The mercenaries that were sent to the Grahal Mountains either never returned or brought back useless information. The mercenaries that were sent to Erouine's Southern Legion did not return.
Brando knew that the mercenaries that were sent out were not necessarily reliable.
Raban, Cornelius, and Jutta all had their own plans, and most of the mercenaries just wanted to get by.
Some of the mercenaries that were sent out immediately ran away. Brando was aware of this, but he did not intend to force them to stay.
Only those who were willing to stay with him through thick and thin were trustworthy.
Of course, Brando was not going to sit around and wait for his death. As the shadows of the war from the Palas Kingdom loomed over Tónigel, he arranged for his trusted men to continue searching for Erouine's Southern Legion through Schafflund.
On the other hand, the construction of the fief was proceeding in an orderly manner.
The construction of the city walls was finally completed at the end of the Month of Frost. The construction period was a week later than expected, and the resources used were far more than expected. The only ones who benefited from this were the workers who were hired to repair the walls.
In fact, the construction did not go as smoothly as expected.
No one was willing to work for this young and 'illegitimate' lord. Graudin's prestige was still intact, and Count Randner's reputation was even heavier in the hearts of the people.
The originally agreed policy of appeasement was met with trouble almost immediately. Material benefits were not enough to overcome the fear of the old nobles, or the fear of revenge that would follow.
Amandina quickly realized that if the mercenaries did not seal off Abies's surroundings, or if the commoners were not equally fearful of Brando, there would have been a mass exodus.
After understanding this, she finally understood her mistake. She had no choice but to use force to make up for this mistake. In order to ensure the completion of the construction period, she even became a 'servant of the nobles'.
She personally led her men to the outskirts of the city and chased the commoners out of their huts. She ordered them to gather in the square and ordered the soldiers to give them tools. Then, she ordered the mercenaries to supervise their work.
Of course, even though she tried her best to reduce the amount of violence in her work, it was still unavoidable. The title 'Demon Lady' quickly spread among the commoners.
That day passed in the midst of the workers' coping and their resistance to the supervisors.
But this change in attitude came after the first day of work. Out of everyone's expectations, the 'Demon Lady' prepared a sumptuous dinner for them.
Not only was there a rare white bread for dinner, there was even a stew.
Of course, the stew did not live up to its name. It was so clear that there was only water and no meat. At a glance, it looked like a lake in the mountains. It was so clear that one could see the bottom. Amandina could not help but frown when she saw the pot of stew. But it was not because the mercenaries were harsh. The meat was obtained from the forest by the mercenaries. Even though there was a lot of meat, it was not enough for everyone to share.
Amandina was originally worried that the workers would complain, but the development of the situation was completely out of her expectations.
These refugees, who had been living in the slums all year round, could barely walk when they smelled the rich aroma of the broth. Their eyes became brighter than the hungriest wolf in the forest. In their eyes, white bread was a rare delicacy, and they could only get a little during festivals or on important days.
As for meat, it was only at the end of the year. It depended on whether the lord was in a good mood and would reward them with some leftovers.
As for whether it was clear or not, it did not matter.
In fact, when she saw the way the workers wolfed down the food, Amandina realized that she had made another mistake. She remembered the time when she was in Bruglas. She could only eat a little black bread every day, not to mention meat and fish.
Amandina used the power of this dinner to calm the hearts of the workers. She said that as long as they stayed at the construction site, everyone would be able to eat such food every day.
This promise almost caused a stir among the crowd. Although the workers were skeptical, most of them were willing to stay and see the situation. Not to mention that even if they did not want to stay, those fierce mercenaries would make the choice for them.
However, their doubts were soon dispelled. The 'Miss Devil' had indeed fulfilled her promise and allowed them to eat a piece of white bread and a small plate of stewed meat soup every night.
The direct result of this was that the amount of meat in the warehouse quickly decreased because there was not much to begin with. The meat in the warehouse came from the domesticated livestock in the territory. Most of them were mutton or pork, and some of them had been marinated for a long time.
In the past, the meat was provided for Graudin and his men, but now it was used to feed hundreds of people. Naturally, the supply could not meet the demand.
Felaern complained to Amandina more than once, saying that if she continued to consume like this, their lord would not be able to eat a single meal when Brando returned.
Amandina was moved by her words. On one side was the young lord whom she respected the most, and on the other side were the workers who came from the refugee camp. She did not have to think about it to choose the former.
But after thinking about it again and again, she insisted on her own way. She asked the mercenaries to hunt in the forest as much as possible, and even put aside their daily training just to replenish their meat consumption.
But this method brought about unexpected benefits. The workers gradually found out that the 'Demon Lady' arranged for them to hunt in the forest outside the city in order to ensure that they would have enough for dinner. She even arranged for them to hunt in the old lord's private hunting grounds!
This method moved everyone, and some even secretly asked the mercenaries to tell her that she did not need to spend so much money. In fact, it was already good enough to have white bread every day.
The workers began to worry that the young lord would punish the kind and benevolent noble lady because of this.
But their actions strengthened Amandina's confidence. Not only that, she also told the workers that it was not her, but the lord who arranged all of this, so they did not have to worry at all.
Amandina used this small explanation to push all the credit to Brendel. Coupled with the fact that the young lord had reduced the taxes previously, he had gained a high reputation among the lower class for a short period of time.
Of course, Brando did not know about this at that time. He was dealing with the matters of the mines in Schafflund and did not know what was happening in his territory.
In fact, Amandina did not think that her actions would be successful at first. She did not have any experience in managing a territory, and only had a few short discussions with Brando during the journey.
But she soon realized that she did not do anything wrong.
Less than a week after the implementation of the corresponding countermeasures, someone asked her through the mercenaries if the Count needed more manpower.
This was obviously a signal that her construction site could attract more workers. But that was not all. This meant that the old nobles' authority and the new lord's authority were beginning to waver.
This was no doubt a good sign.
But the only thing that Amandina regretted was that the good sign did not change the fact that the construction project was delayed. On one hand, too much time was wasted in the beginning, and on the other hand, none of them were proficient in construction and engineering.
Master Bosley's participation might have more or less made up for the lack of manpower, but the kingdom's blacksmith wasn't a true professional. He might have his own unique insights on how to craft a magical armor, but that didn't mean that he wasn't a true professional.
But it was definitely not repairing a section of the wall.
This dilemma was finally resolved when Odum, the old dwarf from Schafflund Mines, joined in. No matter how unreliable the old dwarf was, he had at least learned a few things from his fellow Mountain Dwarves.
After correcting a few of the original misconceptions, the construction process quickly accelerated, and by the end of the month, it was finally completed.
On the morning of the completion of the project, Amandina invited Brando, Metisha, The Shire, and all of the young man's trusted subordinates. Amandina, Scarlett, and Roman stood in the morning mist, quietly looking at the wall that was looming in the early winter mist. Amandina could not help but let out a long sigh.
But then she frowned slightly and turned to look at Brando who was also looking in the same direction. She said apologetically: "I'm sorry, my lord, for wasting so much time —"
Brando looked at his aide with eyes full of praise.
He remembered that when he was in Braggs, he felt lucky that he was able to find a subordinate who could create a Mana Channeling Device. This was undoubtedly something that made him happier than picking up gold by the roadside.
But it was only today that he realized that he had not only picked up a treasure, but also a priceless treasure.
Amandina was a quiet girl, but she had her own principles. Brando could see that she was determined to uphold her ideals and beliefs. He felt that he was worthy of having such an outstanding girl serve him wholeheartedly.
After returning to his territory, he carefully understood the work of this noble girl. He was originally worried that Amandina, who had no experience in governing a territory, would run into a lot of trouble. He even estimated that the wall would take until next month.
It would only be completed in the middle of the Slumbering Month. Even though it was not a big problem, it would be more or less inconvenient if it was delayed until the first snowfall.
But Amandina gave him a big surprise. She completed the task with her usual seriousness and meticulousness, exceeding his expectations.
Not only that, Bosley and Odum's performance was also satisfactory, with the exception of the old dwarf who seemed to be a little timid.
He looked at Amandina and nodded with a faint smile of approval. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please go to www.qidian.com, there are more chapters. Support the author, support the original reading!)
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