Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 166: Founding the Vengeful Sun Demi-Griffin Knights
The return of the high-ranking attendant lord, Hildur, finally put Su Li's daily progress and meetings back on track.

Almost at the time when Su Li finished breakfast, Fandral and Lunadesan entered the conference hall of the manor together.

Su Li then entered the room surrounded by several servants.

The two ministers sitting on the large chairs immediately stood up, bowed to Su Li, and said, "Good morning, Lord."

"Good morning, my ministers. Please take a seat. There's no need to be so formal."

Su Li waved his hand and asked them to sit down in a casual manner. Then he looked at Fandral and asked, "Sir Fandral, how is your health recovery?"

Fandral's old face was filled with a bright smile. He said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord. I am in very good health. The most serious damage during this adventure to the Dragon's Lair was caused mainly by Ashfield."

Then he looked regretful and said, "I didn't expend much energy myself, but it's a pity that I lost one of Lord Lunadesan's giant herders."

Lunadesan was so angry that she gritted her teeth. Although their two churches had close relations, she couldn't ignore her personal gains and losses.

That is a powerful giant herder, the sacred beast of the forest and the perfect mount that any elf pursues!
She usually didn't want to ride it, and she would just lead it wherever she went, wishing she could hold it in her palm. Even when she slept, the giant herding deer didn't sleep in the stable, but Lunadesan slept with it in the monastery.

It can be said that this giant herder is like a close comrade-in-arms and her closest relative.

It's impossible for Lunadesan not to be angry about the death of this giant herder! It was like sacrificing a loved one. Her heart was bleeding.

And it is very likely that she will never have the chance to obtain such a precious and powerful giant deer again in her lifetime.

But for the sake of the territory's development, she gritted her teeth and suppressed the urge to curse. She forced a forced smile and said, "The giant herder simply returned to the embrace of Tarr, the God of the Wilderness. It died a worthy death for the development of the territory. It was its sacrifice that brought prosperity to the territory. Tarr, seeing the vibrant vitality of the territory, will surely appreciate its dedication."

Su Li smiled with relief and said, "It's good that you can think it through. Loyalty will not be betrayed, and dedication will definitely be rewarded. The territory will not forget the dedication of the Tal Church, and you will surely reap the rewards of the territory's growth."

"I believe that when the territory has a wider presence of the Tarr Church, the church will have a greater chance of obtaining new Giant Deer Herders. Perhaps by then, the Tarr Church Monastery in our territory will have a wide range of influence, covering the vast area west of the Blood Pine Forest. Your monastery will be able to continuously train Giant Deer Monster Cavalry."

Everything Su Li said was not just empty promises to Lunadesan, but was actually happening in the territory.

As the Hessen Territory receives more and more favor from the Goddess of the Fiery Sun, the territory's divine grace becomes more and more widespread, and the entire territory has almost become a place of devout faith transformed by the Goddess of the Fiery Sun. The knights of the Church of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun are gradually ruling the west side of the Blood Pine Forest.

This is of great significance to the Hessen Territory. The intelligence obtained multiple times has helped Su Li obtain two monster cavalrymen. The knight blessed by God successfully tamed a half-griffin in the Griffin Forest.

According to the current progress, on average one powerful half-griffin knight can be obtained every month.

Don't think that half-griffins are common just because there are so many opportunities in the Hessen Territory.

The Hessen Territory was able to obtain seven or eight and a half griffins because it was close to the Griffin Forest, a griffin-producing area.

Even half-griffins are extremely rare within the Empire.

Most of the knights in the Knights' Order, known as the Demi-Griffin, rode warhorses! Only a small number of elite knights rode Demi-Griffins.

These ferocious and aggressive creatures, griffins, have a high probability of death. They are not only difficult to tame, but also rare in the wild.

The Black Forest Territory was able to obtain seven or eight griffins, most of which were griffin eggs stolen by goblins from the Griffin Forest. This was actually a matter of balance in the food chain. If goblins didn't steal eggs from the Griffin Forest, a large number of half-griffins would form, and the entire western Blood Pine Forest would quickly collapse, potentially leading to the extinction of the griffins in this Griffin Forest.

Of course, Su Li was not a believer of the Tal Church, so he was not sure whether all this was right or not.

The only thing he was sure of now was that he had the support of the intelligence system. As long as he was given time to develop steadily, he could form a monster cavalry squadron in a year!

Twelve Demi-Griffin Knights launched a charge, and it was an offensive as turbulent as a storm, capable of instantly breaking through the defensive line composed of hundreds of goblins and even green-skinned boys.

Even a group of giant horned beasts wearing plate armor and holding huge axes would be severely damaged in an instant if they were hit from behind by such a group of half-griffin knights.

However, it is not easy to support such a monster cavalry!
War horses are very precious in themselves, and griffins are much more precious than war horses.

They do not eat any wild vegetables or coarse grains, they only eat fresh flesh and blood. An adult half-griffon can eat half a strong bull or a fat sheep in a day.

The current griffins and half-griffins in the territory, plus the half-griffins from the Knights' side, will need to consume 60 cows or 300 sheep if they do nothing for a month just to maintain their size and ensure their growth!

All this does not even take into account the expenses incurred by knights, nobles, and commercial trade!
The territory now looks prosperous, with such a brilliant and beautiful army, shining with gold and majestic. That is all supported by a huge amount of wealth behind it!

In an ordinary kingdom's knightly territory, or one without the support of an intelligence system, the consumption of just these few griffins would have been enough to drive a lord to collapse. The entire farming and animal husbandry industries were in tatters, and the territory was abandoned due to lack of food.

Even the Hesse Territory, which relies entirely on animal husbandry, cannot afford to supply so many griffins.

The territory was able to survive thanks to his intelligence system, which enhanced his fishing and hunting capabilities. A large amount of fish, venison and wolf meat supplemented the territory's food sources.

Feedback from keepers revealed that griffins are more interested in wild foods, with bear meat being their primary attraction, followed by wolf meat, and finally venison, horse meat, and beef. When there's nothing else to eat, they'll eat mutton. They reject all domesticated pork, as it has a fishy smell.

This truly reflects the noble temperament of this creature in every aspect, just like the noble aristocrats of the East who only eat beef and mutton, and not pork.

Su Li summoned these two ministers to discuss how to support the growing number of monster cavalry.

These proud knights all had their jaws raised high, only caring about showing off. When they found Su Li, they acted like they had a destiny, boasting that they were going to the Griffin Forest to challenge the taming of a griffin. As for how to feed the griffin, that was completely beyond the scope of these reckless minds.

In the end, they brought back one griffin after another, but they still had to ask Su Li to clean up their messes and solve the problem of food supply.

If they rely on themselves, the griffin and they will starve to death!
Of course, even though Su Li complained, it didn't stop him from laughing from ear to ear.

These half-griffin knights are the Sun Griffin Knights of Vengeance that he prepared for Hildurde. All of them will ride half-griffins and take pride in their perfect performance and discipline.

If he had a 500-man Griffin Knights, any phalanx that was attacked on the battlefield would collapse instantly.

In order to realize this grand dream, both his farming and animal husbandry must be developed.

So after comforting Fandral and Lunadesan, Su left the door and asked directly: "What do you two have to report? Is it about the development of the territory?"

Fandral nodded immediately and said, "I had an in-depth discussion with Minister Lauen at the dinner party yesterday regarding the farming matters in the territory."

"His Excellency, the Lord Chancellor's plans for the development of the territory are undoubtedly excellent. Under his arrangements, everything in the territory is developing at an extremely efficient pace. Therefore, during my absence, the territory below Bjorn Bay has already planted 30,000 acres of wheat fields, 5,000 acres of soybeans, 4,000 acres of cotton, rapeseed, sugar beets, flax, and other economic plants. They have even cultivated over 2,000 acres of vegetables such as pumpkins, green beans, cabbage, onions, and leeks. The neatly arranged farmland is full of vitality and the scale is pleasing to the eye."

Su Li supported his chin and nodded slightly to Fandral's report, but he was actually not satisfied with it.

Assuming that one man with five people can cultivate 100 acres of land, this total of 40,000 acres of farmland and vegetables can actually be managed by only 400 households in the East!
The Minister in Charge of the Seals, with so many serfs, so much farming equipment, and a large number of officials and priests, was able to cultivate more than 40,000 acres of farmland, which did not make Su Li particularly satisfied.

He believed that the efficiency of serfs could be greatly improved! This wasn't because he was greedy or violent, but because farming was crucial to the long-term stability of the entire territory. It was also crucial to the well-being of every family and every citizen. This was something that territory managers, both ancient and modern, both in China and abroad, had always taken very seriously.

The more food produced and the more abundant the material conditions, the more benefits every citizen and even slave will gain.

At the same time, it can also support a larger army to protect their security and interests.

Why is life in the border princedoms so much harder and more dangerous than within the empire?

The shortage of daily necessities is secondary. The main reason is the lack of sufficient military protection here. Therefore, looting from other territories and invasions from monsters are constantly threatening everyone's basic survival safety.

Fandral's next words greatly eased Su Li's dissatisfaction. He changed the subject and said, "But the Minister of the Seal only considered the scale of the farmland, but ignored the issue of land output! In fact, this scale is already large enough."

"Within the empire, those lands that have not received the blessing of the Church of Rhea will be rotated and fallowed to restore the fertility of the land."

"Assuming one-third of the land is fallow, the total area of ​​our territory, including the villages and farms, is equivalent to 100,000 acres of arable land in the empire."

"Taking care of so much farmland is no easy task. Without the blessings of the pastors of the Dawn Church and the Tower Church, weeding and pest control alone would have consumed a tremendous amount of manpower and resources."

"Especially in summer, when thar grows wild, the weeds in the fields grow wildly. If they are not removed in time, it will greatly affect the crop yield."

Lunadesan nodded and said, "That's why I came to discuss this matter with the Lord. I sense the growing power of Tal's divinity. Perhaps this summer will be a busy season."

Su Li frowned and asked, "Will we be busy all summer?"

He thought that with the help of the intelligence system, it would be enough to weed once!
Fandral's reaction to Su Li was very indifferent. He was used to it. The noble lords only cared about whether the farmers paid enough grain on tax day and did not care about the farming process at all.

In most cases, it was the priests of the Church of Dawn and the Church of Tal who actively guided the farmers on how to farm and control weeds and pests.

In addition to serving as the priest of the Church of Dawn in the territory, Fandral also serves as the Minister of Agriculture of the territory. Naturally, he has to take on the responsibility of guiding the farming of the entire territory.

Moreover, it is rare that the lord of Hessen is not as arrogant and stupid as other knights. His mind is full of killing monsters and pursuing glory. He is very concerned about farming.

He introduced enthusiastically, "My Lord, the process of growing an acre of fertile land, from sowing the seeds of hope to harvesting golden ears at harvest time, is far more difficult than you can imagine, more than ten times!"

"With the spread of Tal's wildness, the weeds in the fields will grow wildly, and farmers will basically have to weed every two to four cycles. Considering that we use the abundant life-giving waters of Lake Rafflin to irrigate the fertile farmland below, our territory may need to be weeded every two cycles."

"Also, as the crops grow, we also need to regularly water and weed the fields according to the severity of the drought. For various cash crops, we also specialize in pruning, fumigating, and pest control."

Su Li couldn't help but gasp: "No wonder they say that every grain of rice on the plate is the product of hard work."

The harvested grain is truly the result of farmers working day and night in the fields without a break.

Su Li then stood up and said to the two church priests, "According to my prediction, Tal's divine tide will reach its peak in three days. Before then, we need to do our best to remove the weeds in the fields to ensure a good harvest this autumn."

"There's no point in talking here. Let's just go to the fields and take a look and get some guidance on all this."

Su Li was a man of action. After he made the decision, he immediately walked out of the manor, mounted his griffin Deathclaw, and prepared to head to Bjorn's Bay.

Hild immediately arranged a team of guards to follow him. His every move now affected the future of the territory, and security work had become the top priority of the territory.

It is no exaggeration to say that he is now on patrol and in the imperial carriage. When he travels, knights lead the way in front, attendants are on guard on both sides, and a large number of knights follow behind to protect him.

The two guard knights following him were the territory's new half-griffin knights, Roland the Lionheart and Thor the Crystal Spear.

The three of them galloped on the huge griffins, with such majestic momentum that they were like roaring heavy tanks.

This made Su Li feel like he was dreaming of his past life, as if he was driving a large-displacement off-road vehicle.

Although it is very cool, when you step on the accelerator and enjoy the feeling of speeding, you will see burning money figures above your head.

Even with the wealth of the Hesse Territory, it could not withstand the consumption of a few griffins like this.

Sometimes Su Li is so concerned about farming, not only because of his genes, but also because he is forced by the situation.

But I have to say that the joy brought by burning money is incomparable. Perhaps everyone has thought about letting go of everything and enjoying the freedom of speed.

Especially in front of Su Li, there was a powerful female knight, galloping on her horse with her hair flying. He chased Xiao Xiangfeng all the way, galloping to his heart's content, enjoying life, and feeling even happier.

It didn't take long for him to successfully arrive near Bjorn Bay, and Fandral and Luna were even left far behind by him.

So much so that he had time to walk down from above Bjorn's Bay and into the ridges of the fields.

It was not until he observed the wheat field up close that he understood more intuitively the severity of the situation that Fandral described.

The wheat seedlings in the wheat field had just sprouted, but the weeds next to them were spreading wildly. There were even a large number of weeds, thorns and wild dates on the slopes next to the ridges!

These shrubs with thorns grew densely in the fields, vividly showing Su Li what overgrown weeds meant.

There were almost no wheat seedlings to be seen in the otherwise healthy wheat field; it was completely covered by weeds and wild grass.

When Fandral and Lunadesan arrived, Su Li asked curiously, "Didn't we dig deep pits and weed when we reclaimed the land? How come it's growing so fast?"

Fandral took a deep breath, calming his breath and fatigue from running all the way. Then he looked carefully at the field and said, "Huh, that's strange. When I came here to observe last night, the weeds hadn't spread so wildly."

But he didn't think much about it, and then said, "This is normal. According to the time, this wheat field has been plowed for almost two cycles, and the weeds should be growing."

Su Li calculated the time. It was less than two cycles, but only a few days. It could only be said that the fertile land in the Hessen Territory caused everything to grow exceptionally lushly.

Su Li then led Fandral and Lunadesan to continue patrolling the surrounding hundreds of acres of land. The weeds grew quite densely. Even in those lands with better conditions, there were various kinds of weeds between the ridges, and some small wild jujube saplings.

Don't underestimate these small wild dates growing in the wild. They may only be knee-high now, but if you don't eradicate them, they will grow to waist-high in less than one or two cycles.

Don't be naive to imagine that you can use wild dates to replace wheat harvest. This kind of wild date only grows on trees but does not bear fruit!
The one-meter-tall wild jujube tree is covered with thorns and barbs, but there are only a few dozen sour jujubes, and the diameter of these jujubes is not even as thick as the little finger. That would be fine, because 80% of the volume inside is the date pit!

After reading it, Su Li sighed, "The wildness of the Tal is even stronger than we imagined. We need to stop sowing and switch to weeding and pest control in the fields."

(End of this chapter)