Chapter 36: Nora
Chapter 36 Nora
Among the mountains and forests, the low-hanging crescent moon swayed the last ray of light, trying to resist the invasion of darkness.
However, this is futile after all, and the whole world will soon fall into the darkest hour before dawn.
"Ma'am, I counted again, more than 30 brothers are missing."
"So many?" Nora frowned tightly, unable to accept the number for a while, "But we didn't encounter fierce battles when we rushed out. How could there be so few people?"
"It should be that many tribesmen failed to keep up with the team and got trapped in the camp of the Blueskin tribe."
Nara nodded, then stood up resolutely and said:
"I'm going back now and bringing them out!"
"Madam, you must not go back!"
"Yes, mother, you probably won't be able to get out after you go." Natalie also hugged her mother's arm tightly, as if she was afraid that she would never come back.
"No, I have to go back." Nora insisted, "I brought them into danger, and I should bring them out."
"Madam, then we will go back with you!"
"No, you stay here. If I don't come back for a long time, you take Natalie away."
"I'm not leaving!" Natalie was so scared that she almost cried.
Nara patted her daughter's little hand lightly, smiled and comforted her:
"Don't worry, the situation may not be so bad. As far as I know, the river bend nobleman is not a bloodthirsty person, not to mention that our Raven tribe did not participate in Linia's conspiracy, he probably wouldn't embarrass us."
"Then you should also bring more people, just in case."
"No need. If he really wants to harm me, even if I take everyone from the Youya tribe, I won't be able to stop him."
Everyone fell silent after hearing the words.
The Youya tribe is just a small tribe, with a total number of less than 500 people, and most of them are old and weak, women and children, and they really can't fight against the powerful Hewan people.
"Okay, you don't have to worry, I haven't received a warning from the gods, indicating that this trip will not be dangerous."
After reassuring the tribe, Nora looked for the direction and walked into the darkness alone.
—————
"So, my subjects will increase by more than 9,300 people?"
"Yes, my lord." Gavin said with dark circles under his eyes, "This is the preliminary statistics of the population of the thirteen tribes. There may be some differences in the final results, but they should not be big."
Samwell stroked his chin, but he was a little worried.
The increase in the population of the territory is of course a good thing, but if it increases too fast, it will make people worry.
These more than 9,000 people, plus the original Huya tribe of more than 2,000 people, are more than 10,000 people.
And this happened in just less than a month.
For a territory that has just begun to develop, this is no longer a population explosion, but a population explosion.
The territory's food reserves were almost exhausted, and the population surge at this time was simply adding fuel to the fire.
Originally, there were more than 2,000 people, but Samwell could still go to Qingting Island to make a wave of investment and survive this period of time.
But now that the rations have soared to more than 10,000 people, how can this be fooled?
Do you really regard Earl Paxter as the wronged person?
The brandy cash cow is still in its infancy, and it can't immediately bring a lot of income to the territory.
Thinking of this, Samwell finally sighed, and could only decide to temporarily raise these newly joined citizens.
"We can't supply so many people now, so all the more than 2,000 captives who surrendered last night were released back, and let them go hunting and gathering in the same way as before."
"Yes, my lord."
Gavin nodded in response, feeling a little pity in his heart.
Although he could understand the difficulty of the lord, he also knew that if these captives were released now, it would be difficult to gather them together in the future.
It's a pity that the food in the territory is not enough to support so many people. Otherwise, it would be great if so many people were sent to build the castle.
There is also a winery, which is also in urgent need of manpower.
But these captives really can't move. After all, they are the main hunting force of the thirteen tribes. If they are sent to build castles, the rest of the wildlings in the tribe will encounter a food crisis.
Therefore, unless Yingzui Island has the ability to support all the more than 9,000 savages, these captives must be released back.
Thinking of this, Gavin asked again:
"My lord, will the orphanage not accept the elderly and young children from these thirteen tribes?"
Samwell thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said:
"Take it! Otherwise, the hearts of these tribes will be scattered."
"yes."
Samwell sighed, knowing that he had to leave for Qingting Island as soon as possible, otherwise his leaders would really drink the northwest wind.
"In addition, the thirteen newly added tribes have all been changed to villages. You should draw up a list of candidates for village chiefs as soon as possible. Remember to use familiar savages."
The "familiar savage" in Samwell's mouth actually refers to the savage or his relatives who intermarried with the River Bend people.
For example, Gavin’s new wife Wuna, and brother-in-law Ucha.
Samwell insisted on getting rid of those tribal leaders this time, just to facilitate the placement of people he trusted, so as to better control these savage villages.
He didn't want the savages to start rioting again after he left.
"Okay." Gavin quickly wrote it down, and then asked, "What about the tax? It is also based on Huya Village, exempt for three months?"
Samwell hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and said:
"right."
Although the territory's finances are difficult, he still intends to have a bowl of water.
After all, buying people's hearts is the most important thing now.
Moreover, those savages are so poor, how much can they collect even if they really collect taxes?
Hunting and gathering are extremely inefficient production methods. The savages can barely support themselves. If they are really asked to pay taxes, Samwell feels guilty.
Of course, after three months, you still have to pay.
Even if the tax collected is returned as welfare, it must be collected.
This is the duty of the citizens.
If you really want to continue the tax exemption, it won’t be long before no one will remember that there is a lord on their head.
What's more, Samwell has built an orphanage to help the leaders support the orphans, widows, old and young, greatly reducing their burden, and collecting some taxes will not affect their lives.
Then, the two discussed some details of the settlement of the savages.
After the end, Samwell was about to catch up on his sleep, but his attendant, Kathu, came to report:
"My lord, there is a patriarch who claims to be the leader of the Crow Tribe and wants to see you."
"Wandering Crow Tribe? Invite her to come here."
"yes."
After learning last night that most of the Raven tribe fled in the chaos, Samwell was still very disappointed.
Because this tribe has mastered ghost grass, something that can improve his spiritual attributes.
When people from the Huya tribe sent an invitation to the Yaya tribe on his behalf, they were rejected by the other party.
He was still worrying about how to contact the other party, but he didn't expect that now, the Youya tribe would come to him on his own initiative.
Of course Samwell knew that the other party should have come for those tribesmen who were captured by him.
While thinking about it, I saw a tall woman walking into the wooden house.
A dark veil covered most of her face, revealing a pair of eyes with purple pupils, long dark brown hair draped over her shoulders, and a simple and rough buckskin dress, but it still couldn't hide the mysterious and noble atmosphere.
She came to Samwell with graceful steps, bowed and said:
"Dear Lord Caesar, I am Nora, the patriarch of the Crow Tribe. On behalf of all the clansmen, I would like to extend my most sincere greetings to you."
(end of this chapter)