I'm not a lord

Chapter 175 All governments are makeshift operations

Led by soldiers, nearly two hundred serfs who had escaped from the church estate arrived in Baihe Territory.

Lynn had already made arrangements for these serfs who came to seek refuge.

To alleviate their fear of being newcomers, he would provide these serfs with ample food, seeds, and uncultivated wasteland.

Lynn always kept his word; if he said he would provide free food and farmland for the runaway slaves, then he would never let them go hungry.

Besides, he doesn't lack food now; the grain reserves of each baron's territory from last year are all in his hands.

After undergoing agricultural reforms, the surplus grain produced by the White Bear Territory is now sufficient to easily feed tens of thousands of people each year.

In exchange for a little food, you can get free high-quality people. This deal is incredibly worthwhile.

Of course, in order to enable these penniless serfs to complete the land reclamation task, Lynn thoughtfully prepared farm tools, draft horses, and a "serf loan" contract for them.

You can get farm tools and draft horses for free by paying 70% of your income over the next five years.

As for the houses, these serfs naturally had to build them themselves.

The materials are entirely up to the individual; they can be mud or straw, or trees cleared from the land; if there is extra capacity, they can even go to a quarry to carve stones to build a house.

If you're willing to put in the effort, you can move right up to a stone house of the same caliber as a lord, which is the best you can get.

As for the location where these escaped slaves were settled, it was in Green Lake County, located in the middle of the territory.

The place had ample arable wasteland and was far enough away from Sanhe City to prevent these escaped slaves from escaping back to Sanhe City.

That's right, Lynn has renamed the former Green Lake Baronial Estate to Green Lake County.

From this point forward, there will be no more baronies in the Shirakawa River basin. Instead, there will be six 'counties' that retain their distinctive names, such as Kawanuma County, Green Lake County, and Shirokuma County.

This marked the beginning of Lynn's reform of the territory's political system.

Countless reforms begin with changing place names.

After all, if the name is not correct, the words will not be proper.

With the barons gone, Lynn is now the only Earl of White River left in the entire White River region, so the title of baronial estate can no longer be used.

Lynn initially considered several plans for the division of administrative counties.

First, as a count, he is the only sun in the entire White River Territory, and all the territories and people must obey his orders and leadership.

But how should we set up the administrative divisions?
River Marsh Castle, White Bear Castle?

That certainly won't work.

Three Rivers City is located to the south, and its style is completely different from that of the other baronies, so this name is definitely not appropriate.

镇？
This administrative level is too low, and besides, there are already towns where artisans gather in each territory.

县？
After much deliberation, Lynn decided to use the administrative division system that she was more familiar with.

An earldom is a prefecture, and below that, a county would naturally be formed.

However, one problem is that the baronies are relatively small, with many territories having only a few thousand permanent residents.

Of course, Lynn didn't see this as a big problem.

The development momentum of each county is very strong. In the south, escaped slaves are replenishing the population, while in the north, deserters are constantly migrating in.

The baronies in the North are all very large, with distances of dozens of kilometers between them, which is worthy of being called 'counties'.

Another problem is that there is no word in the North that means 'county'.

Even the word 'county' originated from the southern border.

Furthermore, a prefecture was not an administrative unit but a military unit, and the prefect was not an administrative official but a local military official appointed by the duke.

If Lynn bluntly declared: From now on, your River Marsh Territory will be called River Marsh County!
Everyone would just wonder: Sir, what is a county?
Therefore, Lynn actually used the word 'region' to replace 'county'.

You mentioned Kawanuma Prefecture, but nobody understands.

But if you say the swamp region, then everyone will understand. Isn't that the area that used to be the swamp baron's territory?
Of course, this is just a matter of habit or translation.

The land is still the same land, and the people are still the same people. There is no essential difference between Kawanuma Prefecture and Kawanuma Ward. Just understand that.

As for the former governors of each territory, they were naturally promoted to the new official position of 'county magistrate,' which literally means 'regional governor.'

Currently, these county magistrates basically hold administrative, judicial, and financial power over their territories, and their authority is no different from that of the former territorial stewards.

The main reason, of course, is that Lynn is short of manpower.

He has very few people under him who can write official documents smoothly. Even most county magistrates cannot write a fluent article, so how can he build a complete bureaucratic system?

He can only begin to build the complete system after he has conquered Sanhe City and acquired enough cultured people qualified to be officials.

Actually, administration and finance are not too difficult to handle.

These county magistrates are generally highly loyal and have extensive experience in managing their territories, so they are unlikely to make any serious mistakes.

The key point is still the judiciary.

Especially the judicial jurisdiction over those deserters.

As a tribe that lives by fishing and hunting, the customary laws of the Wilderness people must be very different from those of the local inhabitants of the White River Territory.

That's why Lynn explored salt and limonite mines, with the aim of enabling these wastelanders to live in the mining area.

As long as they are kept away from too much contact with local farmers, too many legal problems will not arise.

At the same time, Lynn would also lease the mining area and surrounding land to the Wastes, allowing them to adjudicate minor crimes in the settlement according to Wastes tradition, while serious crimes such as the death penalty would require reporting to Lynn first.

This sounds a bit like a concession, but it's the best solution at the moment.

In essence, all governments are makeshift organizations.

Most bureaucratic systems are constantly being revised and modified, like an old car covered with all sorts of patches.

At least the current system in Baihe Territory can operate in an orderly manner. Although there are some minor loopholes, they are generally harmless.

Adjustments can be made later based on the available human resources and new needs.

In the afternoon, on the fourth-floor rooftop of the castle, Lynn lay on a chair with his eyes half-closed, enjoying the warm spring sunshine and the massage service from two young girls from the High Cliff tribe.

Hafdan was right. Although these two girls were the chieftain's daughters, they knew how to serve people. They used all their soft parts and massaged Lynn to his heart's content.

This glimpse reveals that the Gaoya tribe held a very low status in the wilderness.

Even the chieftain's daughter had to learn the art of service, the implications of which are self-evident.

That's why, when they learned there was a new way to make a living in the south, the High Cliff tribe eagerly came to serve Lynn.

"Sir, this is an urgent official document from White Bear Territory—no, White Bear County."

As Mira climbed to the fourth floor carrying an official document, two little girls from the High Cliff tribe stopped what they were doing and obediently stepped aside.

As Mira walked past the two men, she could sense a faint but palpable hostility.

Just a few days ago, her brother, Sowad, came to her and warned her not to let the little girl from the High Cliff tribe steal the master's favor.

Mira naturally understood this simple truth. But she wasn't afraid of such childish hostility.

After more than half a year of hard work, coupled with Lia's exemplary conduct, Mira is growing at an astonishing pace.

She now speaks fluent Common Tongue and has a certain understanding of the culture and customs of the Northern Kingdom.

To encourage her, Lynn specially promoted her to be the secretary in the castle, responsible for delivering messages and official documents.

Mira's ultimate goal is to become an excellent lover like Leah, who is equally adept in public and private.

Lynn got up from the chair, straightened his clothes, and took the document marked 'urgent' from Mira's hand.

All official documents marked with this designation are eligible for express delivery service.

However, the road construction project has only just begun, and this document was sent by water, taking more than two days to arrive.

The document came from Albert Jr., who had just taken office as the county magistrate of White Bear County.

His writing was somewhat disorganized, and a few words were used incorrectly, but he was still able to explain things clearly.

Just three days ago, the total number of Gaoya tribe members who had migrated to the vicinity of the salt mine had exceeded three thousand.

Following Lynn's prior instructions, Albert Jr. began preparations to relocate these deserters to Chixi County in the south.

Due to the limited capacity of water transport, these more than 3,000 people will travel by land, passing through Baixiong County, Qiantan County, and Luhu County, and finally arriving at Chixi County.

The White Bear County will send ten graduates who understand the language of the local people to lead the way.

Upon arriving in Chixi County, these students would stay behind and, with the assistance of the local county magistrate and other officials, direct the local people to build a 30-kilometer-long high-quality road connecting the limonite mine.

Once the road is repaired and mining begins, the students will also build a trading post in Chixi to exchange food and tools for iron ore from the local people.

With the precedent set by the salt mines of White Bear Territory, Lynn and the High Cliff tribe readily accepted this form of trade.

The same pattern can be observed in what followed.

Lynn would recruit young men from the High Cliff tribes as scouts or archers, and teach them the common language of the continent in the military camp.

Then, their families will be gradually relocated to agricultural areas to integrate them with the locals and help them get used to local rules and laws.

In three to five years, the Gaoya tribe will be able to integrate into the Baihe territory and fully enjoy the harvest brought by farming.

At the end of the document was an appendix containing an old man Soward's plea.

As per the agreement Lynn had made with old Soward.

Once all 7,000 people from the high cliff tribe have arrived, the lowland tribes remaining in the salt mine will gain the right to migrate inland and will receive some arable land and food.

Meanwhile, old Soward also hoped to personally arrange his son Soward's wedding.

As for the location of the wedding, that will be decided by Lynn.

After all, Xiao Suo had already joined the army, and his life or death was now in the hands of the lord.

After reading the official document, Lynn looked at Mila with a smile and asked, "Mira, do you want to see your father?"

Mira replied with her head down, "Of course I want to."

Leah always taught her that she must never lie to the master, and that as long as she remained loyal and honest, she would gain the master's favor and trust.

"Your brother is getting married at the end of the month, and your father and mother will be there."

Lynn planned to take advantage of the joy of Soward's wedding to hold a grand mass wedding for a group of officers and soldiers in the army.

Among these officers were bandits who had followed him through thick and thin, as well as young warriors who had fought bravely on the banks of the Shallow Beach and the Green Water River.

Offering gifts and blessings to their wedding was Lynn's duty and responsibility.

Just after reading Albert's official documents, Mira's sister Millie brought another urgent report from the front lines.

The second and third sons took in another batch of runaway slaves, totaling three hundred people. They were all runaways from the church estate and had nothing but strength.

Lynn welcomed all these high-quality laborers who came voluntarily and immediately ordered his third brother to send people to escort them to River Marsh County as soon as possible.

Just as he was enjoying the joy of finding a free human, in the monastery in the southern part of the western suburbs of Sanhe City, Bishop Rotegi was throwing a tantrum.

"I told you to keep an eye on those serfs, but what have you done? You release a batch every day, and the number keeps increasing. What use are you to me?!"

Faced with the enraged bishop, the two rows of monastery stewards sitting below could only lower their heads and remain silent.

They too have their own unspeakable suffering.

The monastery's food reserves were already meager, and it simply couldn't provide much food to the homeless serfs.

Moreover, the number of these serfs was not small, totaling nearly three thousand.

How can you expect serfs to stay without providing them with enough food, without subsidizing them to replant their fields, and without allowing them to escape in secret?
In reality, many escaped slaves were deliberately released by the monastery's stewards.

Compared to the higher-ups who only know about interests and calculations, these lower-level monks are more willing to follow the doctrine of compassion.

You'll starve to death anywhere, but at least if you go to Baihe Territory, you'll have a chance to survive.

Rotegi certainly understood his subordinates' predicament.

Therefore, he only cursed a few times before sitting down with a livid face.

When arable land and food are plentiful, population is the most valuable asset, allowing arable land to realize its maximum value and bringing a continuous stream of wealth to the church.

At present, arable land is constantly threatened by the enemy, and the grain in the warehouses is decreasing day by day, so the population has become the biggest burden.

Not only does it fail to generate any benefits, it also wastes a large amount of precious food.

But Rotegi was unwilling to let the serfs who had no food go.

Even if the Duke of the Swamp returns to White River and defeats Lynn in the future, it is unlikely that those runaway serfs will ever come back.

The new lords of the White River Basin will undoubtedly keep a close watch on the population resources of their territories and are unlikely to return the runaway slaves.

Forcibly keeping these serfs would pose endless hidden dangers.

Killing them is definitely not an option; if they are killed, the other serfs will riot.

The thought of what a person with nothing can do in despair sends chills down Rothegi's spine.

Just as he was at his wit's end, the young priest standing behind him walked up to him, leaned down, and whispered in his ear:
"My lord, why not let them all enter Sanhe City? The city's food supply can last for three months. Even if we let them steal and rob, it's still better than sending them to Baihe Territory."

Upon hearing this, Rotege immediately approved: "Great idea, let's do it!"

This is a brilliant move; it solves the problem of feeding these serfs while also thoroughly disgusting the 'city faction'.

You want to give up the western suburbs for the sake of the city? Then let you experience the suffering of the suburbs!

Rotterge believed he had seen through Lynn.

With the limited forces Lynn displayed, there was absolutely no way he could launch a full-scale attack on Three Rivers City; he could only manage some looting on the outskirts.

Moreover, the Duke of the Swamp will soon be free to deal with Lynn before the autumn harvest.

Compared to Lynn, the devilish bandit leader who had the desire to steal but lacked the courage, Rotterge now despised the 'city faction' in the council even more.

(End of this chapter)