Chapter 296 A Brand New Country (Two in One! Please subscribe!)
The signing of the Treaty of Valens meant the end of the war, but after sending away Simon Griffiths, the messenger of Odin, the Idar army did not retreat in an orderly manner under the leadership of Sam Layton.
Yes, the victory of this war did make Idar become the most powerful vassal with the largest territory in the eastern part of the empire, but it also expanded the northern border of the Principality of Idar from the banks of the Solon River to the Valens Plain.
This also put forward more demands on the land defense system of the newly born Principality of Idar.
The Stranglethorn Vale to the west of Idar County is strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to attack. To the south, the Mann Fortress guards the pass. Only the Valens Plain, which has just become the new border, is flat and extremely unsuitable for deploying troops for defense.
If we want to build a border defense line in an open and flat plain area, it will incur a huge amount of waste.
Although Bruno likes to spend huge sums of money to build wonders, the prerequisite is that the wonders must be able to bring important effects to the current Principality of Idar and be able to receive rewards from the wonder construction system. This is the case for the Hagia Sophia that is currently under construction, as well as for the wonders that have been built before.
Obviously, if a complete defensive system is to be built on the Valens Plain, not only will Idar County not be able to obtain reliable wonder bonuses, but the amount of money, food, construction materials and manpower required will also be astronomical.
and,
A seemingly impregnable line of defense like this may not ultimately achieve the desired effect.
In this regard, the Maginot Line built by the Gauls in the previous life and the Fourteen Fortresses in the Northern Frontier standing in the north of the empire today are both excellent examples.
Hans the Cat bypassed the Maginot Line that the Gallic Rooster had painstakingly constructed, and Odin's Iron Cavalry launched a surprise attack on the noble territories south of the Forest of Monsters. These defense lines that were painstakingly constructed by their owners did not play their due role.
Therefore, after countless deductions, Bruno finally came up with a plan that everyone thought was feasible.
Bruno didn't believe that the Norman royal family, who were busy fighting a civil war, would be in the mood to come to his own Principality of Idar to make their presence felt.
Moreover, in the eyes of the vast majority of Idar people, if the Norman army set foot on the land of the Principality of Idar without permission, it would be like a turtle entering a blacksmith's shop - looking for a hammer.
But even so, in order to protect the newly born Idar Principality regime and defend the peace and stability of the Valens Plain, the Idar people, who are prepared for a rainy day, will still build two lines of defense on this new land.
The first line of defense was based on the towns and cities on the Valens Plain. By building fortresses and outposts and regularly drawing soldiers from the Idar Army, a garrison force was established on the Valens Plain that could maintain relative stability on the Valens Plain.
The second line of defense is a tighter line of defense built by the Idar Army and Idar Artillery based on the Aider River.
Similar to the border inspection method previously used by the Idar people on the banks of the Solon River, the Idar territory will build a bridge over the Eider River and set up border inspection customs to crack down on illegal entry and smuggling, and isolate all uncertainties on the Valens Plain west of the Eider River as much as possible.
Although Bruno wanted to make the magic transmission system of Idar County cover every corner of Idar Principality, he never thought of replicating the unique magic industrial system of Idar Principality on Valens Plain. At least in the short term, before the land east of the Eider River is completely industrialized,
The important pillar industries of Idar Territory will not appear on the land west of the Eide River.
indeed,
The terrain here is flat, the soil is fertile, and the climate is suitable, making it extremely suitable for farming.
There were a large number of civilians and serfs living in the villages, and countless aristocratic farms and reclaimed arable land scattered across the plains. The extremely suitable water and soil conditions fed countless lower-class people who were struggling to make ends meet.
but,
This does not mask the problems that exist on Valens Plain.
The flat and open geographical environment and the numerous villages, towns and farms of all sizes make it impossible for the Idar army to conduct effective information screening on people coming and going, and it is also impossible to prevent infiltration by other forces.
In addition, there are almost no mineral resources on the Valens Plain, so... for the Valens Plain, developing agriculture and animal husbandry that does not require much technology and building the city of Valens into a purely commercial town is undoubtedly the most appropriate choice.
In terms of military, Valens City can indeed become a solid fortress, but once faced with foreign invasion, the enemy's army can completely bypass this city located in the middle of the Valens Plain! However, this does not mean that Valens City is not important.
On the contrary, all Idar people, including Bruno, regard the city of Valens as an integral part of the Principality of Idar and implement the laws and regulations of the Principality of Idar.
Here, serfs also have the opportunity to become free men.
The lower class people can also obtain better living materials through their own efforts.
The Valens Plain will always exist as an important grain-producing area for the Principality of Idar, providing the Principality of Idar with abundant food or cash crops for further processing and sale.
In Bruno's conception, it will become the hub of land trade between the Principality of Idar and the Norman Empire and the Odin Empire. Countless merchants will pass through here, making it the largest transportation and trade hub in the eastern part of the empire besides Idar! Although a horrific massacre occurred when the Odins invaded the eastern part of the empire, Bruno is confident that Valens City and Valens Plain will be revitalized under his rule.
Moreover, the foundation of the Valens Plain is very good. Apart from the Territory of Idar, it is the most developed and most populous place in the eastern part of the empire.
The former rulers, the Hastings family, invested a lot of effort in this land. Even though the Marquis of Valens, Terraji Hastings, who was just hacked to death by the Odin people, had been carrying out crazy and wasteful activities on this land for decades, the foundation of the Hastings family is still reflected in every aspect of the Valens Plain.
So much so that after the massacre and plunder, when Lord Idar finally took over the land, the number of serfs and civilians living on the Valens Plain was still as high as over 80,000.
They once worked day and night under the exploitation of the Hastings family and created countless wealth for the largest noble family in the eastern part of the empire.
And now, the Hastings era is over.
The Principality of Idar became the new owner of this land.
On the second day after the signing of the Treaty of Valence, Ford Sr. began to organize the accompanying Idar officials to sort out the population on the Valence Plain, organize the documents left by the Hastings family, and began to try to build a grassroots management system for managing the Valence Plain.
Therefore, in order to rally the people as quickly as possible, ensure the orderly progress of spring ploughing, and provide sufficient food reserves for Idar Territory, the most important measure at the moment is...
Fight the local tyrants and divide the land! It is obviously impossible to directly divide the land of the nobles, because Bruno himself is a member of the noble class.
No matter how depressed Bruno is, he will not deny himself.
Therefore, all the nobles who fled the eastern part of the empire were labeled traitors by old Ford, and the land owned by these nobles naturally became the property of Bruno Stuart, Duke of Idar.
Then……
The benevolent Duke lent these lands to the people for cultivation.
That makes sense!
To be honest, if this were a game, the Idar Territory would have long since been in rebellion due to overexpansion.
But sometimes, reality is reality after all. The hungry and cold people in the eastern part of the empire have never had the concept of a country, so... the annexation of Idar Territory did not cause resistance among the people.
Although the people are not sure which side Idarland belongs to, it is still better than becoming slaves of Odin.
As for the land that was allocated to the nobles...
To be honest, this is something they dare not even think about.
So much so that when officials from the Principality of Idar came to the villages and towns on the Valens Plain and announced this order personally issued by the Duke of Idar Bruno Stuart, the lower-class people still found it unbelievable, and some even thought that the Idar officials who read out the decree were liars.
after all……
How could the noble lords in the past read these newly issued decrees to me?
…
"Your former lords knelt before the Odins and abandoned their dignity as Norman nobles. They are shameful traitors!"
"Now, Lord Bruno Stuart, Duke of Idar, has defeated the Odinites' attack, maintained the stability of the empire, and restored the order of the empire. So... from now on, you will all become citizens of the Principality of Idar and obey its laws!"
"The great Duke of Idar, Bruno Stuart, is kind! He is willing to rent these vast lands "free of charge" to all the civilians on the Valens Plain for cultivation. All you need to pay is a tax that you can afford to pay to your Lord Duke during the harvest season."
In the following days, officials from Idar County traveled to every corner of the Valens Plain.
Under the protection of Idar soldiers, they read out the decision from Lord Bruno Stuart, Duke of Idar, to all the people living on the Valens Plain.
There was a huge uproar across the entire Valens Plain.
Because in the eyes of the people in Valens Plain, what is the difference between such a move and the Kingdom of Heaven preached by the Church of Light? Even the most humble serfs finally saw hope.
That’s right!
They didn't know whether the honorable Duke of Idar would really fulfill his promise, but...
At least he made a promise and gave the serfs the hope of becoming free citizens! Before this, any noble was unwilling to even let serfs and civilians appear within his sight! ...
After briefly introducing the situation on the Valence Plain in the letter, Old Ford finally led his servants into the city of Valence and stationed in the city where the bloody massacre had taken place.
The blood has long dried up, but the ashes and ruins left by the flames still show the atrocities committed by the Odinites in the past.
The redistribution of land made the people of this land grateful, and at the same time, the reconstruction of the city of Valence began to proceed in an orderly manner.
After all, the Odin people did not have heavy weapons like magic cannons, so except for the houses built with thatch and wood, the city of Valens still basically retained its original appearance.
The solid city walls and the towering castle, although there are still bloodstains on the stairs and corridors, but with a little repair, this largest city on the Valens Plain can become a bridgehead for Idar to overlook the inland!
Old Ford collected the grain stored in the warehouse by the Hastings family. These tons of grain were difficult to carry, so they naturally became the spoils of the Idar people and became an important "magic weapon" for Old Ford to rebuild the city of Valence and restore order.
Open the granaries to release grain and provide work in lieu of relief.
After working with Bruno to build several wonders, old Ford was already familiar with it.
The model of production teams and construction teams was "transplanted" to this land intactly, and those people who did not get land were all arranged by old Ford to join the construction team.
In short, as long as everyone gets moving, does the work within their capacity, and can support themselves and even their families with their own hands, then social order will naturally stabilize.
Redistribution of residences, redistribution of jobs, the people living on this land have vaguely realized that what they are about to face is a completely different life from the past, a brand new future!
…
While the Valens Plain was gradually becoming well-organized under the jurisdiction of Old Ford, the same changes were also taking place in the rest of the lands that had just been incorporated into the rule of the Principality of Idar.
Due to the rapid expansion of the territory of Idar, the entire Principality of Idar is facing a shortage of manpower.
but……
Even so,
Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.
The grassroots people's self-government system and the management model of the working-class community that had been implemented in Idar Territory had provided Bruno with many well-trained civilian officials.
They may not have a prominent background or aristocratic titles, but they can become the cornerstone of consolidating the Stuart family's rule.
Civilian officials were dispatched to every corner of the Principality of Idar. Since they came from civilian families, they could empathize with the civilians better and better understand what the grassroots people needed and desired.
so……
When everyone thought that the Principality of Idar would be overwhelmed by these sudden trivialities, all the potential hidden dangers had actually been suppressed in the bud by the Idar people.
The Principality of Idar is indeed a vassal of the Norman Empire, but all Idar people understand that under the rule of the Stuart family, the current Principality of Idar will surely grow into a place completely different from the Norman Empire! Perhaps,
At this moment, it is still growing slowly.
But sooner or later, all the civilians and serfs on this continent will know that in the east of this continent, there is a brand new country that is like a paradise on earth!
In that country, they can create value through their labor and embrace a brighter future under the leadership of the Stuart family!
Idar's army is slowly withdrawing.
The people of Idar Territory were waving their newspapers and shouting loudly. The students of Two Point Academy were sitting in the classroom, listening attentively to their teacher telling the glorious deeds of the Idar soldiers who fought bravely.
On this day, at this moment, when the news of the establishment of the Principality of Idar reached thousands of households, for the first time, commoners felt genuinely excited about the promotion of nobles.
For the first time, the public spread the news of the establishment of the Principality of Idar.
On March 20, 538, Bruno Stuart, Earl of Idar, accepted the award from the Norman royal family in the presence of officials and people from all levels of Idar.
The Principality of Idar is officially established...
I think this chapter is a bit long-winded, but in fact, a large part of the content has been deleted and revised. After all, the Principality has just been established, and some details still need to be mentioned briefly... Three updates tomorrow! (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
