Chapter 154 I wish you all a happy Black Valentine's Day! (Two chapters in one, please subscribe!)

Sailing on the sea is not a comfortable life.

Therefore, when Bruno finally stepped on land again, he felt particularly comfortable.

Goodbye, dry bread! Goodbye, shaking cabin! Goodbye, lovely blue carved golem! Although two ships went to the Faran Islands together, when they returned, only the "Pioneer" was left.

Mal Karen led the naval soldiers on the three-masted warship "Explorer" to stay on the Fran Islands temporarily, responsible for collecting as much source stone as possible and exploring the island.

After all, since the Fran Islands, a land outside the empire's territory, has been occupied by the Idar people, it is natural to station troops there.

Although according to the laws of the Norman Empire, all newly developed lands of the nobility should belong to the imperial family, but in Bruno's opinion...

The paper you haven't signed is shit in the toilet! In the feudal era of the previous life, people often said that the imperial power did not extend to the countryside.

In this world, the royal decrees can probably only be implemented unimpeded in St. Lawrence and a few neighboring direct-governed provinces.

If the emperor of the empire had not always held the military power tightly, the Alexander family of the Norman royal family would have become fish on the chopping board long ago!

Therefore, selectively implementing some imperial laws in Idar is already giving face to the royal family.

Moreover, among the current noble lords of the Norman Empire, I am afraid that none of them would implement the laws of the empire intactly in their own territories.

Bruno would never give up a precious place like the Franco-Syrian Islands.

The reason why the Flanders Islands have never been discovered is actually due to a certain amount of luck.

Since the navigation technology of this era was generally backward, most ships on the sea sailed along the offshore coastline, and few ships would risk their lives to sail into the deep sea.

Perhaps only the Idar people, relying on their three-masted warships, can travel freely in the deep sea.

Therefore, the Fran Islands in the deep sea have never been discovered, making this extremely important sea chokepoint a piece of uninhabited pure land, and the abandoned ruins on the islands retain their original appearance! Bruno retained the living habits from his previous life. After returning from a long trip, he would reward himself with a delicious meal no matter what.

The Hanging Gardens were a bit far away, so Bruno first settled down in the lord's castle in Idar.

While enjoying the delicious food prepared by the fat cook, he listened to Lister, Old Ford and others describing the many things that had happened in Idar Territory in the past few days. He was quite enjoying it.

Looking at the Earl who was eating with great relish, old Ford felt deeply moved.

Even though everything in Idar County has undergone tremendous changes under Bruno's leadership, but...

The Earl still had to take risks and sail with the navy soldiers. Isn't this the selfless chivalry spirit that countless nobles admire? Although it has not yet been widely popularized, potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes have been served on the tables of many officials in Idar County. From daily diet to everything around them, Bruno has brought too many changes to Idar County in just one year!

"My Lord Earl...I hope you will be careful..." Old Ford said meaningfully.

This time, almost all the Idar officials present agreed with old Ford's words from the bottom of their hearts.

Because everyone present knew that if anything happened to Bruno, then the Idar Territory would be in chaos.

"Alright, alright..." Bruno waved his hands and said, "I'm back safely, right? But by the way...during the time I was away, was there anything new in Idar County? Also, is there any new progress in the war in the northern border of the empire?"

"In reply to the Earl's words..."

Krel, the head of the Idar Intelligence Agency, bowed slightly and said in a deep voice, "According to the intelligence we received a few days ago, the war situation in the northern border is extremely tense. After the Odins almost swept through many noble territories in the northern border, their offensive has obviously slowed down, and those imperial soldiers loyal to the royal family have also begun to march north."

"Humph, you have a very good plan. You aren't afraid of ruining it by accident..." Bruno's words revealed a lot of resentment.

Claire and many other officials could only stand aside in silence, not daring to continue the conversation. After all...

No matter how outrageous what they did, they were still the royal family. Although noble lords like Bruno had the right to complain, it would be an act of usurpation if people like them also complained about the actions of the royal family.

"The food the cook makes is getting better and better!"

The golden fried French fries look quite pleasing to the eye. They are stacked one by one and placed in a special wicker basket.

From a distance, it looks a bit crispy.

then,

Bruno finally couldn't resist the temptation of French fries. He reached out and grabbed a few and put them in his mouth. Then he wiped his greasy fingers with a handkerchief.

The yellow fries are very delicious to chew.

When you take a bite, a layer of oil appears on the crispy skin, revealing the extra soft and glutinous potatoes inside.

Not only does it smell delicious, it also tastes like potatoes.

The Idar officials, including Lister, were extremely greedy.

"Ahem..." Liszt coughed twice and swallowed his saliva before continuing with what Claire said: "The war in the northern border provided Idar with a large number of displaced adults, which also brought the total population of Idar to nearly 40,000, which is four times more than a year ago!"

"I know, I know. Isn't there anything new? I can guess something like this with my eyes closed. After all, my wisdom and foresight are unmatched..."

"In addition... Viscount Conte came to Idar County a few days ago and is now living in the Sky Garden at the foot of Mount Almis." Lister added quickly.

"Viscount Conte?" Bruno looked puzzled. After a moment of recollection, he suddenly remembered the elderly viscount who lived west of Idar.

And... in the original body's memory, it seemed that he had special respect for this elderly Viscount.

"Why did Viscount Conte come here suddenly?" Bruno asked puzzledly.

"It seems...it is related to the population that has flowed into Idar Territory in recent days..." Lister said somewhat embarrassedly.

After all... as the director of the Idar Immigration Administration, Lister is responsible for managing those immigrants.

"Population? Didn't the spies we sent out deceive people in Conte Territory?"

"I heard it from Idar's spies. Those who go to Idar from the west all have to pass through Viscount Conte's Moore River Valley, so that the civilians of Conte have also heard about Idar's policies..." Lister said helplessly.

"How many are here?"

"According to statistics from the Idar Immigration Administration, more than one-third of the civilians in Conte have moved to Idar in the past six months. After the wheat harvest in the fall, this number is expected to increase significantly!" Lister said truthfully.

Hearing this, Bruno felt speechless.

No wonder Viscount Conte came to find me. That’s one-third of the civilian population and nearly one-third of the tax revenue!

Thinking of this, Bruno felt it was a pity. After all, Viscount Conte had been on good terms with the Stuart family for generations and was a firm political ally of the Lord Idar.

Moreover, they have provided great convenience to Lord Idar in many matters, and we cannot just keep doing this perfunctorily.

Otherwise, if we give Lord Conte a good beating like we did Lord Sauron, there wouldn't be any such problems.

Look at it now, more than half of the civilian population of Soran Territory has poured into Idar Territory. Doesn't Earl Soran dare not even make a move?

"Liszt, please ask Viscount Conte to see me..." Bruno pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said.

"As you command, my Lord."

…

After taking a bath, changing clothes, and then spraying himself with floral water, Viscount Conte, who had already washed himself to make him smell fragrant in advance, finally received news from the lord's castle and got on a carriage to the city of Idar.

Along the way, Viscount Conte felt particularly refreshed, and the unique fragrance of mint made him particularly energetic.

This floral water...what a good stuff!

I don’t know if such a good thing can be sold for only one gold coin. I don’t know if the Idar people can get back their money.

Seeing the city of Idar in the distance, Viscount Conte became more and more excited.

He imagined himself walking through the filthy streets with a fragrant scent, while the poorly dressed civilians around him stared with wide eyes, admiring his noble demeanor with envy...

I will definitely be the brightest guy in Idar City today! While Viscount Conte was happily fantasizing, the carriage finally entered Idar City at a leisurely pace.

Viscount Conte, immersed in his own world, shrugged his nose. It seemed that... he did not smell the familiar smell of feces...

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Could it be that... the effect of this floral water is so powerful?

I smell it!

I smell it again! It seems...

There really is no smell at all! Viscount Conte finally opened his eyes, which had been tightly closed, and then... he saw a wide and spotless street.

What about the excrement? What about those dirty serfs?

The wide streets were crowded with people, including serfs in simple clothes, hurried civilians, and caravans driving horse-drawn carriages loaded with goods. Although these people were tall and short, some were farmers and some were merchants...

But without exception, although they did not look very wealthy, they were exceptionally clean, and even the air did not have any unpleasant yet familiar smells...

"Where is this?" Viscount Conte suddenly asked without any context.

"Your Excellency, Viscount, this is the city of Idar." Lister replied while suppressing his smile.

Viscount Conte looked at everything in the city with a confused look on his face. The houses on the roadside had just been built. Although they basically looked the same, they had a uniform beauty.

As the forefront of Idar City's welcoming and sending off, if we only look at the newly renovated southern city area of ​​Idar City, I'm afraid its scale is definitely not less than those large cities with huge populations in the western part of the empire.

Most of the newly opened shops were doing a booming business. Viscount Conte even saw the shop selling mosquito coils that the servant had mentioned a few days ago.

How come Idar's appearance has changed so much in such a short time?

Viscount Conte was completely puzzled at this moment.

It's like everyone used to live in a house with a leaky roof, but when you wake up, your neighbor has moved into a thousand-square-meter villa, while your own house is almost dirty...

…

"My Lord Earl..."

In the lord's castle, Viscount Conte, dressed in aristocratic robe, performed a standard aristocratic etiquette towards Bruno.

Viscount Conte could be considered an extremely traditional imperial nobleman. His every move was in line with the aristocratic standards. His already gray curly hair was neatly combed on top of his head, and he wore an elegant pendant on his chest that was extremely popular among the nobles, showing his aristocratic dignity to the fullest.

Although Viscount Conte is already an old man over fifty years old, Bruno's title of earldom is still there, so such etiquette cannot be exempted.

"Hello, Viscount Conte!" Bruno said with a smile, smelling the scent of floral water on Viscount Conte's body.

"Hurry up and sit down!"

Bruno gestured for Viscount Conte to sit down and brought a bottle of whiskey.

This is because some agreements may require Viscount Conte to be drunk before they can be spoken out.

Although they are all good friends, it is absolutely impossible for Bruno to drive the people back.

after all……

How could he take out the thing that was already in his pocket? "My Lord Earl..." Viscount Conte pondered for a moment and said bluntly: "These days, a large number of civilians who originally lived in Conte Territory have drifted to Idar Territory..."

"Come on, try the whiskey from Idar first. It's a specialty of Idar!" Bruno asked an irrelevant question.

"Is this... wine?"

Although Viscount Conte had been in Idar for quite some time, he had never seen strong liquor like whiskey.

After all, Viscount Conte couldn't ask him for accommodation fees when he lived here, so naturally he just came as cheapest and most convenient as possible.

"That's right! This is a precious wine from the Idar Territory! It's an excellent strong liquor!" said Bruno.

So, in Bruno's astonished eyes, Viscount Conte actually gave him a gulp of the drink! After a moment,

Viscount Conte licked his lips and said with a hint of aftertaste: "This wine... is really strong!"

Oh shit!

I really didn't expect that the old and strong Viscount Conte would be so strong! If it were someone else, I'm afraid he would be a little dizzy after drinking a glass of wine! Soon, a whole bottle of whiskey went into Viscount Conte's stomach, but... the old Viscount still looked sober.

Therefore, Bruno had to give up his evil idea of ​​getting Viscount Conte drunk first.

"Well... speaking of population..."

Bruno paused, then explained: "...You also know that Idar has a vast territory and rich resources. The gap between the rich and the poor has led to polarization of the population. The uneven distribution of jobs has caused an uneven distribution of the population. The influx of refugees has had a certain impact on social order. The increase in civilian income has made them tend to have better material living conditions..."

Bruno talked a lot, but Viscount Conte didn't understand much and could only look at Bruno with a smile.

Lord Earl, you really know how to talk...

"So..." Bruno concluded, "It is estimated that there is no way to send these people who have poured into Idar Territory back to Conte Territory..."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Viscount Conte almost jumped up from his seat.

"However... the money lost due to the large-scale exodus of civilians can be compensated to you through other methods, and even... it may allow Lord Conte to collect a large amount of additional taxes!" Bruno said.

(End of this chapter)