Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 187 Family Visitors and Huge Support
Vanilla orchid is one of the important specialties planned by the Hessen Territory, and thanks to the advent of the tide of divine power from the Goddess of Dawn, vanilla is among the crops that will have a good harvest this round.

So when Su Li heard about the good news that Fandral had brought, he asked excitedly, "Have you achieved any results in vanilla cultivation?"

Fandral nodded immediately and said, "That's right. Under the full force of Edmund's magic, a batch of vanilla quickly matured, and we have now planted an area of ​​30 acres."

"If this patch of vanilla hadn't been damaged during the war, with the blessing of the Dawn Goddess, we would have had a bountiful harvest this year. We might even have been able to produce 3 or 4 kilograms per mu."

Vanilla pods are a spice that is as valuable as gold. One pound of vanilla pods can be directly exchanged for one pound of gold, which is worth dozens of gold crowns.

If the harvest is good, these 30 acres of vanilla orchids can produce 120 kilograms of vanilla pods, bringing more than 5000 gold crowns of income to the territory!

Don't underestimate 5000 gold crowns as they may not be a lot. Since each specialty can bring back thousands of gold crowns, the territory can harvest more than 20000 gold crowns a year through farming.

This number is very impressive and can maintain a well-equipped and well-trained army for the territory.

So Su Li thought for a moment and said, "The hot spring village is in the northeast of Green Leaf Hills, and it's quite a distance away from Hesse Castle. As long as our territory's army can defeat the Green Dragon's Families and inflict heavy damage on them, they won't have enough numbers to find this place. So you must send someone to take good care of this place."

The vast fertile lands of Bjorn's Bay, to the east of the territory, are at high risk of monster invasion, and food production has already been affected. The spice sector cannot afford to suffer further damage.

Fandral immediately nodded in agreement. "I will arrange for a nun to bring a team of loyal slaves to give birth here peacefully. We will not abandon this place until the last moment."

"Well, let them give birth in peace. I will send a resident knight from the Corona Knights and a team of servants to guard this place."

After saying this, Su Li continued, "The herbal medicine will also have a good harvest next season, and you must take good care of it. Then, you will lead the people from various orders to produce potions with all your strength. Before the decisive battle breaks out, I hope to equip every knight with a healing potion."

This is no easy task. Consider that even a basic healing potion costs 1-3 gold coins. While affordable, it's not easy to produce, as many territories lack access to herbs, and these are highly consumable items. Even a noble with a deep pocket might not have even five or six hundred potions in their treasury.

A knight family would only store a few for the family's knights to use when going to the battlefield.

Fandral assured calmly, "For the next period of time, while monsters are besieging the city, the nuns from various churches will return from the countryside. I will mobilize them to produce at full capacity. The output of the spiritual medicine farms in the territory is enough to support our consumption for a month or two."

These two things were what Su Li was most concerned about. Fandral then reported some content about farming, such as the water conservancy of the hot spring village and the reclamation of Bjorn Bay. Su Li only listened roughly and entrusted all these government affairs to Fandral.

As the two of them were chatting about farming, a knight rode up from afar and reported to Hildurd. Hildurd then showed a delighted expression and approached Su Li, excitedly saying, "My Lord, good news! Knight Connor has arrived in our territory with a squadron of knights."

"Knight Connor?" Su Li frowned and thought for a long time, but couldn't remember who this person was.

Even though he cultivated very quickly, that was basically all thanks to Hildurd. Hildurd personally experienced every excitement of his blood, breathing and heartbeat, helped him adjust his cultivation rhythm, and guided him in cultivation.

Su Li's shoulders only carried the lush grass, the flying warblers, the gentle breeze and the bright moon, and of course, two beautiful legs.

He is actually just an average person and does not have the ability to remember everything he sees.

So he really had no impression of this person, so he asked, "Who is Knight Connor?"

Hild was slightly surprised, but thought it was just the Lord being forgetful, so he gently reminded him, "Like Schwartz, he was the guardian knight of your father, Lord."

"Father?" Su Li was even more stunned. No wonder he had no impression of Knight Connor. He almost had no impression of his nominal father!

It's not that he is cold-blooded or heartless, nor that he doesn't care about his relatives, but that his inner essence is like a lonely soul wandering in another world.

Being a stranger in a foreign land, the only relatives he truly recognized were Hilde and Avril. They were the ones who had always accompanied him unconditionally when Su Li was most lonely and confused.

He used tricks to make the remaining Orstein, Schwartz, and even Ingrid and Phyllis submit to him.

However, as they continued to spend time together, these people either shared the same ideals, or fell in love with each other over time, or "fell in love over time", and their relationship with Su Li gradually became solid and intimate.

Knight Orstein is like his right-hand man and left-hand man, a comrade-in-arms like Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da.

Phyllis even became the mother of his child. Blood is thicker than water, and love has turned into family affection.

On the contrary, he had only met his nominal relative, Count Suna, once, and had only spoken one sentence to Knight Connor. It would be normal for him to have no feelings for them, and it would be strange if he could remember them.

So Su Li frowned slightly and asked, "Why is Knight Connor here?"

Could it be that just when I had just built up a little business, my family couldn't wait to collect taxes?

This is really a problem. If the patriarch asks me to donate a sum of wealth to the family, should I fulfill my obligations as a family member?
Hildreth said softly, "It shouldn't be a bad thing. A family member is definitely a contact from our blood relatives. It's only right that we go and meet him."

Su Li nodded and said, "Then let's go back and take a look."

At worst, the soldiers will come to block it, and the water will come to cover it up.

Then Su Li blew a whistle, and the Death Claw that was soaring in the sky immediately circled, drew a graceful flying curve in the sky, and swooped down.

Although the Death Claw was huge in size, he was very immature inside. He swooped down, and his wings directly stirred up a gust of wind. Some of the weaker armed servants were blown away by the wind and couldn't stand steadily.

The strong wind made Su Li and Hildre's scarlet robes rustle, but fortunately, the Death Claw flew very fast and stopped very steadily. He stopped suddenly and stood steadily in front of Su Li.

Then Su Li turned over and jumped onto the back of the Death Claw, flying directly towards the castle.

His guards mounted their horses in unison and followed behind, spurring their horses to chase the griffin.

Soon, the Death Claw landed directly in the courtyard in front of the main building of the castle. The strong wind raised by its wings made the moon-crowned trees in the courtyard rustle, and the fragrance in the courtyard filled the entire castle.

This powerful majesty and majestic aura instantly alarmed the people waiting for him in the castle.

The head of the Provincial Council, His Excellency Ron, a priest of the Territory's Church of the Fiery Sun Goddess, came out of the room first. He ordered two Hessen Royal Guard knights to leave with the Death Claws, and then said to Su Li, "My Lord, I have arranged for your family's knights. Knight Connor is waiting for you."

The Knights?
Su Li's eyes lit up. As far as he knew, there was only one knight order in the Bauhinia family, and that was the Red Night Knights.

These are the elite among the elite of the family. All of them are elite knights. When they were developing the Bauhinia Valley, the Knights of the Red Night, wearing the rune armor of the Fiery Soul Law and holding high the Bauhinia battle flag, were the nightmare of all the greenskin war gangs and the roaring beast herds of beastmen.

Could it be that Knight Connor brought the Knights of the Red Night?
Su Li then walked behind Ron and looked towards Knight Connor, who looked somewhat familiar.

Although they had not seen each other for half a year, Su Li finally remembered what he looked like after seeing him. He smiled and stepped forward to shake his right hand, saying, "Welcome to Knight Connor. The family's presence makes us knights from a foreign land feel very familiar."

Knight Connor snorted coldly and said, "So Young Master Su Li still remembers his family. My unworthy son Stern even remembered to write a few letters back to report his safety. Young Master Su Li only reported to his family after arriving at the territory. After that, there was no news at all!"

"If the family hadn't heard about Young Master Su Li's feat of defeating the God-chosen Demon from the priests of the Church of the Fiery Sun Goddess, the family would have thought that Young Master Su Li had disappeared without a trace in the Border Prince's Territory. The Earl asked me to ask Young Master Su Li if he still remembers his father and the Bauhinia Family."

Su Li turned his head and looked at the Minister of Seals, Lawrence, who was standing beside him. When did he write a letter to his family?
When he left the family, he felt like he was escaping from a tiger or leopard by breaking through an iron cage, or escaping from a dragon by unlocking a golden lock. No one could restrain him anymore.

Why are you still thinking about repaying your family?

At that time, he had the heart of a young wanderer, and he only wanted to wander around the world. How could he have thought about the ties behind him?

Let alone this world with inconvenient transportation, even in the Earth of the previous life, a world with advanced communications, how many young people would contact their parents in their hometown from time to time when they were out there making a living?
Minister of the Keeper of the Seals, Lawn, took a step back calmly, avoiding the sight of Knight Connor, and quietly raised his index finger, pointing to the second floor of the main building.

Su Li immediately understood. When he first entered the territory, the only people on the second floor could be Hilde and Avril. Avril was so innocent that she couldn't imagine anything Su Li couldn't imagine. So Hilde could only be thoughtful and thoughtful, silently writing a letter for him and sending it back to Bauhinia Castle.

The reason why she didn't tell Su Li was obviously because she clearly saw Su Li's alienation from his family.

If Su Li were a normal descendant of the Bauhinia family, there was no way he would never mention family matters. But Su Li had traveled through time and space, and he had only met his nominal father once, so naturally there was nothing to talk about. He didn't even recognize all of his brothers. How could he not be estranged?

She was such a smart girl, of course she had already quietly observed everything.

She actually doubted whether Earl Bauhinia still remembered what his son looked like, but family blood and connections were not influenced by emotions.

After all, blood is thicker than water. Although Su Li was somewhat alienated from his family, when Su Li achieved success in his career, the family decisively gave him more additional investment and sent more family resources to help him.

Su Li could of course hear the intimacy beneath the rebuke in Knight Connor's words. After observing Lawn's gesture, he immediately said, "How is that possible? I have always remembered the blood of the Bauhinia flower in my veins. Knight Connor, do you see that fluttering banner above the castle? I have never forgotten the oath I made to my father."

"It's just that life in the border prince's territory is too difficult. I have endless government affairs to deal with and endless battles to fight every day. The territory has not yet gained a firm foothold. The threat of the dragon hangs over all of us like a sword, threatening to destroy the territory at any time. In this situation, how can I report safety to the family?"

His sincere words finally moved Knight Connor. Knight Connor also learned about the plight of the Hesse Territory from Stern's letters.

As for Su Li's talk of endless wars, he believed it a little, but he didn't believe it at all. In just three days, he had already understood Master Su Li's character, and in his conversation with Stern, he had learned more about Master Su Li's revelry in Hesse.

But the redbud flag flying over Hesse Castle speaks louder than any words. Young Master Su Li has indeed fulfilled his promise, adding color to the family banner and letting the redbud flag fly in a wider sky.

This is enough for the family to continue to provide him with additional resources! For the family, a powerful Hessen territory is far more important than a close heir. Only more territory and higher prestige can make the family heritage more stable.

So Knight Connor accepted his words and scolded him with a hint of disappointment, "The more you say this, the more you should contact your family. Are you a nobody without a family?"

"You must know that your bloodline is your strongest backing. The family will not allow the territory of any outstanding descendant to be destroyed easily! When the territory of any family bloodline is threatened, the family will lend a helping hand as appropriate. Only when the family grows stronger can the territories of all families become safer."

"This applies to every branch of the bloodline. When Bauhinia Castle is in crisis, will you just stand by and watch?"

At this moment, even the most straightforward person would know what to say. Su Li decisively replied, "Of course not! Bauhinia Castle is our roots. If our family is in trouble, we in the Heisen Territory will definitely provide our full support."

Knight Connor nodded in satisfaction, smiled, and said, "That's right. As the younger generation, you can think this way. How can the family sit idly by and watch your predicament?"

"The Earl has heard of your feats and achievements, Young Master Su Li, and has asked me to bring an entire squadron of the Scarlet Night Knights to the Black Forest Territory. From now on, this knight order will set up a branch in your territory to aid you in your campaigns."

"You can rest assured that the Knights of the Red Night are a secular knight order founded by the Bauhinia Family and will follow the orders of the Lord of the Bauhinia Family."

"Unless your orders are unreasonable, the Knights of the Red Night will obey them."

An entire squadron of the Scarlet Night Knights?!

Su Li was overjoyed. Although he didn't know how big the Red Night Knights of the Bauhinia Family were, in an earldom, the size of this knight order would not exceed 12 squadrons no matter what, and it was very likely that there would be only five or six squadrons.

Now a squadron of knights has arrived, that's a full 120 elite knights! Before the Hesse Territory expanded its army, there weren't so many elite knights.

Su Li immediately said excitedly: "Great, with your joining, our chances of winning against the Green Dragon will increase significantly by another 20 to 30 percent."

Knight Connor stroked his hard brown beard proudly, and was obviously very proud of the size of the Knights.

He held his chin high, like an elder evaluating his offspring, and said, "Master Su Li, you can't be complacent. Although you have the help of the Scarlet Night Knights, the development of your territory cannot be left behind."

"Before you came back, I inspected the castle. The castle is quite large, but the number of knights is only satisfactory."

"I see there are only two squads of elite knights in the castle. How can they be used against the Green Dragon? You can't rely too much on fortifications. You have to know that in war, people are the most important!"

Stern, who had been listening to this with boredom, suddenly widened his eyes in shock. He quickly looked at his father. "Old man, please don't betray your son! What are you doing? Are you teaching the Lord a lesson?"

He had been fighting bravely since he came out of Bauhinia Castle. He was indomitable and fought to be the first in every battle. He had a near-death experience several times before he established his honor and joined the Hessian Guard Knights.

The entire Hessian Knights are not only the pride of the territory, but also the most loyal guards of the lord.

No one dared to question the Lord, yet his father had just arrived and he was already lecturing him? He couldn't imagine how his Knight Commander and his teammates would discipline him after his father left!
Su Li was also stunned for a moment, but after all, Knight Connor had brought reinforcements. He was in a good mood and didn't make a fuss. He smiled and said, "Knight Connor is right. The outcome of a war is always determined by people. A demoralized army will collapse at the first blow, no matter how powerful its equipment. We need more elite troops to fight against the Green Dragon. I wonder how many people Knight Connor brought this time?"

Knight Connor was very pleased with Su Li's humble attitude, and he said even more proudly, "In addition to a squadron of the Scarlet Night Knights, there are also two armed retainer battalions organized by the Earl, totaling 300 people. In addition, the Earl has also ordered the recruitment of a pioneering adventure group. Many knights in the territory have heard of Hilde's deeds and have enthusiastically signed up, requesting to come to the Border Prince's territory and serve under you, Master Su Li. They include 13 elite knights, 89 official knights and trainee knights, and more than 200 armed retainers."

"Finally, there's a 500-man armed merchant caravan. They've heard that Master Su Li has close ties with the dwarves, and they've brought a large amount of wealth and specialties, primarily from the Thorn Valley, including salt, pickled pork and fish, iron oak, religious icons, and finished brassware. While most of them will leave after the trade is concluded, the Blue Heron Mercenaries may stay."

"As a lord, you must have heard of the Blue Heron Mercenaries. They hail from the renowned mercenary province of Tyrtis and are renowned for their proficiency with halberds, greatshields, and crossbows. They have served Maleburg as mercenaries for a century. Their Grand Master is ambitiously expanding the mercenary group's operations. You can entice them to establish a garrison and fortress in Hesse."

It was obvious that Knight Connor was imparting his experience to Su Li as a person with experience.

He also had reason to be proud, as he brought with him a full thousand men from the family for support. Even without mentioning the quality and level of this support, the scale alone was unparalleled.

In the era of cold weapons, being able to lead a force of thousands of people across thousands of miles without suffering heavy casualties was considered a talented general worthy of utmost use in a unified dynasty.

In various territories of the empire, such talents are the backbone and core members of a territory.

He naturally has the confidence to give some advice.

After all, there are not many troops left in the Hesse territory, and the main force has been led into the forest by Knight Orstein.

In Knight Connor's eyes, the current size of the Hessen Territory's army was merely impressive. In six months, Young Master Su Li had grown his army from five elite knights at the outset to 24 elite knights today, which was quite impressive.

But when it comes to fighting against the green dragon, he is obviously still far behind, and the main force still has to be the Red Night Knights led by him.

So he patted Su Li's shoulder carelessly and said, "Master Su Li, don't worry. We will help you defend the castle and will never let the green dragon destroy your territory. Besides, the Earl has already paid a year's salary for these Red Night Knights."

"If you really can't afford to pay the salaries of so many elite knights in the future, the Earl will allocate a portion of the funds allocated to the Scarlet Night Knights to this branch."

Su Li smiled faintly and said, "The war against the Green Dragon will rely more on Knight Connor."

"No problem, no problem." Knight Connor raised his chin and continued carelessly, "Master Su Li, leave the war to us. You just focus on your training. Even though you've become a lord, your strength can't decline. You can't always be an apprentice knight..."

Knight Connor's eyes suddenly widened: "Master Su Li, you are already an elite knight?!"

"Knight Connor, watch your behavior and attitude." A stern and cold voice came from behind, followed by the clear sound of Hildre's heroic and powerful footsteps, accompanied by the extremely powerful aura of the Chosen Knight.

The entire courtyard seemed to be shrouded by a huge golden figure. With his back to the afterglow of the setting sun, Hildurde held the hilt of the sword. Although he was not very tall, his aura was like a mountain, suppressing the entire castle.

Knight Connor was so shocked that his entire body froze, and he lost the ability to think. A horrified voice escaped his throat, almost a whisper: "Hilde! You've already reached the God's Chosen level? Didn't the church spread rumors that you had just been promoted to the Champion level?!"

The moment he saw Hildreth, Knight Connor felt like he was electrocuted and took his hand off Su Li's shoulder.

He couldn't believe what he had just done!
He actually brazenly patted the shoulder of a lord who was a chosen knight of God!

(End of this chapter)