Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 118: Halfling Heroes and Huge Gains

After listening to what this chubby half-orc said, Su Li couldn't help but want to laugh.

Sometimes we really can’t look at the world with the eyes of our previous life.

Just like stupidity, it is not a shameful shortcoming in this world, and of course it is not a glorious virtue.

This is a human trait, like stubbornness, irritability, anger, greed, etc., and it's not necessarily a negative comment. It's more that if the world's bottom line is low enough and the overall environment is dark enough, then the standards for virtue are exceptionally low, and the standards for negative comments are relatively high.

After all, compared to those characteristics of cruelty, bloodlust, chaos, and evil, stupidity and greed are just insignificant traits.

Overall, this comradeship club lived up to Krupp's elite evaluation, so Su Li said with considerable interest, "Tell me about your troops. How many special forces do you have?"

Speaking of this, Krupp suddenly became extremely proud. He straightened his chest, held his chin high, and raised his voice: "Our family brought 157 members. Except for the elderly and children, every one of them is a qualified warrior."

"Please allow me to give you a detailed introduction to our halfling military system."

"Each of these halfling militiamen, drawn from the fields and countryside, is a skilled archer and a hardy fighter. They are also quite clever (or rather, sneaky) and can navigate the woods without hindrance."

If he were to start with the militia and continue with the introduction, it would probably take at least an hour or two to finish.

Su Li interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said, "Let's get to the point. How many soldiers and special forces do you have?"

"We have 96 soldiers, including 60 Halfling Militia, four Battle Ram Chariots, 6 Swan Riders, 3 Reapers, two Tree Companions, 3 Artillery Pieces, and 6 Dinner Trays."

"Let me be clear, the dining cart is the core of our Halflings' combat. It is an ace unit that every army would welcome."

Listening to his boasting, Su Li became more and more confused and asked, "What's going on with all these troops of yours? Why are there cannons? Aren't gunpowder the only ones that can be used by dwarves? And why are there dining tray carts on the battlefield?"

"See, I told you that you needed me to give you a detailed introduction to our special forces?" Krupp looked as if he had foreseen this.

"This cannon isn't the dwarven cannon. It's actually a halfling hot pot. Hot pot was originally just an adventurous innovation for us halflings, but now it's become a part of our diet. There's a pot of boiling liquid in the hot pot, and halflings can use a launcher to pour it on their enemies, scalding or even melting them."

"What about the food truck?"

"The tray cart carries three days' worth of food for us halflings, pulled by a giant (by halfling standards) aurochs, an ancient breed of wild ox, a rough and wild animal at heart, but apparently quite delicious."

"What about the harvester?"

"These are the various farm tools we halflings use. They are used to harvest wheat in peacetime and to harvest heads in battle. They are pulled by two battle rams."

My goodness, their so-called special forces are the various equipment they use in their daily lives!

It's no wonder that halflings are never considered competent warriors, whether in halfling lands or the Empire. Even the idea of ​​a halfling warrior is the basis of several human jokes.

Seeing Su Li's smile, the strong halfling was obviously enraged and emphasized: "Don't look down on the fighting ability of us halflings. The usually peaceful and calm halflings can also become very brave and aggressive in order to defend their homes."

"Historically, our elder Haismi sent a large force of halflings to assist the Empire in its battles as scouts and allied forces. Imperial commanders have repeatedly spoken of their bravery and resourcefulness."

"And our powerful Battle Ram Chariots are incredibly powerful. These battle rams are strong and aggressive, with thick, long fur, a powerful, ram-crowned skull, and dangerously long horns, which provide excellent protection and offensive capabilities. A shock chariot pulled by two battle rams, carrying three halflings, can charge swiftly across almost impossible terrain."

Ok?
After listening to his introduction of this type of troops, Su Li finally became serious and corrected his attitude towards their combat effectiveness.

The empire's army also needs chariots, and it is obvious that these battle ram chariots are to make up for the defect that human knights have no chariots.

Imagine if two armies were fighting and a large number of battle ram chariots appeared on one side of a cliff and a rugged mountain full of gravel, a place where cavalry was thought to be absolutely impossible, what a huge impact it would have on the enemy.

"We also have powerful swan riders. These large birds are ideal mounts for quickly transporting troops across the battlefield. They are also very aggressive, using their powerful wings to strike down enemies. Swans often fly across the sky in a "V" formation, and riders can rain down arrows from above."

"Finally, we have our close companions, the Ents. We Halflings have a strong connection to nature, the forests, and the plump, juicy rabbits that live there. Some Halflings have managed to befriend the Ents, and the Ents will fight alongside the Halflings—and their Halfling friends will even ride on their shoulders."

"With so many powerful arms, aren't they worthy of attention?"

In fact, he also wanted to introduce many halfling troops, such as their crazy chef troops. These people ate too many spicy dumplings. They would usually mix in with the ordinary chef team, and jump out to swing their heavy cooking utensils at will when the battle started.

And then there were their loyal sheepdogs. Their owners would often ride on battle rams and command them with whistles, and the sheepdogs would follow behind the battle rams and battle rams. The sheepdogs were extremely loyal to their masters, often risking their lives to save their masters. But this was enough to attract Su Li's attention, so he asked with a serious face, "How do you plan to join my territory?"

Krupp immediately replied, "As Hartskling said, we wish to join the Halfling Dominion. Each of our families will contribute 800 gold crowns to purchase a piece of land from your domain to expand our Dominion."

This surprised Su Li. He thought that these halfling families would each buy a piece of territory and develop their own family's territory.

Unexpectedly, in politics, the halflings also maintained their usual close nature, even so many families wanted to live closely together.

So Su Li asked curiously: "How do you govern your territory?"

"As for political matters, of course, we have already discussed them before deciding to unite. We have decided to implement feudal rule through a parliament composed of representatives of large landowners, elected believers, and family elders."

"At the same time, we elect a powerful halfling hero to serve as our free mayor."

"Halfling hero?" Su Li's eyes lit up and he looked at the last halfling representative.

"Indeed, may I introduce to you Ashfield Blackbush, our halfling's exceptionally strong hero."

As he spoke, the unusually strong halfling sitting in the corner stood up. He had well-developed muscles and a huge scar on his cheek, which made him look very ferocious, very different from the peaceful halflings.

Crump said: "Ashfield has an insatiable passion for food and sensuality. He is more interested in when the next meal will be served than in political calculations."

"As brave and powerful halflings, halfling heroes often carry a picnic basket. Yes, any halfling would voluntarily follow a guy with a picnic basket. He would be the perfect leader for us."

As introduced, Ashfield was not interested in politics, but had an endless passion for food and lust. There were 7 lovers in his family alone, and 68 children born to them!
So he urgently needed a territory and a well-paid job to support his wife, sons and daughters.

He bowed respectfully to Su Li and said, "Respected Lord, our Blackberry Bush family is willing to serve you. As long as you grant us a small piece of land, our entire family can work for your territory, serving as your foragers, farm harvest masters, scouts, cooks, servants, and other roles. You know, halflings are the best cooks and servants on the continent."

Su Li thought for a moment and said to the halflings who were watching him nervously, "Okay, I accept your allegiance. And the price you pay for the land will remain the same, 800 gold crowns for eight kilometers."

The halflings cheered excitedly. Their long-awaited event had finally come true. Everyone was overwhelmed with emotion, some even brimming with tears. They had been wandering for far too long and desperately needed a place to settle down and thrive.

But before their cheers died down, Su Li continued, "But your military vassal obligations need to be revised. As an autonomous region covering an area of ​​32 miles, you need to shoulder greater obligations."

"I need you to provide at least a squadron of halfling soldiers during normal times, and at least one squadron of elite soldiers among them. In times of war, you must fully respond to my call and participate in defensive battles."

A squad of elite soldiers?

The halflings all took a deep breath. The fighting power of the halflings could not compare to their big friends. One battle ram chariot was only equivalent to one elite knight.

All their families only sent out six battle ram chariots, and even with the addition of 6 swan riders, it still could not reach the combat effectiveness of an elite team.

The tree people will not leave their territory to participate in foreign wars.

This means that they must hire more and more powerful ogre warriors to meet the needs of the Hessian Lord.

They gathered together to discuss for a long time, and finally Ashfield gritted his teeth and made a reply. They agreed to this condition, provided that Su Li exempted their autonomous region from taxes for one year. This would allow them to accumulate a certain amount of wealth to hire people and meet the requirements of the territory.

This proposal was strongly opposed by the Lord Chancellor, Lawn, who believed that if Su Li agreed to this request, the taxes and commercial taxes that their dominion escaped might exceed the wealth they paid for the land.

But Su Li felt that he was exaggerating a bit. Could a dominion really pay 2400 gold crowns a year?
After all, their territory only had four large families, totaling over 460 people, the size of a village. On the human side, it was just a small village of 80 households, and it was hard to believe they could even afford the 240 gold crowns.

So after a fierce negotiation between the two sides, Su Li agreed to exempt them from half of the taxes for the first year.

That is to say, when Su Li reduced taxes to gain virtue, he gave them an additional refund of 30%.

Then the Balan Autonomous Territory was completely formed. The halflings from the four families joined the territory. In addition to the hundreds of gatherers and farm workers who developed their own territory, they could also provide at least 200 to 300 laborers for the Hessen Territory, working as maids, cooks, servants, workers and other positions.

In addition, they will also serve as contractors, commanding 117 ogre workers, providing strong support for the construction of the territory and earning a lot of wealth.

(End of this chapter)