Current Situation

"Thirty men?"

Lothar studied the soldiers before him, their armor in disarray, their faces "blackened," their bodies gaunt, and frowned. "A castle's garrison has only thirty men?"

Thirty guards, and all of them infantry.

At most, they could hole up in the castle and protect themselves. They had no ability whatsoever to protect the surrounding villages from being plundered by desert bandits.

"It is a little few, but we can't afford to keep more, can we?"

The Guard Captain forced a smile, his face full of unease.

If such a powerful lord discovered that his fief was so utterly impoverished, he would surely fly into a thunderous rage.

And if he took it out on him...

Though he was nominally the Guard Captain and counted as a vassal of His Majesty the King, he did not even possess a title. In reality, he was merely a servant.

If he did not have to bring the taxes as tribute every month, His Majesty the King might not even know that someone like him existed.

"Doesn't the castle even have a church where the people can worship?"

The Guard Captain struggled to maintain his smile. "There is only a Prayer Room, on the first floor of your inner keep."

Lothar smiled. "Good. Very good. This truly is a place with absolutely nothing."

The Guard Captain's heart leaped into his throat.

Fringilla looked at the castle with some dissatisfaction. "This place is far too shabby. I doubt even rats would deign to visit such a miserable place."

"The worst place I ever stayed was a castle in Moldavia when I ran away from home. Compared to this place, it looked like a royal palace."

"My apologies, Lady. This place truly is too crude."

The Guard Captain spoke cautiously.

With such a lofty tone, could this Lady be some noble Your Highness Princess?

Heavenly Father above, she would not have poor old Leonard dragged out and hanged over the state of this place, would she?

"I think it's quite good. Since there's nothing here, it'll be convenient for us to tear it down and rebuild. For instance, I plan to demolish this inner keep and rebuild it as a Lord's Hall."

Lothar looked thoroughly interested.

The Guard Captain said through gritted teeth, "My lord, if you stay here a while longer, you'll realize there is simply no need for such large-scale construction. Yoglusburg's yearly tax revenue may not even be enough to renovate a single Lord's Hall."

A Lord's Hall was actually the inner keep in a city or castle where the lord, his family, and servants lived. Though it was called a "hall," it would have at least three floors.

Ignoring him, Lothar turned to the "giant" Males beside him and asked, "Males, what do you think of the blacksmith's shop here?"

Males fell silent for a moment before replying, "It can barely be used, but its efficiency is very low. I'll need time and materials to improve the tools and forge."

"No problem. I'll give you a budget of two hundred Solidus gold coins of the finest quality. Please forge me a sturdy, durable suit of armor as soon as possible."

Males nodded. "No problem. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"Soldiers, now that Yoglusburg belongs to me, from this moment onward, your bonds of personal allegiance have been transferred from the royal family into my hands."

"Now, in the name of the Heavenly Father, swear loyalty to me!"

Lothar raised the arming sword in his hand.

After only a brief hesitation, the Guard Captain and the thirty soldiers all dropped to their knees and noisily swore their oaths to Lothar.

After His Majesty the King granted this territory to Lothar, its land, population, and servants—as well as its debts and bond obligations—had all been transferred into Lothar's name.

"Hans, kneel as well!"

Hans froze for a moment, then immediately dropped to one knee without hesitation.

"Guard Captain, tell me, what is the village to the west called?"

Still kneeling, the Guard Captain replied without thinking, "Sego."

"Then, Hans, my loyal attendant, in recognition of your bravery and skill in battle, I grant Sego to you as your fief and raise you to the rank of knight!"

"Thank you, my lord!"

Hans was delighted. He had finally become a proper knight, yet he was also somewhat bewildered.

He did not understand why Lothar had granted him a fief, but when he saw the almost glowing looks in Ryan's and Moder's eyes, he seemed to understand.

"Rise, all of you."

"I, Lothar of the Habsburg family, swear in the name of the Heavenly Father—so long as you render sufficient merit, regardless of your birth, I will raise any of you to the rank of knight!"

His gaze swept across the faces of the more than eighty people.

On their faces, Lothar saw yearning and anticipation.

And that was precisely what he wanted.

"Moder, starting today, resume formation training for the thirty newly joined soldiers. Ryan, you will be responsible for the daily drills of the fifty veterans."

"Hans, you will serve as commander of Yoglusburg's cavalry. In the days ahead, you may select those among them who are skilled riders or especially gifted to become cavalrymen. There are only ten positions."

Moder and Ryan both accepted their orders. They were brimming with enthusiasm now and could hardly wait to show Lothar their efforts.

Hans had a bit of a headache. Determining who had talent for cavalry was no easy task; he could only judge by their past experience.

"Guard Captain, tell me your name!"

The Guard Captain smiled ingratiatingly. "My lord, just call me Leonard."

"For the time being, you'll be responsible for purchasing warhorses and packhorses. I need ten high-quality Arabian horses. Price is no object—but this will determine whether I approve of you."

Leonard promptly thumped his chest in assurance. "I guarantee it, my lord. I'll definitely buy fine steeds at a good price!"

"Alright, go do what you need to do. Training is suspended for today. Go and prepare your quarters."

Eighty armored soldiers were more than enough for defense, but sorely lacking in offense. They would struggle even to maintain basic order.

This era was, after all, an era of cavalry.

In open terrain like the Holy Land, if they encountered desert bandits, they could hardly expect infantrymen to outrun light cavalry that came and went like the wind on their own two legs.

But training a cavalry force required far too much time and effort.

Starting from scratch to train cavalry, as he was doing now, was the most time-consuming and labor-intensive approach.

Recruiting knights, meanwhile, was limited by the size of his territory... Without fiefs, how could he gather large numbers of knights to serve him?

From Leonard, Lothar learned that Yoglusburg had only six villages, each with an average population of around two hundred, all dependent on the Jordan River for survival.

Altogether, the population under his rule exceeded a thousand.

But they were all impoverished people struggling merely to feed and clothe themselves.

With a one-in-ten levy, he could raise over a hundred conscripts—even in Western Europe, where minor nobles were everywhere, such a force was pitifully weak.

If he granted all the villages out as fiefs, he could summon six fully armed knights.

But if he relied on taxes to train cavalry himself, a village's annual tax revenue would not even be enough to buy a single cavalryman's full suit of armor.

That was precisely why the feudal fief system had become so widespread.

The Ayyubids and the Eastern Empire could support large standing cavalry armies because their territories were vast enough and located at key trade routes, allowing them to collect substantial commercial taxes.

As a Chinese man, the desire to farm was etched into his instincts.

But Lothar had to admit that Yoglusburg was utterly unsuitable for farming, and lacked every necessary condition to become a land from which a dynasty could rise.

No wonder Baldwin IV had told him not to devote too much energy to his territory.

Fortunately, Lothar had cheats.

The system had already been activated. From now on, he would receive one chance to draw a card each week. If he drew retainers every time, then after a year, he would have more than fifty retainers.

They would all be the finest core of his faction, each capable of serving as an officer.

Moreover, he could complete all manner of milestones to speed up the process. Within a few years, he would command a force that could tip the scales.

When that time came, whether he marched south to conquer Egypt or north to attack Asia Minor, either would be a path forward.