The Original Vampire

The night was dark and everything was quiet.

Only the wood burning in the fireplace crackled from time to time.

Xiaobai was curled up in front of the fireplace, the hair on one side of his body was slightly browned because it was too close.

Colin stretched and stood up from the mountain of government documents.

"I have read the tax documents in the past few months. You have done a good job. The measures to reduce taxes and attract business are quite effective and can continue to be implemented."

Colin said to Quincy, the tax officer, as he walked to the fireplace, picked up the kitten that almost burned himself because of the temperature of the flame, held it in his arms, and then lay down on the rattan chair in front of the fireplace.

"Meow--"

Xiaobai let out a dissatisfied cry, as if the angry and stupid humans had interrupted its rest, but he quickly calmed down under the caress of Colin, lying on Colin's chest and narrowed his eyes again.

"Yes, Lord Viscount. Your recognition is my greatest honor." Quincy bowed his head and saluted Colin with a sigh of relief.

He obviously didn't expect Colin to be patient and have the ability to understand complicated and complicated tax documents, so he was quite nervous before.

Most of the nobles in this world do not have the heart to manage these common affairs in the territory, and they are basically left to the stewards and tax officials to take care of, and they themselves are either immersed in pleasure, or lingering among the ladies, or Desire to show off his strength.

It is indeed rare for a lord like Colin to spend his time on these boring government affairs.

Quincy couldn't help but cheer up, reminding himself that his future work must not be sloppy.

"Okay, it's getting late, Quincy, go back to rest first."

"Yes, Lord Viscount."

After Quincy left, only Colin and the housekeeper Aemon were left in the study.

Colin stroked Xiaobai's smooth hair and said, "Today is the last day of the Winter Veil Festival, and the snow has stopped. Starting tomorrow, let the slaves continue to work."

"Yes, my lord. You have been very kind enough to let them rest the whole Winter Veil."

Colin's mouth twitched,

He was still a little unaccustomed to the way the nobles of this world squeezed slaves.

"What are the next major tasks?"

Aemon opened the parchment scroll in his hand and checked the report: "Master, the work in Bingyan City has basically been completed, and the next work is mainly to repair the Red Fort and water conservancy projects."

Imon paused, looked up at Colin, saw that he had no objection, and continued: "This time there is a lot of spare labor, and I am going to renovate the Red Fort.

Warehouses, stables, martial arts venues, and cellars also need to be expanded. This is the design plan I asked someone to draft, please take a look. "

Colin took the blueprint and asked, "What is the budget for repairing the Red Fort?"

"About 30,000 gold coins, sir."

Colin pondered for a moment, feeling that the cost was acceptable.

The current financial situation of the Angele family is not as embarrassing as it was six months ago, not to mention that with the support of the wealthy half-elf behind, Colin can also squander it.

Moreover, this time, taking advantage of the slave rebellion, Colin gathered a large number of slaves. These almost free labor, it would be a pity if we didn't make good use of it.

"Okay, just follow your plan."

"Okay, sir." Aemon nodded, and then said, "As for the second item, the water conservancy project. My plan is to divide it into two phases, near and far.

In the near future, it will be completed in about three or four months, mainly for the water diversion and irrigation project to serve the upcoming spring ploughing.

In the long run, it can be slowed down to three to five years. River dredging, dam reinforcement, irrigation system expansion... These all take longer and cost a lot. "

Colin flipped through the short-term and long-term construction plan for the water conservancy project handed over by Imon, and nodded solemnly: "This is worth doing. Water conservancy is the foundation of agriculture. No matter how expensive it is, it needs to be done well."

"Yes, sir. In addition, there are many agricultural experts in the half-elf kingdom. I would like to hire some to guide the slaves in Ice Rock City. I wonder if you can help me introduce them."

"Of course, I will write to Queen Elsa and ask her to send some people over."

"Thank you, sir." Aemon put away the sheepskin roll, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Master, more and more rebels have gathered in Ice Rock City recently, although they are vulnerable in front of the black cavalry, but... so Many slaves are concentrated in the city, I am always a little worried..."

Colin half-squinted his eyes and asked lightly, "How many slaves do we have in our hands now?"

"We just completed a statistics the day before yesterday, and we have collected more than 85,000 slaves so far."

"Well, that's quite a lot. However, it's not a big problem." Colin waved his hands indifferently, "As long as you give those slaves a bite to eat and let them see the hope of becoming free people, they won't rebel. "

Aemon still said worriedly: "Master, there are a large number of slaves with complicated origins, and it is impossible to investigate them one by one. I am worried that people with bad intentions will be mixed in and deliberately incite these slaves to cause chaos."

Only then did Colin open his eyes with a serious expression on his face.

"Let's do this, two measures." After thinking for a while, Colin ordered, "First, mix the slaves together, and don't let the previously familiar slaves continue to stay together to prevent concatenation.

Second, a whistle-blower system is implemented. Anyone who finds someone in the slave gathering area suspicious or trying to confuse the public can take the initiative to report. If the whistleblower is successful, the whistleblower can get ten silver coins as a reward. "

"Yes, sir."

Colin took the coffee in his hand, took a sip, and then asked, "Is there still no movement from Marquis Dawson and Earl Uman?"

"No." Aemon shook his head. "My lord, I guess, they should be waiting for winter to pass. After all, it's not a good time to fight."

"En." Colin nodded, agreeing with Aemon's judgment, "Furthermore, it is estimated that he is waiting for this famine to ferment further.

There is still more than half a year before the next autumn harvest. At present, it is only the lowest-level slaves who can't eat. When the civilians have no food left at home, I am afraid that the northern border will fall into even greater chaos. "

"Master, the rumor that you brought my attention to before has become more and more intense. Even many residents in Ice Rock City began to think that the trolls were able to successfully invade the north, and they were the failed lure of the Duke of St. Hilde. The consequences of this trick.”

"Is there no response from Winter City?"

"not yet."

Colin couldn't help frowning, and he couldn't understand why Duke St. Hilde didn't come forward to refute, but let this rumor that seriously damaged his prestige spread wantonly in the north.

Could it be that the Duke was seriously injured in the previous duel with the paladin?

Seeing that Colin's face was wrong, Imon asked, "Master, are we going to stop the spread of this rumor in Ice Rock City?"

"No." Colin smiled and shook his head, "Right now our most important task is to grow and develop ourselves. We don't need to worry about other ups and downs, just watch the show safely."

"Yes, sir." Aemon nodded.

Then the old housekeeper looked at the clock on the wall and reminded: "Master, today is the last day of the Winter Veil Festival. It's almost midnight, and you still need to preside over the Angele family's vigil."

Colin just remembered that there was such a thing, sighed helplessly, stood up and walked out as if dealing with hard work.

clang clang...

When the clock struck twelve, Colin, who presided over the vigil, finally stopped praying, raised his head, and looked at the dark night sky outside the window.

There the stars are lonely, and the crescent moon is hazy.

A new year has come so quietly.