"Tommy, on my way through the territory of West Lyme, I saw several farmsteads with an enormous number of people. Can you tell me what's going on?"
On the way back, Henry saw that the vast stretches of wasteland had now been filled with rows of houses, while countless people labored in the fields.
Wasn't this a little too aggressive?
As a result, even the castle that would have made a viscount jealous failed to draw Henry's attention. He dismounted and headed straight for Tommy.
Tommy smiled and handed over a prepared report. After reading it, Henry realized that he had two great talents at his side?
After receiving Henry's instructions, Tommy had purchased a large number of serfs and herding serfs, while also recruiting a group of experienced craftsmen.
Tailors, brewers, candlemakers, and more. Most importantly, there were two blacksmith families!
The Forest Hunting Ground, the pasture, and six farmsteads had directly developed the entire border region of West Lyme.
Good, good, good. I was too conservative!
Henry was greatly surprised. He had only intended for Tommy to do some preliminary preparations, yet Tommy had performed so outstandingly.
As expected of the talent recommended by his blood-related mother in this life! Henry decided not to whip Tommy's backside after all. Instead, he would praise and reward him.
"Tommy, continue overseeing the construction and management of the castle. It would be a waste for someone as talented as you to manage only the castle's daily expenses."
"Thank you for your trust, my lord. I will not fail you. However, administrative affairs should still be left to Steward Claude.
I can assist Steward Claude while managing the castle's expenses. There are no other literate talents in West Lyme territory."
Henry nodded and summoned Claude, then told him about Tommy's accomplishments.
"Claude, Tommy will help you from now on as well."
Claude hurriedly bowed. "Thank you, my lord. With Tommy's help, I'll be able to accomplish even more."
"Mm. Besides building the castle, you must also pay attention to the living conditions of the people. We cannot be satisfied with merely a castle that inspires fear. We must also have a prosperous town."
West Lyme now had more than three thousand residents. Although most of them were serfs, that was still a great fortune for a Knight.
For a territory made up entirely of agricultural population, having everyone be serfs was extremely unhealthy. There should be a small portion of freeholding farmers, a large portion of tenant farmers, and a small portion of serfs.
Only then could tax revenue enter a healthy cycle instead of requiring Henry to continuously pour money into it.
The two repeatedly agreed, saying they would give it their all. Tommy's previous work had nearly drained the territory's finances, but now that Henry had returned with money, they instantly became wealthy again.
After sorting all that out, Henry turned his attention to the enormous castle.
It was majestic and spectacular, covering two kilometers—on the same scale as Earl John's Earl's Mansion.
This was an impregnable fortress!
Its design was exquisite, integrating offense and defense. The walls were tall and thick, with watchtowers built atop them to monitor movements in every direction at all times.
The Gatehouse was incomparably sturdy and equipped with heavy defensive installations, making it difficult for enemies to breach.
Henry entered through the castle gates and discovered that this was practically a small city! Sure enough, the first step toward developing a city was having a qualified large castle.
The castle's interior was clearly divided. There was the Barracks Henry had seen before, where the garrisoned soldiers lived and trained. The stables and archery range that had not existed before had also been completed, making the Barracks more proper.
There was also a residential district for the castle's servants.
At the center of the castle stood a magnificent main keep, which served as Henry's command center and residence.
The main keep was luxuriously decorated, filled with the rich atmosphere of military aristocracy... From the balcony of the main keep, Henry could overlook the entire castle and the surrounding lands.
"My lord, this castle is highly satisfactory. Once I lead the troops through it and familiarize them with the place, I'll arrange patrols."
Claude, who had accompanied Henry on the tour, was thoroughly delighted. With this castle, the Bro Family would surely rise steadily to greater heights.
"By the way, my lord, your wager with that Baron..."
"He and his descendants have left. They will never return," Tommy said to Claude.
Less than four days after the castle was completed, news arrived that Pedro's entire family had ascended to heaven.
Henry carefully reviewed Tommy's report once more before instructing, "Mm... Right, since there are already tenant farmers on my land, tear up the slave registrations of those serfs who survived the battlefield and lease each of them a plot of land."
"You are benevolent, my lord."
Henry patted Claude and Tommy, sending them off to get busy, while he sat in the broad, enormous seat and stared blankly into space.
Henry opened the panel and considered how many loyal soldiers he should train.
With the castle Barracks completed, Henry had unlocked two new troop templates: the Lv. 2, 80-man Imperial Archer Squad and the Lv. 2, 40-man Grassland Warrior Cavalry Squad.
Both required one month of training time and cost two Overlord Training Points.
There were actually two other troop templates as well, but they were currently grayed out: the Lv. 3, 20-man Imperial Citizen Cavalry Squad and the Lv. 3, 20-man Plains Knight Squire Cavalry Squad. They remained locked because there were not enough freeholding farmers in the territory.
Henry currently had thirteen heavy cavalrymen, nine Veteran Shielded Crossbowmen, five Veteran Skirmishers, fifty-three Elite Imperial Veteran Squad soldiers, and forty New Recruit Squad soldiers left behind.
Henry carefully calculated his supply of horses and Armor Weapons, deciding how many troops to train.
Two Grassland Warrior squads, eighty light cavalrymen in total. That's enough for patrols, and their mobility is decent too.
Give a Grassland Warrior a horse, a saber, a light bow and arrows, then dress him in a grassland felt cap and cotton robe—people would believe he was a Horse Bandit!
Added to training queue, 4 Overlord Training Points deducted
I need more archers too. With the power of the Overlord Panel, rapidly trained archers are definitely more suitable. There's no need to waste Training Points on crossbowmen... Three squads!
Added to training queue, 6 Overlord Training Points deducted
After allocating the cavalry and archers, Henry found himself troubled over how many infantry squads to train. If the proportion of full-time soldiers became too high, the finances would always be short on money. He could not mess around recklessly.
"But I can wage war!"
Six Imperial New Recruit squads. No problem at all!
Added to training queue, 6 Overlord Training Points deducted
Henry spent away his points in rapid succession. After calculating carefully, he realized that in one month, he would gain more than a thousand well-trained, utterly loyal soldiers!
If those thousand-plus men marched around the borders of his territory in full armor, wouldn't the surrounding nobles be scared stiff?
Soon, a new question rose in Henry's mind: next month, should he declare war on the surrounding nobles, or venture deep into unknown territory to fight Half-Orcs?
Henry did not make his decision until dinner time.
Before you continue