Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 365 Model Scholars
Levi's feeling is no longer something that can be simply described as satisfied.

What Tina said was simple and easy, but if you put yourself in her shoes, you will find that not everyone can accomplish everything.

It is extremely rare that after his departure, Gaoya Fort was not only able to maintain its appearance, but also able to continue to develop.

"In fact, it's not just me. Both Leighton and Mir have contributed a lot, especially Sikai. He not only serves as the leader of the Griffin Knights, but also trains the reserve corps to be quite capable. You should thank him." Tina said all the contributions of several people: "You forced them to come here. They have taken on so many things without any complaints."

Levi said he would thank her, but he had other plans in mind.

Originally, Sikai was poached by him and had no real nominal loyalty to him, so his position was very awkward. Now he was specially thanking him, which clearly showed that he was treating him as an outsider.

The more you treat the other party as your own, the more comfortable they will be in Gaoya Castle.

"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you." Tina slapped her head and said seriously, "Although High Cliff Castle is relatively peaceful, both Debe and the Persian Gulf Empire are now shrouded in a cloud of tension."

"Originally, when His Majesty Harland learned of our plight, he immediately asked the diplomats stationed in the Persian Gulf Empire to hold him accountable. However, no one expected that King Fern IX would turn the tables and say that we, High Cliff Castle, attacked their nobles. He demanded that Your Majesty hand you over, or he would use force to demand an explanation."

"But even a three-year-old child knows that this is impossible. His Majesty Harland has put all the Persian Gulf Empire merchants in Derby into dungeons to show his attitude. Now even the farmers in the countryside know that there may be a war."

"A while ago, His Majesty's Griffin Envoy came to Highcliff Castle to inform us that we should make early preparations. Leighton got a hint from them that there is a high probability that this war will be fought."

"Just fight, I just think those hundreds of thousands of gold grams are not enough to spend." Levi sneered. He had just returned from Gunda and knew even more details than Tina.

The reason why His Majesty Haaland was so furious was not actually the words of King Fern IX, but the fact that the other party chopped down Debay's diplomats in the Persian Gulf Empire, leaving only one who managed to escape.

The officials were all furious and thought that the other side had gone crazy and had become a mad king. No matter how unwilling they were to fight, the other side had stepped on Debe's face, and it was impossible for them not to respond.

Moreover, Debei is not a soft persimmon, not to mention that a dragon knight has suddenly appeared, which has greatly enhanced the national strength.

After three days and three nights of discussion, the cabinet finally decided, under Haaland's decision, to make those damn Persians suffer.

It can be said that the Persian Gulf Empire's action was clearly intended to go to war with Debe, and the fact that a war broke out would only slightly surprise the lord.

Although Gaoyabao's military strength is not enough to compete with a country, it does not mean that they have to rush to the front. Just following behind Debe and getting some benefits will be a huge profit.

"The Burning Legion's daily training cannot be stopped during this period. Also, let the blacksmith shop work harder recently and try to create more weapons in preparation for war." Levi waved his hand and gave instructions.

The big boss had spoken, and several old blacksmiths nodded repeatedly, ready to finish their meals and continue to forge arrows and other weapons.

"Anyway, I feel that the situation on the continent is becoming more and more chaotic. Although life was difficult in the past and there were frequent frictions between countries, it was also stable. Now the climate is abnormal, agriculture is in recession, and we are about to have a war." Tina sighed, feeling like a bard in a tavern who was concerned about the situation on the continent.

"Maybe the war is just because of the chaotic situation." Levi shook his head and hit the nail on the head: "The weather in Debe is bad now, the harvests in many places have plummeted, and the number of people starving to death can fill the entire Saipan Lake. The demons and the seizure of the title have seriously damaged the vitality of the southern border. Maybe the other side is concerned about these points and wants to go to war."

"Alas... With this situation, I'm afraid other major countries are not stable either. Goddess, I hope the war ends soon and no more people die." Tina prayed worriedly.

She hoped that everyone could live in peace and that Highcliff Castle could develop slowly in peace.

"If you want peace, you must first prepare for war." Levi simply calmly said a wise saying from his predecessors.

……

Just after breakfast, Levi finally met the model scholars who came to Gaoya Castle for refuge.

"Good day, respected Lord Levi of High Cliff Castle!" Leading the group was an elderly model, hunched over, carrying a spotted tortoise shell on his back, and holding a silver-mouthed wooden cane. He slowly came before the lord and performed an impeccable aristocratic etiquette.

The seven models behind it also saluted quickly.

"Good day, Elder Tang Jin Bo Tao." Li Wei greeted him first, then asked with a smile on his face: "Can Mr. Tang Jin adapt to the environment of Gaoya Fort?"

"My nose has always been sensitive. I always have to endure those indescribable smells in the cities of the East, but my nose seems to have failed in High Cliff Castle." The old turtle man raised his round hat reading glasses on his nose and said with a smile: "Praise God, I can find such a suitable place for retirement in my later years."

"Elder Tang Jin can stay in Gaoya Castle as long as he wants." Levi made the decision with a wave of his hand. This old man doesn't look like the type that people would dislike, and he doesn't eat much either.

"In fact, the purpose of our coming here is to be loyal to you, Lord Levi. Although we cannot lift swords, and even a goblin is more suitable for fighting than us, I dare say that every one of us in the model tribe is a knowledgeable and good guy." Old man Tang Jin is an honest man. He admitted without hesitation that the combat effectiveness of the model tribe is low, and also pointed out their usefulness.

"No problem. Gaoya Castle lacks knowledgeable scholars like Elder Tang Jin." The lord rubbed his fingers together.

Gaoya Castle is now almost full of illiterate fighting men. Both accounting and housekeeping have to be undertaken by Leighton and Tina. It was okay at the beginning when the business was small, but as Gaoya Castle grew bigger, it became more and more difficult for the two.

Just the calculation of Gaoyabao's income and expenditure required a lot of effort. He even had to write some political letters himself. These letters sent to the Noble Garden and the royal court had strict format requirements.

As his close aide, Leighton didn't want the earth elf to be burdened by tedious government affairs.

"As you wish, respected Lord Levi, but..." As the old man Tang Jin spoke, he became unusually embarrassed and shy.

It felt a little embarrassed to have eaten white rice for so many days in Gaoyabao, but the things agreed upon with the tribesmen could not be changed because of a few meals, which made it a little awkward for this model elder who thought he would not bow down for five pounds of rice.

"Elder Tang Jin, please just say whatever you want to say. I have always advocated that everyone has the right to speak." As soon as Li Wei saw this posture, he knew that the other party would definitely not come to him for nothing and must have some requests.

However, talented people will naturally be treated preferentially. As long as they don't go too far, he doesn't mind satisfying them.

"Ahem, sir, can you let us see Lady Sophia?" Elder Tang Jin hesitated for a moment, but finally said with a wry smile. Without waiting for Levi to reply, he continued, "We, the Model Clan, have a trace of dragon blood. Although it is hard to believe, it is the fact. So we beg Lord Levi to let us see Lady Sophia's true face. If we can fulfill this dream before she falls into sleep, we will have no regrets in our lives."

It had a sincere look on its face, and the seven turtles behind it also focused their expectant eyes on the lord. Levi opened his mouth slightly and looked at the old model seriously. He didn't expect that this group of model tribes were actually chasing stars!
At the same time, he never thought that one day he would be able to recruit a few scholars by relying on Sophia's timid and foolish reputation.

This condition can be easily accomplished, but unfortunately Sophia is now asleep.

"I'm sorry, Elder Tang Jin, but Sophia is sleeping now, so I can't let you go and see her." Levi said helplessly.

The fact that Sophia was sleeping was only known to a few leaders in Highcliff Castle. After all, a giant dragon could sleep for too long, which meant that the enemy didn't have to worry about the dragon's breath falling from the sky. This would inevitably cause some scoundrels to look down on them, so the news was blocked by him.

Several models were dumbfounded. No wonder they didn't see Princess Sophia at all when they arrived at Gaoya Castle. At that time, they were wondering if she had gone out with the lord of Gaoya Castle. So they kept waiting in Gaoya Castle, but they didn't expect that she had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Lord Levi, we have enough time to wait for Lady Sophia to wake up." Elder Tang Jin finally said sympathetically, "So it doesn't matter whether we meet sooner or later. Let us take on our due duties. Time always passes faster when we are busy."

"Then I'll have to trouble Elder Tang Jin. Gaoya Castle has indeed had a lot of backlogged government affairs recently." Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that these models would turn around and leave if they couldn't see Sophia. After all, scholars are generally stubborn, and the more knowledge they have, the more stubborn they are.

Fortunately, these models are very understanding, easier to get along with than expected, and extremely kind.

……

The model scholars also showed amazing action ability. After breakfast, they took over the finances, construction, demographics, etc. of High Cliff Castle from Tina.

They sat in a study specially built for handling affairs, lying on the table, studying the finances, taxes, trade, and expenditures of Highcliff Castle from pages of parchment...

"It's unprofessional! It's unreasonable! What a pity!"

The more they studied, the more they shook their heads. They were outspoken and directly pointed out that the data was too rough and even contained errors in many places.

Tina, who had been in charge of this aspect, blushed like a fresh red apple. She thought she had handled it very well, but she didn't expect there were so many mistakes.

Then the model scholars pointed out a more serious problem. Just by looking at these data, they knew that Gaoya Castle was now in a situation where its income was not enough to cover its expenses. Although the arms trade was extremely profitable, it could only maintain the expenses of Gaoya Castle's residents.

Military affairs and territory development have always been supported by the Lord of Highcliff Castle at his own expense.

This is very abnormal. As a qualified noble leader, the subjects must not only support themselves, but the taxes must also be able to maintain the military and territory development.

Although the fact that Gaoyabao does not levy taxes is enough to make the great monks show the highest respect.

But to be honest, if we continue to develop in this way, we are doomed to fail.

The Tangjin elders all agreed that if they wanted to be considerate of the people, they could lower taxes appropriately, but they could not completely eliminate taxes.

Facing the old models who could see the situation of Gaoya Castle only from the parchment, Levi gave them a thumbs up sincerely.

At the same time, he also expressed his own opinion that Gaoya Castle was just starting out, and these subjects didn't even have a piece of land, so it was not suitable to collect taxes.

He planned to open up fertile land in the wilderness, and then distribute it to meritorious warrior families, and then slowly involve other subjects.

Levi knows very well that one cannot become fat in one breath, and everything has to be done slowly.

As for whether there was enough land to go around, he wasn't worried at all.

Seventy percent of the entire wilderness is plains, which is a natural grain-growing base.

The harsh environment full of weeds is not a problem at all for Gaoyabao, which has soil fertility technology.

All you need to do is turn the grass over and let it dry in the sun, then apply the soil fertility technique, and you can plant right away. The harvest next year will also be outstanding. The only pity is that so far only Old Neil and another kobold know how to use the soil fertility technique.

After expressing his ideas, he received recognition from the models, which also made the lord more confident.

After all, these old guys have lived for hundreds of years and have eaten more salt than he has eaten rice. They are all experienced.

To a large extent, he understands the underlying rules of how this world works better than he does.

He chatted with Tang Jin about some other ideas, and until both sides had gained a lot, the lord hugged Tina and left.

From today on, he can truly be considered a hands-off boss, and he only needs to be responsible for ensuring the general direction is correct.

"Now I can feel relieved." Tina stuck out her tongue. She thought she handled these things very well, but the facts proved that compared with professionals, she lacked a lot.

"That's great. Just be a housekeeper and give birth to a bunch of fat boys for me." Li Wei smiled and moved his hand a few inches downwards dishonestly.

"Brother-in-law." Just at this moment, Mil ran over from the blacksmith shop with an excited look on his face. When he got closer, he found that his sister was also there, and was staring at him in confusion.

"Sister, you are here too." He touched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
"What's wrong?" Levi took his hand back calmly.

"The new type of magic crystal arrow I researched was successful, and the Griffin Knights are preparing to test-fire it."

(End of this chapter)