The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The journey from Iron Hoof Island to Coral Island takes four days, time enough for the knights of Coral Island to conclude the distribution of military merits.

Liszt was also distributing the military merits of his knight order.

Following the principle of reward based on contribution, he was the one with the most merits in this battle; even the Earl thought that Liszt’s merits were about to catch up with his own—without any surprises, the Earl was the one with the greatest merits in every battle that Coral Island participated in, not only because of his strength, but also because of the bonus of his lordship status.

"The Grand Princess presides over the military merit meeting, with the principle being mainly to distribute materials, trying to minimize the enfeoffment of titles. Because the First Prince spoke on your behalf, you will be able to receive a Viscount title, making you the only noble to be promoted to Viscount this battle."

Liszt was somewhat surprised, "Am I the only one?"

It felt a bit too high-profile, but what he was enjoying was the thrill of being uniquely distinguished.

"Many Sky Knights have merits surpassing yours, but they are either Marquises, Earls, or already Viscounts... It’s completely impossible for them to be promoted from Viscount to Earl based on the merits of this battle... Among the Barons, you have the greatest merits, so your promotion to Viscount is only natural."

"Then, Father, what kind of price do I have to pay?"

"After you receive the Viscount title, you will have almost no share in the distribution of materials, so you need to provide additional subsidies to the knights who fought alongside you."

"I understand," Liszt nodded, it was only to be expected. A Viscount’s title already belonged in the middle ranks of the nobility, an identity that no amount of gold coins could buy. A fully owned island or city was definitely a heritage that a family could pass down for hundreds of years.

In other words, he had to pay out of his own pocket to compensate the knights who had made achievements.

The compensation he calculated for military merits afterward relieved him because, in every aspect, he had secured the majority of the merits. Without Douson, the Black Knight Order definitely would not have achieved glorious merits, which meant the compensation standards weren’t high.

"Altogether, it’s about six thousand gold coins. Subtracting the spoils that have already been privately dealt with, I probably have to pay four thousand gold coins."

Four thousand gold coins was within an acceptable range, just a little more than half a year’s profit share from Fresh Flower Brew.

Indeed, the Swift Shadow Bow he received was worth about three or four thousand gold coins. All in all, although he didn’t gain the right to loot spoils of war, obtaining the Viscount title was enough to make him satisfied.

Suddenly, he thought, "Now that I’ve been promoted to Viscount, can any of my followers be promoted?"

After thinking about it.

It seemed that nobody had achieved remarkable merits, and since this was their first battle, it was inappropriate to promote too quickly. At most, he could consider Marcus Wheel and Charles Trap as candidates for observation, waiting to see how they performed in the next battle.

However, whenever he thought about his followers achieving merits and the need to distribute land, he always had an unease: "The enfeoffment system... I feel great obtaining land ownership, but it’s very upsetting to give it to others. Should I make some small changes to the structure of the enfeoffment system?"

With the size of Black Horse Island, in normal circumstances, enfeoffing two or three Barons and a dozen Honored Knights would be quite reasonable.

But he didn’t want to enfeoff any land at all: "Perhaps, I can take reference from the enfeoffment systems of ancient China, with nominal enfeoffment and remote enfeoffment?"

Nominal enfeoffment was similar to the life peerages in this world, but life peerages are not hereditary, whereas nominal enfeoffment can be inherited. There would be no fief or land, just enjoying the stipend paid by the court.

Remote enfeoffment involved the court designating a certain area as the fief or assigning a certain official position as a status; however, the person does not administer the fief or actually execute the official duties, but merely holds the title in name only.

Whether it’s an honorary title or a remote fiefdom, both are meant to confer ample honor, but in reality, no actual land grants are made, as all land still belongs to the royal court. This system cannot be said to be advanced, but in the feudal era, it had a very good effect on strengthening centralized power and was conducive to national unity.

While Europe remained perpetually fragmented, China managed to maintain unity, which was not without institutional reasons.

Soon, he lowered his profile, "Now is not the time to deal with the feudal system. I am but a minor noble, and keeping a low profile while developing is the way to go. First, let’s adapt to the feudal system. Perhaps my followers, seeing that the development of my lands is unsatisfactory, will actively seek to change the status quo?"

With the perspective and intelligence of a modern person, and the assistance of the Smoke Mission, Liszt would undoubtedly unlock the maximum value of the land in his hands.

In the hands of his followers, it would probably still revert to the simple farming ways of the average noble, where natural disasters could lead to bankruptcy in an instant. If it were other landlords and their followers, there would be no issue with this sort of feudal arrangement, as it was how everyone lived.

But in Fresh Flower Town, on Black Horse Island, when the followers saw Liszt’s lands becoming more and more prosperous, they would definitely have many thoughts.

"By that time, with just a little guidance from me, I’m afraid they will proactively integrate into the new system without me having to suggest it."

...

Calculating the achievements of battle made the voyage less tedious; Liszt discussed the matter of military exploits with his fellow knight followers almost daily, ensuring that everyone’s grievances were satisfactorily addressed.

Meanwhile, he would also have a drink with his father and brother, discussing the direction of the family.

"The Grand Duke hasn’t mentioned what happened between him and the Sapphire Dragon, but there have definitely been changes with both the Sapphire Dragon and the Grand Duke... It’s unknown whether he has become a Dragon Knight, a Dragon Domain Landlord, or some other entity... His rage has not subsided."

Li Weiliam briefly recounted the meeting at Juniper Castle for his two sons to consider.

He continued, "The Grand Duke’s clear-out of Iron Hoof Island has a very specific objective; he wants to take possession of Iron Hoof Island. Then, using Iron Hoof Island as a reward, he plans to grant the title to three more Earls; Iron Hoof Island could barely accommodate three Earls living together."

Iron Hoof Island, owned by the Marquis of Bull, is the second-largest island after Blue Dragon Island, almost three times the size of Red Crab Island of the Long Taro Family.

If Red Crab Island can accommodate one Earl, then naturally, Iron Hoof Island can accommodate three.

"Does that mean, Father, that you have a chance to vie for an Earldom?" Levis’s eyes blazed with excitement, "With three Earl candidates, the odds are good! Then, our Tulip Family will become an Earl’s family!"

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"It’s not three candidates; it’s five candidates," Li Weiliam said excitedly, restraining himself from showing it, "Two more large cities will be carved out from Blue Dragon Island to grant to two more Earls, joining the Blue Blood Alliance."

The Earls of the Blue Blood Alliance certainly won’t have as comfortable lives as Feudal Earls, but an Earl is still an Earl, with benefits far greater than those of a Count.

Liszt wasn’t enticed by the Earldom; he furrowed his brow, "Does this mean that the Grand Duke is preparing to launch an even fiercer war?"

"Correct. As soon as Steel Ridge Kingdom goes to war with Eagle Kingdom, the Grand Duke will immediately issue Pioneer Mandates, actively expanding resources to replenish the national deficit caused by the Marquis of Bull."

"A policy of aggressive militarism... Can the Duchy of Sapphire sustain such frequent warfare?" Liszt asked calmly, "The battle for Iron Hoof Island has already taken a significant toll on the Coral Island Knights, more than the losses in previous Pioneer Mandates; we need time to recover."

Li Weiliam smiled slightly, not concerned about Liszt’s worry, "The Grand Duke is preparing to open up the integration of war captives; in the future, we’ll be able to recruit prisoners of war from the Eagle Kingdom into our Knight Order."