Lorist piled the heads of all of Count Cobley's illegitimate sons in front of the cross and decided to hire a few stonemasons to carve a stone tablet beside it, briefly recounting Count Cobley's life and how he had posed as the bandit Redbeard to plunder merchant caravans before being discovered and ultimately meeting the end of his entire bloodline. Perhaps, many years from now, the tale of Count Cobley and his sixty-seven illegitimate sons would become a piece of folklore spreading across Galentea, much like the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves that Lorist had heard in his previous life.
After resting for a night, Josk volunteered to lead two newly formed squads of garrison soldiers equipped with slaves to circle around and strike at the rear of the bandit suppression force that Count Cobley had left at the Mords Hill outpost. Among that force, there was one Gold-rank, three Silver-ranks, and two bastards whose combat force hadn't yet reached the Silver level, and Josk wasn't about to let any of them escape.
Lorist didn't mind either way. After all, the surrendered lance cavalry had already revealed that the main camp only had three days' worth of provisions left. Once the food ran out, the camp would collapse on its own without needing to be attacked. Josk's trip was merely the finishing blow against a defeated foe.
Three days later,
Josk brought back six more heads, which he also piled in front of the cross. He reported that when he had sealed off the rear of the garrison camp at Mords Hill with his slave squad, the first to collapse were the peasant soldiers rounded up by the vassal lords who had served Count Cobley. They had lost all will to fight, running around the camp crying and screaming in panic, turning the entire encampment into chaos. Then
The Gold-rank bastard left to guard the camp by Count Cobley met his end at Sir Ross's hands once again. As for the remaining few who attempted to flee—sadly, they couldn't outrun Josk's arrows. Now, Count Cobley was finally reunited with all of his illegitimate sons, and not a single one had slipped through the net.
Fatty Shi said that Bodfinger would arrive with the prisoners sometime tomorrow afternoon, and over the following three days, the family's convoy would stream into Goldos City one after another. Fatty Shi asked Lorist what they should do about the Bodock Manor Castle once the convoy arrived.
Lorist replied, "Leave it to Tim. I've been mulling over the convoy's itinerary and our plans after we leave here these past few days, and I've come up with a rough idea. Your timing is perfect—let's discuss it properly."
What Lorist lacked now was time. When the convoy had originally departed from Ametlin Port heading north, the Northland was still over five thousand li away. The original plan had been to traverse the two-thousand-odd li of territory within the Redeliss Kingdom in one month and reach the border of the Andinak Kingdom. But no one had anticipated running into the oddity that was Count Cobley right as they set out, stirring up trouble in the very region the convoy had to pass through and forcing Lorist to lead the family's forces to wipe him out. That had cost them considerable time. It was already nearly the twenty-third of January, yet the convoy had only covered six or seven hundred li.
After the capture of Goldos City, all the wealth that Count Cobley had accumulated by annihilating over a dozen vassal lords, along with the vast stockpiles of supplies he had collected over the years, fell into Lorist's coffers. One only needed to look at the gleeful expression on Fatty Shi's face as he held the warehouse inventory list to understand that the convoy would be delayed in Goldos City for some time. Fatty Shi would not be willing to leave until all these stockpiles had been dealt with.
Lorist decided to remain until the end of the month before departing ahead of the convoy, taking only a few people with him to rush back to the Northland before March. He would first inherit his title and family lands, consolidate the family territory, and then wait for the northbound convoy to arrive. As for the convoy itself, he would leave it in the hands of Fatty Shi and Bodfinger to command. They could take their time heading north—there was no need to rush.
But there was much to be done now. Lorist had to get everything arranged and settled before he could head north with peace of mind.
First, he ordered Bodfinger to take one heavy-armored lance cavalry squad to Williammills Castle to relieve the garrison squad that had been stationed there after reorganization. He also sent
Once the relieved garrison squad returned to Goldos City, Lorist issued a cold and ruthless command: all surrendered lance cavalry and garrison soldiers were to bring their families to a designated district and settle there. As for the families of the lance cavalry and garrison soldiers who had died in battle, they were all to be imprisoned in the slave camp as remnants of Count Cobley's forces.
Gazing at the now-empty district, Lorist said, "Master Tim, this district is yours. Your soldiers with the big bags can finally put them to good use."
Master Tim was deeply grateful to Lorist. Ever since he had learned that Lorist intended to give him the Bodock Manor free of charge, he had been so overjoyed that he rushed there that very night. He found a chieftain from a fortress in the western mountains and sold the military camp he had purchased from Fatty Shi for one thousand gold fordes at a price of thirteen hundred gold fordes. He then sent word to the family knight Old Kemos, who had been left to guard the camp, to transfer all the personnel and supplies to Bodock Manor Castle. After completing all of this, Master Tim returned to Goldos City and appeared before Lorist once more. He understood perfectly well that as long as he clung tightly to Lorist's coattails, he would want for nothing. Sure enough, before he even had time to catch his breath, Lorist had granted him yet another enormous favor—to plant a nail that would be put to use in the future.
When Tim returned, Lorist said, "Master Tim, I've found you a wife."
Spreading out a beast-hide map of the northwestern region, Lorist said, "Look—Viscount Terbili's territory is here, separated from Bodock Manor Castle's lands by Baron Enler's territory in between. Although the male members of Baron Enler's family have all been killed by Count Cobley, we rescued Baron Enler's only daughter from the Grand Duke's estate. I've decided to have you marry her. That way, we can naturally consolidate Viscount Terbili's territory, Baron Enler's territory, and Bodock Manor Castle's lands into one."
Lorist tossed several documents onto the table. "Look—these are all the legitimate territorial inheritance documents for Viscount Terbili's territory, Baron Enler's territory, and Bodock Manor Castle's lands. I found them in the Grand Duke's estate. With these documents, and once I have the neighboring vassal lords recognize you as the legitimate heir to Viscount Terbili's title, you'll be perfectly fine even going through the formal lines of title succession. What do you think of my proposal?"
Tim bowed deeply. "Lord
"Ha, keep dreaming. Even if you wanted to swallow it all, you'd need the stomach for it. Just defending this vast stretch of territory would require at least one full garrison battalion. And Viscount Terbili's territory and Baron Enler's territory are nothing but ruins—you'd need to spend a fortune in resources to rebuild them." Lorist scolded with a laugh.
Tim immediately deflated, his face falling. "My lord, I don't have that kind of money. Forget rebuilding—even sustaining eight hundred to a thousand troops right now is almost more than I can handle. The military expenses are just too high."
Fatty Shi, who had been listening nearby, chuckled. "Tim, come, come—now that I've looked at the map, I have an idea. Let me explain it to you properly. You've done business before and you're always shrewd. The truth is, with such a large stretch of territory, as long as it's managed well, forget one garrison battalion—three would be easily sustainable."
"Here—Viscount Terbili's territory has a corner that borders the sea. Looking at the map, I can see it could become a fine port. And aside from the eastern border with Baron Enler's territory, which is hilly and forested, the rest of the viscount's lands are flat—perfect for agricultural development. Tim, you used to manage the estates in the viscount's territory, so you should have a good idea of the income from farming. A port would stimulate the territory's economy, and agriculture would provide abundant food production, stabilizing the hearts and minds of the entire populace and allowing the subjects to live and work in peace."
Fatty Shi pointed and gestured across the map. "Now look at Baron Enler's territory. Although it's full of hills and forests, timber and stone are valuable industries that can bring in vast amounts of capital. With the viscount's port, you won't have to worry about finding outlets to sell these two products. If you had your own ocean-going vessels, you could haul these materials directly to
"As for Bodock Manor Castle's territory—well, I hardly need to explain, do I? This was Count Cobley's old family domain, with a large population and well-developed infrastructure. You won't need to expend much effort to enjoy the fruits of it. This alone is more than sufficient to support one garrison battalion, with room to spare. All you need to do afterward is develop the barony and viscountcy. Of course, in times like these, security must be taken seriously. Here, here, and these locations—build five fortified checkpoints at these five points, each garrisoned by one squad of garrison soldiers, and that will be more than enough to ensure the safety of all three territories."
"The key to developing territory lies in manpower and financial resources. On the manpower side, you needn't worry. I've already discussed it with Lord Lorist. Everyone in Goldos City who doesn't wish to join our convoy heading north—aside from those already imprisoned in the slave camp—we plan to resettle entirely in Viscount Terbili's territory and Baron Enler's territory. There's no shortage of talented people among them. As long as you use them wisely, Tim, these two territories will flourish before long. Oh, and you can also expand the number of your family knights—don't let those skilled men from the dissolved lance cavalry and garrison units go and pledge allegiance to other lords," Fatty Shi said.
Tim looked somewhat stunned. "My lord, you—you're leaving? You're going to abandon Goldos City?"
Lorist smiled. "Of course. This is a fine place, but it isn't my family's territory. What would I be if I occupied Goldos City? A bandit? A robber? I'd have no legitimate claim, and I have no desire to become a thorn in the side of every vassal lord in this region—much less have the First Prince learn that I've deployed troops here. In that case, I could simply walk away, but you lords would suffer for it. The First Prince would use my collusion with you as a pretext to wipe out every last one of the region's vassal lords."
"My lord, you could use a marriage alliance to secure territory here. If the First Prince truly sends an army, we could rally the region's vassal lords to form an allied force and resist," Tim suggested.
Lorist shook his head. "Tim, you don't understand. The First Prince can also be considered an enemy of the Norton family. Count Cobley was acting under his orders when he posed as bandits to plunder merchant caravans—most of the stolen wealth was offered up to the First Prince as war funds for his rebellion. In a sense, the First Prince is the true culprit, and Count Cobley was merely a blade in his hand. I have merely broken his blade, and I hope that one day I can settle this score with the First Prince as well. If I were to become the lord of this region, I would inevitably have to bow before him and serve at his pleasure. That is something I am unwilling to do. It is precisely for these reasons that I have decided to abandon Goldos City and continue north to my family's domain."
Fatty Shi added, "Don't worry, Tim. Even after we head north, we'll make sure your three territories are well set up, establishing you as a vassal lord of considerable power in the northwestern reaches of the Redeliss Kingdom and a loyal ally of our Norton family. Should anything happen to your territory, we will not stand idly by. I've already covered the manpower arrangements with you, so let me discuss financial and material resources. I have a few suggestions you might consider."
Fatty Shi offered four suggestions. First, given that taxes in this region ran at sixty to seventy percent of crop yield, if Tim distributed land to the families of his garrison soldiers and reduced the tax rate to thirty or forty percent, it would be easy to raise two garrison battalions while saving enormous amounts of money. After all, Viscount Terbili's territory and Baron Enler's territory were currently lying fallow—there was no shortage of land.
Second, Fatty Shi promised that when the convoy headed north, the large quantity of supplies that could not be transported out of Goldos City would be provided to Tim free of charge for developing and building up the three territories.
Third, Fatty Shi was willing to supply Tim with a large quantity of weapons and equipment at very low interest rates for equipping the garrison battalions tasked with defending the three territories, easing Tim's tight financial situation.
Fourth, Fatty Shi could help Tim establish contact with the Peterson Trading Company and get them involved in the development of the three territories, so that Master Tim would no longer have to worry about a lack of funds for territorial development.
Tim was moved to tears of gratitude and accepted all of Fatty Shi's suggestions without reservation. He swore that for the rest of his life, he would never forget the kindness of the Norton family. Henceforth, whenever the Norton family had need of him, Tim would follow their lead without hesitation and never disobey.
Tim had barely left before Josk arrived. He had decided to follow Lorist and become a knight of the Norton family. His old friends, upon learning of his decision, also hoped to bring their families along and join the northbound convoy, leaving this place behind.
Fatty Shi was delighted. He gave Josk a directive, instructing him to try to recruit as many of the dismissed lance cavalry and garrison soldiers as possible to join the northbound convoy, along with those young, unattached slaves who had been freed. All of these people would be the human resources needed to develop the Northland in the future.
Lorist frowned. He believed that the more people heading north, the larger the convoy's scale would be, and the slower the journey would become.
Fatty Shi, however, was brimming with confidence. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll just use the manpower here in Goldos City to raise another pikeman battalion and expand Bodfinger's heavy-armored lance cavalry to four squads. After all, we've got weapons and equipment to spare. With an escort force this powerful, what does it matter if we're slow? If anyone else is foolish enough to block our path, we'll simply roll right over them—and pick up some extra supplies for the convoy along the way."