At the Southern Border Outpost, Commander Simon and Benjamin were accompanying Art and a few others on a patrol around the Outpost.
Commander Simon, a half-step behind Art, explained, “My Lord, upon receiving your orders, we immediately began reinforcing the Outpost’s walls. Since the beginning of summer, another batch of refugees fleeing north from the south has stopped near the Outpost. Benjamin and I discussed it and used the Outpost’s reserve grain to recruit a group of young, strong refugees to repair and reinforce our walls. Now, not only have the Outpost’s stockade walls been reinforced, but the entire perimeter of the walls has been fitted with man-high pointed chevaux de frise. After the Outpost walls were reinforced, the refugees staying around the Outpost spontaneously built a half-man-high fence around their shanties using miscellaneous wood and dead branches.”
Art had long anticipated that the Outpost, located on the North-South Grand Road, would become increasingly bustling, but the speed of the Outpost's development still exceeded his expectations.
Several months ago, there was only a Border Outpost with five Soldiers stationed there, and four or five temporary shanties built from dead branches, fallen leaves, and tattered rags and curtains. But several months later, surrounding the Outpost on the earthen mound, two thatched huts, seven or eight shanties, and a large circle of low fences had been built. It had almost transformed into a simplified, small earthen mound—outer Court style “castle.”
Art looked at the increasingly prosperous Border Outpost with a face full of pleasant surprise and praised, “Simon, Benjamin, I didn’t misjudge you two!”
“My Lord, this is all your achievement. If you hadn’t led the army to clear out the rampant bandits in the south some time ago, no one would dare to come and go here,” Simon said humbly, not forgetting to praise Art.
Art waved his hand and smiled, saying, “Since this place can truly develop into a village fort settlement, then let it continue to expand and strive to become a newly built small town on the border. Anyway, this is already our territory, and no one dares to point fingers at me for developing the territory. When I return from this trip north, I will select a few more capable brothers from the Soldiers injured in the army and send them here to strengthen the garrison. Once there are enough people, you must also regularly lead Soldiers to patrol up and down the stream, so that those unscrupulous merchants and refugees cannot infiltrate from other sections of this stream.”
“Many refugees have already gathered here. You might as well follow what I said last time and enclose an open space right next to the Outpost with a pointed fence, turning it into a small Border market. Build a thatched shed in the market, prepare a few iron pots and some floor mats to serve as a small inn, and arrange for a few reliable people to manage it. In the future, merchants traveling north and south can stop and trade here. Then, you can collect some commercial taxes from the passing merchants and travelers to maintain the market’s operation.”
“As for the refugees willing to stay permanently, you can also select them, register them, and make them our subjects. Then, from the registered subjects, select a group of young, strong individuals to serve as farmer-Soldiers. When the Outpost garrison is short-handed, these young, strong farmer-Soldiers can fill in.”
“Most of the land around the Outpost is not suitable for cultivation, but the small amount of land along both banks of the stream should barely be able to grow some low-grade coarse grains. After the refugees are registered as subjects, allocate a few plots of land along both banks of the stream to households with young, strong members joining the farmer-Soldiers for them to cultivate. These lands, like the valley, will not have any taxes collected in the first year, and then a one-fifth tax will be imposed. After five years of cultivation, they can also be permanently cultivated by the households.”
“You should discuss this matter with Old Butler next time you return to Wood Fort. Let him give you his approval and see if Wood Fort can provide any support in terms of materials like draft cattle, farm tools, and seeds.”
The construction of a new market, the registration of refugees as subjects, and the attempt to cultivate the barren land along both banks of the stream were all impromptu ideas Art had after seeing the current state of the Border Outpost. Since this was territory granted to him by the Court, he naturally wanted to make this barren land prosperous.
After explaining these matters, Art turned back to look at the barren land along both banks of the stream, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to bring out something he had been contemplating for a long time.
“Simon, I’m giving you another special task. You will be personally responsible for this matter.”
Simon thought Art was about to entrust him with an important secret mission, so he quickly leaned in to listen.
Art whispered into Simon’s ear, occasionally pointing to a piece of land near the Outpost by the stream, then to the stable inside the Outpost, and a pile of manure outside the Outpost.
As Simon listened to Art’s words, his eyes widened, and his face grew paler.
“My Lord, how can this be? Letting seeds grow in these unclean things is a blasphemy against the gods! If the Church finds out, I’m afraid we’ll all end up on the stake. Besides, if seeds are put into land with manure, can they really grow?”
Art knew that for the devoutly religious, “manure fertilizer” was absolutely impure. Anyone who dared to spread manure on the land was destroying land blessed by God. Moreover, manure was a material used by witches, sorcerers, and demons for spells. If one dared to use it as fertilizer, it would be normal for the crops in the field to have reduced yields; if they had high yields, one would be put on the stake.
“Simon, that’s why I’m asking you to be personally responsible for it. And most importantly, the composting area and the fertilized plot of land must have a cross erected on each of its four sides. A monk once told me that land with four crosses erected to the east, west, north, and south becomes holy ground protected by God. When it’s time to sow the seeds, find four of the most devout believers to kneel before the four crosses and pray, then water regularly. The rest will be left to God and miracles.”
Simon was half-convinced and asked, “My Lord, can crosses really drive away evil spirits from manure and bring a bountiful harvest?”
“Simon, we must believe in God’s miracles. I also heard about this method by chance from a passing monk. He said that God has the ability to transform impure things into nourishing ones. These composted human and animal manure, weeds, and silt, after being sanctified by God, will become a force that promotes seed growth.” Art knew that forcefully promoting manure fertilizer would certainly cause great resistance, but if God’s power was involved in this process, everything that happened in the future would be a miracle.
Seeing that Simon was still doubtful, Art said, “Just think of me as eager to prove God’s miracle. Anyway, if it fails, it means our hearts are not devout enough, which means we still need to continue praying to God.”
Since Art had already arranged it, Simon simply stopped thinking about it and nodded in agreement.
“Alright, let’s go back to the storeroom and see if Sartre and the others have finished counting the goods.” Saying this, Art turned and led everyone towards the Outpost.
As Art and a few others just stepped into the Outpost entrance, the watchtower reported that a caravan was approaching from the south.
“Let’s go, let’s take a look.” Art turned back and led a few people towards the chevaux de frise on the trade route in front of the Outpost, standing aside to observe and signaling the watchman and clerk to ignore his presence.
Four escort drivers drove three flag-bearing carriages slowly towards the Outpost. Upon reaching the stone bridge, the caravan leader stopped and looked towards the Outpost for a few moments. He then walked alone to the chevaux de frise and said to the watchman, “Friend, we are a caravan from Provence. Can we pass? Here is our sealed document.” Apparently, there was no Outpost here when they came before.
The watchman took the document intending to present it to Art, but Art waved his hand, pointing to the clerk.
The clerk took the document from the watchman and opened it, seeing that it indeed bore the seals of the Burgundy County Minister of Finance and the Merchant Guild.
“Are you transporting goods for the Dean Family? My master has a good relationship with the Dean Family, and any caravan related to the Dean Family receives preferential treatment,” the clerk asked.
“The Dean Family? We wouldn’t dare to claim kinship with the Dean Family.” Evidently, this caravan had a dispute with the Dean Family.
“What goods are you carrying? Do you have any southern goods?” the clerk continued to ask.
“No southern goods, only some furs, smoked meat, dried fruits, and mountain produce. We heard that the north is more stable now, so we are traveling north with empty carriages to purchase grain.”
“What is the value of these goods?”
“One hundred fifty fenny, maybe a little less.”
The clerk estimated the value of the goods, then signaled the watchman to inspect them. The watchman carefully checked the carriages and nodded to the clerk.
“Pay five fenny in transit commercial tax. Within the Tinietz County, your caravan will be protected by the Court’s Southern Border Patrol Officer. If you encounter an emergency, you can seek help at the Outpost or a garrison camp twenty miles northeast on the west side of the trade route, using the tax document we provide.”
The leader pulled out five fenny and handed them to the clerk, then took the piece of birch bark stamped with the howling wolf emblem that the clerk handed him. He examined it carefully for a long time; it was his first time seeing a document issued after paying tax, even though this document was just a piece of birch bark with a few lines of writing.
“You must keep this document safe. Later, patrolling Soldiers will check whether you possess this document. If you lose it, you will be treated as someone who has illegally crossed the Border and be detained.”
Upon hearing this, the leader quickly tucked the palm-sized birch bark into his bosom.
“Oh, by the way, if you have any southern goods, weapons, armor, or fine iron in the future, you can bring them here for trade. We will purchase your goods at a high price, and any caravan that trades one-tenth of their southern goods with us can be exempted from import commercial tax,” the clerk added.
The leader nodded and replied, “As long as you can give us a reasonable price, we will trade with you.”
“Very good. When you go back, you can also tell your merchant brothers in Provence that this place welcomes merchant travelers from all over, and we will treat them as honored guests.” The clerk finished speaking and waved his hand behind him. The watchmen in front of the chevaux de frise moved the road barrier to allow the caravan to pass smoothly.
Art observed the Outpost’s process of inspection, tax collection, document issuance, and release, and was very satisfied. “Very good, just keep doing it this way.”