PS: Thank you to the "Retained Veterans Brigade" for becoming another leader of this book! Spread flowers!
That night, under the summer night sky, Ryan and Alfred sat on the balcony of the castle and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner.
Time has passed, and the identities of the two people are now different. What Ryan entertained Alfred was the most standard Brittanian feast. The entire banquet procedure was strictly supervised to ensure that Ryan, as the host, would not be rude.
The first course was a frozen appetizer, which consisted of caviar, salmon salad and foie gras.
The second course was soup, Brittany onion soup.
The third course is a hot starter, Mousilon's famous dish of cheese-baked escargots plays its role well.
After the first three dishes were served, Ryan was able to talk to Alfred, but Duke Mousilon tasted the baked snails skillfully with a knife and fork. He looked at his childhood playmate, smiled, and said nothing.
On the contrary, Alfred had a lot to say to Ryan, and he simply didn’t know where to start. Alfred, who was in his thirties this year, had grown a short beard, and the corners of his eyes had begun to appear.
Thin crow’s feet are proof of a man’s maturity.
However, judging from Alfred's mental state, he is still full of surging vitality. His spirit is very good, and he still maintains an optimistic and positive personality after suffering some setbacks.
Alfred, the head of the ancient church district of Leia, encountered many difficulties in the construction and restoration of the entire church district.
In fact, in the weeks since Ryan returned to his Duke's Castle, the war in Mousilon has not stopped at all.
The first person to launch the war was Lucien, Baron of the Spire Palace. He led two infantry battalions supported by Lane and launched the Battle of the Swamp. In this battle, Lucien made full use of the powerful combat effectiveness of the serf infantry battalions and faced the swamp.
The formation was not conducive to the knight's charge. He drove some animals to suck
Attracted the undead creatures and beastmen wandering in the swamp, and then ordered the knights to dismount and arrange among the serf infantry. They used the crossfire of the pocket array and the longbowmen to cooperate with the slow movement speed of the swamp to surround and destroy them all.
The remaining undead army and beastman tribe near the Spire Palace.
Moreover, Lane got the news that his father-in-law, Francois, privately gave Lucien a low-interest loan, with an annual interest rate of only 3%. With this money and Lane's help, Lucien successfully got through the difficulties.
Baron Richard Olivier launched the Richard Clearance War and eliminated an undead stronghold near the castle.
Baron Juan of Biokari launched the Battle of Orphan Hill. He somehow convinced the wood elves to join. This war defeated the Skaven lurking near Orphan Hill.
The warlord was killed by the wood elf hero Araloth the Valiant. Through this battle, Huan temporarily drove the Skaven of Mousilon underground.
This fully proves that under the leadership of Ryan, who keeps winning, his men have given birth to a large number of knights and nobles who are good at fighting.
What about Alfred?
The Templars seemed to have found inspiration in the previous explosion. He made full use of the power of gunpowder and defeated the wandering undead with a large number of grenades made by the dwarves when the beastmen gathered, winning the battle to defend the church district.
"In short, it's a lot more troublesome than I thought." Alfred didn't know where to start with a thousand words, and he could only sigh in the end: "Continuous fighting is not bad, but the real trouble is,
Everything has to start from scratch, I don’t have my tax collector, I don’t have my magistrate, I only have a few paladins and ascetics, then
These ascetics only know how to flog themselves all day long. The paladins are not good at management. They make everything a mess. I am forced to make decisions in every detail. My good friend, you know, I am not you, you can always
I can come up with solutions and all kinds of fanciful ideas, even bypassing chivalry and the law, but I can't."
"But you handled it pretty well. I heard that you solved a lot of troubles." Ryan looked at Alfred with interest.
The fourth dish was brought up by the dark elf. The fourth dish was fish, the famous white wine cream salmon.
"Thank you... That's because I learned a lot from you, good friend." Alfred lowered his head and tasted the white wine buttered salmon, which was fried by the chef of the Wingford Palace brought by Sulia.
There is a greasy feeling, and the sauce made of light cream can be used to dissolve the greasy feeling. The smoothness of the cream combined with the delicateness of the salmon is the best in the world.
"Learned something new?" Ryan was very interested: "What did you learn, Afu?"
"Just like you, I suddenly realized the power of authority, good friend." Alfred showed an embarrassed expression and scratched his golden hair behind his back: "I suddenly realized that I seemed to have become a hero.
, people worship me and fear me. My words seem to have become truth and law. Although I have some problems with the handling of some affairs, I have some problems with them.
The personnel arrangements also seemed to be in a hurry, but no one questioned me. On the contrary, as long as they were my orders, they were resolutely implemented. Therefore, I understand that I know how to use personal prestige to deal with things. Although this is temporary, but
This is effective. Sometimes, I have some illusions. I even think that I am the center of the universe in that ancient church area."
"Normally, power confuses and inflates people." Ryan nodded and said softly: "Afu, remember that when personal prestige is exhausted, temporarily suppressing the problem does not mean solving the problem."
"I understand, good friend, I have also been observing your policies over the years." Alfred was a little embarrassed to be said. In fact, he was indeed a little inflated because of his monopoly in that place, but after meeting Ryan
After building the newly built splendid Duke's Castle, he calmed down again: "But I'm not like you. I still haven't figured out how you created today's glory like magic, and how knights and serfs coexist harmoniously.
Scenery."
"This is a complicated issue." Ryan nodded. He placed his hands clasped on the long table. The silver dinner plate trembled slightly with his movements and made a pleasant sound: "But you have made great progress.
When faced with a problem, you neither evaded nor tried to solve the problem, but faced the problem head-on, even though you relied on your personal prestige to temporarily solve the problem, which is also a positive way of coping."
"But this is not a solution to the problem." Alfred sighed suddenly: "You know, good friend, before that, I had written to the Justice Church several times and applied to send enough people to help me, but I was waiting for my answer.
It’s all prevarication and delay, and my superiors always say we need to think about it again and study it again.”
"But when Mousilon was conquered this time, my name spread throughout the old world along with this battle. When I wrote another letter and sent it to the Church of Justice, Archbishop Wickma just said one sentence and sent it to me.
With more than 600 troops, and with the help of the imperial bureaucrats, everything in the ancient church district immediately became orderly." Alfred sighed: "But I don't like that style."
"What kind of style? Have small meetings for big things and big meetings for small things? Constantly requesting to expand the staff and establish new departments?" Ryan smiled: "How often do we see this kind of situation?"
"Uh-huh~" Alfred shook his head and smiled bitterly: "There are many, I won't talk about them. I actually don't like those people. They are always domineering, thinking that they are people sent by the Archbishop, and they like to talk condescendingly.
, On the one hand, they looked down on the locals in Musilon and shouted at them all day long, but on the other hand, they were very flattering to me, with a somewhat flattering attitude."
"That's for sure." Ryan looked at Alfred across the table and said, "Isn't this normal? What position do these people sent by the empire give themselves? They are definitely not here to be serfs. Then
They naturally have a great sense of superiority over the serfs, and then who is the source of their power? It is you who have the autonomy and property rights of the entire Freya Ancient Church District. They will naturally want to please you, because they are just agents. This
It’s just bureaucracy.”
The fifth dish was brought to the table by the dark elves and other maids. This dish was the main dish. It was made with black truffles, wine and black pepper sauce. It was poured on top of sixty-seven mature sirloin steaks, and was dotted with a few pieces on the side.
Roasted cauliflower and served on an iron plate.
The sirloin of sirloin steak is derived from the ancient Breton word (sur loin), which originally means the meat above the beef tenderloin, that is, the outer rib of the beef. The overall taste is strong, hard, chewy, and juicy.
The taste is fresh and tender.
A piece of fried sirloin steak will exude a faint aroma. The vinegar and acid sauce is poured around the steak. The steak will show a very unique dark golden color. When you cut the steak with a table knife, the beef inside will be beautiful pink.
Colorful and juicy.
Ryan picked up a small piece of steak and threw it into his mouth. He could clearly feel the juice spilling out as his teeth chewed it. The aroma of the barbecue was well transmitted to every taste bud in his mouth, swirling around in it and filling it up.
The original taste of beef is brought into full play.
"So, I heard that there are rumors outside that you like and admire the enfeoffment system and have some disdain for the bureaucracy? I originally thought this was wrong, but now I think you have your own ideas." Alfred
He smiled and said: "Look, after the enfeoffment is completed, you can drop everything and rush back here, and we will be busy there from beginning to end."
"No, no, no!" Ryan said quickly: "I do not advocate the enfeoffment system, and I have never said that the enfeoffment system is a superior system. Don't talk nonsense!"
"But you..." Alfred hesitated.
Ryan gave a wry smile and looked at the starry sky on the summer night: "Afu, enfeoffment is a helpless move. This issue is very complicated. Let me put it simply, and you won't say it. If I appoint the castle lord, what will happen in the future?
Regarding Mousilon's current situation, will Olivier, Lucien and Juan work as hard as they do now?"
Lord of the Castle is a professional title in Brittany, which is somewhat similar to Lord of the Guard, that is, a noble appoints a subordinate noble to guard a castle, and the ownership of the castle still belongs to the original noble.
Alfred shook his head and smiled bitterly, he understood.
It is precisely because the land has become their own that they work so hard.
"So, the enfeoffment system is actually a trick." Seeing that Alfred understood it, Ryan said with a smile: "This is equivalent to me throwing the whole mess to Juan and the others, and they will definitely fight for the recovery.
If you do your best to produce and rebuild the territory, I won't have to worry about it, but the disadvantages of the enfeoffment system are the low army recruitment capacity and lower tax revenue."
"But your control over the territory is unparalleled. I dare say that as long as you say a word, all the knights and nobles will immediately lead their armies to follow you." Alfred was still struggling with this matter.
"Hahaha~ I said, I was just taking advantage." Ryan nodded: "Yes, as long as I say something, Juan and the others will definitely respond, but this is not because I am Duke Musilon, but because I am
Ryan, I am Ryan Malcador because of my personal prestige and personal martial prowess, not my title."
"I understand, you are enjoying the benefits of the enfeoffment system and the cohesion brought by the lofty personal prestige at the same time! You guy! What a bad guy!" Alfred understood, and the Templar Commander pointed at Ryan and laughed.
: "I understand, you don't really admire the enfeoffment system, you are just enjoying the convenience it brings to you!"
The sixth course is a hot plate, a standard southern Brittany dish, chicken braised in red wine.
The seventh course is a cold appetizer, consisting of Bordello octopus, salmon, arctic shellfish, tuna, frozen crab, and frozen shrimp.
"So, Ah Fu, you must be careful not to see the wind or rain. When you hear the rumors outside, you have to judge for yourself. Do you understand this? If these things are completely... out of nowhere, you can help
He said it again, this means you are also responsible, right?" Ryan smiled.
He said eloquently, and then his face slowly became serious: "I have never said that the feudal system is superior to the bureaucracy. In fact, the empire's bureaucracy does have some problems and is annoying, but no matter what, it is the score.
The feudal system is much more advanced and very necessary."
The eighth dish was ice cream, and the mango sorbet removed the fishy smell of seafood from Ryan and Alfred's mouths.
The ninth course is salad, fruit salad.
"In other words, you will eventually lead the entire kingdom to evolve into the empire's system, right?" Alfred thought thoughtfully.
"Yes." Ryan nodded: "But we need to remember that reform must be carried out step by step. If the step is too big, it will cause trouble. In fact, based on the current foundation of Britannia, the ultra-low literacy rate and
The cultural level is not enough for us to directly implement changes in one step. Now is the best time, because I have obtained the highest power, but the foundation is not good.
Although I don't have the conditions to implement it, I have to have a clear mind about what to do at what stage. At present, I don't have the conditions to change it, so I might as well delegate power. Moreover, these knights and nobles completely surrender to me, and I don't have to worry about enfeoffment.
Due to the low level of army recruitment caused by the system, the core of the problem now is to restore Musilon first and let it return to its previous glory, and let’s talk about other things.”
"Yes, that makes sense." At this time, Alfred nodded sincerely: "My good friend, you have convinced me."
The last tenth course is dessert, and today’s dessert is Imperial Black Forest Cake.
After finishing the black forest cake, today's dinner ended like this.
"Let's go, Afu, let's go to the hot springs." Ryan stood up.