Chapter 694: Men and Money

Arius turns to the defenders who have followed him. "You have fought beside me from the beginning until this moment, surviving one brutal battle after another."

"Your loyalty has been proven!"

"No one can question your courage!"

"I now declare that you will become my royal guard under the name Lion King's Pride!"

Arius clearly intends to use the Freedmen Guard Army as the core of his new elite legion.

Next comes the redistribution of interests, a process certain to involve endless bargaining.

That evening, Arius and Henwell speak in private.

When Archie and the others from Cellarwine City arrive in response to the summons, they greet Henwell first.

Only then do they salute Arius as king.

Arius gets straight to the point. "Henwell, these men have risked their lives beside me, and every one of them is talented."

"I have very few people I can rely on right now. Can you let me have them?"

Henwell looks at the group. "What do all of you think?"

No one answers. Henwell smiles. "Relax. The fact that Arius wants you proves that you have done well."

"I planned to take you back for further training after this, but you will have more opportunities if you follow Arius now."

"I will not interfere with your decision. You have already fought for Peace Haven. You owe Peace Haven nothing, and you owe me nothing."

"Think carefully after you return, but do not put pressure on yourselves."

"Even if you join Arius, you'll still be serving alongside brothers-in-arms, and our forces will cooperate often in the future."

After they leave, Arius says, "I have already planned their assignments. Tell me if you see any problems."

"Hobson was trained as an administrator. I originally wanted to make him the kingdom's Royal Administrator, but he still lacks the experience and ability for the position."

"I plan to keep him at my side for more training and appoint him Royal Administrator when the time is right."

Henwell shakes his head. "Keeping him beside you will not help. I selected him carefully and placed him in Cellarwine City because it is a strategic hub."

"Send him to Yosui City instead. You will take your direct followers from Yosui City to Silver Peak City, but Yosui City is where your power first took root."

"It also needs a strong administrator. He helped put you on the throne, so he already has enough prestige."

"Developing Yosui City will also make it much easier to implement your policies later."

Arius considers the suggestion. "Then I will appoint him administrator of Yosui City."

"I intend to make Archie commander of Lion King's Pride."

"Albert is also a capable military officer. I plan to appoint him commander of the First Guard Legion."

"As for Weber, I want him to become Minister of Trade and Development..."

After hearing the assignments, Henwell adds a few observations. "Archie graduated from the Military Academy."

"He is capable, and he has seen real battle. He is no raw novice."

"You should be more cautious about making Albert a Guard Legion commander."

"His personal ability still needs improvement, especially when it comes to commanding a large army."

Arius snaps, "Peace Haven has plenty of military talent. Lend me a few people!"

"I will not ask for your main legion commanders. A few warband commanders will do!"

"No."

Arius sighs helplessly. "Then open a class for me at the Military Academy when you return. Once things settle down, I'll send my direct subordinates there for further training."

Henwell nods. "Fine. I'll arrange several crash courses and teach them myself, but don't send everyone at once."

Arius says, "It is not as though I refuse to pay!"

Henwell glares at him. "You plan to borrow the money from me!"

"Of course not! You are not the only one. I will borrow from the Phoenix family too!"

Arius continues, "By the way, that intelligence officer Windson is talented. I want him to establish an Intelligence Department."

"Vorry already has the Silent Ones. Why bother?"

Arius waves a hand. "No. The people inside are unreliable. I need to build something more professional."

"Besides, haven't all your intelligence posts in Vorry been exposed?"

"Many of your agents have been exposed. Rebuilding their covers will take a long time, so you might as well train new people."

"They will only sit idle if they return to Peace Haven. You should give them to me instead."

"With Windson leading them, I can build a national intelligence agency in no time!"

Henwell rolls his eyes. "This is daylight robbery."

Arius replies, "What are you talking about? Look at how much land and how many people I gave you!"

"Three hundred thousand square kilometers and more than five million people, all in exchange for a handful of your men!"

Henwell says irritably, "I earned that. Besides, this arrangement has disrupted my plans."

"My defensive pressure will rise sharply, and I will have to redeploy my forces."

"Once Ogiro hears the news, it will certainly mass troops along the border. I do not have enough soldiers."

Arius sighs. "I have no choice either."

"I need to transfer the standing armies of the two southern governor's offices and the two core cities to the north."

"I will have to bear the brunt of the Northern Mountain Raiders' first wave, so I must gather as many troops as possible for the defense."

"Peace Haven's military factories will also need to operate at full capacity. I will need enormous quantities of military supplies."

Henwell frowns. "Such drastic measures may cause plenty of trouble."

Arius replies, "What else can I do? If I must choose between trouble and death, I will take trouble."

"I will have to find excuses to confiscate the estates of a group of nobles. Otherwise, the royal treasury will never hold out."

"The tax reform must also be finalized while we have this opportunity."

"They know they are in the wrong. As long as I do not touch their fundamental interests, I think they will compromise."

"How much tax can Peace Haven contribute next year? You need to set an example for everyone."

Henwell thinks for a moment. "Ten million gold coins."

Arius asks, "Why so little? That is not much higher than before."

Henwell stares at him. "You just handed me a vast territory with millions of people. Do you think I will not have to invest money to revive it?"

"Road repairs, dredging rivers, digging canals, planning grain-producing regions, hospitals, and education..."

"Every one of them is a bottomless money pit."

"Even ten million is an optimistic estimate."

"All of Peace Haven will have to tighten its belt next year. I expect a fight at the annual budget conference at the end of this year."

Arius asks, "How is the steam engine progressing?"

Henwell replies, "I sent you a prototype. Do not even think about trains yet. Even if we could build them, we do not produce enough steel."

"Peace Haven's steel output this year probably will not exceed three hundred thousand tons."

Arius looks disappointed but continues, "What about artillery? And how is your extraordinary analysis progressing?"

The questions make Henwell's head ache. "We have made a start, but the designs are still being tested and improved. It won't be ready in time to help against the Northern Mountain Raiders."

Arius complains, "You need to speed things up! What have you been doing all these years? Why is everything so slow?"

Henwell answers, "I want it to move faster too, but this is not something we can produce just by being impatient!"

"Even if nothing goes badly wrong, a moment of carelessness could still turn it into heretical technology!"