Chapter 54: The Lord's Development Plan
Ralph was very angry when he mentioned this, and he regretted saving a scumbag. But it was only after he saved Rainier that he found out that this scumbag had burned down the village in advance...
So, he told Leon about the village of Eldage - now Eldage has been burned into ruins, the original lord has abandoned it, the superior lord Elfwan is also dead, and it has also been ravaged by the Jatu people.
According to the laws of the kingdom, this is already considered unowned land, and pioneer lords can establish territories here.
In this case, building a new village nearby is actually better than opening up territory in an uninhabited area - at least the surviving refugees nearby can be taken in as subjects.
Ralph made this suggestion, of course, hoping that Leon could give the refugees a way to survive.
To Ralph, these refugees were neighbors.
When Li Ang and his team arrived at Aildaige Village, there was no one in the village.
Everything was burnt black.
Apart from a portion of the stone walls that were still intact, all that could be seen were black ashes and messy waste all over the ground.
Rainier and the Jatu people destroyed this place thoroughly.
There were still wheat roots left in the fields around the village, which meant they had just been harvested and not yet planted with autumn and winter crops.
If nothing unexpected happened, Eldege was looted and burned by his own lord just after the harvest.
Leon called Leslie, settled the convoy, and then began to assign tasks to Leslie.
"What? Sir, you want to open a market here?"
"Don't be so excited, Leslie, this is your specialty..."
Leon looked at Leslie calmly, who had a strange look on her face.
"But sir, there is no one here now. If we build a market in this ruin, who will we sell the goods to?"
Leslie felt that the Lord must have lost his mind. She regretted that she had made Leon drink so much wine the day before yesterday...
"Leslie, you need to be more open-minded..."
Li Ang stroked the stubble on his chin, spread out a map, and began to explain his business plan.
The location of Aildaige Village was actually very good.
To the west of the village is the tributary of the Tongtian River, the 'Air River', and Aildaige is the end point of this tributary.
The source of this tributary is the reservoir-like lake behind Changhe Town. The water flow is relatively gentle, and you can go directly upstream to Changhe Town.
To the north is the outskirts of the Changhe Forest, and to the south is the towering mountains 'Dengir Mountains' that stretch for hundreds of miles. The monsoons from both the north and the south will be slowed down nearby.
This makes the climate of Aildaige Village very pleasant. It is a good place with warm winters and cool summers. It is also a place where mountains and rivers converge, with beautiful scenery and abundant resources.
About seventy or eighty miles east of the village is the eastern border fortress White Hart Keep. It is the closest castle to the Noldor Forest and can even be said to be surrounded by .
To the north is the Changhe Forest, and behind the Dengjier Mountains in the south is the Bacchus Empire. The roads at both ends are quite dangerous, so except for Changhe Town and Bailu Fort, few merchants from the north and south come here.
"Leslie, stop staring at Elerdag. Look at White Hartburg... After Elerdag Village is gone, there won't be any roads left in a county as big as White Hartburg. They've almost become an isolated city!"
Leon covered the map with his hand and motioned for Leslie to look at it.
Yes, Elladaige itself might be just an ordinary village with pleasant scenery and climate, but for the eastern fortress White Hart Castle, it is the only way to connect to the heart of the kingdom.
After the loss of Ella Dagger, White Hart Keep became an isolated enclave.
To the east and north of White Hart Keep are the Noldor Forests, to the south is the territory of the Bacchus Empire, and to the west is the village of Elladagot.
Except for Elladaig in the west, the people of White Hart Keep need to pass through the territories of the Noldor or Bacchus Empire to move in any direction... This is nothing for lords or armies, but it is a fatal blow to ordinary merchants.
They could only go to Eldegard first and then go somewhere else.
"So, let's build a market here and specialize in the business of White Hart Castle!"
Li Ang pointed to the heavily loaded carts.
"I understand, sir. Among our spoils of war, there are many goods that White Deer Castle needs. As for the rest, I will take people to Changhe Town to exchange them for them."
Leslie also understood it. She was a qualified businessman and quickly grasped the logic behind the lord's intention to control this trade route.
"That's right, Leslie... In addition, White Hart Castle should be the easiest place to receive Noldor crafts. In the future, you may be able to rebuild your caravan."
Li Ang smiled and helped his quartermaster to rebuild his ideal.
The so-called effective management is actually to give your subordinates a hope that conforms to their own dreams, so that they will consciously and voluntarily bind their future to your chariot.
This is true for Lisa Dilan and Leslie too.
"...Master Leon...thank you."
Although Leslie said that she would not consider rebuilding the caravan, how could she let it go in her heart...
…
The next day, Li Ang convened the startup’s first general staff meeting.
But don't get me wrong, Leon has no intention of practicing democracy in this era. He just wants to inform his subordinates about the development plan of the territory.
This is of course a very important thing for a pioneer lord who has just found a suitable place, so Leon hopes that his employees can fully understand the boss's intentions and give reasonable suggestions or take the initiative to take action.
As a boss, you can't do everything yourself. Giving your subordinates a clear direction and letting them create value is what a lord should do.
Of course, this is mainly because the lord wants to lighten his burden, in other words, he is just being lazy.
It was the first formal meeting, and the venue was decorated a little shabby.
This is the largest stone house in the village - probably once a warehouse of a winery. The roof is gone, the stone walls are burnt black, and the windows are just a few stone holes. When the wind blows, you can even hear the charred wood chips on the window sills falling.
Fortunately, the climate here is good, and it doesn’t feel cold even though there is wind blowing in from everywhere.
However, the ground had been covered with a layer of straw, a wooden board had been hung on one wall, and the carpenters had also thoughtfully and quickly nailed out two broken wooden steps to serve as a stage.
Everybody was very enthusiastic, including the wounded, all of them were present, filling the originally spacious room to the brim, and the air was filled with the smell of rotten wheat husks and wound medicine.
"Ahem... Then, our first plenary meeting of Maixiangling will begin now!"
Leon stood on the steps with a charcoal pencil in his hand, cleared his throat, and then changed the difficult-to-pronounce name of Elerdaige with just one sentence.
The group of people below looked at each other, and then looked out the window at the same time - the land outside the village was bare, with basically nothing except the excrement produced last night, no wheat, and no incense, why is it called Maixiangling...
"First of all, I have to determine the overall plan for Maixiangling!"
The lord waved a charcoal pencil and drew two huge circles on the wooden board behind him. Then, he drew a curved sausage on the two circles.
“Oh…”
There was a commotion in the audience.
