Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Villages and Groups

Right now, Mountain Forest Town was in complete disarray. For a directive from Mountain Forest Castle to reach every single one of its subjects, Ronin had to dispatch people specifically to spread the word.

For example, when Ronin had summoned all his subjects to meet him in the pasture a few days ago, David, Tom, and the others had to ride out on fast horses, practically shouting at the top of their lungs, just to get the message to everyone.

Ronin didn’t want his Professional Knights and Guards to keep wasting their time on such things.

He needed some low-level administrators to quickly disseminate his orders.

So, he decided to organize the 1,993 people under his rule using the concepts of “villages” and “groups.”

“Wilson, I need you to divide the townspeople by household. Roughly every hundred households will form a ’village’.”

“A village?”

Wilson’s expression was grave. Just like the matter with the latrines, he had no experience with what the Baron was proposing.

“Yes, a village!”

Ronin explained carefully, “While the general rule is one hundred households per village, it isn’t a strict requirement. The main thing is to look at the population and try to balance the number of Peasant Slaves and Free Tenant Farmers in each village.”

The so-called Peasant Slaves were, in effect, slaves bound to the Lord. They tilled his land, and in return, the Lord provided for their food and drink—just enough to keep them from starving.

Free Tenant Farmers, on the other hand, had their personal freedom, but they also worked the Lord’s land, paying a portion of their harvest as rent.

Although Free Tenant Farmers were technically free, this was often only true in a legal sense. In reality, they had very little freedom, and one misstep could easily see them demoted to the status of a Peasant Slave.

The “other professionals” from Wilson’s census also had no land, but they earned a living through their skills and crafts.

Theoretically, both Free Tenant Farmers and other professionals were considered Free People, but in Mountain Forest Town’s demographic breakdown, these two groups combined accounted for less than thirty-five percent of the population.

“Mountain Forest Town has 543 households, so in theory, we could create six villages. However, when you make the divisions, you need to ensure the numbers of Free Tenant Farmers and Peasant Slaves are as balanced as possible in each village. That might mean we end up with five, or even just four villages.”

“As for the other professionals, you can assign them to a village based on their place of residence.”

“And make sure you assign by family. Don’t split them up.”

Wilson quickly took out a small piece of sheepskin, leaned over a chair, and began recording Ronin’s instructions with a quill pen.

Just from these few instructions, he could already tell this was going to be a difficult task.

“Furthermore, you are to select a village chief for each village. They will be responsible for relaying orders from the castle and managing daily farm work. Each village will also be divided into four groups, each with a group leader to assist the village chief.”

“In the future, you can give orders directly to the village chiefs. They will relay them to the group leaders, who will then pass them on to every household and individual.”

Wilson froze, then asked in disbelief, “My Lord, are you saying… these people will report to me?”

Ronin chuckled. “You could see it that way, but there’s one thing I must stress.”

“Their only duties are to help relay orders and, at times, supervise tasks that I assign. I am not granting them any other authority, especially not the right to punish other subjects!”

Wilson nodded, committing this point to memory.

“The village chiefs and group leaders still have to till their own land and do their required labor. Their workload might just be a little lighter, relatively speaking.”

Ronin continued, “Of course, since they’ll be working for me, I’ll compensate them. For now, let’s say a village chief will receive Five Copper Coins and five pounds of barley per month. A group leader will get Two Copper Coins and two pounds of barley per month.”

“You are a truly generous Lord!”

Wilson said with admiration. Even though it was a monthly wage, not a daily one, such a thing was more than a Peasant Slave or Free Tenant Farmer could ever hope for.

“I’m certain that once the subjects learn of your policy, they will be more than eager to serve you!”

Ronin just smiled, noncommittal.

In truth, in a town with no established trade with the outside world, wages were difficult to spend.

Even people like Macken could only spend their money within the territory, buying things like grain, vegetables, and meat from the castle.

Ultimately, much of that money would likely find its way back into Ronin’s own hands.

Only when trade routes were established and caravans were willing to come to Mountain Forest Town would the money they held become truly valuable.

However, as far as Ronin knew, no merchant caravans had yet come to Mountain Forest Town.

Certain necessities for his subjects, previously procured from the outside by Princest, now had to be purchased by Ronin himself.

It might sound like the subjects were making their Lord do their errands, but ensuring their survival and well-being was, in fact, one of a Lord’s duties.

Every Lord dreamed of having a vast territory, abundant wealth, and a large population.

From a manor to a town, from a town to a small city, and from a small city to a metropolis—this was the dream of every Lord.

Ronin was no different. Especially since his Achievement interface had a [Siege and Conquest] achievement that required him to possess a city.

[Siege and Conquest]: Possess one city. Reward: Attribute Points +200, Energy Essence +400

The achievement only required him to *possess* a city, not necessarily *conquer* one. This meant that developing his own town into a city would also fulfill the condition.

Ronin currently had Mountain Forest Town, yet the achievement hadn’t been completed. This could only mean that a “town” and a “city” were two different concepts in the system’s eyes.

As for what requirements a settlement had to meet to be considered a city, Ronin wasn’t sure, but he guessed it was definitely related to population.

Ultimately, it all came down to increasing the population.

While purchasing slaves and natural birth were effective to an extent, attracting Free People to settle in his territory was also an excellent method.

To attract people, he would have to foster more outside connections.

Therefore, Ronin knew that to revitalize a territory, attracting merchant caravans was absolutely essential.

Later on, when he had more personnel, Ronin figured he would need to create a “Business Officer” position to specifically handle the territory’s commercial affairs.

But for now, with Mountain Forest Town’s population, including himself, just a little over two thousand, he had to keep things simple. When necessary, he would have to handle it himself.

“My Lord, I have a question.”

Wilson looked uncertain. “These village chiefs and group leaders… should they be Peasant Slaves, or should we appoint Free Tenant Farmers or other Free People?”

Ronin tapped his fingers on the tabletop, considering the question.

In truth, whether they were Peasant Slaves or tenant farmers, both depended on him, their Lord, for survival. In his eyes, there wasn’t a significant difference.

“Our administrative focus right now is primarily on agriculture, so we’ll exclude the other professional Free People from consideration for now.”

People like Carpenter William and Blacksmith Carlos were professionals. They just needed to focus on their own work.

“So, we’ll select this first round of village chiefs and group leaders from among the Free Tenant Farmers and Peasant Slaves. As for the criteria… first, they should have a high level of farming skill. Beyond that, the younger and more motivated, the better.”

Ronin was also planning to set up experimental plots. When the time came for planting, he could have these newly selected village chiefs and group leaders watch and learn.

Once they learned the new methods, they could then disseminate them throughout their respective villages and groups. That would speed things up considerably.

“Alright, that’s about it.”

Ronin had Bella refill his mug of barley tea, simultaneously dismissing Wilson. “Just handle it according to the requirements I’ve laid out. I hope to see satisfactory results when I return from Pasture City.”

Wilson stared intently at the sheepskin in his hand, carefully mulling over every point.

This was a complicated task. If there was anything he was unsure about, it was best to clarify it before Ronin left. It would be a disaster if Ronin returned only to find he had botched the job.

“My Lord, I will go home tonight and review the details you’ve laid out. I will come report to you again tomorrow.”

He took the sheepskin with the population registry back with him. He had a clear plan: if any other questions arose, he could bring them up when he made his report.

“Fine. Go on, then!”

Ronin waved his hand. He was quite fond of a good employee willing to work overtime.

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