The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Roland now knew that getting the defeat reward was already difficult enough; he hadn't even considered the reward for annihilating the entire army. Going up there now was no less than asking the Ringwraiths: "Hey, I'm here to offer a hefty reward for my death!" Annihilating the undead army in the north wouldn't be easy either, after all, the undead army was massive, and the allied forces were only able to hold them off thanks to the protection of their ancestors.

However, it's estimated that the dwarves and elves will still be able to defeat the undead, after all, Roland himself beat up the orcs! Those mindless skeletons are definitely easier to deal with than orcs!
Overall, the war in Lagrange has basically ended, but it has only just begun. Roland is now in dire need of expanding his territory and power. The main quest hasn't even started yet. For this reason, Roland is preparing to abandon his previous idea of ​​not recruiting ordinary soldiers. This war has clearly woken Roland up. Without enough satellite cities and territories to hold him back, the enemy can easily appear at his feet. Therefore, territorial expansion is imperative!

"Tsk! Why is it that Whitewing had it so easy this time?" Roland felt a pang of injustice as he thought about it. Whitewing was right in front of him, yet these orc bastards had to come looking for trouble? (Ringwraith: Is it possible that if the River of Despair froze, we'd be closer to you?)
……

"You want to expand the army? Wait, Your Highness, forgive my offense!" Yun Feng apologized and then reached out and pressed his hand on Roland's head.

"You don't have a fever?" Yun Feng asked, looking surprised.

"I'm not joking!" Roland was practically speechless.

"Why do you suddenly want to expand the army? Your Highness, our current forces are sufficient." Yun Feng organized his thoughts and said.

“The problem is that we won’t have enough right away…” Roland shrugged.

"You plan to expand..." Yun Feng's eyes widened. He never expected Roland to actually plan to expand his territory. Was the sun rising in the west?
"Is there a problem? Don't forget I'm a Lagrange too! The Lagrange's need for land is endless..." Roland said with a dark face, trying to find an excuse for himself. After all, the reason of building satellite cities to protect himself because he was afraid of death was too shameful.

"No problem! You're finally back to normal!" Before Yun Feng could even speak, Omsk, who had been eavesdropping for a long time, jumped up.

“I knew it! How could a king of Lagrange not crave land? I knew I hadn’t misjudged him! Your Highness, tell me! Which direction should we attack?” Omske asked eagerly. In the past, because of the weak resources of the kingdom, Roland had suppressed any expansion efforts, so everyone thought Roland wasn’t particularly interested in territory. Now it seems that it’s not that he doesn’t want to expand, but rather that he has the will but not the means! But it’s good, it seems that this battle with the orcs has directly ignited King Roland’s spirit and temper! He has finally followed the old path of the previous emperors of Lagrange! Omske felt a sense of joy, like watching his own cabbage grow.

If Roland knew what they were thinking, he'd probably cry. What the hell? They'd shown some fighting spirit and firepower? It was enough to scare them out of their wits. Right next to them were only two sixth-tier warriors, Vanville and Yunfeng, who were neither strong nor capable of fighting. Vanville was a little better off, but he was the chieftain of the grassland elves, the future king of the grassland elves! He only listened to Roland because he was on good terms with him, Lagrange; it didn't mean Roland could use him without restraint. Therefore, Roland was always extremely cautious whenever Vanville was needed in battle, after all, Vanville wasn't under Roland's command…

"So, do you have a direction?" Seeing that Roland's words were irrefutable, Yunfeng stopped doubting and began to inquire about Roland's military expansion plan.

"No!" Roland spread his hands and kicked his feet, his eyes full of wisdom. After all, as a king, wouldn't it be too pathetic to do everything himself?
"Uh..." Yunfeng and Omske exchanged a glance and were both speechless at Roland's words.

"I suggest we gather everyone together to discuss this!" Yun Feng made the mature and prudent suggestion at the end.

“Okay!” Roland nodded directly. Anyway, he didn’t have any specific plan, so everyone could discuss it. Roland didn’t like to make decisions unilaterally, since he wasn’t an expert in this area. Roland didn’t have many other strengths, but he was certainly self-aware!
“Renault is still handling the aftermath at Lulong Fortress. Let’s discuss this again in two days!” Omsk said to the two.

……

"Greetings, Your Majesty! It is a pleasure to meet you!" Renault bowed deeply and addressed Roland as "Your Majesty," which immediately made Roland lose his composure. However, Roland quickly came to his senses. The title of Emperor sounds impressive, but you cannot be unworthy of the position! With Lagrange's current size, if he went out and called himself Emperor of Lagrange, he would be ridiculed by the entire Central Plains.

"Hello Renault, my loyal knight! I wish you success in breaking through to the next level!" Roland went up and patted him on the shoulder to encourage him.

"I heard you're planning to expand the army?" Renault frowned and looked at Roland with a questioning gaze.

“Of course! Do you have any objections, my knight?” Roland asked curiously.

"Isn't it bad for ordinary people to go to the battlefield? I remember you've always been quite resistant to recruiting ordinary soldiers?" Renault asked, puzzled. "Things are different now. I plan to expand my territory, and the existing army is not enough to support my plans, so I have no choice but to recruit swift infantry..." Roland said with some helplessness.

“Those are all our brothers, brothers, and dearest friends in Lagrange!” Renault exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to drag ordinary people into the war either, but time waits for no one, and our limited manpower has already become apparent." Roland shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Your Majesty, you've misunderstood. What I mean is, please be sure to allocate more troops to me. Lulong Fortress is short of manpower!" Renault said with a serious expression.

"..." Roland felt like he was seeing a Middle-earth version of the Money-Giving Hermit... No, this is the Money-Giving Hermit!

“I don’t want any more of that prince! 1000 people, just 1000!” Renault made a gesture.

"..." Omske blushed. Was this shameless guy really a paladin? Why did he look like he was buying groceries on the street? So he quickly went up and pulled Renault away.

"800! Just 800!" Renault, who was being dragged along by Omske, still managed to give Roland a hand gesture.

"At least 500! Your Majesty, you can't go any lower! If you go any lower, we won't be able to hold out next time!" Renault's voice, still faintly echoing as he was being dragged away, continued to resonate in the air.

"..." Everyone exchanged glances, then looked at Roland, and the atmosphere instantly fell into silence and awkwardness.

"Ahem! What are you all standing there for? Come in!" The door to the council hall was pushed open, and Nyx came out and waved to everyone, thus getting everyone out of the awkward situation.

It turned out that Nyx saw Omsk dragging Renault in first, and no one else came over for a long time, so she had to go out and see for herself. She found Roland playing a staring contest with his ministers, so she had to speak up and greet them.

Upon hearing Nyx's shout, everyone seemed relieved and took off running. Even the old man Adile, who usually walked slowly and unsteadily, hurriedly ran into the council hall, thanking Nyx profusely.

Looking at the crowd who seemed to be handing out free eggs in the council hall, Roland's lips twitched. Renault's actions had made him look like a heartless boss... Roland rubbed his face, adjusted his expression, and entered the council hall.

……

"Alright, everyone, speak freely!" After giving a brief overview, Roland clapped his hands and lay down! As a king, he couldn't compete with his subjects for work; he had to give them a chance to prove themselves! (Everyone: If you're lazy, just say so.)
"If you ask me, we should at least bring five legions!" Omske grinned.

"Pfft!" Before Roland could react to Omsk's words, Yunfeng, who was holding the parchment scroll, spat out a mouthful of water.

"Do you know what the current population of Jiliu City is? How many people of military age are eligible to join the army?" Yun Feng's eyes twitched.

"1.5 people shouldn't be too many, right? I think Swiftstream City is already packed!" Omske leaned back in his chair without a care in the world. After all, it's too much to ask a brute to use his brain, even if that brute has reached the peak of his profession.

"..." Roland, great! What a great idea! You think it's even better than I do!