Imperial Crown

Old Gordon pushed his monocle excitedly, and the flame of excitement burned in it: "Baron, I want a batch of 500 gold coins!"

Faced with his excitement, Raven said cautiously: "Well... I think Eagle Castle is in good condition now and does not need to be repaired. Besides, I don't need new dresses in the short term..."

The last meeting left a deep impression on Raven. Most of the 500 gold coins were spent on face projects.

"It's not spent on Eagle Castle, sir!" Old Gordon blushed: "It's used to...'deploy' the population. You know, there are too few people in Eagle Town at present!"

The nobles are really hypocritical. It's obviously a human trafficking, but they insist on calling it 'deployment'.

But Raven didn't intend to point it out, after all, he is now also a member of the nobility: "Do you have a suitable target?"

Old Gordon nodded: "The Fox family has recently intended to deal with the extra people in the territory."

Raven thought for a while: "They sent someone during the succession ceremony. It was a count family, right?"

Old Gordon said: "Your memory is really enviable. The Fox family's fiefdom is in the southeast of Monen City. Its head, Count Montreal, serves as the governor of Nord Province."

Raven smiled suddenly: "Oh, it turned out to be him!"

It's not that Raven is not sensitive to the power division in Nord Province, it's really because the Fox family's situation is too embarrassing!

Although Count Montreal is nominally the governor of Nord Province, the most prosperous city in the province, Monen City, is the fiefdom of the Slater family. Its head, Count Tyrone Shiva Slater, holds the strongest legion in Nord Province and even in the three northern provinces of the empire-the [Steel Legion].

In the world of nobles, strength is the key.

The economic strength is not as good as that of the Slater family, and the military strength is even more different, which means that the decrees of the Earl of Montreal cannot leave the fiefdom at all!

This also leads to another title of Montreal that is more famous than the Governor: the sour-faced fox.

Why does the Earl of Montreal always have a sour face-because he can't eat grapes.

However, no matter how embarrassing the situation is, the Fox family is still a proper earl of the fiefdom, and it is not something that Raven can despise now: "Are you sure?"

"Of course, sir." Old Gordon said confidently: "For decades, this kind of 'allocation' of people has become a mature industry. Five hundred gold coins are enough to exchange for a thousand people, and at least 50% of them will be young and strong laborers."

Raven asked: "How long will it take?"

Old Gordon said: "It will take about two to three months."

Raven's fingers tapped on the table.

Two to three months, that is, September or October, when the autumn harvest is over and winter is about to begin. Although this will bring food pressure to the Eagle Territory, it will not delay his plan to divide the land next year.

"I'll give you 600 gold coins. You must finish the job before the end of October!"

Old Gordon was delighted: "Yes, sir!"

Seeing him take the budget of 600 gold coins, Eric's heart also became hot, and his little eyes emitted a light of expectation: "Sir Raven, I need 900 gold coins!"

Raven asked: "Hasn't the equipment issue been resolved? What do you need so much money for?"

Eric said: "I was born in the Iron Legion. I can buy the God-given potion for directional awakening of Iron Dou Qi at a lower price. When the time comes, I will give it to Simon, Link and Gore. As long as one of them can become extraordinary, it will be a great expansion of our strength!"

In Eric's anxious eyes, Raven shook his head firmly: "No."

Simon's loyalty is unquestionable, and Gore and Link have also experienced the tempering of blood and fire.

But people's ambitions will expand with the improvement of strength and status. Even if they don't want to fight for it, people who are closely related to them will instigate them and force them to fight for it.

Once you become a superhuman, you must at least fight for a knight title, right?

If you don't give it, it will easily make people feel disappointed; if you give it, you must give a territory that is in line with the knight's status, but Raven doesn't want the newly complete Eagle Territory to become fragmented again.

It's better to keep the status quo.

If you really want them to be promoted, you have to wait until Raven himself becomes a superhuman and can suppress them in terms of strength!

Seeing that Eric was a little depressed, Raven asked: "Can you get potions from the Iron Legion?"

"Yes, sir." Eric thought Raven had changed his mind and explained: "Although the Iron Legion is commanded by Earl Tyrone, it is officially organized by the Empire. Every year, the Empire will provide a large amount of potions, and the potions are basically inexhaustible, so..."

Before he finished his words, Raven had already fully understood the meaning.

In the final analysis, it's just four words: reselling military supplies!

Raven asked in a low voice: "Can I buy armor, weapons, or secret martial arts in the army?"

"I don't know about martial arts, but armor and weapons are fine." Eric thought for a while and said: "But these two are sold in large quantities, at least five or ten sets at a time, unlike potions that can be bought individually."

This time, not only Raven, but also old Gordon was shocked!

They looked at each other, and they were all shocked by this news.

Selling military supplies has always been a serious crime that is punishable by guillotine.

But the Iron Legion, the strongest legion in the northern border of the empire, is so rampant in reselling that even a simple-minded warrior like Eric can find a way.

A glimpse of the whole picture.

From this, we can see how corrupt the empire's army has become!

If the Insa Empire in the north and the Bloody Highlands in the west really invaded in large numbers, could they really fight?

Yes, the empire has been peaceful for a hundred years, but that doesn't mean it will remain stable forever.

When things reach their extremes, they will reverse!

Raven secretly made up his mind that he must strengthen his own strength as soon as possible, and strengthen the strength of his private soldiers, so that he could deal with it calmly regardless of whether there will be a big chaos in the future.

"Eric, can you buy the God-given potion from the Iron Legion that can awaken people to become mages?"

"This... I'm afraid it won't work." Eric said: "Sir, do you want to become a mage?"

Raven nodded.

Of course, there are many advantages to becoming a mage - a respected status, elegance and nobility, not only can you cast all kinds of magical spells, but you can also make all kinds of expensive and magical enchanted props.

But these are not the reasons why Raven chose to become a mage. The real reason is -

Fear of death!

It's OK if there is no big war. If there is a large-scale war, as a lower-level noble, you are required to lead the troops in the charge!

Becoming a knight, wearing heavy armor, riding a monster, leading the troops, and taking the head of the enemy general from the army is indeed very cool and handsome, but it is also dangerous!

On the battlefield, swords have no eyes. No matter how good the armor is, there will always be times when it can't be defended. It is not uncommon for a knight in full helmet and armor to be killed by a group of peasants with pitchforks.

At this time, the advantages of the mage are revealed.

Stand behind the team, don't contact the enemy soldiers directly, just cast some magic casually. If you win, it's the magic support that counts, and if you lose, it's the poor combat ability of the army. It highlights a non-stick pan.

Once the war is unfavorable, the rear team will directly become the front team, and the victory will be transferred. The survival rate is great!

What is a strong man? The one who survives to the end is the strong one!

"Sir, you can go find Priest Lux." Eric suggested, "The Church of Light has always been a big seller of God-given potions, so there should be no shortage of potions for mages."

Raven's eyes were full of expectation: "I will discuss this matter with Lux alone later, let's continue the meeting."

Eric was somewhat unhappy that his proposal was rejected.

Raven did not intend to disappoint his retainer: "I just said that I don't plan to give Simon and the others the God-given potion, but I didn't say that I don't plan to spend money on the military."

Eric scratched his head: "But, apart from this, there is really no need to invest a large amount of gold coins at present."

"Yes." Raven said firmly: "Now that the town of Shining Gold has returned to our hands, it is time to continue to expand the army. The current private soldiers will be upgraded to a personal guard platoon, which will be commanded by me personally. Eric, you will be the leader of my personal guard!"

"After that, recruit three more platoons of troops, commanded by Simon, Gore and Link respectively. For these three platoons, I need a row of sword and shield soldiers, a row of crossbow archers, and a row of spearmen! In addition, I also need you to select twelve people with certain talents in riding to form a scout squad!"

The imperial military system is rough and ancient, with a squad of ten people, a battalion of a hundred people, a column of a thousand people, and a legion of five thousand people.

In contrast, Raven trusted the vision of the great man more and chose the "three-three system", with twelve people in a squad, three squads in a row, three rows in a company, and so on.

Judging from the results of the war with the bandits, this system has not been unsuitable in this world, so continuing to expand it is a natural choice.

Eric's eyes also lit up. After the last actual combat test, he was even more convinced of the three-three system than Raven.

The three-three system is flexible and has clear command. It can be divided into parts and parts into the whole at any time, which makes command and combat clearer and more convenient.

And this is not only the advantage of the system, but also complements Raven's almost abnormal and harsh training!

Before this, Eric had never seen a team that attached so much importance to discipline and obedience. More than two-thirds of the two-month training was spent on queue training.

This can only be said to be adapted to local conditions and different people. The lazy armies of the empire can only adopt a rough decimal formation. Only a well-trained and disciplined team can play the advantages of the three-three system.

"My Lord Baron, do you need to replenish your personal guard?"

Raven shook his head: "It is an honor to be able to join the personal guard. Whether it is for morale or combat effectiveness, I don't plan to replenish it this time."

"I understand, my Lord. Then, the budget needed this time..." Eric just calculated it in his mind and listed the specific data in detail:

"A total of 105 people need to be replenished. On the premise of leaving room for loss, 120 sets of leather armor need to be purchased, about 60 gold coins; 40 sets of long swords and shields, about 55 gold coins; 30 spears, one gold coin and 500 silver coins; 40 crossbows, 5,000 crossbow arrows, estimated to be 90 gold coins."

A few seconds later, old Gordon stopped writing and concluded: "A total of 206 gold coins plus 50 silver coins are needed."

Raven said: "Buy another 40 crossbows. In addition, I need 100 crossbow arrows enchanted with [Primary Penetration]."

Yorrick said: "In this way, an additional 280 gold coins will be needed."

Everything related to magic is very expensive. An ordinary crossbow arrow only costs twenty copper coins, but an enchanted crossbow arrow costs two gold coins, a thousand-fold price difference!

But this is also a very necessary expenditure. It is difficult for ordinary crossbow arrows to deal with enchanted armor, but if thirty-six enchanted crossbow arrows are fired in a volley, even knights and warriors with fourth-level fighting spirit will probably suffer!

"I've said everything you want, so it's my turn next." Lei Wen said seriously: "Old Gordon, starting from today, we will organize manpower to level out a piece of land of at least four acres along the river near the upper reaches of the Jinsha River."

"Build a stone wall on the outside, about three meters high, for people to stand guard and watch! The internal buildings are mainly made of earth and stone, and are divided into living areas, work areas and warehouse areas. The scale of the work area must be large enough, at least enough to accommodate Ten workshops for at least ten people to work in!”

Old Gordon asked: "What's the construction period, sir?"

Raven said: "The sooner the better!"

"This is almost a small town..." Old Gordon frowned: "Although the busy farming time has passed, according to your request, we must hire extra manpower, including the cost of materials... I think it will cost at least four One hundred and thirty gold coins.”

"I'll give you a budget of six hundred gold coins. No matter what method you use, the construction period will be within a month!" Raven said: "In addition, I need at least ten sets of distillation equipment and a large number of small equipment. Soda, quicklime, roses, grease and the cheapest wine!”

Gordon asked while recording: "Sir, how much does this large amount require?"

"Five hundred kilograms of baking soda per month, and one thousand kilograms of quicklime per month. The more roses, oils, and wines, the better. I hope the first two will not be less than three thousand kilograms, and the latter..." Raven thought about this. The alcohol concentration of the world’s drinks: “More than a thousand kilograms!”

Old Gordon lowered his head and counted the number. After a while, he raised his head and said, "Sir, the other things are easy to talk about, but as for the rose..."

"Is it expensive?" Raven asked.

"It's hard to buy..." Old Gordon said: "Our Eagle Territory is remote, and no one grows flowers on a large scale nearby. There is not even a flower shop in Goldsmith Town."

"Why don't you go discuss it with Mrs. Denise?"

Raven rubbed his nose.

Denise had said before that once he took back Goldshire, she would be willing to wash his feet. Raven was still willing to enjoy this kind of fun, but he didn't want to tie his business territory to Denise too tightly.

"Aren't there many merchants in Goldshire? It shouldn't be difficult to ask them to buy it for you, right?"

"This..." Old Gordon said carefully: "Up to now, Baron Donald still owes the Goldsmith Town Chamber of Commerce 3,748 gold coins in payment. I think they will not be willing to accept such a commission again. ”

"What!?" Raven was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect that Donald was still here to bury a surprise for him.

Of course, this surprise needs to be enclosed in double quotes: "What did he buy that made him owe so much money?"

Old Gordon flipped through his notes: "Actually, the original loan was nine hundred and thirty-seven gold coins, but Master Donald promised an interest of 30% a year. Now ten years have passed..."

"Okay..." Raven said helplessly in a long voice: "Then let me know that on the day when I officially take over the town again, I will personally meet with the representatives of the Goldsmith Town Chamber of Commerce to discuss the arrears. settlement, and long-term supply issues!”

Old Gordon frowned and said, "Sir, do you plan to repay this debt immediately?"

Raven shook his head: "Of course we have to pay it back, but we can't pay it back all at once. If we really want to fill this hole, let's just stop doing anything!"

"They are just a group of snobbish businessmen." Eric said in a deep voice: "Golden Town is your Lord's Golden Town. They have no choice but to refuse what Bingfeng points out!"

Old Gordon was worried: "I don't think we should be in a hurry to repay our debts, but these businessmen are backed by great nobles and are not your subjects. If you use force, they are likely to boycott all commercial exchanges with us. They may even move out en masse, which will destroy the business foundation of Goldsmith Town!”

"Don't worry, I'm not that ignorant." Raven rubbed his chin: "If you keep informed, I will officially start taking over Goldshire in two days."

"When the time comes, I will certainly have a way to make them more obedient than rabbits!"

…