I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 35 Militia Planning
"There's a loach!"

Martin quickly bent down and grabbed the loach in his hand, holding it tightly!
"I have one here too!"

The slave on the other side also shouted loudly, and the loach, which was more than 30 centimeters long, twisted and struggled in his hand, looking very tempting.

"Quickly clear out a wooden bucket to catch loaches! There must be plenty more here; who knows, the lord might reward us for catching more!"

Upon hearing this, the slaves on the shore immediately took action, carrying wooden buckets and jumping into the mud pit.

Loaches are very resilient. When the water they live in dries up or the water level drops sharply, they often burrow into the mud.

At this time, the loach's metabolism slows down, and it enters a dormant state to get through the dry period.

They will emerge and become active again when the water level rises or it rains.

Of course, if there is an extreme drought, they will die in the cracked mud.

The slaves didn't understand these principles; they only knew that you could often find loaches in the mud.

Loach can be grilled or stewed, and it's a rare delicacy when paired with ale.

Martin and the others were responsible for turning over the mud, while the slaves on the shore jumped down to pick it up. In no time, the wooden buckets were full, weighing nearly thirty pounds.

"As the one who discovered the loach, I'm sure I'll get a good reward from the lord, hehe!"

As Martin was secretly pleased with himself, he suddenly noticed a dark shadow, much thicker than his thumb, burrowing into the mud not far away!
It's a big one!

Without thinking twice, Martin dropped the shovel, rushed forward, grabbed the object, and lifted it up!
"A huge thing! A thing that's over a meter long!"

Martin shouted excitedly, only to suddenly realize that the guy had turned his body and was heading straight for him!

"That's a snake! Throw it away!"

A slave behind him shouted, and Martin was so frightened that he quickly let go of her hand. In his panic, he slipped and fell backward into the mud!
"grass!"

Martin cursed angrily, but before he could get up, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower body!
He hurriedly looked down and suddenly realized that there was a tail in front of him!
"what!"

……

……

“Let’s expand the militia first. Those fifteen men selected from the slave trainees last time will be trained by you along with the militia.”

In the lobby of the cabin, Rod and Durant discussed their future plans.

Rhodes cannot place all his hopes on Gunle; nurturing the townspeople is the most important thing.

"But we can't let them work inconveniently, so we set aside two or three afternoons each week for them to train intensively."

Rod thought for a moment and added, "Those who participate in the training will have half a pound of meat added to their dinner on the day the training ends."

"You decide on the specific plan."

Rhodes originally wanted to bring out the discipline reform measures, but considering the frequency of these people's training, he felt that it would not be very effective.

Strictly enforcing orders for two or three days a week is pointless, as they will revert to their old ways afterward.

Now is not the time.

Rhodes does not yet have the financial and human resources to support a full-time army, so he can only train and prepare it in the manner of a reserve militia.

Rod is confident he can do it after this year's autumn harvest.

"Yes, sir. I will give you a detailed report starting tomorrow."

Durant nodded.

He was about to get up and leave when Rod stopped him.

Rhodes glanced at the already darkening sky.

"It's time for dinner, why don't you stay and join us?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant sat back down at the table.

It was very common for knights to dine with their lords.

Although they were in a master-servant relationship, they were often more like friends and comrades-in-arms.

Even after the lord got married, the knights were often invited to the lord's family banquets.

Durant didn't think much of it until Avril arrived, followed by three other figures.

They are all women.

Good evening, Miss Avril.

Durant stood up and bowed, looking somewhat nervous.

“Good evening, Knight Durant,” Avril greeted him with a sweet smile. Rod glanced at Avril, who gave him an approving look, poured her a glass of water, added a spoonful of honey, and said…
"Like I said before, it's not a good thing to always be alone."

“Since Miss Avril is here, I asked her to select these three ladies and women for you.”

Durant is surrounded by men, and Rod simply doesn't have the patience to wait for him to find love on his own.

The three people in front of him covered a wide range of ages; judging from their appearance, they were between eighteen and thirty years old.

Durant hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Thank you for your kind offer."

"Then I'll trouble Avril to help with the introduction."

Rod pointed to the young girl on the far right and said, "Let's start with her."

Avril nodded and stepped forward to introduce:
"She is the carpenter's daughter, Ruth. She is nineteen years old and hardworking. She has learned a lot of carpentry from her father."

Ruth nodded and bowed slightly flustered.

"The second one is Stella, 24 years old, a hunter, who migrated from the Blackrock Mountains."

"The third one is Til, thirty-four years old. She is an ordinary but very capable woman. After her husband died, she lived in her father's house and raised five rabbits, a rooster and seven hens."

None of the three were particularly thin, especially the third one, Thiel, who could be described as voluptuous and looked like she could bear children.

Among ordinary people, being thin and small signifies weakness, poor health, and inability to work.

Women like that are not very popular.

The most beautiful was the hunter Stella. Her tall figure, over 1.7 meters, made her stand out among the three. Her face wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had a pair of sharp, emerald green eyes that were very attractive.

Ruth, with her round face, lowered her head shyly and nervously rubbed her hands together, looking very honest.

After the introductions, Avril sat back down next to Rod and whispered to Durant, "How was it? Any girls you like?"

"It all feels good."

Rod stroked his chin and nodded, somewhat intoxicated.

Just as I was about to express my opinion, Avril tugged at my sleeve to remind me.

Rod immediately realized, "Of course, it mainly depends on you, Durant."

Unable to refuse Rod's offer, Durant began to seriously consider it.

A moment of silence fell over the room.

Rhodes couldn't help but suggest, "Or perhaps you could find another opportunity to communicate more in the future?"

"it is good!"

Durant nodded in agreement without any hesitation.

Avril nodded and said, "It's already dark outside, so please have Sir Durant escort the three of them back."

“Good idea,” Rod agreed.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant took a deep breath, stood up, forced a smile, and looked at the three women as they extended their hands.

"Everyone, please."

Durant was very gentlemanly, but his movements were also very stiff.

This caused Rod and Avril behind them to chuckle.

After Durant left, Rod lamented, "If I hadn't been in a hurry, Durant might have really ended up alone."

"A lord should be concerned with these matters for his knights."

Avril nodded, tasted the honey water in her glass, and continued stirring.

Shortly after Durant left, the kitchen manager, Martha, came in to report that dinner was ready and could be served at any time.

"Durant is out of luck; it'll just be you and me having dinner together."

Rod had originally planned for Durant to select one of his favorites so the four of them could have dinner together, but now it seems that won't work.

Avril took a small sip of honey water and nodded.
"Great! This way, after Durant chooses his ideal wife, I can have a sumptuous dinner."

Dinner was served quickly. The main course was apple cinnamon cake and sweet barley porridge, while the side dishes included roasted venison with herbs, smoked herring, root vegetable stew, and rosemary snake soup.

"Snake soup?"

Rhodes paused for a moment, then asked, "Brought back by the hunting party?"

(End of this chapter)