Feng Chou looked at the direction the mercenaries had left in and muttered to himself, "It's just some kobolds. Why would the lord of this place hire mercenaries to clean them up?"
Simon looked at him strangely and asked, "What else could it be?"
Feng Chou said, "My father would never hire mercenaries to do such things. He would always bring his knights and squires to clean them up himself."
Simon said, "That's because your father was a frontier knight and he himself was strong. These 'true' nobles who rested on the glory of their ancestors would never pick up their own swords. To them, it's too dangerous and too rude to wield their own swords. Training knights and soldiers is too troublesome, and the pension is too expensive. Hiring mercenaries to clean up the wild creatures around their territory is the simplest and most convenient method. In any case, mercenaries are paid to do things, and their deaths have nothing to do with them."
He pointed in the direction of the territory and said, "A territory like this needs to spend at least a few kilograms of gold every year to hire mercenaries to clean up the wild creatures around the territory and maintain the safety of the territory. Otherwise, it won't be long before the farmers in the castle won't be able to come out and farm."
Thinking about how Knight Erik had to bring his knights and squires to clean up the forest around the territory every few days, and how he had to bring back injured Knight Erik almost every month, and then thinking about how Leo had spent extravagantly at the mage academy in Antalya, Feng Chou didn't know why, but he felt uncomfortable in his heart.
Feng Chou tasted the feelings in his heart and became more and more certain of his conjecture. Not only did he accept Leo's memories, but he also integrated his feelings and personality. He could feel that as he digested Leo's memories, the integration of his feelings and personality became deeper and deeper, and the influence on him became greater and greater.
The rest of the journey was relatively peaceful. They went around Cecil's territory and returned to the main road.
Following the sandy road that was accompanied by the river, they walked all the way to the east. After walking for about twenty kilometers, they came across another territory. This territory was larger than Sir Cecil's, and was close to the size of Baron's territory.
According to the laws of nobility, the minimum size of a Baron's territory was one hundred square kilometers and fifty thousand mu of farmland. The size of this territory was close to forty thousand mu of farmland.
This was a manor that directly belonged to Viscount Ferguson's family.
According to Leo's memory, Feng Chou felt that the agricultural technology of this world should be around the level of the European Renaissance. However, due to the existence of alchemy, the agricultural output of this world was much higher than that of the Renaissance.
Due to the influence of human activities and farming technology, there was a limit to the amount of arable land a castle or town could control.
Generally speaking, a castle controlling a standard Baron's domain (50,000 mu of arable land) was already the upper limit.
Therefore, for nobles above the rank of Baron, their territories were mostly composed of multiple territories.
Apart from controlling the town of Forgesack, Viscount Forgesack also controlled the nearby three knight domains and one baron domain.
It was said that these four territories had more than 200,000 mu of arable land.
Apart from these direct territories, the Forgesack Family also owned seventy to eighty thousand mu of land in the outskirts of their territory, in a few remote knight's or gentleman's domains. These land rights were all profits obtained from the successive generations of viscounts who had issued development orders.
It was precisely these lands and manors that supported the prosperity of Forgesack Town.
Compared to the knight's domain from before, this manor called Bubuckle Manor was much larger and more imposing. The farmland outside the city was much more orderly.
Here, another river of similar size converged with the Cecil River to form the even larger Bubuckle Allen River.
The irrigation facilities in this domain were much more comprehensive, covering almost all the arable land.
After bypassing this manor, they weren't far from Forgesack Town. They walked through the forest for less than ten kilometers before their eyes suddenly opened up, arriving at the edge of a large farmland area.
The town of Fergesack was surrounded by a large area of farmland.
Forgesack Town was located a little downstream from the confluence of the three rivers.
Feng Chou had discovered that many territories here would choose to be located at the confluence of the rivers when they were observing from the top of the mountain.
This was because in order to open up the land, one needed a water source. The more abundant the water source, the better. The wilderness was vast and there were many choices. Naturally, one had to choose the best place.
In addition to providing water, rivers could also provide the power source for waterwheels. Waterwheels were an important part of the irrigation system in this age. The more rivers there were, the greater the area of land that the irrigation system could reach. One more tributary could increase the area of high-quality arable land controlled by a castle by more than one third.
Forgesack Town was the center of Viscount Fegesack's domain, so it was natural to choose the best place.
Of the three rivers that converged in Forgesack Town, the one that came from Leo's father's domain wasn't the main stream. Instead, it was the smallest tributary.
Forgesack's tributaries came from the northeast, the north, and the east where Leo's father's domain was located.
The river that came from the north was called the Amborite River, while the one that came from the northeast was called the Elvis River.
Feng Chou's uncle, Baron Amborite's domain, was located upstream of the Amborite River. Upstream of the Elvis River was another domain controlled by the Forgesack Family, the Elvis Domain.
After the three rivers converged, the name became the Forgesack River. It continued flowing southwest until it reached Antalya City, where it became one of the tributaries that merged into the Antalya River.
Of the three rivers, the Elvis River that came from the northeast had the most flow.
Forgesack Town was located not far downstream of the confluence of the Amborite River and the Elvis River. There was a small pier not far from the south gate of Fügssac City.
When the three rivers converged, the amount of water was enough for boats to sail. Although it was only a small boat that could carry more than ten tons, it allowed the city to trade goods with the outside world to increase exponentially.
Simon asked Feng Chou and Anrui to wait for him in the forest by the road. He had to enter the city first to contact the people from the El Chamber of Commerce. Otherwise, they would be in trouble when they entered the city with a large number of weapons and armor.
Anrui hesitated for a moment and said, "Thank you very much, my friends, but I think it's time for me to leave."
Simon knew that Anrui still did not trust him, so he did not stop him. He smiled and said, "May luck always be with you, my friend. Goodbye."
Anrui smiled and turned to walk into the depths of the forest.
Simon looked at Anrui's back and thought for a moment. Then he said to Feng Chou, "Follow me."
Feng Chou followed Simon through a field and came to the bank of the Allen River. Simon squatted by the river and began to shave.
As he shaved, he said, "I think we should wash up before going to town. Otherwise, we will be mistaken for Jackalans."
Feng Chou agreed.