Chapter 475: Golden Sparrow Orphan
"Hey, what are you looking at? Be careful or I'll beat you up." The old knight, with sweat all over his forehead, had just pushed the tattered box onto the carriage, and turned around and cursed at the civilians who were watching the fun on the side of the road.

On the King's Road leading to Hotam County, there was a queue more than a mile long.

The flying dust fell into the eyes, cattle, horses and livestock were mixed together, children were running around between wheels and thatch, and behind them were the anxious roars of adults.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" The knight wearing a blue cloak embroidered with goldfinch cracked his whip on both sides of the team, urging these people to move on.

The majority of them were civilians and craftsmen from Kongdai Territory, and some were civilians who fled from the civil war in the kingdom.

After the civil war broke out in the kingdom, thousands of refugees fled into the Thousand River Valley, one of the few places that was not affected by the war.

Although the Inossen Dam has not been repaired yet and there is still a risk of flooding, it is better than staying in the war zone and having your head chopped off by soldiers.

The leader of these immigrants is Lacunio, the former Grand Master of the Border Knights. He just resigned from the position of Grand Master last year and prepared to retire to the mountains.

While visiting Lord Condai, he heard about the current situation of Charles, the former Knight Commander, and decided to lead a team to protect the immigrants and visit Prince Condai.

"Lacunio!" Conte opened his arms enthusiastically and hugged his old friend, who was both his teacher and friend. "Captain, your beard has turned white."

“Hahahaha.” Lacunio, who was wearing a coarse cloth robe, laughed and punched Prince Condé on the back. “I’m already eighty years old. It would be strange if I’m not white.”

"Come on, let's talk inside. I have some fine wine." Pulling Lacuno's arm, Prince Conte almost dragged Lacuno towards the garden of the mansion.

"Are you planning to settle down here in the future?" After taking a sip of wine, Lacunio and Prince Conde walked in the garden together.

"Of course, but for now, there is only Hotam County. Hotam County is enough."

In the Thousand River Valley, Hotam County is the richest and most prosperous area, even Lower River County, which is well developed in commerce and finance, cannot compare with it.

The area of ​​Hotam County is nearly 12000 square kilometers, of which more than square kilometers are arable land and have a developed water conservancy and irrigation system.

Walking along the King's Road in Hotham County, between rivers and tributaries, irrigation canals are spread like a spider web among towns and manors.

The waterwheels on the river bank stirred up white splashes of water, and the gates of the dam blocked the surging waves.

As long as the local lords controlled the gates and water wheels, they could easily control the agricultural life of an entire area.

In addition to agriculture, cargo transportation is extremely fast thanks to the well-developed water system in the Thousand River Valley, and there are a series of scattered towns along rivers such as the Nauan River.

Unlike the three southern counties which have large cities and satellite towns, Hotam County only has one large city, Feiliu Castle.

On the remaining land, there are dozens of small towns with no more than two thousand people, based on the lord's castles and churches.

Most of these towns are engaged in food processing, dye production, oil pressing and basic textile industries. This county alone can contribute 18000 gold pounds in tribute and income to the Leia royal family every year.

When Mizam was still alive, he calculated the potential tax revenue of Hotam County for Prince Kongdai.

He found that if he did not pay taxes to the church and the Kingdom of Leia, the local annual tax revenue could reach nearly 20 gold pounds.

Although at least one-third of it was in-kind taxes rather than in cash, it was still a huge sum of money for Prince Condé.

Of course, at least half of the 20 gold pounds went into the hands of local nobles, but if Prince Conte could straighten out the tax system in Hotham County, he could at least get 7 to 9 gold pounds every year.

In this way, Prince Condé would not need to borrow money to maintain the existing six imperial companies, and it would only take four to six years to pay off most of the foreign debt.

This is the case with Hotam County alone. If the entire Thousand River Valley could be taken over, that would be unthinkable.

However, such a Thousand River Valley is only of upper-middle level in the Kingdom of Leia. His real hometown, Heshang Island, is the richest area in the whole of Leia.

You should know that the Kingdom of Leia has a total of eight territories: Eagle Foot Bay, Thorn Garden, Gravel Plain, Windmill Land, River Island, Dawn Island, Thousand River Valley, and Fairy Stone Farm.

The Heshangyu region is only half the size of the Thousand River Valley, but it provides the Leia royal family with nearly one-third of the country's tax revenue.

It is also the textile and commercial center of the north of the Nauan River. The city tax alone brings in nearly 20 gold pounds, more than three times the tax paid by the entire Thousand River Valley.

"Are you interested in hearing what an old man like me thinks?"

"Please speak." Prince Kongdai put down the wine glass in his hand and said seriously.

"After the death of the old pope, you have fewer constraints. Taking advantage of this civil war, you can rule over a piece of land.

My idea is to at least not let the Golden Sparrow family die out. After two or three generations, when the previous nobles have almost forgotten their hatred, we may have a chance to rise again."

After listening to the words of old Captain Lacunio, Prince Conde, who was walking in the small garden, fell silent.

For the great nobles of the Kingdom of Leia, the Goldfinch Family's attempt to take control of local finances was really over the line.

But the Plantagenet Dynasty at that time had the strongest extraordinary knights after the Hundred Years' War, and the surging cavalry used blitzkrieg to wipe out the two dukes within three months.

At that time, all foreign forces were in internal turmoil and had no time to interfere in Leia's internal affairs.

If the Changge nobles had not exposed the "Immortal Wine" incident, the Golden Finches would have almost succeeded with the support of the Pope.

The trauma caused by this incident made the nobles of Leia very hostile to Goldfinch.

Prince Kongdai did have the idea of ​​restoring his country in his heart, but what could he do given the situation?

"You're right, I think so too." After saying this, Prince Condé was both unwilling and relieved. "I have an idea." Captain Lacunio sat down by the pool. He patted the marble stool next to him that was carved with a seahorse punching a dung beetle. "Charles, you sit down too."

"Captain, what do you want to say?"

"Char, have you ever thought about reconciling with the local forces in Qianhe Valley?"

"Reconciliation? At this moment? Are you kidding?" Prince Kongdai almost jumped up from his chair. How could they reconcile when the fight had come to this point?

He has already retreated to the point of becoming a prince in this remote corner. Is he going to retreat any further?

Lacunio shook his head: "The current situation is that you have come to Qianhe Valley, but you have never gained a foothold in Qianhe Valley. You should first reconcile with the local forces, and then nibble away at them bit by bit."

"Why not? Currently, the entire Hotam County is under my rule. The grain harvest is great, the floods have been driven away, and the believers live and work in peace and contentment." Prince Kongdai frowned in confusion and suspicion, "How can it not be considered as having gained a firm foothold?"

"I just want to ask you a question, who does the tax go to?"

"Of course it's in my hands." Seeing Lacunio's half-smile, Prince Condé laughed, "It's usually kept with Barnifoss. When I need it, I go to him to get it. I can't let my boys go to the villages and ask those country bumpkins for money one by one, right?"

"There's nothing wrong with using the church's system. Everyone does this." Lacunio looked at the good disciple in front of him, "But are you sure that Bishop Barnifos, who is in charge of the money..."

"That's why I called all the old courtiers and nobles from Condé County. Once they have established a foothold in Hotam County, everything will be fine."

Lacuno grabbed Prince Condé's hand, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Little Charles called a large number of craftsmen and civilians, and Lacunio agreed.

After all, they are all Kong Dai's subjects, and they are newcomers from other places, so they will definitely obey Prince Kong Dai's orders.

But it would be wrong for him to call over the families of the knights and old ministers of the old dynasty, because these nobles wanted land.

Those Hotam knights had just died on the battlefield with the Saviors, and now their territory was about to be divided among the new knights.

Although this was a helpless move due to the inability to pay military salaries, it was still a huge stimulus to the local nobles.

Even if you redeem it or take out a loan, it won't cost much.

After the explosion of Prince Condé's external brains, Mizam and the old Pope, Lacunio felt that Prince Condé's political level had declined significantly.

Prince Condé may be a decisive decision-maker, but he is not a careful and meticulous planner.

So far, Lacunio has not been able to find a second Mizam next to Prince Condé.

In other words, after the outbreak of the civil war and the death of the old Pope, Prince Condé was like someone who had suddenly removed the iron collar from his neck, and he was determined to vent all the madness that had been suppressed in his heart.

"Charles, there are some things I have to say that you may not like to hear, but I still have to tell you.

Having served as the Grand Master of a border knight order for my entire life, I finally understood that a knight's sword cannot obtain everything.

The resistance of the people of Qianhe Valley to the church is obvious to all, and the incident involving the Blue Blood Orphan was indeed a bit too much.

You shouldn't stand on the side of the church so clearly, that is a shackle.

A truly smart person should learn to be vague and hesitant, and only make decisions at the last critical moment. "

Prince Condé said with a hint of impatience: "Then what do you think I should do?"

Lacunio was aware of his emotions, but he still said patiently: "You can only mobilize tens of thousands of people, but the Thousand Valleys have millions of people, and behind them are foreign forces such as Fran and Norn.

What you need to do is not to fight them both at the same time, but to reconcile with one of them and then attack the other.

Considering that the Salvation Army is a bandit army composed of civilians, the most convenient thing for you to do is to marry the Grand Duke Meliati.

You are the biggest foreign power, and she is the biggest local power. If the two of you marry, you will occupy the plains and she will occupy the mountains. This is the best situation."

"Marry that untrustworthy old maid?" Prince Condai curled his lips. "Then the Goldfinch family will probably be extinct. Meliati... I swore to kill her."

"...Okay." Lacunio looked at Prince Conde's gray pupils and was silent for a long time before standing up. "Since you don't want to look in the Thousand River Valley, then look outside. We old guys from the previous dynasty can't provide you with much help."

"I am also considering it, but I still can't find the right person."

"If you can't find a suitable candidate, go find a mistress. You are the only one in the Goldfinch family right now." Lacunio said without question, "You don't even have a mistress in your mansion. That's terrible."

"Is it necessary to be so anxious?" Prince Kongdai stood up and left, muttering to himself, unaware that he was dancing on the edge of a blade.

Looking at his puzzled and confused back as he left, old Captain Lacunio sighed heavily.

Looking up at the sky covered with white clouds, the clouds looked so much like the face his father had told him to look like before he died.

Goldfinch orphan, goldfinch orphan...

Could it be that the Holy Lord really wants to destroy the Golden Sparrow's bloodline?

(End of this chapter)