Blue Lake Bay Outpost

"Your Excellency, it's been a long time! You're still as handsome and dashing as ever!"

Victor glanced at the garrison officer at Blue Lake Bay Outpost and said with a smile.

"Parisben, you look much older now. You must be tired these past few days!"

The garrison commander Parisben was surprised that the Viscount still remembered his name and was very excited to bow to Victor again, but Victor stopped him.

"Parisben, show me around the outpost. I haven't been here once since it was built."

"Yes, Your Excellency, please follow me."

Parisben led the way, guiding Victor and his troops to the open space in front of the outpost.

The Blue Lake Bay outpost wasn't very big, so apart from the guards who followed Victor into the outpost, the rest of the troops stayed in the open space outside and set up a Temporary Camp.

Parisben led Victor into the outpost.

This outpost was built directly using materials from the Blazing Fire Tribe camp, and its main structure is made of wood.

The outer perimeter is a wooden wall over 500 meters long, enclosing the outpost camp in a semi-circle.

The outpost is directly behind Blue Lake Bay, so there is no need to surround the entire outpost with a wall; the wooden wall extends directly into the lake.

There is a small dock in the bay behind the outpost, and the outpost also has several small wooden boats and rafts, which can be used to catch fish in the lake as a supplement to food.

Parisben said that this was a special design when the outpost was first established, so that food could be obtained by fishing in case of an accident that the supply of food was interrupted.

However, it is now winter and the lake has long been frozen over. To avoid damage, the wooden boats have all been pulled ashore.

Victor was very satisfied with the design. After the war, Marvin was in charge of managing the place. Marvin was indeed very good at adapting to local conditions.

Meanwhile, the outpost also kept a herd of cattle and sheep, which were usually taken out to graze by the soldiers and brought back to the outpost before sunset.

Currently, the entire outpost consists of only one small militia squad and one small border guard squad, totaling just over a hundred people, and the consumption of supplies is not significant.

Under normal circumstances, supplies are provided once a month by the Supply Station Number Three. Food is not scarce, and the location near the lake and the raising of livestock ensure that the outpost does not lack protein.

Meanwhile, the militia at the outpost also cultivated several plots of land, mainly for growing vegetables, which could provide for their daily needs.

After winter set in, the fields could no longer be used to grow vegetables, so there were no vegetables to eat, which made the soldiers, who were mainly from inland areas, feel quite distressed.

Normally, there would be some pickled vegetables to eat in various parts of the Two Rivers Territory, but it is difficult to transport supplies here. In order to improve efficiency, the main supplies are grains and seasonings, and pickled vegetables are rarely sent.

Parisben also told Victor about this, hoping the Viscount could give them some advice.

Regarding the problem of Parisben, Victor really didn't have a good solution, as the Blue Lake Bay Outpost was too far from the territory.

Even the nearest supply Supply Station Number Three, is more than 130 kilometers away, and it would take two days to get there on horseback.

Just sending a supply convoy from the Supply Station Number Three takes about ten days round trip, and if you add pickled vegetables, the supply cost will increase even further.

However, Victor also considered that the troops stationed here were indeed working very hard, and he assured Parisben that he would send a new batch of supplies as soon as possible after returning.

After all, he was the lord, and it was no big deal for him to act on his own whims once in a while; he could just consider it as paying these soldiers an extra month's salary.

Victor recalled that before winter, the territory's Agricultural Department produced a batch of canned fruit, intended as supplies for the Civil War.

Victor plans to send a batch of troops here after he returns, so that the garrison here can also have a taste of something new.

After a brief tour of the outpost, Parisben led Victor into the innermost room of the outpost.

This is the residence of the garrison commander, Parisben, but since the Viscount has come, it must be given to him to stay in.

Victor looked around the house. Unlike the other houses, which were all built of wood, this was the only one made of cement bricks.

"This was arranged by Lord Marvin. Just transporting this batch of bricks and cement will require more than a dozen large trucks."

Parisben happily told Victor that there was another large room behind this room, also built with the same materials, which served as the outpost's storeroom for storing the outpost's weapons and supplies.

Victor nodded, "This is putting good steel to good use."

"Parisben, you are also an old man from the Golden Sunflower Territory Private Army, so I won't beat around the bush with you."

"I've come not only to inspect this outpost, but also to entrust you with an important task."

Victor looked at Parisben and said seriously.

Parisben swallowed hard. He didn't know why the Viscount was taking it so seriously, but he felt it must be a very important task.

"I have obtained unlimited expansion rights. After the Civil War ends, the territory will be expanded northward on a large scale, and the end point of this expansion is here, Blue Lake!"

Parisben was stunned by the news. He had been sent here as a garrison officer six months ago and was quite disappointed, having missed the Civil War and wondering how long he would have to stay here.

Unexpectedly, only half a year later, the Viscount himself came to the outpost and told him such important news.

"Your Excellency, what is the important task you entrusted to me?"

Parisben nervous. He asked the question partly to understand what the mission was, and partly to confirm the information again.

Victor was satisfied with Parisben's attitude. "Your task is simple: to explore the area around Blue Lake in the coming days, understand the terrain and geography, and prepare for future development."

Of course, I'm not asking you to see the whole place. After all, the entire Blue Lake is estimated to be several hundred or even a thousand square kilometers, and the surrounding oasis grasslands could easily be tens of thousands of square kilometers. Your men simply can't explore that much.

Therefore, your tasks have a priority order. The first thing to do is to find the shortest and fastest route to the third outpost, as the future territory will be built based on this route.

Secondly, I would like to check the rivers near Blue Lake to see if there are any tributaries that can connect with the Lime River. If so, I would like to build a canal, since water transport is much more convenient.

You can take your time with the other reconnaissance missions; just prioritize these two. If you can complete them, I guarantee you'll be promoted to Detachment Commander, and I'll also give you a substantial bonus.

Parisben was even more excited after hearing Victor's answer. He had received a positive reply from the Viscount and his mission was now clear.

Of course, the Viscount's promise was also excellent, after all, the Viscount's rewards were always very generous.

"Your Excellency, I will do my best to complete these tasks and will finish them by the end of next year."

"There's no need to rush. After all, even expansion takes a long time, since this place is too far from the core of the territory."

Victor estimated that even after the Civil War was over and the territory devoted all its resources to expansion, it would take at least two years just to develop the area along the Lime River with the territory's current strength.

By the time the pioneering efforts are extended here, it will probably be three years later, so Parisben has plenty of time.

After finishing his instructions with Parisben, Victor went to rest. He told Parisben to rest early as well, and that he would take him for a tour around the outpost the next day as a preliminary reconnaissance.