Old Ford's census did not go smoothly. For the residents of Idar, the census was a word they had never heard of before. Because of the unfamiliarity, they were a little overwhelmed.
Old Ford hunched over, waiting in the study, quietly awaiting his master's instructions.
"How many have been counted?" Bruno asked, frowning.
"The serfs have all been counted, but less than one-third of the civilians have been counted." Old Ford looked ashamed. "I ordered people to register door to door according to your instructions, but most people don't know what the census means. Many stupid civilians even thought that there was going to be a war. There was some panic in the city."
"But the main reason is that some gophers are hooligans who don't obey discipline and roam around everywhere, and even beat up the people in charge of registration."
"Oh, I should have expected this. There are always some stupid people in this world who don't understand my painstaking efforts," Bruno sighed with regret. "Think about it, if I have detailed population information in our territory and know the jobs that each of them is suitable for, then once someone loses his job and has no source of income, can we use this information to help them find new employers?"
"It seems... that's the case." Old Ford thought for a while and nodded thoughtfully.
"It's nothing. I've spent so much energy to help them, but they don't even appreciate it. How can these stupid peasants live up to their conscience? When you conduct the census, you must explain it clearly to them and let them know that I'm doing this to alleviate the frictional unemployment caused by information asymmetry in the labor market... Of course, it's more important to let them know my good intentions and understand how upright and selfless I am as an earl who is dedicated to serving the people..."
"Information asymmetry? And...what friction?"
Although old Ford heard Bruno's words clearly, he still didn't quite understand after putting them together. What is frictional unemployment?
He did understand the latter part of the sentence, which was nothing more than praising Bruno's noble character, but the main point at the beginning... Old Ford was really confused.
"Ahem, that's not important... Anyway, the census must be completed as soon as possible, and not only must it be completed, but there must not be any mistakes or omissions. If soft tactics don't work, then be tough. I'll send the Earl's soldiers to you. If anyone still hesitates and refuses to register or even makes trouble, break their legs!"
"Also, all registered civilians can receive a copper coin, and serfs can also receive it. I'll give you the last two days to complete it. As for those who are causing trouble, the Regency Council is going to recruit fifty civilians, right? Just recruit them. In my opinion, the reason they have the time to cause trouble is because I'm too kind and let them eat too much."
Bruno said in a deep voice.
Old Ford thought to himself and said, "The Regency Council said that civilians must believe in the church. Those troublemakers are mostly bugs hiding in the dark. How can they have any faith..."
"If they don't believe, beat them until they believe. Not only do we need to make them believe, but we also need to make them always grateful for the grace of the church. Not only do we need to keep the church's scriptures in mind, but we also need to always remember my high respect for the Regent Council and the church."
"I understand, sir." Old Ford nodded and affirmed.
"If there's nothing else, do it right away."
Old Ford hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Master, I heard that you want to build a... garden?"
"Leon told you?" Bruno asked calmly.
"yes."
"You are here to persuade me, right? Actually, I can guess that it is nothing more than the same old excuses, such as not enough food, not enough money and other nonsense."
"But... Master, if we really want to build it, food is indeed the biggest problem."
In fact, Bruno knew very well that food was the biggest problem that blocked his way. For the serfs, as long as they had something to eat so that their family would not starve to death, they would not care whether they were asked to work or farm.
"I will solve the food problem. I will definitely not let the serfs go hungry while we demolish and rebuild."
"I feel relieved when you say that." Old Ford replied in a low voice. Although he still didn't quite believe it, he had no choice. After all, Bruno was the owner of this territory.
Old Ford left, but Bruno just sat there with a frown on his face.
Old Ford's worries are not without reason, but for Bruno, there is a solution.
"I hope... those messy methods I heard in my previous life are reliable..."
…
…
Sure enough, when the soldiers of Idar City left the military camp next to the lord's castle and entered Idar City under the leadership of their respective commanders, the census suddenly became orderly.
Old John was one of the few blacksmiths in the city of Idar. When the census just began, due to all kinds of rumors on the streets, he almost dodged when he saw the officials in charge of the census, for fear that he would be caught and suffer some bad thing.
But today, not only are there many notices about the census posted on the roadside, but even in crowded places, officials from the earldom are also loudly preaching.
Although he, like the officials in charge of the lecture, did not understand what frictional unemployment was, let alone what information asymmetry meant, he finally understood it, which was a good thing.
After all, you can get a copper coin after registering, and if you lose your source of income, you can find a new job with the help of the Earl.
Besides a wife, there are three children in my family, so that adds up to five copper coins. It feels heavy in my hand, and is enough for my family to use for a week.
Nowadays, officials no longer go door to door to count the numbers. Instead, the common people of Idar line up in front of the makeshift wooden houses in the center of the city, fearing that they will not be able to receive the copper coins if they arrive too late.
Old John arrived early, so he was ranked relatively front, and with the armored soldiers maintaining order, the crowd was not crowded or pushed. After all... everyone was dressed in rags, and some of them had a strange smell on them, which was not very pleasant when they were together, so naturally there would be no crowding and jostling.
When it was his turn, the officer asked without even looking up, "Can you read and write?"
"No." Old John scratched his head and said.
"Then I will ask the questions and you will answer them. Remember, you must answer everything truthfully. We will send people to conduct random inspections in the future. If we find that someone has lied or concealed information, then the whole family will be forced to become serfs."
"I see, I see." Old John shuddered and answered tremblingly.
Soon, the officials of the Earldom asked questions one after another, such as age, address, job, skills and so on, and Old John answered them one by one.
After the questions were answered, the officer in charge of the inquiry placed five copper coins on the table, and Old John hurriedly and carefully took them.
Holding the brand new copper coins in his hands like treasures, Old John felt very happy.
The Earl is such a kind man!