The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The harbor quickly returned to calm, and the local gangs became polite and even helped the Goddess Church build a church.

Thanks to the tools they brought, a magnificent church quickly took shape, and many poor people in the harbor began to work for the church, which accelerated its construction.

The port of Valencia has also adopted many new types of equipment, including pulley systems, which has made the port more efficient than before, which was previously occupied by shipping fleets.

Although many workers lost their jobs as a result, those unemployed were seamlessly absorbed by the church. There was no need to worry about what would happen to these people after the church was built, as there was still a lot of basic public infrastructure to be built. After all, in the eyes of the Imperial fleet, the port of Valenia was too backward to be habitable. Merchants preferred to stay on their ships rather than live in the port.

As for where the money comes from, it naturally comes from these maritime merchants. Although these merchants go to sea to make money, compared with the opportunity to work for the empire, money is simply the most useless thing. Moreover, the profits from these infrastructure projects and maritime trade are just a drop in the ocean. As long as they are provided with food, the people in the harbor will work hard.

Today, the grey-robed man is leading Rosalind to the area around the harbor to clear out the minor nobles who refuse to submit.

The gray-robed high-level professional alone was already a devastating blow to the nobles in the surrounding areas, not to mention the mixed formation that accompanied Rosalind on the expedition. It included able-bodied men recruited from the harbor, Avar prisoners from the ships, and some Imperial soldiers serving as officers. The battle ended quickly, and Rosalind still felt a little unreal looking at the newly conquered territories.

For some time, Rosalind was either reading or writing letters. Many forces on the continent of Soren were paying close attention to Rosalind, or rather, the empire behind her. News of the naval battle had gradually spread among the Avars, and no force was foolish enough to cause trouble. On the contrary, more and more forces began to win over Rosalind. Even the Avars said that everything before was a misunderstanding and planned to send envoys to talk to Rosalind in detail.

The third prince, Domingo, who was closest to Rosalind, even came directly to the surrounding area to "help" Rosalind deal with the disobedient nobles.

Rosalind sighed and shook her head as she watched the so-called soldiers who fled at the sight of the cannons.

Rather than soldiers, they were more like a group of farmers with pitchforks. This was the true nature of most wars on the continent of Soren. High-level magic clashes, professionals randomly bombing each other, and knights charging in rows to the death were all very rare occurrences, especially after the Avars focused their main forces on the continent of Mu.

It is precisely because of this that the Avars were able to overwhelm everyone in a magic-free environment with their inferior firearms.

The minor lords Rosalind faced were roughly as strong as ordinary people in a magic-free environment. Not to mention, although this wasn't a magic-free environment, the Grey Robe was a genuine high-level spellcaster.

The situation on the battlefield quickly collapsed, and the morale of the farmers with pitchforks immediately collapsed, and they fled for their lives.

Even after killing several people, the professional knights behind them couldn't stop the rout. After looking at the gray-robed man stroking his beard and the cannons that were firing in a constant show of force, the knights gave a token resistance and then collapsed on their own. The lord's castle was already deserted, and Rosalind took over the territory so easily.

Domingo, who came to "help" Rosalind, frowned at the incredibly smooth battle. It was going too well, so much so that it was impossible to tell the level of his sister and the Empire. All he could see was that the old man in the grey robe was still vigorous, and that the old Empire's artillery was indeed very strong.

On the balcony of the not-so-tall lord's castle, Rosalind and the third prince, Domingo—now he should be called the third prince, but rather His Majesty King Domingo Castile—were with their personal guards looking down at the gathered people below.

Looking at the serfs kneeling before her, Rosalyn was momentarily dazed. After all, the empire had long since abolished serfs, and even Rosalyn herself seemed to have forgotten about these people at the very bottom of society.

When Rosalind heard that General Darcy of the Imperial First Army was a lowly savage, she didn't quite believe it. Could these lowly people really have such power? They were just people who would run away at the sight of magic.

"Little sister, today your third brother will teach you how to manage your territory well."

Domingo looked at the tax revenue figures for this territory handed to him by his subordinates and said, "Hmm... the original tax revenue was far too low, little sister. I suggest you charge this territory three times the original tax."

"three times?"

Rosalyn looked at her third brother in shock.

Seeing the shocked expression on his sister's face, Domingo nodded smugly and then began to speak eloquently: "The triple tax is just one of the means. You also need to allocate half of the village's able-bodied men to build castles, fortifications, and mine ore every month. Those who can't do it can be replaced by other family members. This will not only weaken their potential ability to rebel, but also provide a continuous source of labor for the territory."

"Then who will farm the land?"

To be honest, this was the first time Rosalind had discussed matters concerning the territory with her brother, since it was actually the first time Rosalind had ever owned her own territory.

"It doesn't matter if a few die from overwork. As long as the deterrent is strong enough, the others will naturally not dare to slack off. Besides, if they die from overwork, you can rent the land to wealthy tenants at high prices. They are more efficient and collect more taxes. As for the remaining refugees, it doesn't matter. Send them to the army or sell them as slaves. The money they earn can cover the military expenses."

Domingo turned to his sister, adopting a superior posture, and said earnestly, "You must remember, these people are very cunning. If you don't push them, they will always find ways to slack off. They even dare to hoard money instead of handing it over to contribute to the protection of the territory. The previous lord was unable to defeat us because of this. If the previous lord had been as smart as me, we wouldn't have been able to conquer this territory so easily."

Clearly, Domingo, though he didn't contribute anything, was extremely proud of his actions. What is this called? This is called sustainable exploitation.

Rosalyn suddenly felt that her third brother was such a stranger.

"Do the other older brothers and sisters manage their territory in the same way?"

Upon hearing Rosalind's question, Domingo nodded and said, "There's nothing I can do about it. I don't want it to be this way either, but if I don't, I won't have enough funds to fight against those who have usurped my father's power. Everything I've done is for Castile."

Although she said she didn't want to do this, Rosalyn knew that her third brother was also enjoying it when she saw the somewhat distorted smile on Domingo's face.

"I understand, thank you, Third Brother."

Rosalind's expression grew increasingly cold, and in the end she neither agreed to the alliance nor provided Domingo with imperial firearms, but simply politely escorted him out of the newly occupied territory.

Something seemed to have shattered in Rosalind's heart. Before seeing these serfs, before hearing her third brother talk eloquently about his policies, Rosalind had thought a lot. She not only thoroughly studied the decrees that the emperor had once used, but also analyzed them one by one, constantly explaining to the gray-robed man how those decrees balanced interests, how they manipulated people's hearts, and how ingenious they were.

But when Rosalind actually saw these serfs and subjects who couldn't even get enough to eat, she understood that there weren't so many complicated things. As long as you fed them, they would work for you. It was that simple.

"Grand Preceptor, can we implement the policies we formulated before?"

"It has already been implemented over at the harbor, but Your Majesty, are you sure you want to implement those policies here as well? Once it is rolled out, the surrounding nobles may unite against you, and even the Third Prince who just left may do so."

"Grand Preceptor, you should understand that our foundation does not lie with those nobles."

Rosalind looked toward the harbor and said, "And I must defeat my brothers and sisters as soon as possible, otherwise His Majesty the Emperor's next fleet will arrive."

Rosalyn shook her head and sighed, "His Majesty the Emperor will definitely hang my older brothers and sisters on the newly built streetlights."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Regus had already spread his wings and arrived at the place agreed upon with the Dragon Church. This place was a noble territory very close to the harbor. When they saw the blue dragon land, the local nobles knelt down in worship. They were all loyal followers of the dragon.