Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 477 If You Have Ambition, I Will Match You
"Get rich?" Li Wei couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. "Elder, when did you become so mercenary? I remember you used to say that knowledge is the true wealth."

"Knowledge is certainly wealth, but without money, knowledge can only remain hidden in the minds of a few and cannot be spread." Elder Tang Jin stroked the few sparse whiskers on his chin with a righteous air, the tortoise shell gleaming warmly in the moonlight.

As expected of an intellectual, their speech is so artful.

Li Wei strolled slowly to the fountain with his hands behind his back, looking at the shattered moonlight on the water: "Gonda is the heart of Debe. After hundreds of years of accumulation, its wealth is terrifying. If it were before, I, sir, could only watch this big piece of fat meat helplessly."

He sighed, "Now that everyone inside is dead, they all belong to us. We can use them to build High Cliff Fortress. We need to build a school, repair roads, and expand the port... Oh, and we should prioritize sorting out those ancient books and magical items. High Cliff Fortress is a newly emerging territory, and its magical foundation and martial arts manuals are too weak."

A battle aura manual isn't something you can just pick up and use. Just like magic, some people are naturally good at fire elements while others are good at water elements, the same goes for battle aura. So the more types of battle aura manuals there are, the more battle aura knights High Cliff Fortress will produce in the future. With the system's support, they will become even more outstanding.

"Don't worry, I've already had a few turtle-men start preparing." Elder Tang Jin leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Seriously, Li Wei, you've made quite a stir this time. Detaining Prime Minister Debe and his ministers, plundering Gonda's wealth—be careful not to be labeled as bandits or opportunists. It's best to release these nobles as soon as possible. Anyway, we've already taken over Gonda, so sharing some spoils with them isn't a loss. We can develop slowly when we return to High Cliff Fortress."

The lord gave a helpless smile: "Now, the only survivors in Gonda are the ministers and the people from the Holy Light Church."

"I thought that as the last survivors of Gonda, the safety of these ministers must be of paramount importance, so I specially sent several orc warriors to guard them."

“Doing this will inevitably draw criticism from the world and become a stain on your reputation. When the time comes, release them, and I will personally go and talk to them. As long as you distribute some of Gonda’s wealth, none of these guys are fools. They won’t go against you, and they certainly won’t slander you.” The turtle elder looked earnest and earnest. “Then we will withdraw our troops and return to High Cliff Fortress to continue being our High Cliff Fortress lords. Let Gonda do whatever they want.”

“Elder, the work has already been done, so what reason is there to give up halfway? Does a robber stop robbing halfway through and then stop?” The lord couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

If it were someone else constantly advising him to give up everything in Gonda and retreat back to High Cliff Fort to become a turtle, he would have slapped them long ago.

If he were to withdraw his troops now, he would be even more criticized by the world.

"That's just sophistry! We, the High Cliff Fortress, aren't bandits!" The turtle elder glared angrily, slamming his cane down. "You've been imprisoning these Ministers of Debe all this time, and now you're arranging a marriage alliance with the North? What are you trying to do? Rebel? If you had hundreds of thousands of troops, I'd accept it. But High Cliff Fortress only has tens of thousands of soldiers at most. Do you want all of them to be wiped out in this meat grinder of Gonda?"

"Tens of thousands? Each warrior of High Cliff Fortress is worth a hundred. Even without the marriage alliance with the North, I would still do it." The lord's temper flared, and he said with a sneer, "Harland designated Ashel as his heir before he died. All the royal family members are dead except for Ashel. Now I have soldiers, I have status, and Ashel is the rightful heir. Faced with such a god-given opportunity—to not seize it would be to suffer the consequences!"

"Elder, to tell you the truth, if you really want to go against me, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Li Wei's words were extremely harsh: "Death is impossible, but while I'm alive, you can only stay in Gaoyabao to live out your days in peace, and I'll arrange for a dozen beautiful turtle-woman maids to serve you every day."

"If the little Tang Jin born then inherits half of your intelligence, Elder, I won't be at a loss, hahaha..."

As he spoke, the lord himself couldn't help but smile with pride.

My lord, I respect learned elders. If I can't deal with you, I can certainly deal with your descendants.

"Hiss, what a vicious method." Even Tang Jin, who had lived for hundreds of years, couldn't help but gasp. However, he then burst into laughter, his attitude changing completely: "Li Wei, you did a great job!"

The lord, who was initially furious, was dumbfounded. Could it be that the old man had been so frightened that he had lost his mind?

Although he was indeed angry, he wouldn't resort to such harsh measures to deal with an elder over a few words.

If you are so frightened by him that you lose your mind, you will be committing a serious offense.

"Sigh, I think I'll pass."

"Now, almost everyone in Gonda is dead, and the Debei government system is basically finished. To prevent Debei from falling apart, I had no choice but to take on the role of temporary administrator and put Gonda under military control. Yet, I'm being branded as a bandit and opportunist by the world. Now even you, Elder, are against me. It's truly disheartening. All I want now is to quickly hand over these affairs to someone else and return to High Cliff Fortress to be a local tyrant, living a free and unrestrained life." The lord pretended to clutch his chest, feigning heartbreak, and tentatively began to speak.

"What's there to calculate!" Elder Tang Jin waved his cane and said fiercely, "Li Wei, you did the right thing. Not only should Gonda be under military control, but no one can leave Gonda before the new king ascends the throne. We also need to write letters to invite the military nobles of the other three provinces to come to Gonda to witness the new king's accession."

"Robbers? Taking advantage of a disaster? History is written by the victors, so what happens then is up to us."

Elder Tang Jin usually had a kind and amiable appearance, and even the unruly barbarians respected this old man greatly. However, they did not expect that he would be so imposing when he lost his temper.

“I thought you would continue to criticize me for my disloyalty, Elder. You are a nobleman of Debe, yet you do things that are not in line with your status.” Li Wei continued to probe without showing any emotion: “And your attitude has changed so much. Didn’t you tell me to release these ministers as soon as possible so that I could go back to Gaoyabao and continue to be my own local emperor?”

"What do you mean by disloyalty? You're clearly just cleaning up the mess. If you hadn't stepped in, Debe would have been finished long ago." Elder Tang Jin rolled his beady eyes into a dead fish-like gaze: "The past is the past, and the present is the present. If the Gonda royal family still had anyone, then let the tall guy continue to hold the fort. But now that Debe is about to be finished, if you don't step up, who will?"

“If you don’t step up now, the entire Debei region will fall apart and be swallowed up by the neighboring countries.”

Elder Tang Jin suddenly revealed a shrewd smile as he said this: "You brat, don't try to trap me. Did you really think I was advising you to make your money and then go back to your hometown to quietly make a fortune? I was testing whether you have a clear understanding of the situation and whether you are prepared to take on this responsibility. There are different approaches depending on whether you have a clear understanding or not, and different choices depending on whether you are prepared or not. You are still too green for me, little brat. You still have a lot to learn."

"Li Wei, you are even more cunning, treacherous, and vicious than I thought. Now I believe you can truly shoulder this responsibility, hehehe..."

This time, Elder Tang Jin revealed a cunning and sly smile. The lord gasped. Damn it, no wonder he's an old tortoise who's lived for hundreds of years; he can act so convincingly in front of him!

I'm afraid his amiable demeanor is all a facade. In his youth, he was definitely a ruthless character just like me, because the lord saw in this old codger a shamelessness that was no less than his own.

As expected, old ginger is spicier, especially ginger that's hundreds of years old!

Li Wei cursed inwardly, wanting for the first time to leave his handprint on the kind old face in front of him.

"A dozen or so turtle-woman beauties are out of the question. I'm too old for that. I've long lost interest in that sort of thing," Elder Tang Jin said seriously.

"I don't even have a dozen or so beautiful turtle women, do you think you, an old man, would get them for free? You wish!" The lord rolled his eyes at the other party.

The old turtle man chuckled and continued, "Actually, given your strength, it doesn't matter who you marry; it should be which family you marry into."

"So what if it's the North? Can it compare to the Dragon Knights? Can it compare to the greatest warrior under the stars?"

"What? The number one warrior under the stars? There are countless hidden powerhouses in this world. If you really accept this title, it would be embarrassing if you were to be mercilessly beaten by an old farmer selling vegetables one day." The lord waved his hand. If it were the number one warrior of Debei, that would be fine, but the number one warrior under the stars was just too pretentious.

Even if he usually likes to exaggerate, he wouldn't dare to spout such nonsense.

"He possesses extraordinary skills in both holy and martial arts, and is also a dual-dragon knight! In full view of everyone, he single-handedly led his lord to reclaim his title. He is also a peerless warrior who personally killed the Balrog in front of thousands of eyes to resolve the demon crisis, and defeated a legendary mage in a single move during the Three Kingdoms duel. This warrior also crushed the enemy army in the war between two countries, beheaded countless legendary powerhouses, resolved the Frost Giant crisis, and fought five incredibly powerful legendary Lich Kings alone, saving the Middle Ages from the calamity of the undead. His group of fierce followers are invincible, achieving victory with zero casualties, and are known as invincible with a hundred men..." Elder Tang Jin stated these facts without any exaggeration, and then smiled.

"You actually know all this, my dear lord, you just haven't been willing to admit that you're that capable."

"Yes, now that I think about it, it seems like I've accomplished so many great things without even realizing it." Li Wei thought about it and agreed, but it seemed that he was influenced by his previous life's ideas and felt that people should be humble.

Although I thought I had become arrogant and conceited since coming to this world, I didn't expect that others would still see me as overly humble.

"That's the problem. Your strength is exaggerated to the extreme. I've lived for hundreds of years and I can't find anyone who can compare to you. Your achievements are unimaginable. If I were you, I would have become king long ago and collected beauties from seven kingdoms. Don't think I'm being disrespectful to my age. Anyone would have done the same."

“I won’t do that,” Li Wei immediately raised his hand.

Although he had many wives, he would never do something as absurd as openly collecting beauties from seven kingdoms.

At most, he would disguise himself as an exceptionally handsome swordsman, travel the continent, occasionally rescue a damsel in distress, and the damsel would have to repay him with their bodies.

As for others asking why so many beauties offer themselves to him, the lord will solemnly reply—because I'm more handsome than you!
"That's because you only want to be a foolish rich man in your own little corner of the world." Elder Tang Jin looked at Li Wei with pity, as if he were looking at a landlord's foolish son.

"You're only twenty-one now. When Harland was twenty-one, he was still fighting tooth and nail with clumsy lizardmen in the swamps, and he got a black eye after peeping at a widow bathing..."

"Even the founding king of Debei was still visiting prostitutes in brothels when he was twenty-one years old. In the end, he didn't pay them and was caught and almost sold into prostitution."

"They may be uglier than you, less powerful, and have fewer achievements, but they became kings, while you are still a lousy country duke."

The elder is indeed an old fellow who has lived for hundreds of years; he even knows about these people's embarrassing stories.

This sent a chill down the lord's spine. This old codger had outlasted so many people, what if he outlasted him in the end and then told his embarrassing stories to future generations?

But upon closer reflection, it seemed that he had accomplished many great deeds, and he instantly felt relieved.

"So, Li Wei, these things aren't important. What's important is whether you have ambition!" The old tortoise patiently instructed the little brat in front of him.

"To be honest, I have met several kings, but you are the only one who has impressed me, or rather, left me speechless. You are also the only one I have decided to follow. If you were to lead Debe, it would be a hundred times, a thousand times better than it is now. The fact that a barbaric and backward country would bully Debe would never happen."

"How did it suddenly become me inheriting the throne? Weren't we talking about how to make Ashelu inherit the throne?"

"Don't change the subject. There are some things that are better left unsaid, even if Aishilu holds a grudge. That's the truth!" Elder Tang Jin's expression turned unusually serious. "She's too young and too inexperienced. She can't handle this position at all. Even with your help, she won't be able to win people's hearts."

"You put her on the throne, do you want to be the regent? Throughout history, no regent has ever had a good ending."

"And can you really bear to let a little girl take on all that pressure for you?"

(End of this chapter)