Wizard: I brought the wrong system.

Chapter 10 Refugees
"Hoohoo!"

Xiao Yalu supported himself on his legs, breathing heavily, with large beads of sweat constantly sliding down his forehead.

Once his breathing calmed down, Xiao Yalu remembered his knight breathing technique and immediately changed his breathing method. Only then did his physical condition gradually improve.

Looking up at the street, Xiao Yaluo was stunned.

Although he had never been here before, he had often looked out from the windows high up in the castle, so he was not unfamiliar with the place.

This small town is very well-built, with all the houses being neat two-story buildings. The roads are paved with bluestone. The residents usually look quite well, and with the recent bumper harvest, the town should be even more joyful.

What's the situation now?
Why are there so many disheveled and unkempt people on the street?
Xiao Yaluo looked closely and found that there were elderly people, women, children, and even normal adult men with all four limbs intact.

Some disabled people huddled in the corner of a house in the town.

In the middle of the road, there were several teenagers with thin, dirty faces. When they saw pedestrians passing by, they immediately bowed repeatedly and stretched out their dark palms.

It was less like begging and more like robbery. If any passerby was slow to give money, more and more children would gather around.

As for taking action?

The filthy adults around them were all watching them, intentionally or unintentionally.

The once quiet town is now in utter chaos.

Little Yaro quietly retreated. The situation was unclear, and he was just a thin and pitiful child. He couldn't take any risks lightly.

The black cat silently walked to Xiao Yaluo's side and glanced at the town street as if nothing had happened.

"Teacher Gemma, are you aware of the situation here?"

Xiao Yaluo had some doubts. Perhaps the reason the black cat forced him to walk this way today was to let him see these things.

The black cat was licking its paws, cleaning the dirt it had gotten while running. When it heard Xiao Yaluo's words, it casually raised its head and said lazily, "I don't have that kind of free time. The other day, when your mother went out, she specifically told me not to go out casually."

Little Yaro turned around and asked someone not far away, "Didn't the people in the castle hear anything? Why isn't anyone coming to deal with it?"

Tatata!
The sound of heavy footsteps drew near, and Kabir approached, explaining in a low voice, "Young Master Yarrow, these past few days, no one in the castle has been allowed to go out, so even if we know the situation in the town, it's inconvenient for us to show our faces."

“Teacher Gemma,” Little Yaro asked, turning around, “would you like to live next to the latrine?”

The black cat looked up warily and frowned at Xiao Yaluo.

"What do you mean?"

Little Yaro pointed to the castle and said, "That's my home, and this town is my backyard. But now, my backyard is turning into a latrine."

"But we are responsible for your safety, young master."

"Safety?" Xiao Yalu scoffed. "The town right next door is already in such a mess, and you're still talking about being responsible for my safety? Why don't you lock me in a small room and have all of you guard the door?"

"Don't worry, even if you all attack together, I can protect Xiao Yaluo's safety. Just do as Xiao Yaluo says," the black cat chimed in. "Xiao Yaluo has a point. Who wants to live next to a latrine? Hmm... maybe the wild dogs would?"

Xiao Yalu looked at the black cat in surprise. Although he had heard his mother say that the black cat was very capable, he did not expect her to be so arrogant.

Although he didn't know if she was really capable or just bragging, Xiao Yalu didn't want to take any risks. He led Kabir back and explained, "I think those people in the town are just ordinary people. You only need to arrange a few fully armed knights to suppress them."

A strong physique is key to activating life force; without strong muscles, how can one become a knight?
I'd never dreamed of doing something like this!
That's why anyone with a little experience can tell from a person's appearance whether they've undergone knightly training.

"There are at least a dozen knights and squires inside the castle. Losing a few won't affect the castle's security, right?"

Kabir hesitated, "It won't have much of an impact, but if we let them go out, I'm afraid they'll be bribed and defeat us from within."

Xiao Yalu couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Let's not even talk about whether the homeless people in the town have the means to be bribed.

If a few people go out together and are bribed in just half a day, then their own castle should have been breached long ago.

Moreover, if someone with malicious intent were to reside in a small town not far from the castle for an extended period, that would pose the greatest danger to oneself.

Xiao Yalu did not refute, but nodded in agreement, saying to Kabir, "So you must keep a close eye on them to prevent them from having any evil intentions!"

It's not a bad thing for the people around you to have this sense of crisis, it's just a pity that Kabir is a bit stupid, it seems like he's built his muscles into his brain.

However... these kinds of people are also easy to control.

Upon reaching the training ground in front of the castle, Kabir immediately issued orders to summon the guards.

Xiao Yalu quietly took a deep breath.

He never forgot the plans he made as an infant.

However, whether it's developing martial arts or technology, one must have sufficient influence.

Any direction of development is a change to our existing lives, and any change will always have opponents before we see results and benefits.

Influence doesn't come from nowhere; status is just a foundation. What you need to do more is lead them to do practical things and earn their trust.

Although I am young, that is an advantage.

At this point, even if you make a mistake, age is an excuse, and you can be forgiven. It's a good time to practice.

If you succeed, then you are a 'born leader'!
This is the first battle to demonstrate command ability, and it has important strategic significance in winning over the hearts and minds of the town. Its importance should not be underestimated.

Little Yaro first asked Kabir, "How much grain is in the castle?"

"food?"

Kabir looked somewhat bewildered. “Our knights’ rations are all brought back from outside…” Kabir paused for a moment, then hesitated, “I don’t know how much food is in the castle; that might require asking the head chef.”

Xiao Yalu turned and ordered, "Go and invite the head chef over."

While waiting for the head chef to arrive, Xiao Yaluo lowered his head in deep thought, asking and answering himself as he sorted out his thoughts.

First, what is your main purpose?
Establish authority and lay the foundation of public support for future development.

Establishing authority requires the use of force; in other words, mobilizing only a few guards may not be enough.

Xiao Yalu frowned slightly, glanced around quietly, and whispered to the black cat lying behind him, "Teacher Gemma, even without these guards, are you sure you can protect me?"

The black cat raised its head, a half-smile on its face, and said, "Cowardly Yaro, I am quite certain of this."

Xiao Yalu's heart stirred, and he ignored the black cat's evaluation, lowering his head to continue thinking.

Soon, Kabir walked over and announced, "Young Master Yarrow, they have all arrived."

"Ah."

Xiao Yalu looked up at the group of burly men in the training ground. These guards were at least apprentice knights, and with their strength, they were enough to subdue all the refugees.

Xiao Yaluo stood on a stone bench to the side, looked around, and asked, "Kabil told you what happened, right?"

"said."

"They told us about it on the way here."

"Uh-huh!"

The guards responded in varying degrees.

Xiao Yalu nodded slightly.

"Never mind what they do, just close the door and protect the young master."

A single sentence uttered by one of the guards immediately sparked a fierce argument.

"What do you know, you homeless stray dog!"

"Don't hurl insults. My home is also in that town, but Lord Pahez summoned us to teach us to protect the young master's safety, not to tell you to look after yourselves."

……

Who is Lord Pahetz?
Xiao Yalu cast a questioning look at him, and the guard immediately noticed, bowing his head and giving a humble smile in return.

Forget it, it's better not to see someone with such complicated thoughts.

Xiao Yaluo withdrew his gaze and shouted loudly, "Quiet!"

The guards continued to argue, as Xiao Yaluo's young body was not enough to convince them.

Xiao Yaluo was not surprised by this; he still needed to work hard to build his own prestige. However, a subject should die for his master. Kabir clenched his fists, knocked several people down, and shouted angrily, "Shut up, all of you!"

Upon seeing the men lying on the ground groaning in pain, the guards reacted with varying expressions, but eventually fell silent.

Xiao Yalu pretended to be a good person, gesturing to help the group up and casually offering a few words of comfort.

He was still young and couldn't afford to leave a heartless impression on the guards protecting him.

After standing up, Xiao Yalu said modestly, "I have some thoughts on this matter. If there are any mistakes, please point them out, Uncle Knights."

That's what they said, but Little Yaro didn't give them a chance to correct him.

After learning the amount of food from the head chef, Xiao Yaluo roughly calculated it in his mind and decided on the daily rations for the refugees.

This amount of food wouldn't let them starve, but it would also be difficult for them to get enough to eat.

However, this is only temporary. Little Yaro had already set his sights on the source of the knights' rations. As long as they could get through the current predicament, things would be fine.

In addition, Little Yaro also began making arrangements for the refugees.

First, the guards must be used to drive all the refugees who have flooded into the town out.

The town is too small to accommodate so many people, especially since it's their home base, and they can't let it descend into chaos.

Once the food supplies arrive, Xiao Yaluo plans to implement a solution—work relief!
The reason why work-for-relief programs are frequently mentioned is precisely because this method is so effective and its impact is deeply appreciated.

He also planned to use the refugees' strength to do some basic construction for the castle and lay some foundation for future development.

However, power alone without compassion is not enough to win people's hearts.

The method of providing work relief is somewhat similar to a transaction and is insufficient to demonstrate one's benevolence.

Xiao Yaluo plans to take in orphans from among the refugees, which is also a way for him to develop his own future and cultivate trustworthy people.

Of course, Xiao Yaluo will not forget the other refugees. He will arrange some manpower to build new houses on other vacant land, both to prepare for the future expansion of the town and for the refugees who are prepared to stay.

If you want to do this, preliminary investigation is also essential.

Little Yaro, who was well-prepared, arranged everything in a clear and orderly manner. Although the guards had different expressions, they did not make any noise and all quietly followed Little Yaro's instructions.

All of this was silently observed by the black cat standing behind Xiao Yaluo.

In his excitement, little Yaro didn't remember what he had forgotten.

(End of this chapter)