When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#129 - The Papal States expanded its territory and expelled foreigners!

"Really?" Hearing that Horne was willing to help, Casti immediately stood up and asked excitedly.

"Don't be too happy yet, I have conditions." Sitting on the walnut padded chair, Horne raised his palm, making a stop gesture.

Casti, sitting across the table, immediately sat up straight: "What conditions? Just name them, and I will do my best to satisfy them."

"The first condition is that I want you to find some pharmacists, stonemasons, and engineers willing to go to Black Serpent Bay."

"Ah..." Hearing Horne's words, Casti immediately understood what Horne was planning to do. "May God bless you...

As for pharmacists, it's simple. I can help you find several good ones who are willing to go to Black Serpent Bay with you, but most of them have records of making and selling fake medicines or violating guild regulations.

But I can guarantee that their medicine mixing skills are absolutely top-notch. The fake medicines they sell are just 'fake medicines' in the eyes of the guild, not really ineffective.

As for stonemasons, we do have several stonemason guilds here, but stonemasons above the level of master probably won't be willing to go with you. I can find you some stonemason apprentices.

As for engineers, to be honest, I know where you're going, but there's really no need to find an engineer, right?"

Speaking of engineers, Casti was in a dilemma. Engineers are a high-paying profession, who would be willing to go to Black Serpent Bay, a place where birds don't lay eggs and you have to watch giant snakes bare their teeth?

"I only need those who specialize in engineering machinery like pulleys and waterwheels, don't you have any?"

"I'll try my best to help you find one, but to be honest, it's really hard to find..." Casti replied euphemistically.

It seems that's the only way. It was about what Horne expected, after all, engineers are high-tech talents.

"The second condition is that I want to designate the ruins where the villagers I brought are located as their residence."

"Okay, we can sign a land lease agreement," Casti agreed readily. "But after you leave, we don't guarantee food and work."

Horne nodded. These villagers have magic power. They can set up a small workshop and secretly make some alchemical products such as mortar to support themselves.

Anyway, Horne will be able to pick them up in a year or two.

"Third, even a clever woman can't cook without rice, you still have to give them something to eat..."

"Your Excellency, are you kidding me?" Casti couldn't hold back. "If I could give them something to eat, why would I need to find you? The lord's family doesn't have any surplus food."

"Look, you're getting anxious again, listen to me," Horne knocked on the table with his knuckles. "This money and food doesn't need to come from you, but rather through work relief.

I saw it when I came, the roads here are pitted and bumpy from the flood, don't they need to be repaired?

And those rivers, don't they need to be dredged, or don't you need to build dams to prevent floods?

The refugees are just looking for a bite to eat, just don't let them starve. The labor cost must be much lower than ordinary laborers.

These things have to be done sooner or later. The flood has just passed, and the citizens and merchants are probably still feeling lingering fear, right? The refugees' wages are much cheaper than normal, and they will be willing to pay."

"Coincidentally, I have something that I need them to help with!" As if thinking of something, Casti's eyes lit up.

"Oh? What is it?"

Casti immediately became hesitant: "It's, well, almost, it's cleaning up the river... Your Excellency, how are you going to subdue these refugees?"

Casting a suspicious glance at Casti, Horne continued, "I don't need Thomas's help, I'll do it myself with my people."

"Don't need him? He's very useful."

To be honest, being able to come up with the idea of possessing someone in a nested structure is indeed unique, but Horne still decided not to complicate matters.

Countless experiences have taught Horne that if you leave things to these crouching dragons and phoenix chicks, the result will only be that they give you a big pile of trouble on the spot.

"The Great Political Restoration" and "The Time-Telling Chicken Soup" are living examples.

Their shadow still lingers in Horne's mind, and cannot be dispelled.

This period of time can be regarded as training for Horne. As long as he gives the refugees a bite to eat, he is confident that he can use both kindness and force to prevent them from robbing.

As for the citizens of the Papal State, Horne decided that since he had already deceived them, he would carry it through to the end.

Horne planned to tell them that he was going to the Holy See to ascend the throne, and that he would pick them up in two years to enjoy the blessings of the "Holy See City".

After handing over all the matters to Casti, Horne and Grampwen and others sent Casti to the entrance of the camp.

"Actually, I don't understand. Since the Duke handed these people over to Casti for arrangement, why wouldn't he consider these issues?"

Watching Casti ride his horse and disappear at the end of the road, Horne couldn't help but ask the doubts in his heart.

"Ahem." Grampwen coughed and whispered, "I went to Jeanne d'Arc Fortress yesterday and found out some news.

It is said that the Duke actually bought cheap smuggled grain and transported it here specifically to appease the refugees.

But on the day the grain arrived, Lord Casti drank some wine and made a scheduling error, which caused the grain ships to collide and block the river, so the grain couldn't be transported in, and that's why the subsequent events happened..."

Oh, so it turns out it's your own fault, no wonder you didn't report it and are covering it up.

Then the thing he said that refugees are needed to help with is probably cleaning up the river.

"Then now..."

"Prepare yourself, let's go to the refugee camp across the street this afternoon."

…………

The sun is shining brightly, and the leaves are falling.

Leading seven or eight legion commanders, Thomas stretched his neck and looked towards the end of the road.

His heart was actually quite uneasy. Others don't know, but he himself knows that his invitation to the Holy Grandson is not like the Holy Grandson's invitation to the Holy Father.

His is fake.

What if the Holy Grandson doesn't recognize him as his adopted son?

Even though Casti gave him a guarantee, Thomas couldn't help but overthink.

Just as Thomas was consumed by internal conflict, a figure in a black cloak appeared from the end of the path, which was a guard of 300 soldiers.

In the center of the guard, four beast-like Varangian guards carried a palanquin forward.

A young man wearing a white gold-threaded holy robe and a tall crown sat on the palanquin, moving forward indifferently.

"Are you Thomas?"

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Under the gaze of many refugees, Horne's palanquin came to Thomas's front.

Thomas immediately bowed and saluted: "It's me, Papa."

The muscles on Horne's cheeks trembled.

"You... you, lead the way."

"Papa, this way." Thomas's hanging heart was half relieved, and he walked to the front of the palanquin to lead the way.

The black hat soldiers in the front began to drive away the crowd, pushing away the refugees sleeping on the ground, and moving away the wood or bricks lying in the middle of the road.

"Get out of the way! Prepare to welcome the Holy Grandson!"

"His Holiness the Eye of God has arrived!"

"Quickly clear the road, His Holiness the Pope has arrived, why aren't you saluting?"

Under the shouts and driving of the black hat soldiers, the refugees who were blocking the middle of the road gave way.

They gathered on both sides of the street, asking curiously and fearfully: "Who is sitting on the palanquin? Is it the Eye of God, the Holy Grandson, or the Pope?"

Walking all the way from the entrance to the previous wooden platform, the four Varangian guards put down the palanquin, and Horne, supporting himself with the scepter, walked onto the wooden platform.

Under Thomas's notification, the refugees and big and small leaders were gathering from all directions.

Before long, the entire small square in front of the wooden platform was filled with people.

The afternoon sun shone obliquely on the ground, causing the refugees who were looking up to squint their eyes and whisper to each other.

However, many refugees had seen Horne before, and those who recognized him had already started shouting excitedly.

Seeing that the number of people was almost enough, Thomas first screamed a few times to silence the crowd.

Thomas glanced uneasily at the expressionless Horne, and after receiving the nod of agreement from his adopted father, who was ten years younger than him, he shouted loudly:

"Dear believers, by the grace of the Lord, our waiting and prayers have not been in vain. Finally, we have invited the true body of the Holy Grandson Horne!"

Saying that, Thomas stepped aside and respectfully made an awkward gesture of invitation.

At this moment, Horne stepped forward and walked to the edge of the wooden platform. Looking down from here, he could see the heads of the surging refugees.

It felt like he had returned to more than a month ago, when he stood on the bell tower of the Gulag Church and looked down.

The refugees struggled to stand, their faces haggard and tired, and even a breeze seemed to be able to blow them down.

The women lowered their heads, but couldn't feed a drop of milk, and the men could hear their necks crack when they raised their heads.

Opening his arms, Horne looked solemn:

"Believers, I am the true grandson of the Holy Father, and also the next Pope, the humble sinner, Horne!"

In order to let most people hear, Horne raised his voice: "Everyone, at my persuasion, our respectable Duke Kush has agreed to provide you with work and food!"

The refugees were quiet for a moment, they couldn't believe their ears.

Duke Kush can provide them with work and food? They don't have to eat only one meal a day?

A huge amount of discussion exploded, and Thomas shouted hoarsely:

"Cheer, believers!"

"The Holy Grandson is here, and there will be food! The Holy Grandson is here, and our sins will be washed away!"