Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 172 Chapter [-] Learned Brother's Operation

How could a freeman in the wilderness who lived a wild life and had no worries give up his yearning for freedom and serve a corrupt imperial noble with his life?

——The people of Huafang Town originally wanted to say so;

But Shuangfengling gave too much!
According to the regular market conditions in the Land of the Broken Soul, even for a more mature mercenary group, when hiring powerful warriors, the highest price that can be offered is only about five gold coins per month, and the more common head price is three gold coins per month. gold coins;

What's even more deceitful is that these sinister and cunning wasteland mercenary groups often refuse to pay the legal currency minted by the Imperial Royal Bank when they settle accounts, and instead use gold coins privately minted by major noble territories to pay the bill——

——Although the legal exchange rate of ten large copper coins for one silver coin and one hundred silver coins for one gold coin of the Imperial Royal Bank has not changed much, this does not mean that the gold coins minted by the nobles themselves can have the same Credibility and market value;
The most reputable Rosario gold coins on the market, which are mostly circulated in the Eastern Territory, can only be exchanged for 96 silver coins according to the market price, and the Goshawk gold coins minted by the Igor family in Eagle's Rest Castle have only a mere exchange effect 91 silver coins;
As for the Houston gold coins minted by the Grand Duchy of Houston, due to rumors that the precious metals are short of gold and short taels, they can only be exchanged for more than 70 silver coins. A severely undervalued currency is still widely circulated.

According to Xia Houyan's experience since time travel, the purchasing power of a silver coin in this world fluctuates in the range of five to eight yuan in modern RMB depending on market conditions;
That is to say, by relying on inferior privately minted gold coins, for each head, the mercenary regiments can save nearly a hundred silver coins every month, which is equivalent to the cost of several hundred yuan in modern times!

But for this point, the mercenaries are also very helpless: this kind of occupation with their heads tied to their belts and risking their lives to make money, even if the salary is deducted layer by layer by the mercenary regiment, is more expensive than most farming and weaving industries. ordinary people earn more;
They can't let go of the ready-made work and shout "rnm money back", right?

However, the appearance of Shuangfengling is like throwing a catfish into the lifeless wasteland labor market full of loaches and small yellow croakers—no, it’s throwing a water monkey!

The military salary of ten gold coins per month is an outrageous price that completely exceeds the rules of the Land of Cracking Soul, and is enough to be investigated by the commercial department for anti-improper competition in modern society!

Almost at the same time that Lawrence announced this explosive salary value, all the crowd in Huafang Town looked at the lord and the Igor family propaganda team, and there were only two clear-cut eyes:
Either, it's like looking at a big dog; or, it's like looking at an imbecile.

Of course, these people in the wilderness may have all kinds of slanders in their hearts about Shuangfengling's pricing strategy, but their physical reactions are extremely honest.

In almost half a minute, the militiamen sitting at the table and responsible for registering information were surrounded by swarms of applicants;
The enthusiasm of the masses is obviously contagious. Soon, more and more townspeople gathered around, and more and more relatives and friends were pulled out of their homes and driven away in the cold wind. Come and watch the fun;

Xia Houyan even discovered that several townspeople rushed out of Huafang Town on fast horses, as if to inform their relatives and friends living in other towns...

Mayor Henry Faulkner looked sideways at the young lord beside him with extremely complicated eyes.

Even a scheming man like Faulkner has to admit that Frost Maple Ridge's recruiting strategy is really bad. Dispelling all the hesitation and hesitation in the hearts of the townspeople, it made them eager to sell their labor to the lord of Shuangfengling like hugging a piece of driftwood in the vast ocean.

Of course, Faulkner also knows very well that the recruiting project of Frost Maple Ridge must be based on sufficient financial foundation-if Frost Maple Ridge cannot pay the high monthly salary of ten gold coins by then, then this little lord will definitely His reputation would be lost, and his underpants would be stripped off by the mobs of the Cracked Soul, and his willow trees would be hung up.

So Faulkner didn't say anything, and was happy to see the results: in his heart, he actually hoped that the Xiahou official would be heavily in debt, and then he could provide financial aid to turn the only legal nobleman on the wasteland into a puppet, and he would be washed away. Go one step further on the broad road with a white background.

If the bandit and mayor knew how much Shuangfengling made a fortune on Dragon Bone Peak, he would not have such absurd ideas at all.

Seeing that more and more townspeople came to sign up enthusiastically, Tom Lawrence also lost no time in loudly announcing that because there were too many applicants, review and selection were needed to determine who could finally join Igor's pioneering army.

So soon, Clement and Karen, the two military leaders, set aside a temporary assessment site outside Huafang Town. All civilians who sign up to join the army must pass several assessments and certifications such as long-distance running, weightlifting, and horse riding. They will be recruited only after they have demonstrated their basic combat capabilities.

The lord, who was watching the assessment site, was surprised and satisfied to find that the wilderness people might be illiterate or have no manners, but they were not afraid of anyone when it came to physical fitness.

From boys in their teens to old men in their fifties and sixties, the vast majority of applicants have performed well in the assessment. Although they have not reached the level of the former Eagle's Rest Guards, they are far beyond ordinary people. The standard is even much better than that of the lord who has been deliberately exercising;
Xia Houyan was even stunned to find that a group of young girls from Huafang Town also participated in the assessment, and their performance was not inferior to that of their male compatriots. .

"Come to our Huafang Town to enlist troops, you have come to the right place." Mayor Henry Faulkner, standing beside the lord, said sourly, "When bandits attacked in the past, these townspeople would all raise their weapons Those who defend their homes are not comparable to the peaceful people in the central plains of the empire."

It seems that he knew in his heart that after today's farce of conscription, the elites of the common people in Huafang Town will be pinched by Shuangfengling.

It's just that the two sides have spoken first, and he can't go back on his word no matter what.

Xia Houyan could tell at a glance that Faulkner was in a gloomy mood.

If it was in the past, he might still think of some diplomatic rhetoric to ease the atmosphere, but now, Shuangfengling's methods of handling similar matters are relatively straightforward——

——The lord directly stuffed an aquamarine crystal into Faulkner's hand.

Faulkner's staring eyes were suddenly reflected in a luxurious azure blue.

"This can be considered as a reward for you as the mayor." Xia Houyan put his hands in his hands in a very unnoble manner, with a cowardly smile on his face, "Don't worry, in addition to Huafang Town, we have to go to several other towns in two days. The towns on the left bank are recruiting troops!"

Faulkner stroked the cold spar with his hands, squinted his eyes, and said nothing.

……

Xia Houyan did not lie to Faulkner.

Huafang Town is not the only residential area in the entire south bank of the Lion Heart River. Under the Jinyuan offensive in Shuangfengling, it has become "the home of Hailan, the recruiting ground for men".

It's just that the mayors of several other towns are far from Henry Faulkner's unique personality. At least from the outside, they are all good citizens who have lived in the Land of the Cracked Soul for generations, not bandit leaders pretending to be officials. .

Therefore, as long as a few aquamarine crystals are stuffed in, their personality and persistence will quickly fall like Paris, France. Several mayors put bribes in their pockets, while patting their chests and expressing to the lord that our town will always be Frost Maple Ridge's close partner, you have as many great guys in town as you want!

So in the next few days, the conscription ceremonies held in other towns were even more grand than Huafang Town.

In fact, Xia Houyan wanted to make some noise on purpose: Since one day the Igor family will appease the wasteland, it would be better to make the name of the territory in the hearts of the people on the left bank as soon as possible. How he will react in the future is completely out of the consideration of Xiahou officials:
To be honest, with the current strength of the Phoenix Terrace, a few bandit camps are really not worth the effort of the lord.

And Phoenix TV's high-profile conscription soon paid off:

The townspeople who joined Frost Maple Ridge under the lure of profit were much more than the high-level officials had expected in Phoenix Terrace.

This result is not unrelated to the local folk customs of the southern wilderness: in the land of cracked souls where the dangerous environment exists, the local residents will form a similar group of civilian armed organizations in order to protect themselves, usually a strong group of several families. The labor force unites to take on the heavy responsibility of protecting the family.

As soon as Shuangfengling recruited soldiers, as long as a member of this kind of non-governmental organization moved his mind, others usually followed.

The lord extended a warm welcome to the recruits with their families: He announced that if the recruits' families come to Shuangfeng Ridge together, they can also automatically obtain the status of a citizen, and they can also get a considerable sum of money to settle down. fee.

In today's Shuangfengling, apart from the lack of soldiers, the production population is also lacking. If a group of farmers and craftsmen can be recruited along the way, the officials of Xiahou can wake up from their dreams-not to mention, after the family members are naturalized, these new recruits Your loyalty is more guaranteed, isn't it?
In the end, there were as many as 730 recruits who were recruited by Igor's pioneering army. This was the result of a large number of applicants, Clement and Karen's careful selection, and the elimination of a large number of contestants.

Juan Clemente, who changed from a bare-handed commander to a leader of the army overnight, didn't even know which armor-covered thick leg to walk first.

What makes the lord even more happy is that the family members brought by the recruits, together with the voluntary applicants who are looking for favorable conditions, add up to a total of nearly a thousand productive population naturalized in Shuangfengling - many of them possess special skills Folk capable people.If anyone in this group of people can show their worth in the future, Xia Houyan doesn't mind promoting them to a cadre at all.

After packing up their belongings, this mighty army of new leaders will start from their original address one after another, cross the wilderness with pride, and drive towards Shuangfengling, heading for a great future.

Xia Houyan even wondered whether it was time to erect a statue of the King of Liberty holding a judge's pen and embracing the book of life and death at the entrance of Fenghuang Terrace to welcome the immigrant groups who came forward and pursued freedom.

However, after discussing with Mayor Joel and Master Laurie, the lord also realized that it was absolutely impossible for this group of recruits to immediately devote themselves to military training.

First of all, the explosive population growth has brought new challenges to the living conditions that had improved slightly thanks to the efforts of Master Donald: Seeing that the Phoenix Terrace was about to be overcrowded, the lord hurriedly activated the "copper" on the south side of the Phoenix Terrace. According to the development plan of Sparrow Terrace, Tongque Terrace will be used as the second camp of Shuangfengling, and will serve as the residential area for the new citizens.

If brick houses were to be built in Tongque Terrace, Lena Leslie, the lord's junior sister and bed partner, would probably die of exhaustion from burning bricks;

Therefore, while buying a large number of tents from the town for emergency, the lord also ordered the members of the artisan group to go to the eastern woodlands to carry out logging work and devote themselves to the construction of wooden houses, calling on everyone to work hard, strive for the upper reaches, and build new residences more quickly, better and more economically. Area.

Secondly, before military training, ideological and political education is still indispensable.

The recruits recruited from the wilderness were not the old men of the Igor family who followed all the way from Eagle's Rest Fort and the infected area. Their loyalty and quality were doubtful.

Tom Lawrence, who was honorably appointed by the lord as the director of the political department of Igor's pioneering army, took on the important task of educating the recruits.

At the first Igor Pioneering Army meeting held near the soil slope on the edge of Tongque Terrace, Lawrence first used the gold coins exchanged for the aquamarine crystal in the town to pay the recruits a period of military pay in advance, and then started A series of courses for recruits including teaching military songs, shouting slogans, establishing a correct view of war to protect the environment and the people, and adapting to the "human-ghost coordination" tactics of fighting with undead creatures.

And this piece of loess slope will soon be dubbed "Huangpo Military Academy" by the locals because of the frequent gatherings of soldiers, just like the Royal Military Academy of the Imperial Capital... I will not discuss this matter.

During the construction and training in full swing, the lord, who was so busy at the Phoenix Terrace every day, soon received two unexpected news from the northern part of the wilderness:

The first news is that after a large number of strong men left the towns on the left bank to join Shuangfengling, in addition to Huafang Town, the other three towns that were temporarily in chaos due to population outflow encountered a group of unknown masked mountain towns one night. attack by thieves;
The second news is that the "Left Bank Alliance", which was originally jointly managed by four mayors at the same level, suddenly announced the reorganization and establishment of a sole leader system. The mayor of Huafang Town, Henry Faulkner, was unanimously elected as the first chairman of the alliance... …

Xia Houyan felt that it seemed that Faulkner had never done a loss-making business.

(End of this chapter)