Chapter 369: Chapter 118: Opening Up a Trade Route

"Gentlemen, I understand how you feel. We are all lords of the Kingdom, invested by His Majesty the King in the Crystal Palace.

Yet now, we have failed to live up to His Majesty’s expectations."

Such is the art of rhetoric, and Robson demonstrated it perfectly. With just a few words, he had reframed the Sri County nobles’ self-serving inquiries into a matter of righteous concern for the Kingdom.

Although everyone understood the true nature of the matter, his words were still pleasant to hear.

Seeing that Robson had given them a way to save face, the Sri County nobles all began to nod, fully displaying the typical demeanor of the old aristocracy.

"There was nothing to be done about the situation turning out this way.

Ehrlich Province has only just been established and lacks a proper, formal army. The nobles of the two northern counties are all busy with the spring planting and preparing to develop their domains, so it’s difficult to assemble a Noble Alliance Army," Robson said with a sigh, wearing an expression that said he was powerless to help.

"My lord, don’t we have the Military Commission?"

Just as Robson was sighing, one of the nobles stepped forward.

Robson looked toward the voice and saw it was Knight Vid.

Knight Vid’s words significantly improved Robson’s impression of him.

’This old fox knows how to play the game.’

Without a doubt, Knight Vid had seen what Robson was planning and had deliberately brought up the topic of the Military Commission.

Upon hearing the words ’Military Commission,’ many of the nobles present finally caught on, albeit belatedly.

Of course, they were still in the minority. Most of them simply followed Knight Vid’s lead and began discussing the Military Commission.

"The Military Commission... I’ve brought all of it," Robson said, a puzzled look on his face.

"I have a total of four hundred soldiers behind me. Three hundred of them are reinforcements I brought from Affleck, and the other one hundred are the entire force of the Military Commission," Robson said, looking at Knight Vid.

After Robson’s statement, the nobles of Sri County could no longer keep a straight face.

They had been preparing to lambast Robson and question why he had been so slow to dispatch troops.

But it turned out he had already sent them. So why hadn’t those troops saved them? Because there were too few soldiers. And why were there so few? Because when the Military Commission was first established, they themselves had demanded that it maintain a Standing Army of only one hundred men.

Now that things had come to this, wasn’t it their own doing?

As for blaming Robson, that was completely out of the question.

Robson had, in fact, fulfilled his duties. As chairman of the Military Commission, he had brought the entire Standing Army. As Governor of Ehrlichland, he had sent a full three hundred reinforcements.

Three hundred men was not a small number.

"Lord Viscount, I was wondering, could the matter of the Military Commission be discussed again?" Knight Vid asked, looking at Robson with a pleading tone.

Hearing Knight Vid’s words, the nobles on the scene grew tense.

Previously, when they discussed the Military Commission, they had seen it as nothing more than a tool for Robson to line his own pockets.

Now that they were feeling the pain, the noble lords of Sri County were beginning to have regrets.

It was already April, and the Beastman Army had entrenched itself in Sri County. If they were allowed to remain, Sri County would miss not only the spring planting but the summer planting as well.

At that point, what they stood to lose would be far more than the small sum they’d save on the Military Commission.

Upon hearing Knight Vid’s proposal, Robson put on a troubled expression.

"The Military Commission was established by a unanimous vote of all the nobles in the province. Arbitrarily changing it won’t be so easy...

I’m just worried our friends in the north will hold a grudge."

"Of course, it’s not entirely impossible."

Robson’s words sent the Sri County nobles on a roller coaster; their hearts were in turmoil.

"Lord Viscount, are you facing some difficulty? Please, speak freely. Sri County and you, Lord Viscount, have always been as one. Whatever troubles you face, we can overcome them together," Knight Vid chimed in at the perfect moment.

Following Knight Vid’s lead, the other noble lords all chimed in with their agreement.

Robson smiled at Vid. ’This one has great potential.’

"The matter of the Military Commission should, by rights, be decided by everyone together.

However, the current situation is an emergency, and the Military Commission needs to be expanded.

How about this: from now on, you waive the tariffs for our friends in the two northern counties, allowing everyone’s merchant caravans to travel freely?" Robson suggested, looking at the Sri County nobles.

Robson made this demand primarily for the future development of the Affleck Domain.

The Affleck Domain currently had a great deal to sell. Leaving aside the weapons factory and the Demon Beast Mountain Range industry chain that Everton had brought, there was agriculture alone.

Thanks to the existence of the Water-Lifting Machine No. 1, the amount of arable land in the Affleck Domain was expanding rapidly. If the Affleck Domain didn’t see a large influx of people in the future, it was bound to have a grain surplus.

Grain was a hard currency in any era.

These things alone were enough for Robson to make a small fortune within the five northeastern provinces.

Moreover, besides Robson doing business himself, the Affleck Domain would definitely need to attract more merchant caravans in the future.

Although the Guterres Family had previously promised Robson that they would provide commercial support to his domain,

just because they came didn’t mean they would put in a great deal of effort. To make them exert themselves, Robson had to create a favorable business environment for the caravans.

Hearing Robson’s demand, Knight Vid looked at the nobles behind him.

At this moment, the Sri County nobles were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Why would they care about tariffs that offered no tangible, immediate benefit?

The noble lords of Sri County nodded repeatedly at Robson’s suggestion. If anyone had dared to object at that moment, they probably would have been dealt with by their own peers first.

Since the issue with the Sri County nobles was resolved, the expansion of the Military Commission’s Standing Army naturally fell into place.

In the end, the army’s size was set at two thousand men, and Robson even promised to cover half of the military expenses himself.

Covering half the expenses wasn’t an act of mercy from Lord Robson; it was mainly because Ehrlichland was newly established, and he couldn’t push people to their breaking point.

How to drain the pond for fish in a sustainable way was its own field of study.

...

Now that the matter of the Military Commission was settled, Robson had no reason to delay any further.

Time waited for no one. It was already early April, and in May, Robson would have to set off for the Royal Capital to participate in a general’s investiture ceremony and receive his rewards for the eastern front war.

Before heading to the Royal Capital, Robson had to eliminate this Beastman unit within the three provinces beyond the pass.

Even with Lord Robson’s thick skin, he couldn’t possibly have the gall to accept the Kingdom’s rewards while Beastmen were still on his own territory.

Of course, eliminating this Beastman unit within a month wasn’t difficult. The hard part was how to milk the situation for all it was worth before finally destroying them.

After all, the lands beyond the pass were not yet completely under Lord Robson’s control. The nobles of Auric Province and Ador Province were still not entirely convinced.

Although time was tight, Robson had fortunately long been prepared for such a situation.

The remaining elements of Affleck’s First Regiment and the entire Second Regiment were already assembled and ready to move out.

Even Robson himself didn’t know that after his orders reached the Affleck Domain, the young men of the First and Second Regiments couldn’t help but cheer.

Most of the men in Robson’s army were young and vigorous. Under the merit system, their desire to achieve great deeds and build a career was unstoppable.

Besides the Warriors of the First and Second Regiments, many of Robson’s old subordinates in the two northern counties heard he was deploying troops in the south and sent reinforcements to support his campaign.

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