"Tasks in the spiritual realm generally follow the principle of equivalent exchange, and the benefits obtained are certainly different depending on the degree of task completion. ”

Bai Xiaowen groaned and said, "I guessed a possibility, but I can't confirm it yet, so I won't talk about it for the time being." Either way, we're going to get this main quest done...... If the possibilities I guessed came to fruition, the benefits would be staggering. ”

Li Shuyi nodded, and then asked another question: "But the big fat man also said just now, we have no income, we are poor and white, how can we recruit soldiers?"

"Take a step at a time," Bai Xiaowen said, "This young lord doesn't know how to do government affairs, although I have inherited some of his memories, I still have no eyes on the situation in the territory." Let's go out for a walk first. ”

The two of them pushed open the door, and a cold wind from the north blew.

There are only two words in the eye: desolation.

Ahead was a dirt road less than two meters wide, frozen by the cold wind, but it saved the traveler from the mud if he came to this place.

In the distance of the lord's house, there are several thatched huts, scattered and dilapidated. One by one, the ragged leaders walked by, their faces numb.

Not far away, on the side of the road, there were several people wrapped in straw, lying on their backs behind a stone pier to escape the cold wind.

Bai Xiaowen frowned and walked over. When he got closer, he found that these people, both old and young, had no clothes on them, and most of them only had a black linen wrapped around their crotch, no wonder they had to use straw to keep out the cold.

"What's your name, are you a refugee passing through here?"

After a moment of panic among the straw-wrapped men, one of them, who looked like the leader, spoke in a muffled voice:

"My lord, my name is Anton...... It's my wife Molly and the others are my neighbors......"

Bai Xiaowen looked at this person named Anton, he was obviously different from ordinary lords, although he was not tall, he was very strong, his finger joints were thick, and he was calloused, he was a laborer who was used to doing heavy work.

"Anton, why did you and your neighbors end up here?"

A thin old man next to him pulled Anton by the hand, and said in a sincere panic: "I'm sorry lord, we shouldn't have appeared in your noble sight, let's leave ...... immediately"

Bai Xiaowen was a little helpless, this old man would obviously be wrong. He could only wave his hand and appease the two words before the panicked refugees calmed down.

Anton sighed and said, "My lord, we were not refugees, but miners who were digging for silver in the mines to the west...... Life is not rich, but it can barely make ends meet. However, last week, the Black Wind bandits raided the mines, killed the guards, ransacked the mines, and burned down our homes...... We had to get out of there and wander ......."

"Wait, silver mines?" Bai Xiaowen's eyes lit up slightly, "Is there a silver mine in Baishi Town?"

Anton glanced at Bai Xiaowen a little strangely: "Isn't the lord the owner of the mine?" Baishi Collar was originally known for its abundance of silver, although Baishi Town is relatively remote, but there is also a small silver mine......

"I'm the owner of the mine?"

Bai Xiaowen looked down at the patch in the hidden place of his noble dress a little speechlessly, shook his head and said, "Who did you give to the silver you usually mined?"

"Leave it to Job, of course. He is the lord's most trusted steward......"

Bai Xiaowen's face darkened.

Just now, Job didn't say a word about the silver mines.

"It's too cold for you guys here. Come to my house to keep at least one out of the cold wind. Bai Xiaowen looked at a few miners wrapped in straw and shivering from the cold, and sighed.

Several people hesitated to agree.

"This is an order from the lord. Bai Xiaowen accentuated his tone.

It is clear that these families of miners, including Anton, are more accustomed to a commanding tone. They helped each other to stand up, thanked each other, and then followed Bai Xiaowen to the lord's house.

Li Shuyi originally wanted to light the fire of the fireplace, but she didn't actually operate it, and she was in trouble for a while. Fortunately, Anton's wife, Molly, is better at this, and soon ignited a flame to dispel some of the cold.

After thanking her, Li Shuyi took out two somewhat shabby clothes from the closet on the second floor and handed them to Molly to cover her shame.

This act of kindness quickly calmed the minds of several refugees.

"Now, tell me about the Black Wind Bandits. Bai Xiaowen said.

Several other refugees still didn't dare to speak in the face of Bai Xiaowen, the lord. Based on Anton's narration, others inserted two sentences to add, and the situation of bandits in the territory of Baishi Town was gradually presented in front of Bai Xiaowen in its entirety.

There are more than 10 bandit forces of all sizes in Baishi Town. Most of them were a few bandits gathered together, not even a rabble, half robbing and half hunting to barely survive. There are three medium-sized bandit forces, each with a dozen or even dozens of people, who use Baishi Town as a den to commit crimes, mainly plundering other surrounding territories.

This also caused the territory of Baishi Town to be blamed, because Bai Xiaowen was not effective in suppressing bandits - the lords of the surrounding territories had no right to drive troops into the territory of Baishi Town.

And the largest gang of robbers in White Rock Town, known as "Black Wind", is famous. It is said that this bandit force has a scale of more than 100 people. Note that these 100 people refer to elite bandits who can slash people with knives, and do not include auxiliary servants who make up the numbers.

Moreover, the Black Wind Bandits are different from other bandit gangs, they raid a wide range of targets, even the poor Baishi Town locals, killing people and setting fires at every turn. The people of the territory of Baishi Town originally numbered a few thousand, and most of them fled to other territories.

After listening to the story, Bai Xiaowen asked, "What is the name of the leader of the Black Wind Bandits, and how many strong people are among them?"

Anton was dumbfounded and shook his head to indicate that he didn't know. As soon as Bai Xiaowen spoke, he also knew that he had asked the wrong person, Anton was just a small miner, and he had limited information.

With a bang, the door to the lord's mansion was pushed open.

"My lord, why did you let a bunch of untouchables in? This is the hall of your mansion! Oh my God, you're going to disgrace the entire Skelboom family! Haven't you always hated these mud-legged untouchables the most?"

The big fat man Jobe squeezed in, said hurriedly, and then drove away with a look of disgust at Anton and the others: "You pariahs, get out of the lord's mansion quickly, or I will hang you under the eaves to dry!"

Bai Xiaowen tapped lightly on the table.

"Don't worry, Job......" Bai Xiaowen said with a smile, "I happened to hear something interesting. Let's talk about the silver mines in the territory...... I'm curious, where did all the silver ore handed in by the miners go?"