Imperial Crown.

Chapter 398 Just Treat Him as Dead

Many thanks to QQ Reading Dad [Autumn, Sorrow] for the 15000 reward! (I will add more for you in a while)

……

Knowing Raven's style of doing things, Fiona prepared almost all the detailed information early in the morning.

Raven took the information and looked at it. He was slightly surprised, and then he couldn't help but speed up the reading.

It is not a new thing to count every number, but Fiona was creative and aggregated the data together to make a clear fan chart of the revenue of each industry for each month, quarter and year.

There are even periodic comparisons.

"Is this what you came up with?" Raven pointed at the fan-shaped diagram.

Fiona was happy that Raven had discovered her creativity, and her tone rose slightly:
"Yes, sir, this is what I thought of after seeing the mapping method you invented."

This was really a surprise for Raven. He didn't expect that Fiona could come up with this method without his guidance.

In fact, Raven was not unaware of the benefits of charts, and he also knew that the accounting methods of this era were still quite crude.

But the problem is that Lei Wen has very limited knowledge of accounting. He only knows the results but not the reasons.

After all, after traveling through time, you only have the Eye of Truth to accompany you, and you don't have the ability to know everything like your peers.

Raven also understood one thing.

As long as a system can run, don't interfere with it, otherwise the result may be counterproductive.

When Fiona does it, the meaning is completely different.

She created this better statistical method based on actual needs. She is a tree with roots and foundation that is firmly rooted in this world.

The significance of this is self-evident.

Fiona really has a genius talent in this area.

"Write a book about this method later, and I'll help you publish it." Retracting his gaze, Raven said:
"Now, go on."

Release books!

This is a treatment only available to great scholars.

Fiona was very excited. Just like her grandfather Gordon, she pushed her glasses and said in full energy:

"Mr. Earl, from an economic point of view, in the past two years or so..."

Looking at the documents and listening to Fiona's explanation, Raven gradually gained a clear understanding of the current development status of the territory.

According to Raven’s idea of ​​“building Xuefeng Town into an industrial town” before leaving, two more factories were built in Xuefeng Town, and a separate area was demarcated, collectively known as the “Rust Zone”.

After the two factories were built, one took over the canning production originally integrated in the Mirror Factory, and the other took over the Riverside Factory originally located next to Xiongying Town and the Jinsha River.

Today, there are four major factories, which are responsible for forging, mirror making, canning and Angel's Tears series product production.

Except for the forge, the profit has always been low due to the large influx of weapons and equipment caused by Raven's conquest of Eivor; the other three factories have been providing a steady stream of income to the Griffith family.

All in all, it can bring in a profit of 31 to 37 gold coins each year.

In addition, the news of Raven's conquest of Eivor and his recent enthronement as earl has greatly stimulated Eagle City's tourism industry.

The graduates of Griffith College all have stable career paths, which has attracted the attention of businessmen and small nobles from all over the place. Many businessmen have settled down in the local area and started businesses.

Some suppliers upstream in the business chain simply moved their factories to the Rust Belt.

Moreover, after Nancy defeated the coalition of horse bandits and pirates, she accepted about 6 serfs. These people are now gradually integrating into various territories, which has greatly enhanced the overall economic vitality of the Griffith family.

In addition to entertainment facilities such as the Crystal Palace, Paramount Hall, Wallace Hotel, and the Grand Arena, the tax revenue is approximately 5.7 to 6.3 gold coins per year.

Although there are great seasonal differences, it is generally stable and according to the trend of recent years, it is still growing at a rate of about 11% per year.

In other words, the total annual income of the Raven Territory is now between 37 and 43 gold coins. Although there is a gap compared to the traditional earl, there is still plenty of room for growth.

Listening to Fiona's report, Raven had a strange smile on his face.

Generally speaking, the income of a noble family should come from taxes for at least 7%, and in some families it may even be as high as 9%. However, in Griffith's case, the situation is reversed.

All I can say is, there is no wealth without business.

With the income of Eagle City in recent years, the gold coins looted after the capture of Eivor, and what Raven brought back from the royal capital, the goal of 100 million gold coins has long been achieved. Now, Raven has as much as 347.68 million gold coins in his hands.

What is the next target? 1000 million?
It seems that there is indeed a sense of accomplishment in independently saving up an imperial level of war reparations.

The sound gradually faded away. Raven stopped thinking and looked up. "Continue."

"Okay, Lord Earl." Fiona swallowed her saliva: "Next is the military aspect..."

Raven has always been the most strict in the military, so he is familiar with most of the situations.

The focus of Fiona's report is the homeless children who were transferred from the Wall of Sighs three years ago.

According to preliminary statistics at that time, the number of people was more than 5600. After arriving at the Eagle Territory and carefully counting, the actual number reached 7729, all of whom were boys aged 10 to 16.

A small number of the younger ones were adopted by local families; the older ones were sent to orphanages to receive unified education and training.

Perhaps due to genetic factors, most of these children have good physiques and are eager to repay Raven, so they were formed into the 3rd Legion of the Eagle Army a year and a half ago.

Today, the number of soldiers under Raven's command has expanded to three legions, about 3 people, basically matching the power of an earl.

"Well, very good." Raven knocked on the table and asked the most important question of this meeting:
"Simon is missing, what exactly happened?"

……

Nord Province, Hippoc County, Binziman Territory.

Changzi Castle, underground prison cell.

The sharp and loud crack of whips echoed in the small cell, and dancing shadows were reflected on the stone walls like poisonous snakes.

However, there were a few rats with bloody fur lying in the corner. They were totally unconcerned about these things. Instead, they opened their green bean-sized eyes and stared greedily at the center of the cell.

There was a rough oak chair there, its originally pure white color turned dark after being soaked in countless blood.

A naked man was sitting on it, his wrists and ankles tightly locked with shackles made of magic-sealing steel.

There were new scars with blood and flesh on the chest, shoulders, and arms, and old wounds could be seen overlapping underneath them.

The black skin that was whipped was the scar left by the branding iron; the smooth cross-section of the skin was the mark carved by the sharp blade; the thick skin on half of the leg that was like a melted candle was the memorial left by the strong acid and flame.

The nails on the hands and feet had long disappeared, and missing pieces of flesh could still be seen on the forearms.

This kind of punishment has been going on intermittently for nearly 10 months.

Not in human form is not just an adjective, but a real description.

No one can endure such torture.

But this man seemed not to be made of flesh and blood. Even though he was whipped to death, with old wounds bursting open and blood flowing, his eyes hidden under his messy long hair still contained a spark that had not been extinguished.

"This condition is simple, right? I'll let you out alive, and you just have to promise me not to involve me." Little Peeler panted, pinched Simon's neck and made him look directly at him:

"Do you really want to die so badly?!"

The corners of Simon's mouth trembled slightly, revealing a mocking and provocative smile.

"Damn it." Hatefully, he pushed Simon's face aside, dropped the whip, turned around and walked out of the cage.

The two prison guards, one tall and one short, at the door looked at each other, pursed their lips at the same time, and walked into the cell.

The tall man took a basin of water and cotton cloth to clean Simon's wounds:
"If you ask me, you might as well just agree to the adults and get out earlier, so you don't have to suffer so much!"

"Don't try to persuade him. If you could persuade him, he would not be here long ago." The short man handed a bowl of sugar water to Simon's mouth and watched him drink it bit by bit:
"Others are considered strong if they can endure for three days, but he has lasted for 3 months on and off. He is a real tough guy."

"This kind of person is a man who always keeps his word. Otherwise, how could Master Little Peeler let him go just for a promise?"

The tall man did not refute. After the cotton cloth was thrown into the clear water, one could clearly see the flesh shattered by the whip, and this was the lightest torture Simon had ever experienced:
"But I don't understand. If Master Little Peeler wants to let him go, why does he have to beat him?"

"Raven is back." said the short man.

The tall man stood up and whispered, "Keep your voice down! Are you trying to kill yourself? Little Peeler has said that we are not allowed to tell him any news from the outside world!"

"Do you think everyone is as stupid as you?" The short man squinted his eyelids and said, "There was no torture for two or three months before. It has only become more frequent in the past few days."

He pointed at Simon with his chin and said, "When he heard about Raven just now, he didn't react at all. That's enough to explain it."

The tall man looked at Simon, scratched his head, and sighed softly:

"I really don't understand. Why did Little Skinner capture him in the first place?"

At the same time, Little Flayed walked out of the dungeon and stood on the city wall of the Chief Son Castle. He looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky and washed the blood off his hands with the snow on the wall.

The sound of creaking footsteps was heard, and a man stood next to Little Peeler.

At this time, the only one who dared to approach Little Flayed was his uncle, Sir Norfinn:

"You don't have to be afraid of Raven..."

"Who said I'm afraid of Raven!?" Little Peeler turned his head, staring at Nofen with his two eyes, one red and one white, and his eyes twitching constantly.

Forcing a smile that didn't really mean anything, Xiao Peeler loosened his stiff fingers:

"Uncle, you came to me just to say these bland words?"

"What I want now is clear advice and methods."

Norfin was silent.

"Ha, now you have nothing to say again!" Little Peeler sneered and leaned against the city wall: "In the beginning, I captured Simon in order to get closer to that old Anthony and add more ashes to Raven's grave."

"Who would have thought that this damn little bee like Raven could actually fly out of the Abyss Prison and become an earl."

"At that time, I wanted to kill Simon and put an end to it all. It was you who stopped me. You said such nice things to me at that time."

"Now you have nothing to say again!"

"Raven is back, but Anthony is not. Tyrone has to take care of Eivor's affairs. The next governor will most likely be Raven. Simon has this hot potato in his hands. He can't give it up, and he can't not give it up."

"I'm not afraid of Raven, but if I offend such a neighbor and the next governor, what will I do in the future?"

Nofen's expression was a little complicated, and he felt a little resentful in his heart.

When the plan to arrest Simon was first proposed, Nofin had strongly opposed it, but Little Flayed insisted on his own way and did not listen. Now he is blaming him.

Until now, Nofin had not thought that not killing Simon was a bad idea.

After all, Simon is a follower who rose to prominence with Raven, and one of the first knights appointed by Raven himself. His significance to Raven and to Griffith's faction is extraordinary.

Holding it in your hand, you can use it as a bargaining chip.

It was just that Norfin had underestimated Raven's influence. He had not expected that after Raven returned to Nord, he would have such a great momentum, almost to the point of competing with the old Earl Slater family.

Even better.

After organizing his thoughts, Nofen said, "Don't worry too much. Even if Raven becomes an earl, he is still a noble under the imperial order and has no subordinate relationship with our Binziman family."

"Although Simon is in our hands, he has no direct evidence."

"On the contrary, Simon is a knight with great military achievements and is one of his core members. If he can't find him, he will be worried."

"So, we just need to wait until Raven can't bear it anymore, and then we can contact him. He will definitely be grateful to us then."

Hearing this, Little Peeler just smiled bitterly, walked up to Nofin, and helped him tighten the cloak on his shoulders:

"Uncle, I now understand why my grandfather chose John to inherit the title of the Luke family instead of you."

"The premise is correct, the process is correct, how did you come to that conclusion in the end?"

Without waiting for Norfin's reply, the little skinner turned back and said, "You are even more of a good person than John."

"If only dating among nobles was as simple as you think."

"Did I say something wrong?" Nofin frowned:
"If it doesn't work, I'll come forward. He still owes John a favor."

"And this is already a pessimistic estimate. Raven may not even know that it was us who did it!"

Little Peeler rolled his eyes and sighed silently.

……

"You're quite courageous." Raven snorted.

After listening to Fiona's account of what happened, and asking Jenny some details about Simon's disappearance, combined with the information from the Wind King's troops left in Eagle City, the answers matched Raven's guess.

It's a little peeling indeed.

Fiona patted Jenny on the shoulder and said softly:

"Don't worry, the Earl is back, and Simon will be back too."

Jenny is only 26 years old this year, one year younger than Nancy, but now she looks haggard.

Her skin was dull and lifeless, her eyes were red and swollen, the wrinkles between her eyebrows were lingering, and there were two almost impossible to cover up red spots on her cheeks from crying all day.

Nancy's death was a particularly huge blow to her. She could be said to have lived for Nancy in the first half of her life.

After that, Simon became her support.

His gentleness, his attentiveness, and his devotion gradually revived Jenny's dead heart, and his family also gave Jenny a lot of warmth that she had never experienced before.

Originally, the two planned to wait for Raven to come back and get married under his auspices, but unexpectedly, Simon suddenly disappeared, and it is very likely that he fell into the hands of the cruel Little Flay.

But she did not forget who she was.

Jenny wiped away her tears with a wet handkerchief, sniffed, stared at Raven and said:
"My Lord, please don't worry too much about Simon."

"Yeah..." Fiona subconsciously wanted to comfort Jenny, but after she came to her senses, she froze and looked at Jenny in confusion.

"It is Simon's honor to serve you." Jenny continued in a calm tone:

"Now that you have just become a count, any radical action you take will become a target for your enemies to attack you."

"Little Peeler is just a viscount. You don't need to, and you shouldn't, negotiate with him after being provoked. This will only damage you and the dignity of the Griffith family."

"so……"

Jenny bit her lips tightly, took a deep breath, and then said:
"So, just consider Simon dead!"

"Now that you have been promoted to earl and returned to your hometown, what you should do is celebrate, share the credit, and reward, instead of focusing on a dead person.

This is also what the lady wants to see."

Fiona looked at Jenny in surprise. She couldn't believe that Jenny, who was usually gentle, could say such decisive words:
"But what can you do?"

Jenny didn't say anything, but her expression said it all.

Her feelings were unimportant in the face of the Griffith family's interests.

"Hmm..." Raven nodded: "You make sense."

"Fiona, start getting ready."

"The celebration banquet will be held on time in 10 days."

……

(End of this chapter)