Chapter 1066: Chapter 1009: Bartow, Wake Up!

"Who are you?"

Looking at this talkative middle-aged farmer, Xie Li keenly sensed that this was no ordinary farmer.

The middle-aged farmer took off his straw hat, revealing a face with a scar from an arrow: "I am the Hundred Households Captain of this place, Huyuren."

"Oh my!"

Before Xie Li could speak, Anselm suddenly exclaimed from behind him and leaned forward: "Huyuren? It’s really you, damn it, I almost didn’t recognize you, old buddy!"

"...Anselm? You also came to Thousand River Valley?"

"Leia’s in chaos like this, I heard the Falan people are even stationing troops in Changge City, who dares to stay around there? Aren’t you afraid of Falan’s revenge?" Anselm complained. "But what about you, when did you get here?"

"When else? When the Kingdom Army was forcibly recruiting and turned me into a farmer, of course." Huyuren patted his chest. "Fortunately, everything worked out as I wished, and I became a Holy Alliance citizen a long time ago."

Through their conversation, the few people around realized that Huyuren and Anselm’s families were once neighbors.

However, Huyuren’s family were refugees, and he had always been a long-term laborer at Anselm’s household.

Due to the difficulty in finding a diligent and clever worker, and the fact they grew up playing together, Anselm treated Huyuren quite well.

In name, they were master and servant, but in reality, they often worked the fields together and were almost friends.

It was only during the civil war in the kingdom that Huyuren was conscripted as a laborer, later surrendered and settled in Thousand River Valley.

Because of his excellent plowing skills and willingness to help others, he became the Hundred Households Captain four years ago during the election.

"Hm, I’m so happy today." Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land, Huyuren naturally had endless things to talk about, "Let’s do this, I’ll take you all to a tavern for food and drinks, my treat."

"Alright—" Seeing someone offer to treat, the hunchbacked Woremixen was overjoyed.

Bato and Xie Li, naturally, had no objections, and they went to a nearby tavern to sit down and chat.

Halfway there, Xie Li approached Huyuren to ask who was the genius who invented the multi-crop system of rice and wheat?

"That Priest-in-Charge is named Yu Lian, a native of Hotam County, originally just a village priest supporting the church.

However, later on, after the gun cavalry abused the villages and Bishop Banifus turned a blind eye, his faith collapsed and he converted to the Holy Path faction.

Later he passed the review and became a wandering cultivator.

During the second Thousand River Valley war, he infiltrated enemy lines and led a group of Defenders to attack King Jiji’s troops.

After the war ended, he was transferred to the neighboring Priest Town to serve as the Priest-in-Charge."

This career trajectory is quite normal; currently, the vast majority of the Holy Alliance’s senior monks have this kind of background.

However, many clergy from the original church generally have an invisible ceiling, which is the Priest-in-Charge.

Even though Horn claims to treat everyone equally, monks from the old Salvation Army subtly form an unwritten rule.

That is, those from the original church clergy background are not permitted to be promoted beyond the rank of Priest-in-Charge.

But Yu Lian, relying on his reforms of rice and wheat rotation, managed to get his name presented to the Pope.

Horn wouldn’t bother with any unwritten rules; he called him over, made him undergo theological studies at the Holy Machinery Court University, and appointed him as the Deputy County Governor of South Mande County.

This is no small promotion, equivalent to directly leaping over the Village Monastery, elevated to the County Monastery.

With the current situation, working for two or three years can lead to a transition to County Governor, or even promotion to the Imperial Court Order.

Which Priest-in-Charge nearby isn’t envious?

In the past two years, every Hundred Households District or Priest Order near a river or with water resources is working hard to implement the rice-wheat rotation as quickly as possible.

It’s common to see wandering cultivators and even Priests-in-Charge personally taking up hoes to dig canals, working harder than ordinary oxen and horses.

Thanks to the period from 1449 to 1453, new and restored water facilities were being constructed everywhere, making the implementation of this rice-wheat cropping method not too difficult.

However, this method is not universally applicable; for instance, in Hotam County, with its many streams, there’s already a tradition of water gates.

But in Langsande County, there aren’t as many tributaries, and without the previous water gate tradition, the cost of construction is too high.

Not to mention mountainous areas.

Fortunately, Yu Lian indeed had a unique skill, working with Enrico and water experts from the Holy Machinery Court University, he devised a suitable terraced pond water management system for mountainous valleys.

It involves building tiered ponds on slopes to regulate the flow of mountain streams into ponds.

From the ponds, channels are drawn out, extending along contour lines to irrigate farmlands.

If this terraced pond method proves effective, then the northern Shattered Stone Plain and North County can use this method to increase grain production.

Listening to Huyuren’s introduction, Xie Li was filled with mixed emotions.

This kind of professional bureaucracy exists in some royal regions of Falan and Leia, but also with barriers.

Commoners have a big ceiling, minor nobles have a small ceiling, only the major nobles have no ceiling, and can hold positions like County Governor.

But Yu Lian, a commoner, originally a village priest, even once a clergyman of the church.

To the church’s way of handling things, he would be absolutely misaligned and dark-rooted.

But here in the Holy Alliance, as long as there’s merit and capability, he can be promoted from a small Monastic Leader to a Priest-in-Charge, even Deputy County Governor, within four years.

A commoner serving as County Governor...

Thinking again about the orphan battle commander of the Shattered Stone Plain military detachment to the north, Xie Li couldn’t help but sigh.

The church is probably the least obvious place of imperial status ceilings, historically there have been a dozen or so commoner Popes.

These commoner Popes could even have great nobles kiss their toes.

However, in any era, archbishops of noble descent usually occupy more than two-thirds of church positions.

Even so, it attracted a large number of young talents from humble backgrounds to flock to it.

No wonder Leia’s artisans and citizens are migrating in droves, even paying their way just to come to the Holy Alliance.

Xie Li suddenly remembered the Holy Path’s pillar of "fairness," perhaps this was the embodiment of that teaching.

Following behind Huyuren, the group found a tavern.

Huyuren raised his hand and ordered sausages, stewed river clams, fried chickpeas and other snacks to accompany the drink, and ordered a dozen pints of draft beer.

Seeing this extravagant posture, Anselm was startled: "You, boy, have you struck it rich?"

"Rich my ass." Huyuren pinched a fried chickpea and tossed it into his mouth, "Am I not a Hundred Households Captain? Everyone in the Hundred Households District comes to me for everything, after doing my own job, I still have to manage others’ affairs.

Fortunately, last year the performance was good in Hotam County, there were additional subsidies for Hundred Households Captains.

As for money, I haven’t received a penny, but a pile of pewter, spices, sugar, vegetable oil, and beer vouchers.

I get four or five beer vouchers every month, the last couple of months were busy with harvesting and planting, had no time to drink, just accumulated a dozen, if I don’t drink it soon it’ll expire."

"Oh, really?" Anselm quickly picked up his beer glass to conceal the envy spilling over his face.

The goods from the trough, doing so well?

Who let you be the Hundred Households Captain, did I agree to it?

Really damned!

Grinding his teeth, he took a big gulp of beer, Anselm belched.

Barto from Falan was even more envious, staring at Huyuren, both of them came from refugee backgrounds!

Why wasn’t it me who was caught by the Kingdom Army to serve as a laborer?

Setting down the beer glass, Huyuren immediately asked: "Hey, how’s home been while I’ve been away? Why are you wandering all the way to the Thousand River Valley?"

"Need it be said?" Talking about this topic, Anselm became downcast, "This Duke’s soldiers, that Knight’s soldiers, Falan’s army, Leia’s army, mercenaries...

No matter who comes, the land gets scoured...

I was doing alright originally, but that church wanted to please the Falan people, insisted on...

I had no choice but to mortgage the land and take high-interest loans just to barely make up for the spring sowing this year...

And guess what? Our village was requisitioned as a barracks, everyone was driven out...

Seeing no good, I could only flee with the money borrowed from high-interest loans, everywhere are Holy Seat Bank agents and debt collectors within the empire, dared not take on long-term work...

Debt collectors are not on this side of the Holy Alliance, I maneuvered through various ways, sometimes hungry for three days and nights before finding the rescue ship from the Holy Alliance...

Sigh, let’s not talk about it, why speak of such things?"

Downing half a cup of beer in one go, Anselm looked utterly dejected: "How’s it going on your side? Seeing you like this, surely things are going smoothly, right?"

"It’s tough on my side too, though not as dangerous as you."

Grabbing his beer glass he took a sip, Huyuren pulled a bitter face.

"Sigh, weren’t the Thousand River Valley tax-free the last couple of years? I thought of repairing the thatched house and replacing old furniture.

Originally planned for a wooden frame house, the family agreed.

Then the stonemason I hired said, wooden frame houses aren’t sturdy, might as well grit my teeth, first layer bricks and mortar, second and third layer wooden frame.

Thinking it over, it seemed unnecessary to skimp on this money.

Alright then, finished the first layer brick house, I said that was enough.

That stonemason again said, since you’ve done the first layer, might as well grit your teeth...

You guess how it ended, I ended up with a brick-tile house, that stonemason charged me this amount.

I went crying for help everywhere, finally borrowed money to fill the gap.

What? Pay for life, not exactly, ten-year repayment sounds wild, eleven years should be about right.

My son? Don’t get me started, my eldest, just my eldest son.

I worked to death and sent him to elementary school, clearly he could’ve gone to middle school, become a Wandering Cultivator or clerical officer later, insisted on going to artisan school.

What’s good about being an artisan? Still working like an oxen and horse, isn’t it better to be a clerical officer with the government.

Thinking about my second son, he’s eight this year too, already a year late last year, should be starting school, another big expense..."

Sighing deeply, Huyuren lifted the beer and poured the remaining contents down his throat: "Tell me, how is life supposed to go on..."

"Thump—"

"Hey, Barto? Barto, what’s wrong? Barto, wake up! Barto—"