Jelena couldn't help but ask, "My lord, do we need to transfer slaves from the manor to build such a large-scale project?" "
The Lord of Telosi and Greenbeard owned many estates and lands under their names, which were usually run by butlers and slaves worked, and now they all belonged to them.
Liu Qian shook his head: "No, this kind of project requires at least tens of thousands of people, the captives of the Seven Kingdoms are consuming our food every day, it's time for them to pay.::
The reason why Liu Qian had the confidence to build a castle was also because he had 70,000 prisoners in his hands, and 20,000 of them were strong soldiers, as well as 50,000 civilian men and sailors.
Liu Qian remembered the medieval stone castles in his previous life, and the construction period was particularly long.
For example, a tower of 10 meters long, 17.5 meters wide, 16 meters high, with an average wall thickness of 1.5 meters and an average thickness of 1.5 meters in the Château de Lange in France in the 10th century, requires 83,000 working days per unit of labor.
After looking at the area at the top of the hill, Liu Qian decided to build a square Norman main building with a length and width of 50 meters, a height of 80 meters, and an average wall thickness of about 4 meters.
Then put a curtain wall on the periphery of the main building, with a height of about 30 meters and a thickness of 5 meters.
At least four towers with a height of 100 meters and a gatehouse will be built in the curtain wall.
In addition to the first curtain wall, at least one curtain wall should be built, at least nine towers and a gatehouse must be built.
Also, Liu Qian also wants to build a secret passage like the Red Fort under the castle except for the cellar:
Thinking of this amount of work, Liu Qian's scalp tingled.
He roughly estimated that it was at least a few hundred times the amount of work on the tower of Langge Castle.
Fortunately, he had 70,000 prisoners, which shortened the project time a lot at once.
If you go all out, it will be built in about a year.
Of course, Liu Qian was not satisfied with this.
After building the castle, a large port had to be built, as well as a stone road leading to the port.
After sorting out everything, Liu Qian ordered people to bring all the 70,000 prisoners here.
In addition, he ordered thousands of craftsmen to be hired in Telosi to design the construction drawings of the castle.
The craftsmen of Telosi are famous on both sides of the narrow sea.
They are not only good at building weapons and armor, but also good at building magnificent palaces, as evidenced by the gemstone shells in the Maharajah's palace.
Liu Qian pointed to the hill in front of him and said, "From today onwards, the town formed by this port will be called Crown Town, and the name of our castle will be called Conquest Fort." "
After arranging the affairs of Crown Town and Conquest Fortress, Liu Qian was not in a hurry to return to Tai Luo Xi.
He needed to gain a deeper understanding of the land that was about to become his foundation.
He walked alongside Jelena, leading a small group of elite guards from the unformed Crown Town, along the pea-like country path between the manors, and slowly patrolling northeast.
In the western part of the disputed land in the long summer, it shows a vibrant scene.
The plain of Guangjia is divided into neat strips of fields, separated by low hazel trees.
Thanks to the continuous warmth of the long summer, the oats, barley, wheat and peas planted in different fields are growing well, and the green leaves shine with a rich luster in the sun.
Due to the absence of the restriction of winter rotation, there is no three-garden system here, and the farming mode is more extensive, but the abundant light and heat make up for the lack of fine management.
In addition to food crops, large orchards are dotted among them, grapevines climb on the shelves, and heavy golden autumn pears hang on the branches.
The air seems to be filled with the fragrance of future wines.
However, under this idyllic picture, there is a dazzling dissonance.
Passing by a small manor, the silence was broken by the piercing whipping and painful sobbing.
A burly slave owner with flaming red hair and a thick beard was wielding a leather whip and striking a thin, dark-skinned black slave apparently from the Midsummer Islands.
"Hurry up! You lazy black charcoal, you can't finish picking this mulberry before the sun goes down, don't think about eating tonight. "
The slave owner roared, and the whip fell, leaving blood stains on the slave's thin back.
The slave trembled all over, tears mixed with sweat dripping into the soil, but he did not dare to resist in the slightest, and could only desperately speed up the picking.
Jelena frowned, a trace of unbearability flashed in her eyes, and she asked Liu Qian in a low voice: "My lord, do you need to stop him?" "
Liu Qian's eyes swept over the orchard, then looked at the slaves working silently in other manors in the distance, and slowly shook his head.
Slavery was a deeply ingrained cornerstone of the Telosi, and indeed the entire free trade city-state.
The number of slaves in the main city of Telossi even exceeded that of the freedmen, and they were the lifeblood of the manor's economy.
It's easy to save the next person.
But changing the entire system requires subverting the existing production model.
That would touch the foundations of countless vested interests and cause unpredictable turmoil.
This is not what Liu Qian, who has just gained a foothold, should do.
He knew that Jelena was able to take over the land so smoothly because he did not touch the core interests of slave owners, namely slavery itself.
Stability is the prerequisite for development.
They continued their journey and arrived at a coastal town called "Qiuli Town".
It is inhabited by thousands of Telossi freedmen, and the streets are lined with dense wooden and stone houses, and the air is mixed with the smell of the sea, the smell of wine and the hustle and bustle of the market.
Merchants were peddling goods from all over the world, the sound of clinking iron was heard in the small workshops, and some freedmen with small plots of land were transporting their own fruits and vegetables to the market.
A simple wooden fence and watchtower were built at the entrance of the town, where several soldiers dressed in uniform leather armor were stationed.
Liu Qian's eyes stayed on the soldiers,
Jelena immediately explained: "My lord, when I took over Qiuli Town, there were originally ten Telosi soldiers stationed here, mainly responsible for maintaining law and order and transmitting information about pirate attacks to the main city, and I have replaced them all with our people."
However, there was also a tax officer Oro appointed by Telosi in the town, who was responsible for collecting taxes on the surrounding estates, and this person was familiar with the local situation, so I kept him temporarily. "
Liu Qian nodded: "Call him, I have something to ask." "
Soon, a middle-aged man with a slightly fat figure and a slightly bald head trotted over, with a respectful and slightly frightened smile on his face, and said in a common language with a strong Tylosi accent: "Your Excellency, I am Oro, the tax officer of Qiuli Town, what orders do you have?"
I will definitely serve. "
Liu Qian looked at him and asked directly: "Mr. Oro, what is the specific scope of taxation that you are responsible for? "
Oro was obviously very familiar with the business, and immediately became a treasure: "Back to my lord, from Qiuli Town to the east, all the way to the junction with our control area with Mir and Reese; north to the extent of Hazel Township.
In this area, there are about 100,000 acres of arable land and 282 manors distributed.
Two hundred of them belonged to slave owners and freedmen with larger properties, and the other eighty-two estates belonged to: :
Now, it belongs to you, my lord. "
He glanced at Liu Qian carefully and continued: "In addition, there are many small pieces of self-owned land, which belong to ordinary freemen,
Their tax amount is relatively small, and in addition, our Qiuli Town itself will also tax the merchants who come and go. "
"What is the tax situation this year?" Liu Qian asked.
Aurora's face suddenly showed a sad look, and he rubbed his hands and said, "My lord... Alas, it's very unideal.
Many slave owners, as well as those small manor owners, were complaining about the poor harvest and crying about poverty.
Until now, we haven't even collected half of the taxes. "
"Bad harvest?"
Liu Qian's brows furrowed, and his voice became a little colder: "The long summer continues, the sunshine and rain are abundant, how can the harvest be bad?" I just came from the south, and it doesn't look like the harvest is bad... :"