[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence":3,"chapter-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-513":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Warlord: Starting with Daily Intelligence",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338976,4572,"Chapter 513: Take Over Willard","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-513",513,"\u003Cp>“Is this Willard’s estate?” Mi Gen’s tone was icy; he had no patience for anyone from the Willard family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yes, Sir Knight!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mi Gen continued, “My lord is Gervas, Earl. By the King’s decree, all of Willard’s assets now belong to my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“G-Gervas, Earl?!” The middle-aged man’s face turned instantly pale, his speech stammering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you have any objections?” Mi Gen raised an eyebrow, coldly demanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thud, the man dropped to his knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir Knight, I dare not! I welcome Earl Gervas with open arms!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Gervas stepped forward. “What’s your name? Did you already know I was coming?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Earl Gervas himself! Answer quickly!” Mi Gen snapped, fearing the man didn’t recognize Gervas’s identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man trembled again and hurried to reply, “Your Grace, Earl Gervas, I am Ronil, the former steward of this estate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did receive notice three days ago—officials from the Civil Affairs Office came to the estate and said Willard the elder… Willard had been executed for colluding with the beastfolk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And all his assets were granted by His Majesty to you, Earl Gervas!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? You’re the estate’s steward—where are the other servants?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Grace, all the other servants have fled!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I alone received orders to ensure no estate property was lost and to deliver it safely into your hands,” Ronil continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. Then show me around the estate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas wasted no time, directly ordering Ronil to lead the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ronil rose respectfully and opened the main gate, guiding Gervas and his party inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have to admit, Willard still knows how to enjoy life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This estate was enormous—nearly a thousand square meters—and this was inside Eagle City!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a city like this, every inch of land was precious, especially in the Eastern Quarter, where land was worth its weight in gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such a vast area, the estate featured a front garden, a back garden, and two side courtyards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front garden held a small plaza and various flowerbeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The back garden contained a pond and a pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The left courtyard had ample open space, suitable for the master’s personal training or small gatherings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The right courtyard served as the servants’ resting area and stables.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, though compact, it had everything—a true urban mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the interior decoration of the central villa was equally luxurious, matching the standards of noble estates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Willard’s villa was smaller in scale, unable to rival the vast manors outside the city, often spanning ten thousand square meters or more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excellent! Excellent! You’re Ronil, right? You’ve done well these past days—none of the servants took valuable items from the villa.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After touring the entire estate, Gervas was thoroughly satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he’d likely spend little time here, owning a grand villa in what amounted to the capital city’s golden district? No one would refuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Grace, though the servants fled, they didn’t get far—they’re still within or near Eagle City.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They know better than to steal—otherwise, their only fate is the gallows!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. Now that I’ve seen the estate, take me to Willard’s other assets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, as Willard’s steward, you must know all his holdings, correct?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you give me a detailed inventory, I may reward you handsomely once I’ve taken possession.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then you won’t have to worry about your future livelihood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ronil’s eyes lit up with overwhelming excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether Ronil, as Willard’s steward, harbored resentment toward Gervas or planned sabotage—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only was Willard condemned for colluding with the beastfolk and executed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply facing a real earl—one word from whom could decide his life or death—was enough to make him serve wholeheartedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Grace, upon learning of your arrival, I prepared the inventory these past days…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quickly, Ronil retrieved Willard’s asset list from the villa and handed it to Gervas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gervas carefully reviewed it and found Willard’s holdings were indeed substantial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond this estate, Willard owned numerous shops in the Eastern, Southern, and Western Quarters of the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially in the Southern Quarter—the list noted eight shops along the main streets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Western Quarter, there were over ten shops on the main street and an entire row along side streets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the city, Willard also owned two estates…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though called “estates,” that term was inaccurate—they were more accurately farms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One farm covered a thousand mu of farmland, with dozens of serf households tending crops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other farm raised cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks, also managed by dozens of serf households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Altogether, these assets were worth at least three thousand gold coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, this was far below what a title-holding Hou Jue like Willard should possess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willard’s original wealth had been far greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gervas had halved it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Willard’s son tried to retaliate against Gervas and indirectly offended Catherine, Willard learned Catherine was the granddaughter of Duke Hernand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was forced to surrender half his wealth as compensation to Catherine, narrowly avoiding the wrath of the Hernand family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the Northern Campaign—Willard spent heavily to secure Gervas’s removal and his own appointment to a key post.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bribed officials with hundreds of gold coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This emptied the estate’s vault, leaving little for Gervas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Gervas was a content man—three thousand gold coins felt like a windfall, more than enough to satisfy him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, as Gervas toured the city, he found most shops were rented out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only three were directly managed by Willard for retail sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The goods sold were all products from the outlying farms—hence only shops in the Southern and Western Quarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though these agricultural goods had low individual value, their volume and elimination of middlemen yielded substantial profits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These three shops brought Willard two hundred gold coins annually in a city of nearly a million people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That equaled the pure income of two barons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hence, Willard had been willing to lower his status and personally handle these “lowly” goods.\u003C\u002Fp>",978,"2026-06-20T22:44:02.688Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","26958df7a184c21378bd1b1247916f823b5ca928ff036312969bcb9c06e6e9ae","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-514","warlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-chapter-512",521,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwarlord-starting-with-daily-intelligence-cover.jpg"]