The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The next morning, Linde got up early and went to the temporary platform built by the river.

At this moment, everyone in the territory crowded below the platform, waiting for this lord, whom they had never seen before, to speak.

Unlike before, Lena didn't disappear with the knights. Instead, she stood aside to see what Lind was planning to do.

Standing on the high platform, Linde sighed. He had made many plans for the future, but he never expected to gain power so easily. So the next task was simple: develop the territory while preventing Lena from pulling him into a rebellion.

However, Linde was somewhat puzzled by the later conversation about Lena's potential rebellion. After spending the past two days with Lena, he felt that Lena's mind was not that of someone who would rebel.

"Greetings, my fellow citizens. Although many of you may never have seen me before, I want to tell you that I am your lord. From today onward, everyone will obey my orders."

Upon hearing Linde's words, many of the knights around Lena stirred. To them, Lena was the true owner of this land, and Linde, though nominally a lord, was in reality nothing more than a hired hand who had married into the family.

If Linde's marriage certificate truly indicated that he was a son-in-law, these knights would probably be shouting, "Oh no! The son-in-law of the Lars family has betrayed his master!"

Lena reached out and stopped the restless knights around her. Linde and Lena had talked for a long time last night. Although Lena fell asleep shortly after Linde started talking, she still vaguely remembered Linde talking about something called "the gate of politics is not two separate paths".

If authority is dispersed, there will be no credibility; if government orders cannot be uniformly formulated, they will easily contradict each other.

Lena didn't really understand, but who cared? She was overjoyed to have someone help her manage her territory.

"Today, I've come to the gray-white-collar area for only three things."

"First, in the name of the lord, I declare that all debts within the territory involving the lord, including those of Grand Duke Lars and Miss Lars, are hereby cancelled. Regardless of why you came to this place, whether you are serfs or free people, from today onwards, you will no longer bear any debts to the lord or the Lars family."

The expected cheers and shouts of "Long live the King!" did not materialize, because for these indebted serfs and freemen, the enormous debts were as good as nothing. Grand Duke Lars knew that they could not repay the debts, and in fact, no one came to collect them.

Ironically, these debts, which would have been impossible for serfs and free men to repay, were just a fraction of Lena's allowance.

Many of the people Linde brought with him owed money to the original owner of this body. However, since both Linde and the original owner were relatively benevolent lords, they were not surprised that Linde forgave their debts.

"Secondly, all serfs on the gray and white collars will have the opportunity to become free citizens. In the future, I will issue a series of tasks and jobs. As long as you complete these tasks and jobs according to the requirements, you can get the corresponding work points. After these work points reach the standard, you can apply to become a free citizen."

A commotion began to rise in the crowd, mainly among the people Lind had brought from his original territory, because they trusted Lind, the lord who had led them on their escape.

However, the serfs of the Lars family were somewhat skeptical, and most of them were rather indifferent.

It wasn't unheard of for lords to convert serfs into free citizens, but most of these conversions involved extremely harsh conditions and were essentially empty promises. Only a few serfs who became confidants of nobles were granted free citizenship.

However, this is where To's importance became apparent. The veteran that Laurie had planted among the people immediately asked Lind, "My lord, what are the specific tasks? How long will it take me to become a free man?"

Linde smiled and tried his best to appear approachable. Perhaps because he inherited some of the charm attributes along with the female lead's skills, Linde did indeed have an approachable temperament in the eyes of others, which made his next words more credible.

"The main tasks and jobs include building bridges, paving roads, and constructing houses. Those who are physically strong can also choose to mine or join the future army, which are worth more work points. For women, children, and those who are not in good health, there are also easier tasks such as fishing and weaving."

“I swear in the name of the goddess that any hardworking serf, after working diligently for one to three years, can become a free man, and I will personally burn the slave contract and grant free man status to anyone who makes a significant contribution to the territory.”

Upon hearing about the specific tasks and the oath sworn in the name of the goddess, the serfs of the Lars family finally began to whisper among themselves. These were things they could actually do, unlike the empty promises of other nobles, such as slaying a dragon. At least these seemed genuinely feasible.

At this point, the shills in the audience started asking questions again.

"Can we free citizens also do these tasks?"

"Of course, anyone can do these tasks, and after completion, they will receive corresponding work points, which can be exchanged for food and items within the territory, or directly for money. If a free agent's points reach the standard, there will be additional reward."

Linde then added, "I have already sent people to post notices in the center of the territory regarding the specific rules and terms. There will be literate people taking turns to stand guard and explain them to you. If anyone doesn't understand, they can go to the center of the territory to learn more in their spare time."

After Lind finished speaking, it wasn't the serfs who went to the center of the territory to learn about the system, but rather the knights around Lena.

Just then, the female knight beside Lena ran back, panting, and said to Lena, "Young lady, this guy, this guy actually intends to turn serfs into free citizens. I checked, and if it's a knight like us, it only takes half a year to meet the standards to become a free citizen."

Lena was puzzled and asked doubtfully, "Isn't this a good thing? What's wrong with turning serfs into free people?"

Perhaps due to Lena's innocent naiveté, she did not realize what serfs meant to nobles. She simply put herself in the serfs' shoes and thought that if she were a serf, she would do everything she could to become a free citizen.

"Miss!"

The female knight said anxiously, "If all the serfs become free citizens, and neither the serfs nor the free citizens owe any money, who will work for the territory? In my opinion, this Lindroll knows absolutely nothing about governing the territory."

For the aristocratic class, serfs meant cheapness, and meant they could be exploited at will, until the last drop of blood was squeezed from them.

These nobles, who only knew how to continuously increase taxes and working hours to amass wealth, were completely unable to understand the benefits of freeing serfs.

Lena couldn't understand it either, but at this moment she showed amazing wisdom and the ability to put herself in others' shoes.

"Sir Susan, are you a serf?"

"Of course not! Young lady, I am a noble knight of the Lars family!"

The knight named Susan seemed confused as to why Lena had suddenly started asking this question.

"Do you owe our family money?"

“No, you and your family have always been very good to me, and I have never had any debt.”

"Then why do you work for me?"

Susan was stunned by Lena's resounding question, and after a long while, she uttered some difficult words such as knightly beliefs and family honor.

"Then why can't serfs have faith and honor? I think the lord did nothing wrong. Those who can persevere in completing those tasks are already qualified to become free citizens or even knights."

Hearing Lena's words, Susan finally stopped and retorted, "But Miss, we are nobles, with noble blood flowing through our veins, while those serfs are nothing but slaves."

"What's that?"

Lena said nonchalantly, "Grandpa also said that our Lars family ancestors were blacksmiths."