Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 274 Relief
Several days later, the municipal councilors of Ghevordan gathered together again.

Most of the committee members were familiar faces, but there were also some new faces.

Mayor Priest Sr. sat in the front row with his eyes closed, resting. His second son, who had been elected as a municipal councilor a few days earlier, was also sitting next to his father.

The city councilors knew perfectly well what the tribunal's purpose was in convening the city council—it was simply to solve the flour problem.

The barbarians of Hed were nowhere to be seen, but the price of flour was skyrocketing. The poor couldn't even afford gruel, yet flour prices continued to soar.

The poor are complaining bitterly, and even well-off citizens are finding it hard to cope. The situation has become so serious that it must be addressed.

The magistrate was absent, and the mayor remained silent. The committee members whispered amongst themselves.
"Your mill must be making a lot of money lately, right?"

"Hey! Flour is so expensive, we can't even sell it, how can we make a profit?"

"Alright, alright, stop pretending. If you can't sell it at a high price, would you be willing to sell it cheaply?"

"There are so many mills and grain shops in the city, why are you picking on me?"

"Just wait and see, when the Blood Wolves arrive, they'll definitely make an example of us."

"It's just a price limit. If they allow a price limit, then I'll just sell at that price."

The door suddenly swung open, and the municipal councilors immediately fell silent.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Winters, dressed in military uniform and carrying a sword, entered the council chamber carrying two round, hairy objects.

Father Kaman followed Winters with a reluctant expression.

“The heads of the Teldonians.” Winters casually tossed the two heads to the ground. “Shovel Harbor fought a battle last night, a minor victory.”

The two heads rolled several times on the ground before finally stopping at Shaosha's feet.

Shao Sha lowered his head and met the dead man's empty, lifeless eyes. Even though there was no other smell, Shao Sha was overwhelmed by a pungent, sticky stench. He fought back his urge to vomit and forced his gaze away.

Charles and Heinrich carried a box of bloodstained Herd helmets, lamellar armor, and scimitars into the venue—all obtained from Shovel Harbor.

After briefly explaining the battle at Shovel Harbor the previous night, Winters politely told the municipal councilors, "There are still eighteen heads left, which have been sent to various towns for inspection. If any of you still don't believe the barbarians are coming, you can stand closer and take a look."

“I’ve already seen it, Your Excellency.” Shao Sha tried his best not to look at his feet and pleaded urgently, “This corpse… please take it away.”

“Very well.” Winters ordered Charles and Heinrich: “Show the committee members the helmets and armor, but forget about the heads.”

The armor and weapons were passed around for the municipal committee members to inspect, which didn't take too long.

“These items will be displayed to the public in Piazza de Gevodan. If you are interested, you can go to the square to see them.” Winters gestured for his men to put away the spoils. “I’ve called you here today not to show you your heads, but to address the issue of rising flour prices.”

After saying that, Winters patted Father Kaman on the shoulder.

Kaman sighed, stepped to the front of the platform, and bowed to the councilors: "Thanks to your generous donations, gentlemen, the Zhevodan Monastery has been able to distribute porridge to the poor. Please accept my prayer."

None of the municipal committee members dared to remain seated and hurriedly returned the greeting.

The church is in charge of what happens after people die, so people naturally have a sense of awe and respect for clergy.

Father Kaman's expression was solemn, as if he were preaching: "But recently, the prices of flour and wheat have skyrocketed, and the monastery can no longer provide relief to its followers. In the slums, it is common to pick leaves and dig up grass roots to fill our stomachs, and some followers are even selling their children. Ghevodan is now like sitting on a volcano; if there is even the slightest spark, the riots of the displaced people will be repeated."

[Do to others as you would have them do to you.] We also hope that gentlemen will extend a helping hand during this difficult time.

Winters continued, "I've drafted a decree. Let's take a look and discuss it. If there's anything wrong with it, please point it out."

The draft law, written on white paper, circulated among the municipal councilors. The draft was simple: it restricted the prices of flour, wheat, barley, and rye.

Among the municipal council members were many millers, grain merchants, or those with stakes in the grain business; they were all mentally prepared for the price control policy. When it actually came to fruition, they were actually relieved.

“Sir, my old eyesight is failing, and I cannot read the words.” Old Priskin stood up shakily and asked respectfully, “May I ask, are you setting a price limit?”

“Please have a seat, Mr. Priskin.” Winters nodded. “Yes, I am setting a price limit.”

"No!" Old Priskin suddenly opened his eyes and shouted decisively, "Price controls are absolutely out of the question!"

The municipal councilors in the council chamber trembled with fright.

“Tell me,” Winters said, crossing his arms. “Why not?”

Old Priskin, leaning on his cane, stood ramrod straight: "The city is getting more and more people, and the city is getting less and less food. It's only natural for prices to rise!"

Winters remained silent, but Father Kaman couldn't help but speak up: "So we're just going to ignore it?"

“You can set price limits, but merchants can also choose not to sell! The more you set price limits, the less merchants will sell. If you can't buy it on the market, the flour will flow into the black market. At that point, the actual price of grain will be pushed even higher.”

Father Kaman was speechless.

"The only way to solve the grain price problem is through my method."

"explain."

Old Priskin spat out a single word with emphasis: "Confiscation!"

An uproar erupted in the council chamber, with municipal committee members expressing surprise, doubt, or anger.

Old Priskin's words resonated deeply: "With hooves overhead and daggers at our necks, anyone who dares to hoard goods or engage in speculation is a criminal! They should have their property confiscated, their homes ransacked, and their entire family wiped out!"

Some municipal councilors were indignant, some were panicked, and some had already left their seats and were almost about to run away.

Winters surveyed the hall, taking in everyone's expressions, and suddenly slammed his hand on the table and burst into laughter.

Kaman, Charles, and the other city council members were all puzzled, and even old Priskin didn't understand.

“Mr. Pusslickin, let’s not bring up that method again. If I wanted to kill someone, I would have done it already. Why would I need to call you all together for a meeting?” Winters laughed loudly, leaning back and forth. He pointed at the people in the hall and said, “Look, everyone thinks that you and I were in cahoots beforehand and that we were putting on an act.”

Old Priskin turned around and looked back; the other city councilors dared not meet his gaze and all lowered their heads.

“I swear to St. Peter, I have never mentioned this matter to the tribune,” old Priskin glared at the other councilors. “You bunch of short-sighted fools! Zhevodan is short of food, but certainly not to the point that a malt of rye costs a kilogram of silver!”

Old Priskin grew increasingly agitated, his face turning as red as blood, the tips of his beard trembling: "This year's wheat harvest was already low, and with grain prices soaring, the poor can no longer afford bread!"
"And what have you done! The barbarians haven't even arrived yet, and you dare to raise prices so recklessly! If you really drive the people of the lower city to the brink of despair, what will become of us? The barbarians don't even need to lift a finger; Zervodan will be in turmoil from the start..."

The council chamber was completely silent, except for the old man's thunderous roar.

“That’s enough.” Winters gestured for old Priskin to stop. “I have other things to do today and don’t want to waste any more time. Just tell me what you have to say.”

Old Priskin bowed deeply to the tribunal: "Please confiscate all the property of the speculators, and the grain price problem will be solved naturally!"

“No good.” Winters waved his hand. “Let’s try another way.”

"Then there's only one way left."

"explain."

Old Priskin gritted his teeth and said, "Please allocate military rations to relieve the poor."

Charles glared at old Priskin, and the city councilors, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tensed up again, even Father Kaman was somewhat surprised.

Winters wasn't angry. He calmly asked, "How many days will my army's rations last? What will my soldiers eat when the rations run out?"

“Please set up almshouses!” Old Priskin pressed his right hand to his chest. “Your army and the city government of Zhevodan should jointly provide grain and share the responsibility of providing relief to the poor.”

"Can you represent Gervadyn?"

“I am Mayor of Gevordan, and of course I can represent him.” Old Priest’s hawk-like gaze swept over the city councilors: “If anyone thinks I am not qualified, please step forward now.”

Winters sneered: "I'm willing to provide the grain, but are the gentlemen of Ghevordan willing to provide the grain?"

“Of course not!” Old Priskin answered openly. “So we can’t take it for free, but rather purchase it through a loan, at a price similar to previous years. For every malt the army contributes, the city government of Zhevodan will contribute two malts. All the grain collected from the poorhouses will be considered a debt of the city government of Zhevodan, to be repaid gradually in the future.”

“Where there’s a buyer, there’s a seller.” Winters stroked his chin. “Given the current situation, how do you plan to sell? You’ll release as much grain as you can, and it’ll all be bought up. Flour prices still won’t come down. Are you just going to give it away for nothing? How much grain do you have enough to distribute?”

"Collecting grain is only the first step! The key is the second step!" Old Priskin bowed deeply once more, pleading loudly, "I, Priskin, beg Your Excellency to provide work relief!"...

……

With the letter from Colonel Bode sent back from White Mountain County in his hand, Charles braved the early winter wind and crossed Church Bridge to reach the south bank.

The south bank, which was originally just woods, wasteland and farmland, has now been transformed into a bustling construction site.

More than three thousand men and women were working, including more than 1,300 prisoners from Vaughan County, but mostly unemployed people and farmers hired from Gévaudan and nearby villages.

On the construction site, every two hundred people are divided into teams, with two team leaders (one captain and one deputy captain) appointed to be responsible for different work sections.

Men dug trenches and built walls, women carried soil, and the elderly who were too old to work were gathered together to cook.

Several other teams were responsible for leveling the land and cutting down trees.

The five teams at the bottom of the rankings will only receive half the food allowance, while the other teams will receive the full amount of food, and the top three teams will even receive meat.

"Team performance evaluation" is a lazy method, but it is very effective in the short term. Like being whipped by an invisible whip, each team is working hard.

Besides "food," people had another reason for working so hard—"the barbarians are coming to kill us."

No matter how eloquent Winters' writing may be, it's not as useful as twenty bloody heads of Teldenans.

Faced with the rotting, stinking, and distorted heads of barbarians, even the most numb, boldest, and least conscious of the new government's orders in Tiefeng County people realized with a clear sense: "The barbarians are really coming."

The impact of Winters' "First Fifteen Towns" was both positive and negative.

On the positive side: without his urging or admonition, the farmers of Tiefeng County, like squirrels hibernating, spontaneously began frantically digging cellars to store grain and valuables.

On the downside: People with any means of wealth from various villages and towns flocked to Zhevodan with their families, exacerbating the shortage of food and living space in Zhevodan.

Therefore, the construction of the southern city not only needs to be larger, but also faster.

When Charles found Winters, Winters was talking with Captain Mason, Mayor Priestin, and the blacksmith Sausage.

"The Lovers' Forest needs to be cleared out as soon as possible," Winters instructed Mason. "If you can't cut it all down, burn it all down."

"I'll arrange for someone to do it right away."

"Are you going to cut down Lover's Forest too?" Shao Sha asked, puzzled.

Lovers' Grove is a sparse grove of trees on the southern outskirts of Zhevadan. It is called Lovers' Grove because couples often meet there.

“Use the timber to build the city, and the branches to burn.” Winters tapped the map lightly. “In any case, we can’t leave it for the Teldens. Mr. Shaosha, the Forge Village must also be evacuated immediately.”

"Okay, okay." Shao Sha nodded first, then quickly asked, "Where to retreat to?"

Winters smiled and tapped the ground: "Let's retreat here and move everything we can to 'South City'."

“My lord,” old Priskin asked respectfully, “the completed city wall appears to be only two meters high?”

“That’s right, it’s two meters tall,” Winters replied.

“Isn’t it a bit too short?” Old Pussling looked troubled. “If it’s only two meters tall, it seems like it could be turned over.”

“There are advantages to low walls. Low walls are easier to build. The city we’re building is too big. If we build high walls, the Teldenans will have already attacked before we finish.” Winters reassured the old man, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

Upon hearing what the tribunal of Montagne said, old Priskin said no more.

Winters picked up a graphite stick and drew three small stars on the map. Pointing to the stars, he laughed and said, "According to my original plan, not only should there be city walls, but also three star-shaped fortresses should be built outside the city to cover the three sides of the city walls. That would be what you call impregnable."

Senior Mason nodded in agreement, while old Priskin and Shaosha were completely confused.

Winters tossed aside the graphite stick and sighed, "But we don't have time, so we'll skip these. Hopefully, the enemy chieftain's skill level is about the same as last time. If that's the case... my chances of winning will be even higher."

"You fought against the barbarian chieftain who came this time?" Shaosha perked up.

"We've fought each other."

“Then…” Shaosha asked hesitantly.

“I was just a centurion then, so I didn’t command that battle.” Winters laughed and patted Chauza on the shoulder. “But in that battle—our army won a great victory!”

Shao Sha laughed along. With war seemingly imminent, Shao Sha was truly uncertain, which was why he craved any good news, even the most insignificant one.

“Mr. Priestin,” Winters asked casually, “how are the city councilors and grain merchants feeling? Are they satisfied?”

“Not satisfied,” old Priskin replied obsequiously, “but they can accept the current conditions.”

The most brilliant aspect of Priskin's [work relief] strategy was that it clarified property rights.

The southern city under construction is clearly part of Gevadan, so it is only natural that the city of Gevadan would fund the project.

The relief process became [Zevodan borrowed money to buy grain from the army and grain merchants, and then distributed it as payment to the unemployed who came to work].

The army and grain merchants provided grain in exchange for debts. As long as the city government of Gevordan doesn't go bankrupt, the debts can be repaid gradually.

The city government of Ghevordan is heavily in debt, but it received a new urban area. Seems like it didn't lose out?

Unemployed poor people obtained food through work, thus avoiding the potential run on the food supply that might have been caused by free distribution or low-price sales.

All three parties suffered some losses, but also gained something, which in a sense seems to be a happy ending for all.

Winters couldn't help but ask old Priskin, "How did you come up with the idea of ​​work relief?"

“It wasn’t my idea.” Old Priskin bowed slightly and asked with a smile, “Sir, do you know how Zhevodan prospered?”

"This is the capital of the prefecture, so of course it's prosperous."

“No.” Old Priskin shook his head gently: “It was Zhevodan that prospered first, and then became the county capital. And the reason for Zhevodan’s prosperity was the Zhevodan Cathedral.”

"Hmm?" Winters' curiosity was piqued.

Old Priestin recalled: "When there were only a few dozen settlers here, the Catholic Church decided to build a cathedral here as the seat of the Bishop of Iron Peak County."

The cathedral took twelve years to build, during which time craftsmen and merchants flocked to the site from all directions. By the time the cathedral was completed, Ghevordan had transformed from an insignificant little village into the most prosperous town in Iron Peak County.

Winters listened carefully and pondered, "You mean... a long-term, large-scale project can make a barren place prosperous?"

“That’s my feeling,” old Priskin stroked his beard. “To be honest, I’ve traveled quite a bit. In many towns I’ve seen, their centers are castles or churches.”

The construction of churches and castles could take years, even decades, so the craftsmen settled nearby, and merchants followed. A village might become a town, and a town might become a prosperous metropolis. That's probably how it seemed to me.”

“Very interesting.” Winters’ eyes lit up. He smiled and said, “Your idea is really interesting. Let’s have a good talk after we drive away the Teldonians.”

Priskin the Elder readily agreed.

Seeing that their conversation had come to an end, Charles quickly handed the letter to Winters.

“A letter from Colonel Bode,” Charles said softly.

Winters calmly opened the letter and began to read it quickly.

"How was it?" Senior Mason asked.

Old Priskin and Shocha did not know who Colonel Bod was, so they tactfully took their leave.

Winters called out to old Priskin and Shaosha, "You two need not avoid us; this letter is also related to you."

Shaosha looked puzzled, while old Priskin listened quietly.

“The bald colonel from White Mountain County has agreed.” Winters laughed. “We’ll take stock of the goods that haven’t been shipped yet, and White Mountain County will exchange them for grain and salt.”

[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
[It's been getting late lately... Redefining noon? After all, at this very moment, there's always a place on Earth where it's noon.]
[After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Europe began to experience "counter-urbanization," meaning that cities could no longer sustain themselves, and urban residents gradually dispersed. "The urban population began to migrate back to rural areas."]
[In the Middle Ages, the construction of a church or castle could sometimes sustain a group of craftsmen for a lifetime, as it could take decades, even centuries.]
[During the construction period, the craftsmen also needed to make a living, so some merchants provided them with services. In this way, the area gradually gained popularity.]
[Furthermore, the locations of castles and churches were often prime spots, frequently leading to the formation of new towns. This can be considered a form of "urbanization" in the Middle Ages.]
[There's a documentary called "How to Build a Castle," which is quite interesting. The "stonemason" is the overall person in charge of the project; he needs to manage the blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, bricklayers, and all sorts of workers, big and small, etc.]
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(End of this chapter)