Before setting out to explore the ruins, Tilly's greatest interest was to wander slowly along the flat streets of Border Town and observe this remote territory that had undergone amazing changes in the hands of Lord Roland.
"This is a different town," she thought. The more she observed, the stronger this feeling became. It was completely different from any place she had ever been … What left the deepest impression on her was probably the unparalleled vitality of this small town.
Even the new Sleeping Island couldn't compare to it.
"Aren't these people afraid of freezing?"Looking at the pedestrians coming and going on the street, Andrea asked curiously, "What did your brother promise them to make them willing to work in winter?"
"It's still mid-autumn," Ashes spread out her hands, "Don't tell me you can't even tell the seasons."
"But it's no different from winter. This is an analogy that often appears in 'Her Dream, His Kingdom'," Andrea elegantly flipped her long hair, "Of course, the barbarians won't understand."
"What do you mean by your dream, my dream..."
"See, vulgar people who have never appreciated a play are really difficult to communicate with. Lady Tilly must have watched this famous play from the Kingdom of Dawn. "
"Stop arguing," Sylvie sighed, "I think the reason is probably very simple. Commoners are reluctant to move around in winter because they consume a lot of energy, don't have enough to eat, and are prone to catching a cold. But these problems don't exist in this town.The price of food here is not high, and there is plenty of firewood. Moreover, Miss Lily can cure colds, so they work hard in the cold wind and snow — one more day of work means one more day of pay. "
"I can understand that there is plenty of firewood. The Misty Forest is to the west, and there are many woods around it, so the price of food is not high... How is this possible?" Andrea was puzzled, "My family has also been involved in selling food. For example, when there is a decrease in harvest caused by natural disasters, everyone will raise the price of food very high. In such bad weather, it's impossible for the nobles and merchants not to sell at a high price, right? "
"Nobles? Merchants? " Sylvie laughed involuntarily and said, "Only one person is allowed to buy and sell food here, and that is His Highness Roland."
"The farmland by the river is all his property?" Tilly frowned.
"No, those are the serfs' own fields." She recounted what she had seen and heard here, as well as the scene of the harvest. "He set two prices for food, one is the purchase price, the other is the sale price. These two prices are fixed, the latter is higher than the former."
"Isn't this a forced purchase?" Ashes had an unsurprised expression on her face. "If he can sell it at a high price, why can't others sell it at a high price?"
"It's not the same," Tilly muttered, "After the wheat is harvested, it needs to be threshed, ground, and stored in the warehouse. These are all costs, so it's normal for the price to rise."
"What Lady Tilly said is right, I later asked Teacher Scroll and understood," Sylvie said with a smile, "She said that after the extra cost is collected, it can be used as salary for the employees who process the wheat, to build a new granary, to expand the production scale, all of these can provide the town with new..." She thought for a moment, "Jobs, yes, that's what she said at the time. I heard that His Highness Roland is very concerned about this. "
"But he is still forced to buy and sell," Ashes emphasized, "Shouldn't trade be free?"
"Maybe, but the selling price set by His Highness is not so high that everyone can't afford it. If this price can be kept fixed, the people will feel more at ease. "
"Sometimes freedom isn't the best," Tilly said with emotion. She had roughly understood the intention of Roland's approach. Prohibiting others from selling food in the territory seemed overbearing and unfair, but in fact, it put an end to hoarding and could effectively prevent the price of food from skyrocketing when there was a shortage. If it was in King's City, the price of food would inevitably rise by more than five or six times as much as usual, and more than half of the civilians would starve because of the lack of food. Over a long period of time, it was easy to cause riots, and eventually the palace would have to issue relief rations or dispatch guards to suppress it. In either case, it would be a big burden on the national treasury.
Although this policy seemed good, it wouldn't work everywhere. Most of the people who controlled the food trade were nobles and wealthy merchants. They had a large number of serfs and fields, so it was impossible for the royal family to forcibly purchase the food they produced and forbid them from hoarding food. However, in Border Town, besides Roland Wimbledon himself, there were almost no aristocratic families, so it was completely up to him.
After Tilly expressed her opinion, Ashes was still somewhat indignant, "What about those serfs? When the price of food is high, they may be able to get more income, but in this way, they will be exploited by the fixed price. "
"Pfft," Andrea sneered, "You're talking as if in a free trade city, these people can escape exploitation. When the wheat harvest is good, not only will they have to hand in more wheat, but even the price of their own will be pushed down to a very low level. When the harvest is bad, after deducting the part that has to be handed in, whether the remaining amount can survive the famine is still a problem. In contrast, a fixed price is more reasonable, as long as the crops are produced, the more income. "
"Here, they can choose not to do it," Sylvie's words made the three slightly startled, "His Royal Highness said that when the yield reaches a certain standard, the serfs can be promoted to free people. Whether they continue to work in the fields or choose a new job, it's all up to them. However, free people only have to hand in 20% of the food, according to the purchase price of this year's harvest, the salary is also very considerable. "
"Promoted …?"
"Yes, when His Royal Highness preached, he also said that within two or three years, Border Town will no longer have a single serf."
So that's how it is, Tilly's heart was suddenly touched by something, this is the reason why the town is full of vitality … When he formulates policies, he unexpectedly takes into account the people's thoughts, and also adds an incentive system to encourage them to do more and better – this is completely different from any other noble lord's approach. Incentives are not only expressed in words, but also in reality to give away part of the benefits, so that the people can obtain them through hard work, instead of hiding these benefits deep in the castle's underground vault.
At this time, she really understood the meaning of those red banners on the riverside.
However, when Roland Wimbledon was in the palace, he wasn't a generous person … So, this is also a change brought about by the "sudden memory"?Also, the evening lectures on elementary nature and mathematics, all of which made her feel very fascinated.
Tilly originally thought that after reading all the books in the palace collection, it would be difficult to find anything that could arouse her curiosity and interest, but now, she found that she still had a lot to learn.
Suddenly, a feeling welled up in her heart, even if she did nothing, just stayed in the town's castle, flipping through the books that recorded the magical knowledge, and watching the changes in the town at the same time, it would also be a pleasant thing.
Suddenly, a long bell rang from the direction of the city wall, which was the alarm of the demonic beasts' attack.
Tilly suppressed these thoughts to the bottom of her heart. Unfortunately, now she was no longer the free and unfettered 5th Princess, but a leader who shouldered the fate of the witches of Sleeping Island. There were some things that she couldn't just do as she pleased, she said, "Let's go to the city wall to have a look, maybe we can help the guards."
"Of course," Andrea smiled slightly, "this is why we came here. Let them have a good look at how witches fight. "