Weeks passed as the winter slowly receded north. It was now mid April and Europe was now at the end of its planting season.
In France, Victor saw his income exponentially increasing because of the newly opened salt trade in Normandy. Since he now has money to expend, He began discussing what his plans are to his father.
"Since I can't fizzle out the bothersome nobles at this time, I plan to instead use a much more discreet way to remove them. First I plan to buy a few titles in different places within the kingdom, then train armies in each respective area under the new training methods so I can create independent units..." Victor looks at his father, eyes full of ambition, "Using these armies, I'll invade the neighboring nobles under the guise of other nobles and then greatly expand these 'noble' lands. When those nobles show discomfort and confide in me to put a leash on the 'nobles' that grew rapidly, I'll take those land directly under the crown officially, and assign even more of my phantom nobles."
Charles was pondering for a bit if the plan his son put forward could work before replaying, "I see, that might work, but I'm afraid they might think something is amiss if those so called nobles don't appear at times."
"I thought about that as well, since that would be an issue, I plan on using loyal serfs to play the role of these nobles if and when needed." Victor was smiling at his father. He was greatly excited for what the future holds for him.
In the future when historians look back on this plan from the diary of Victor's father, they would name this situation as the 'Phantom Terror' as those 'nobles' would be massacred in secret and be quickly replaced by a phantom noble.
~~~
{Manche, Normandy}
Back in Normandy, the situation was lively. The Manche county's army had increased from 500 to 3000 in the weeks following the king's absence. They received the same brutal training as the first ones who were recruited a month earlier.
"Ugh, this training, why do we have to do this!" A young man in his early twenties was complaining. He had blue eyes and a darkish tint to his blond hair. He was average in height but his muscles made him look older. He was drenched in sweat as he just came back from the morning 5 km run.
"Stop complaining, we get fed better than we would get if we were still at home farming away! Even our salary is high!" Another young man looked at him annoyed. He enjoyed his time even though he had to train hard. He was an orphan who grew up eating scraps that others threw out. When he first heard the conscription, he decided to join to live an easier life.
"Look, we are training for what? The new king hasn't invaded anyone nor are we being invaded. I see this training as useless and more of a show for those knights." The first man, John, looked annoyed as he continued to argue.
"Look, John, I don't care what you might think, even if you hate training, but right now I'm tired, so let me rest without your bickering and complaints." The second young man rolled his eyes before turning over trying to ignore John.
~~~
{Paris, France}
Victor, now finished with most of his royal duties, he took a look outside his palace at the houses and the Notre Dame church in the distance. It's size and height was truly grand in the face of the small houses and his palace. The city spanned both sides of the Seine, with bridges between the sides passing through Île de la Cité island. The river, was a great trade route for the city of Paris, with many merchants passing by and docking on its shores. Farther on, he saw the Parisian walls and sighed.
'I do miss modern Paris with its iconic Eiffel Tower and a city without walls which spanned kilometers in each direction' His eyes showed sadness reminiscing about his time on the modern Earth. His only connection to it was through the mysterious browser which could be opened from the corner of his eyes.
He did realize one thing: the lack of concrete. But it did make sense, since cement was first developed in 1824. Pondering, he realized that if he began to exchange most of the cities construction materials with concrete, he could make the city and it's walls sturdier than most other cities in this era. But, to do this, he would need a secure limestone mine. What he was aiming for was the Portland Cement which required powdered limestone, sand, and clay to create the cement powder needed. But before anything, he had to locate the limestones.
"This is going to take a while." Victor sighed while looking one last time at the bustling city before heading downstairs.
~~~
It was now the end of April, and Victor decided to finally look around his city for the first time in his two months of residence in the Fontainebleau Palace.
He only took a few guards as he did not want to halt the city just to greet him, instead he hoped to see the city in it's full light. With a population 150000, the city by no means was small. Church bells could be heard in the distance. Carriages passed by and people stopped by stalls to shop. Everything left Victor breathless.
'This truly is beautiful. Without cars and the sounds of a modern city, it gives a refreshing taste. Also these buildings, though made of stone and wood, look very carefully crafted.' sighing, and awestruck by the city, he continues to walk past to the deepest parts of the residential areas.
He looked at the wells as women were working hard to bring up water. His face saddened by the hard work they went through. Then, he decided, he would introduce water pumps to these wells. Using just muscles and basic physics, he could make a pump that would ease the burden of the Parisians in one aspect of their lives. Thinking about it, he decides to introduce much more to improve the Parisian lifestyle.
Waving to his guards, he tells them to follow him back the the palace for his reforms.
His reforms would include the creation of a police force that would replace soldiers within the city to deal with public order, water pumps in wells throughout the city, sanitation laws including the creation of waste management jobs. Because of his reforms, Paris would quickly become one of the safest cities against crime and disease compared to the rest of Europe.