Imperial Crown

Chapter 7 Baron Raven Otta Griffith

"So, these are all the properties my dear uncle left me..."

In the conference room of Eagle Castle, Raven threw a shriveled money bag on the table. Three gold coins jumped out of it and were about to roll down along the uneven table. Raven slapped him down again:

"A total of thirteen gold coins!?"

Old Gordon pushed up his monocle with some embarrassment: "To be precise, it's thirteen gold coins, fifty silver coins, and thirty-seven copper coins..."

Raven asked: "Why are there so few?"

"You also know that everything related to magic is very expensive." Old Gordon carefully chose his words: "Master Donald is obsessed with the study of 'magic' and has consumed all the family's gold coins. For this reason, he also destroyed the people on the other side of the Jinsha River. The territory is all rented out.”

"Golden Town, Eagle Quarry, and Thousand Needles Pine Forest. These three lands account for 90% of the population and income of Eagle Territory."

Raven's brows twitched and asked: "Then... how much is the annual income from these three pieces of land, and how long is the lease term?"

When he mentioned this, Gordon let out a weak sigh, turned the book in his hand to a specific page, and pushed the two contracts in front of Raven.

The latter looked at it, his brows froze, and he sighed after a long time.

The most valuable one is Gold Flash Town. Although it only has 2,000 citizens, due to its developed business, the tax paid every year is at least more than 400 gold coins. In good years, it can even reach more than 700 gold coins!

The other two lands, Eagle Mine and Thousand Needles, are not as good as Gold Flash Town, but together they have more than 2,000 residents, and the annual profit they can make is about 320 to 470 gold coins. between.

Raven's uncle, Baron Donald, rented out these two places respectively, the former to Viscount John of the Luke family, and the latter to Baron Angell of the Wharton family.

One lease is for fifty years!

As of now, there are still forty years left.

Although a total of sixteen thousand gold coins were exchanged, none of them fell into Raven's hands!

Donald! Why don't you, this guy, be so prodigal?

Raven roared silently in his heart, then looked at Eric expressionlessly and asked, "What is your annual salary?"

"Sixty gold coins, sir." Eric didn't know why.

For a first-order transcendent, this is a very reasonable price, and it does not exceed Raven's expectations.

On the contrary, it was Old Gordon's ability that impressed Raven. With less than 500 acres of cultivated land, he could not only feed 800 serfs, but also save money on the basis of supporting a first-order extraordinary.

It can only be said that Gordon is indeed good at managing money.

"That's five gold coins a month." Raven pushed the bag with ten gold coins left in front of Eric: "I'll pay you two months' salary in advance."

"Then, go to my room and move the boxes under the bed."

With a thud, another gold coin drew an arc from Raven's hand and fell into the money bag: "This is considered a bonus."

Eric's eyes showed a hint of joy, he put away his money bag and turned to leave.

Soon, Eric held the cash box with one hand and placed it on the table. Raven opened it with some reluctance: "Mr. Gordon, tell us about our next plan."

Old Gordon took out a note and spread it on the table, pushed the monocle and said: "In order to hold your succession ceremony and Lord Donald's memorial service, first of all, we need to spend 100 gold coins to re-decorate the castle. …”

"Can't you save a little bit?" Raven asked: "There won't be many guests anyway, so just renovate the hall and a few guest rooms, okay?"

Gordon said: "My lord, this is already the limit. Any lower would be an insult to the baron's status; and the scope is strictly limited to the hall, guest rooms and bathrooms."

"Wait, bathroom?" Raven pulled out the notebook and frowned at the content on it: "Why do we need to rebuild the bathroom and cost ten gold coins!?"

Gordon said seriously: "Sir, the bathroom will be the place where guests go most often, so there is nothing to be careless about. And this is already trying to save costs. If it weren't for the granite used and there is still some inventory, the flowers would There will be more sales.”

Raven had to admit that Gordon had a point: "Okay, what's the next item?"

"Your dress." Gordon said: "This item costs about 120 gold coins..."

"How much!?" Raven suddenly sat up straight: "One hundred and twenty gold coins?"

"Uncle Donald's old dress, enough alterations to make three sets for me!"

Gordon explained: "As a noble, your dress must be newly customized, completely fit, and consistent with your noble status. This dress needs to use gold and silver threads, and be blessed by the priests of the Lord of Light. Gold and silver jewelry.”

"In addition, there are emeralds that represent your noble and noble status. This is a tradition accumulated over hundreds of years. If you don't do this, I'm afraid you won't be able to integrate into this circle."

Raven sighed helplessly.

Respect Luo Yi first and then respect others.

Common sayings from previous lives are still relevant in this time and space.

Although he doesn't like this so-called "tradition", Raven currently has no intention and no ability to be an enemy of the entire aristocratic class, so he has no choice but to follow the Romans: "I understand, what else is there?"

Gordon pushed the monocle: "The remaining bulk is the 'donation' that will be handed over to the examiner of the Noble Council. You know, this is for Lord Donald's 'rest in peace'. This amount costs about 200 gold coins. "

After saying that, he looked at Raven. To his surprise, Raven remained extremely calm about the expense and just waved his hand to pass it.

Because Raven's experience in this life told him that if things in this world can be solved with money, it is best not to create complications.

Just think of it as two hundred gold coins to buy a baronetcy!

"The next expense..." As soon as Gordon started speaking, there was a sudden knock on the door.

After getting Raven's permission, the guard Link walked in. He handed a letter with both hands and said: "Sir, a knight riding a hippogryph just sent this letter, and he asked me to hand it over in person. To you."

Raven nodded and reached out to take it: "Go out."

After speaking, he took the document in his hand and looked at it carefully.

This document is in the form of a scroll, made of fine parchment, and sealed with fire paint. The seal has the words [N\u0026C] engraved in complex and elegant cursive script.

After opening the document, Raven's eyes fell on it, his face became increasingly gloomy, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Gordon and Eric didn't know what was going on, but looking at Raven's face, they couldn't ask questions, so they could only look at each other with wide eyes.

After all, Gordon is a well-educated old man, and it would be rude to stare at Eric's little eyes.

"Ha, okay, very good!" Raven slammed the document on the table and laughed angrily: "The Council of Nobles...what the hell!"

He took another deep breath to calm himself down and threw the scroll on the table: "See for yourselves."

Gordon held the document in his hand and adjusted the focus of the monocle. Eric couldn't help but leaned behind him and started looking.

Slowly, the former's hand began to tremble, and then the whole table started to shake - that was Eric's hand shaking.

Old Gordon, who has always been steady, turned purple with anger: "Shameless! It's so shameless. This is simply a blasphemy against the noble name!"

"Damn moths and garbage!" Eric slammed the table: "I really want to pull this Winston over and stuff the gold coins into his throat one by one!"

The wording in the document is not friendly and can even be said to be deliberately provocative.

First of all, he gave a sufficient description of Raven's humble origins, using more than a dozen vocabulary and rhetorical methods, including but not limited to examples, parallels, metaphors, etc., to compare Raven with rats, cockroaches, and bed bugs. Finally, He came to the conclusion that Raven was still stronger than these creatures in some aspects.

Afterwards, he belittled the Eagle Territory, saying that in such a remote and fragmented country, only a pariah like Raven regarded it as a treasure.

In the end, the nobleman named "Winston Otta Yngle" graciously gave an address and asked Raven to send 360 gold coins, family tree and other information to Goldshire within three days. In the hands of the Horned Eagle Knight, Raven can inherit the title of Baron.

"This is a naked request for bribes!!" The gentle old Gordon became angry: "Sir, I cannot pay this gold coin. I will write a complaint and send it to the noble council in the royal capital! We must seek justice!! "

Raven had calmed down, and he could guess what Winston was thinking when he wrote the document.

The members of the Noble Council are all nobles, but most of them are side branches without inheritance rights. After all, real nobles disdain to interfere in such "common affairs".

Winston's middle name is "Otta", which indicates that he is a genuine viscount or baron, and he must be the kind without a fief.

This kind of aristocracy is often called "court aristocracy".

Of course, this is only an official statement. In fact, people prefer to call them "landless nobles", "poor people who depend on others", and "the king's lackeys".

A noble without a fief is like a dog with its back broken. No matter how high the title is, it has no status.

The content of this document is so intense, probably out of jealousy out of jealousy.

"Calm down, Old Gordon." Raven said with a smile: "It's just the incompetent barking of a lost dog. The title is real when you get it."

Gordon was still a little unwilling: "But..."

"Mr. Gordon, I know what you think." Raven held his old and withered arm: "As a member of the Griffith family and the lord of the Eagle Territory, please believe me, my anger No less than you."

"But anger is useless. Before the formalities are completed, I am not even a noble. I am not even qualified to throw my gloves in his face and apply for a duel!"

"What we need to do now is to hold the title of baron in our hands and manage the territory well. When we have a lot of gold coins in our hands, he will eventually beg us!"

The operation of the Noble Council is entirely supported by donations from local nobles.

Gordon took a deep breath: "I understand, sir."

He sorted out the paperwork in his hand and tore out a few pages: "In this way, the payment for the decoration and dress can be postponed slightly, but there is still one payment that has to be made."

"Policy."

Gordon said: "Every year from January to July, the bloody highland will usher in the rainy season. It is muddy and difficult to travel. Therefore, rogue bandits often pass through Eagle Mountain and come to rob nearby areas."

"Although the only territories we currently control are Eagle Town and Eagle Fort, we cannot neglect our defense. We must protect the safety of the people in our territory..."

Gordon was talking about the people, but Raven knew in his heart that what he really wanted to say was the "lord", that is, he, the Baron, was still a mortal.

Raven asked: "Then what do you think?"

"Go to Goldsmith Town and hire a team of mercenaries." Gordon said: "A standard twelve-person mercenary team usually has a first-level transcendent. We don't need to prepare the equipment. If hired for one year, the price is about One hundred and ten gold coins.”

Raven tapped his fingers on the wooden table and shook his head slowly: "No."

Raven is no stranger to mercenaries. In this world, the reputation of mercenaries has never been very good.

They are rude, rude, and violent, and often rely on their own force to do whatever they want. They are law-abiding on the surface, but once they are short of money, they can change their jobs at any time and become robbers, murderers, and kidnappers.

And Raven now only has Eric, a transcendent, lacking the force to check and balance a mercenary team.

It is easy to ask God but difficult to send Him away.

If this group of people hangs around then, it will even shake Raiven's weak foundation.

He expressed his concerns. Gordon frowned, but Eric had an idea: "Sir, I used to serve in the [Iron Legion] and know some old friends who retired for various reasons. If you are willing to give If they have a hiding place, I can go to Men’en City to help you recruit them!”

"No!" This proposal was immediately rejected by Old Gordon: "Now you are the only extraordinary person in the territory, and you must not leave!"

Raven secretly kept Eric's words in mind and agreed with Old Gordon's point of view: "Indeed, this matter can wait until our finances are slightly relieved before we discuss it."

Eric asked: "Then...what should we do?"

"Train troops!" Raven knocked on the table: "As a baron, you can have five canonized knights and a private army of up to 500 people. Since we don't have the available strength at hand, let's train ourselves!"

As he spoke, he looked at Old Gordon: "How much food and weapons and equipment are there in the warehouse?"

Gordon immediately reported the amount: "Reporting to your lord, there are currently 50,000 kilograms of couscous, 1,300 kilograms of cured meat and dried meat, and about 500 kilograms of cheese in the warehouse."

"As for the weapons and equipment... I checked just the day before yesterday, and there are only a dozen sets of worn-out leather armor and about fifty rusted weapons left."

"I understand." He stood up and ordered: "Eric, you immediately take the gold coins to Goldsmith Town, find the Horned Eagle Knight, and then buy me leather armor in Goldsmith Town that can arm fifty people. And the spear!"

"As you command, my lord!" Eric stood up and knocked the armor with his fists.

"Mr. Gordon, you will come with us." Raven said: "Currently, the Eagle Leader is running out of resources, and every money must be spent wisely."

Old Gordon stood up and bowed: "I will follow your instructions."

Eric drove a carriage and drove Gordon away slowly.

Raven stood by the window, looking at the two people walking away with far-reaching eyes.

There is no doubt that Donald left him a mess.

Fragmented territory, stretched finances, and more force than nothing.

But the purpose is equally clear.

Recover the land that originally belonged to the Eagle Territory.

Earn more coins.

Build an army of your own!

Two days later, Eric and Gordon came back, and with them came two carriages of equipment and a document:

"This is your order:

After a fair, open-minded and undelayed review by the Council of Nobles, Raven Griffith is of pure blood and good character, adhering to the humility, integrity, mercy, bravery, justice, sacrifice, honor and soul that a noble should have.

He is specifically allowed to inherit the baronetcy of the Griffith family, use the glorious middle name of 'Otta', and enjoy the right to inherit the undiminished 2,200 acres of fiefdom belonging to the Eagle Territory. "

Gordon read it out eloquently, then regardless of the dirt on the floor, he knelt down on one knee and picked up the gilded document.

Raven took it and pinned the crest attached to it on his left chest.

Eric also knelt down on one knee and lowered his head: "Congratulations to Lord Raven on officially inheriting the title of baron!"

Raven stood in the morning light, with only two loyal retainers in front of him.

The scene was somewhat deserted, but Raven's heart was as hot as ever.

From now on, he is Raven Otta Griffith.

Imperial Baron!

In the future, these two people will not be the only ones crawling at his feet!

"Everyone, get up!" Raven helped the two of them up: "Our journey has just begun!"

"Eric, ring the bell!"

“Gather all the men in Eagle Town.

Training! "

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