The area of Hesse Town isn't small; Su Li feels it far exceeds 7 miles, possibly spanning over a dozen miles. It took him over ten minutes to traverse the Hammer Road with his guards.

The road is bustling with people, with squads of City Guard Army constantly crossing the streets, rushing to patrol various places and handle incidents.

The Empire inherently values martial virtues, and the Border Prince's Territory adds a touch of ruggedness and savagery here, so when disputes break out among border people, they tend to fight rather than talk.

There are lawyers in the territory, but they are usually robust men, with very few women.

Some judges are extremely irritable and are unwilling to listen to both parties' lengthy arguments. When disputes involve two families or two factions or caravans, they prefer to let the lawyers convince each other with fists and kicks!

As a judge would say, this is the essence of the Empire. The ruling class of the Empire is knights, reasoning with swords rather than with tongues like women.

So, the side with the bigger fists and stronger power often seems to have more reason!

Don't ask if this lawsuit method is reasonable. Strength is the hard truth! Bigger fists mean more reason.

If both parties in the lawsuit are serfs, some more murderous judges will simply hang both sides involved in disputes. If their wisdom cannot solve the problem, they deal with the people who create the problem.

This leads to civilians, mercenaries, and travelers tending to resolve disputes by themselves.

The City Guard Army only deals with the financial losses caused by their fights, issuing fines to the losers.

If the losers cannot pay the fine, the victors will have to compensate for their battles.

After all, who wins or loses in their disputes doesn't concern the City Guard Army. But every blade of grass and tree in the territory is the Lord's wealth; if they damage them, not a single Copper Coin less in compensation is allowable.

As Su Li walked along the road, looking at this lively scene, he asked Lauren, "My Minister of the Seal, how many people are there in Hesse Town now?"

Lauren quickly spurred his horse to catch up with Su Li, but still maintained a distance of over half a meter. If he got any closer, his warhorse would be attacked by Death's Claw. Death's Claw is proud and disallows any mount to run parallel with it.

"Lord, though our Hesse Town seems bustling, the permanent population is much less than you estimated. Including the dwarves, it doesn't exceed 3,000 people. The floating population is around 1,000 to 2,000 people."

"So few?" Su Li was surprised; judging from such a prosperous scene, he'd thought Hesse Town's registered population was at least five or six thousand. In his impression, the population of Hesse Town seemed to always hover around this figure, with some ups and downs after wars and replenishments but without much increase or decrease overall.

Lauren immediately explained, "Our Hesse Territory's population is mainly divided into three parts. First, undoubtedly, is the army: knights, armed attendants, and the provincial army, amounting to about 2,000 people."

"Then there are the slaves. Your slaves are the most numerous in the territory, over 2,400, but they aren't entitled to live in the town. Most of them reside around Jorn Shallow Bay. Thanks to their full efforts, 1,100 acres of fertile land have been developed around Jorn Shallow Bay this year, turning the vast plains into rich farmlands."

"Lastly are the farmers and free people of the territory. The farmers need no elaboration, they reside in the outskirts and countryside, forming farms and villages outside the city. There are about 2,000 free people in the city; they make up the territory's craftsmen, merchants, publishers, Loading and Unloading Guild, Thieves' Guild, and the rich district."

"The slaves and army of the territory undoubtedly take up the majority of the population, with the remaining free people still being too few, and part of them are still farmers."

Su Li nodded; the development time of the territory is still too short, relying completely on immigration and attracting vagrants; no matter how assiduous, efficiency can't be improved.

Su Li thought there are only two ways to increase the territory's population.

The first is naturally through the accumulation of time. He has been in the territory for less than eight months, and a lack of population is understandable, but if he cultivates for eight years, all problems will be solved.

The other is expansion; the Border Prince's Territory does not lack population, it's just that many are in other Pioneer Territories. When the Green Dragon war is over, he can let Oerstein commence a wave of conquest around.

He has three to four thousand regular troops, plus seven to eight hundred Free People's Corps, totaling nearly 5,000 elite infantry and cavalry. As long as he doesn't attack those Baron's Territories or Count's Territories, he can easily overrun those Pioneer Territories with a population of one to two thousand.

Bringing back the population of these territories, each time a thousand or two thousand people, only two or three conquests are needed to double the population of the territory.

War catalyzes civilization, not without reason.

While he was thinking, Lauren pointed at the Moon Dial ahead on the street and said, "Lord, that is one of the significant landmarks on Hammer Road. It's not an ordinary sundial. During the day, it casts no shadow, but at night it casts a unique shadow for each moon. Under this effect, soldiers patrolling Hesse Town can see any stealthy thief. This is a gift from the Thieves' Guild to foster a relationship with the City Guard Army. Beyond this Moon Dial lies one of the territory's most bustling streets — Ecter Commercial Street."

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