Jefferson arrived at Graywhite Territory for the fourth time today. Looking at the gray-white buildings, the tidy streets, and the busy pedestrians, he felt somewhat numb.
In fact, although Jefferson was also a viscount, the actual territory of Fasen Town was much larger than that of his viscountcy. However, compared to Graywhite Territory, Jefferson still felt it lacked a bit.
This was because Duke Lars had initially granted a vast area of land, most of which needed to be developed and reclaimed. Perhaps Duke Lars did not expect the reclamation of Graywhite Territory to progress so quickly.
The very low taxes encouraged many merchants from Champagne Nobility to choose to establish residency or open branches in Graywhite Territory.
Some shops even allowed the use of Graywhite Territory’s “work points” as currency, as doing so entailed receiving subsidies issued specifically by the lord.
These measures transformed Graywhite Territory from an area perceived with no benefits to one of interest for merchants, leading many itinerant traders to take detours to this place.
Unknowingly, Graywhite Territory had taken a significant bite out of Fasen Town.
However, Jefferson didn’t mind much, as at least for now, the relationship between Graywhite Territory and Fasen Town was mutually beneficial, characterized by a win-win cooperative model.
In his previous visits, Jefferson had come to Graywhite Territory mainly for the white sugar trade, while last time he was there to procure a large water wheel from Graywhite Territory.
The Dragonbone Water Wheel had been successfully replicated by Jefferson during his first visit to Graywhite Territory, but upon replication of the large water wheel, he found that the cost exceeded what Graywhite Territory was selling it for, prompting him to abandon his struggle.
This time, Jefferson not only came himself but also brought along merchants and some nobles who had close relations with Fasen Town. This was because Lind mentioned in his letter a lucrative business opportunity, even more profitable than white sugar. Given Lind’s longstanding good credit, Jefferson did not dare neglect it.
“Please come this way, Lord Viscount.”
Lila was still dressed in her maid uniform, as usual, greeting guests and leading Jefferson’s party towards Lind’s lordly tent.
But everyone, including Jefferson, dared not underestimate the maid before them. Those unruly merchants obediently placed their hands behind their backs to show off their gentlemanly demeanor.
This was because Jefferson had repeatedly warned beforehand that this maid, Miss Lila, could be said to be the actual person in charge of Graywhite Territory. To put it in comparison, she was akin to the king’s secretary—rarely seen but responsible for executing Graywhite Territory’s specific policies.
A group of soldiers marched past the delegation in perfect sync.
All these soldiers were clad in armor woven from interlinked metal rings, known as chainmail, and their armor was standardized, nearly identical, giving the formation of soldiers a solemn beauty that prompted Jefferson to slow his pace and observe them.
“Ms. Lila, may I ask why all your soldiers wear the same armor? Doesn’t it mean they don’t need to provide their own?”
Jefferson’s question seemed somewhat strange today, but it was quite normal in the medieval context. Those following nobles off to war, from the knight class to the peasantry, all needed to provide their own armor and weapons; distributing armor to soldiers was viewed as heretical.
“These soldiers are a professional army funded by the lord, so their equipment is all provided by the lord.”
Lila did not hide anything and directly answered Jefferson’s query.
If there was any military in the medieval period with all equipment being fairly uniform, it would only be fully professional soldiers, typically part of the king’s army or the finest troops.
“Then why not provide plate armor? Or is this chainmail only worn during training, and they switch to plate armor for battle?”
It’s no wonder Jefferson asked such detailed questions; the territories upstream were training professional soldiers, while the downstream, regardless of their close relations, inevitably felt tension.
“The lord said plate armor is too cumbersome; right now, the soldiers’ main task is to enter the mountains to eliminate bandits, and wearing plate armor would be somewhat inconvenient for climbing.”
Lila’s response was very clever, and Jefferson nodded.
In fact, aside from this reason, plate armor had a low cost-performance ratio; damaged areas were challenging to replace, and plate-armored infantry were essentially just heavy lumps of metal requiring horses to demonstrate their full potential.
However, as mentioned above, nobles would generally conscript soldiers by allowing local militia nobles to provide their own armor, thus emphasizing personal defense without much consideration for the adaptability that plate armor could offer, which was indeed the mainstream in today’s world.
“Turns out they all have enchanted weapons!”
One perceptive merchant in the team gasped, noting that all the soldiers in the territory wore enchanted armor. Although these were all low-level enchantments, equipping them to every soldier was quite extravagant.
Jefferson was taken aback and instinctively asked, “Where do they get the money for so many enchantments?”
Although he heard that Graywhite Territory had unearthed a magic stone vein and made a significant profit, this way of spending money seemed excessively wasteful to him, given that they were all low-tier enchantments with low cost-effectiveness.
Nevertheless, Lila seemed ready to answer any question and confidently replied, “You’ll understand when you meet the lord.”
Jefferson swallowed hard; just how many surprises did his brother Lind intend to give him? What kind of capital could support such a luxurious army?
Now, Jefferson felt that his recent marriage was no longer appealing; he just wanted to see his brother Lind as soon as possible.
The soldiers quickly passed by, seemingly ignoring Jefferson’s party. After all, their mission was to maintain the peace of the territory in addition to training, making it unlikely for them to stay in one place for long.
Next, as they shifted their gaze, Jefferson and the others saw that a considerable crowd had gathered in the central square of Graywhite Territory.
“Ms. Lila, what event is being held over there?”
As a noble of Champagne, Jefferson was quite open-minded and had a keen sense of smell. He could sense that such a massive flow of people meant that if a shop opened in this square, it would surely rake in a fortune. However, Jefferson’s instincts also sensed a hint of blood.
“That is when the lord sent people into the mountains to find refugees and took the opportunity to eliminate bandits.”
Lila dutifully explained further.
“Most of the bandits have been thrown into the mines for work, but a few leaders are heinous individuals. The lord decided to publicly announce their crimes in front of all the subjects and then proceed with sentencing according to the laws of the territory.”
While Lila explained, a scribe was already reading out the crimes of the captured bandits on a platform in the central square.
One after another, listening made Jefferson break out in a cold sweat. The crimes of these bandits were nothing compared to what he and his fellow nobles had done. If these bandits had fallen into his hands, Jefferson would likely have let them go to demonstrate his mercy and later discreetly recruit them as his own underlings.
But was his brother Lind really preparing to execute them?
As the crimes were read, the scribe directly announced the verdict—infamous crimes, death penalty, to be executed immediately.
“Good! Good!”
“Kill him! My sister was defiled by him!”
“Don’t let him get away!”
The crowd below, upon hearing the crimes of the bandits, was filled with righteous indignation. This was especially true for those who had been “taken” from the wilds of Graywhite Territory; they had been most severely affected by the depredations of bandits.
As the executioner’s knife fell, many people who had suffered from these bandits’ disturbances were moved to tears, kneeling down and shouting long live Graywhite Territory, long live the lord.
This scene made Jefferson’s scalp tingle. He felt that sooner or later he would have to kneel on that platform to accept judgment, as those surging subjects would drown him like a tidal wave.
“Let’s go.”
Jefferson urged.
