Petronas nodded. “Good thinking, I hadn’t thought of that. But if there is a force south of the city, then we are in more dire straits than I thought.”
“I also made sure that there was a sufficient Guard on the treasury. No one will be allowed to raid the treasury and leave the city.”
Petronas asked. “What about the Duke?”
“I don’t think that he is aware of just how precarious his position is. I have made sure that loyal men are in his guard detail.”
Petronas realized without asking that the ‘loyalty’ was to Lieutenant Sorbor and not to the Duke or himself. He couldn’t complain. If he were in the Lieutenant’s place, he would have done much the same.
“Lieutenant, I believe that we should go see the commander of the force to the north of us. Do you agree?”
“Yes, we need to see what arrangements can be made.”
Heading Home
As things were now getting to the political stage, Mike felt free to leave Sandford. He also knew that Catrina was anxious to get back to her family and Nordport. That’s where she expected to have the baby. So, they packed and made all the arrangements. Once done, they sent a bird off to Nordport to let them know that they were on their way.
Catrina was about four and a half months along and was just starting to show. The only problem that she had was that she needed to pee more often. That would slow them down somewhat but not by a lot. They were going to go in a traveling carriage. Catrina and Mike would sleep in the carriage. He had his horse, Mora, with him, but she was going to be tied to the carriage and just following along.
They left Sandford and headed out with their escort. Mike estimated that it would be three or four weeks before they reached Nordport. Once they did, Catrina would be taken care of by her mothers and grandmothers. He and Roddrick and any of their other friends there would go out and grab some pizza and beer.
Once they got started, Catrina started to get a bit excited. That pleased Mike. She talked about the coming baby, who she was sure was a boy. Mike didn’t care, girl, boy, whatever. As long as the baby was healthy and Catrina was healthy, that was all that mattered to him.
As the days went on, he enjoyed talking with her. They did stop for breaks more often than normal, but that was to be expected. Catrina did doze in the afternoon, and Mike usually got out and rode Mora for a while, talking with the escort. The one thing that was on his mind was while he was waiting for his child to be born, what projects should he undertake.
He couldn’t do anything with iron and steel; he needed to be in Centralia to do that. He did have the turbine. That would generate a lot more power than water wheels. The area around Nordport had forestry. There were a lot of old-growth trees so big around that he couldn’t get his arms around them. The Nordians were very careful to husband their natural resources. A turbine could make sawmills more efficient. Plus, the turbine could help in furniture manufacture, by providing more lumber and running various machines.
There was a good pottery industry as well, with good clay deposits. They didn’t do anything like porcelain. He knew how to make porcelain; he’d done it in a ceramics lab. Plus, stronger ceramics would be nice. A turbine would allow them to get the airflow into the kilns to get to the temperatures they needed. He could also make better fire bricks. He’d need to talk with people about this.
Ok, so he had a couple of promising projects. Porcelain was one. Getting better sawmills was the other. He’d have to talk with Roddrick and Randall about this. They could help him prioritize.
He realized that assembly line work was efficient but often dehumanizing. That ‘Cheaper by the Dozen Guy’ was behind a lot of that. He’d been captivated by the story as a kid, but as he understood the efficiency expert thing, he was much less enamored. Therefore, he wanted to introduce team-based manufacturing when it made sense. That was something the Nordians already did without realizing it.
When he explained this to Catrina, she was pleased. She knew that her husband needed these projects, and they were good for the realm as well. In fact, very good for the realm. She also pointed out that he had come up with a plan to free Tantulus from the Porfians with a minimum of bloodshed. That was a significant accomplishment.”
Mike had to let that sink in. He was more wrapped up in providing military expertise to the rebels. Something he was reluctant to do, yet he felt that it was necessary. His wife gave him a new perspective on that.
Vinfarm
After they passed through the Nordia Pass, both Michael and Catrina were anxious to get to Vinfarm. It would mean sleeping in a more comfortable bed rather than in a travel carriage. They would also get to see Alivina, Ludwiq, and Jersey. Mike wasn’t feeling so conflicted about the situation of impregnating Alivina when he freed Vinfarm from Bart’s bandits. She’d lost her husband in the raid, and the child was some sort of recompense. Then she met Ludwiq and gotten married. When he and Catrina had seen the couple, they and little Jersey were doing just fine.
Catrina, of course, had a couple of gifts for the little boy. She hadn’t forgotten the parents either. Mike reflected on the fact that wives handled that shit really well. If it were up to him, the best he would do would be to throw something together at the last minute. And that would be the absolute best. No telling if he did get it together, that the gifts would be the best.
When they arrived, they were greeted warmly. Mordt, his wives, other dignitaries were there to welcome them to the village. Among those were Alivina, Ludwig, and Jersey, who was hiding behind his mother. They dispensed with the formalities quickly, and then Catrina and Alivina embraced. Alivina quickly realized that Catrina was pregnant. She smiled and pointed at Catrina’s belly. Catrina smiled and nodded her head. Alivina screamed and hugged Catrina again. The two of them were extremely happy.
Ludwiq looked quizzically at Mike, and he answered the obvious question. “Ludwig, Catrina is pregnant.” That brought congratulations and backslaps from the men.
Mordt announced. “Even more reason for a celebration and feast.” That was met with cheers.
Mike and Catrina settled in and got cleaned up. There weren’t any other guests, which meant their escort got to sleep in the guest houses. It was a major step up from sleeping on the ground, which they’d been doing for a lot of the trip.
That evening, Mike, Catrina, Alivina, Ludwiq, and Jersey were at the front table with all the village dignitaries. Jersey was sitting between Alivina and Catrina. He’d quickly taken to Catrina. Little kids are smart in that way. He’d picked up that this lady liked him and would be good to him. That was more than fine with him.
The meal was great, roast beef, roasted pork, fresh vegetables, and Vinfarm’s finest wines. Mordt announced that Princess Catrina was expecting. That brought the expected response, lots of foot-stomping, and calls of congratulations.
As the dinner broke up, it was clear that Mike, Ludwiq, and some of the other men intended to stay and have a bit more wine. Mordt made sure that there was some cheese set out to go with the wine and then retired. As the women were leaving the dining hall, the healer handed out small ceramic jars with a potion in them. “Have your husbands drink half of this tonight and then the rest when they get up. I’m sure they’re going to need it.”
Mike had a great time with the guys. They laughed, told jokes and stories. Basically, it was a guys’ night out. When he got back to the guest hut, Catrina gave him the vile and told him to drink half. He did and immediately fell asleep. Catrina was understanding as this was pretty unusual for Mike.
The next morning, he got up and felt bad, not as bad as he was afraid he’d feel but bad enough. He drank the rest of the potion and, within an hour, was feeling relatively human. Alivina and Ludwiq had things to do. Naturally, Catrina volunteered to watch Jersey. She had a ball with the little kid. Mike enjoyed him as well. Jersey loved rolling a ball back and forth and taking rides on Mike’s shoulders.
Catrina managed to get him down to take his nap and helped him go
potty. Yes, a toddler taking a dump is a big deal. Mike realized this is what he could look forward to, and he was pretty sure he could hack it.
Mordt and the other village elders were enthusiastic about the potential liberation of Tantulus. Mordt summed it up. “It frees the people for a better life, which is always good. In time, that will mean more trade between Tantulus, Sudlund, and Nordia. A lot of the trade with Nordia will come through the pass. That means more guests for us and more exposure to our products. That will mean more demand. However, we will limit production to maintain the quality. That is important.
We’ve got a new village going up two days north of here. It’s refugees from Tantulus. They came through here about four weeks ago. That will be good to have neighbors. Eventually, I see that we may have an inn set up between the two villages. That will take time as the population growth is so slow.”
Mike and Catrina listened to Mordt and thought those were all good points. Catrina had talked with Alivina and some of the other women about what teaching tools they could use to help with educating their children. The number of children in the village was too small to justify a school or even a full-time teacher. They had concluded that one of the older women should be given instruction on education. The idea would be a course a lot like the healers went through. She could help take care of the children while their parents worked and educate them at the same time.
The next day they left. Both couples promised to stay in touch. In the carriage, Catrina was very pleased. She was going to pursue the idea of educating the educators. She was also going to talk to her father about an inn between the two villages.
When they were leaving, Catrina talked to Mike about Jersey. “Michael, Alivina says that Jersey is very smart; he’s already got his numbers and letters. Does that sound like anyone you know?”
“Yeah, it sounds a bit like me. So, what should happen?”
“He needs to get a good education. Alivina and I will keep in touch. There is a bit of teaching that goes on at the research station. We may need to establish a school somewhere for brilliant children. I’m sure Jersey isn’t the only one.” Catrina didn’t mention that she may be carrying one as well.
The New Village
The planning for the new village was pretty detailed. Petor had the construction down, and he, Sharon, and her father would supervise the actual work. Aldon, in concert with Sharon’s father, Eric, had organized everything else.
Dr. Jorgenson had revolutionized agriculture in Nordia, and that was spreading throughout Landia. Early on, Dr. Jorgenson and the crown realized that just coming up with the improvements wasn’t enough. They needed a way to get the improvements to the farms. The way that was done was pretty simple. The crown underwrote the development and production of machinery, new breeds, and new crops. Those were given to the farms along with instructions. The farms paid for it with slightly higher taxes.
This was a win-win situation. The farmers got increased yields, and they easily paid the increased taxes out of that increase. They had instructions on how to keep the breeds true, and for most crops, they just kept enough for seeds that would be replanted again in the spring. Some somethings didn’t work that way. There were a few crops that wouldn’t breed true from the seeds that they produced. There were also some things, such as fruit trees that grew best from cuttings grafted to rootstocks.
To overcome those issues, each of the major cities in Nordia kept a small agricultural station. This station was there to produce seeds for crops that wouldn’t breed true and have rootstock for fruit trees. Using rootstock meant that the trees went into production sooner and that the quality of the fruit could be assured because the grafts would be the source of the fruit. This was done for apple varieties, pears, cherries, and, where possible, peaches. They also maintained a stock of seeds for all other crops.
The stations were also a source of education and assistance to the farmers in a region, much like the agricultural extension agents in the US. Dr. Jorgenson used that as a model. The agents traveled around to the various villages and held seminars in the winter to educate the farmers on new techniques and help them solve problems. These were the people who would be working with the new villagers
Aldon had made sure that the equipment barn went up in the late fall and that it was finished before winter. Then the Amish plows, seed drills, and McCormick reapers were put into the barn. This equipment would help the villagers get their first crops into the ground come spring.
The sixty families that had volunteered for the village left the refugee camp in Sudlund just before spring. It wasn’t the easiest time to travel as the early spring brought rains, but they were used to hardships and were looking forward to a new life. Life in the refugee camp had been better than what they had in Tantulus, so they were very hopeful.
Eric, Petor, and Sharon arrived with advisors from the local agricultural station as well as thirty workmen and wagons with the building materials for the first set of houses and seeds for planting. They also brought along some cows, a good number of sheep, guard dogs for the sheep, and Jorgenson horses. They set up camp and waited for the new villagers to arrive. While they were waiting, they put up corrals for the horses and cows. The sheep were free to graze under the watchful eyes of the dogs and the shepherds.
When the villagers got there, they’d already been divided into workgroups and knew who would do what. They planned to grow wheat, barley, and oats. They’d raise sheep and cattle. The milk from the cows and sheep would be turned into cheese. The sheep’s wool would mostly be sold, although they would start doing some spinning of yarn and making cloth. The spinning and weaving would have to wait for another few years. They simply had too much other work to do.
In the future, they’d have an orchard. As the village grew, they’d increase the production of thread and cloth. If the climate was suitable, they might start a vineyard, but that was a couple of decades in the future. The longer lives of people on Cornu gave them the luxury of planning for the future. Practically all of the villagers were young people who didn’t want to go back to Tantulus. They’d been brutalized enough and didn’t want to risk it again. There were a couple of older couples who provided experience.
Once they arrived, they split up. The ones who would become shepherds went to get instruction on caring for the sheep and how to shear them. The people who would primarily be farmers learned how to use the new farm equipment and get their first crop in. Eric and Sharon were in charge of that. The villagers had learned in Sudlund that women were in positions of authority in the northern kingdoms and Sudlund. They were, therefore, not overly shocked at taking direction from a young woman like Sharon.
Petor was in charge of the construction. Each of the houses was made up of preformed sections of brick. It took two wagons to have all the bricks and other things for a house. Each of the sites had already been picked out. The villagers were shown how to mix the mortar, and then Petor showed them how to put the houses together. He’d had each of the bricks numbered, so it was easy to do. The villagers unloaded the first course of bricks and set them out. Then they applied the mortar and then put the second course on top. It went smoothly. They got eight houses up before the wagons had to head back to get more houses.
The village was a beehive of activity when Mike and Catrina arrived. They were meet by Petor, Eric, and Sharon. Catrina noticed right away that Petor and Sharon were a couple. Petor handled the introductions, and Mike was a bit surprised when Sharon was introduced as Petor’s betrothed. He looked over at Catrina, who merely smiled.
After the introductions, they were led on a tour of the village. They both asked questions and greeted the villagers. Having a royal princess with her husband in the village was a very big deal to the villagers. Most of them had never seen even the minor nobility in Tantulus. But here was a princess and her husband in the flesh, and they were clearly friends with Petor. Also, the Princess was in deep conversation with Sharon.
While Catrina and S
haron were talking, Mike and Petor looked closely at the construction. Seeing that, both the women came over to join them. Petor was explaining how he’d put the houses together and the use of prefabricated bricks.
Mike was impressed. “Dude, that was brilliant. How did you think of it?”
“I got the idea from you.” When he saw Mike was puzzled, Petor went on. “You told me about the assembly line and what you didn’t like about it. I thought that I could use some of the principles for housing. So, I started working on it, and this is what I got.”
“Awesome, bro!” and the two friends bumped fists.
Sharon looked at Catrina quizzically. Catrina explained it. “Sharon, it’s a man thing that Mike brought from home.”
Sharon nodded her understanding.
That evening they sat around the campfires and shared dinner with the villagers and the advisors. It wasn’t anything fancy, a sausage stew with hearty bread. Both Catrina and Mike ate it willingly and then complimented the women who had prepared it.
One of the women asked one of the escorts. “Are they always this friendly.”
“Yes” was the answer. “Our royal family doesn’t put on airs. They are accessible and work hard for all of us. That’s why our kingdom does so well. Remember, this isn’t Tantulus or Porfia.”
The women nodded.
Mike and Catrina got everyone caught up on what was going on in Tantulus. When the villagers found out that Duke Skelous was on the ropes and that Duke Harlold would soon succeed him, they cheered.
Petor and Sharon caught them up on what was going on at home. Petor talked about Sylvester, Garrett, and Mathias. “Sylvester and Garret had their eyes opened here. Their last stop was at Great Falls, and then they’ll be heading home. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’ve already left there. Mathias should be returning soon. He promised to stop by and see us. I’m not sure what’s keeping him. He should have been here by now.”
The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4 Page 7
