In any case, Reiner was quite satisfied with what he had gained this time. It didn't matter that he couldn't understand The Wealth of Nations; the system had manifested an incredibly powerful buff for him. In Reiner's opinion, this buff was far more valuable than the book itself.
Contentedly, he put The Wealth of Nations away and began looking through the other books. Unfortunately, none of them triggered another buff for him like The Wealth of Nations had. Most were Knight Novels or histories written in verse—in other words, epics.
Reiner flipped through them casually for a while before Sir Valas knocked on the door of Baron Lobean's study.
"Baron, the soldiers have already assembled. All the prisoners have been locked up in the dungeon beneath Goer Castle, guarded by two soldiers. We're free to act now, and their morale is extremely high!"
Reiner nodded, then said, "Good. What we need to do next is wipe out the gentry loyal to the Gwen Family and the Gwen Family's branches. Every factor unfavorable to my rule must be eliminated. I plan to divide the troops into three groups. I'll lead one, you'll lead one, and Sir Cord will lead the third. You must restrain the soldiers and forbid them from running wild in the villages!"
"Yes, my lord. The soldiers are all ready! I'll restrain them!"
"Mm. Remember, I can allow them to behave that way in Goer Castle, but if they continue doing so in the villages, I'll have to punish them. I want the residents of Goer Castle to submit to my rule willingly and support me. They can't continue burning, killing, and looting!"
"You must also pass my words on to Sir Cord and make sure he understands my meaning!"
"Yes, my lord. I'll go tell him right away!"
After Sir Valas left, Reiner swept his gaze around Baron Lobean's study. Once he was certain he had left nothing behind, he walked out of the room and headed for the castle hall.
By then, the castle had completely fallen under Reiner's control. Nearly all of Baron Lobean's men had been taken out to launch a surprise attack on Morland Castle, while those who had remained behind had been killed or captured by the soldiers during the siege or after the castle fell.
Reiner entered the hall and saw nearly sixty soldiers standing in a neat little square formation. They could not be called perfectly orderly, but at least they looked like an army.
"Soldiers! I now want you to purge the remnants and supporters of the Gwen Family. You will clear them out of every village, and after you do, you will receive thirty percent of the spoils!"
"But I must make one thing clear. Aside from the remnants of the Gwen Family, I absolutely forbid you from acting as you did in Goer Castle. These people will be your neighbors and my subjects from now on. If I find anyone doing that, you will receive eighty lashes! Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord!"
The soldiers shouted in unison.
"Good. Then go! Go claim your spoils! Wipe out every member of the Gwen Family! Set out now!"
Thus, twenty archers were left behind to garrison the castle, while the Morland Family's melee infantry and knights split into three groups and began sweeping through the villages under Goer Castle.
There were eighteen villages under Goer Castle's jurisdiction, which divided evenly among them. Each group was responsible for six villages. The purge would probably be completed within three or four days, after which Reiner would have complete control over Goer Castle.
At that moment, Reiner was riding the warhorse given to him by the system, slowly making his way along the country paths around Goer Castle. The residents of the eighteen villages had not gathered in Goer Castle. Morland Castle stood to the north of Goer Castle, and not many Krad People had come to raid the area, so Baron Lobean had never moved the residents into the castle.
Moving into the castle was a desperate measure for lords of the Northern Frontier. A barony could have several thousand people, all of whom would have to squeeze into a castle built to hold only a few hundred in order to take shelter. Not only the people, but also their valuables and grain would have to be brought inside, making the entire castle unbearably cramped.
Baron Lobean did not want to live crammed together with all those people for an entire winter, so he had chosen to let the residents remain in their villages.
If he had not done so, Reiner would have found it very difficult to breach Goer Castle. If several thousand residents had been gathered inside, there would have been at least seven or eight hundred adult men. Even if they were nothing more than a disorganized mob, they would certainly not have been defeated by the mere dozens of soldiers in the Morland Army.
Leaving the residents outside the castle had given Reiner an even greater opportunity, allowing him to dispatch his army to eliminate the enemy's remaining forces in separate groups.
"Baron, Red Fruit Village is one kilometer ahead!" a Crimson Gryphon Knight told Reiner while looking at the map in his hands.
A dozen or so soldiers followed behind him, along with two other Crimson Gryphon Knights and three Morland Knights. This was no weak force. It would be enough to slaughter the entire village, let alone deal with a few remnants of the Gwen Family.
The country paths beneath the snow had long since vanished, completely buried under the drifts. Only when spring arrived and the sun regained the upper hand would the snow melt, allowing the paths to fulfill their purpose once more.
Traveling through the snow was extremely difficult and slow. It took them nearly an hour to cover the one-kilometer distance.
"Oh, heavens! Run! Get out of here!" When they neared Red Fruit Village, some villagers searching for food in the snow around the village spotted them and began shouting as they fled.
To the people of this era, armies were even more frightening than bandits. An army belonging to one's own lord was somewhat better, but if they encountered another lord's army while the two sides were hostile, the outcome was usually miserable.
As a saying from China in Reiner's previous life went, "When bandits pass, they leave nothing behind; when soldiers pass, they strip everything bare." Soldiers were far more ruthless than bandits when it came to killing and looting.
"Baron, should we finish them off here to keep them from sending word to the village?" a Morland Knight asked beside Reiner. Clearly, they did not value the lives of these lowly serfs; they could take them at will.
Reiner, however, did not think that way. He placed considerable importance on these serfs. Not only had the education he received in his previous life shaped his worldview, but he also knew that the most important things to a lord were neither an army nor wealth. They were the population and food he could control. Those were the two things a lord truly needed to develop and focus on.
"No need. We don't have to worry about them. Even if the villagers plan to resist us, there's nothing to fear. One charge from you will be enough to rout them, and besides, they don't have the courage to do that!" Reiner waved his hand and said confidently.
After hearing Reiner's words, the knight nodded to show that he understood. Whether he truly grasped Reiner's meaning or was merely forced to submit because of Reiner's status, however, was impossible to tell.
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