Chapter 198: Gonna Keep You Around for a Long Time. (1)
“Please, spare me!”
“We will help stabilize the territory!”
“This can’t be happening!”
The retainers of Count Cabaldy howled, but Ghislaine didn’t even blink.
The Knights of Penris, including Gillian, were well-acquainted with such situations.
They had already conducted a large-scale purge after seizing Count Digald’s territory.
“AAAH! Please, let me live!”
“I am a noble! Let me go! I command you to release me!”
“You stupid brat who doesn’t even know the law!”
The retainers were dragged out, screaming. As Gillian and the knights left, Belinda cautiously asked.
“Young Master, is this really okay? This territory is much larger than ours in Penris, and the administration is sorely lacking.”
“It doesn’t matter. Keeping them around would only lead to bigger troubles later.”
If Claude and the other stewards of Penris had been there, they would have freaked out and tried to stop Ghislaine.
As Belinda rightly pointed out, managing a count’s territory would require more manpower than before.
But Ghislaine had no intention of keeping them alive.
These retainers were basically all in cahoots with Count Desmond.
It was obvious they would betray at the first opportunity. Even if it was tough, they needed to be cut out decisively.
“First, have Belinda lead the people and confiscate all the assets of these retainers. Claude can handle the rest when he arrives. Also, tell the soldiers to refrain from messing with the territory residents.”
“Got it.”
The territory residents of Cabaldy trembled in fear and anxiety. Their lives depended on the nature of the new invaders.
They had suffered greatly under Count Cabaldy, so it was only natural they would be on high alert.
But their worries were unfounded as the occupying force of Penris simply went about their business quietly.
They organized the battlefield and verified the assets of Count Cabaldy and his retainers.
Days passed in that state, and finally, Claude arrived with a few stewards.
“Hey, Claude, good to see you!”
“Hahaha! We did it! We actually won! That’s amazing!”
Claude, who had been worrying daily, couldn’t contain his joy as soon as he saw Ghislaine.
Seeing that, Ghislaine let out a smirk.
“Are you happy?”
“Ah, absolutely! We’ve taken the count’s territory! It’s really the largest iron ore mountain in the north that we’ve seized!”
“Weren’t you against it at first?”
“Well, that was because I was scared we might lose. I was worried about how the Duke Faction would react.”
“Are you not scared now?”
“Honestly, I’m still scared, but what can I do about what has already happened? I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes.”
Claude responded cheerfully. After all, Ghislaine had already been at odds with the Duke Faction even before he joined.
There was no restoring that relationship now, so he decided to simply celebrate the gains.
More territory, resources, and population. Anyone managing a territory would find it a cause for joy.
Ghislaine smiled again at Claude’s jest.
“So, what do you think? Do you trust my skills a bit more now?”
“Yes, yes. I believe in you. Two battles, two wins, a 100% win rate. Lord, just do whatever you want.”
Ghislaine clicked her tongue. No matter how she looked at it, it sounded sarcastic, but given that it was a happy day, she decided to let it slide.
It may look like a distance, but since it’s a joyful day, I decided not to dwell on it.
“Okay, let’s check the current status of the territory first. We need to stabilize and develop it quickly, so speed is key. Count Cabaldy and his retainers’ assets must be all organized by Belinda.”
“Leave it to me! I’ll get started right away!”
Excitedly replied Claude as he led the stewards to assess the situation.
As the first thing, Claude’s jaw dropped when he checked Count Cabaldy’s personal fortune.
“W-W-Wow! Unbelievable! This is insane!”
Gold coins and artworks were piled up as if the warehouse was about to burst. The riches amassed from monopolizing the northern iron ore were truly beyond imagination.
Without realizing it, Claude stuffed his pockets full of gold coins while mumbling.
“I-I’m rich now! No, our territory is rich…! Wait! What am I doing?”
Startled, he turned around to see Wendy and the stewards looking at him with disdainful eyes.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that! I’ve lived without much for so long that I—”
Feeling the heat of their gazes, Claude gloomily returned the gold coins to their original place.
“First things first, let’s find out exactly how much wealth we have. If I catch anyone trying to skim even a penny, there will be no mercy.”
“Understood.”
A few junior stewards began organizing Count Cabaldy’s wealth list. Claude also checked the confiscated retainers’ assets.
“Wow, these guys were crazy.”
The hidden assets of the retainers were not insignificant either.
How much did they need to plunder the territory residents and accept bribes to gather this much?
Claude, who had lived as a slave with integrity without taking a single penny… honestly felt really envious.
Perhaps this is why everyone ends up doing bad things.
“Hmm, let’s assess this quickly as well. If I’m going to have them work later, I’ll need to drill some serious discipline into them.”
He would have liked to leave them rotting in jail, but he was in such a desperate state that even a cat’s paw was needed. With a lack of administrative power, they had to be employed as slaves.
With that regret on his mind, Claude moved to check the military warehouses.
“What the heck… was it this much?”
The overflowing gold and treasures were impressive, but the amount of iron ore and iron bars stacked in countless warehouses surpassed that.
It wasn’t called the largest iron ore resource in the north for nothing. Other lords probably had no idea that Count Cabaldy had amassed this much.
To think they were starving due to drought despite such abundance of wealth and resources; really, no one can predict how things will turn out in this world.
With his mind blown, Claude suddenly burst into laughter, delighted.
“So many high-quality armaments! Our soldiers won’t have to wear rags anymore! Woohoo!”
There was enough to equip all the territory’s troops as heavy infantry.
Quickly surveying other warehouses, Claude headed to the temporary office to check the administrative documents of Count Cabaldy’s Territory.
“Whoa, there’s actually more than I expected!”
With the advancement of smelting technology, there were significantly more blacksmiths and technicians compared to other territories.
Count Cabaldy must have recognized the importance of iron ore because he had carefully assessed and managed miners and blacksmiths.
“Bring me other documents too!”
As Claude browsed through the avalanche of paperwork, he couldn’t help but marvel continuously.
Even if the northern territory was barren, a count’s domain was still a count’s domain. Count Cabaldy’s Territory had a population far exceeding that of the small barony.
Expanding the territory was great, but the increase in population was a much bigger benefit. It would fill the labor shortage and allow for a larger army than ever.
“Damn! Tell Desmond and the Duke Faction to come over too! Bring it on!”
Claude’s guts swelled with confidence in an instant.
With more people and resources, he felt emboldened.
In reality, when it comes to fighting, he might get trampled without even using his strength, but at that moment, he was too happy to think rationally.
Having wrapped up his assessments, Claude ran straight to Ghislaine.
“Lord! Our amazing lord! We’re about to start stabilizing the territory right now!”
“Oh, good. How does it look?”
“Alright. How does it look upon confirmation?”
“It’s awesome! This way, we can significantly increase the territory’s power much faster! With the land expanded, we can build many facilities too! First, I’ll improve the conditions for the miners and the territory residents, then boost production!”
“Right, you know there’s never enough time, right? We’ve got to process this quickly.”
“Understood! Oh, but where are the retainers around here? Those guys ate a ton! I’ll make sure to re-educate them as slaves if needed!”
“Why those guys?”
“I guess I want to keep them under me since they know the territory’s circumstances well. With this size, there’s no way to manage it with Penris’ current administration.”
“…Well, okay. The lower stewards are in prison. Seems like there’s no spy, so I’ll release them all. Just take care of them.”
“What about the retainers who originally held important positions? Are they in there too? I mean the Chief Officer, Treasurer, and the Military Officer!”
“…….”
“My Lord?”
“They’re dead.”
“……Words can change meaning greatly. Did something happen that caused their deaths? Or did you kill them?”
“I killed them.”
With that clear answer, Claude cautiously asked, “……Why?”
“Because they all sided with Desmond. Those guys didn’t get rich for no reason.”
“Hmm…”
Claude scratched his head and then hung it low.
Killing off those who joined Desmond felt justified, but the current management of Penris was busy just running the territory.
“This is bad… We’re really screwed…”
Claude mumbled, turning pale.
With so much work piling up, how were they supposed to manage such a vast count’s territory?
The joy he had felt vanished, replaced by the heavy reality.
As Claude squirmed in confusion, Ghislaine said, “Let’s handle what’s urgent first and think later. It’s not the time to just sit around worrying, right?”
“……Understood. I’ll first distribute food and calm the territory residents down.”
Claude left, holding back tears.
It wasn’t the right thing to say, but the Lord’s words were spot on. Wasting time just worrying wouldn’t solve anything.
For now, they had no choice but to run for it.
*
“Wow, this is a total mess, a total mess. How on earth did they manage this?”
Claude clicked his tongue at the sight of the emaciated miners before him.
The warehouse was filled with riches, but the people of the count’s territory looked like they were on the brink of death.
The miners looked at Claude with eyes filled with fear and hostility.
In fact, they were staring at the wagons behind him.
‘Food… Food…’
‘Did you steal it from somewhere else?’
‘We have nothing left to lose…’
The miners were treated somewhat better than the other territory residents.
After all, those who mined iron ore were the foundation for the prosperity of this territory.
But with the droughts and the war starting, the supplies that had been given to them were cut off. Even what little they had was taken away by the army.
‘Those bastards…’
‘If only you hadn’t invaded…’
‘Filthy invader bastards!’
Despite peeking out cautiously, the miners silently ground their teeth.
They originally used to curse Count Cabaldy, the wicked lord, and lived on like that.
But with the invaders making everything worse, resentment naturally arose.
They didn’t expect to share that food with themselves. Everyone knew how severe the drought was and how much trouble the nobles were in.
For them, the invading army only seemed to go around the territory taking what little was left.
Seeing the miners’ expressions, Claude couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘Sigh, this is how it always starts.’
The people of Penris had also shown similar helplessness and resentment in their eyes.
Territory residents suffering under a wicked lord had no other choice.
Amidst the awkward atmosphere, Claude gestured to the soldiers behind him.
“Start distributing the food. Give them plenty. Oh, and there’s hardly any meat. That’s really hard to come by right now.”
“Give me more. Oh, right, there’s hardly any meat. It’s really hard to get that in the fortress these days.”
The miners stood there, their mouths agape, staring at the sacks overflowing with flour and some rations.
Are they really handing out food at such a tough time? Isn’t it normal for them to take things from us?
As the miners froze in silence, Claude played it cool.
“Why? Is it not enough? Hey, hey, give them one more sack each. Just toss it out. If we save it, it’ll all go bad anyway.”
“Gasp!”
The miners inhaled sharply at Claude’s words, unable to believe that the amount they had just received could be increased.
But when soldiers approached and handed out one more sack of wheat each, the miners immediately fell prostrate on the ground.
“Thank you! Really, thank you!”
Grateful exclamations filled the air, trembling with sincerity.
Claude clicked his tongue at the sight. How much must Count Cabaldy have oppressed the people for them to behave like slaves?
“Tsk tsk, this is why they say the northern nobles are cruel. And speaking of which, Count Perdium is truly amazing. He lived so hard and still didn’t exploit anyone.”
Count Cabaldy wouldn’t have intentionally turned them into slaves.
That way, he could collect taxes. Clearly, he had constantly pressured the people using the soldiers.
Seeing how much he had pushed them, he was no ordinary tyrant.
“Now, under the new lord’s leadership, this place will change greatly from the past. Everyone just needs to keep working hard. I’ll ensure the pay is sufficient, so don’t worry about that.”
Even with Claude’s words, the miners didn’t readily show trust.
Instead, they clutched their sacks of food tightly, wary of the eyes nearby.
The fear of having their food snatched away was a clear sign of how low trust had fallen.
Having seen many like them, Claude narrowed his eyes and issued a firm warning.
“Anyone who touches another’s food will be executed on the spot. Never forget that.”
In this state, being gentle would be pointless. It would be more effective to set examples through punishment.
At Claude’s solemn warning, the miners bowed their heads.
“We will remember.”
They were smart enough. There was no way they would dare to defy the mood of the invading occupying army.
If they got hungrier, they’d undoubtedly steal from their neighbors, but for now, when their bellies were full, they would likely remain docile.
Similar things were happening all over the territory. Claude and the other stewards visited even the smallest villages to distribute food.
The residents’ reactions resembled that of the miners. They didn’t believe food would continue to be handed out in the midst of such a severe drought.
“Tsk tsk, it seems we need more time for the time being.”
While distributing food calmed the public sentiment, it didn’t completely alleviate their anxiety.
How long did it take for the Penris Territory to succeed in agriculture before they could start handing out food?
If the entire territory was to unite and fight against a powerful enemy, they had to steadily support and build trust in their lord.
Ghislaine, having received Claude’s report, nodded.
“Having only suffered exploitation for so long, they won’t easily trust. Once they see the abundance of food and their lives improve a little, they’ll become like the people of Penris.”
“Yes, this part will take time, so I will ensure steady support.”
“Alright then, shall we start the next task? We’ve gained resources and our population has increased, right?”
“Of course, we should start with that!”
At Claude’s question, Ghislaine nodded.
“Naturally, that’s the priority. Count Cabaldy’s territory has more than other places, but it’s still not enough. We need to multiply our productivity several times over.”
Residences, farmlands, and public facilities need to be steadily built over time.
However, after acquiring this territory, there were even more essential facilities that emerged.
Massive smelters and blacksmiths capable of producing iron weapons and tools in bulk.
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