prynovel Chapter 27: The Black Hand
Chapter 27: The Black Hand
"I see."
Ron waved his hand, indicating that the matter was settled and he had no intention of pursuing it further.
The hunting party tracking the bison herd, the scouts of the De Gea cavalry on the outskirts of Wenger territory, and the goblin's unusual direction of reinforcements—these three things combined lead to a simple conclusion.
Someone is deliberately driving goblins south, with Wenger territory being one of the targets, and Ashwood territory also on the list.
The cavalry of De Gea circled the outskirts of Wenger twice, and the goblins arrived the next day, using the same cautious tactics they employed when lingering outside the bison herd trap.
As for why they did this, there's no need to guess their reasons.
The first to be affected by the goblin tribe being brought here was the newly arrived pioneer lord.
Wenger territory was besieged for days and nights. If it weren't for Ron's intervention, that hill would now be a new slaughterhouse for goblins.
Ashwood Territory is further south than Wenger Territory. If Ron hadn't chosen to take the initiative, they would have been next after Wenger Territory fell.
De Gea used goblins as free battering rams, eliminating new competitors without losing a single soldier.
This game wasn't particularly skillful, but it was certainly cunning.
But the people of De Gea's territory clearly did not expect Ashwood's territory to be so decisive, and they did not expect that this ragtag army of less than two hundred men could directly annihilate the goblin squad.
From Bud's stiff smile when he told Ron that "we're here on a friendly visit," to Hilden's description of "cavalrymen without a flag."
De Gea's forces acted as passing merchants from beginning to end, but they were never truly passing through.
If I'm not mistaken, after the news gets back, it won't be long before the people of De Gea's territory reappear outside the walls of Ashwood's territory.
This time it wasn't a hunter squad, but official envoys.
Ostensibly, they may have come to discuss brick trade, but in reality, they were there to probe and see how much fighting power Ashwood Territory had left, whether it was worth continuing to deal with, or whether it was worth trying to win them over in a different way.
As for Haaland Territory, there has been no movement in that direction.
No warning, no messenger, nothing.
Haaland's choice was to stand by and watch, to see if Ashwood Territory could survive the goblin onslaught.
If they don't survive, there will be one less variable in the southern Blackthorn Wasteland.
He survived, and the terms he set four months ago—cooperation, filters, and intelligence—remain valid.
Those who watch from the sidelines don't place bets; they just wait for the winner to emerge.
Unfortunately, they all misjudged the situation. Ashwood territory was thriving after the battle, with its population exceeding a thousand. All its food, weapons, timber, iron, and leather were stored in the granaries. The convict army was in high spirits, and the newly surrendered former troops of Wenger territory stabilized their position.
These two territories will need to think carefully before they try to intimidate Ashwood.
But Ron didn't say any of this.
There's no need for that. He can't beat either of them right now anyway, and saying it out loud will only make everyone present agitated.
Instead of wasting energy trying to figure out what the enemy is thinking, it's better to strengthen your territory.
With high enough city walls, abundant food, and a dense enough population, it's uncertain who will attack whom at that time.
"I'm issuing a new mission." Ron tapped the table, drawing everyone's attention back.
"Next, our main task is to develop the territory. Old Hall, you'll be in charge of administration. Prioritize building enough houses to ensure all new residents have a place to live. Farmland reclamation must continue. There are many goblin corpses from this battle; process them all into magic fertilizer for use in the newly reclaimed area to the south. Don't lose a single wounded soldier. Every wounded soldier is a valuable source of labor for the territory. Provide them with rations while they recover, and continue using them once they've healed."
"Yes," Old Hall replied.
"Military matters will be handled by Fenda." Ron turned to Fenda. "The reorganization of the guard and militia will be completed within three days. All the newly surrendered former members of Wenger's territory will be incorporated into the militia and retrained according to Ashwood's standards. The criminals have been reorganized and will be managed by Doron and Leonardo da Vinci. Training cannot stop; I don't want the criminals to risk their lives in defense again in the next war."
Fanta nodded.
Beside him, Hilden sat quietly, showing no expression at the mention of "new allies".
He was a top-tier official knight, second only to Fanta in combat power here. However, he was a surrendered general, and he knew the rules for surrendered generals: listen first, then act, and never ask for a position.
"Hilden." Ron looked at him.
Hilden looked up.
"When Wenger was defending the city, you were the actual commander. From today onwards, you will be responsible for the daily inspection of the territory's fortifications. Report directly to Old Hall to any areas where reinforcement is needed, such as the city walls, gates, watchtowers, and moats."
Hilden paused for a moment, then nodded. "Understood."
Ron stood up, walked to the earthen wall of the cave dwelling, and ran his hand across the wall.
The sand rose from beneath his palm, coalescing into a flat blackboard. The transformation technique pressed the surface sand into dark gray slate, smooth and flat, on which one could write with powdered stone.
"Next, I plan to implement a new system in the territory."
He wrote three words on the blackboard: work point system.
"From now on, everyone will be paid based on work points, the more you work, the more you earn. Work points can be exchanged for food, goods, or anything produced in the lord's manor. The family with the highest work points each year will receive an extra bonus."
Tang En was the first to speak.
As an outsider, he was even more afraid of being taken advantage of since he was new to the area, so he listened most carefully.
"My lord, how exactly are the work points calculated?"
Ron drew a horizontal line on the blackboard with his fingertip.
"For example, if the farm work for one acre is divided among three people, and they finish it in a day, each person gets ten work points. If they only finish half, they get five work points. If they finish 80%, they get eight work points. The minimum is six work points. Anyone who completes their assigned work for the day can get six work points. What can six work points be exchanged for? Three work points can be exchanged for a standard meal, and two meals a day make exactly six work points. In other words, as long as you work normally, you can eat your fill twice a day and won't starve."
Ron paused for a moment.
"But if you want to eat an extra meal, you need to earn at least nine work points. If you can earn ten work points, you can save up some extra points in addition to your three meals a day. If you save up thirty work points a month, you can exchange them for goods."
Tang En stared at the horizontal lines on the blackboard, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
He was an agricultural official who had dealt with the people for most of his life.
The people of the pioneering territory do not own their own land and rely entirely on the lord for sustenance. They never work hard because they are just a piece of black bread no matter how much they work, so why not save their energy?
The lord was unwilling to distribute more food, since the people wouldn't work hard regardless of how much they were given, so why waste food?
The two sides distrusted each other, and in the end, they could only maintain the bare minimum of labor discipline by whipping and punishing each other with food rations.
Work done by whipping is more than three times less efficient than work done voluntarily.
Tangen himself was on the lord's side. As the agricultural official, his duty was to urge the people to work.
If you can't get them to cooperate, you have to punish them; but punishing them will only create enmity.
If it weren't for Hilden protecting him, the people of Wenger territory would have been throwing stones at his door in the middle of the night.
Over the years, he has also suffered in his heart. He doesn't want to be whipped, but if he isn't whipped, he won't be able to finish his work, and if he doesn't finish his work, it will be his dereliction of duty.
The lord's method converts labor into points, directly linking points to food, making the rule of "more work, more food" and "less work, less food" clear.
The one who wields the whip becomes the score itself. The people will not hate him, nor will they hate the lord. They will only hate themselves for not earning two more points today.
"My lord!" Tang En quickly leaned forward. "How exactly are the work points awarded? It's all farm work, but tilling and harvesting require different amounts of effort; they can't all be awarded the same points, can they?"