PS: Thank you to the "Veteran Brigade" for becoming another leader of this book! Sprinkle flowers!
That night, under the summer night sky, Laing and Alfred Frey sat on the balcony of the castle and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner.
Things had changed with the passage of time, and now the identities of the two were different. Laing entertained Alfred Frey with the most standard Brittany dinner. The entire banquet was strictly supervised to ensure that Laing, as the host, would not be rude.
The first dish was a frozen appetizer, which consisted of caviar, salad, salmon, and foie gras.
The second dish was soup, Brittany onion soup.
The third dish was a hot appetizer, and Muxilon's famous cheese baked snails played its role well.
After the first three dishes were served, Laing was able to talk to Alfred Frey, but Duke Muxilon skillfully tasted the baked snails with a knife and fork. He looked at his childhood playmate, smiled, and said nothing.
On the contrary, Alfred Frey had a lot to say to Laing, but he simply did not know where to start. Alfred Frey, who was in his thirties, had a short beard, and thin crow's feet had begun to appear at the corners of his eyes, which was proof of a man's maturity.
But judging from Alfred Frey's state of mind, he was still full of vitality. His spirit was very good, and he was the kind of person who still maintained an optimistic and positive personality after some setbacks. Since Laing appointed him as the person in charge of the ancient church district of Freya, Alfred Frey had encountered many difficulties in the reconstruction and restoration of the entire church district.
In fact, since Laing returned to the Duke's Castle, Muxilon's war hadn't stopped for a few weeks.
The first to start the war was Baron Lucian of the Steeple Palace. He led two infantry battalions supported by Laing and started the Battle of the Swamp. In this battle, Lucian made full use of the powerful combat power of the Serf infantry battalions. Since the swamp was not suitable for a Knight's charge, he drove some livestock to attract wandering Specters and Orcs. Then he ordered the Knights to dismount and disrupt the arrangement of the Serf infantry. He made use of the crossfire of the Longbowmen and the slow movement of the swamp to surround and exterminate the remaining Specters and Orcs near the Steeple Palace.
Laing received news that his father-in-law, François, had privately given Lucian a low-interest loan with an annual interest of only 3%. With the loan and Laing's help, Lucian successfully overcame the difficulties.
Baron Richard, Olivier, started the Richard Cleanup War and exterminated a Specter stronghold near the Castle.
Baron Juan of Biokari started the Battle of the Orphan Hill. It was unknown how he persuaded the Wood Elves to join in the battle. In this battle, the Skaven Ratmen, who were hiding near the Orphan Hill, were defeated. The Ratman warlord was killed by the Wood Elf hero, Araloth. Juan used this battle to chase the Skaven Ratmen of Muxilon into the Underworld.
This proved that under Laing's victorious leadership, he had a large number of Knights and nobles who were good at war.
What about Alfred Frey?
The Templar Knight was inspired by the previous explosion. He made full use of the power of gunpowder and used the grenades created by the Dwarves to defeat the wandering Specters during the Orc gathering. He won the Battle of the Cathedral District.
"In short, it's more troublesome than I expected." Alfred did not know where to start. In the end, he could only sigh. "The continuous battles are not bad. The real trouble is that everything has to start from the beginning. I don't have my tax officer or my sheriff. I only have a few saint samurai and ascetics. Those ascetics only know how to whip themselves all day long. The saint samurai are not good at management. They make a mess of everything, and I am forced to make decisions on everything. My good friend, you know, I'm not you. You can always come up with all kinds of solutions and all kinds of wonderful ideas, even bypassing the knighthood and the law, but I can't."
I can't solve the problem. "" But you handled it well. I heard that you solved many problems. "Laing looked at Alfred Frey with interest.
The fourth dish was served by the Dark Elves. The fourth dish was fish, the famous white wine cream salmon.
"Thank you … That's because I learned a lot from you, my good friend." Alfreid lowered his head and tasted the salmon with white wine and cream. The fish cooked by the Vanford Palace Chef brought by Sulia would have a greasy feel to it, but with a light cream sauce, it could dissolve the greasy feeling. The smoothness of the cream and the delicacy of the salmon could be said to be the best in the world.
"Learned something new?" Laing was very interested. "What did you learn, Alfred?"
"Just like you, I suddenly realized the power of authority, my good friend." Alfred Frey showed an embarrassed expression and scratched his blonde hair behind his back. "I suddenly realized that I seemed to have become a hero. People worshipped me and respected me. My words seemed to have become the truth and the law. Although I had some problems with the handling of some affairs and seemed to be in a mess when it came to personnel arrangements, no one questioned me. On the contrary, as long as it was my order, it was firmly carried out. So, I understood that I knew how to use my personal prestige to deal with things. Although it was temporary, it was effective. Sometimes, I even had the illusion that I was the center of the universe in the ancient church district."
"That's normal. Power confuses people and also makes people arrogant." Laing nodded and said softly, "Alfred, you have to remember that personal prestige will always be used up. Temporarily suppressing the problem doesn't mean that the problem is solved."
"I understand, my good friend. I've also been observing your policies over the years." Alfred Frey was a little embarrassed. In fact, he was a little arrogant because he had monopolized the power in that place. But after seeing Laing's magnificent new duke castle, he calmed down again. "But I'm not like you. I still don't understand how you magically created the current glory and the harmonious coexistence of the knights and serfs."
"This is a complicated problem." Leon nodded. He clasped his hands together and placed them on the long table. The silver plate trembled slightly with his movements, making a pleasant sound. "But you have made great progress. When faced with a problem, you did not run away, nor did you try to solve the problem. Instead, you faced the problem head-on. Although you relied on your personal prestige to temporarily solve the problem, this is also a positive way to deal with it."
"But this isn't solving the problem." Alfred Frey suddenly sighed. "You know, my good friend, before that, I had written to the Church of Justice several times, requesting to send enough people to help me. But what awaited me was all excuses and delays. My superiors always said that they needed to think about it and study it."
"But when Muxilon was conquered, my name spread throughout the old world along with this battle. When I wrote to the Church of Justice again, Archbishop Vicmar sent me an army of more than six hundred people with just a few words. With the help of the Empire's bureaucrats, everything in the old church district immediately became orderly." Alfred sighed. "But I don't like that style."
"What style? Small meetings for big matters and big meetings for small matters? Constantly requesting for expansion and the establishment of new departments? "Laing laughed." Haven't we seen enough of this? "
"Uh-huh." Alfred Frey shook his head and smiled bitterly. "A lot. I won't talk about it. I actually don't like those people. They're always arrogant and think that they're sent by His Holiness the Archbishop. They like to talk from above. On one hand, they look down on the locals of Muxilon and order them around all day long. On the other hand, they're very eager to please me and their attitude is somewhat flattering."
"That's for sure." Laing looked at Alfred Frey across the table and said, "Isn't this normal? What is the position of these people sent by the Empire? They're definitely not here to be serfs, so they naturally have a great sense of superiority over serfs. Then, who is the source of their power? It's you who owns the autonomy and property rights of the entire Freya Ancient Church District. Naturally, they'll want to please you because they're just agents. This is how bureaucrats work. "
The fifth dish was served by the dark elf and the other maids. This was the main dish, made with black truffle, wine, and prepared black pepper sauce. It was poured over a medium rare sirloin steak and garnished with a few roasted cauliflower. It was served on a metal plate.
The name of the sirloin steak was derived from the ancient Brittany language. It originally meant the meat above the beef, which was the outer rib of the beef. The overall texture was strong, the meat was hard, chewy, and the meat was thin and juicy, fresh and tender.
A piece of sirloin steak emitted a faint aroma. The vinegar sauce was poured around the steak, giving it a very unique dark gold color. When the steak was cut open with a knife, the beef inside was a beautiful pink color with a lot of juices.
Ryan picked up a small piece of steak and tossed it into his mouth. He could clearly feel the juices flowing out as his teeth chewed. The aroma of the barbecued meat spread to every taste buds in his mouth. The aroma lingered in his mouth and brought out the original taste of the beef to the fullest.
"So, I heard that there are rumors outside that you like and admire the feudal system and are somewhat disdainful of the bureaucratic system? I originally thought that this was wrong, but now I feel that you have your own ideas. " Alfred Frey smiled and said, "You see, after the feudal system is done, you can drop everything and rush back here, and we'll have to work from the beginning to the end."
"No, no, no!" Laing hurriedly said, "I've never admired the feudal system, and I've never said that the feudal system is superior. Don't talk nonsense!"
"But you …" Alfreid wanted to say something but stopped.
Laing smiled bitterly and looked at the starry sky in the summer night. "Alfred, the feudal system is a helpless move. This is a very complicated problem. Let me put it simply. You don't have to say it. If I appointed the lord of the castle, in the face of Mu Xilong's current situation, would Olivier, Lucien, and Juan work as hard as they do now?"
Lord of the castle was a Brittany title, a bit similar to a guard officer. A noble appointed a subordinate noble to guard a castle, and the ownership of the castle still belonged to the original noble.
Alfred Frey shook his head and smiled bitterly. He understood.
It was precisely because the land became their own that they would work so hard.
"So, the feudal system is actually a shortcut." Laing saw that Alfred Frey understood and said with a smile, "This is equivalent to me throwing the whole mess to Juan and the others, and they will certainly do their best to restore production and rebuild the territory. I don't have to worry about it, but the disadvantages of the feudal system are very low military recruitment and even lower tax revenue."
"But your control of the territory is unparalleled. I dare say, as long as you say the word, all the knights and nobles will immediately lead their own troops to follow you." Alfred Frey was still tangled in this matter.
"Hahaha, I said, I'm just using a shortcut." Laing nodded. "Yes, as long as I say the word, Juan and the others will definitely respond. But this is not because I am the Duke of Mu Xilong, but because I am Laing. I am Laing Macado because of my personal prestige and personal courage, not my title."
"I understand, you are enjoying the benefits of the feudal system and the cohesion brought by high personal prestige at the same time! You guy! You are so bad! " Alfred Frey understood, and the Paladin Captain pointed at Laing and laughed. "I understand, you are not really advocating the feudal system, you are just enjoying the convenience it brings you!"
The sixth dish was a hot plate, a standard southern Brittany dish, braised chicken in red wine.
The seventh dish was a cold plate, consisting of bordero octopus, salmon, arctic scallops, tuna, frozen crab, and frozen shrimp.
"So, Alfred, you must be careful, don't just see the wind and rain. When you hear the rumors outside, you have to judge yourself. Do you understand what I mean? If these are completely … out of nothing, you help him say it again, this means that you are also responsible, right? " Laing said with a smile, and then his face slowly became serious. "I have never said that the feudal system is superior to the bureaucratic system. In fact, the Empire's bureaucratic system does have some problems and is annoying, but in any case, it is much more advanced than the feudal system, and it is very necessary."
The eighth dish was ice cream. The mango snow puree was very good for Laing and Alfred Frey's mouths to remove the smell of seafood.
The ninth dish was a salad, a fruit salad.
"In other words, you will eventually lead the whole kingdom to evolve into the Empire's system, right?" Alfred Frey said thoughtfully.
"That's right." Laing nodded. "But we need to remember that the reform has to be done step by step. In fact, with the current Brittany's foundation, the ultra-low literacy rate and education level are not enough for us to directly implement the change. Now is the best time, because I have obtained the highest power, but the foundation is not enough, and I still do not have the conditions to implement it. We need to have a clear mind, and do what we need to do at a certain stage. At present, we do not have the conditions to change, so I might as well delegate power, and these knights and nobles will completely submit to me, and I will not have to worry about the low level of military recruitment brought by the feudal system. The core of the problem now is to restore Musillon, and let it return to its former glory."
"Yes, that makes sense." This time, Alfred Frey nodded in admiration. "Good friend, you have convinced me."
The tenth dish was dessert, and today's dessert was the Empire's Black Forest cake.
After the Black Forest cake was eaten, the banquet ended.
"Let's go, Alfred, let's go to the hot springs." Laing stood up.
"Okay."
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