When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1071 Dawn Island Regional Defense Committee
At this point, the other members of parliament couldn't help but ask, "How did Your Excellency receive and handle this?"

"Naturally, we would accept them all, bring them under our control, and then auction them off in exchange for money, food, and weapons."

Jeanne was already very familiar with this operation.

That's exactly what they did in Jeanne d'Arch: splitting and selling off the real estate assets of nobles and big merchants.

When a whale falls, all things are born.

Not only were they able to quickly raise military funds, but they also created a group of loyalists to the Salvation Army.

Without any local connections, Jeanne often finds herself constrained in whatever she wants to do.

Upon hearing this statement, many councilors and even other citizen representatives couldn't help but rub their hands together in anticipation.

The Luntinger family is a real goldmine.

What they didn't know was that these assets would be divided into two parts.

Aside from the external auctions to oligarchs and ordinary citizens, some excellent and key shops or workshops were also auctioned off to the Church of the Fathers.

If you don't have a wallet and only talk the talk, who's going to listen to you?

These Father Worshipping Organizations still follow the previously established principle: "The minority obeys the majority, and the branch obeys the main body."

As for who the main party is, is there even a question?

Real estate, such as the Luntinger family's dozen or so farms and two large estates outside the city, would be directly transferred to the Church of the Holy Father.

In the future, officers from the Holy Alliance will bring their wandering soldiers to settle in these manors and farms.

Then, these veterans would be allocated land and settled down according to their population, and a three-year tax exemption policy would be implemented to serve as a source of soldiers for the Christian Guard.

These wandering soldiers had no local roots, required no training, and their natural hatred of the king was an advantage.

The problem is that their military discipline is very poor, and their reputation is even worse.

But this is an old problem. The Black Champions were like this back then, but they've changed now... right?

Jeanne became suspicious when she thought about how the Black Champion had recently moved into the Eastern County and was digging up pyramids everywhere in search of a second dragon head.

They even claimed that this was "an archaeological mission," not tomb raiding.

It was taken openly and honestly; there's no question of theft.

With the allocation of land and a three-year tax exemption, the guardians of the estates under the Holy Fathers would surely take the initiative to protect the Holy Fathers in the urban areas.

With both the money and the weapon of the Father Worshippers in the Longbow Fort region secured, all that remained was fierce struggle.

"Longbow Fortress is short of manpower. What do you plan to do with these captured and wandering soldiers?"

Upon hearing Jeanne's words, the expressions of several councilors changed: "They're all criminals; wouldn't it be a bad idea to keep them in the city?"

"I know how anxious you are, but please be patient, we'll hire a few more mercenaries..."

If these unstable factors were placed in the city, wouldn't they be robbing and looting every day?

“Mercenaries are unreliable. I plan to turn the two large estates of the Luntinger family into military camps.” Jeanne interrupted the oligarchs directly. “What do you think about organizing the surplus refugees and prisoners into labor camps to repair the city’s defenses?”

The councilors quickly began to make their calculations.

Anyway, the city defenses need to be repaired, and these homeless people don't need wages; they can work as long as they have food.

Jeanne has brought them grain collection certificates and grain tax exemption certificates, so the grain price will not be too high.

This business is feasible, and it's more comfortable than hiring those difficult and troublesome urban laborers.

"My admiration for Lady Joan of Arc is like a surging river, never-ending..."

"The main direction for the Luntinger family has been decided. The specific details will be discussed with the Privy Councillors we brought."

Jeanne paused for a few seconds before speaking again: "What are your thoughts on the proposed handling of Xia Bo and the 45-person guild?"

A red-haired member of the Loble family, Luger, immediately stood up: "These representatives are small-minded and have wavering stances."

Unlike our large and powerful family business, where monks can flee but churches can't, I think this place is particularly prone to producing traitors, and I suggest it be abolished.

In the past, Bradak would definitely have stood up and said something, but now he was speechless.

The scene from last night was still vivid in his mind. Was the existence of a 45-person guild really necessary?

“The guild of forty-five should not be easily abolished, otherwise who will supervise the government and convey public opinion?” Jeanne shook her head, rejecting Luger’s statement.

This immediately drew grateful glances from the other delegates. Jeanne continued, "But the guild of forty-five is indeed somewhat out of place during the war, and they shouldn't be commenting on this matter."

I propose that a defense committee be established.

Considering the Five Cities Alliance as a unified entity, it should share a single defense committee to facilitate military mobilization and align with common interests.

The members of parliament understood that Jeanne was essentially asking them for military command.

This immediately put the lawmakers in a difficult position, not because they were afraid of anything else—

With a large machete lying upright on the bed, who could possibly sleep?
Nepomuk, a member of parliament from the Melzel family, turned his head and asked, "Sir Galar, where do you usually reside?"

"Of course it's the barracks. I'm here to instruct you on how to fight. I have no interest in those tedious municipal matters."

The councilors were relieved and happily raised their hands in agreement with Jeanne's proposal, naming it the "Dawn Island Regional Defense Committee".

The council of sixteen passed the proposal to appoint Joan of Arc as chairperson with great efficiency.

The current committee consists of only five members: Jeanne, Michel, Sochette, Tora, and Bradak.

As chairwoman, Joan of Arc's first act was to address the Council of Sixteen: "I request that the Blacksmiths' Guild be placed under the jurisdiction of the Defense Committee to facilitate the repair and forging of weapons."

The Blacksmiths' Guild is not a small guild in Longbow Fortress; it's of average strength, with neither high nor low influence.

Despite being nominated by the Blacksmiths' Guild, Xia Bo orchestrated last night's coup in the Knights' Hall.

Many members of the blacksmiths' guild were involved; if they were truly implicated, who could they blame?
“I agree with the Chairman’s opinion,” Tora said, raising his hand in agreement.

Apart from the Melzel family, who are associated with the blacksmiths' guild, who hesitated for a moment, the other councilors quickly cast their votes in favor.

In this way, the reckoning for last night's coup is essentially complete.

Miscellaneous benefits, such as monasteries or chapels that acted as informants, were left to the Pagan monks who followed.

After discussing the receipt of supplies, the Dawn Island Regional Defense Committee held its first meeting.

Jeanne did not drive away the city councilors; they were happy to come and listen to Jeanne's plans.

“Our current situation is much better than it was in Joan of Arc back then.” Jeanne tapped the map with a stick. “Five towns, not far apart, can support each other…”

Judging from the current situation, the Kingdom's army will arrive around autumn, giving us two or three months to prepare...

In the next two or three months, we need to open up roads to the other five cities, ensuring they are connected and can support each other...

I said we need to "break through," but that doesn't necessarily mean we have to fight. We could also invite some enlightened nobles to join us...

Fortunately, the civil war and the Thousand River Valley War have crippled the powerful nobles of Dawn Island, so our short-term goal is to first eliminate the few notorious bandit knights in the surrounding area..."

Under Jeanne's guidance, the previously complex military affairs unfolded with remarkable clarity before the city councilors.

After seeing these breakdowns, the seemingly simple tasks appeared to have dissipated much of the war-related mysteries.

This even gave some city councilors the illusion that they could do it too.

As the chairperson, Jeanne naturally couldn't hear their true feelings, and instead quickly assigned positions and tasks to the committee members.

"First, we need to ensure counter-espionage work within the city. We need to establish a military police force to investigate spies, and Tora, you will be in charge."

Second, we need someone to win over and persuade those towns or villages. Bradak, you'll be in charge of that.

Third, Sochette, you excel at logistics and city defense. As the quartermaster, you are responsible for repairing military facilities and allocating supplies.

Fourth, Michelle, you'll be in charge of training. You had excellent training results in the original battle group; you haven't forgotten that, have you?

Under the guidance of the monks who served as military advisors, documents and regulations were handed over to the group.

Seeing that Jeanne had assigned the duties one by one, a member of parliament couldn't help but raise his hand and ask, "Your Excellency Joan of Arc, can we lift the city's siege alarm now?"

“No, let’s not make contact yet. We’ll talk about it when I get back.” Jeanne shook her head. “I must immediately assemble the troops and monitor the movements of that Knight Gunn.”

"He dares to come again?!"

"Who dares to say for sure? If they outnumber us, we'll defend the city for now and launch a counter-attack."

If they are outnumbered, we can give them a crushing blow and use the opportunity to open up the road to Shuiya Port.

Jeanne picked up the iron gloves and put them on: "Sochette, you go and take over the estate outside the city now."

Michelle, take the officers and select the best soldiers. We'll set off tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)