Baronet System

Baronet System

Ryan's expectations had ultimately gone unfulfilled.

The several newly discovered hills after the start of spring were estimated to yield fewer than a thousand mu of farmland at most. For the current population of the Frozen Earth Territory, that was nowhere near enough.

"We must keep searching, or find ways to reclaim more farmland. Tell everyone in the territory that if anyone can turn wasteland into fertile fields fit for cultivation, for every ten mu they reclaim, I will grant their family one mu. For each of the remaining nine mu, they will receive one Gold Coin, and they will be exempt from taxes for three years."

Ryan was willing to pay a steep price. Nothing spurred development more effectively than greater benefits. Even slaves had their own needs.

If someone could truly accomplish it, that person's value would far exceed the rewards Ryan offered.

He hoped talented people would emerge within his territory, rather than a pack of mediocre fools who drifted through life, sleeping after eating and eating after sleeping.

In this era, technology was irrelevant. Only talent and power were the primary driving forces behind development.

Ryan inspected his developing territory almost every day, but the summons from Northwind Province made him realize that he was not some isolated noble.

"Sure enough, something happened."

"And it's something big."

Ryan looked at the letter the Governor of Northwind Province had sent to all the nobles. It mentioned only two matters.

First, the Empire was discussing punishment for Northwind Province. Punishment, not merely handling the matter. It seemed that last winter's Orc invasion of Northwind Province, which had caused the deaths and injuries of so many nobles, had still enraged the Empire's great nobles.

Naturally, the responsibility would fall upon the nobles of Northwind Province, especially that Count Governor.

But judging from its meaning, the Count Governor had no intention of shouldering it alone. He intended to distribute the pressure among everyone below him.

As for the second matter... it was far more terrifying.

"The Baronet System."

Ryan gripped the letter tightly in his hand. His fingers had turned slightly purple, yet he felt nothing.

From the scant explanation alone, Ryan could already seem to see the bloodshed that would sweep through the Empire—in politics, in the military, and even in the economy.

No, across the continent.

"Prepare the carriage!"

Ryan shouted. Before long, the luxurious carriage from the Clayton Family, drawn by two magical beasts, appeared at the castle gates. Ryan did not even have time for lunch before setting out for Northwind Province with over a hundred Knight Retainers.

Smack!

A whip braided from bark struck an Orc, raising a bloody welt.

"You damned Orcs, get back to work! If you don't finish today, none of you will get food!"

At the scorching construction site, the overseer's booming voice rang out amid the clamor. He deliberately made sure his voice carried over the sounds of quarrying stone and building roads, hoping the lord inside the luxurious carriage slowly approaching in the distance would notice him.

"Work faster! Move the stones off the road! Can't you see the lord is coming? If you frighten the horses pulling the carriage, I'll chop off your heads at once!"

"You there, keep kneeling! Who allowed you to look up?"

Inside the carriage, enchanted with magic arrays, Ryan felt no jolting even as it traveled along roads that had not yet been fully opened. Despite the chill of the north, the carriage was as warm as a bed.

A few months ago, Ryan had needed to cross mountains and ridges on foot to travel from the Frozen Earth Territory to other parts of Northwind Province. But after only a few months, he was seated in a carriage reserved for nobles, while the soldiers accompanying him all rode Highland warhorses.

Compared to back then, his current splendor was a truly magnificent sight.

The Swampland, which could be crossed with ease during the winter, had become much harder to traverse after spring arrived. The frozen mud had thawed, forcing the group to stop after passing through the Swampland to clean up and rest.

They naturally chose the nearest place: the Haton Baronial Territory.

"Ryan, my friend."

Baron Hatton's eyes widened as he stared in shock at Ryan's carriage and the hundred uniform soldiers. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Th-this..."

He found it hard to comprehend. Only a few months ago, Ryan had dressed like a Mud Legs, a penniless Baron and a mere child utterly beneath him. But now...

This formation, this scale—Haton felt utterly outclassed.

"Ryan, you're going to Northwind City too, right?"

Haton asked with an obsequious grin, his entire fat face scrunched together in blatant flattery.

Ryan looked at Baron Hatton, who hesitated without speaking, then smiled.

"Mr. Haton is my friend. I stopped here this time precisely because I intended to invite Mr. Haton to Northwind City with me."

"Good, then it's settled."

Having said that bluntly, Haton immediately moved to board Ryan's magical carriage. He even brought along the two Catfolk women he had looted from the Watt Knightdom.

Ryan raised a hand to stop Haton and looked at the two Catfolk slave girls, who had clearly been played with until they were broken.

"Baron Hatton, you should know what has happened in Northwind City this time. At a time like this, you still want to indulge yourself? That isn't wise."

Haton looked reluctantly at the two slave girls, but in the end, he gave in.

"Fine. Then I won't bring any maids this time. I'll travel light."

It really was light—two hundred thousand jin of pig iron and two thousand Gold Coins.

"Why are you bringing so much iron?"

Ryan asked curiously. Haton, who had been lounging comfortably against the soft deerskin inside the carriage, wore a bitter expression at the question.

"When the Orcs came south, my Baronial Territory suffered terrible losses. More than half my food was gone. If I hadn't hidden some underground, I would have starved to death."

"Those damned Orcs looted all the wealth in my territory. Only this Iron Ore was beneath their notice."

"After the Orcs left, life still had to go on. I can only rely on trade now. My territory can only offer this Iron Ore for exchange."

Haton was somewhat dejected, but he quickly became optimistic again.

"But compared to me, many Barons in Northwind Province died. And among those who survived, their territories suffered far worse than mine. Some even had their castles breached and all their wealth looted clean. Hahaha!"

As the saying went, joy and suffering only existed through comparison. Compared with most nobles in Northwind Province, Haton's losses were indeed much smaller.

But that comparison left Ryan speechless.

He could only change the subject.

"What does Mr. Haton think of the Baronet System jointly discussed by the Empire, The Church, and the southern kingdoms?"

The great nobles standing at the pinnacle of power intended to establish a title called Baronet, ranked below Baron and above Knight.

It was not a Noble Title, yet it was still nobility.