The harbor soon returned to tranquility, and the local gangs became polite, even helping the Goddess Church to construct a church.
Thanks to the arrival of new tools, a magnificent church quickly took shape. Many impoverished people in the harbor began working on the church, which was being built at a rapidly increasing pace.
Valunia Port also received many kinds of equipment, including pulley systems, making the harbor, once occupied by naval fleets, much more efficient.
Although many workers lost their jobs as a result, the unemployed were seamlessly absorbed by the church. There was no need to worry about what would happen to them after the church was completed; there were still plenty of basic public facilities that needed construction. After all, from the perspective of the Empire’s naval fleet, Valunia Port was far too backward, to the point where it became uninhabitable. Merchants would rather live on their ships than settle in the harbor.
As for where the money would come from, naturally, it was from these maritime merchants. Although these merchants ventured out to make a profit, compared to opportunities to contribute to the Empire, money was the least significant thing. Moreover, the profits brought by infrastructure and maritime trade were negligible; they just needed to provide food, and the people of the harbor would work tirelessly.
Today, the Gray Robe was leading Rosalind around the surrounding territories of the harbor, clearing out the small nobles who were unwilling to submit.
Just a single high-level professional like the Gray Robe was already a tremendous threat to the nearby nobles. Not to mention that he was accompanied by a mixed squad led by Rosalind, which included young men conscripted from the harbor, Avarian prisoners from ships, and some Imperial soldiers acting as officers in command. The battle quickly came to a close, and as Rosalind gazed at the territory that had just been captured, she still felt a sense of unreality.
Not long ago, Rosalind had either been reading or writing letters. Many factions on the Solun Continent were focused on Rosalind, or rather, on the Empire behind her. The news of that naval battle had gradually spread among the Avarians, and no faction dared to approach and cause trouble. On the contrary, more and more factions began to woo Rosalind, even the Avarians claimed that everything before had been a misunderstanding and planned to send envoys to discuss matters in detail with her.
The Third Prince, Dorgo, who lived closest to Rosalind, even came directly to help her clear out the disobedient nobles in the surrounding territories.
Rosalind looked at those so-called soldiers who fled in shame when facing cannons and couldn’t help but sigh and shake her head.
Rather than soldiers, it would be more accurate to say they were a group of farmers with pitchforks. This was the true face of most wars on the Solun Continent. The use of supremacy magic in fierce battles, professionals bombarding each other, and knights charging in rows were extremely rare occurrences, especially after the Avarians had focused their main forces on M Continent.
Because of this, the Avarians could rely on their inferior firearms to suppress everyone in a no-magic environment.
In front of Rosalind were these small lords, whose strength was comparable to ordinary people in a no-magic environment, and although this wasn’t a no-magic environment, the Gray Robe was indeed a genuine high-level mage.
The situation on the battlefield quickly collapsed; those farmers armed with pitchforks immediately lost morale and fled in panic.
Even though the professional knights behind killed a few, they failed to stop the routing of the troops. After considering the Gray Robe, who was stroking his beard, and the cannons that were continuously firing to intimidate, the group of knights offered some resistance before collapsing themselves. The lord’s castle had long been deserted, and Rosalind easily took control of this territory.
Dorgo, who came to “help” Rosalind, frowned at the overly smooth battle situation. It was so easy that it was impossible to discern the level of competence between his sister and the Empire; he could only see that the Gray Robe was still vigorous and that the old Empire’s cannons were indeed powerful.
On the not-so-tall balcony of the lord’s castle, Rosalind and the Third Prince Dorgo—who should not be called Third Prince now, but rather King Dorgo of Castile—were overlooking the subjects gathered below.
Watching the serfs kneeling before her, Rosalind felt a moment of disorientation. After all, the Empire had long abandoned serfdom, and even Rosalind had somewhat forgotten about these lower-class people.
When she heard that General Darsi of the Empire’s First Army Group had come from humble beginnings, Rosalind was initially skeptical. Did these lower-class people truly possess such strength? They were merely those who would flee at the sight of magic.
“Sister, let me teach you how to govern your territory today,” Dorgo said, looking at the tax revenues from this territory presented by his subordinates.
“Three times?” Rosalind looked at her brother in shock.
Seeing the astonished expression on his sister’s face, Dorgo nodded in satisfaction and began to speak confidently. “The triple tax is just one means. You should also draft half of the able-bodied laborers from the village each month to build castles, handle defense, and mine resources. If they can’t do it, let other family members take their place. This not only weakens their potential for rebellion but also provides continuous labor for the territory.”
“But who will farm the land?”
To be honest, this was the first time Rosalind discussed territorial matters with her brother, as it was her first time having her own territory.
“It’s fine if a few die; as long as the intimidation is strong enough, the later generations won’t dare to slack off. Moreover, if they die from exhaustion, you can rent the land at a high price to wealthy tenants. They work more efficiently, and the tax revenue will be higher. As for the remaining refugees, no problem, send them into the military or sell them as slaves; the money earned can also offset military expenses.”
Dorgo turned to his sister, adopting an authoritative demeanor, and said earnestly, “You must remember that these subjects are cunning. If you don’t push them, they’ll always find ways to slack off. They might even dare to hoard coins instead of contributing to protect the territory. The previous lord failed to defeat us for just such a reason; if the last lord had been as clever as I am, we wouldn’t have conquered this territory so easily.”
It was evident that even though Dorgo had done no work himself, he was very proud of his approach. What is this? This is called sustainable exploitation.
Rosalind suddenly felt that her brother was so unfamiliar.
“Do the other brothers and sisters manage their territories like this?”
Upon hearing Rosalind’s question, Dorgo nodded, saying, “It’s just unavoidable. I don’t want it to be this way, but if I don’t, I won’t have enough funds to counter those who usurped royal power. Everything I do is for Castile.”
Although he said he didn’t want it to be this way, seeing the somewhat twisted smile on Dorgo’s face, Rosalind knew that her brother was enjoying it deeply.
“I understand. Thank you, brother.”
The expression on Rosalind’s face became colder and colder, and in the end, she didn’t agree to the idea of forming an alliance or offer Dorgo Imperial firearms. She just politely sent him away from the newly occupied territory.
In Rosalind’s heart, something seemed to have shattered. Before seeing those serfs, before hearing her brother discuss her strategic plans so eloquently, Rosalind had thought about many things. Not only did she tear apart the decrees formerly used by the Emperor of the Empire, but she also analyzed them one by one, continuously discussing with the Gray Robe how those decrees balanced interests, how to manipulate people’s hearts, and how they were ingeniously crafted.
However, when Rosalind truly saw those serfs and subjects who could barely get by, she realized that there was no need for so many convolutions. As long as you fed them, they would serve you—it’s that simple.
“National Master, can we implement the strategies we devised before now?”
“It’s already being implemented over at the harbor. However, Your Majesty, are you sure you want to implement these strategies here? Once they’re rolled out, those noblemen nearby may unite to oppose you, even His Highness, who just left.”
“National Master, you should understand that our foundation isn’t those nobles.”
Rosalind looked towards the harbor and said, “Moreover, I must defeat my brothers and sisters as soon as possible, lest we wait for His Majesty the Emperor’s next fleet to arrive.”
Rosalind shook her head and sighed, “His Majesty the Emperor would definitely hang my brothers and sisters on the newly built streetlights.”
At that moment, on another side, Regas had already soared to the agreed-upon location with the Dragon Church, a noble territory very close to the harbor. When the Blue Dragon descended, the local nobles all knelt in reverence as they were loyal followers of the Dragon.
