Celebration Assembly

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and news of the commendation assembly was announced. Victor had not only prepared rewards for military achievements; everyone involved in the territory's development, including those who had participated in its construction, would receive rewards.

Thus, the entire territory had been filled with festive cheer these past few days. When October 9 arrived, Victor ordered a grand banquet to be held after the celebration assembly. Preparations began early in the morning. The fleet had also delivered large quantities of food and wine, which were moved out and piled beside the Drill Ground at the military Main Camp. People were also arranged to slaughter cattle and sheep and prepare food for the banquet.

At nine in the morning, the weather was excellent. The sun shone brightly, but the autumn wind sweeping across the grasslands kept it from feeling hot. It was warm and pleasant.

Victor stood on a temporary platform, looking at the troops seated in formation on the Drill Ground, as well as staff from every department of the territory and representatives from several work crews and projects. More than a thousand people were visibly delighted. After all, few people in this world held such events. Even noble title conferment ceremonies focused on solemnity rather than grandeur; at most, some free bread would be distributed throughout the territory as a token of celebration.

Based on Victor's own experiences and Number 1's conclusions from the Calculation Module, organizing this kind of broadly beneficial collective event at such a time would help raise public support in the territory, strengthen the military's cohesion, and create a positive atmosphere for the territory's construction and development.

Victor soon announced the official start of the celebration assembly. He personally read out the commendation list and rewards, while several loud-voiced soldiers below the platform repeated his words.

The first group to be rewarded was the advance squad led by Jack. They had been among the first troops to arrive in the territory and had suffered the greatest casualties. They had participated in every battle from start to finish. Victor directly designated the squad an honored unit and granted it the title Vanguard of Two Rivers. Every member of the squad, whether already dead in battle, disabled by injuries and discharged from the army, or still serving, would receive a reward. This included land: the right to exchange for ten mu in the Golden Sunflower Territory in Bole County, or thirty mu in the Two Rivers Territory, as well as three Silver Maple coins each and a Silver Golden Sunflower Second Class Medal.

Victor personally placed medals on the representatives who came up to receive their awards and handed them land exchange certificates and prize money. The rest would be distributed by Jack, the unit commander. Victor declared that if any commander dared to reach out and seize soldiers' rewards, anyone only needed to report it to him, and he would personally mete out punishment.

Next came the various other rewards. Units that had participated in the two battles on both banks of the Great Fish River received land exchange rights at half the previous amount, along with three Silver Maple coins. However, their medals were replaced with Bronze Golden Sunflower Third Class Medals.

Units that had only participated in the attack on the Green Grass Tribe on the northern bank basically received only three Silver Maple coins as a bonus and a Bronze Golden Sunflower Third Class Medal.

James's troops and the Edelweiss Territory Cavalry were somewhat special. These troops had only been temporarily placed under Victor's command to participate in battle and were essentially still forces belonging to other territories. Applying the same standards for land exchange rights would not have been appropriate. After discussing it with James, Victor changed the exchange rights into land within territory under James's name. As for the Edelweiss Territory troops, they had basically only participated in the final battle, so they received only bonuses and medals.

Victor then separately commended several military commanders and several soldiers who had performed outstandingly during the war. They were granted land exchange rights ranging from fifty to one hundred mu, prize money of at least one gold coin each, and either a Gold Golden Sunflower First Class Medal and an Excellent Commander Medal, or a Two Rivers Battle Hero Medal.

Victor personally presented the rewards to these recipients and had them ride on horseback around Wood Fort Town, allowing everyone to cheer for them.

Finally came the rewards for everyone who had participated in the territory's construction. Victor announced that every person, including serfs and herding serfs, would receive one Silver Coin. He also promised that as long as they did their jobs well, serfs could be released from serf status within three years, while herding serfs could be released within five years. The territory would grant each of them five mu of land as the foundation for their lives.

Victor also promised that if someone was a soldier's relative, then as long as that soldier earned one Silver Golden Sunflower Second Class Medal or three Bronze Golden Sunflower Third Class Medals, five of his immediate family members could be released from serf or herding serf status.

Those who made major contributions could be directly released from serf status and rewarded. For instance, some of the representatives Victor rewarded this time had played extremely valuable roles in their projects. One serf worker at the brick factory had improved the brickmaking machine, doubling its efficiency. This time, Victor directly released him and his relatives from serf status and granted him twenty mu of land.

Victor also promised at the assembly that if anyone failed to receive this money or the corresponding rewards, they could report directly to him. Since Victor often patrolled the territory, everyone had seen him before. He would directly impose the harshest punishment on corrupt officials who violated the territory's laws. After all, in this world, a lord held absolute law enforcement authority over everyone in his territory and could execute them directly without trial.

Victor had not forgotten all the civil officials who had participated in the territory's work during this period. They were rewarded according to the plan as well, including land exchange rights, three Silver Maple coins each, and Bronze Golden Sunflower Third Class Medals.

More than three hours had passed, and it was already after noon. Victor announced the end of the celebration assembly and immediately began the banquet. There was enough food for everyone, though waste was forbidden. Each person could receive a serving of ale. Aside from the troops required to remain on duty, all soldiers could drink freely in the camp.

After taking a few simple bites himself, Victor led the Guard Squad with a batch of food across the river by ferry to the northern bank. He personally visited the watchtower troops stationed there, offered his regards, personally handed out their rewards, and thanked them for their contributions.

Afterward, Victor made a round through the territory, encouraging people at every project site. He promised to honor the agreed rewards, encouraged everyone to keep working, and told them they could report any problems directly to him. He would certainly provide a solution.

Riding at full speed all the way, Victor arrived at Sea Song Town after six in the evening, when the sky had already turned dark. He personally presented rewards to the fifty soldiers stationed in Sea Song Town. The soldiers were delighted. They had not expected their lord to have remembered them all along, and everyone declared that they were willing to bring victory to Lord Victor.

Afterward, Victor met Vincent. Because there was so much work in Sea Song Town, Vincent had been unable to attend personally and had only sent a representative to the commendation assembly. Victor personally presented his reward and removed the acting title from his position as Town Mayor.

Vincent was deeply moved, but Victor quickly reassured him and encouraged him to continue doing his job well. If he encountered any problems, he could report directly to Victor.

That night, Victor stayed directly at Sea Song Town's temporary office. His busy day was finally over.