Chapter 257 Leon began his layout (two in one!)
The lush branches and leaves of the world tree, the hazy cover in the sky.
The thick branches are like the thighs of the Jimena family, and people can't help but hug them.
The sale of Abandoned Land Special Development Bonds was undoubtedly a huge success.
Under normal circumstances, nobles tend to be quite calm.
But today, at this moment, is obviously not the usual situation.
Just under the World Tree in Fort Wilson, the southern nobles of the Kingdom of Andal donated generously one after another.
the reason is simple.
During this short inspection, they had clearly realized one thing.
That is... no one, not even King Wilbert I of Andal, can restrain the development of Antolia!
If Antolia can really capture this land south of the mountains, then... the land controlled by the Jimena family may be as big as the Kingdom of Andal!
As nobles, they know the possibilities hidden behind this better than anyone else!
invest! Investment is a must!
After all, there are only a few nobles like the Earl of Gray Water Castle who directly hugged the thighs of the Jimena family and wanted to find a way to the dark side.
But even so, it is necessary to show goodwill and loyalty to one's lord.
What's more, the interest rate on bonds is actually not low, and can even be said to be quite attractive.
Rather than letting the money rot in the treasury of your lord's castle, it would be better to take some out and test the waters.
In addition, there were Idrit nobles like Count Felden watching eagerly, ready to eat the remaining bonds at any time, so the nobles naturally did not dare to hesitate at all.
If you slow down, let alone eat meat, you may not even be able to drink a mouthful of hot soup, and you will have to go to your own territory to gnaw bones in despair.
So...
when the elf maid handed the purchase agreements to the nobles, the nobles present had no time to marvel at the amazing face of the elf maid. They all picked up the pens in their hands and signed on the brown paper without hesitation. Put down his name.
"Everyone will be rewarded adequately for today's decision!"
Leon was in a happy mood.
Use other people's money to do your own thing.
Could there be anything happier than this?
If the Jimena family relied solely on their own efforts, it would not be a problem to develop the abandoned land, but the speed of development would be greatly reduced.
And now...
I just need to sign my name and buy the bonds of the Jimena family.
Then the relationship between Leon and the southern nobles is no longer just a simple relationship of rights and obligations between lords and vassals.
Because in this relationship, there is an additional connection of interests that runs throughout.
At least when it comes to the development of the abandoned land led by the Jimena family, the nobles in the south stand on a united front.
Although they may not be aware of this at the moment, but... As the number of bond issuances increases and the sunk costs of the nobles continue to increase, if anyone wants to go to the abandoned land to get a piece of the pie, that means Jimena The income that the family can obtain will be affected, and the solvency of the bonds will also be challenged!
And this will undoubtedly arouse the sensitive nerves in the hearts of the nobles.
The southern nobles will inevitably stand up in unison, and then shout - NO!
Legally, as a marquis, Leon has the right to develop.
In private, the southern nobles will also benefit from the development of the abandoned land.
This is the change Leon wants to see!
If you want to compete for higher status and power, you must first make the southern part of the kingdom become monolithic.
Even if the noble vassals may have conflicts or disputes in private, everyone must reach an agreement on the matter of "the southern noble group closely surrounding the Jimena family as the core"!
This is the profound understanding that the Duke of Galicia was assassinated after he rose up in arms, which brought Leon a profound understanding.
...
And with the signing of the agreement, Count Felden, who was the representative of Prince Mendez, left first.
The remaining nobles of the kingdom also resigned one after another under the protection of Antolian soldiers.
This is a place of abandonment after all.
In the context of being surrounded by foreigners, it is quite reasonable to send Antorian soldiers for personal protection.
Even if they sign a bond purchase agreement, war weapons like the Natila Grassland and Wilson's Bison are not what they want to see.
However...
not all nobles have left.
For example, the Earl of Gray Water Castle, Earl Colt, and Viscount Cummings were left behind by Leon.
Compared with the other noble vassals, these three people are obviously very loyal!
Of course, there is no need to mention the Earl of Graywater Castle. As the first nobleman among the southern nobles to propose a sense of alignment and accept defense outsourcing, Eli Wayne, the Earl of Graywater Castle, can definitely be regarded as half of his own people.
As for Viscount Cummings...
although he is not a vassal of Leon, as a former northern noble, he was even a noble who once followed the Duke of Sorrow Castle to start a civil war in the kingdom. After becoming the new ruler of Parma City, The only way for him to gain a foothold in the southern part of the kingdom is to hold on to Leon's thigh while transferring the financial power of the city of Parma.
So now the Jimena family can even be said to control half of the city of Parma!
As for the last Count Colt, since this guy even bought his title of earl from Leon, he was naturally labeled as a confidant of the Jimena family.
As Stein, Juan and others arrived one after another, Leon simply held a temporary meeting at Fort Wilson.
"The civil war in the kingdom is over, and you can do many things that I have told you before."
If we just talk about closeness and distance, then with Leon as the center of the circle, Stann and other subordinates of the Jimena family are naturally closest to the center of the circle. .
The three nobles headed by the Earl of Gray Water Castle are only R/3 apart from Leon at most.
Compared with other nobles who can barely be included in the circle, the degree of intimacy is not just a little bit better.
"That's all the Marquis orders!"
Serna Bundy, Earl of Colt, said without hesitation.
He was originally an ordinary eastern businessman.
If Leon hadn't appointed him, the title of Earl Colt would never have been his.
Especially after becoming Earl Colt, his original family business, covering almost half of the Andal Grain Store, has formed a stable "Bondy-Jimena" line as he moved closer to the Jimena family. "Chain of interests.
Leon had mentioned many plans to him before.
So now that his lord has finally spoken officially, Earl Colt is naturally ready.
Using the granary hotels run by the Bundy family and covering almost half of the Andal Kingdom as the fulcrum, an intelligence network was constructed to serve the Jimena family!
This is what Leon is for.
This is exactly the reason why Leon handed Count Colt to Serna Bundy!
The importance of intelligence is self-evident.
As early as the two previous wars, Leon was quite dissatisfied with the extremely slow speed of message transmission in this era and later. And since the transmission speed of information is difficult to increase, then we should work hard on the speed of obtaining information!
What's more...
as they grow older, how will the veterans who once served in the Antolian mercenaries be accommodated?
If the "retired" veterans were allowed to form a caravan as in the past, in Leon's view it would undoubtedly be a waste of resources.
Those people are precious talents who have survived war after war.
Not only do they know how to assess the situation, but they can also detect changes in the current situation.
Therefore, since the Antolian veterans who crossed the Chiron River three times returned from the Principality of Norton, Leon has conducted special training for them.
Although the physical strength of these Antolia veterans can no longer support them in high-intensity combat.
But the intelligence collection headquarters?
According to Leon's plan, the Bondi family is spread across every property in more than half of the Andal Kingdom, and there will be veterans of Antolia in the future.
Even though the friendly relationship between the Jimena family and Count Brabant can allow the Jimena family to quickly understand the trends in the royal capital and the changes in the current situation of the kingdom, but... outsiders are still outsiders after all.
The interests of Count Brabant and the Jimena family will never be consistent.
In this case, it is particularly important to create an intelligence network all over the Andal Kingdom specifically to serve the Jimena family!
Moreover...
with the Antolian veterans spread throughout the Bundy family's properties, Earl Colt was firmly tied to the Jimena family.
It is not an exaggeration to say that one will be prosperous and both will be prosperous, but one will suffer both losses.
"As long as the veterans of Antolia are ready, they can get a letter of appointment from the Bundy family tomorrow." "
And each of them will at least be the manager of various properties under the name of the Bundy family. As a deputy, you can gain more convenience."
Earl Colt gave his guarantee quite eloquently.
"Where's Stan?"
Leon has always had a very clear position on the future of Antoria's mercenaries.
The task of large-scale corps operations will naturally be undertaken by the Antolian Militia, the Lapruk Corps and other subsequent corps.
As for the mercenaries of Antolia...
while retaining the attributes of mercenaries, they must actively move towards individual combat.
In this way, when you get older, you can serve as an intelligence officer, and when you are in your prime, you can also become a sharp knife in the hands of the Jimena family, when it is inconvenient for Leon to appear in public - such as when facing Prince Mendez When the mercenaries request, strive for the best interests of the Jimena family.
"I have truthfully informed the veterans of Antolia about the Marquis's plans and plans, and they are happy to take on such a task."
Hearing this, Stain replied without hesitation.
To be honest, although gathering intelligence may sound like a very dangerous thing at first.
But in fact, this is far from the case. At least in this era of numerous nobles and extremely low productivity, it is not that dangerous.
After all...
for the nobles of this era, secrets cannot be kept.
So all they had to do was to collect and summarize the local situation and send it back to Antolia by a dedicated person.
In addition, these dispatched veterans can also receive two salaries from the Jimena family and the Bundy family, which can be regarded as a pretty good pension position.
"In that case, let's set off as soon as possible!"
"As for the person who will be in charge of this intelligence network..."
"Transfer back Giorgi, who is stationed in the Forest of Moon Shadow, to collect information and compile it. There is no need for artistic processing. This For a former bard, it is not a difficult task."
"Yes! That's it!"
"Antoria Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Forest of Moon Shadow, Giorny, was transferred to the position of Director of External Intelligence of Antoria !"
Leon made a decision immediately.
If it weren't for the sudden outbreak of war in the Principality of Norton, Leon would have already planned to do these things.
It never goes wrong to plan ahead.
Although he was once called the Holy Knight of the Andal Kingdom by Wilbert I, he was a role model for the nobles and a model of loyal ministers.
but!
Leon never let these words go to his head.
He clearly knew that any ambitious king would not be 100% assured of the powerful vassals under his command.
What's more, it only took Leon such a short time to go from border viscount to southern marquis!
Leon did not dare to bet on whether Wilbert I was more fearful of the Jimena family or had more trust in the Jimena family.
Therefore...
the establishment of an intelligence network can be said to be urgent!
"Your Majesty the Marquis!"
Seeing that Leon had finished arranging Earl Colt's errands, Eli Wayne, Earl of Graywater Castle, couldn't help but waved his hand, as if to emphasize his presence.
He was obviously the first to join the Jimena family!
How could we assign a task to that stupid businessman Earl in the first place? !
Leon glanced helplessly at the Count of Gray Water Castle, whom he really didn't know how to describe:
"Your mission is very simple, that is, don't do anything."
"Huh?"
The Count of Gray Water Castle couldn't help but be stunned.
Earl Colt all has tasks, but he doesn’t do anything? !
Is my status in the heart of the Marquis so low? If this continues, how can we make the Wayne family great again? !
"The existence of the Wayne family is the benchmark set by the Jimena family in the south of the kingdom!"
Leon said calmly:
"You said in Graywater Castle that we need to establish a sense of parity. This is a pretty good summary. I deeply agree.”
"The decrees of Gray Water Castle are in sync with Antolia. The development of Gray Water Castle is complementary to that of Antolia. If it continues like this, let the nobles in the south of the kingdom take a look. Loyalty to the Jimena family will bring great benefits to them." What benefits does my family bring!"
"As you wish, Lord Marquis!"
After hearing this, a gleam of joy finally flashed across the face of the Earl of Gray Water Castle.
what does that mean?
This means that the Marquis really regards himself as one of his own!
No more
(end of this chapter)