Imperial Crown.

Chapter 152 Territory Exchange
"This request is really..."

Hearing Viscount John's proposal, Raven stroked his chin and said, "I know you have acquired a new barony, but Eagle Territory is the ancestral land of the Griffith family after all. I can't exchange it with you."

Viscount John waved his hand and said, "You misunderstood. I want to use the Snow Maple Territory to exchange for your newly acquired territory."

"Oh...ah?" Raven was stunned for a moment. He scratched his head, stood up, turned around twice, and then sat back in front of Viscount John: "Are you serious?"

It’s no wonder that Raven reacted this way. Viscount John’s request was really too strange.

Xuefeng Territory has been operating for many years and its industry is mature, so it has not been directly affected by the war.

On the other hand, the viscounty that Raven had obtained had been almost completely destroyed by the Cult of the Hand of Death, and rebuilding it would be almost the same as starting from scratch.

It makes no sense at all!
Could it be that Viscount John, at such an old age, is still interested in starting a business again?

Viscount John smiled and said, "I returned Shining Gold Town to you because of your poor acting skills. Now, please don't beat around the bush with this old man's request, okay?"

When he mentioned that incident, Raven's face froze: "I really have to thank you for what happened in Shining Gold Town."

Viscount John explained: "Golden Town is good, but it can neither accumulate enough wealth for me to break through to the fifth level, nor can it help our Luke family to be promoted to a noble family."

"It would be better to just return Shining Gold Town to you as a favor, which would also eliminate possible disputes in the future."

At this point, Viscount John smiled mischievously like a child: "Now it seems that this decision was not wrong. At least it saved my life."

After hearing what he said, Raven finally guessed why Viscount John insisted on exchanging the Snow Maple Territory for the territory he had just acquired.

Or for future generations.

Xuefeng Territory is larger in area and has been in operation for a longer time, but it is also a true frontier area.

The land was still considered fertile, but it was too far away from the economic center of Mon'en City and too far inland. Transportation was blocked and the economic potential had been exhausted. It was far inferior to the viscounty that Raven had newly acquired.

On the other hand, Xuefeng Territory was too close to the Bloody Highlands and was often harassed by horse thieves. This was a headache for Viscount John, not to mention his useless son.

Raven's new territory is in Hodges County, near the southwest of Monn City. Moving the territory here is to seek a stable future for his descendants.

Although the Death Hand Cult caused chaos this time and destroyed half of the Nord province, everyone knew that this was just an isolated incident and could not be used as a reference.

This is also the reason why Raven did not realize Viscount John's goal at first.

In Raven's opinion, although the transportation in border areas is a bit poor, there are fewer constraints, it is easier to develop, and there is no need to deal with too many "disputes" between neighbors.

Ultimately it comes down to the difference in mentality between young people and old people.

"Since Viscount John has said so..." Raven also smiled: "I agree to exchange territory with you."

Viscount John showed a trace of relief in his eyes: "Thank you, Baron Raven, then let's sign a contract now. Xuefeng Territory and the barony I just acquired will all be handed over to you!"

"That's not necessary." Raven hesitated for a moment and said, "You should keep the newly acquired territory for yourself. In exchange, I have another request."

A standard barony is not small, but it is too far away from the Eagle Territory and is a veritable enclave.

If I hadn't gotten the position of president of the Lower Town Chamber of Commerce in Mon'en City, this would still be a good business springboard and transit station, but now that I have it, this enclave is a bit useless.

And Raven had no family members who needed to be relocated.

We can't send Vesdon over there, can we?

It’s not that Lei Wen is reluctant to let go, Lei Wen doesn’t really care how the enclave is run.

I'm just afraid that this kid might have wild ideas and cause some scandal, which would really add branches to the Griffith family, and that would be too much trouble.

Viscount John nodded slowly and said, "That's fine, but my family is not very wealthy, and I need funds to build my territory. You must leave some for me."

Raven immediately put forward the conditions he had prepared: "You can keep the gold coins for yourself, but the viscountship I obtained comes with a lot of serfs. I hope you can give me at least 20,000."

"This..." Viscount John took a deep breath and fell into thought.

If it had been before the war, giving a few serfs would not have been a big deal, after all, at that time every noble would only complain about having too many people, not too few.

But now, after a great chaos, the population loss is very serious, and this batch of divided territories are in need of reconstruction.

It is conceivable that the price of serfs will rise sharply in the future, increasing by three, five, or even ten times, and it is not impossible that there will be no demand for them even at a high price.

According to the previous distribution ratio, this viscountry has about 50,000 serfs, which is less than half of the number of serfs in a regular viscountry.

If Raven were given more than 20,000 people at this time, it would seriously hinder the development of the new territory.

However, just as Raven had guessed before, Viscount John pursued safety and stability and had no strong demand for the speed of development.

The shortage of 20,000 people can be made up in ten or twenty years.

"Well... no problem." Viscount John agreed to Raven's request: "But, Xue Feng and I will also take a group of serfs away. There won't be many, only about a thousand, but they are all old people who follow our Luke family."

Those he mentioned were not ordinary serfs, but those with skills and craftsmanship. These people were the seeds of the development of the territory.

Raven began to bargain: "Logically speaking, I should agree to your request, but you can't take away all the essence of Xuefeng Territory. You have to leave some for me. After all, I gave you an extra barony."

Xuefeng Territory is famous for producing dyes and silk fabrics, and Lei Wen has been coveting them for a long time.

"You!" Viscount John shook his head and laughed.

This barony originally belonged to Viscount John. Now that it is back in his hands, he has to pay an extra price. This Raven is really...

Qualified noble!
"Okay, I'll leave you 400 people."

"It's settled then." Raven also smiled.

After the document was drafted, the two of them each used the seal of the head of the family. As long as it was submitted to the Noble Council for filing, it would take effect immediately.

Both were very satisfied with the deal.

Raven got the benefit.

The Snow Maple Territory is not only larger in area, but also adjacent to the Eagle Territory. Now the two territories are connected into one, which solves the original problem of choosing the focus of territory development, and also gains the Snow Maple Territory's mature industries, craftsmen, and basically no population loss.

The population of Snow Maple Territory, the population of Eagle Territory, plus the 20,000 serfs promised by Viscount John and the refugees received during this period, the population under Raven's rule has now exceeded 100,000.

A population of this size is enough to support an army of thousands. If we follow the common standards of the nobility, it is not impossible to squeeze out a legion with a little effort!

Viscount John, an old man who had lost interest in his career, also got what he wanted.

Although the territory is in a state of disrepair, it is located in the heart of the Nordic Province, so its security is guaranteed, and its future development potential exceeds that of the Snow Maple Territory.

What's more, he still retained the barony, so even if there were multiple heirs competing for heirs in the family in the future, he could still settle people there.

The two people who made the contract were in a very good mood. They drank together and talked about some of their experiences on the battlefield and the gossip that was circulating among the nobles recently.

It was only then that Raven realized that the seemingly old-fashioned Viscount John was also very good at gossiping.

For example, the two sons of a baronial family literally tore each other apart in order to compete for merit; for example, a viscount, for pleasure, actually kept several male favorites around him as personal soldiers, and when these male favorites were in danger, he turned around to rescue them, but lost an ear, and the person was not saved; another example is that a nobleman was short-sighted and mistook a stone for a guard, and because he disliked the "guard" for not saluting, he pointed at the stone and scolded it for half an hour. "Speaking of which, there is another rumor about you."

"Oh? What rumors about me?" Raven was stunned.

Viscount John smiled and said, "It is rumored that the reason why the Fox family supports you so much this time is that they want to marry their daughter to you."

"Me?" Raven pointed at his nose and said, "Forget it. This rumor is really absurd."

Gently shaking his head, Raven was stunned and asked, "By the way, where is Judela? I don't think I have seen him much in the past few days?"

"You don't know?" Viscount John was a little surprised. "After all, he had too few military achievements, so he definitely couldn't get close to the baron, so he set off back three days ago."

Raven raised his brows slightly.

This guy moved so quickly, he left without saying a word, as if he was afraid that I would interfere.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Viscount John.

"Nothing, I just thought I've been away from home for too long and wanted to go back and take a look." Raven sighed.

This is the truth. Now that the benefits have been obtained, there is no point in lingering in Mon'en City.

And the land that Judra promised to him should be returned!

After seeing John off, Raven immediately got up and headed towards the Silver Hand Brotherhood headquarters without even packing up the camp.

Not long after leaving the camp, the horse's hooves startled a flock of crows, revealing a corpse that had been pecked to pieces.

After every major war, there are always these birds pecking at the corpses.

Now the sky above Mon'en City is filled with these ominous black birds.

All kinds of sounds were heard from the houses on both sides of the street, the miserable moans of women, the angry roars of men, as well as shouts of killing and threats at the top of their lungs.

With a bang, a dishevelled woman rushed through the door and fell into the muddy street before she could take two steps.

"You're quite strong. Run? Where to run? " A man rushed out of the door, ran straight to the woman, grabbed her legs and dragged her into the house.

The woman dug her hands into the ground, leaving deep marks, her nails broken and her flesh and blood all over the place.

She saw Raven and shouted, "Sir, help me, sir!"

"You want to scare me? At this time, how can you..." The man saw Raven halfway through his words, and his movements suddenly froze: "Um, sir, this is my wife, I..."

Not wanting to listen to his nonsense, Raven asked, "Whose man are you from, Silverhand Mott, Barracuda Weber, or Rifttooth Honduras?"

"I'm from the 'Ran Dao Society'!" the man answered carefully.

"Oh, that's with old Johnson." Raven nodded: "After all, they are still people from Honduras."

"So you know all the tricks here." The man smiled flatteringly: "Well, do you want to try this woman first? I haven't touched her yet!"

The woman who thought she had met her savior fell into despair, her eyes becoming empty and lifeless.

"Go away." Raven shook his head and urged his horse.

The man smiled and nodded, then dragged the woman back into the house. Just as he was about to close the door and continue the violence, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his head. The next moment, a crossbow arrow flashing with cold light came out of his mouth.

Raven put away his crossbow and ignored the woman who was kowtowing in gratitude behind him. He clamped his legs around the horse's belly, increased his speed, and his face became increasingly gloomy.

Because this is not an isolated case.

On the streets near the military camp, the rioters knew to be more restrained. The farther away from the military camp, the more dilapidated the streets became. Looking up, there were no candlelights at all. The only bright light was the flames from the burning buildings.

Originally, although the public security in the downtown area was not good, it was not so bad.

However, with the end of the war, in order to declare the arrival of peace, the Slater family transferred all of the few remaining defenders to the upper city to eliminate the remaining undead creatures and maintain public order.

The lower town became the price.

The gangsters, who had been depressed for a long time because of the war, began to party.

No matter whether it was shops or houses along the street, they could not escape the fate of being broken into.

Men were dragged into the streets and hacked to death, children were thrown out of windows, and women endured conditions worse than death.

The mixture of wailing and flames made the streets look not like the human world but a living hell.

The thugs were like demons from hell. Even when they noticed Raven coming, they acted as if they didn't see him and wouldn't stop their evil deeds at all.

If the badge on Raven's chest hadn't been clear enough, they might have already surrounded him.

After passing through hell and returning to the headquarters of the Silver Hand Brotherhood, Raven saw Lux standing by the window, praying to the fire in the night sky.

Hearing Raven's footsteps, she turned back and breathed a sigh of relief: "You're back! I was really worried that you were in danger."

Raven smiled and walked over to her, "Don't worry, this level of chaos can't hurt me."

He also saw a trace of unresolved worry in Lux's eyes: "Are you worried about the people in the lower city?"

Lux shook her head slightly: "...No."

This was a lie, and Raven knew why she said it.

Because although she sympathized with people who were suffering, she would not let Raven be in danger for this reason.

"Don't worry, I am now the president of the Lower City Chamber of Commerce. I should be the one to solve this problem."

"Really?" Lux blinked. Although everything Raven promised her had been fulfilled so far, she really couldn't figure out how to quell a riot of this scale.

Raven only has more than thirty personal soldiers under his command.

"Of course." Raven smiled confidently. "If I can do it, then..."

His eyes fell under the hem of Lux's skirt.

The latter shrank back: "...Okay!"

"It's a deal." Raven turned around and said seriously, "Mantheni!"

Soon, Mantheni appeared in front of Raven. She didn't like Raven's attitude of calling him a servant, but she could do nothing about it: "... Baron."

Raven got straight to the point. "Contact Webber of Bloody Harpoon and Honduras of the Rifttooth Warband in my name."

"Tell them I have business to discuss."

……

(End of this chapter)