I'm not a lord

Chapter 136 The Envoy in the Snow
In early January, the biting cold wind roared like an ancient ferocious beast in the sky above the White Bear Territory.

Large flakes of snow fluttered down like cotton wool, and the sky and the earth were soon dyed silver-white.

The salt transportation line that runs through the forest has long been covered with thick snow. The originally clear and straight road has disappeared without a trace, as if it had been completely wiped out from the world by the snow.

Lynn stood by the window on the second floor of the castle, looking out at the white snow scene, his expression solemn.

He really didn't like the winter in White Bear Territory, and he especially didn't like the blizzards that could completely submerge the sky and the earth.

In the past few years, he has been active in the territory of the Duke of the Valley, where the winter is far less cold and biting than that of the White Bear Territory, and the snow is never so overwhelming.

Horse bandits can still carry out outdoor operations in winter, and they are more adept at it.

Following the deep or shallow footprints on the snow, they could easily find caravans or small-scale noble cavalry.

Of course, the nobles and knights can also chase after the bandits, shouting and killing, and can use the traces in the snow to carry out precise pursuit.

The scene of vibrant life and flourishing things is still before Lin En's eyes.

Now, he has to worry about the huge damage that this heavy snow has brought to the territory.

Although most of the residents of White Bear Territory have moved into sturdy stone houses, the refugees and savages who have just moved into the territory do not receive such good treatment. They can only live in old mud houses that have been eliminated.

Lin En seemed to be able to see the mud houses crumbling in the blizzard. The beams could not bear the weight and made creaking sounds, as if they would break at any time.

He could also see the terrified and helpless expressions of the refugees and the savages in the house, they were tightly wrapped in tattered blankets, shivering.

The military camp is composed of newly built brick and stone houses. Although there is no risk of collapse, the soldiers can only huddle together in the houses to keep warm, or do some simple strength training under the blizzard, and cannot carry out high-intensity outdoor training.

Not only that, the connection between White Bear Territory and Shoal Territory was also completely cut off by Blizzard, and he would not be able to get any news from Shoal Territory in a short period of time.

At this moment, Leah slowly walked up to Lin En holding two silver wine glasses and said softly:

"Sir, don't look so sad. This is the red wine I just heated up. Come and have a drink."

This set of silver wine utensils was also Leah's dowry.

When Lin En first came to the White Bear Territory, the castle was basically empty, and anything of some value had been taken away by the escaped knights.

"okay."

Lin En came back to his senses, took the wine glass, warmed his hands with the residual heat, and took a sip. Then he slowly lowered his eyes to look at Leah's slightly bulging belly and said with concern, "You are pregnant now, you must pay more attention to rest and keep warm."

Leah took a sip of low-alcohol hot mead, then she gently stroked her belly with a happy smile on her face: "Don't worry, my Lord, I will take good care of myself and the child."

Thanks to Lynn's recent hard work, Leah finally got pregnant as she wished.

By next autumn, this seemingly barren soil will yield a good harvest.

Lin En watched Leah climb onto his arm and rest her head on his shoulder, feeling the gentle touch of the girl's hair. He suddenly felt that this blizzard was not all bad.

If you consider it solely from an agricultural perspective, this heavy snow is almost entirely beneficial.

Heavy snow covers the farmland, just like a quilt covering the earth, which can hinder the evaporation of water in the soil and retain precious moisture for next year's seeds.

As snowflakes fall, they absorb nutrients from the air, which then seep into the soil after melting. The low temperatures created by accumulated snow effectively kill larvae and eggs in the soil, reducing the likelihood of pests and diseases the following year.

As the saying goes, auspicious snow means a good harvest. With this heavy snow as a foundation, there is a high probability that the White Bear Territory and the Shoal Territory will have a good harvest next year.

The next afternoon, the heavy snow that had been raging for a long time gradually stopped, and the sun struggled to penetrate the clouds and sprinkled on this silver-white land.

Lynn immediately ordered Old Albert to arrange for people to clear the snow and start counting the number of people affected by the disaster.

Thanks to his foresight in the rainy season, the people living in the stone houses avoided the ravages of the snowstorm, and only a few newly moved in families were unfortunately affected.

The mud farmhouse they lived in collapsed under the weight of the snow. Fortunately, the inhabitants had extensive experience with disasters and escaped in time before the house collapsed, so there were no casualties. They only needed to move to an existing old farmhouse.

Apart from population, the White Bear Territory now has everything it needs.

With the efforts of all the residents, the snow on the main roads of White Bear Territory was cleared after two days.

Winding black ribbons stretch out in this silver-white world.

After ensuring that everything in White Bear Territory returned to normal, Lynn took a horse-drawn sleigh to Shoal Territory.

The disaster situation in Shoal Territory was much more serious than that in White Bear Territory. As soon as Lin En stepped into Shoal Territory, he saw a scene of devastation.

The houses of more than sixty serfs were crushed by the heavy snow, and the broken walls looked particularly desolate in the snow.

Dozens of serfs were killed or injured, and most of the injured were seriously injured, with either their legs crushed or their hands smashed, and they basically lost their ability to work.

Seeing the loss of precious labor, Lin En naturally scolded the territory's chief steward Robert severely, and also reprimanded the managers and village heads under him.

"Starting this year, Shoal Territory will be promoting the use of stone and wooden houses. By autumn, if there's still a single household in your territory living in a mud hut, I'll build that household into one. Do you understand?"

Lin En didn't bother to be polite with them and gave a direct order.

There is no shortage of stone mines in the Shoal Territory. There are three or four in the forest north of the territory alone. They were all discovered by Lin En when he led his troops on winter hunting. The farthest one is only three kilometers away from the territory, making mining and transportation very convenient.

As for wood, there is no shortage of it, as there are vast forests on three sides.

Building a stone house is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, Lin En has withdrawn four hundred strong laborers from the Shoal Territory, so he can lower his requirements a little and build a wooden house.

Anyway, in terms of withstanding heavy snow and rain, both of these are better than mud houses.

"understand!"

After receiving the order, the stewards and the village heads nodded their heads quickly. After all, the forest was not theirs, so they would not feel bad if it was cut down by serfs.

Just as Lin En was inspecting the manors in the Shallow Shoal Territory, the second brother stationed at the southern end of the territory sent a message that a delegation had arrived in the Shallow Shoal Territory by sled.

Among them were not only envoys from the four major baronies, but also a group of messengers coming all the way from River Bay Castle.

These messengers carried a handwritten letter from Count Frostwind and braved the severe cold and heavy snow all the way north, with the goal of delivering the letter to the Count's second son, Roman.

(End of this chapter)