As a local native, Baron Brown was extremely familiar with the terrain and roads along the border between North York County and Durham County. He could always find the most convenient marching routes.
Moreover, it was very convenient for him to negotiate with the noble lords along the way. As a local, he had a good reputation, and the nobles whose territories they passed through were willing to show him respect. The entire journey went smoothly without delays, and Baron Brown also introduced Victor to several Northern Frontier nobles along the way.
Victor had previously seen the Northern Frontier Allied Army and heard that Northern Frontier nobles were more barbaric and more skilled in battle than inland nobles. This march gave him an even deeper understanding of that.
Every traditional Northern Frontier noble was a model of militarism. The ratio of soldiers to civilians within their territories was unmatched throughout the entire duchy.
Baron Brown could be considered one of the best among them. His territory had barely more than ten thousand people, and the vast majority were serfs. There were only a little over two thousand Freemen, mostly military families and the lord's servants. His standing army numbered eight hundred, giving him a soldier-to-civilian ratio of one to fourteen. It was only because the crops in this world were exceptionally productive, resulting in mysteriously high agricultural efficiency. Otherwise, with such a level of productivity, maintaining a full-time army at this ratio would have left misery everywhere long ago.
Even so, Victor could see that the serfs in most Northern Frontier nobles' territories could only fill their stomachs, while the Freemen did not enjoy a particularly high quality of life either. They did not lack food, but other supplies were relatively scarce. Most of the territory's output went to the