Chapter 192: Strong Assets
Hillwood Castle.
"Tom, are you serious?" Butler Chahar raised his voice with an expression of disbelief on his face.
At this time, Elrond, Irene, David, and Political Officer Wilson were all in the house. They were surprised and delighted to hear the news Tom brought back.
"Butler, I would never joke about something like this!"
Tom, who returned to Shanlin Town alone, had expected such a scene. He smiled and recounted Roning's experience in Wushan Castle.
The assassination in the Colosseum, the knight competition, and forcing Leisen to stand trial sounded thrilling. David's eyes were full of jealousy. It would be great if he could accompany them this time.
"Now Lord Luo Ning is no longer just the Baron of Shanlin Town, but the Viscount of the entire Wubei Territory!"
Tom drew a big circle with his hand, "With Sein Territory as the boundary, the entire northern part of Wushan Territory is Lord Roning's territory!"
Hiss!
Everyone gasped, especially Wilson, who had lived here for many years. He didn't even know how big the northern part of Wushan Territory was, but now it had all become Ronin's territory?
"My Lord is really..."
Wilson felt dizzy and couldn't find the words to praise him.
Not long ago, he had just started to take over the political affairs of all the villages, including Gray Earth Village. He did not expect the lord to gain another territory so soon; it was a swamp town originally belonging to Baron Leisen.
The population of Swamp Town has exceeded the total population of Forest Town and its subordinate villages. Wilson's work will be very heavy in the future.
But this did not dampen Wilson's enthusiasm; on the contrary, he saw the possibility of climbing up.
The lord has a future, so as long as those who follow the lord serve him wholeheartedly, they will have an exceptionally brilliant life!
It is not impossible to change class as a civil servant.
Not only did Wilson see a bright future, but Chahar also saw it.
Since childhood, he had wanted to be the castle's butler, but he originally thought it would be difficult to realize this dream.
But since he followed Ronin, he quickly moved into the castle and changed from a personal servant to a butler. Now, such a short time has passed, and he will transform into the butler of the Viscount's territory.
All this happened so surreal that he hardly believed it.
If there were anyone who was still relatively calm in the hall, it was Elrond and Irene.
The former had communicated with Rydar and knew what the lord's plans were for his visit to Wushan Castle this time;
The latter didn't think much about it and hadn't realized what it meant for Roning to be promoted from Baron to Viscount of Wubei. She thought Brother Roning was capable, and her eyes were sparkling with stars.
Seeing everyone immersed in surprise, Elrond reminded: "Tom, why don't you tell me what the adults need us to do?"
Wilson and Chahar immediately recovered from their surprise. Yes, they had to keep up with the lord and could not slack off.
"My Lord asked Wilson and Chahar to assist him in taking over Swamp Town. He must be dealing with some matters."
Tom said, "I also need to inform the commander to escort the assassin and all of Leisen's knights to Swamp Town. The knights of Wushan Castle will take them to Wushan City for trial."
Elrond nodded. "Some time ago, Redar transferred almost all the knights in Hillwood Town to conquer the Black Collar Tribe. He was transferred to Gray Earth Village for custody to prevent Shadow from escaping. This assassin should be imprisoned in the Black Collar Tribe's cell with Feridon and others."
After all, Shadow has reached the bronze level and can become invisible. He will probably run away if you let your guard down momentarily.
Knowing the importance of this witness, Redal moved him to a place under his watch.
Tom looked at the sky outside. It was still more than an hour before dark. "Then I will go to the Black Collar Tribe now and bring this news to the commander."
"Leave this matter to me."
David stood up and said, "I've been traveling back and forth between the two places frequently recently, so I'm quite familiar with the mountain roads."
Elron agreed, "Tom, you should have a good rest tonight, and tomorrow morning, you will take Wilson, Chahar, and others to Swamp Town."
"good!"
Tom smiled and agreed to have time to meet his mother, Leah, and share the news that he would no longer have to wear a mask.
…
The change of ownership of the territory was tantamount to a disaster for the people living in the swamp castle. Their good days were over.
Similarly, the people of Swamp Town were constantly in a state of panic because they didn't know how the new lord would treat them.
Originally, they were under the rule of Baron Leisen. Most of them could make a living by working day and night for the lord, and many could even save some private property for themselves.
Now that the lord has changed, how will the new lord treat them? They are deeply worried about their property, safety, and future.
To calm the residents' uneasy emotions as soon as possible and allow them to return to normal life more quickly, Roning commissioned Thomas and Baron Taren to gather all the residents of Swamp Town the next day.
The Swamp Town is not like the Forest Town. The proportion of free people here is relatively high. They have many questions, such as what happened to the old lord, the identity of the new lord, how the new lord will treat them, etc.
It can be seen that the people in Swamp Town are more active than those in Mountain Town.
Luo Ning answered these questions very kindly.
He emphasized the crimes committed by Leisen, making the people realize that their former lord was a criminal and evil;
At the same time, to eliminate the people's panic further, Roning promised not to infringe on the private property of the residents of Swamp Town and would restore the security environment here as soon as possible.
Due to Roning's special status as a member of the Wushan family and their friendly exchanges, the residents of Swamp Town had a basic understanding of the new lord, and the uneasiness and fear in their hearts were greatly reduced.
Next, Ronin will select a group of people from these people to help manage the Swamp Town, such as re-recruiting servants from the Swamp Castle, recruiting assistants to the political officers, and so on.
Using local people to manage can enhance stability to a certain extent.
As long as they can maintain a stable environment and these people devote themselves to their work, it doesn't matter to them whether their lord changes or not.
"My Lord Viscount, you are so patient with your subjects." Mas, who was accompanying Ronin, couldn't help but sigh.
In his opinion, appeasing people's hearts could be left to his subordinates, and as a lord, there was no need to waste time on such matters.
The people will not leave this land unless they have no choice.
"Initial communication is still necessary."
Luo Ning smiled and said, "This way, the people will feel respected, which can reduce unnecessary misunderstandings and suspicions and allow them to return to normal lives quickly."
Mas nodded thoughtfully.
This upstart possesses an outstanding talent for cultivation and has his ideas on territory governance.
No wonder his father looks up to him so highly.
At noon, Tom brought Wilson and Chahar to the Swamp Castle, and they were accompanied by five political assistants recently trained by Wilson.
Now that his men had arrived, Roning began his action.
The first step is to take a census; every household and person must be registered.
Wilson had done this many times before and knew the details clearly without Roning's reminder.
The second thing was to count the assets in the castle, including food, weapons, money, etc. Wushan Castle would not take these assets away, and all of them would go into Roning's pocket.
People say that killing people and setting fires can bring you a gold belt, but occupying a castle can bring you even greater wealth.
Let's not discuss anything else. Take Lei Sen's savings as an example. It is more than 3,400 gold coins, and this is just cash, not including other materials.
Although Luo Ning spent over a thousand gold coins to buy materials for making spell scrolls in Wushan City, thanks to the rewards and tips he received in Wushan Castle, the number of gold coins in his space ring reached nearly seven thousand six hundred!
Before he knew it, he didn't even know he was so rich.
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