While the army's construction was on track, Bellian's refugee recruitment plan also achieved remarkable results. In more than half a month, more than 100 households of refugees, and about 400 people, came to Fort Nolandenburg to join the army.
Although the proportion of young and strong men in the team that opened up wasteland and built castles and villages was only about one-third, the addition of more than a hundred strong laborers really accelerated the construction of Nolandenburg.
It turned out that in order to better attract the refugees, Balian arranged four teams. Each team was composed of a coachman, a cook, a loud and eloquent person, and two mercenaries responsible for protecting their safety. They drove
They drove a carriage to the intersection of the main road around Fort Nolandenburg and set up a stove to cook wheat porridge. The person in charge saw the refugees passing by and acted like they were introducing the recruitment policy of Fort Nolandenburg, so he was willing to follow them on the spot.
If you go, you will be rewarded with a bowl of wheat porridge. Few refugees who have been starving in the forest or in shabby houses in the city all winter can withstand such temptation. Many people just want to drink a hot, fragrant wheat porridge.
Porridge, I decided to go to Nolandenburg to work.
This is how the Riano family was attracted. Their family of four, Riano, his wife Sul, fifteen-year-old daughter Louisa, and thirteen-year-old son Dunk, fled their home before the cold winter arrived.
, came to the city of Yangweixuo to spend the winter. Their family didn't want to go through such trouble, but last year's harvest was average, and the lord of his village gave them these in order to buy a set of good armor and a horse for his eldest son.
Heavy taxes were imposed on the yeoman farmers. In order not to be thrown into prison by the lord on the pretext of tax arrears and sold into slavery, he had no choice but to sell the five acres of cultivated land that he had worked hard to cultivate for two generations, as well as most of the grain harvested this year.
He paid taxes to the lord, but as a result, his family had no food for the winter.
In order to survive this cold winter for his family, Liano and a serf family in his village embarked on a wandering journey together with several yeoman families from neighboring villages. They followed the Knights Road from Alpine Province to Janvik.
They set out for Shuocheng because in their memories of growing up, they had experienced going to warm seaport cities to spend the winter with their families several times. They had nothing to do but slept in the open air along the way. When they passed some manors, they were blackmailed by the guards inside.
Riano was spotted by the guards patrolling the manor because he peed on the side of the road, and was fined fifty li. The reason was that his urine polluted the land and would cause damage to the land within a radius of about ten paces.
Where grass will not grow.
Riano was very angry after hearing this nonsense excuse, but he couldn't help it. They had knives and guns in their hands. If he dared to resist, he might not only suffer for himself, but also bring trouble to his family. Riano had no choice.
, had to pay a fine, and their family only had three silver coins and more than one hundred copper coins in total. They were extorted from nearly one-third of their family wealth. This was money for the family to survive. Riano and his wife
I felt very distressed, but there was nothing I could do about it. During the following days on the road, the Riano family did not dare to go near the manor during the day. They only dared to urinate and defecate when no one was around or at night. This was very torture, and sometimes
I almost wet my pants from holding it in.
In this way, after two snowfalls, their family arrived at the city of Yangvikshuo. However, the city lord, Count Grie, had issued an order prohibiting refugees from entering the city of Yangvikshuo, because since the beginning of winter, too many refugees had come here to take refuge, causing the city to
Not to mention the chaos, the number of security cases increased sharply, and the city defense camp and the security team were overwhelmed. It was for this reason that Earl Gerry ordered a ban on refugees entering the city. Since then, more than a thousand refugees have been in Yangweixuo.
I lived outside the city. After all, it wasn't that cold here. It was close to the harbor, so I could get some fish and shrimp to eat. I could also go to the dock to do some labor and earn some money.
Many other refugee families built shacks on the spot, but in order to live more comfortably, the Riano family spent one dinar to rent a cargo shed next to the dock. During the day, Riano took the
His son Dunk went to work on the wharf. When he was lucky, the father and son could earn about ten ounces and brought back half a pound of black bread and two salted fish. When they were unlucky, they could not find any work.
I can go buy a pound of rotten wheat and two carrots for five soles, and then come back and cook wheat porridge for the whole family. Although such a life is hard, I can still survive it.
Less than a month after such a day, Earl Gerry sent out the city defense team to forcibly drive away the refugees gathered outside the city. This was because Earl Gerry was out of town.
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When he came for winter hunting, his beloved horse stepped on a hollow outside the city. Not only did the horse's leg break, Earl Grie also fell off the horse. He was so embarrassed. In order to shirk responsibility, Earl Grie's guards said:
This hole must have been dug by the refugees outside the city, otherwise how could there be holes on the wide road.
Count Gerry listened to their words and in a rage, ordered the city defense team to forcibly expel the refugees staying outside the city of Yangweixuo. The soldiers from the city defense camp broke into the refugee camp like tigers and wolves, and forcibly demolished their shacks.
They also robbed the refugees of their belongings and killed any refugees who dared to resist, or captured them and punished them as serfs. For a while, the refugees fled away crying, and the situation was very miserable.
Because the Riano family rented a cargo shed, the city defense battalion soldiers did not regard them as refugees. The family escaped temporarily, but they were afraid of being discovered later, so they spent two dinars to bribe the management at the dock.
They bought temporary identities for their family. With this temporary identity, the family escaped two rounds of searches by the city defense camp and spent this cold winter in fear.
By the time spring came, Liano's family had lost a lot of weight, but they were much luckier than his companions who came to Yangweixuo City together, were driven away, and even caught in prison. After all, the whole family was intact.
Well, although I don’t have much money on me now, I can barely save enough for my trip back.
Coriano's plan couldn't keep up with the changes. On the way back, they encountered bandits and robbed them. Although the family ran fast and saved their lives, the bags containing food and money bags were lost during the escape. Now the family only has
Eighty or ninety copper coins are not enough for food these days, let alone returning to my hometown.
Just after the family marched anxiously for two days while hungry, they met the recruitment team of Fort Nolandenburg. When they saw such a good opportunity, the family did not think of it. After a drink, they
After a bowl of hot wheat porridge, he followed other refugees and the labor recruiter to Nolandenburg Castle. Since Riano was not only a stonemason, but also a craftsman who had participated in the construction of the castle, Mark directly arranged for the family to work as a craftsman.
Living in the area, there is no need to build a shack by yourself, there is also a ready-made cabin to live in. As for the salary, Mark will judge how much salary to give to Riano after he actually works.
The Riano family felt that their experience in the past two days was like going from hell to heaven. From starving, sleeping in the open air, to now having a clean house to live in, two hot meals a day, and even more food every week in the future.
Salary, for this family, before coming to Nolandenburg, these were simply things that they could not even think about.
Riano's wife Sul touched the newly exposed table boards in the wooden house and shed tears excitedly, "Riano, this lord is such a good man. This house is much better than the shack we have at home."
"More." Riano was also quite emotional. He hugged his son Dunk and daughter Luisa and said to his children: "During this period, you have suffered. In the following days, we will work hard to earn some."
With the money, we can redeem the land when the time comes, so we don’t have to flee in the winter.”
After hearing this, his wife Su Er's expression that was a little happy immediately dimmed, "Hey! I don't know how much it will cost to redeem the five acres of land. Before we fled, I heard the cook in the castle say
, the lord's second son will be sent to the palace of Valombre as a knight's attendant, and he will also need to buy a decent set of armor and a good horse, and I'm afraid there will be additional taxes."
After listening to his wife's words, Riano lowered his head weakly. Seeing his father like this, his daughter Luisa said: "Father, I want to work with you and my brother. I will definitely make enough money."
Riano touched Luisa's head with affection in his eyes, "Silly boy, you and your mother can do some simple work. With Dunk and me, our family's life will definitely get better. I promise you.
, there is no need to hide in Yangweixuo City this winter."
Just when the Liano family was feeling sad and happy, and confused about the future, Bellian and Mark were inspecting the residences of the refugees. Based on whether they had professional skills, Bellian divided the refugees into two camps, and targeted the refugees with skills.
We must focus on treating and winning over families, and strive to keep them. After all, Fort Nolandenburg is short of craftsmen. The camps arranged for craftsman families are all small wooden houses. These
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The cabins are all designed by Bellian based on the park cabins of his previous life. Each cabin is of the same standard and size. The carpenters make the components of the cabin according to the drawings. After being transported to the camp, they are like building blocks.
, just put them together on flat land and fix them with nails. A group of five or six construction workers can assemble three to five houses a day. The speed is quite fast. Fifteen wooden houses have been assembled so far.
Each house is not big, with only two rooms for people to live in. Since it is used to house refugees, Bellian did not consider giving them a living room, a space they do not need. There is no furniture in the house, only two beds and two tree stumps.
Balian also knew that the finished seat could reach this level, which was already the limit of the workshop managed by Hama. After all, they still had to make armor, weapons, agricultural tools, etc., so they were very busy every day.
The residence of ordinary refugees is not far from these wooden houses. Mark organized people to build a camp with a circumference of 2,000 paces with sharp wooden stakes. The refugees built their own shacks in it, using the leftover materials from the construction of the wooden houses.
Branches and other branches obtained during land reclamation were piled in the middle of the camp, and the refugees used them to build their own shacks.
The reason for the fence with sharp wooden stakes was mainly because there were a lot of refugees coming, and there was a mix of good and bad. Who knew if there were people sent by Baron Raul to cause trouble here. Balian asked Mark to control the camps of these refugees and strictly enforce the rules at night.
Curfew policy. Now the population of Fort Norlandenburg is less than 300. In two days, the number of refugees will reach more than a thousand. Once trouble occurs, Fort Norlandenburg's current military power will not be able to control it at all. That is exactly
Considering this problem, Balian locked these refugees in a closed space, so that if something happened, there would be a buffer time to deal with it.
Mark accompanied Balian on a tour of the refugee camp, and happened to walk to the door of the Liano family. Mark told Balian that there lived an architect who had built a castle. Balian was very curious and decided to go in and take a look. In the Middle Ages,
What does an architect look like? Just like that, the Riano family, who were reminiscing about the past and worrying about the future, heard a knock on the door.
Liano let go of the hands holding his son and daughter, walked out of the room, and opened the door. When he saw Mark, Liano quickly bent down and saluted. He knew that his family could live in a comfortable wooden house instead of like a wooden house.
Like other refugees, they live in a shack because of this housekeeper. In the following time, this housekeeper will almost control the fate of their family, and of course Riano does not dare to neglect him.
Seeing Riano salute, Mark helped him up, and then introduced him: "Riano, this is the owner of Fort Nolandenburg, the palace knight, and the county inspector directly under the jurisdiction of Lord Balian."
As soon as he heard that the lord was coming, Liano knelt down quickly. When his wife and a pair of children saw this, they also knelt down on the ground to show respect.
"You guys get up and talk." Balian was still not used to people at this time, and he would kneel down at every turn.
After hearing Balian's words, Liano stood up tremblingly and glanced at Mark, trying to get some hints from the head lord, but Mark didn't look at him at this time, which left Liano at a loss.
Seeing him like this, Balian shook his head helplessly, "Maybe you feel comfortable kneeling on the ground, but I still think it's better to stand or sit. With you kneeling on the ground like this, I can only talk to you with my head lowered.
My head and neck can easily hurt, Riano, for the sake of my neck, you have to stand up and answer me."
After Balian said it in a joking tone, the Liano family stood up in relief. At this time, Balian could clearly see the appearance of this man. He was not very tall, with short gray-brown hair, and his palms were short, thick and rough.
People who engage in heavy physical work for a long time.
Tur and Bran moved the two tree stumps out of the house. After Balian sat down, he asked Liano to sit down. "I heard that you are an architect? You have also built a castle before."
Liano nodded, "Sir, I was once an architect apprentice. During the past ten years, I followed my teacher and participated in the design and construction of more than a dozen lord's castles. I also participated in the construction of some guard towers and the repair of city walls.
"
"You have built so many castles. Overall, what are your thoughts on buildings with guard functions like castles?" Bellian asked Riano like an interview.