Adi smirked when he heard the question. He gave Kali a reassuring look and said, "Don't worry about that. I will provide you all the necessary seeds." He already had a plan in mind to make his life easier and achieve his targets.
Adi was thinking about the capability of System and what was he supposed to do in this Iron age era. He had put some thought on the main objective of the system and the mission he has received. He finally come to a conclusion in his mind after he got the Bonus Points for correcting the mindset of his people. He put his thoughts aside as he will work on it later that day. Now, he had to focus on the main issues in hand.
Sean and Joe went to get the tools for cutting the trees along with others. There were around 1250 men going to cut trees and make some wooden huts. He didn't want them to live in the Noble's District permanently as he had different plans for that. As there were around 30 estates, they could be put to much better use in his long term plans.
He turned to look at blacksmith Kaif. Kaif, seeing that Adi has looked towards him, was ready to answer.
"Blacksmith Kaif, how many people are blacksmiths and apprentices here?"
Kaif answered almost immediately, "My King, the only blacksmiths present here are me and my son. There are 4 apprentices who work with us."
"Okay. What do you mainly make and who are your main customers?" Adi probed further.
Kaif replied, "My King we make everything, from swords and shields to spears and arrows. But we mainly did maintenance on the weapons of the Knights under various Nobles, they being our main customers. We also sell our products to the nearby town twice a year. As there are no carpenters here, we have also learnt to repair and make some wooden objects."
"Then do we have enough saws, axes and other such tools for cutting down trees?", Adi asked worryingly as it may affect his plans.
Kaif relieved him of his worries as he said, "My King, you don't have to worry. We have enough saw, axes and other tools as we had to make it and sell to other towns and villages. We do it once every six months, and as it is the month of February, there are two more months from the routine time. So, we have enough stock of it."
Adi sighed in relief as he got the answer. But then Adi asked in doubt, "From where do you get your iron ores? I don't think that there are any iron ore mines discovered in this place yet."
Kaif replied, "My King, there are no mine discovered here. There is an iron mine two towns away from here and we get all our ores from that place."
Adi nodded and made a mental note about the mines. Before concluding the conversation, he asked Kaif, "Blacksmith Kaif, take some more apprentices from amongst the young men. We will be having a lot of work for them in near future."
Kaif concurred, "The skills are hard to learn unless they have some talent my Lord. But I will do as you command Your Majesty."
Adi understood what Kaif said and then he asked the healer of the village, "Healer Shane, can you point out the health of the people here? Also, what are the main disease they are suffering from?"
Shane was excited as his turn came. He replied enthusiastically, "Your Majesty the people here are all fine. Except for the lack of a full belly, its mainly the injuries from hunting wild animals or surviving their attacks. Other than that, there are no cases of any major health concerns. Fortunately, in the last few centuries, there has been no plague or widespread deadly disease. "
Adi was happy that there are no history of plague or epidemic. At least there was no major disease outbreak here. He looked up and saw it was nearing noon so he went for his lunch. He ordered everybody to complete their lunch and then get to work.
During lunch in his palace, he thought about the manors in the Noble's District. He decided to have them cleaned up first and inspect them. As he finished his lunch, he called Dara, Pratap, Jack, Uday and Ajit.
Adi said, "Dara you will take the servants here and start cleaning up all the manors and estates. Jack & Uday will follow you with their companies. Also, inspect every place, be it walls, floors or ceiling. I don't want to have any unknown secret tunnel in my City. Head Guard Pratap, you will follow me to the city walls along with Ajit and his company. Are we clear?"
They nodded and replied in unison, accepting his orders, "We will follow your orders Your Majesty." Then they went on to complete their duties while Adi and Pratap went to the city walls followed by Ajit and his company.
After reaching the top of wall, they looked around. The entrance to city walls was at the West side of the city. The East side was huge mountain ranges which continued to the North and resulted in many hills there. At the Southern end of Rai was a Sea. The walls ended up in the south-western side with a watch tower. The western side too had few hills but they had big gaps between them. On the Northern side, the walls turned inwards and continued for long distance before joining with the hills. In a way, Rai was open to the whole continent from the North but it was too much trouble for anybody to invade from that place. The hills had good height, covered a wide area and the rocky terrain was too difficult for large group of people to transverse it. Adi also had a hunch that maybe he would find some mines there and also on the mountains.
The wall was solid and well built. It was wide enough for wall canons and there was a watch tower every 500 meters. It was almost impenetrable. Adi thought that he should have good talk with the System about details of Rai's terrain. He also wanted to know more about this World, the Continent and the Empires here. He couldn't directly ask Pratap or anyone else as they may start doubting him. From his predecessor's memories, he had a blurry outline about the matter but he still wanted to have a clear view of all things so as to make his future plans accordingly.
"Pratap, I believe that there would be many people who would be eyeing our empire, especially my dear step-brothers. I think we should have men guarding the walls here and also the watchtower at the sea. What is your take on it?", he asked him so as to hear his suggestion. He was not a military man and did not know much about strategies and all that, yet. So, before he could have a clarity in this matter, it was better to ask the more experienced person.
Pratap agreed with what Adi said. He thought for a while and said, "My King, they will definitely try to do so. While there is no value here, but you are still the King's son and their competitor. Even if it is just for finishing you off completely, they will take actions, either directly or indirectly. We should have around hundred men in here, which will be two groups of 50 men. We should have one group of 50 men on the gate and a group of 50 men in charge of the watch tower on border of sea and the walls. They would also patrol the shore area from time to time. The rest of the men should be there around you to protect Your Majesty. "
Adi saw that Pratap was having difficulty to remember the military term so he laughed lightly and said, "Pratap, that's called a Platoon. 10 men group are squads, 50 men makes a Platoon and 250 makes a Company. Don't worry, I will explain everything to you soon. We will have to revamp the entire Knight system to Army. You will be then the General of this army."
Pratap asked a little skeptically, "Is there any difference between both? Its always the number of men who fight and win us wars, right?"
Adi noticed the skeptical look of Pratap so he reassured him, "There is too much of a difference between them. I will show you what makes soldiers and knights different. You will only understand when you see it from your own eyes."
Pratap was not convinced that there would something better than knights as all of them have great strength and power. They are also good with their weapons. But nonetheless, he had his trust in Adi's words. There was an air of confidence and belief surrounding Adi which would make anyone subconsciously trust him.
Meanwhile, Adi was smiling as he could already imagine the shock on the faces of Pratap and his other men in future. He couldn't wait to get the manual from system and implement it. Also, it was time for some negotiation.