Though conditions were harsh, Louis would never let sanitation problems jeopardize the fief's future.
"First, we need to build toilets." Louis swept his gaze over the gathered craftsmen and laborers. "We'll add several public toilets to every residential area. Start making preparations."
The craftsmen nodded at Louis's orders, though many still looked puzzled.
Build toilets?
Wasn't it just a matter of digging a hole?
Louis offered little explanation and instead led them straight out to choose the sites.
He chose locations far from water sources, away from the main roads through residential areas, and downwind.
This ensured they would neither contaminate drinking water nor disrupt everyone's daily lives.
They would use a system of alternating twin pits.
Each toilet would have two waste pits side by side, spaced one meter apart, each at least two meters deep and 0.8 meters wide.
After the first pit had been used for six to twelve months, it would be sealed and left to ferment into fertilizer while the second pit was put into use, repeating the cycle.
To make sure the people truly followed the new rules, Louis even made a special arrangement.
Pictures illustrating the "Ten Commandments of Toilet Use" would be made and hung on the wall of every toilet.
Since the vast majority could not read, he simply had people draw clear, straightforward illustrations.
These included rules such as "Do not relieve yourself in public," "Close the pit cover after using the toilet," and "Do not throw rubbish into the toilet."
He issued a strict decree: "Everyone must use the toilets according to the rules. Violators will be severely punished."
When the new rules first came into effect, many residents looked utterly bewildered. They had spent their whole lives relieving themselves wherever they pleased and had never imagined that even using a toilet required rules.
But no one dared object. They might not understand the purpose, but they believed their lord's words were absolutely right.
Building toilets was only the first step. The next priority was treating the water supply.
Frowning, Louis pointed at the rivers near the Red Tide Fief on the map. "We can't keep letting everyone fetch water from the rivers wherever they like. We need to build a water purification system."
He sent people to collect samples from several fast-flowing rivers and eventually selected the cleanest water source.
There, they built a stepped sand filtration pool that used three filtering layers to purify the water.
The first layer consisted of coarse gravel, which trapped sediment and large particles of debris;
the second layer was covered with fine sand, which captured suspended matter in the water and made it clearer;
the most important layer was the topmost one, made of crushed birch charcoal. It not only removed unpleasant odors from the water but also filtered out some germs, making the water safer.
Louis watched the first batch of purified water slowly flow into the storage barrels. It was so clear that he could almost see the fine sand at the bottom.
He scooped up a cupful and only nodded after confirming that it had no unpleasant smell. "Good. This water is drinkable."
To ensure water quality, he even assigned several trustworthy soldiers and stewards to check it daily and immediately report anything unusual.
The nearby residents crowded around to look. They cupped the water in their hands and cautiously took a sip, surprise spreading across their faces.
"It's even sweeter than river water..."
"And it doesn't have that strange muddy smell!"
And so the residents gradually accepted the rule that they had to come here to fetch their drinking water.
As the new water system began operating, the Red Tide Fief's water supply finally ceased to be a hidden danger.
The cleaning work, meanwhile, had to be carried out thoroughly.
Louis gathered a dozen or so trustworthy residents and pointed at the filthy areas. "Starting today, you're the cleaning crew. Your sole responsibility is to keep the fief clean.
"You'll be issued brooms, wooden buckets, and lime. You must make daily rounds and leave no corner unchecked."
But these people alone were not enough. Sanitation had to become everyone's responsibility, so he established a general cleanup day.
"Once every month, everyone in the fief must take part. Soldiers, commoners, slaves, even knights-there will be no exceptions."
The first cleanup day officially began. As the morning bell rang, the streets of the Red Tide Fief filled with people.
Soldiers, commoners, and slaves all gathered in the square with brooms, wooden buckets, and shovels, ready to begin the day's cleaning.
Though no one said anything, many still looked reluctant.
But before they could even begin, a familiar figure had already made the first move.
Louis picked up a broom and began sweeping the dust and fallen leaves from the ground.
Swish, swish-
The sound of the broom brushing across the ground was clearly audible, especially loud in the quiet air.
Everyone froze for a moment.
The soldiers wore conflicted expressions. They had assumed they were only there to maintain order, never expecting their lord to join in himself.
The slaves found it even harder to believe. A noble was actually doing the same work as them?
Before they could dwell on it, several soldiers were the first to react. Murmuring, "Even the lord is doing it," they lowered their heads and began sweeping too.
With the soldiers taking the lead, the rest of the residents also got to work.
The crowd gradually dispersed. People cleaned every corner-the main street, the alleys, the livestock pens, and the market-and the filthy surroundings quickly began to change.
Louis said nothing more. He simply kept his head down and worked among the crowd.
When he looked up, he found that even those residents who had initially resisted were now wholeheartedly absorbed in cleaning.
By sunset, the rubbish and excrement in the Red Tide Fief had been thoroughly cleared away, and a hint of freshness lingered in the air.
At first, Louis's string of "fussing"-building toilets, purifying the water supply, digging drainage ditches, and organizing a cleaning crew-had caused quite a stir.
Many people thought it was merely a passing whim of their young lord and would soon amount to nothing.
But as time passed, the more observant began to notice something different.
"Huh? Where's all the rubbish on the streets?"
"Wait, why doesn't the alley stink anymore?"
Even more surprising, the water no longer had its old muddy taste!
People used to suffer from diarrhea all the time, but now it had almost disappeared.
In the past, everyone had taken the filth and disorder for granted. They were all used to it, after all.
Only now, looking back, did they realize that a place really could become this clean and this fit to live in.
The most obvious change was that fewer people were falling ill.
Before anyone knew it, the complaints that "the lord makes too much fuss" had vanished, replaced by quiet acceptance of the new rules.
After all, who wouldn't prefer more comfortable surroundings?
Bradley stood on high ground, overlooking the transformed Red Tide Fief.
As the Calvin Family's longtime butler, he had seen how fiefs were managed throughout the Empire.
Even in a major city like Cloud Tide City, where the Calvin Family's estate stood, most districts were not as clean as this place.
"Interesting..." Bradley murmured to himself, his opinion of Louis rising another notch.
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