I'm the one running the game

The Black Soil Territory is not actually very big. It is just the size of a town.

Fortunately, it is located in a relatively rich and remote location, so self-sufficiency is not a big problem.

The overall area is not even comparable to the original Copper Tree Tribe, but the population is much larger.

It is located in a large plain, surrounded by forests, lakes and other resources, and there are also relatively rich mineral resources.

After Lu Xingshi arrived at the Black Soil Territory, with the help of the housekeeper, he quickly took over the entire Black Soil Territory, but also learned a truth.

That is, there is no money.

The cousin of the previous life not only took away all the gold coins, silver coins, etc., but also paid taxes for fifty years later, so not only he, the Viscount of Black Soil, was poor, but also the Black Soil Territory.

And he couldn't continue to collect taxes, otherwise it would cause rebellion.

"This Viscount is so shabby..." Lu Xingshi quickly threw the territory's property aside and turned to look at the military strength.

A knight who was canonized and also canonized as a knight of the Knight Territory.

Lu Xingshi's previous knighthood was that of a wandering knight, similar to a mercenary who graduated from a military academy.

The nobles can be knighted again and have a knight territory. In other words, the knight and his descendants must be loyal to the noble, and the noble will provide support for ten households of the knight.

It is equivalent to ten households supporting the knight through output.

This knight is also the sheriff of the Black Soil Territory.

As a viscount, he relies on the sheriffs under him to protect the security of the territory, the treasurer is responsible for the finances, taxes and various resources of various territories, and there is also a judicial officer to handle judicial affairs in the territory, such as various disputes.

In addition, there are butlers and consultants. The former is responsible for the viscount's food, daily life, servant management, etc., and the latter provides corresponding suggestions. They are generally served by knowledgeable scholars, but there are currently no black soil territories.

The butler is brought by Lu Xingshi himself.

Of course, the entire territory does not rely solely on these three officials. For example, the sheriff has 50 spearmen, 10 archers and 5 cavalrymen under his command, and the financial officer has tax collectors under his command, etc.

"There are quite a few soldiers." Lu Xingshi looked at the list of soldiers. Although there are only 65 people, this is actually the limit that the Black Earth Territory can support.

The spearmen wear chain mail, the archers wear leather armor, and the cavalry are heavily armored and ride two horses.

The daily food expenditure alone is a huge amount, and then there are training and so on. With the resources of the Black Earth Territory and the surrounding areas, it is really difficult to support them.

In addition, there are militias, but they are not counted in the regular army. There is only one number, about 100 people.

These 100 people are farmers on weekdays, but if they are called up, they can make do for a while, but the equipment they are given is definitely not that good.

Looking at the population again, 1,500 households, probably the bottom type among the viscounts.

It is mainly caused by geographical factors and poor operation.

"Let the sheriff, the treasurer and the judicial officer come to see me." Lu Xingshi said directly to the butler.

This butler was not recruited by Lu Xingshi himself, but was left by the previous viscount. He was like a family son and had always been loyal to the Lanton family.

So he didn't care who the viscount was. As long as the other party's surname was Lanton and he was a viscount, he would be loyal to him.

He was brainwashed since he was a child.

And his son was Lu Xingshi's personal butler.

Lu Xingshi didn't say anything. The other party was not a gentle man, but a burly man. He was not only a butler, but also the captain of the attendant team, responsible for protecting Lu Xingshi's safety.

He could help Lu Xingshi deal with various chores when the butler was away.

As for the maids, there were actually some. There was no such thing as a delicate body. Instead, they were all strong and sturdy, and they were very efficient at work.

Lu Xingshi liked people who could do things. He was not the kind of person who was addicted to women.

"The three adults have been waiting for a long time. I will invite them in immediately." The butler said immediately.

His arrival did not cause any bloody power grabbing behavior. The Lanton family has been deeply involved in the Black Soil Territory for many generations, so its prestige is very high.

In addition, the military power held by the sheriff, who is a canonized knight, has always been the most powerful supporter of the Lanton family.

The financial officer and the judicial officer are more like the type of father-to-son inheritance. They have been following the Lanton family since the time when they opened up the Black Soil Territory.

These three territorial officials are essentially like the butler, belonging to the Lanton family's generational slaves.

There are basically no problems with loyalty.

Otherwise, the cousin of the previous life took away the money and ran away. Why did the Black Soil Territory not have any problems? It was because these three territorial officials were maintaining it.

The three people came in quickly, led by a burly middle-aged man in armor. He was the sheriff, the only canonized knight in the territory.

Then there was a fat middle-aged man, who was the financial officer, and another thin middle-aged man, who was the judicial officer.

"Sit down, I just arrived, and I have a lot to ask you, so as to further determine the situation of the Black Earth Territory." As soon as Lu Xingshi finished speaking, the butler arranged chairs for the three people.

Then he stood beside Lu Xingshi and responded to Lu Xingshi's orders at any time.

This means that all the core personnel of the Black Earth Territory have arrived.

"I have learned about the situation of the previous viscount. How long can the food last?" Lu Xingshi asked.

"My Lord Viscount, don't worry about food. The previous Viscount only took away the silver and gold coins in the territory, and the civilians use copper coins, so there is not much impact for the time being."

"The real problem is that we can't collect taxes and there are only copper coins left in your treasury, which will have an impact on our foreign trade." The financial officer said.

The merchants in the Black Soil Territory are actually the Viscount's people.

"In other words, we don't have to worry too much about the order of the territory at the moment, right?" Lu Xingshi looked at the three people.

When the three heard what Lu Xingshi said, they immediately understood that Lu Xingshi was not a literary youth who was just messing around like the previous Viscount, but a real talent.

The food problem, at this time, can be completely equated with the order problem.

As long as the civilians under his command can eat enough, they will not rebel.

"Yes." The sheriff answered Lu Xingshi.

"This means that the biggest problem for our entire territory is the lack of money."

"The previous viscount directly emptied all our available cash and left. What about the right to mint coins? I remember that as a pioneer lord, Black Soil Territory has independent coinage rights." Lu Xingshi looked at the judicial officer.

Lords are divided into two categories, one is the enfeoffed noble lords, and the other is the pioneering lords. The Lanton family where Lu Xingshi belongs naturally belongs to the latter, but both are nobles.

Compared to the enfeoffed lords, there is a master above them. For example, the viscount is a subordinate of a certain earl and will be constrained and restricted.

Pioneering lords are different. They have independent power and only need to respond to the call of the kingdom. However, they are also loyal to the king on the surface, but they need to pay corresponding taxes every year.

He remembered that his Viscount Lanton had to pay 100 gold coins as taxes every year, which was actually a lot.

Of course, the feudal lords also have to pay taxes, but they don't pay directly to the king, but to their lords, that is, the viscounts pay the earls, and the amount paid must be at least ten times.

After all, the earls also have to pay upwards, so they can only pull downwards.

The good news is that this year's taxes have been paid, so there is no need to worry about being harassed by the king's tax officials.

The taxes were paid before the predecessor ran away, so he had to bite the bullet and pay.

Even so, he didn't actually take away much money.

Do you really think that maintaining such a territory doesn't cost money? The viscount has a lot of people.

"Yes, Lord Viscount, we do have the right to mint coins, but there are no gold and silver mines in the Black Soil Territory, so we have no way to mint gold and silver coins." The judicial officer said with a stiff upper lip.

Lu Xingshi narrowed his eyes.

"We don't have it, but we can mint it for you."

"We'll only take 30% from those nobles who don't have the right to mint coins."

"By the way, they will be responsible for all the losses, and let them send the corresponding talents." Lu Xingshi said.

The three looked at each other, and finally the judicial officer said: "My Lord Viscount, this is against the laws of the kingdom..."

"Okay, financial officer, what other ways do you have? It's just the beginning of spring this year, and we have to have at least 300 gold coins in the treasury, otherwise we won't be able to get through this year, let alone next year." Lu Xingshi said that since it was illegal, he would use formal channels.

The financial officer's scalp was numb when Lu Xingshi asked him. Where did he have any way to make money? If the former viscount hadn't run away with the money, he only needed to maintain it so that the entire Black Soil Territory would not have to worry about financial problems.

But now, it's obviously not possible.

After all, he was just a financial officer in a small place, and was speechless when Lu Xingshi asked him.

"There is still a way. The iron ore resources in Black Soil Territory are relatively rich. Blacksmiths can make a batch of iron armor and iron swords for sale." The sheriff said.

"With the blacksmith skills of Black Soil Territory, I'm afraid the value is not high." Lu Xingshi knew the blacksmiths in Black Soil Territory. They were good at making farm tools and repairing weapons and armor, but their skills were not up to standard.

A set of armor can only cost about fifty gold coins, and a sword costs ten gold coins.

You should know that the chain mail on the spearmen in his territory costs one hundred gold coins, and the heavy armor of the cavalry is as high as one thousand gold coins.

Each piece is a masterpiece among masterpieces.

Of course, these belongings were not saved by the previous viscount, but the foundation left by the entire Landon family since the founding of the country.

"Forget it, let the blacksmiths do it first, and put some gold and silver coins in the vault as soon as possible to avoid accidents." Lu Xingshi sighed. Without money, there is no ability to resist risks.

As for copper coins? It was minted by the Black Soil Territory itself, so even if it could be circulated externally, it would be at a great discount, not to mention that no one would buy it.

In terms of currency value, it is far inferior to gold and silver.