Chapter 223 New Territory Division

The long-term war of orc invasion has made almost every family in the border area wear mourning and everyone bleed.

After the end of the pioneering war a hundred years ago, the population growth in the northern border was also very slow. In order to defend against the orcs, the Kingdom of Grant promoted new nobles every three years and supported the military noble class. Then it relied on the slave market trade to continuously transport slaves to the front line of the northern border to withstand the long-term blood loss.

After repelling the orcs, the Kingdom of Grant once again began to reward merits and punish mistakes.

King Roger personally signed an edict to punish incompetent officials and promoted some officers to hereditary nobles.

This time the orcs invaded, King Roger awarded one viscount and six baron territories.

The strength of the reward was slightly greater than that of the previous wars.

However, there were also four baron families in the nobles of the northern border who gave up their hereditary territories and fell into professional families. In fact, the noble territories that were added were only one viscount and two barons.

In fact, after each orc invasion war, only a few territories were added. In the northern border of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, the expansion of the Kingdom of Grant was very slow.

In recent years, only the Harland, Martins and Jonathan families have expanded their territories a little more.

The Harland family gained the most from this year's war.

After the war, Richard had accumulated enough military merits and was awarded the second viscountship.

Richard received the merits of the officers and soldiers, and as a reward, he was awarded a bounty of more than 30,000 gold coins.

Because there was not so much cash, Richard could only issue some paper bonds, which could be exchanged for various materials produced in the territory.

Richard had a high prestige among the officers and soldiers, so he could make the officers and soldiers believe that the paper he gave was worth a lot of money.

After receiving the paper bonds, the officers and soldiers immediately exchanged them for various materials. It seems that neither the soldiers nor the officers have much trust in this kind of paper bonds. As if they hated it, they spent it all immediately.

In fact, Richard's issuance of paper bonds is actually a specific kind of paper currency, which has violated the Grant royal family's right to mint coins.

It's just that the number of paper bonds he issued was small, the duration was relatively short, and there was almost no circulation, which was considered a marginal ball. If the royal family knew that he was issuing currency, they would probably come to trouble him.

The reason why Richard took the risk to issue paper bonds was actually to issue paper money in the future.

If you want the people to accept paper money, you must prepare in advance, and issuing paper bonds is a rehearsal.

Slowly through several rehearsals, let the soldiers know that paper can also be exchanged for various materials. When paper money can be issued, the voice of opposition will be smaller.

When paying soldiers, paper bonds can be used.

In this way, the territory can save a lot of gold coins to import various materials, and the development speed will be faster.

After the reward was completed, the demarcation of the new territory has begun. According to the gossip that William had heard, the Grant Kingdom hopes to give more than 6,000 square kilometers of land in the east of the Harland territory to the Harland family.

In this way, Graveson Castle is located behind the Harland territory, which is relatively safer.

But the next time the orcs invade, the Harland territory will bear more important responsibilities.

Although this 6,000 square kilometers of territory is large, the land is not fertile, and it is basically mountainous terrain. If the fiefdom is chosen here, the Harland family will be responsible for the defense of two mountain passes, and the pressure will become very heavy.

The new territory not only did not bring development to the Harland family, but it would become a considerable burden.

Now the Harland family is already the highest-ranking noble in the Geda Province. In the noble council, they have a large number of votes and have the ability to bargain with the capital.

According to Richard's opinion, try to expand the family territory to the north, and it is best to take the swamp basin where the undead wizards hide.

That swamp basin not only has a half-built wizard tower, but also can be developed to reclaim 26,000 hectares of paddy fields and feed more than 200,000 people.

This basin of hundreds of square kilometers will become the foundation of the Harland family's hegemony.

At that time, with this basin as the center, occupying a large area of ​​land in the south and middle of the Eagle Mountains, it will be enough to develop a powerful mountain dukedom.

Richard's opinion was recognized by William. Now in the Harland family, Richard's prestige has surpassed William and has become the real head of the Harland family.

Although William is a father, he has to follow Richard's baton at this time.

William kept looking for connections to intercede, and even took a long vacation to go to the capital to explain the interests in the division of the new territory.

"Dear members, before talking about the division of the Harland family's territory, I would like to talk about my old superior, Count Martins.

Although Count Martins has died in battle, he is worthy of the status of a famous general. I have followed him for more than ten years and understand his ability. In the Northern Legion, we have fought many victorious wars, even glorious wars.

According to the situation I have, Count Martins is the most capable commander after the establishment of the Northern Legion, followed by the unlucky Zachli. Of course, Zachli's affairs involve the political turmoil in the capital, so I will not talk about it for now.

Why did the Earldom of Martins fall? It was because the capital put an unbearable burden on him, hoping that the Earldom of Martins would become the shield of the Gascoigne Province and the northern part of the Dukedom of Edward.

The Martins family has a shallow foundation and cannot bear this heavy responsibility at all. As everyone has seen, in just six years, the Martins family gave up the inheritance of the territory, and our Grant Kingdom, a great noble, became a laughing stock.

As hereditary nobles, do we have a glorious face in this matter? As noble councilors who divided the territory for Count Martins, do we have any responsibility?

When you divide the territory, you always consider how to get rid of the burden? Instead of considering whether we can bear it?

If the noble parliament and the royal family must put this heavy burden on the Harland family, I declare here that I will exchange merits for cultivation potions and give up this viscount territory.

This land may need a more capable family to take responsibility. "

William's speech was powerful and shocked the members of the Noble Council.

Military merit is the foundation of the Kingdom of Grant. Once William gave up the land, it would undoubtedly destroy this tradition.

Besides, the Harland family's exchange of thirty great merits for various cultivation resources would also cause an imbalance in the cultivation resources of the Kingdom of Grant. At that time, there might be a shortage of medicines, which would also be a big deal for the Kingdom of Grant.

Discovering that the Harland family reacted so strongly, the top leaders of the Noble Council immediately held urgent consultations with King Roger.

The Speaker of the Noble Council is Marquis Allen.

The Speaker of the Noble Council has always been the four marquises of the East in turn.

The four marquises of the East are confidants of the royal family, and many of their family members are married to members of the royal family.

Because of the relationship between you and me and me with the royal family, the Marquis of the East is no longer It is time to take a political stand. No matter which king comes to power, they must be used.

Compared with the Duke family in the north and the Earl family in the south, the Marquis in the east is very obedient and very cooperative with the policies issued by the royal family. In the war in the northern border, they have always taken the initiative to provide people and money to share the responsibility for the Kingdom of Grant.

King Roger's wife is the sister of Marquis Allen.

With this relationship, Marquis Allen can replace Marquis Vicia and become the new speaker of the Noble Parliament.

Marquis Allen does not need to inform King Roger when he enters the palace.

As one of the few privileged people in the Kingdom of Grant, Marquis Allen came to the palace and said straight to the point: "Your Majesty, there are two things you need to decide now. The first is that the Harland family is not satisfied with the new fiefdom and threatens to give up this territory and exchange merits for cultivation potions.

The second thing is that the Martins family has written an application to give up the inheritance of the earldom."

"If the great nobles give up the inheritance of the territory, it will damage the face of the kingdom and it will also be a serious blow to our political system. The most critical issue now is that the Count Martins family is incapable of managing the territory?

I don't think so. My brother Charlie was too harsh on Martins back then. My opinion is to immediately allocate a special fund of 300,000 gold coins from the royal treasury and lend it to the Count Martins. The loan will be mortgaged with the fiscal revenue of the Count Martins, and then the Redeemer Corps will be stationed in the Count Martins for a long time. Assist the army of the Count Martins to maintain the situation.

Tell the Martins family to have confidence in the Grant Kingdom. Although it may be difficult in recent years, when the territory is developed and 60,000 square kilometers of land are controlled, the strength of the Martins family will exceed that of the Marquis in the east. "

Marquis Allen continued to ask: "What about the Harland family? "

"We only put pressure on the Harland family and don't give them meat to eat. Of course, they are not satisfied. Since the Harland family wants the swamp basin in the north, this time it will be granted to them. In addition, Graveson Castle, including more than 1,000 square kilometers of land nearby, can also be granted to them.

But the Harland family must take responsibility. You told William that if war breaks out, the province of Geda will definitely give them reinforcements, and they must also defend the two passages. If they want to become great nobles in the kingdom, they must contribute to the stability of the kingdom. "

"We have put this heavy burden on the Harland family. Can the Harland family bear it?"

King Roger thought for a moment and nodded, "I think it is feasible. Richard's ability in fighting is not small, and he is no worse than Martins and Zachli.

Compared with traditional nobles, Richard is also good at business. The Harland family has developed rapidly in the past ten years. He has the ability to make the Harland family a shield in the north of Geda Province.

If the Harland family defends the two passages in Geda Province, we can also promote Richard to earl. It is a good thing for the kingdom to have a great noble in the north of Geda Province. "

After discussing with King Roger, Marquis Allen gave William the new conditions.

William received the new conditions given by King Roger and communicated with Richard. Looking at the fiefdom given by Roger, Richard sighed and said, "It seems that we have to take this shield."

William smiled and said, "I think we should stop while we are ahead. Our family does not leave a good impression on the capital. Many nobles in the capital think that the Harland family is not very obedient and your character is too unruly and difficult to get along with."

"Since my father has also approved it, I think we should do it this way. After making a fuss, we finally got some sweet dates."

After dividing the border, the territory of the Harland family increased by more than 8,000 square kilometers. The total area is already 18,600 square kilometers, which is roughly equivalent to the area of ​​a city in the previous life.

But there are less than 150,000 people on nearly 20,000 square kilometers of land.

A large area of ​​land has not been developed. Looking down from the sky, the Harland territory is still a primeval forest, with only a few areas inhabited.

Population is the foundation of a territory. Without population, no matter how large the territory is, its strength cannot be considered strong.

In this year's orc invasion war, Richard rescued 20,000 people.

Richard trusted the people rescued from the orcs relatively more and settled them near Graveson Castle.

Graveson Castle is a military fortress. Because it is close to the front line, there are not many people nearby. Only civilians who chop wood, cut wood, and hunt will appear nearby.

After this piece of land was granted to Richard, the forest resources were also Richard's property. Richard set up a checkpoint on the road to prohibit free people and serfs near Black River Fort from entering the Harland territory.

After this piece of land was divided among the Harland family, the garrison of Graveson Castle withdrew to Black River Fort, and Richard stationed the fourth brigade in Graveson Castle.

In order to guard the mountain road in the north of Graveson, Richard chose to build a city 35 kilometers north of Graveson Castle, blocking the front of Graveson Castle.

The new castle was built on a gentle hillside. As long as there were garrisons on the hillside, the valley could be locked.

Through water transportation, the Harland Territory could transport a large amount of supplies to Graveson Castle, and then rely on horse carriages and ox carts to transport them to the vicinity of the new castle.

There are large areas of wild roses near the new castle, which Richard named the Flower Castle.

In addition to the Flower Castle, Richard also planned to build a castle near the Mage Tower in the Swamp Basin to serve as a forward base for the development of the Swamp Basin.

After the war, Harden Castle also publicly changed its name. Because the Redeemer Corps won a victory in Harden Castle, the castle was named the City of Redemption, but Zachley and other officers and soldiers were dissatisfied with the name and wrote a letter of protest to the Noble Council, and finally changed its name to Iron Lion Castle.

Because Zakli fought well in this battle, King Roger promised to give Zakli's Redeemer Corps a subsidy of 20,000 gold coins every year.

With this subsidy, the burden of the hereditary nobles who built the Redeemer Corps will be reduced by one third.

King Roger also promised the three Redeemer Corps that as long as they fought well in the war, Nolan would increase the investment in the Redeemer Corps. When the Redeemer Corps' finances are fully invested by the central government, the hereditary nobles who failed in the political war will completely redeem their crimes, and the Redeemer Corps will be reorganized into a central corps.