Chapter 602 Belk Lauren

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In a room covered with sky blue carpets, furnished with large bookshelves, precious oil paintings, and silver lampstands, Berk Lauren respectfully stood in front of the desk and reported to Edmund Moen, who was sitting behind the desk, that he was in the room. Eastern experience.

Wearing a black coat, the young prince with a beard listened to every sentence in the report with a serious and serious expression. Belk always maintained his sincere respect and did not want to let his report have the slightest flaw:

"The bandits in Hall County and Rentatel County have subsided, and a batch of unmarked gold coins were found in their hideouts. Through the identification of finding objects, it was preliminarily judged that these gold coins really came from the local lords-in your After promulgating the relevant control laws, there are still some local nobles who keep 'black gloves' in private..."

"This is already a forbidden act, and it must be severely punished. The nobles involved have two choices, either reduce their title by one rank, or hand over half of the land or money of equivalent value." Edmund Moen said with an unpleasant expression on his face. .

Next, Belk reported a series of changes and the status quo in the rear of the eastern border, and also mentioned the recent activities of the White Sands Mining Company. Edmund made various appropriate arrangements based on the situation he reported, some of which were For things that Belk could not handle or had others handle, Edmund would also talk a little about his disposal plan, or have a frank discussion with the young Marquis in front of him.

Candid, serious, fair and patient.

No matter how many times he came into contact with Edmund Moen, Belk couldn't help but say words similar to it.

He looked at the prince who was not too far behind him, watched the other party seriously thinking about the solution to the problem, and proposed various admirable plans. He could feel that the other party was really working hard to govern the land. Thinking of a way to bring prosperity to this kingdom, and this belief and action, is what makes him sincerely loyal to each other.

Yet... the dark corners remain.

There was a trace of loss and entanglement in Belk's heart, and before he spoke, Edmund noticed the change in his expression, and the prince cast his eyes: "Belk, what else is going on?"

Belk frowned and did not hide: "Your Highness, in many areas in the eastern border, there have been unexpected... setbacks in your serf freedom bill. Only a few serfs have truly obtained the status of free people, and most of them are still... Being tied to the land, there has been little progress in land reform in these areas, and the factories have not been able to recruit anyone - not even training."

Edmund looked at him quietly: "Why?"

"All sorts of reasons - but mostly due to barriers put in place by landowners.

Some of them required the serfs to redeem the 'land' to gain freedom, some required the serfs to hand over the entire harvest of the first year, and some drove the serfs out of their farms or orchards directly after they were declared freemen..."

Edmund closed his eyes slightly, as if to keep his breathing calm, then he opened his eyes with deep eyes: "So, the serfs who have been 'free' can't live, right?"

"Yes, they eventually had to go back to the master, 'voluntarily' to go back..."

This time, Edmund was silent for a longer time, and it wasn't until half a minute later that Berke heard a calm voice from the front: "I see."

"Your Highness, we should perhaps..."

Belk couldn't wait to speak, but was interrupted by Edmund halfway through his speech: "Belke, I will discuss this with Duke Laurent - he has more experience in terms of land. As for you, there is a new task. "

Although Belk was still thinking about the serfs, his loyalty made him immediately respond to the prince's new instructions: "Your Highness, please order."

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

...

After walking out of the gate of the main hall of the castle, Belk Lauren's footsteps seemed heavier than before.

He thought that the outdated conservative nobles, robbers, and deceived people in the east were already great obstacles and problems, but he did not expect that there would be other huge troubles in this Solimburg area.

All things will die... When has such a dark sect that only dared to play tricks in the gutter become such a huge harm? They even reached out to the magnificent wall, to the wasteland of Gondor? !

According to His Royal Highness, the corruption and spread of those cultists in the kingdom has long exceeded people's expectations. They spread among the poor, among the citizens, and even among the extraordinary and among the nobles. Their doomsday theories are obviously absurd and ridiculous. Crazy...but why do so many people just keep believing and self-destructing?

A cold but invigorating north wind blew, and Belk woke up suddenly. Only then did he notice that the wind and snow outside had stopped for some time. At this moment, only large areas of silver covered the courtyards, paths and on the roof.

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

Belk waved his hand and asked the squire knight to step back: "Take the horse back, I'm going to walk around the city - on foot."

At this season, most of the places where people live have turned into depression and deserted, even the famous city "Solimburg" in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain is no exception. Outside the warm castle, the entire urban area where civilians live is cold. It was deserted and there were few pedestrians. Even on the widest street, the number of passersby you could see was quite limited.

But in fact, being able to see civilian passers-by on the street is already a manifestation of liveliness and prosperity - at least some people are willing to go out in this cold weather, and at least the most basic business activities and social activities are in the civilian class of the city. It is difficult to see in ordinary countryside.

Belk did not ride a horse or wear armor, but only wore a wolfskin cloak lined with a knight's uniform, and roamed freely among the streets and alleys of Solimburg West.

Since the Eastern Frontier Corps occupied this city that once belonged to the royal family, he has not had the opportunity to walk the streets in such a casual manner. As the heir of the Eastern Frontier Guardian Duke, he always has countless things to learn and be busy with. Today, although he is Accepted the new mission arranged by the prince, but this mission could not be started immediately at the same time - he first needed to arrange for his men to collect and summarize information on heretical sacrifices, missing persons, and the spread of abnormal diseases in the surrounding area, and then he could act in person. Before that, he finally had a little free time.

It's a pity that this leisure time is in winter, and he has no chance to see too many interesting folk scenes.

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

There is really nothing to see, winter walks are the most boring.

The young Marquis turned around, ready to leave the place.

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

The voice was mixed with cursing and body beatings, and there was also a faint sullen groan.

Belk frowned and looked in the direction of the sound, which was still two blocks away—a distance that would never be heard by ordinary people's hearing.

He stepped forward, and his figure crossed a string of phantoms on the almost empty street. After a few seconds, he came to the alley and saw what happened in the alley——

Several tall and strong men were standing there, punching and kicking a thin figure already curled up on the ground, cursing rude words, and on the ground near them, a wooden basin was knocked over. On the ground, dozens of clothes are scattered around.

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

The sudden shouting stopped the aggressor. They turned their heads to look in the direction of the sound. Originally, they all had anger on their faces, as if they wanted to teach the people who intervened. After the tall young man, these people almost instantly froze in a stunned silence, accompanied by a few soft sounds of gasping for breath.

"Big...adult..."

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

After seeing these people's strong figures, neater clothes, and the expressions they instantly recognized themselves, he had already vaguely guessed their identities.

"My lord...I...we're teaching a criminal," said the person who spoke first, tremblingly. "She...she's a washerwoman, but she stole her employer's clothes..."

she?

Belk lowered his head and saw that the thin figure who had been huddled on the ground because of the beating was getting up little by little, shivering to the clothes scattered on the ground and the wooden basin, her yellow and dry hair Scattered behind her head, she was wearing a worn-out piece of clothing whose original color was no longer visible. There were also many rags tied around her legs to protect against the cold. She looked up, revealing a picture that was not very bloody, due to malnutrition. And dry and yellowed face.

She was a woman, not beautiful at all, only her eyes left a more profound impression on Belk.

But if she's beautiful, she's probably not just punched and kicked here.

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

The laundry girl lowered her head and said in a low voice, "No one stole it, my lord."

"Lord, look, she's still lying!" one of the men standing around immediately shouted, "She stole..."

"Stealed from you?" Belk raised his head and looked at the man who spoke out.

The man immediately fell silent.

"Stealed from you?" Belk turned his eyes again, looking at the next person.

The man was also silent.

"Yours?" "Or yours?"

No one responded.

"Very well, at least you don't dare to continue lying," Belk stared at them, every word made these people's necks shrink a little more, "So at least I don't have to send your bodies back to the East."

These people are Eastern soldiers on duty.

Other than the soldiers who occupied the city, few were as strong as them, wearing warm winter clothes, having excess energy, and instantly recognizing Belk Lauren in his regular clothes.

Belk lowered his head again, looking at the washerwoman who had picked up all the clothes and stood by the tub with her head bowed: "Are you a local?"

The washerwoman still lowered her head, as if she didn't dare to look up at each other: "...Yes, my lord."

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

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

"Bullying the commoners, deceiving the superiors, going to your centurions, receiving thirty lashes each, confinement for a week, and halving the army's pay this month."

The scum left in panic and frustration.

The washerwoman was still on her knees, head bowed, with her tub and her clothes to be restarched beside her.

"Looked up."

Belk said calmly.

He saw that the other party raised his head slightly, but quickly lowered it again, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

Belk sighed inwardly, squatted down, and looked at the other party's line of sight, looking at the malnourished face that had nothing to do with beauty, and looked at the numb eyes mixed with awe.

On other occasions, in the banquet hall of the castle, countless beautiful and beautiful ladies from famous families would be willing to pay the price of a manor in exchange for the opportunity to meet him at such a close distance.

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

The laundress immediately lowered her head and responded, "Yes, my lord."

Belk frowned, looked at the other party's flimsy clothes again, and then took out two gold coins from his arms.

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

He threw the coins into the washerwoman's tub, then stood up: "This is your compensation from the Eastern Border—you can use them to buy bread and change into warm clothes."

The washerwoman's eyes fell on the jingling coins, and she carefully put them away, her movements light and serious, and after doing all this, Belk heard the other party suddenly ask:

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

This unexpected question made Belk stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to tell the other party—of course he could.

He is the eldest son of the guardian duke, Marquis Berke Laurent, and the future owner of the Eastern Territory. He owns countless manors and fields in his private name, even if half of them have been donated to Prince Edmund's decree. The legion may be distributed to the serfs and tenants on the territory, and he also has the ability to distribute food and clothing for the winter to every civilian in Solimburg.

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