Cavalry training was not something that could be done overnight. Other than horses, the cavalry also needed to be equipped with all sorts of equipment, such as horseshoes and saddles.
These were just the basics. Light cavalry did not need to prepare horse armor, but heavy cavalry needed a full set of horse armor. However, Suhlen did not plan to train heavy cavalry for the time being. He had a group of strong barbarian warriors who could replace the heavy cavalry to a certain extent.
Currently, the territory lacked light cavalry. Light cavalry could be used to scout, harass, sneak attack, and send messages.
The weather was getting colder. When he woke up in the morning, there was already frost on the windows. Just yesterday, Suhlen met another wandering hero in the tavern, Hunter.
This was a small leader of a caravan. He used to do business in various places, so he knew the price of various goods. He was also familiar with the operations of a caravan. When Suhlen invited him to join the caravan, the small leader agreed without hesitation. He then went to terminate his employment with the manager of the caravan.
Suhlen appointed him as the tax collector of the Northern Castle. He was in charge of collecting taxes from the caravans that came and went. Previously, Chris and Zeon were in charge of this. Now, Barnes was in charge. However, he still had to report to Chris every day.
Name: Barnes, Loyalty: 82
Occupation: Merchant Tax Collector
Level: 5
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 7
Spirit: 6
Vitality: 6
Charm: 7
Command: 20
Characteristics (Talent): Appraisal, Observation, Listening, Actor, Trading, Glib Tongue, Decent Manners, Gossip, Shrewd.
Merchant: He used to be a merchant. He used to do business in various places for a long time. This allowed him to know the price of various goods and the tricks that merchants use to evade taxes. (Tax + 1)
Skills: Proficient in Mathematics, Proficient in Law, Basic Swordsmanship, Information Gathering, Intimidation, Hidden Compartment Searching
Weapon Proficiency: Swordsmanship 60, Archery 75, Equestrian 83
Evaluation: This is a qualified tax officer. Any attempt to evade taxes will be detected by him.
You will have to pay him a fee every month.
With the addition of a tax officer, the tax collection in the territory was much clearer. Under Hunter's influence, those who tried to evade taxes were punished. The rate of tax evasion was greatly reduced. Suhlen could already foresee that the tax collection in the Northern Castle would increase again.
As a matter of fact, the structure of the officials in the North Fortress was not logical at all. There was no one in charge of the mayor, the chief of the guards, the garrison officer, or the steward of the fortress.
Kris was actually in charge of the mayor and the castle steward. As for the guard captain and the garrison officer, Johnson and Boulder were temporarily in charge. In reality, the two of them were not qualified. There was also no one to be the diplomat of the territory. After all, the position of a diplomat was very important.
To a certain extent, he was Suhlen's spokesperson. Basically, all diplomats were born nobles. After all, this was an era of conflict between nobles. If you did not understand the etiquette and way of speaking, you would not be qualified to be a diplomat. Therefore, this position could only be left vacant. Perhaps he could train one himself in the future.
Suhlen had been instructing the slaves and vagabonds to build a stable for the past two days. The winter in the Northern Wastelands was still very cold. The warmth of the stable had to be kept up. Otherwise, when winter came, the horses would be easily frostbitten by the heavy snow.
The stable was built in the southeast of the town. There was a large open space here. Suhlen purposely brought a canal from the Red Sand River. He also selected five spearmen and five archers from the war spirits to be stationed here.
Although there were only ten of them, these war spirits were well-coordinated and well-equipped. They had no problem dealing with small groups of gnolls or bugbears. If a large group of them entered the territory, they would be discovered immediately. The barbarian guards in the territory would deal with them as soon as possible.
The stable was built very quickly. Suhlen purposely took the time to cast Mud to Stone on the stable and turned the walls of the stable into a rock structure. Soon, the stable was built.
[Stable: A place where the horses live and rest. A good resting environment can make the horses stronger. Clean and tidy + 3, Energy Recovery + 2, Energetic + 1, Disease Reduction + 2, Warm as Spring + 2]
After the construction of the stable was completed, the Centaurs who came to trade also arrived. Su Lun ordered people to prepare 200 pieces of armor and 20 carriages for the trade, and then personally led them to the place agreed upon by the two sides.
The camel beasts pulled the heavy carriages forward. More than 20 carriages formed a long line. Suhlen and the barbarian guards were guarding by the side. There were also 30 war spirits next to them. It could be said that for this trade, Suhlen had brought out most of the territory's power.
He was not naive enough to think that he would directly send the goods to the centaurs because he had already agreed on the trade. There were no laws in the wilderness. Here, the power of the fist was the law. Persuasion was the law.
If Su Lun didn't prepare enough deterrence, even though the two sides communicated harmoniously that day, once a lot of interests were involved, he believed that the Centaurs would absolutely not mind acting as bandits. 20 carriages of food and 200 sets of armor. Such a large amount of wealth was enough for the centaurs to take the risk.
Don't think that they would care about credibility. The tribes in the wilderness rose and fell too quickly. They did not have the time nor the right to think about long-term development. Suhlen would not use his goods to test the centaurs' credibility. There was an 80 to 90 percent chance that they would not be able to withstand the test.
The location of the trade was a plain outside of Suhlen's territory. The terrain here was open. As long as a few people stood on the nearby high ground, they could see everything within a few kilometers. There was no need to worry about being ambushed. Even if the centaurs charged, they would have enough time to surround the carts.
Soon, a scout galloped over on a galloping horse and swiftly dismounted from his horse.
"Monseigneur, I've already scouted the area. There are no ambushes around."
"Scout again!" Su Lun nodded and said. The scout mounted his horse and galloped away again.
The carts continued forward. After about an hour, the carts arrived at the agreed location. The centaurs also appeared on the other side. Suhlen looked from afar and saw a black mass. Other than the war horses, there were at least 300 centaurs.
.....
On the other side, the centaurs who had just arrived also saw Suhlen's carts.
"Kane, is that the lord who made the trade with you? To think that they only brought so few people. Should we just eat them up? " A tall and muscular Centaur with a naked upper body and scars all over his body came to Kane's side and asked in a low voice.
"Kanter, don't attack first. The fact that these humans can stand in the wilderness means that they are not weak. But we can test them first," Kane said after some thought. "If they are not strong enough, you know what to do."
"Understood. I'll go now."
Although Kane had seen the ogre shaman's head and Cryopterus' head on the walls of Northguard Castle, he had never seen these humans in action. He was still doubtful. After all, these short humans were not as strong as the orcs. They also ran slower. Other than being good at farming, they had no other advantages.
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