People started causing trouble when they had too much free time, so there was plenty of work in the camp that paid in food. People had grown fearful of hunger, and anyone with the energy put on a yellow hat and did a bit of work in exchange for a meal.
The jobs ranged from chopping firewood and cleaning the camp to swatting flies and catching itch mice. They even helped Philip with some farm work.
But there were bad people among the refugees, too. Recently, some refugees had managed to save up a few steamed buns through hard work, and then thieves started appearing.
This raised an issue: the camp's laws fell under Philip's jurisdiction, but he had never taken the initiative to make a statement about the matter.
Managing the refugees was a minefield. After Frederick took the initiative to negotiate, Philip temporarily appointed the judge Frederick had sent as the camp's full-time judge, with jurisdiction limited to the camp.
Crimes had a serious impact on people's first impression of Wessen Territory, so Frederick had ordered first thing that they be punished strictly and severely.
With rewards on offer, the thieves were soon caught. Under the law, they were put in stocks for public humiliation for ten days, then expelled from the territory.
At the time, Frederick was preparing to return to his territory. Before leaving, he issued his latest directive: hang all prisoners upside down over the cesspit beneath the latrine, and keep them low.
The three transfer camps along the way back to Wessen Territory were in much better shape. The newcomers to the Wessen Territory family only stayed there for half a day, and nothing unexpected happened.
But people and supplies came and went frequently in the camps, posing a major challenge to the younger generation managing them.
After Frederick returned to Hausen Town, the administrator, Flick, briefed him on the current state of affairs.
"As of yesterday, 15,532 people have arrived in Wessen Territory," Flick said as he looked over the report. "They've moved into 59 new villages."
"We've accumulated enough experience now to speed up the transportation."
"Our food reserves are ample. Not long ago, Lady Sophie's caravan brought ten shiploads of rice from the Southern Continent. She said they were a gift for you. They'll also be bringing wheat and beans, which you'll pay for at market prices."
Frederick's heart skipped a beat when he heard "Lady Sophie." Had that heathen merchant returned from the East?!
"Has she arrived?" Frederick asked at once.
"No." Flick shook his head. "Her steward said Lady Sophie has some family matters to take care of. She probably won't come here with the goods you requested until late autumn or early winter."
"The steward also said that if my lord wants Red-Horned Mules, he only needs to say the word. One of their buyers recently died unexpectedly, and they're stuck with the stock."
Frederick thought it over. Red-Horned Mules were hybrids of unicorns and donkeys. They had less endurance than Am Mules, but were faster. They were just as undemanding about food, and aside from being used by civilians to carry goods and pull carts, cavalrymen also liked them for hauling supplies because they could keep pace with horses.
"We'll take them," Frederick said. "We'll need them to haul earth while digging the canal. Once it's open, we can set up a transport team to carry people and goods."
Then he asked, "How are the winter clothes coming along?"
Flick checked the report before answering. "We have enough cloth and cotton to make 65,000 sets of winter clothes. Sir Basf invented a new kind of Slime Gel shoe, and they're very cheap. We've started raising Crystal Slimes in the fallow fields."
"Crystal Slimes need three months to raise, so we should be able to make winter shoes before the cold sets in."
Frederick pinched the bridge of his nose. Winter clothing was another major expense. Outfitting more than 60,000 people from head to toe would cost a ball of gold as big as a volleyball.
For the past two years, the new villages had brought in nothing and only required investment. Frederick was also supporting all these people, and the expenses for everything from pots and bowls to food were no less than the cost of winter clothing.
All the gold cups, bowls, plates, and cutlery once used for grand banquets were gone. The gold vases and the like had been taken south and exchanged for food. Almost the only things left that were gold in the castle were everyone's hair.
Fortunately, food could be purchased in batches, allowing the funds to keep circulating.
If anyone else had been in his position, King William's plot really could have destroyed the territory.
"What do they think about the taxes?" Frederick asked. "They're fine with paying fifty percent for ten years, right?"
"How could they not be?" Flick sighed. "That's the tax rate in other places to begin with. We only collected less because the land was underdeveloped and yields were low."
Frederick nodded. Good, then.
"What about the houses?" he continued. "Will they be ready in time?"
"There's a problem." Flick looked a little troubled. "We don't have enough iron nails. The blacksmiths' workshops have reassigned their workers and are rushing to make more, but we're still short."
"Bryant said he and Professor Aumert had worked on a new machine that can hammer out nails much faster. It should just about get the job done."
Frederick was helpless, too. All he could say was, "If we have to, we'll buy some."
Iron nails might be small, but hammering them out one by one by hand was a lot of work.
Some families kept a set of nail-making tools at home. They would spend their winters indoors, hammering nails by the fireplace, and earn a decent income by the end of the season.
Back in Frederick's old world, it wasn't until after the Industrial Revolution, when smelting, metalworking, and machine production had advanced enough for nails to be made by machine, that they became cheap.
He'd heard the term "foreign nails" plenty of times as a child in his previous life.
"How are the villages being managed now?" he asked.
Flick grew serious. "My lord, the population and number of villages in our territory have increased tremendously. The existing town halls can no longer meet the demands of administration."
"I recommend upgrading the current towns into cities and redrawing the boundaries of each town."
Frederick thought it over. That was true. "No problem. I agree. Put together a plan and let me see it."
"Also, you should look into whether we ought to build a city along the canal."
Flick agreed at once.
As the waters rose, so did the boats. As administrator of Wessen Territory, Flick was already the mayor of Weissenburg as well as being higher-ranking than the other town mayors.
Now that the other towns were being upgraded to cities, his own authority would naturally rise, too.
Frederick saw through his little scheme but said nothing.
The administrative districts had to be reorganized, and a larger population meant more work. Promotions were only natural.
There was nothing strange about people having ambition, as long as everyone was headed in the same direction.
"We're preparing for the autumn planting now," Frederick said. "We can't let that slip, either."
Flick replied, "This year, professors from Weissenburg University are advising several villages on their autumn planting. I've already given the orders for each village to cooperate."
Frederick nodded. He already knew about this. "Good. I'll go take a look tomorrow and see how the professors farm."
Before you continue