The Knight's Allegiance

Paul was seething with anger. The drama of officials colluding with bandits, which he had only read about in history books in his previous life, was now unfolding right before his eyes.

According to Quirk's confession, Edward had led his trusted fleet away suddenly several months ago. As for what he was going to do, small fries like them on the periphery weren't qualified to know. With the tiger away, the monkeys became king. The scattered pirate gangs, now without restraint, went wild. Some fought among themselves, others grabbed territory. Before, they were forbidden from overfishing under Edward's strict orders, but now, they didn't care about anything. They grabbed as much as they could. And the pirate gangs near the Greiman Territory boldly advanced into the inland, which they hadn't touched in nearly twenty years.

After questioning Quirk for a while longer, Paul ordered him thrown into the dungeon. With a dark face, he announced to everyone that he planned to take advantage of the pirate main force being away to eliminate the remaining pirates in Northwest Bay and restore peace to the territory.

Chief Steward Ford said with some worry, "I understand your lord's anger at this moment. Eliminating the current scattered pirate gangs shouldn't be a problem, but what if Edward's main fleet returns? You saw it a while ago, the other families won't help us until they are invaded themselves. With just our territory alone, we probably don't have much chance of winning against Edward."

"That's why we need to build a strong navy to defeat them at our leisure after Edward returns." The nobles of the Auldo Kingdom had no concept of sea power at all, which is why they allowed the pirates to grow so strong.

"My lord, shipbuilding costs a lot of money, plus the training of sailors and daily maintenance, it's simply a bottomless pit."

"Don't worry, everyone, there will be bread, and there will be milk." The young Earl confidently guaranteed.

The reason he wanted to eliminate the pirates was not only because of his anger at the nobles for not caring about the lives of the coastal people, but also for other reasons.

After getting to know this world for a while, he found that it was quite backward. Apart from the illusory magic in legends, the overall level of technology was equivalent to the European Middle Ages on Earth. Various supplies basically relied on craftsmen to make them by hand. So he racked his brains to come up with a plan to make a fortune. After ruling out all kinds of unrealistic fantasies, he finally locked in on several industries that could make money immediately, such as papermaking, printing books, and ceramics.

But the problem was, the northwestern region of Auldo was still relatively backward. The common people were generally illiterate and didn't have much money. Who would buy the things he made? The nobles might be interested in novelties and buy them to decorate their homes, but he couldn't make much money just by selling to the nobles. So he had to sell his products to the more economically developed areas further south, such as the Royal Capital Crystal Radiance Fortress, or the Horn Bay Alliance further south. He could even use the Horn Bay Alliance to transport his products to even more distant places.

How to transport the goods there? It was impossible to go by land. Not to mention that the south was at war, with the royal family and Giles fighting fiercely, even in peacetime, there were checkpoints everywhere, and the big and small lords were basically the kind who plucked feathers from passing geese. So he set his sights on the sea route. As long as he cleared the pirates and opened up the sea route, he could give full play to the advantages of maritime transport's large cargo capacity, and he wouldn't have to endure the layers of extortion from lords everywhere, reaching his destination directly.

To achieve this goal, it was necessary to build a maritime force that could attack and defend. Although countries other than commercial ones like the Horn Bay Alliance didn't have much awareness of sea power, the seas of the known world were not a power vacuum. There were countless pirates and bandits, and Edward, who roamed the North Sea, was one of the most famous. Criminals sanctioned by law, serfs who couldn't survive because of harsh government, refugees driven by war, adventurers seeking excitement, and ordinary people who were forcibly abducted, constantly injected fresh blood into the pirates.

"Lord Greiman, I thank you for your great kindness on behalf of the people of my hometown." The old knight suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Paul, his voice a little choked.

"Not at all, this is my duty as a lord."

"From now on, I am willing to be at your disposal, please don't dislike my old age and uselessness." Although it wasn't a formal knight's declaration of allegiance, everyone could understand the meaning.

After the old knight finished speaking seriously, he sat down and didn't move, as if he was recalling something.

What's going on? Did my aura of dominance suddenly explode? Paul was full of question marks. At this time, Philip the butler leaned in again and whispered, "When Knight Schroder was young, his family was..."

I see, no wonder the old knight's emotions were so agitated.

He cleared his throat, "Next, let's discuss our future actions."

Battalion Commander Claude of the Second Battalion spoke first, "Earl, taking advantage of this great victory and the army's high morale, why not take Franklin Harbor in one go and drive the pirates out of the land?"

Someone immediately objected, "Don't underestimate the enemy and be careless. According to the prisoners' confessions, they have at least seven or eight hundred people combined. We are still at a disadvantage in terms of numbers."

The young Earl immediately ordered, "Bryce, you are responsible for recruiting a batch of new soldiers immediately. Within a month, I want to see two fully staffed infantry battalions."

Bryce stood up and responded, "Yes, Lord."

The old knight, who was just recalling the past, suddenly spoke, "We need to train a group of soldiers who are proficient in naval warfare. New soldiers should be recruited from fishing families as much as possible. After all, our enemy is the pirates, and it can also be regarded as cultivating seeds for the future navy."

"I second that. It's best to specifically designate two companies to build a waterborne force, and train them more in boarding battles and other water combat skills. Next time we face the pirates, we won't be so passive."

"I think the firearms invented by the Earl are very suitable for use on the water, especially the hand grenade. We should equip a large number of them. When approaching the enemy ship, throw a few of them, and guarantee that everyone on the other side will be injured."

"The musket is also good. I saw with my own eyes that four unlucky guys were hit, and they were done for if they took a hit."

"Build a few paddle sailboats with rams, or requisition fishermen's boats for modification, and go down the Ves River..."

"What everyone said is good, I will dispatch people to increase the production of firearms, and warships will also be built."

The atmosphere at the meeting became more and more enthusiastic. The victory they had just won made everyone's emotions high, and they offered suggestions one after another.

Just as Paul was listening and thinking about everyone's suggestions, a servant quietly came in and said something to Philip the butler, and Philip immediately tugged at his sleeve.

"What happened?"

"My lord, the bell-casting craftsman you wanted has been found."

Paul slapped his thigh, overjoyed, "Oh? Haha, he's finally here." Then he said to everyone who was discussing, "You guys discuss first, I'll be right back."

Then he urged the servant who came to report to lead the way, and ran away in a puff of smoke.

The people who were left behind were dumbfounded. Was there anything more important than dealing with the pirates?