Translator: Mr Voltaire Editor: Modlawls123 Lollister felt that he was a failure as a lord. When he had first transmigrated to Galinthea, he had read many books to understand the world, even the popular knight novels. But in all the knight novels he had read, the lords were always drinking wine and surrounded by beautiful women. They were either busy holding balls and banquets or talking about love with the noble ladies. If they were bored, they would go hunting and participate in the knight's convention. Even if war broke out, as a lord, most of them would be strategizing and overseeing the rear. There would be heroic knights charging at the frontlines for him, and there might even be a very touching romantic love story on the battlefield.
Looking at himself, after becoming a lord, he was as busy as a dog running here and there every day. He also had to deal with a lot of trivial matters. He had a lot of subordinates, but they all had to wait for him to decide how to deal with the big and small matters. If war broke out, he would have to take the lead and charge at the front. How was this a lord? This was clearly a life of toil.
He had just returned to Monolith Castle, and before he could even take two breaths, there was a long queue of people who had come to report something.
The first to enter was Miss Tresti's iron-ranked butler. He bowed respectfully and explained his purpose. Miss Tresti wanted Lollister to visit her in the next two days to solve the water problem of the residential area's wells and the castle's water supply.
What about the wells? Lollister asked curiously for a long time before he understood. There were two ways to use water in the new residential area. The first was for every household to dig a well, which would be a lot of work. The second was for every street block to have a well, but that would mean the residents would have to queue up for water every day. Also, the castle was being built on a mountain, which was much higher than the city. It was not easy to dig a well, so they could only draw water from the mountain spring. Miss Tresti hoped that Lollister could go and confirm the next plan.
Sigh, why are you asking me all these things? What a headache! The second to enter was Steward Cordan. He had taken over the captives that Josk and the rest had sent over. They had just finished setting up the captive camp, but he had no idea what to do with them.
Lollister said weakly, "What's there to hesitate about? Let them gather construction materials. They have the strength anyway. Those who did well would eat better, those who slacked off would be whipped, and those who ran away would be hanged. The former labourers were promoted to overseers, who were instructed and supervised in their work. Then, he would have Auvikis change the duty of the patrolling soldiers to watch over these captives.
Next was Butler Boris. He had come to report a small matter, which was that the Monolith Castle was running out of wine. Ever since the commercial district was built, two taverns were opened one after the other. The workers regained their freedom and got paid. When they had nothing to do, they liked to have a drink or two. The same was true for the family soldiers and the immigrants. The two taverns had a booming business. However, most of the alcohol in Laurist's warehouse was looted from the castle in the Red River Valley Manor. Even though they had a large reserve, they couldn't stop the flow of alcohol from flowing out. Furthermore, due to the knight tournament that Laurist and Viscount Gammus had jointly organized, they had provided a large amount of alcohol for free. The amount of alcohol left in the warehouse could only last them for four to five days.
Sigh, if there's no alcohol, then we'll just brew it. The brewing process of ordinary ale is simple. We can just ask among the immigrants and laborers who knows how to brew and open a winery. Laurist said.
"But, but Sir, you said that food is the most important strategic resource and that Manager Hanks is in charge of it. We're building the city now and haven't done any farming, so there hasn't been any harvest for the past two years. The food we got from the Red River Valley Manor last time was only enough for us for one or two years. Now that there are more and more people here, the food consumption is increasing. How can we use food to brew wine? "Butler Boris said.
Oh, it's still what I said. Laurist held his head. "It's fine. Have Manager Hanks take out the wheat to brew ale wine. You've heard about it, right? The duke's army massacred Northern Field Village. We defeated them and found that the food stored in Northern Field Village is enough for us to eat for four to five years, so the food problem has been solved. I'll have Maple Manor send a batch over soon. "
"Ah? You haven't left yet? Is there anything else? "Laurist asked.
"Uh, it's like this." Butler Boris said hesitantly, "We caught a few women. They're working as prostitutes in the camp …"
"Hm …" Laurist perked up. This was a topic that all men were interested in. "Where did these women come from? Why are they working as prostitutes in the camp? "
"Two of them are new immigrants from the Kenneth Family. After we moved them to Monolith Castle, they couldn't stand the loneliness and started to hook up with men. There are also four or five who were originally female slaves. After they regained their freedom, they felt that the work we gave them was too tiring and went back to their old jobs. "
Laurist had heard Butler Boris say that the two hundred female slaves were originally a reward from the Kenneth Family for slave labor. If they performed well, they would be rewarded with a female slave to sleep with them for a night.
"Sir, according to what they said, there are dozens of women like them. They were just lucky that we didn't catch them. How should we punish them? Sir, please advise … "Butler Boris asked.
"Sigh …" Laurist sighed and leaned back on the table. "Punishment my ass! Since they're willing to do this, let them continue. Men need women, and women need men. There are more men than women in Monolith Castle right now, and the men are all young and strong. They need a place to vent. How about this, Butler Boris? Go build a brothel and let those women in. It'll be easier for us to manage them. We'll provide protection and take thirty percent of their income. "
"My Lord, in such a situation, the other lords usually charge 60% to 70%."
"Forget it. It's not easy for them to earn this money. We'll just take thirty percent. Also, send out a notice that if they don't work in the brothel, they'll have to work for us for a year for nothing if they're caught. "
Ahhh! What's going on? I'm the lord, and now I have to care about prostitutes? What a disgrace! Butler Boris walked into the back. Laurist sighed. But he had no choice. He had to see the next one.
It wasn't one person who came in, but two. Laurist glanced at them. They looked familiar.
The older one stepped forward and stood at attention. "Sir, we were sent by Mister Padt to follow the Cummes Family's forces. We just came back yesterday."
Now that he thought about it, these two guards used to be bandits. No wonder they looked so familiar. However, Lollister could not remember their names.
"Sit, sit. Don't just stand there. There are chairs over there. Thank you for coming here. We also have to be careful not to be discovered by them. I'm the happiest thing about you guys coming back safe and sound. Sit down and tell me what you found. "
"Thank you, sir." The first thing the two guards said when they sat down shocked Laurist. "Sir, the Cummes Family's forces took over Earl Lopez's territory."
"What? Earl Lopez's territory? Where? " Laurist looked down to search for a map of the North. Unfortunately, the map he found did not have any markings of Earl Lopez's territory.
"Get Butler Boris, Sederkamp, and Old Man Barlek here. Oh, Old Man Barlek went prospecting with Master Sid. Forget it. Get Butler Boris and Sederkamp here first. "
"I remember there was a map in Red River Valley Manor with the names and territories of the nobles appointed by the second prince in the North. They should have brought it back. Let's see where they put it." Butler Boris, who had been called back again, said to Serdkamp, who had indicated that he did not know who Count Lopez was.
After hearing Boris's reminder, Kemp recalled that there was such a map. After another round of searching, he finally found the map.
"Yes, sir. There's a small hill here. It's the boundary between Earl Lopez's territory and Viscount Lopez's territory. It's only about ten meters tall, and there's no water on it. After the Kenneth family's armed forces entered Count Lopez's manor castle, we snuck into the immigrant town outside the castle. We pretended to be two mercenaries who had been entrusted to search for a special medicinal ingredient from the Demon Dragon Mountain Range. We found out that the Kenneth family's armed forces had indeed accepted Count Lopez's invitation to defend against the Mountain Barbarian Tribe's invasion. "It seems that Earl Lopez fought a battle with the mountain barbarians and suffered great losses. The earl was also heavily injured. The people in the immigrant town are afraid that the mountain barbarians will attack, "the older guard said.
"Huh? That's not right. Aren't the mountain barbarians celebrating the Kupperwisen Festival this year? Where did they find the time to fight against Earl Lopez? "Laurist found it strange.
"Sir, it's said that Earl Lopez started the battle with the mountain barbarians. His troops discovered a large group of mountain barbarian herdsmen with a lot of livestock, so they took the initiative to attack and steal all the livestock. On the way back, they were attacked by a lot of mountain barbarian cavalry. They fought their way out of the encirclement and escaped. They suffered great losses, and everyone who escaped was injured. The mountain barbarian cavalry didn't chase after them. They only shouted that they would settle the score with Earl Lopez after the festival. So, Earl Lopez was afraid of retaliation, so he invited Viscount Cummes to help with the defense. "
Alright, that's not the way to die. Didn't that Earl Lopez know that this year was the mountain barbarian's Kupperwisen Festival? Those livestock must have been sent to Mount Smolmegen to be used for the holy blood sacrifice. Stealing livestock for the blood sacrifice during the mountain barbarian festival, this is … Laurist didn't know whether he should praise Earl Lopez's courage or admire his greed.
"At the time, we also thought that the Cummes family's armed forces were there to help Earl Lopez, so we prepared to return the next day," the older guard continued. "Because we drank a little at night, we woke up a little late the next day. We discovered that the immigrant town had been placed under martial law by the Cummes family's armed forces. Entry was allowed, but no exit was allowed. Meanwhile, Earl Lopez's manor and castle had the Cummes family's three-row golden ring flag flying …
"It wasn't until night time that we received news in the tavern that Earl Lopez had passed away from his heavy injuries. Before he passed away, because he had no children and his two daughters were far away in the capital, he entrusted the Earl's territory to Viscount Cummes. Even the Earl's title was inherited by Viscount Cummes. The Cummes family had already sent people to apologize to the mountain barbarians. There was a rumor that the gift was Earl Lopez's head …
"The immigrant town was placed under martial law for three days before it was lifted. The Cummes family sent out an announcement to reduce taxes and recruit soldiers. It seemed like they wanted to put all the young adults in the immigrant town into the garrison. The two of us were stopped and interrogated for a long time. However, we said that we were mercenaries and that we were here to do a mission to find medicinal ingredients. They didn't do anything to us.
"When we left the town, we discovered that the guards in the castle were no longer the Cummes family's armed forces. We found it strange and searched everywhere. Finally, we found traces of a large group of people heading south. We followed them and spent a day to reach this place. It seemed to be a noble's territory, but it had already been taken over by the Cummes family. That castle had three row golden ring flags. "
"Viscount Sartre …" Laurist read the markings on the map.
"I know Viscount Sartre. He was an old noble of the former empire. His family died during the civil war, and his territory was in ruins. After the second prince established his kingdom, he occupied his territory. To avoid criticism, he transferred Viscount Sartre to the north. He was just a lonely old noble, "Butler Boris said.
The older guard continued to report, "We didn't dare enter the town again, so we kept watch in the wilderness. Three days later, the Cummes family's armed forces set off again. This time, they headed east. We followed behind them. Two days later, they arrived at Baron Ancaport's territory and set up camp outside the town. The group at the front entered Baron Ancaport's castle. It seemed like they were going to pay a visit. We stayed in the wilderness until midnight. Suddenly, we heard the sounds of battle erupt in Ancaport's castle. The castle gate opened, and the drawbridge was lowered. The Cummes family's armed forces continued to charge in. In the morning, three row golden ring flags were raised on the castle. "
"We stayed in the wilderness for another five days and found that the Cummes family's armed forces had left a platoon of guards at Baron Ancaport's castle. Then, they returned to Viscount Sartre's territory and left another platoon there. The rest of the troops returned to Earl Lopez's territory, and we followed them back."
Laurist opened a drawer and took out two small pouches made of gray sheepskin. These were specially prepared by Sadekamp for Laurist to use as a reward. Each pouch contained five gold coins of the Empire's elderly head.
Laurist tossed the pouches to the two guards. "Thank you for your hard work. Take it. Go back and relax. This is my reward for you. "
"Thank you, my lord." The two guards retreated.
Damn, this was a good move by the Cummes family. Laurist finally understood why the Cummes family was willing to suffer losses in order to be on good terms with him. They knew that they were already at odds with Duke Lujins. Not only did they use this opportunity to get out of the situation, but they also took advantage of the fact that Duke Lujins was focused on the Norton family to secretly change their target to the lords of the eastern part of the Northern Lands. What a good plan …
"My lord, I don't understand why the Cummes family would do this. Viscount Sartre and Earl Lopez are both newly appointed lords of the Northern Lands, and Baron Lopez is the second prince's confidant. Aren't the Cummes family afraid of the public's anger by attacking them and annexing their territory? "Butler Boris asked.
"Haha, the Cummes family naturally has their own reasons for doing this." Laurist laughed coldly. "Their plan is wonderful. They know that Duke Lujins is currently paying attention to us, so they want to take this opportunity to annex the entire eastern part of the Northern Lands. Look at the map. Viscount Cummes, Earl Lopez, Viscount Sartre, and Baron Ancaport put together, which is equivalent to cutting off the eastern part of the Northern Lands. If nothing goes wrong, the remaining lords won't be able to escape the Cummes family's control … "
"Once the Cummes family occupies the eastern part of the Northern Lands, they will be unique. Even Duke Lujins won't be able to do anything to them. The Northern Lands will be very lively soon. Chaos has arrived. "
"Then, my lord, should we give the Cummes family some trouble so that they won't be able to unify the Eastern Lands so quickly?" Sadekamp asked.
Laurist lowered his head and turned around twice. After thinking for a long time, he said, "It's too late, and we can't spare any strength. Don't forget, if Duke Lujins knows that his four thousand soldiers have been wiped out, he will be furious and send another army for revenge. What we need to do now is to quickly build Monolith Castle, train our family's armed forces, and prepare to defend against the Northern Army. "
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