Mage Lord: The Tech Tree is Skewed by Me

Thorn collar.

The cold wind howled and the temperature dropped sharply.

The festive atmosphere of the past few days has not dissipated, but the harsh winter has quietly arrived.

Although it hasn't snowed yet, the number of mines being mined has already increased by an order of magnitude.

Obviously, winter is not a suitable season for farming.

But for Antolia, the arrival of winter will not make the people living on this land idle.

There are actually not a few construction sites that choose to start construction in winter.

Because this is the day with the lowest labor costs among the four seasons of the year.

Most of the residents who are unemployed at home are willing to take advantage of this period to find a job.

As a lord, Leon naturally had to give full play to his benevolence and satisfy the demands of his subjects.

As a result, notices soliciting temporary labor were posted at many construction sites.

For these temporary workers, there is definitely no wages.

But taking care of the food is enough.

Compared with the past, the living standards of Antolian people have indeed made a qualitative leap.

But in this era, no matter how much the living standards of the people in the territory improve, their lives are still tight.

In addition, we eat less food in winter.

so……

The lord is willing to provide the temporarily recruited laborers with enough food to fill their stomachs, which is already a great favor.

Just yesterday, in the southeast of the new city in the Thorn Territory, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Antolia High School of Magic was officially launched.

A large number of long-term and temporary laborers created a lively atmosphere in the southeast of the new city of Thornland.

The transportation of wood and stone requires manpower everywhere.

Seeing the bustling scene on the construction site, even Albert, as an archmage, felt warm in his heart.

As for Leon, who is the lord...

Not only was his heart warm, but his whole body was also warm.

There was a strong fire burning in the fireplace of the lord's castle, and the warm stones placed in the four corners of the study exuded a strong warmth.

The cold wind in winter is blocked from the castle, and the temperature in the study is also particularly suitable.

At this time, Leon was leaning on the recliner he had specially built by the craftsmen, holding the staff in his hand - the top of the staff was tied with a string of hair balls made of elk and goose feathers. The little piggy bear swayed back and forth in front of him.

This makes a simple version of the bear funny stick.

The short limbs of the piggy bear were fluttering back and forth in the air, jumping up and down under Leon's teasing.

This is Leon’s daily after-meal pastime.

According to him, digesting food after meals will help your health.

Especially for a guy like Piggy Bear who can eat seven meals a day, entertainment after meals is even more essential.

Dong dong dong!

Aaron knocked on the door.

Come in, Aaron!

Leon said lazily.

Leon was familiar with the knocking of every vassal under his command.

For generals like Juan and Andrew, the sound of knocking on the door was a little dull, and they always knocked on the door in a duplicitous manner.

For administrative officials like Aaron, the knock on the door is mixed with one part expectation, two parts strength, three parts respect and four parts exhaustion.

Today is the day when Aaron, as a butler, comes to give his annual work report to his lord.

Hearing Leon's voice, Aaron pushed the door open with a large stack of brown paper.

Your Majesty the Marquis.

Aaron said softly.

But his eyes were inevitably attracted to the tired little pig bear lying on the ground.

Seeing this, Leon nodded slightly and pointed to the small table placed on the side of his desk:

Don't worry about this guy who only knows how to eat and sleep. Just sit back and talk.

yes!

Aaron nodded, and after preparing for a while, he finally said:

So far, there are three lands directly controlled by the Jimena family, namely Antolia, the south bank of the Meyerson River, and the northern part of the abandoned land centered on Fort Wilson.

In terms of population composition, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior of Antolia, the number of citizens under the Jimena family has reached nearly half a million, which is almost more than one-third of the total population of the southern Andal Kingdom.

Among them, the population of Thorn Territory and Southwest Highlands is about 180,000.

The area south of the Meyerson River that originally belonged to the Principality of Norton has the largest population, with about 200,000 people after the war.

The Abandoned Land has the smallest population, about 60,000 to 70,000 people, more than half of whom are prisoners of war from the Kingdom of Walras, mostly concentrated in Fort Wilson and its surrounding areas.

But it is worth noting that due to the influx of a large number of refugees and foreign populations, including the ancestor tribes and mountain tribes, the number of Antolian indigenous people is only about 70,000, and most of them live in Pan Antolia. Leah region.”

The problem of population composition cannot be solved urgently.

Leon nodded and said calmly: Most of the people in this era have no sense of territoriality, and there are no racial differences among them. Whoever gives him a bite of food will be loyal to him. As long as the Jimena family can follow the current rules, If this idea continues to develop, then these 500,000 people will become the purest Antolians!

So regarding the issue of population composition, we plan to further strengthen the influence of the Jimena family in the next few years and create a common identity for them - the territorial citizens under the rule of the Jimena family.

You go on.

Hearing this, Aaron cleared his throat and continued:

In terms of military strength, due to the territorial expansion in the past few days, we have conducted a new round of recruitment operations. Now, the Antolian Militia and the Lapruk Army, the two main battle armies, each have two to five thousand soldiers. Soldiers, the total number is five thousand.”

The number of Antoria mercenaries is roughly around five hundred.

In addition, there are four garrison regiments in the Thorn Territory, Southwest Highlands, Bergori Pass and the south bank of the Meyerson River. I plan to increase the total number of these garrison soldiers to about four thousand next year.

In this way, the number of troops under the Jimena family will be close to 10,000.

This ratio is finally much more normal.

Leon couldn't help but sigh.

He still clearly remembered how exaggerated the ratio of soldiers to civilians in Antolia was when he first took over this territory.

Although many soldiers in this era were not completely off-duty. For example, the so-called garrison corps actually trained while farming, but the proportion was still particularly terrifying.

And now...

After experiencing two large-scale population influxes during the Andal Civil War and the War in the Principality of Norton, while the number of citizens under the Jimena family's rule has skyrocketed, the military-civilian ratio seems to have finally become normal.

In terms of revenue sources, territorial taxation accounts for the absolute majority of revenue. In addition, the revenue provided by the mining of moon velvet, salt and various mineral deposits has also increased rapidly.

only……

Our food supply is still relatively tight.

Even with the vast black land, the rate of food growth and population growth can only be said to be about the same.

Aaron said in a deep voice.

Antoli's food production has indeed increased a lot, but the increase in population and the amount of food planned for future military operations have also increased.

So when it came to food, Aaron had to be careful.

Are you worried about the batch of refugees who will arrive in the spring next year?

Leon asked with a smile.

As a member of the great nobles of the Andal Kingdom, Leon certainly knew that the refugee problem continued to ferment in the Andal Kingdom after the war.

Although due to the rapid expansion of the power of the Jimena family, Wilbert I had the idea of ​​​​restricting the southward migration of the population to curb the expansion of the power of the Jimena family, but... facing the nobles of the kingdom who unanimously spoke in the royal meeting, let The proposal to gather the refugees from the southern part of the kingdom was finally passed.

so……

When spring comes next year, the land of Antolia will probably usher in a new batch of refugees.

This also caused Antolia's originally somewhat surplus food reserves to become tight once again.

Since the refugees are being sent here, Antolia will definitely not refuse them.

But the food issue is indeed a big deal.

The purchase of grain in the Kingdom of Andal continues. As long as it does not exceed the maximum price we have previously set, we can harvest all the food we owe.

Your Majesty the Marquis.

Aaron thought about it seriously and decided to mention it:

Although the refugees migrating from the interior of the kingdom can supplement Antolia's labor force, there is no guarantee that the king's spies will not be among them.

So don't keep them in the Thorn Territory and Southwest Highlands.

Although Leon did not want to be too public about the development of the Jimena family, his status as a great noble finally announced the end of the honeymoon period between him and Wilbert I.

Beware while cooperating, and cooperate while being wary.

This is the long-term way of getting along between the great nobles and the royal family.

Leon had already mentally anticipated the arrival of this day, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

To a certain extent, the issuance of special development bonds for the abandoned land did speed up the progress, allowing the nobles in the southern part of the kingdom to gather around the Jimena family in a shorter period of time.

But even though he knew this, Leon still wanted to do it.

If you have enough strength, it's good to be able to survive, but it doesn't matter if you can't.

Leon's character prevents him from stopping because of other people's fears.

After all... neither his confidence as a time traveler nor the golden finger of the Ancient Archives would let Leon stop.

The reason for the existence of the black mist is unknown.

The reasons for the destruction of our ancestors are still hidden in history.

Leon didn't want to make the same mistake again, so...he had to speed up.

Faced with Aaron's reminder, Leon just nodded lightly.

A larger population is of course a good thing, but before that, the resettlement of refugees was always a headache.

If that's the case, then when the refugees arrive, place them in an abandoned place!

The land in the Abandoned Land is vast, and there is countless land that is in urgent need of development.

The Bergori Pass is an important transportation hub.

so……

Anyone who frequently travels to and from the Bergoli Pass is the spy sent by the king.

It was indeed difficult for Leon to find the king's informant among the large number of refugees in the first place.

Then he would change his mind.

Even if the king's informants get the information, they can't pass it on!

Your Majesty the Marquis, urgent news from the south bank of the Meyerson River!

Aaron's annual report had just ended, and Piggy Bear, who was tired of listening to it, was still asleep. The waiter's call came from the study, and the urgent letter from Governor Bello of Port Idar arrived on time like a stuck point.

What happened?

Looking at Leon's frown, Aaron couldn't help but asked worriedly.

It's not a big deal.

Leon shook his head and said in a deep voice.

Seeing that his lord didn't seem to be able to sort out the thoughts in his mind, Aaron simply exited the study quietly.

Looking at the content written on the vellum, Leon felt an increasingly strange feeling in his heart.

Explore to the south and try to find or build a road in the future that connects Port Idar to the Abandoned Lands.

This was a request Leon made to Bello after he took office.

And obviously, Bello did remember Leon's words firmly in the small notebook he carried with him.

While vigorously developing fisheries, promoting the construction of the shipbuilding industry, and restoring post-war order on the south bank of the Meyerson River, Bello never forgot to send waves of Antolian soldiers through the mountains and forests south of Port Idar, Trying to find a new way to the abandoned land.

This is not because Leon wants to take a chance.

It's because although the southern mountains of Antolia stretch for thousands of miles and tower into the clouds, they get lower the closer they get to the sea.

Although Leon today still cannot explain why the black fog of the abandoned land did not spread to the land on the south bank of the Meyerson River without the obstruction of mountains, but this is the fact!

This also makes it not impossible to open a road connecting Idar Port and the Abandoned Land.

And clearly, Bello did get results.

It's just that this result is somewhat beyond Bello's control.

According to Bello's letter, the first few batches of scouts sent to the south did not obtain much valuable information.

Until a few days ago...

The fourth batch of scouts heading to the southern part of the Idar Kingdom finally sent valuable information to Bello!

They discovered a large number of ancestor relics deep in the dense forest south of Port Idar, near the junction of the south bank of the Meyerson River and the Abandoned Land!

As for why it is said to be the relics of our ancestors...

Because it is a completely different architectural style from the Kingdom of Andal, the Kingdom of Idrit, and even the Principality of Norton and the former Holy Brun Empire.

and……

According to Bello, the so-called ruins of the ancestors are still in operation?

remains? Running?

These are two words that should not be linked together, but Bello does.

Although Bello did not elaborate on the specific information in the letter, the fourth group of scouts exploring the dense forest south of Port Idar are already on their way to the Thorn Territory...

No more today.