Mountain and Forest Kingdom

After settling most of the things, Lawrence returned to Snow Mountain Castle.

Sofia, Salil and others opened the city gate to welcome Lawrence's return.

In the cold winter, Snow Mountain Castle is covered with dark rocks and walls near the island bridge that forms a wide avenue. Snowflakes slowly fall from the sky and fall on the cold stone ground.

Lawrence looked at the people wearing heavy coats with a gentle smile on his face.

In Pumexiu Town, Mountain Breeze Manor, and Oak City, people put on thick winter coats to resist the severe cold. The houses were stocked with enough meat and wine to last a winter, and there were black coals that could keep the stoves burning for a whole winter. .

In the rest of the Ice Land, food and clothing are better than last year, even though the demand for all kinds of food and cloth has increased a lot this year.

War and pain are easily forgotten and downplayed, and no one wants to live in sorrow.

Lawrence had done what he could, saw his family coming out to greet him, and soon entered the castle with his family to enjoy the long winter vacation.

Most people in the Ice Land are actually like this, taking life and death lightly.

Whether it's Kelda's wife or her children, life goes on.

In the absence of corresponding feudal etiquette constraints, especially constraints such as filial piety and chastity, there is naturally no concept of keeping one's soul alive.

Kelda has been dead for a month, and his children's behavior is normal whether he is going out drinking and playing cards with his friends and laughing loudly, or his wife is eating sweet tea with some women and chatting about all kinds of interesting things.

No one would ask them to keep grimacing, and no one would ask Lawrence to take responsibility for it.

Lawrence has been able to work back and forth for a month, which is worthy of everyone, and even more worthy of himself.

Kelda's wife died, and Kelda would not miss the drinking and card game that night, and was even thinking about finding a new wife.

In this era, everyone’s quality is so low.

While most of the barbarians were not of high quality, some businessmen with lower quality quickly seized the business opportunities.

Robbery is an aboveboard behavior in the entire Ice Land, and of course it is limited to external plunder.

Internally, they are all the people and slaves of the prophet, and those who mess up will be put to death.

This winter, idle businessmen in Pig Trotter City began to approach Feiyu Port and Dumu Port, hoping to resume their old business.

The emergence of Lawrence not only brought business opportunities, but also made the slave trade more frequent for a period of time.

It also brought destruction. The entire slave trade in the Land of Ice went out of business after the establishment of the Kingdom of Stars. The demand was getting less and less, and many people sold their bodies but no one wanted them.

Especially in the years after the population explosion, the value of a person is far less valuable than a cow. Two beautiful women in their twenties cannot exchange for a Dom sheep in Pig Trotter City.

Children couldn't be sold for a price, and no nobles bought slaves from outside. They had enough children and slaves at home.

For Lawrence, this winter has been a time of brewing and accumulation.

The twelfth eternal night arrived very late, and it only lasted less than three days before ending.

"Why so fast?" Lolita stood on the bed, with her feet on the quilt and looking at the sky outside the iron railing. She grabbed the iron rod with both hands and said, "I just lay down for two days, how come it's dawn!! "

For a few children who have grown up in the land of ice, this kind of thing is extremely unbelievable and even painful!

The almost one-month long night is the most carefree time for children. They don't have to work, they can lie in bed and play backgammon, or whisper and play games, and they can also eat in bed.

Tim had already put on his clothes and squatted down to put on his shoes. "I have to go to the kitchen quickly. I will definitely be busy at dawn."

Clara sat at the table and wrote quickly with a troubled look on her face, "I haven't finished my New Year's homework yet."

The female swordsman Sophie put on her sword and arranged her white uniform and shirt in front of the mirror. She lowered her head to check whether there was any hair or dirt on her trousers.

This girl who was sold from a poor family to the frozen land has always worked hard, and has always maintained loyalty and respect for Lawrence. While working hard to become a qualified female knight, this sixteen-year-old girl will also Dream some sweet dreams and look forward to being favored by a respected master one day.

Heidi had attended Lawrence's night party these days and hadn't come back for several days.

No one is surprised by this, it is normal.

In another maid's lounge a few hundred meters away from the maid's house, several girls and women were also busy getting dressed.

The little nun had no homework and was not resistant to work. She happily hugged Yu Bao who was lying on the bed when the sun came up.

"Yu Bao, shall we go out and play?"

Yu Bao shook his head and continued to lie down in boredom.

Although it is daybreak, the temperature outside is still very low. Yubao is not a seal and does not like to go out and play at this time.

In the pile of clothes at the foot of the bed, two little ducks are sleeping next to each other. The two little ducks have successfully survived the period without their mother. It has been two or three months now, and their bodies are a little bigger than before. times.

From being a fluffy ball, now you can clearly see the neck and flat mouth.

There are not many people who are as leisurely as she is. Audrey and Awenla, who are in the same room, have already put on beautiful long skirts and cloaks.

Witches have high resistance to cold and heat, and both Audrey and Awenla are willing to work harder in order to gain favor.

Even Dalian, who has always been non-competitive, put on a long dress with a slightly intellectual feel. She is also not too young.

Although the three of them lived in the same house as the nun, their relationship was very ordinary and they could not talk about going together.

Dalian stood aside and waited for the two people who were not ready yet.

"The winter here is shorter than the winter in Feiyu Port. It reminds me of the Kingdom of Io, where there is winter, but there is no eternal night."

Darian told Awenla and Audrey about her hometown.

The little nun who was still lying on the bed quickly picked up the conversation, "There is no eternal night? Then you also work in winter and don't take a break?"

"Yeah." Dalian didn't know what to say, "No."

The little nun quickly showed a sympathetic look, "I was busy with all kinds of things all year long, and I didn't have a few days to lie comfortably in bed. No wonder everyone came to us from outside."

Darien smiled politely.

Awenla is very satisfied with herself in the mirror. There are indeed many competitors here, but Awenla believes that her loyalty to her master will be known to her.

Audrey didn't have so many complicated thoughts. She just wanted to hold Lawrence's thigh and live a slightly more comfortable life. She didn't have to work in the monastery all day, and she didn't have to talk to the low-class person next to her all day long. living together.

Awenla quickly looked outside the door and said, "Someone is coming."

Several people in the room also looked outside the door. The little nun quickly got up from the bed and looked around for pants and leather jacket.

After more than twenty seconds, a plump blonde beauty walked in.

"Lord Sophia!" Awenla and others knelt down on one knee to salute.

Sofia was accompanied by two female guards. She was wearing a white fur cloak from the shoulders to the floor, and a long skirt with soft texture. She looked like a palace lady.

Twenty-two-year-old Sophia looks like a thirty-year-old mature wife, exuding charming charm.

This kind of charm has no effect on Awenla and others. They will kneel down just because Sophia hugged her with the thickest thigh and the earliest.

Sofia nodded gently, "Get up, Lana, you don't need to get dressed, just keep lying on the bed. I'm here to see the three of them."

"Yes! Lady Sophia!" Lana quickly retracted into the bed again, as if kneeling under the bedclothes, lying there honestly waiting for Sophia to leave.

Sofia didn't pay attention to this stupid girl and looked down at the three witches.

"The master has been busy with some government affairs recently, especially the management issues in several cities outside. I recommended the three of you to the master. Maybe I can get some good suggestions by talking to you."

"Audrey, you are a woman from the She family. Do you know what the She family did for the king in the past?"

Sofia asked Audrey that smart people can often detect each other's existence quickly and have a tacit understanding.

Audrey quickly said: "Understand a little. Some things are not difficult to understand. As long as you get to that position, you will know what to do. If the master needs it, our sisters are willing to be loyal vipers under the master's feet."

Loyalty and poisonous snakes are a bit incompatible, so Sophia looked at Darian.

"The Snake family operates slave trade, brothels and other places, and regularly collects taxes from the king. I remember that the Yu family controls facilities such as ports."

Dalian explained: "That's right. It mainly includes water transportation routes and the setting of prices for various commodities, as well as the management of chambers of commerce. We have contacts with several other companies. If the church needs people, I think I can Find some people who haven’t surrendered.”

"But I can't guarantee the loyalty of those people...I can only guarantee that some of them can be found."

Dalian didn't keep her words to death, and at the same time she advanced and retreated in an orderly manner. She could both win over people and betray them.

A smile appeared on Sophia's lips. It was much smoother to talk to three smart women than to talk to that little nun who didn't know her dignity.

"Let's go, the master is waiting for you. You must remember clearly who gave you the opportunity."

The three witches quickly said gratefully: "Yes, Lady Sophia!"

It’s not clear whether I’m grateful or not, at least on the surface I’m grateful.

A pure-blood witch would be loyal to Lawrence, but she would never be loyal to a half-blood witch. This was a problem of bloodline, which could not be reversed by kindness and will.

Subconsciously, these pure-blood witches look down on half-blood witches. Among the saints around Lawrence, the most respected ones have always been pure-blood witches like Cassandra and Catherine, and Kohalan is also one of them.

Dana and Stella are elves, so there are not many true pure-blood witches.

When the witches gather together, the one with the highest bloodline level always gives the orders.

If there were wizards, they would naturally be dominated by powerful wizards.

The existence of Lawrence dilutes the hierarchical differences between witches, but the hierarchical differences affected by blood will not disappear.

Lawrence has already calmed down from the carnival, and is working with Delensalil to create a sand table of the nearby area, using a clearer sand table to show the geographical location of the area, and formulating measures for urban layout and development.

While making small hills with clay, Sophia came in with Avila and others.

"Owner!"

"prophet!"

Different names for different people, Lawrence sat on the ground and continued to slap the clay hills.

"Well, let's sit down and chat. I want to know about the business that the Snake family ran before."

Lawrence is accustomed to following the local customs. After years of exploration, he found that many rules are related to local historical and cultural habits.

The same is true for the political system. Power changes in this world are not frequent. Under the intervention of extraordinary powers like wizards, the royal power has always been stable.

The wars in several countries do not mean that this is the case in all regions. The rulers of most regions were crushed by external forces rather than overthrown by the bottom and lower-class nobles.

Lawrence was trying to find a suitable system to govern several conquered areas, such as Io and Glen.

A system that can be accepted by local people is a good system, so it is necessary to understand the previous system.

Audrey knows the things about the Snake family best.

"Our family used to be mainly responsible for intelligence and money matters. The men were mainly engaged in the roles of peacekeepers and butchers, while the women were engaged in serving the nobles. They would attract a group of ladies and ladies who were also noble women, and would also help male and female nobles. Things like finding a lover.”

"There is also the matter of selecting and selling slaves. I didn't know much about these things before. During the Kingdom of Io, I was mainly responsible for maintaining loyalty to the Xiong family and helping to suppress the young people of other families."

Lawrence found that these were of no use to him, "How do you collect taxes?"

Audrey: "I'm not sure. It's said that a few people have to be found to give a warning every time to make the others be honest and obedient."

Lawrence asked: "How does the regime work? How did you discover that there were traitors and dangerous elements in the city? How did you deal with the discovery and report?"

Audrey was silent, "Without this kind of thing, there are usually no traitors or dangerous people."

Lawrence looked at her, "Has it never happened before?"

"That kind of thing has happened before, but it has nothing to do with our She family." Audrey said in embarrassment: "Most of the things were caused by the nobles themselves. The She family has done many bad things, but only a small part of them. More We are always solving problems caused by the royal family and other nobles."

“Because problems often occur, it’s often not clear whose fault it is, as long as the troublesome people and things are gone.”

Lawrence shook his head helplessly, "A group of barbarians living in the dark ages."

Audrey's face turned red, but these words came from the mouth of a great prophet who was more benevolent and civilized, making it impossible to refute.