Chapter 127: Military Service (Part II)

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, someone spoke first; it was actually Manid, who had just returned from Eriador.

"My Lord, if you wish to effectively improve the residents' lives through commerce, relying solely on traveling merchants will not suffice. If you permit it, I suggest finding a plot of land outside the town to build a marketplace, then renting it out to merchants willing to open shops here. This would greatly increase those merchants' dependence on us. Based on my observations in regions like the Shire and Bree, this is quite feasible. Those places seem to have been free from the troubles of war for a long time, and their commerce has reached a relatively saturated state; our location should still hold great appeal for them."

After listening, Allen raised an eyebrow, signaling for Manid to continue. In Allen's view, commerce could play a crucial role in the development of a town in any world. Wilderness Town currently had a large population but was a commercial desert; only a few shops run by the Cabinet were increasing in number alongside the population, maintaining people's basic living needs.

There was little else; only a few clever townspeople had begun to partner up for animal husbandry, and some families bought furs from hunters to sew into clothing to supplement their household income. The rest were just small businesses selling pastries or game.

Seeing that his answer had satisfied Allen, Manid's voice grew a bit louder.

"After opening this market, if we have townspeople interested in business, they could also rent a small shop to try it out. I heard that Riverrun is rich in toys; we could go there to purchase some and bring them back to sell. Moreover, Dwarf jewelry is quite popular in Eriador, and it is said that the Woodland Realm also has some extremely exquisite goods. Most importantly, not only can we earn shop rent, but we can also collect a steady stream of taxes from the permanent residents. This way, the funding gap for your Volunteer System can be covered in part by rent and taxes, or perhaps even far exceed the expenditures."

Relying solely on commerce to offset the wages of recruiting thousands of Standing Army soldiers—Allen had not considered this possibility; it was too difficult. Raising an army and developing armaments could be said to be one of the most expensive items for a country. Actually, as for money, Allen was not lacking; he only needed to initially realize his ideas in the early stages, ensuring the soldiers had no dissatisfaction with their treatment.

Thinking of this, Allen nodded and said to Manid, "Very good, I accept your suggestion. You can decide for yourself where this marketplace should be built and how it should be constructed. If you are not very knowledgeable about architecture, you can go consult our Dwarf friends. They might not know much about commerce, but as long as you state your requirements, they should be able to give you some very good advice. Finally, bring me a practical plan."

Speaking of this, Allen recalled a few other things.

"Manid, I once promised those merchants that as long as they came to Wilderness Town to trade this year, we would not collect taxes. It is June now, and there is still a long time left. You can use this period to observe and formulate a detailed commercial tax system. The principle is: it cannot be too low, allowing those merchants to exploit loopholes, nor can it be too high, scaring them away. Of course, there are details involved; you can think about it carefully."

Regarding commercial taxes, Manid was far too experienced. Although he had never collected taxes from other merchants, he had certainly paid plenty—poll taxes for entering a city, transaction taxes for successful trades, road tolls, river crossing fees, bridge tolls, and so on. There was no tax those lords couldn't dream up.

"My Lord, rest assured, I will arrange these matters according to your requirements as soon as possible."

"Mm, do it well. If you have any needs, you can find Yamila; she will provide the help you require."

After Manid finished speaking about commercial matters, Stephen felt a bit awkward, because Manid had already said most of what he wanted to say. At this moment, this former Town Mayor, who had become much thinner, was racking his brains to think of anything else to add.

And at this time, Fatis spoke up.

"Allen, recruiting our existing soldiers into a Standing Army is certainly good. This way, they can devote more time to training, and in the future, they will have a better chance of surviving on the battlefield. Actually, the best thing would be if there were no war at all."

Saying this, Fatis shook his head. It was obvious he knew himself that even though life here was much more stable than on the continent of Calradia, the absence of war was just an impractical wish.

"I will immediately arrange for my subordinates to publicize the Standing Army matter, and I will also have them register the names of the soldiers willing to accept recruitment. As for how much salary is appropriate, I need the help of Yamila and Manid to understand the real income and living conditions of the rank-and-file soldiers. My initial thought is that we must make these soldiers feel that being a soldier pays much more than working in the fields—perhaps about fifty percent more at the start. Of course, the salary can be set tentatively; in my experience, as time passes, the salary will definitely need to be adjusted."

After Fatis finished his preliminary arrangements, he was silent for a moment, then continued: "Allen, none of these things are difficult. What I want to say is, even if you recruit these soldiers into a Standing Army, you need to consider the issue of rotation. You cannot let them stay stationed on the front lines forever."

As Military Minister, having long been in contact with the existing soldiers of Wilderness Town, Fatis naturally understood their current state. Most soldiers would certainly have no objections to changing from Conscripts to Standing Army soldiers. Even without money now, they had given a lot, let alone being paid later.

Fatis was also happy to see his soldiers gain a better life. As for whether these soldiers would become overly cautious and unwilling to fight after gaining a better life, Fatis had never worried about that. Their families were right behind them, they knew the military regulations by heart, the officers' loyalty was extremely high, and at the very worst, there was the Provost Corps guarding the rear, wasn't there?

The thing he worried about was actually somewhat similar to what Allen worried about: that the soldiers would not see their families for a long time, which would very likely cause dissatisfaction among the majority of the soldiers, leading to desertion.

In Swadia, such things were all too common. Sometimes when a war reached a stalemate, under the hardline orders of King Harlaus, soldiers had to stay stationed on the front lines for a long time. The consequence was a large number of deserters, especially those farmers who had been conscripted without pay. After breaking the law and becoming deserters, most of them would flee into nearby forests and hills, becoming Greenwood Bandits who plagued the region, turning the once-stable rear into a mess.

In order to survive, these fellows who had already stained their hands with blood did not mind attacking villagers in other villages. Fatis did not want to see a stable Wilderness Town suffer similar things in the future, nor was he willing to kill his former subordinates with his own hands.

Of course, under Allen's rule, the possibility of such things happening was still very small. After all, Allen was not as obsessed with war as King Harlaus, nor would he overly exploit his subordinates. Fatis just wanted to take precautions.

On this point, the two old friends thought quite similarly. Allen had considered the issue of rotation long ago, but the troops he had were truly stretched too thin to manage it.

This military reform also took this aspect into consideration.

"Fatis, I have considered the issue of rotation. Believe me, I am worrying about the same things you are. That is why we need to continue using the previous recruitment method alongside the Standing Army, and as soon as possible, take a census of all eligible males in Long Lake Town, Wilderness Town, and Ioviah. Equip them with suitable gear and arrange for some training. Once these things are completed, rotation will be much easier for us."

Fatis nodded; he would discuss this matter with Yamila later. After all, officials under Yamila were more familiar with these types of things.

After everyone had finished speaking, Yamila looked at the parchment in front of her, which was densely packed with many things. She didn't know when it started, but Allen had begun requiring meeting minutes to be taken during major meetings and confirmed with everyone afterward to enhance the effectiveness of these meetings.

Of course, before this, Yamila also briefly reported on matters related to herself.

"Organizing the new residents to participate in farming in the fields is not a problem; we have sufficient experience to complete this. What I worry about is that even if we distribute the money, the soldiers' families will choose to work day and night themselves, saving those coins to buy things they like, rather than taking them out to hire others to farm their fields, unless our Cabinet issues an order forcing them to pay for labor."

Speaking of this, Yamila smiled. Recently, she had been especially fond of smiling, and she looked much more lively.

"If we really force them, it will easily be counterproductive, and wouldn't all the methods we thought of be in vain? I think it would be better to change the approach. I will arrange for my subordinates to divide all the newly arrived residents into several teams according to their families, and then assign them to the families of those soldiers. Tell these families that these people were arranged by the Lord to help them farm. You can provide them with meals for helping you work, or pay them, but it is not mandatory. At the same time, tell them that because these people need to be settled, the men in their families will soon become professional soldiers receiving wages, and their income will be very high. As long as these two things are linked together, it will be much easier to get them to accept this, and it won't make them too dissatisfied. I will arrange for my subordinates to handle the specific operations."

In the past few years, Yamila could be said to have been dealing with villagers all the time. She knew that if you didn't explain things clearly, you definitely wouldn't achieve the effect Allen wanted. Sometimes, the way of communicating with villagers is extremely important. On one hand, you must use Allen's prestige to give them a sense of pressure without forcing them to accept, but at the same time, you must let them know that if they don't accept such an arrangement, they are likely the ones who will suffer. Only when both sides feel they have gained an advantage will things be much easier to do.

Allen had no objections to the method Yamila would use to fulfill his requirements. He nodded and agreed with Yamila's idea. Allen knew that if Yamila couldn't get this done, no one else among his subordinates could.

The meeting had reached the point where most matters had been discussed; what remained were the specific operations and the verification of results, which would take time.

As Yamila repeated the matters from the meeting once more, the meeting came to an end. The time had reached noon, and Allen had his maid Alice prepare a simple banquet. After all, since the war ended, they hadn't gathered together once.

The atmosphere of a banquet with only one's own people was quite relaxed. James, who had been silent during the meeting, and Fatis, who had been speaking eloquently, were each holding a glass of Wine, nudging each other and prying into the development between Allen and Yamila in front of Allen.

The two of them could be said to be Allen's best friends. People like Desaiwei, Cress, Bandak, and even Yamila addressed Allen as "My Lord"—this was a subordinate's address for a superior. Only these two usually addressed Allen by his name. In their hearts, friendship still outweighed this superior-subordinate relationship.

Allen certainly did not reject this form of address. He did not want to become some lonely person in another world. If he didn't have a single true friend by his side, that would be pathetic. He was willing to put in great effort to maintain this friendship until the moment it could no longer be maintained.

"When are you getting married? Yamila is not young anymore; how many years has it been?"

James, with eyes full of smiles, directly brought up the question he wanted to know. After all, when he first met Yamila and Allen, including himself, there were only three people in the team. The scenes in the tavern in the past were still vivid in his mind. Yamila's dedication and Allen's consistent attitude were things James had seen. It was just that Allen hadn't taken the bait before, so he couldn't do anything. Now that the relationship was confirmed, as a good friend, he naturally had to gossip a bit.

"What are you actually thinking? I feel it's quite sudden. After returning, James suddenly told me this news."

Fatis was much more reserved, but he still wanted to know how Allen had opened his mind, especially since he still had a heartbreaking past he hadn't let go of.

Facing his two good friends, as well as his subordinates who were pricking up their ears nearby, and a blushing Yamila, Allen took a sip of Wine, shook his head, and said softly: "This time, being seriously injured, I actually thought of many things. James, you are right; Yamila is indeed not young anymore. But don't worry, we still have plenty of time to accomplish what we want to do. As for when we will get married."

Speaking to this point, Allen's voice became even lower. "I actually haven't thought it through yet. When do you think is a suitable time? Give me some advice!"

Allen was actually a man quite dull regarding emotions. Even in his previous life, he rarely had that feeling of love at first sight. Moreover, when someone, especially a girl, was good to him for a long time and took care of his life, he easily developed a fondness for that girl and would mistake this fondness for love.

In the memories he recalled, Yamila had taken care of him personally without complaint for two full years. If he wasn't moved, would he even be human? Moreover, this feeling of being on the verge of death also made Allen open up a lot. His life was not as resilient as he had imagined. Since there was a good choice, why not cherish it? Was he really going to go find Thranduil for an Elf girl? Just the difference in lifespan alone made Allen abandon that thought.

Upon hearing Allen's words, James's voice suddenly rose by eight degrees.

"Just this year. Sooner is better than later."