Chapter 78: Sordar
On a vast grassy plains, the surroundings were empty, and at a glance, there seemed to be no end to the plains.
"So it's here?"
Riding his horse on the plains, Chen Heng looked around thinking to himself.
It had been three or so months since the end of the Martial Tournament.
Just like Olivia had said, she had made him a Count and given him the territory in Sordar.
The Sordar region was a vast region that bordered between the Kutu Principality and the desert.
Olivia had generously given the entire Sordar region to Chen Heng now that he was a Count.
Just from the area, Chen Heng's territory was much larger than other rulers' territory.
However, this was just a number.
In actuality, because Sordar bordered with the desert, many areas within it were occupied by Outlanders. It would be quite difficult to unify the entire region.
Moreover, even if Chen Heng could unify this region, there were not that many subjects he could tax.
According to Chen Heng's estimates, the number of subjects he would have in the entire Sordar region would only be in the tens of thousands.
This sounded like a lot, but spread across such a vast region, it was quite lacking.
After coming to this territory, Chen Heng did not do much. He just went around with the guide and Krudo, examining this region.
A certain great figure had once said that those who did not do investigations did not have the right of speech.
Chen Heng felt that this was true.
The importance of information was not something that could be disregarded.
As such, after arriving here, the first thing Chen Heng did was investigate, wanting to know more about this land.
After doing much observation, Chen Heng had a good idea of what he should do next.
"Even though the climate in the north is bad, if you don't need to fight, what the land produces is enough."
Riding next to Chen Heng, Krudo said, "Even though the production here cannot compare to the southern side, because there is much land, every ruler has large territories, so at least people won't starve to death. What makes things unbearable sometimes is the frequent attacks from Orc bandits, as well as some other creatures."
Speaking to there, he looked somewhat frustrated, "In order to defend against these Orc bandits, many men are conscripted to fight. This results in not enough people to cultivate the land, and even if they are able to develop crops, they are often destroyed by the Orcs."
He began to introduce the situation in the northern side to Chen Heng, and he told him about the enemies he would face.
As he spoke, Chen Heng began to understand more about the basic situation here, and he had a clearer idea of what he needed to do.
"I've got a good grasp of it now," Chen Heng said as he nodded and looked at Krudo, "I'll be troubling you for the next while."
Chen Heng had not come here by himself; he had brought many people with him, including Krudo.
Now, Chen Heng began to establish his own territory.
Honestly speaking, wanting to start building from scratch in an empty area was a very difficult thing.
Fortunately, Chen Heng had both wealth and manpower.
Compared to other people, he had many advantages.
His wife was Verna, a Princess, which meant that he had a close relationship with the royal family. He could receive substantial assistance from Olivia and the entire Kutu Principality.
Moreover, the neighboring rulers would give him more respect because of the royal family and make things easier for him.
Furthermore, because of the trade route he had established, his relationship with the northern rulers was quite good. In a sense, he was their largest source of income.
After the north-south trade began, many people realized the massive profits involved and wanted to get in. However, they moved too late and were unable to find a trade route that had low costs and risk.
Adding on the fact that Chen Heng had come up with the idea first, the current north-south trade was mostly dominated by Chen Heng.
The result of this was that the northern rulers all had favorable impressions of Chen Heng, and they would rarely refuse any requests of his.
The massive profits from the trade also made Chen Heng's life quite easy, so he did not have to be as frugal.
There was also the fact that he was a powerful Knight—this was the most important point.
In this age, the effect that a Knight could have was something ordinary people could not imagine.
With Chen Heng's strength, if he led a force of 100 guards, those scattered Outlander bandits would be nothing to him.
However, despite having all kinds of advantages, things were still somewhat difficult for Chen Heng.
After all, the conditions in the northern side were quite poor, making things harder for him.
However, he did not feel dispirited.
Long before he had come here, he knew what the situation would be like and was mentally prepared.
As such, these conditions were unable to discourage him.
Just like that, Count Kailin established his roots in Sordar.
Right after arriving, he began to act.
Chen Heng led Krudo and others to patrol around, getting rid of some bandits and small tribes, making those people all slaves.
Following this, using his authority as the ruler of this territory, as well as his martial force, he gathered his subjects in the territory.
This way, he was able to gather the population together, and he began to clear wild areas to construct towns and cities.
After the population was gathered, the area that Chen Heng needed to defend became much smaller, reducing the pressure on his military forces.
After the towns and cities began to develop, the remaining villages were attracted over and began to relocate.
This way, Chen Heng's territory began to slowly develop.