Knight: Becoming King of the World

Chapter 150: Chapter 129: Training So Many New Recruits, You’re Not Planning to Attack Me, Are You?

After taking a stroll through the market, Henry passed through the barracks, crossed the drawbridge, and entered the castle.

His gaze landed on a corner of the courtyard, where Ailia was sitting on a long bench. She held a garment she was mending, but her eyes were downcast, and she seemed to be in a daze.

As Henry’s head maid, Ailia had always been very competent, managing all the maids in the castle and Henry’s daily household affairs.

She was always the first to wake up and the last to rest. Henry rarely saw her so relaxed.

Henry quietly walked over, sat in the empty spot beside Ailia, and said softly, "Ailia, you look exhausted. You should get some more rest."

At the sound of Henry’s voice, Ailia’s eyes shot open. Only then did she notice him sitting beside her.

A hint of surprise flickered in Ailia’s eyes, but she quickly calmed down.

"My Lord, what are you doing here? I... I was just resting my eyes for a moment."

Henry smiled and shook his head. "Ailia, you don’t need to push yourself so hard. There are over a dozen maids in the castle; you no longer need to do all the chores with your own hands."

Ailia lowered her head, stealing a glance at Henry. "My Lord, I’m not tired," she said.

Henry shrugged and stood up. "Then, at least for tonight, take the evening off. Have someone else take over your duties, and get some proper rest."

"Alright, My Lord. Thank you for your concern."

It was already noon when Henry and his army returned to Westwood Laine Castle. Between inspections and listening to reports, the time had slipped away.

Henry returned to his study and looked through the letters from Yiduo and Daimon. The contents were more or less the same.

They highlighted the name of the overseas Gronia Republic and the limited information about it. The rest was news, such as Hobia being attacked again, the Emperor’s Legion causing a bloodbath in the western coastal region, the Prince defeating the army of the Principality of Kievan Rus’, and so on.

Speaking of the Prince, Henry had also seen the financial support from him in the ledgers—a nice bit of extra income.

What concerned Henry most at the moment was the price of serfs. With various conflicts breaking out, there were plenty of exiles and wanderers. It was highly likely that many had been captured by Slave Capture Corps and were being sold as serfs.

This was the perfect opportunity for Henry to purchase serfs in bulk and bolster the population of his domain.

Waiting for his subjects to have children was too slow. Waiting for people from other regions to migrate was also too slow. Serfs were more convenient. They were a large and ready supply, and they could be managed uniformly.

Within two years, the houses would be built and the fields would be tilled. Then, they could be freed from servitude and become tenant farmers, becoming a part of Henry’s fief.

Feeling the light dim, Henry lit a torch, candles, and an oil lamp. At the same time, oil lamps and torches were being lit on the streets of Westwood Laine, and the market gradually quieted down.

The kitchen in the castle was bustling under Orianna’s command. Henry’s dinner tonight was exceptionally sumptuous.

The dining table was filled with all kinds of fresh meats and vegetables, all carefully selected from the market.

There was golden roasted lamb, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. There was beef stewed until tender, paired with fresh carrots and potatoes, its aroma filling the air.

There were also various fresh salads, simply tossed with lettuce, tomatoes, and olive oil, tasting crisp and refreshing.

Claude, Tommy, and Bain were dining with Henry tonight, mainly to reward Tommy.

Claude sat to Henry’s right, Tommy to his left, and Bain sat next to Tommy.

"This lamb tonight is truly delicious. We have Tommy’s administration to thank for this. The open-air market is thriving, allowing us to enjoy such fresh ingredients."

Claude gave Tommy a teasing look and said, "Yes, My Lord. The development of the open-air market has indeed brought prosperity to the entire domain."

Tommy frantically waved his hands. "It’s all thanks to your excellent policies, My Lord. I’m just the one implementing them. If you hadn’t led the army to fight the evil Count John and prevented the chaos of war, Westwood Laine could never have developed so steadily."

Claude looked incredulous. ’He couldn’t believe such words were coming from Tommy. To think his old friend would end up like this.’

’Claude knew Tommy had become Westwood Laine’s Civil Servant, but it had only been half a day! How had he already become like one of those officials from the Free Cities’ municipal halls?’

In truth, Tommy wasn’t just flattering him. Henry’s policies were just that good. The taxes were almost nonexistent, barely enough to maintain the fief’s operations.

It was all thanks to their lord’s ability to generate income externally.

"My Lord, does the training for the new recruits begin tomorrow? After only a month, will they be able to fight the Lizardmen in the desert?"

Compared to Tommy and Claude, Bain was more concerned with matters of war.

"I will personally oversee their training. This batch of new recruits is primarily for the garrisons defending Westwood Laine and Ximira Castle.

In our current order of battle, all our soldiers are veterans, hardened by numerous battles and long training. They will be the ones forming the army sent to Hobia."

Bain nodded. ’Over two thousand veterans. That’s more than enough.’ In his view, even the two companies of new recruits at Westwood Laine could go with them to Hobia.

’Although they haven’t experienced war, they’ve trained for a long time. They could absolutely serve as Auxiliary Soldiers, handling logistics and supplies alongside the serfs.’

Dinner proceeded in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. After the meal, Henry, with a satisfied smile, expressed his sincere gratitude to the three of them.

This wasn’t false modesty from Henry. Without their help, he might have become a powerful wanderer, adept at warfare but clueless at governance. He would have razed his enemies’ lands to the ground but mismanaged his own fief into ruin, leaving himself with nothing to eat.

After the three left, Henry washed up and returned to his bedroom, only to find that Ailia had, as usual, warmed his bed for him in advance.

Henry leaned down to look and found that Ailia had already fallen asleep. She was curled up on the edge of the bed, still clutching the half-sewn piece of clothing, her head pillowed on her other arm.

Henry sighed softly and carefully took the garment from Ailia’s hand.

Henry took off his clothes and changed into his nightclothes. He blew out the bedside candle and lay down in the warm bed.

On this quiet night, everything in Westwood Laine seemed so peaceful, as if heralding a better tomorrow.

「The next morning」

Henry rose early. After breakfast, he summoned his officers and Tommy for a meeting in the conference room.

"Starting today, we are redeploying the army. I need you to send all existing forces out to patrol the various parts of the fief. They will operate on a three-day rotation to ensure every soldier gets a chance to rest and spend their pay."

The officers nodded in understanding. Rather than having the soldiers simply train in the barracks, it was better to use them to maintain public order and stability.

Henry continued, "I intend to use the empty barracks to train new soldiers."

The officers exchanged glances. They all knew what this meant. It meant they would be getting more loyal and reliable comrades-in-arms. After all, they themselves had been "trained" this way, and it was remarkably effective.

He turned to Tommy and said, "Tommy, I need you to assist me in ensuring the supply of training and equipment for the new recruits. My goal is to train six companies of Imperial new recruits, totaling seven hundred and twenty men, and seven companies of Grassland Warriors, totaling two hundred and eighty men."

Tommy said, a bit awkwardly, "My Lord, this will empty out our entire reserve of horses."

"We bought them to be used. Are you suggesting we just let them stand around eating grass?"

Tommy quickly said, "I will begin preparations at once, My Lord."

Henry continued, "After one month of intensive training, the two castles will each be garrisoned by three companies of armored Imperial new recruits, while the seven companies of Grassland Warriors will be responsible for patrolling our ever-expanding fief.

This will not only prevent harassment from bandits, but also allow for faster communication across the domain, helping Tommy manage affairs everywhere."

Tommy thought for a moment and suggested, "My Lord, if you permit it, you could create a hundred Militia positions for each of the two castles, and thirty Militia positions for each village. This way, we can establish a basic defense force."

Henry clapped his hands, agreeing with Tommy’s idea. This was a great chance to build cohesion among the settlers, and he wouldn’t even have to pay them.

This way, Henry could divide his forces into two. One part would be elite field troops for external campaigns, and the other part would be a garrison force dedicated to defending the fief.

This would make managing his military structure much easier.

After the meeting, the officers and Tommy immediately sprang into action.

The officers first went to the barracks. Each selected a village or farmstead as their patrol area and readied their soldiers for departure.

Afterward, Tommy and Bain began selecting the new recruits. They chose healthy, well-behaved young men from among the serfs and shepherd slaves.

In the armory, large quantities of armor and weapons were brought out and sent to the blacksmiths for polishing and repair.

Currently, Henry’s register of subjects listed over ninety blacksmith households, and now their hammers were practically smoking. The Half-Beastman armor was being melted down and reforged into new weapons, which had kept these artisans working around the clock.

Now, with so many more orders, even though Henry paid them well, the blacksmiths were still dizzy from the workload.

When it came to training new recruits, this was familiar territory for Henry. Over the next few weeks, the barracks became exceptionally busy.

The serfs and shepherd slaves began their combat training under Henry’s guidance.

They learned how to use a sword and shield, how to ride a horse, and how to maintain formation on the battlefield.

While training the new recruits during the day, Henry also paid attention to other matters within the fief, holding regular meetings with Tommy and Claude to discuss issues like food production and market management.

Meanwhile, in Odoche, not too far from Westwood Laine, Count John had become highly anxious.

"Are you sure? Baron Henry has recruited over a thousand new soldiers?"

John gripped his wine cup tightly, a layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead.