SWDnovel #477 - Goldfinch Orphan
#477 - Goldfinch Orphan
"Hey, what are you looking at? Be careful, or I, your lord, will whip you!" The old knight, drenched in sweat, had just pushed the dilapidated box onto the carriage. He turned his head and cursed angrily at the commoners watching the commotion by the roadside.
On this King's Road leading to Hotam County, a line of people stretching over a mile long had formed.
Dust flew up, getting into people's eyes. Cattle and livestock were mixed together, and children ran haphazardly between the wheels and thatched roofs, followed by the anxious roars of adults.
"Move, move!" Knights wearing blue cloaks embroidered with golden sparrows cracked their whips on both sides of the line, urging the people to keep moving forward.
The majority of these people were commoners and artisans from the Condé domain, with a portion being commoners fleeing from the kingdom's civil war.
After the kingdom's civil war broke out, thousands of refugees had successively fled into Thousand River Valley, one of the few places untouched by the flames of war.
Although the Inosen Dam had not yet been repaired and the risk of flooding remained, it was better than staying in the war zone and having one's head cut off by soldiers.
The leader of these immigrants was Rakunio, the former Grand Commander of the Border Knights. He had just resigned from his position last year, preparing to retire to the mountains.
During his visit to the Condé domain, he heard about the current situation of Charles, the former knight commander, and decided to lead the team to protect the immigrants and visit Prince Condé.
"Rakunio!" Condé opened his arms warmly, embracing his old friend and mentor tightly. "Commander, your beard has turned white."
"Hahahaha." Rakunio, wearing a coarse cloth robe, laughed and punched Prince Condé in the back. "I'm eighty years old. It would be strange if it wasn't white."
"Come, come, let's go inside and talk. I have some fine wine here." Grabbing Rakunio's arm, Prince Condé almost dragged Rakunio towards the garden of the mansion.
"Are you planning to settle down here from now on?" Rakunio asked, taking a sip of wine as he walked with Prince Condé in the garden.
"Of course, but for now, just Hotam County. Having Hotam County is enough."
Within Thousand River Valley, Hotam County was the most affluent and prosperous region, unmatched even by Lower River County, known for its commerce and finance.
Hotam County covered nearly 30,000 square kilometers, with over 12,000 square kilometers of arable land and a developed water conservancy and irrigation system.
Walking on the King's Road in Hotam County, irrigation canals were distributed like spider webs among the towns and manors, between rivers and tributaries.
Waterwheels by the river turned white splashes of water, and the gates of the dams blocked the leaping waves.
Local lords could easily control the agricultural life of an entire region by controlling the gates and waterwheels.
In addition to agriculture, thanks to Thousand River Valley's developed water system, freight流通 was extremely fast, with a series of small towns scattered along the Nauan River and other rivers.
Unlike the situation in the three southern counties, where large cities were accompanied by satellite towns, Hotam County had only one large city: Feiliubao.
On the remaining land, dozens of small towns with no more than two thousand people were distributed around lord castles and churches.
These towns were mostly engaged in food processing, dye production, oil extraction, and basic textile industries. This county alone could contribute 18,000 gold pounds in tribute and revenue to the Leia royal family each year.
Back when Mizam was still around, he had calculated the potential tax revenue of Hotam County for Prince Condé.
He discovered that if taxes were not paid to the church and the Leia Kingdom, the local annual tax revenue could reach nearly 200,000 gold pounds.
Although at least one-third of this was in-kind taxes rather than currency, it was a huge sum for Prince Condé.
Of course, at least half of these 200,000 gold pounds flowed into the hands of local nobles, but if Prince Condé could streamline Hotam County's tax system, he could get at least 70,000 to 90,000 gold pounds each year.
This way, Prince Condé would no longer need to borrow money to maintain his existing six decree companies, and he could repay most of his foreign debt in just four to six years.
Hotam County alone was like this. If he could take the entire Thousand River Valley, it would be unimaginable.
However, even Thousand River Valley was only at a middle-to-upper level within the Leia Kingdom. His true home, River Isle, was the wealthiest region in all of Leia.
The Leia Kingdom had eight territories in total: Eagle Foot Bay, Thorns Garden, Pebble Plains, Windmill Lands, River Isle, Dawn Island, Thousand River Valley, and Fairy Stone Field.
The River Isle region was only half the size of Thousand River Valley but provided nearly one-third of the national tax revenue to the Leia royal family.
It was also the textile and commercial center north of the Nauan River. City tax alone brought in nearly 200,000 gold pounds, more than three times the tax revenue of the entire Thousand River Valley territory.
"Would you be interested in hearing the thoughts of this old man?"
"Please, speak," Prince Condé said, putting down his wine glass with a serious expression.
"With the death of the old Pope, you have fewer restrictions. Taking advantage of this civil war, you can rule a piece of land.
My idea is, at least don't let the Goldfinch family die out. After developing for two or three generations, after the previous nobles have almost forgotten their hatred, we may have a chance to rise again."
After listening to the old Commander Rakunio's words, Prince Condé, walking in the small garden, fell silent.
For the great nobles of the Leia Kingdom, the Goldfinch family's attempt to consolidate local finances was a step too far.
However, the Goldfinch Dynasty at the time held the strongest transcendent knights after the Hundred Years' War, and their surging iron cavalry used blitzkrieg tactics to wipe out two dukes in 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 Longsong nobles hadn't exposed the "Longevity Wine" incident, the Goldfinches would have almost succeeded with the support of the Pope.
The reactive trauma from this event made the Leia nobles, from top to bottom, very resistant to the Goldfinches.
Prince Condé did have the idea of restoring the country in his heart, but what could he do in the face of the situation?
"You're right. That's what I think too." After saying this, Prince Condé felt both unwilling and somewhat self-deprecatingly relieved.
"I have an idea." Old Commander Rakunio sat down by the pool, patting the marble stool next to him carved with a seahorse punching a dung beetle. "Charles, sit down too."
"Commander, what do you want to say?"
"Charles, have you ever thought about reconciling with the local forces of Thousand River Valley?"
"Reconcile? At this moment? Are you kidding me?" Prince Condé almost jumped out of his chair. They had already fought to this point, how could they reconcile?
He had already retreated to being a prince in this remote corner, did he have to retreat further?
Rakunio shook his head. "The current situation is that you have come to Thousand River Valley, but you have never gained a firm foothold here. You should reconcile with the local forces first, and then gradually蚕食."
"How haven't I? The entire Hotam County is currently under my rule. The harvest is bountiful, the floods have been driven away, and the believers live in peace and contentment." Prince Condé frowned suspiciously and confusedly. "How can that not be considered a firm foothold?"
"I'll just ask you one question: Who is the tax paid to?"
"Of course, it's paid to me." Looking at Rakunio's non-smiling eyes, Prince Condé laughed. "It's usually kept by Barnifoss. When I need it, I go to him to get it. I can't have my boys go to the villages and ask those hicks for money one by one, can I?"
"There's nothing wrong with using the church's system. Everyone does it that way." Rakunio looked at his good disciple in front of him. "But are you sure the bishop in charge of the money, Barnifoss..."
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"That's why I called all the old courtiers and old nobles from the Condé territory. Once they gain a foothold in the land of Hotam County, everything will be fine."
Rakunio grabbed Prince Condé's hand, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Little Charles called a large number of artisans and commoners, which Rakunio agreed with.
After all, they were all Condé's subjects and newcomers, so they would definitely be more obedient to Prince Condé's orders.
But it was wrong for him to call over the families of those knights and the old officials of the former dynasty because these nobles wanted land.
The Hotam knights had just died on the battlefield against the Salvation Army, and their territory would be divided among the newly arrived knights.
Although this was a helpless move due to the inability to pay military salaries, the stimulation to the local nobles was still too great.
Couldn't you redeem or borrow money? It wouldn't cost much.
After Mizam and the old Pope, Prince Condé's external brains, were blown up, Rakunio felt that Prince Condé's political level had declined significantly.
Prince Condé might be a decisive decision-maker, but he was not a careful and meticulous planner.
So far, Rakunio had not been able to find a second Mizam by Prince Condé's side.
Or rather, after the outbreak of the civil war and the death of the old Pope, Prince Condé seemed to have unlocked the iron collar around his neck and had to vent all the madness he had once suppressed in his heart.
"Charles, I have some things you don't like to hear, but I still have to tell you.
I only understood after being the Grand Commander of the Border Knights for a lifetime that a knight's sword cannot obtain everything.
The Thousand River Valley people's resistance to the church is obvious, and the Blueblood Orphan thing was indeed a bit too much.
You shouldn't stand so clearly on the church's side; that's a shackle.
The truly smart person should learn to be ambiguous and hesitant, and only make decisions at the final critical moment."
Prince Condé's tone vaguely contained impatience. "Then what do you say I should do?"
Rakunio, of course, noticed his emotions but still patiently said, "You only have a few tens of thousands of people at your disposal, but Thousand River Valley has millions of people, and behind them stand foreign forces such as Fran and Nuoen.
What you need to do is not to fight them all 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 of commoner origin, the easiest way for you is to marry the Grand Duchess Melia Di.
You are the largest foreign force, and she is the largest local force. If the two marry, you occupy the plains, and she occupies the mountains. This is the best situation."
"Marry that untrustworthy old maid?" Prince Condé curled his lips. "Then the Goldfinch family will probably die out. Melia Di... I swore I would kill her."
"...Okay." Rakunio looked at Prince Condé's gray pupils, remained silent for a long time before standing up. "Since you are unwilling to find someone in Thousand River Valley, then look outward. We old things of the former dynasty can't provide you with much help."
"I'm also considering it, but I haven't found a suitable candidate yet."
"If there is no suitable candidate, then find a mistress. Currently, you are the only descendant of the Goldfinch family." Rakunio said undeniably, "There isn't even a mistress in your mansion. It's terrible."
"Is there a need to be so anxious?" Prince Condé muttered, not realizing that he was dancing on a razor's edge, and stood up to leave.
Looking at his confused and bewildered back as he left, Old Commander Rakunio sighed heavily.
Looking up at the sky filled with white clouds, those clouds were so much like the face his father had instructed him to remember before his death.
Goldfinch orphan, Goldfinch orphan...
Could it be that the Holy Lord really wants to destroy the bloodline of the Goldfinches?