Due to the burden of the refugees, Art’s team only reached the northern edge of the Valley Wood Fort’s dense forest on the afternoon of the fourth day. Ron and Jason, who had previously gone back to report, were now leading Odo, Cooper, as well as Bass, Kazak, Scott, Lawrence, and others, standing quietly in the clearing at the edge of the dense forest, waiting.
“My Lord, is this your fief?” Angus was full of anticipation for the valley they were about to enter. During the past half-year of campaigning with Art, he had heard Ron and Odo talk about terms like Valley Wood Fort and Valley Land more than once. From their conversations, he could see the important position this valley held in their hearts, and this land would also be his future home, so Angus also felt a hint of anticipation.
Like the recruited refugees, when Angus saw a dense forest between two mountain ranges at the end of the wilderness, his disappointment was evident. He hadn't expected that what Art called a valley was this mountain forest.
“Can crops grow in this dense forest? Does this place really need to recruit refugees for farming?”
This was the first question that arose in the minds of everyone who arrived here for the first time.
“Angus, this is just the entrance. The real valley is still about half a day’s walk further in, but now the carriage road to Valley Wood Fort is mostly completed, so the time to reach Valley Wood Fort has been shortened by more than half.” Cooper saw the doubt in Angus’s mind and quickly explained to Angus, who was walking into the dense forest with the team.
Indeed, after walking less than twenty paces into the dense forest, a ten-foot-wide carriage road, ending at the edge of the dense forest, appeared before everyone’s eyes. Piles of neatly stacked timber were also accumulated on both sides of the carriage road.
“My Lord, during the past half-year of your campaign, Scott and his men organized people to repair the carriage road, filling some loose sections with stones, and reinforcing the wooden bridges over several streams. The carriages that were not taken by the merchant caravan for transport were disassembled, carried in, reassembled, and then pulled back into Wood Fort for storage. The remaining twenty-odd paces can be cleared in just two or three days.” Old Butler Cooper, walking at the head of the team, introduced Art to the construction progress of the carriage road.
Art dismounted his horse and stood on the carriage road, kicking the surface with his spurs. The hard road was perfectly capable of allowing heavily loaded carriages to pass safely. He turned around with satisfaction and said to Scott, who was following Cooper: “Hmm, this road is very well built. Scott, you all have worked hard. In a couple of days, I will reward your merits. Now that the army is back, you will lead people to clear all the remaining sections starting tomorrow. Next time the merchant caravan returns, they can drive their carriages directly back to Wood Fort via this road.”
Scott was quite proud in his heart. Although the main roadbed construction of this carriage road was completed under the command of Cooper and Lawrence, the subsequent repairs and reinforcements were completed under Scott’s personal supervision. However, this honest farmer maintained his usual humility and said, “My Lord, this carriage road was completed under the command of Old Butler and Lawrence. I only did some small repairs and touch-ups.”
“I will not forget the contributions of Cooper and Lawrence, but you also put in a lot of effort. I will not forget what should be remembered.”
Art looked at the surroundings of the road a few more times and instructed Cooper: “Cooper, after a while, send people to clear a suitable space for a camp near the entrance at the edge of the dense forest and build a military camp there. In the future, the majority of our army will be stationed here. Firstly, this camp can guard the northern entrance of the valley, and secondly, it can control the entire northern wilderness. First, build a camp the size of a sentry post, and then gradually expand it later. There are enough tools in Wood Fort, and the materials for building the camp will be the timber cut down for road construction.”
“Yes, My Lord, I will allocate people here tomorrow to build the road. After the road is cleared, they will stay to build the camp.” Cooper noted Art’s arrangements.
… … … …
Walking on the convenient carriage road, the group completed a journey that used to take a whole morning in just one hour, and soon the team approached Valley Wood Fort.
Angus followed the team around a low hill, and a flat, open space appeared before his surprised eyes. Seven or eight thatched-roof wooden houses were scattered in an orderly fashion, surrounded by a dense, man-high pointed birch fence, enclosing the settlement. Inside the fence, houses, stables, granaries, and workshops were all complete. A detached courtyard with three wooden houses and a small stable was enclosed within the fence. Trees within fifty paces around the outer fence had been cleared. The gentle slope in front of the fence gate and the open spaces around the walls were cultivated land. Descending the gentle slope from the Wood Fort gate, crossing the wooden bridge over the small stream in front of it, and heading south for less than half a mile, there was a flat training ground. Tuba was leading dozens of Soldiers in combat training there. Further south from the training ground, there was a wheat field covered with a thin layer of snow.
“Sergeant, we call this settlement Wood Fort. The small courtyard in Wood Fort is my house. I have lived in that wooden house for all these years. Wood Fort was gradually built after Old Cooper arrived. The open space opposite Wood Fort is our training ground. The wheat field to the south was reclaimed by Cooper himself. Following the small path next to the wheat field along this small stream, continue south for about half a day, and after passing through a gorge, there is a large area of flat and fertile land. Before the army set out, we had already reclaimed over a hundred acres of the most fertile farmland by the river in that Valley Land. In the past six months, they have reclaimed a lot of new farmland. Tomorrow, I will go to inspect the Valley Land, and you can come with me to see it.” Art introduced this Valley Wood Fort, which took nearly two years to build, to the astonished Angus beside him.
Angus stared at Wood Fort, where cooking smoke was rising, and at the dozen or so fort residents waiting at the Wood Fort gate, then turned his head to Art and asked, “My Lord, is this the hunter’s cabin you spoke of?”
Art nodded.
“No wonder you tried every means to turn this place into your knight’s fief. It turns out such a paradise was hidden in the desolate valley and dense forest.” Angus couldn’t help but praise.
“Alright, let’s go. This will be your home from now on too. Hurry and take a look.” With that, Art led the team towards Wood Fort…
The moment Art rode his warhorse and led his army into Wood Fort, the fort residents waiting at the fort gate bowed in salute, welcoming the first lord of this abandoned valley in hundreds of years, Lord Art Wood Wells.
Whether Soldiers or Valley fort residents, their hearts were incredibly excited at this moment. Except for Art himself, everyone in the valley had gradually entered this valley over the past one or two years. Some were refugees from Provence who had lost their homes due to war, some were bankrupt farmers whose land had been squeezed dry by their lords, some were serf laborers who struggled to survive by brute force in city corners and mines, some were bandits and ruffians forced to live in the mountains by looting, and of course, there were also prisoners of war captured by Art’s army from the battlefield and brought to the valley.
Regardless, when Art was officially enfeoffed as a knight and granted this knight’s fief, they, as Art’s first batch of subjects and Soldiers, would naturally have this land become their land and home. As long as Art’s position was stable, they could all legally and legitimately cultivate and harvest, and procreate on this land. Moreover, from their interactions over the past one or two years, they had also determined that Art would be a good lord…
Art’s mood was also excited. From a hunter who lived by hunting in the dense valley forest to a knight with an army and a territory of subjects, it only took him two years. Although he was not a commoner in the true sense, as a descendant of a fallen noble who had lost his territory and title, this achievement was worthy of his father, who had died with resentment buried in a foreign land. Everything that followed was for himself, for the Wells Family, and he firmly believed that he could go even further…
Dismissing the thoughts in his mind, Art returned to the reality before him.
“My Lord, after leaving the accompanying merchant caravan and returning to Valley Wood Fort, I led people to expand Wood Fort once again. The original granary and armory were torn down and rebuilt into two new ones. Two new houses were also built in Wood Fort. Next to the kitchen, I specifically built two carpentry workshops and a blacksmith shop. It was difficult to expand the stables and livestock pens in Wood Fort, so I rebuilt a large livestock pen on the south side of Wood Fort. In the future, except for military horses and mules, other livestock can be fed in the livestock pen outside Wood Fort. Currently, the houses in Wood Fort can meet the daily living needs of fifty people, but if we need to increase the permanent army or fort residents in Wood Fort, we will need to tear down and rebuild the outer fence.” Cooper briefly introduced the new layout of Wood Fort to Art.
“In addition, the personnel brought back from Talburg and the young and strong refugees gradually recruited by the merchant caravan, except for those selected by Odo to join the army as new recruits, have all been transferred to Valley Land to reclaim wasteland. Those artisans are temporarily kept in Wood Fort to work. Scott has specifically assigned farmer-Soldiers from the fort guard to supervise them. These people are not yet very accustomed to this place, but there are no signs of them escaping for now.”
Art had just returned from the campaign and did not yet have the energy to deal with these miscellaneous matters. “Cooper, you and Scott and the others should discuss and handle all matters in the valley first. I have just returned from outside and need to rest for a day or two. You all organize the valley affairs, and in two days, I will hold a meeting. You can report everything at the meeting, and we will discuss them one by one at that time.”
“Alright! Then you go back to your room to rest first. I will arrange the food and lodging for the others. Today is a day worth celebrating. Currently, food and supplies in Valley Wood Fort are relatively abundant. Tonight, a few people from Valley Land will return to Wood Fort to attend the dinner prepared for you and the victorious army.” Cooper always arranged these matters very carefully, and Art was also very relieved.
“Sergeant, this will be your home from now on. Later, let Ron take you around. Cooper will arrange your food and lodging. I need to go back to my room to rest. If you feel bored, come find me in the small courtyard.” Art, holding Angus’s shoulder, pointed to the separate small courtyard in Wood Fort, then handed the warhorse reins to Ron, and while unbuckling his belt, walked straight towards the long-missed detached wooden house…
At the Wood Fort gate, Cooper and Scott were already leading a few fort residents to prepare food and temporary housing for the last batch of victorious troops and newly joined refugees. Odo and a few other officers also walked towards the training ground opposite…