Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 341 The Harvest Season and the Final Preparations Before the Grand Ceremony
Su Li's trip to the Vault District with Seranville and Hela was quite fruitful.

In fact, there was still a lot of wealth in the vault. Before Su Li left, Fandall took the time to introduce the other items inside.

For example, the medicines provided by various churches; the current scale of medicines in the territory has reached more than 2500!

The main ones are common potions such as [Hand of Sharya], [Regeneration Potion], and [Vitality Potion]. In particular, the St. Benevolent Hospital in the territory used to produce 40 doses per month, but now, after a significant increase in scale, they can produce more than 130 doses per month.

With the addition of the Dawn Church's production, the number of potions in the territory has increased by leaps and bounds in the past six months.

Moreover, nearly 100 of these were high-level potions such as [Tears of Compassion] and [Blood of the Earth], an increase that greatly surprised Su Li.

After all, the production of this potion used to be calculated on an annual basis, with only 3 to 5 doses produced per year. The main reason for such a significant increase is that a large number of monasteries have indeed sprung up in the territory.

As the number and number of strongholds increased, each stronghold had at least one monastery, and some villages even had monasteries and shrines belonging to two or three churches at the same time.

This has significantly increased the production of these high-level potions. After all, there used to be only one or two monasteries in the Black Forest Territory, which is incomparable to the dozens that exist now.

Currently, the limitation on the production of high-level potions is actually the number of priests. Many priests in monasteries are not strong enough to reach the elite level, so they cannot produce high-level potions.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are over 1000 secular and church knights in the Black Forest. That's because the number of knights in the empire is severely oversupplied. Elite-level extraordinary monks are still rare in other churches.

The Church of Dawn is arguably the second largest church in the Black Forest Territory, but their elite monks probably number only a dozen or twenty, definitely no more than 30.

In most churches, the term "elite" means exactly what it sounds like; they are already among the best of the best.

This is why Fandral was so eager for Su Li to sell witchcraft items in order to replenish the treasury as much as possible.

Because neither excessive deficits nor excessive surpluses are good things. Large surpluses mean waste and corruption. So much money sitting there without being invested is just a pile of junk.

Therefore, with the surplus, the Black Forest Territory will definitely make more extensive investments. Through the Black Forest Territory's bishopric, the Church of Dawn will be able to obtain another round of financial support, allowing them to purchase more high-ranking monks and paladins who protect the faith.

The Holy Knights of the Church of Dawn are the church's current armed force, which aims to attract a group of knights and adventurers to join as priests and guards of their monasteries.

Su Li strongly supports this and believes it is also very necessary!

The territory of Blacksin is now so vast that it includes a forest, a hill, a plateau, and a very large plain. Dozens of villages, outposts, and manors are scattered across this vast land, and the monks of the Church of Dawn are stationed in the countryside and suburbs.

Their safety couldn't be protected by a large, heavily armed army. The troop movements within the territory required Su Li's approval, which meant they were far less flexible than these adventurers and the church's own armed forces.

Paladins, having long guarded church buildings and monasteries, were practically insignificant in combat compared to seasoned knights. Therefore, the Dawn Church's armed forces posed a negligible threat to the territory and to Su Li's rule. Su Li had consistently supported the church's expansion.

The expansion of the church has many benefits. For example, in addition to potions, they also produce religious icons. There are 67 religious icons in the treasury alone, not including those that have already been sold.

In this world, the Church is indeed an important ally in helping lords strengthen their power and fight against chaos.

But every gift from fate comes with a price tag attached.

With such strong support from the church, it means that their authority and influence will rapidly increase, and the church also has its own large-scale industries.

This often results in the Grand Master of the Knights and the Pope wielding influence comparable to that of secular lords in many territories, even in Electoral domains. In some powerful churches, such as the Church of Ulric and the Church of Ridmar, the voting power is far greater than that of the Electors, often three to four times that of the Electors. For example, the Church of Ridmar, as the state church, has four electoral votes.

Regardless of how the Elector of Middenland ascended the throne, it was inevitably said that he was supported by the Church of Redmar. And indeed, this was the case; without the Church of Redmar, the members of the Middenland family were merely pretentious figures, maintaining their so-called false royal authority by selling their bodies. (From Olaf Erich von Kazabag, the Twelfth Elector of Middenland)

The followers of the Church of Ulric were particularly fond of compiling ditch literature about the Elector of Avaran.

Unfortunately, there was a significant overlap between the two families in terms of both faith and secular influence. Moreover, they were the electoral lineages that produced the most emperors, so the Elector of Middenland was happy to mock the Elector of Avaran, who was currently in the lead.

However, this matter is not currently of any concern to Su Li. He is not yet at the point of considering the church's power and influence too much; right now, he only regrets that the church is not strong enough and wishes it could develop as quickly as possible.

Because he hasn't even resolved these basic security and stability issues yet, for a territory, it's still in the early stages of establishing itself, and development is the top priority. Only after developing and establishing a stable foundation can he then consider how to solve the problem of a bloated church. When people are starving, they shouldn't be thinking about how to lose weight after overeating.

In addition to these, the treasury area also contains a lot of armory equipment, such as powerful banners, military tents, and weapons. Currently, the territory has 13 banners with one banner rune effect and as many as 7 banners with two banner rune effects.

This basically ensures that each squadron in the territory has its own battle flag.

The entire vault area contains an estimated wealth of no less than 10 gold crowns.

It certainly can't compare to the Electors of the Suland Province, but its wealth is already almost a quarter of what it was back in the Green Dragon's Nest, which still makes Su Li very satisfied.

After all, this vault area only contains the wealth he has collected; his greater investments and heavy assets are actually scattered throughout the territory.

Fandall and Oliver both assured Su Li with certainty that once the Glorious Arena ended and the next harvest season arrived, Su Li's wealth in the treasury would increase by at least 15%!

This speed of development is nothing short of phenomenal!
This is normal, after all, his territory is still small. For such a small force, the discovery of a super-large mining area means that the wealth of the entire force may double.

Su Li had great confidence in their assurances because the entire territory was truly not lacking in wealth. The treasury alone contained more than 50000 gold crowns worth of gold coins and wealth from various merchant houses, knight families, and large landowners.

As Flashspear City gradually rises in popularity, more and more families are applying to withdraw their wealth and gold coins and transfer them to the bank buildings in Flashspear City.

Su Li also had high expectations for Flash Spear City. Once this city rose to prominence, the territory would have a second city, and its development speed would surely take off even further.

However, at least up to this harvest season, Blacksin City remains the absolute pillar of the territory, and its abundant agricultural harvest has greatly boosted the economy of the entire territory.

By the last day before the summer solstice, the territory's harvest season, which lasts for almost a full cycle, finally comes to an end.

The scene of a bountiful harvest was extremely inspiring. After inspecting the treasury area, Su Li had been staying by the roadside from Bjorn Bay to Black Forest City for the past few days, watching truckloads of harvested supplies being transferred from the fields to various warehouses.

The sun was shining brightly, and Su Li's smile was even brighter. Watching the four swamp tortoises carrying nearly a hundred tons of grain slowly walk across the road with their pillar-like long legs, Su Li couldn't help but ask Hilde beside her with a beaming smile, "Hilde, do you think I look a bit like a rich landlord right now?"

The swamp striker was collected by Su Li from the Mirror Swamp in the south after several intelligence gatherings. This creature originated from the beast realm and fell to the mortal world. Su Li discovered that when there were no swamp strikers in the Mirror Swamp, the probability of a new swamp striker spawning was quite high.

When there was only one, the effect was not obvious. Although one of them could carry more than dozens of carriages, the main force for transporting goods was undoubtedly the territory's caravan.

However, when there were four, the transportation capacity underwent a qualitative change!
A horse-drawn carriage can carry about 1000 catties of goods, while a strong bloodline horse or Uros cattle can carry nearly 2000 catties. This swamp tortoise, with a carrying capacity dozens of times greater than theirs, is practically a land-based vessel. A single tortoise can carry more than 20 tons of goods, just like a giant ship, making it a veritable heavy-duty truck.

When the four of them work together, they can easily carry hundreds of tons of grain. Ogres are the best porters; they are incredibly strong. As long as the grain is pulled onto the backs of the swamp tortoises using planks and ropes, these docile swamp tortoises will slowly pull the goods to Blackwood City like old oxen.

Although they move slowly, they are large enough to transport goods to their destination in a morning, making two round trips a day, and then resting late at night.

Their docile nature tells you they are herbivores. Su Li provides them with ample pasture, and even during the harvest season, she provides them with more nutritious alfalfa to ensure they have plenty of energy.

So watching them transport supplies back and forth every day, Su Li truly felt the joy of a wealthy landlord. He squatted by the roadside, watching his own fields yield a bountiful harvest, and then the tenant farmers transported the golden grain into the warehouse, cart after cart.

In response to Su Li's question, Hilder smiled and said, "This shows that joy is universal. Seeing a bountiful harvest, whether you're a farmer, a landowner, or a lord, you feel the same way." "During this time, every manor and village in our territory has enjoyed a tremendous harvest, with barns overflowing with new grain. As barns have risen from the ground, your prestige has reached its zenith in the territory. Everyone praises your wise rule and benevolent generosity."

The kindness and generosity refer to the manor system and the eleven-year tax refund in the Black Forest Territory. This year is a peaceful and bountiful year, so Su Li gave a tax refund to everyone in the territory.

This is a rare tradition of benevolence within the empire: in good years, tax refunds are given to foolish commoners, giving them a higher chance of surviving various upheavals and crises.

Therefore, the people enthusiastically praised the benevolent monarch of the Black Forest Territory, saying that the so-called "Iron Tyrant" was a slander against their lord!
However, even a bumper harvest can lead to low grain prices that hurt farmers if the grain cannot be transported out.

Su Li asked with concern, "Has the price of grain in the city been affected?"

Hilde's handsome face was solemn as she said, "Prices are still stable, and even grain prices have risen slightly."

"This is mainly because you may have overestimated the output of other farmlands in the territory. Not all farmlands produce as much as Maiden's Ring and Bjorn Bay, where wheat yields can reach 300 to 400 catties per mu. Most other manor farmlands only produce 100 to 200 catties, and only some farmlands irrigated by Emerald Pool can reach close to 300 catties."

"So after you sold your Bjorn Shallow Bay produce to the Grayrock Clan dwarves, there wasn't much food left in the territory. Especially recently, with the approach of the Radiant Arena, the territory is currently filled with a large number of knights and young men of all kinds, which greatly consumes food."

"The current situation in the territory is very much like the description of the manor system: the nobles are well-fed all day long, the knights are arrogant and domineering, and the farmers are working hard but still hungry."

Su Li nodded. The current situation in the territory was clearly a double-edged sword: an abundance of food while famine still lingered on the roads. Knights were drinking fine wine and eating meat heartily, while ordinary civilians at the bottom of society were likely still starving.

However, Su Li quickly adjusted her mindset and said, "Things will get better. This is only our first year, and it has already been very difficult. Besides, tomorrow is the territory's grand celebration, which will be a carnival that benefits everyone."

Not only will knights throng the streets, but thieves, beggars, swindlers, prostitutes, vagrants, and many others will also benefit from this process!

Restaurants brimming with the aroma of food, taverns filled with the scent of wine, and vendors from all sorts of halflings from the territory roamed the city, allowing everyone to find their own celebration and reward in this carnival.

Then Su Li asked with concern, "Are there enough chefs in the territory? I estimate that at least 3 to 4 people will flood into Black Forest City tomorrow. This is a huge feast, so don't let it fall short."

Su Li didn't want to cause any trouble at all. If these knights were dissatisfied, they would really smash up the stall.

Hilde immediately nodded and said, "No problem, my lord. This kind of feast is what halflings love to join in. It's hard to say whether the ordinary people in the territory will come, but these halflings will definitely flock here."

“We have over 1400 halflings in our entire territory. Excluding the elderly, children, and construction crew members, everyone else is a perfect cook. A small halfling family can produce over 30 cooks. We can prepare at least 500 cooks by tomorrow. Add to that the various taverns, inns, and restaurants, and that's enough to provide ample food for 40000 people.”

"That's not bad." Su Li nodded in satisfaction and asked, "You're one of the people in charge of this grand event. Tell me, how are the preparations going?"

Hilde puffed out her chest confidently, her handsome face turned towards the river, and pointed to the white sails fluttering in the distance, asking, "My lord, do you see those large transport ships?"

"Is there anything special about it?" Su Li looked in the direction she was pointing. There were always cargo boats coming and going on the canal, which was very lively. It was not only for transporting grain and supplies, but also for the coming and going of caravans, which showed that the territory's commerce was very active.

Hilde explained, “Those ships are an important fleet for us to transport grain and food. They set off from Bjorn Bay, flow into the Brienne River, transport grain to the city of Flashspear, and then on their return, they bring back large quantities of food from the Balan Dominion and move it into the city of Hessen.”

"To prepare for this grand event, we have prepared 3000 sheep, 400 cattle, more than 700 pigs, and more than 2000 chickens. In addition, we have prepared enough game and fish, including 20 wild boars, 30 moose, 2 bears, and as many as 30000 fish. We are ensuring that the knights can enjoy fine wine and meat to their heart's content."

"Then, in order to prepare enough food for everyone, all 78 mills in our territory were put into full operation, and the merchants and landowners who invested in these mills all made excellent profits. Then the bakeries in the territory were filled with the aroma of bread day and night, and more than 20 loaves of bread were made."

More than 20 loaves of bread—that's indeed a considerable number. The charcoal burned just to steam the bread would be enough to destroy a forest.

Fortunately, the territory was rich enough to gather so many livestock, mountain delicacies, and river fish.

Su Li had to ask, "Won't this consume almost half of our savings?"

Hilde nodded: "For example, we've basically brought out all the sows in our territory that are ready for market. However, pigs grow very quickly, and the remaining piglets will be ready for market in less than a year. As for sheep, we still have quite a few. The shepherd tribe has brought over 6000 sheep from the Scarlet Highlands, which is enough for us to eat for a long time."

This made Su Li very happy. He was more inclined to farming, so he didn't pay much attention to animal husbandry. When he did pay attention to it, it was mostly to warhorses and oxen.

Currently, the territory's livestock industry is clearly thriving!
The high and cool plateaus and foothills of the north provide excellent pastures for animal husbandry. The blood-red plateau also has vast grasslands, which are rich in nutrients provided by bloodhoof grass.

As long as the territory's knightly legions can resist and disperse the hidden greenskin warbands, goblin tribes, and some wolf riders in the grasslands, the territory's animal husbandry and nomadic tribes can develop greatly.

This gave Su Li the feeling of a trade market. When nomadic tribes participated in the city's trade market, they would usually bring 60,000 to 70,000 cattle and horses.

Providing 6000 sheep from the territory is clearly not a difficult task; in fact, it could be considered easy. A single border shepherd can herd dozens or even hundreds of sheep.

The northern plateau has plenty of pastures, so the sheep flocks have no shortage of grass and can expand their scale without any restraint.

The harvest season has revealed the results. Thousands of sheep and tens of thousands of fish—enough to feed thousands of knights and their tens of thousands of squires for several days.

Then Su Li asked, "How are the preparations for the Lion Ring going?"

Hilde replied calmly, "The Baran Tangborn family is very experienced in this kind of competition. We plan to hold a celebration ceremony tomorrow, and then start the group competitions to determine the top 32 players in each rank."

"The entire competition festival will last for about 5 to 7 days and is a grand sports event."

A schedule of 5 to 7 days is a suitable duration for a large-scale competitive event. If the territory expands further in the future, this schedule may be extended.

Hilde then smiled and said, "My lord, after you preside over the opening ceremony tomorrow, you will have two battles. Your opponents are not to be underestimated, but I have confidence in you. I believe you will definitely advance successfully."

Su Li was confident in this regard. Although his opponents were all elites who had fought their way through thousands of people, he was no longer the same person he used to be.

Although he cannot use some iconic equipment, such as legendary amulets or rare armor, he still possesses formidable combat power even when using perfect-grade equipment.

He had fought Thranville before, and although he was indeed no match for this ice and snow Valkyrie, he had been able to fight her for a long time.

This was, of course, thanks to the special blessing bestowed upon him by the Goddess of the Sun. He had given the child of Sharya to Tiberius, the most notorious rogue in the territory, and somehow managed to collect 300 milliliters of tears!
300 ml, that's more than half the capacity of a 500 ml container.

To be honest, this was the first time Su Li had ever seen so many tears in both of his lives. Wouldn't this have ruined the tear ducts of this illegitimate child?
Regardless, with the tears of this illegitimate child, Su Li successfully completed the sacrifice, and Violet was very pleased to bestow divine grace and blessings, significantly improving Su Li's cultivation aptitude.

He may not be as good as Hilde and Thranville, who are of God-chosen or Legendary caliber, but among the elite, he is definitely one of the best.

"The early battles were easy for me. However, the Goddess of the Sun taught us to utilize all tactics to overwhelm the enemy with an overwhelming advantage."

"Tell me, do my two opponents have any special abilities? Let me know myself and my enemy, so that I can win every battle."

"Of course, I am asking my chief aide, not the person in charge of the conference. As my chief of staff, it is essential for you to gather intelligence on my opponents."

Hilde gazed at him gently, playing along tenderly, and said with a smile, "Of course, my lord, you are absolutely right. Let me explain in detail when we return to the castle."

(End of this chapter)