On the Seven Towers

When everyone in the tavern was talking about these things, an old voice said: "You people are still too young."

Xiao Chen looked back and saw an old man with a white beard, holding a wine glass and sitting on a small table next to the tavern. The old man had gray hair and deep wrinkles on his face, but his expression showed With an air of shrewdness, he looked at the villagers with disdain, as if he looked down on their views.

"Dad Anlock, what story are you going to tell me again?" the tavern owner asked.

"You said this territory started to change like this since Pargus? I've said it before, it was like this many years ago. The Feng Wen family has always had a tradition of weirdos, but the father of the previous lord Pargus was not like this. Just start using these old methods when you get to Pargos," Old Man Anlock said confidently.

"Are you talking nonsense? Why have I never heard you talk about this?" Everyone said in confusion.

"Don't talk nonsense, just pay attention and you will know. Didn't you find that when the canal was dug, there was an old canal under the new canal? That public warehouse... wasn't the house before the warehouse was a ready-made old house? It was not renovated much, why is it like that? Is it suitable for use as a public warehouse? There are also a lot of weapons and armor from the Warriors. Where do you think they come from?" Anlok took a sip of ale and said, "I didn't tell you before. Is there any point in telling you? But I feel comfortable with this young man today, so he asked me."

"You mean, there were lords who did the same thing as Baron Pargos before?" Xiao Chen asked.

Father Anlock said: "I am the oldest in the town, and I know more. The parents and even grandparents of most people here are not old people born and raised here. Many of them were recruited by Pargus. Refugees.”

He touched his ear, and there was a protrusion on it, which was sharper than ordinary people. "My ancestors have elven blood, so they have lived longer than ordinary people. They are more than a hundred years old now. When I was a child, it was Parger." Si's grandfather is the lord here, and he does many things similar to Pargus."

"Then why didn't he implement it when Pargus' father was in charge?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Well, how do commoners like us know what the nobles think?" Father Anlock said.

The tavern owner said: "Dad, have I ever heard you brag that you worked as a bookkeeper for the Baron's father? If something happened to the Feng Wen family in the previous generation, would you still not know about it? But what you said is true. If we continue to do this, we will not be able to survive for a generation? "

"Hehe, this seemingly good life is the most fragile. It can be unsustainable for just one simple reason. For example, a war with a nearby lord, a disaster that kills many people, or a kingdom's A bullshit order, or... an heir who doesn't know how to run a business will be handed over to him." Father Anlock looked a little sad, and he sighed: "But it's normal to think about it, if your father left you a particularly wealthy one. The territory and warehouses are full of grain, and there are no more cattle and sheep to eat. Why do you have to work so hard like your father? Pargus's grandfather spent thirty years making this place rich. After his grandfather died, it only took ten years for his father to destroy the entire family. He was not a bad guy, and he was very generous to his people. Otherwise, the Feng Wen family would not have maintained a good reputation. . But a lord who spends a lot of money but doesn't think about how to make money will always make the territory become poorer and poorer.

Oh, by the way, not just him, but his wife too. Pargus's father relied on his wealth when he was young to marry a beauty who was well-known among the surrounding aristocratic ladies. However, this beauty was also a very good spender. A lot of the wealth in the territory was used by them on paintings, sculptures, jewelry and the like. "

"But what about the wealth of those people?" Evans asked, "They should have accumulated a lot of wealth in the good old days, right? I heard my father say that he was just recruited by Lord Pargus At that time, this was a very poor area, and many houses were empty and no one lived in them.”

Father Anlock shook his head and smiled bitterly: "If you were on a ship and the ship was about to sink, and you knew how to swim, would you stay on the ship or run away?"

"Of course I'm running away." People around said one after another.

"That's not good. Those residents who have the ability, ability, and some wealth, seeing that the momentum is not right, have long thought of ways to leave. At that time, most people were free people, and there were no lords who really wanted to leave. Method. However, the more people leave, the harder it will be to maintain the territory. In a few years, the previous Baron will have to sell his property to survive. You know that there are many businessmen in Suero, one or two generations ago. Are they from here? It was the residents who went out at that time who got together to do business and started it.”

"So Pagras is different from his father again?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Pargus... I taught him arithmetic before. This child has not had a good life since he was ten years old. At that time, the old baron's family had already declined. He often owed debts, and the surrounding nobles and wealthy businessmen would send people to collect debts. Later, the old baron couldn't hold on and died of illness. Not long after his mother died of illness. He was forced by the creditors to sell all the remaining things in the family and go to the capital to work as a knight's squire in the home of a friend of his father. Later, he fought with the empire and earned some military merits. Pargus returned to the territory and began to govern this place. Many of your families were recruited by him at that time and moved here."

"It seems that the next thing is that a young lord uses the method passed down by his ancestors to revive the family?" Xiao Chen asked.

"Yes, it is normal to want to follow the old path of your grandfather after being tired of poverty and anger, right?" said Father Anlock. He wanted to add a few more words, but at this time the door of the tavern was pushed open. Two men dressed as warriors came in.

"It's the Warriors." Someone whispered.

An older warrior asked, "We heard that there are strangers here asking about the territory and the Baron. Didn't the Baron say that no one is allowed to talk about things here? I heard you guys telling stories outside. What's going on?"

The people in the tavern looked at each other, not knowing how they started talking.

Just as the warriors were about to question these people, Xiao Chen stood up and said, "Actually, they told me the story because I asked too much."