Once the matter of the assassins and the Children of the Forest had been settled, it was time to formally organize the territory and take stock of his assets.
Yveta had gone from a wandering prince, constantly on the run, to a lord who controlled a sizable territory.
Though it was still a stretch of land tucked into a narrow mountain pass, it lay on a major route.
Yveta immediately ordered seven toll stations built across his territory to collect transit taxes. A week later, the stations, built from timber and brick, were nearly complete.
There was no choice. His territory had never had much agriculture or industry to begin with.
After the Children of the Forest had ravaged it, things were even worse.
And after the territory was destroyed, its population of thirty to forty thousand had dwindled to barely ten thousand.
Even then, people were still fleeing every day.
The main reason was that farmland in all fourteen villages belonging to Moro Baron Territory had been covered with lime, and the buildings had all been damaged.
Without farmland, what was everyone supposed to eat?
On top of that, the change in ruler had left people with little faith in the barony, so large numbers of serfs were fleeing.
Nearly a hundred people escaped from the territory each day.
Most of them went to nearby towns, villages, and cities. A few fled to the territories of nearby Feudal Aristocrats.
Yveta had the Griffin Knight make a token effort to stop the peasants from fleeing, but he didn't take the matter too seriously.
Those who were meant to stay would stay.
As for those who wanted to leave, it was just as well they did. They'd have plenty of time to regret it later.
Only after becoming a lord did