Chapter 602 Belk Loren

In a room covered with sky blue carpets and furnished with large bookshelves, precious oil paintings, and silver lampstands, Belk Laurent stood respectfully in front of the desk and reported to Edmund Moen who was sitting behind the desk. About his experiences in the Eastern Territory.

The young prince, who was wearing a black coat and had grown a beard, listened seriously to every word in the report with a serious expression. Belk always maintained his sincere respect and was unwilling to let his There is no flaw in the report:

“The banditry in Hall County and Rentattle County has subsided. A batch of unmarked gold coins were found in their hideout. It is judged that these gold coins do come from local lords - after you issued the relevant control decrees, there are still some local nobles who are raising 'Black Gloves' privately..."

"This is already an expressly prohibited behavior , must be severely punished, the nobles involved have two choices, either reduce the title by one level, or hand over half of the land or money of equivalent value," Edmund Morn said with an unhappy expression.

Belk then reported on a series of changes and current conditions in the rear of the Eastern Territory, and also mentioned the recent activities of the White Sand Mining Company. Edmund made various decisions based on what he reported. Appropriate arrangement, there are some things that Belk cannot handle or have others to handle, Edmund will also talk about his disposal plan, or have a frank discussion with the young Marquis in front of him.

Be frank, serious, fair and patient.

No matter how many times he came into contact with Edmund Morn, Belk could not help but think of similar words in his mind.

He looked at the prince who was not much different in age from him, watched him seriously thinking about the solution to the problem, and proposed various admirable plans, and he could feel that the other person really cared about it. He is working hard to govern this land and thinking of ways to bring prosperity to this kingdom. This belief and action are what make him sincerely loyal to the other party.

However...the dark corners still exist.

Belk felt a sense of loss and entanglement in his heart, and before he spoke, Edmund noticed the change in his expression. The prince cast his gaze: "Belk, what else is going on?"< /p>

Berk frowned and did not hide anything: "Your Highness, in many areas in the East, your serf freedom bill has encountered unexpected... setbacks. Only a few serfs have truly obtained the status of free citizens. Most...are still tied to the land. Due to this situation, there has been almost no progress in land reform in these areas, and the factories cannot recruit any people-even training cannot be carried out.”

Edmund looked at him quietly: "Why?"

"Various reasons - but most of them are due to obstacles set up by landowners. Some of them require serfs to redeem their allotments of land. 'In order to gain freedom, some required the serfs to hand over the entire harvest of the first year, while others directly drove the serfs away from the farm or orchard after declaring them to be freedmen..."

EgyptDemonn closed his eyes slightly, as if trying to keep his breathing calm, and then he opened his eyes with deep eyes: "So, the serfs who obtained 'freedom' couldn't survive, right?"

This time, Edmund was silent for a longer time, and it was not until half a minute later that Belk He heard a calm voice coming from the front: "I understand."

"Your Highness, maybe we should..."

Belk couldn't wait to speak, but he stopped mid-sentence. Interrupted by Edmund: "Berk, I will discuss this matter with Duke Laurent - he is more experienced in the land. As for you, you have a new task."

Although Belk He was still thinking about the serfs, but his loyalty made him immediately respond to the prince's new instructions: "Your Highness, please give me your orders."

Edmund's expression became serious. He picked up the water glass at hand and drank. He took a sip of saliva to moisten his throat, and then said in a deep voice: "About the cult activities that have become more and more rampant recently, and about those believers in the death of all things..."

...

Walk out of the main hall of the castle Behind the gate, Belk Laurent's footsteps seemed heavier than before.

He originally thought that the outdated conservative nobles, roaming bandits, and deluded people in the East were already huge obstacles and problems, but he did not expect that there was another huge obstacle in the Solinburg area. trouble.

The Death Society of All Things... When did such a dark sect that only dared to tinker with conspiracies in the gutter become such a huge hazard? They actually reached out to the Great Wall and the Wasteland of Gondor? !

According to His Highness the Prince, the corruption and spread of those cultists within the kingdom have exceeded people’s expectations. They spread among the poor, among the citizens, and even among extraordinary people and nobles. Their doomsday theories are obviously absurd and crazy...but why do so many people continue to believe them and destroy themselves?

A cold but refreshing north wind blew, and Belk suddenly woke up. Only then did he notice that the wind and snow outside had stopped at some point. At this moment, there were only large patches of snow. Silver covers courtyards, paths and rooftops.

The knight-in-waiting came over with his horse and bowed respectfully beside the young marquis: "Sir, you want to..."

Belk waved his hand and asked the knight-in-waiting to retreat. Next: "Take the horse back, I want to go to the city for a walk - on foot."

At this time of year, most of the inhabited places have turned into depression and deserted, even as the Holy Spirit Plain "Solin Castle", a famous big city in the eastern region, is no exception. Outside of the warm castle, the entire city where civilians live is cold and deserted, with few pedestrians. Even when walking on the widest street, the number of passers-by you can see is quite limited. .

But in fact, seeing civilian passers-by on the street is already a sign of liveliness and prosperity - at least there are people who are willing to be here.Going out in the cold weather, at least the most basic commercial and social activities are still running among the city's civilians, which is hard to see in the ordinary countryside.

Belk did not ride a horse, nor did he wear armor. He just wore a wolfskin cloak lined with knight uniforms and strolled casually among the streets of Solinburg's western city.

Ever since the Eastern Legion occupied this city that once belonged to the royal family, he has never had the opportunity to stroll on the streets with such a casual attitude. As the heir of the Eastern Guardian Duke, he always has countless things to do. Studying and busy, although he accepted a new task assigned by the prince today, this task cannot be carried out immediately - he first needs to arrange for his subordinates to collect and summarize information on heretical sacrifices, missing people, and the spread of abnormal diseases in the surrounding areas. , and then he could take action in person, and before that, he finally had a little free time.

Unfortunately, this free time was in winter, and he did not have the opportunity to see many interesting folk scenes.

Walking aimlessly and looking at the deserted streets, Belk finally sighed.

There is really nothing to see, and walking in winter is the most boring.

The young Marquis turned around and prepared to leave this place.

However, just before he took a step, a sudden sound suddenly reached his ears.

The voice was mixed with curses and body blows, and there was also a faint muffled groan.

Belk frowned and looked towards the direction of the sound, which was still two blocks away - a distance that ordinary people's hearing would never be able to hear.

He stepped forward, his figure passing through a series of phantoms on the nearly empty street. After a few seconds, he arrived at the alley and saw what happened in the alley——< /p>

A few tall and strong men were surrounding there, punching and kicking a thin figure that was already curled up on the ground, and shouting rude curses. On the ground near them, a The wooden basin was knocked over and a dozen pieces of clothing were scattered around.

This disgusting scene made Belk's face darken, and he immediately shouted: "Stop - what are you doing?!"

The sudden shout made the man standing The perpetrators stopped for a moment, and they turned to look in the direction of the sound. Originally, each of them had anger on their faces, as if they wanted to teach the person who intervened, but after seeing the tall young man in the alley, these Almost instantly, people came to a stunned silence, followed by several soft gasps.

"Sir...Sir..."

Someone whispered, and Belk looked at the person who spoke: "What happened here?"

After seeing these people's strong bodies, neat clothes, and their expressions of instant recognition of themselves, he had vaguely guessed their identities.

"Sir...I...we are teaching a criminal a lesson," the person who spoke first said tremblingly.Said, "She...she was a washerwoman, but she stole her employer's clothes..."

She?

Belk lowered his head and saw that the thin figure that had been curled up on the ground due to the beating was getting up little by little, shivering and crawling towards the clothes scattered on the ground and the wooden tree. Basin, her withered and dry hair was spread loosely behind her head, she was wearing a shabby dress whose original color could no longer be seen, and many rags were tied to her legs to protect against the cold. She looked up and revealed a picture without Too much blood, a face that is dry and yellow due to malnutrition.

She was a woman, not beautiful at all. Only her eyes left a deep impression on Belk.

But if she is very beautiful, she may face more than just punches and kicks here.

Belk lowered his head and looked calmly at the washerwoman who was picking up clothes - some of the clothes still had moisture and were about to freeze on the ground: "Whose clothes did you steal?"

The washerwoman lowered her head and said in a very soft voice: "No one stole anything, sir."

"Sir, look, she is still lying!" Among the men standing around One of them immediately shouted loudly, "She stole..."

"Stealed yours?" Belk raised his head and stared at the man who made the noise.

The man immediately fell silent.

“Stole it from you?” Belk turned his eyes again and looked at the next person.

That person was also silent.

"Yours?" "Or yours?"

No one responded.

"Very good, at least you don't dare to continue lying," Belk looked at them, and every word made these people's necks shrink a little more, "At least I don't have to send your bodies to Go back to the Eastern Territory."

These people are Eastern Territory soldiers who are on duty to rest.

Except for the soldiers who occupied the city, few people were as strong as them, wearing warm winter clothes, with extra energy, and could instantly recognize Belk Loren in regular clothes.

Belk lowered his head again and looked at the washerwoman who had picked up all the clothes and was standing by the tub with her head lowered: "Are you a local?"

The washerwoman still He lowered his head, as if he didn't dare to look up: "...Yes, sir."

Belk nodded, and his eyes fell on the scum among the soldiers again. He took a breath, but then Slowly calmed down the magic power in the body.

Army, discipline, this is Prince Edmund's order.

"Bully the civilians, deceive the superiors, go to your centurions, each receive thirty lashes, confine themselves for a week, and their military pay will be halved this month."

Those scum are frightened and depressed. The ground left.

The washerwoman still knelt on the ground, head bowed, beside her tub and the clothes that needed to be re-starched.

"Raise your head."

Belk said calmly.

He sawThe other person raised his head slightly, but quickly lowered it again, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

Belk sighed inwardly, squatted down, and was eye level with the other party, looking at the malnourished face that had nothing to do with beauty, and the eyes that were in awe mixed with numbness. .

On other occasions, in the banquet hall of the castle, countless beautiful ladies from well-known families would be willing to pay the price of a manor in exchange for someone who could look him in the eye at such a close distance. opportunity.

"Those people are the scum of the Eastern Territory and cannot represent the army of the Eastern Territory."

The washerwoman immediately lowered her head and responded: "Yes, sir."

He thought for a moment, put away the gold coins, and then rummaged through another pocket for a long time, finally finding some copper plates and cut silver pieces.

He threw the coins into the washerwoman's tub, then stood up: "This is the compensation given to you by the East - you can use them to buy bread and change into warm clothes. ”

The washerwoman’s eyes fell on the jingling coins. She carefully put them away, her movements were light and serious. After doing all this, Belk heard the other party Suddenly he asked:

"Sir, can you give everyone bread and warm clothes for the winter?"

This unexpected question made Belk stunned. Suddenly, I subconsciously wanted to tell the other person - of course he can.

He is the eldest son of the Guardian Duke, the Marquis of Belk Laurent, and the future master of the Eastern Territory. He has countless manors and fields in his private name, even if half of them have been lost in response to Edmund The prince's decree was donated to the legions or distributed to serfs and tenants in the territory. He also had the ability to distribute food and clothing for the winter to every civilian in Solinburg.

However, the washerwoman had already stood up, bowed respectfully, and left with the tub and the clothes in it.