight. In the future, you'll have to ask for my permission if you want to see him. If you're unreasonable, I'll strip you of your family's knight status. Think about it carefully and leave. "
… …
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