Laurist went upstairs and found his little maid, Elina, leaning on the windowsill and staring into the distance …
Laurist quietly walked behind her and looked in the direction she was looking at. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Under the silver moonlight, there was a dome-shaped hill in the distance. The grass on the hill swayed, and a few white elks were jumping and playing under the moonlight like a group of white elves.
Elina discovered that Laurist had come behind her and shivered, her petite body starting to tremble uncontrollably …
Laurist wrapped his arms around the trembling maid and pulled her into his embrace. He laughed softly and said, "Am I that scary? It's not like I'm going to eat you, so why are you trembling? Right, why are there white deer on that hill? It's so strange. "
The little maid, Elina, only calmed down after trembling in Laurist's embrace. She leaned against Laurist's chest as if she had accepted her fate. When she heard Laurist's question, she stammered, "Th-that's White Deer Hill. Every time the silver moon hangs high in the sky, white deer will appear. In the past, there were people in the family who wanted to capture these white deer, but they didn't see a single one after lying in ambush on that hill for a few days. After they left, the white deer appeared. So, the people in the family say that these white deer are the pets of the Silver Moon Goddess, Daphne. Us mortals can't catch them, and it's already very lucky to see them. "
Laurist lowered his head and kissed Elina's cheek lightly. "Elina, you did well this afternoon. Keep up the good work tomorrow. Go to bed tonight. I still have something to do in the study. "
… …
Laurist was woken up by the monotonous, ear-piercing sound of sawing wood. He reached out to feel around, but there was no one beside him. His maid, Elina, had already gotten out of bed. She must have gone downstairs. Laurist got out of bed. As he put on his clothes, he moved to the window and looked down. Indeed, the illegitimate son of his father and the cook, Edward Walker, was sawing wood again. However, what made Laurist feel strange was that he had been sawing a wooden plank yesterday. Why was he sawing a tree stump today?
Laurist first went to see Berunik, and was relieved to see that his complexion was good. He took his pulse and chatted with him for a while, then instructed the tall maid to take good care of him. Only then did he take his leave and go downstairs with his sword. In the courtyard downstairs, there were already four guards doing their morning exercises. The Iron-ranked Sergeant Moss was currently instructing his three Bronze-ranked guards in sword and shield combat techniques.
Laurist nodded at them and walked to the well at the side to fetch a bucket of water to wash his face and rinse his mouth. Just as he was about to start his morning training, he saw Edward sawing wood while looking at Moss and the rest with an envious gaze …
Laurist walked over, pointed at Moses and the others, and asked, "You want to be like them?"
Edward glanced at Laurist and didn't say anything. He only increased the pace of sawing wood …
"Oh, right, you're sawing wood every day. What do you want to make?" Laurist asked again.
"I'm not making anything," Edward said in a low voice. "I just need these sawdust."
"Sawdust? What's it for? "Laurist asked curiously.
"Edible. Mixed with flour to make bread," Edward said.
"Mixed with flour to make bread?" Laurist almost fainted. What did he mean? Could these sawdust be eaten? Whose idea was that? Also, why didn't I see any sawdust in the bread I ate?
"Wait, stop sawing. Who told you to do this? Find him and talk to me." Laurist stopped Edward from sawing.
The warehouse manager, Spear, quickly appeared in front of Laurist. "My lord, this is a family tradition. More than a hundred years ago, our manor and castle were besieged by the Mountain Barbarians for half a year. There wasn't enough food in the castle, so the head of the family, Lord Baron, ordered that the sawdust be mixed with flour to make bread for the guards to fill their stomachs. Finally, when the Mountain Barbarians ran out of food and had to retreat, Lord Baron took the opportunity to lead the guards to launch a counterattack. They defeated the Mountain Barbarian army and achieved a great victory. Since then, the Mountain Barbarians have not been able to gather an army of more than a thousand people to fight against the Norton Family. To commemorate that battle, the Lord Baron ordered that every bread made from sawdust be mixed with one-tenth of the sawdust. One reason was to save food, and the other was to let future generations remember that victory. "
"So, from then on, the position of sawyer was set up in the family to provide sawdust for bread," said Steward Spear.
"Why isn't there sawdust in the bread I eat?" Laurist asked.
"My lord, of course there isn't sawdust in the bread you eat. Bread with sawdust is given to the guards and servants," Spear replied.
"Sh * t, it was because of the lack of food. We had no choice but to mix sawdust. Now that the family has so much food that it's almost moldy, there must be something wrong with the brain to mix sawdust into the flour. Spear, pass down my order. From today onwards, no sawdust or other messy things are allowed to be mixed into the flour. If they wanted to make bread, then they should do it well. Only by letting the guards and servants of the family eat well would they be able to do their jobs better. Oh, Edward Walker, your position as a sawsawyer has been revoked.
You don't have to saw sawdust anymore, "Laurist decided.
"My lord, this, this isn't traditional …" Spear said doubtfully.
Laurist stared at her coldly. "Do you know, Spear, the decision I make now will become a tradition in my grandson's generation? Do you have any more questions?"
"No, no, my lord, I don't have any questions. I will do as you say." Spear lowered her head respectfully.
Laurist rubbed his chin. "But we can't forget the glory of our ancestors. How about this, Chief Spear, go and find out when the siege was won. From now on, we will eat a piece of bread mixed with sawdust every year as a commemoration. This way, we won't forget the glory of our ancestors. What do you think?"
"My lord, you have made a wise decision." Spear bowed deeply.
"What about me? What should I do? "The unemployed Edward Walker didn't know what to do.
"Report to the guards. You have a good body, and it's a pity that you don't become a soldier of the family. I will guide you in awakening your combat energy. Edward Walker, when you awaken your combat energy and advance to the silver rank, I will allow you to take the Norton surname and enter your family tree as a side branch. What do you think? "Laurist said.
Edward Walker scratched his head and thought for a moment. "Alright, I will try my best."
…
In the afternoon, Laurist went to the gathering camp for the two newly formed guard squads. It was in a plaza beside the vineyard behind the manor castle. Steward Hansk was already waiting there. He had chosen twelve former family soldiers and was currently conducting simple formation training for the two squads.
Paciko walked over and bowed to Laurist. "My lord, the slave camp is ready. We can leave at any time."
Laurist nodded. "Knight Paciko, tell me about the situation in the slave camp."
"My lord, there are 382 young men in the slave camp. Among them, 67 have awakened combat energy and 244 family members. Their belongings were all ready. Where do you want us to go, my lord? "Paciko asked.
"There's no rush. We still have to wait for two days." Laurist said, "By the way, Manager Hansk, I remember that our family doesn't have a habit of using slaves. Where did these slaves come from?"
Manager Hansk smiled bitterly. "My lord, the truth is that they aren't treated as slaves here. These slaves were actually obtained by the eldest young master a few years ago when he went on an expedition. You can ask Knight Paciko. He was also captured by the eldest young master and brought to our manor castle with these slaves. "
Paciko nodded. "Yes, these slaves are similar to me. They were all captives during the civil war. When I was captured, the eldest young master told me that he wanted to bring these slaves back to his territory and build a new town. When the time came, he would release these slaves and make them his subjects. Thus, the eldest young master paid attention to the captives with their families. Many of them were exchanged with other nobles. The eldest young master said that with their families, these captives would be able to settle down in the territory. The eldest young master originally planned to start building the town with around three thousand people, but I didn't expect him to leave so early … "
Manager Hansk said, "My lord, after the eldest young master passed away, we didn't know what to do with these slaves. These past few years, these slaves have been very free in our manor castle apart from farming, picking grapes, and doing some farm work. As long as they stay in their own camp and don't cause trouble in the manor castle, we basically didn't care much about them. On the contrary, we even provided them with food and clothing. Afterwards, Old Manager Clancy felt that it wasn't good to leave them alone, so he entrusted them to Knight Paciko. "
"If that's the case, then don't call them slave camps anymore. Just treat them as our subjects and increase their food and lodging," Lollister said.
"Also, I realized that I made a mistake when I assigned you the tasks yesterday. I was too impatient and only wanted to reorganize the family's armed forces. I forgot that the manor castle also needs labor for daily labor. This is my fault. How about this, Manager Hansk, I'll have to trouble you to do another calculation. First, calculate how much labor is needed to maintain the family's manor castle. This time, include the people under Knight Paciko's management. Then, calculate how many young adults and their families can join the newly formed guards. This way, we will know how much extra people there are in the manor castle. I plan to move these extra people to the castle construction site in the Morgan Hills. That will be an important stronghold for the family in the future. "
"Knight Pacico, you will assist Steward Hansk. Combine the 40 or so guards who have awakened their impetus with the original 40 or so guards. Add that to the two newly formed squads of guards who have awakened their impetus and form a new squad of 120 guards. You will be the one to lead them. In addition, the original group of 40 guards will have all the veterans over the age of 40 as instructors. They will be responsible for the training of the two small teams of guards. From tomorrow onwards, I will teach the two small teams of guards how to awaken their combat energy. Even if those who are not part of the guard team want to learn the awakening of combat energy, do not stop them. After I finish training them, I will select suitable candidates to join the small team of guards. Understood? "
"Yes, sir." Paciko stood at attention.
On the other hand, Manager Hansk thought about it and nodded.
For the next two days, Laurist was as busy as a bee. He checked the pulse of all the young men in the manor castle who were willing to awaken their combat qi. He then divided them into twenty small teams and entrusted them to twenty old soldiers to train. Laurist also made different training plans and dietary rules for each team member according to their physical condition. He also had Knight Pacico supervise them strictly. By the time Laurist was done with his work, the convoy escorted by Josk and Padt had also arrived at the manor castle.
This time, Josk brought to Laurist twenty-four four-wheeled carriages and sixty-seven mercenary captives. In addition, there were also twenty thousand imperial silver coins, one hundred barrels of rubber vine juice, more than seven hundred pieces of leather armor, one hundred and seventy sets of iron chain armor, and more than a thousand weapons.
After hugging Josk warmly, Laurist asked about the castle construction site in the Morgan Hills. Josk said everything was fine. Miss Tracy had already arranged for the slaves to dig the moat and build the wall, so there was no need to worry.
Josk then asked Laurist what he should do after returning to the manor castle. Laurist said he would take a break first, then escort a batch of people and food back to the castle construction site in two days. When the time came, Laurist would also return with Josk. But before going back, he had to arrange things here first. For now, he should go see the mercenaries who had surrendered.
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