Silver Maple City

Progress on Stream Territory is going very smoothly. James has begun handing over heavy weapons to Baron Brown in turn hands James the prepared roster of troops.

Currently, there are 762 registered soldiers in Stream Territory. The troops lost during last year's battle have not yet been fully replenished. There are currently only 245 Cavalry and 517 infantrymen. All of the Cavalry are combat soldiers, and only 200 of the infantrymen are combat soldiers. The rest are Auxiliary Troops.

Baron Brown also planned to conscript some serfs as laborers before leaving, but James stopped him, as the logistics of the Two Rivers Territory army were handled by the Logistics Department and there was no need to conscript laborers separately.

Meanwhile, after nearly two days of sailing, Victor and Alex's fleet had entered Milan County, the closest inland port to Silver Maple City.

The port area was bustling with ships and people, including merchant caravans traveling to the Capital City, noble entourages, and Freemen seeking work in the Capital City.

Alex and Victor stood at the bow of the ship, watching the bustling scene and the dense crowd.

"Victor, every time I come to the docks of Silver Maple City, I am amazed at how many people there are in this world. The daily traffic at this port is equivalent to the monthly traffic at the docks of Northwind City."

Even just collecting port taxes, the port tax collectors can earn thousands of gold coins a month, not to mention that this dock belongs to the Ducal House, and all the revenue goes to the duke. Mora can earn 30,000 gold coins from this every year.

Alex was also a little surprised by the figure, but after calculating it, he had a question, "That's not right, Alex. According to you, the port tax alone is 12,000 gold per year. What about the commercial tax and the departure tax? What about the storage fees for the dock warehouses and the rent for the land lease? All of these add up to at least 60,000 to 70,000 gold per year. How come the Grand Duke can only get 30,000 gold?"

"Victor, you're still so serious. The port tax collector needs to employ tax collectors, right? Otherwise, who will be responsible for collecting taxes? The docks also need to be repaired and maintained every year, otherwise they will be damaged and affect production over time. The tax collector here is a lucrative position. If you get the job, you have to bribe everyone, otherwise why would you be appointed? Taxes from the minor and middle nobles are definitely required, but he doesn't dare to collect taxes from the major nobles and the Ducal House. So, if the duchy can get even half of the revenue, that's already pretty good."

Victor understood. "It's a pity that Mora can't control such good resources. I guess this kind of situation is common in the Duchy. No wonder the Duchy's fiscal revenue is not much higher than when it was founded. It also affects the Duchy's military expenditure. If Mora had sufficient military funds, the lost direct legions could probably be replenished much faster."

Alex continued, "The Duchy now needs to support more and more Court Noble, and I've also heard that Mora wants to cut the Court Noble's annuities to fill the military budget hole."

Victor asked curiously, "Although the Court Noble are all bestowed by the Grand Duke himself, and their honor and disgrace depend entirely on the Grand Duke, their power is by no means weak. I think it will be very difficult for Mora to reduce the annuities of the Court Noble."

Alex nodded in agreement. "Realistically speaking, that's true. But if Mora finds out the secret pact is lost, he might do something desperate, given his reputation for being frivolous."

"Who knows? The Imperial Guard Legion Cavalry that's been chasing us is probably still circling around the Western Three Counties. By the time Mora gets the news, we'll already be in Blackwater City!"

Alex suggested, "Victor, would you like to disembark and explore Silver Maple City? I know a good restaurant there; who knows when we'll be able to come back to Silver Maple City again."

Victor thought for a moment and then declined, "No need. We will come back here as the victors next time. Alex, you can invite me then as the host!"

"Then it's settled. I really hope that day comes soon."

At this moment, the towering walls of Silver Maple City appeared before them. Silver Maple City is divided into an inner city and an outer city. Although the outer city walls are long, they are not high. They have been gradually expanded as Silver Maple City has developed. The inner city is also the old city of Silver Maple City. It has been repaired over the years and has always been able to maintain its defensive capabilities.

What appeared before them now was the inner city wall of Silver Maple. Victor looked at the wall and began to think about how to breach this iron wall when he came here again in the future.

The fleet continued sailing forward, gradually moving away from Silver Maple City. Victor watched Silver Maple City disappear into the distance, no longer troubled by his thoughts. He was certain that he would find a way to conquer this formidable city in the future.

He and Alex returned to the cabin and ordered the fleet to continue sailing towards Blackwater City.

At this time, Rasul and his men found their way to a meadow on a hillside in the western Fude County. They had been tracking the Cavalry force for more than a day, during which the soldiers could only get a short rest when they were eating. The rest of the time they had been on the move, and everyone was exhausted and the soldiers were complaining.

Rasul stared at the herd of horses before him, his eyes blazing with rage. He pointed at a Company Commander and roared, "Is this all we've caught? What about the thieves? What about the envoys from the Raine Kingdom? Is this how you track them down?!"

"Captain Rasul, why are you yelling at me? Our First Battalion was just assisting you in your rendezvous mission. We were only following the traces left behind, and we don't know what we'll find."

Rasul was furious that he had been retorted, and he immediately raised his riding whip to strike the Company Commander.

Just then, another Company Commander stopped him in time. "Battalion Commander Rasul, don't take it to heart. Up is Battalion Commander Pulis's cousin, and also the cousin of Legion Commander Kedora."

Rasul calmed down upon hearing this. He knew Up's identity; he had just been consumed by anger.

He knew that getting angry now would not help, and the best thing to do was to immediately inform his father, Viscount Borey. So he ordered the Company Commander who had just advised him to take his men and gather the warhorses, while he led the remaining troops to the nearest noble territory to try to make contact with the Capital City.

The next morning, Viscount Borey received a message from Rasul via carrier pigeon from Fude County. He was furious when he learned that the Woven Fern Territory had been captured and that Ryan's messenger had disappeared.

He was utterly disappointed in Rasul, but he knew that this matter could not be delayed. He personally took the letter to the palace of Grand Duke Silver Maple to pay his respects to Grand Duke Mora and report the bad news.