187: Government affairs processing (4,000)

Chapter 185: Handling Government Affairs (4,000 words)

Arthur returned to the Town just in time for dinner.

Since the Town's canteen had not yet been built, the Townsfolk were all arranged to dine at the Full Moon Tavern.

Dinner that day consisted of oatcakes, Mud Crab soup, and roasted potatoes.

As soon as the Baron appeared, all the diners in the tavern rose. Some bowed to him, some made the earth mother's prayer gesture across their chests, and others chanted prayers aloud.

Everyone was filled with awe for him.

Seeing this, Arthur waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down and continue their meal.

Then, he walked towards the bar with Drax.

The two local soldiers who were originally sitting by the bar immediately stood up and offered their seats.

Arthur nodded his thanks to them, and the two immediately returned a standard military salute.

Once Arthur was seated, he immediately expressed his gratitude to the tavern owners, the Baskovs.

He thanked them for willingly lending their tavern to serve as a temporary canteen.

The male owner, Gerard, seemed very excited, waving his hands repeatedly: "My Lord, this is truly nothing."

"It is our honor to be able to do our part for you."

His wife, Joanna, was so excited she was a little flustered.

Ignoring her husband's subtle attempts to stop her, she insisted on stepping forward and said tremblingly: "Baron—no—it's Saint My Lord!"

"I am the earth mother's most devout follower, and our whole family is."

As she spoke, she took out the string of holy emblems of the Mother that she always wore around her neck from her bosom, holding them in both hands and presenting them to Arthur.

"Goddess above, if not for you, we would not dare to openly declare our faith and identity."

"You saved us, saved our whole family, and our faith passed down through generations!"

"Are you descendants of the Amn expeditionary army?" Arthur asked.

Joanna nodded vigorously: "Yes, My Lord. My and my husband's ancestors came here with the expeditionary army."

Arthur raised his hand and pointed to the shield hanging on the wall behind the bar, then asked: "Could it be from the K'zula people?"

K'zula is an important city in central Amn.

Due to its proximity to the Cloudmist Mountains, it is extremely rich in mineral resources.

The entire city was built around gold and gem mines.

It is also for this reason that most of its residents are quite wealthy and are famous worldwide for their skilled jewelers and gold craftsmen.

"Oh, Goddess above! Indeed, Saint My Lord!"

Joanna was both surprised and delighted that Arthur could recognize her ancestry.

Her husband, Gerard, also grinned beside her.

"I come from the Evil Wolf Family," Arthur said slowly, "in western Amn, which used to be the territory of the Gryphon Grand Duke."

"We have heard of the deeds of the Gryphon Family." Gerard quickly interjected, then added with a slight apology, "My Lord, please forgive my wife's impulsiveness."

"You can requisition this tavern for as long as you need, it's no problem."

Arthur nodded in response: "Don't worry, it won't be occupied for too long."

"Once the Town's canteen is built, you won't have to go through so much trouble."

"No, no, no, it's no trouble at all!"

"Quick, Joanna, hurry and serve My Lord his meal!"

Gerard urged his wife, afraid of neglecting Saint My Lord.

While Joanna turned to prepare the meal, Arthur asked the tavern owner again: "Is there a suitable place in the tavern for a private conversation?"

Gerard thought for a moment and replied: "Yes, My Lord, I will arrange it for you right away."

When the two maids found Jessica and the others, Arthur was already sitting in the tavern's kitchen.

The stove here was roaring, making it much warmer than the main hall, and more importantly, conversations here did not have to worry about being overheard.

Arthur had arranged for Drax to guard the back door, and the only entrance was personally watched by the tavern owner.

Arthur first met with Jessica, Grey, and Ruby.

As soon as Ruby entered the kitchen, she asked with a smile: "My Lord, how was the Mud Crab soup tonight?"

"Very good. I heard from Gerard that you had a great harvest."

"That's right!"

Ruby said, pulling up a chair and sitting down casually beside Arthur.

"Besides Mud Crabs, we also caught a lot of frogs and catfish."

"Jessica said earlier that you were prescient, and I didn't quite believe it, but now I'm convinced."

"It's all the Goddess's favor." Arthur made a prayer gesture across his chest.

"Those fanatics also said that you are favored by the Goddess." Ruby's smile faded, "They were absolutely right."

Arthur slowly stirred the Mud Crab soup in his bowl with a spoon and asked the three: "Did you encounter any danger?"

"We encountered some Undead, but they were no threat." Grey was the first to answer, "There are many crocodiles and venomous snakes in Paw Claw River."

"The most dangerous ones are actually those Frogmen."

"Frogmen?" Arthur frowned slightly, "So, my plan to establish a Mud Crab farm is probably difficult to achieve?"

"My Lord, you want to farm Mud Crabs?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"Yes, why not?" Arthur explained, "As you can see, these crabs are almost not picky eaters and are very easy to raise."

"Moreover, their meat is delicious and nutritious, making them a very good food source."

There are two types of Mud Crabs in the waters around Mist Town.

One type is smaller and feeds on carrion, and this type of Mud Crab was not within Arthur's consideration.

The other type, larger Mud Crabs, are a well-known local aquatic product, but locals rarely farm them.

Firstly, because Paw Claw River is too dangerous,

The Frogmen inhabiting Mud Crab Swamp often travel down the river, plundering fishing grounds along the banks and attacking fishermen;

Secondly, because the process of preparing Mud Crabs is too troublesome.

When locals cook Mud Crabs, they either simply boil them or roast them directly over a fire.

Mud Crabs prepared this way often have a strong fishy taste and are difficult to swallow.

Before Arthur left the small Town, he left the Mud Crab soup recipe with the maid.

He asked them to pass it on to the Pioneer Group's chef, the halfling Hobie Berry.

The bowl of Mud Crab soup that everyone drank tonight was made according to that recipe.

Hobie also made some improvements, adding catfish and frog meat to the soup.

Arthur looked at the three and asked again: "Is the soup not good?"

Ruby quickly shook her head: "No, it tastes great! The people in Town haven't eaten anything this delicious in a long time."

"It's just, My Lord, it's not that no one has tried to farm Mud Crabs before, but they all failed in the end."

"Building a farm along Paw Claw River is too dangerous; we can't even keep the irrigation canals, let alone the farm."

Grey also nodded in agreement with Ruby's statement.

Seeing that both locals expressed such sentiments, Arthur no longer insisted: "Since that's the case, let's put the Mud Crab farming aside for now."

"By the way, how is the army formation progressing?"

Grey and Ruby simultaneously looked at Jessica.

It must be said that this former leader of the uprising indeed had charisma.

Arthur could tell that these two had already implicitly accepted Jessica as the person in charge of the army.

"My Lord, we plan to select fifty people to form a new standing army," Jessica said.

Arthur pondered for a moment upon hearing this and said: "Fifty people is no small number."

"To my knowledge, Mist Town currently only has a total of just over two hundred people, drawing nearly a quarter of the manpower."

"And they are all able-bodied laborers, which means that Mist Town may not be able to achieve self-sufficiency in the short term."

"It will become a fortress, just like before." Jessica explained, "This is the plan I settled on after discussing it with the military management."

"We believe that a standing army of fifty is necessary."

"I trust your judgment." Arthur nodded, "But while ensuring the safety of the small Town, I must also restore its production."

"We cannot always rely on outside aid to live."

"My Lord, if you need manpower, we can take in those who have fled from other parts of Qingfeng Valley." Ruby interjected, "Just like Lanny."

"We can pay the Warthog Merchant Caravan to help spread the word, telling other places in Qingfeng Valley that there is a sanctuary here."

"A sanctuary where faith has been restored, protected by the Goddess, and guarded by a demigod and divine envoys."

"Those enslaved by dark creatures will surely try every means to come here."

"That's a good idea." Arthur praised, Arthur praised approvingly, "Let me guess, Louis taught you to say that?"

Ruby burst into laughter: "Indeed, nothing can be hidden from you, My Lord!"

"It was indeed my man's idea."

"He originally wanted to tell you himself, but I came in before him, so I just mentioned it."

"You have a good husband," Arthur smiled, "and he has a good wife."

"My Lord, look at what you're saying." Ruby actually blushed, "We're already an old married couple."

"We never thought we could do so much for the small Town."

"So Louis and I both want to do things well."

"To restore vitality to this land that gave birth to us and raised us."

"You have my thanks." Arthur responded: "This is indeed a good idea."

"However, I don't think the Warthog Merchant Caravan would be willing to risk spreading the word for us."

They know what's more important than money.

"After all, their right to freely enter and exit this place was granted by the Dark Lord."

"So it's unlikely they would offend those dark creatures."

At this point, Arthur stood up, his gaze slowly sweeping over the three,

"Remember, strong power is the capital for negotiation."

"We have nothing now, don't expect too much help from outsiders."

"But it's always good to try."

"Additionally, I will also have Godwin recruit people from outside."

"Newt brought news earlier that the orcs have already defeated the noble coalition army."

"This means that many more people will be forced to leave their homes and become displaced."

"We can take in those displaced people, give them a safe place to live, and at the same time allow Mist Town to quickly restore its population and production."

The three all expressed agreement.

"Also, the three of you," Arthur's expression became serious, and he slowly said, "you must remember, what is truly important is always people."

"My Lord, speaking of people, we still have a tricky issue that requires your instruction." Grey spoke.

"Speak." Arthur gestured for him to continue.

"It's about those disabled soldiers." Grey said, "As you know, after the battle that night, we had many wounded,

Most of them were left with disabilities.

"The few of us discussed it, and the initial idea is to give those disabled soldiers a severance payment and be done with it."

Actually, Arthur had already prepared for the issue of resettlement disabled soldiers.

He had previously visited the Town's temporary hospital and used magic to save several severely wounded soldiers.

But the number of wounded was simply too great; he couldn't save them all one by one.

And many soldiers had to undergo amputation surgery to save their lives.

The divine spells Arthur could currently cast could only heal ordinary wounds and were completely unable to regenerate severed limbs.

He did know that the seven-ring spell "Regeneration" could achieve this.

But it was probably still a long way before he could cast such a high-level divine spell.

Thus, the disabled soldiers left by the war became a problem that had to be faced.

"I need you to form a special department." Arthur gave the instruction, "This department will be fully responsible for the aftermath and retirement of soldiers."

"We will never abandon anyone."

"While distributing severance payments, inquire about each person's wishes individually."

"If they still want to stay in the army, arrange suitable work."

"If they want to change careers and pursue other professions, we will provide all the help we can."

"Everyone must see that we will never abandon anyone who has fought for us."

"My Lord, do you mean that we will support these people long-term?" Grey asked with a worried expression, "This way, the expenses will be very large."

"I personally do not recommend doing so."

"You don't need to worry about money; leave it to me to figure out." Arthur said, "You just do as I ask."

"No matter what, I want those who have shed blood for the small Town to have food to eat and a stable place to live."

"Those who carry firewood for the crowd should not be allowed to freeze to death in the wind and snow."

Since Arthur had already spoken to this extent, the others no longer objected.

Subsequently, Jessica also brought up the issue of weapons and equipment. Most of the existing weapons and armor in the Town had been damaged in battle, and the remaining ones also needed maintenance and repair.

This reminded Arthur that he needed to find a blacksmith and a leatherworker for the small Town as soon as possible.

After dealing with military affairs, Arthur immediately moved on to handling the Chamber of Commerce's matters.

After Jessica and her group left, Louis brought people in.

Arthur, while drinking the remaining Mud Crab soup in his bowl, asked the Chamber of Commerce manager: "How much seafood do we have left?"

Louis smiled upon hearing this: "My Lord, I'm afraid all that seafood has already been eaten."

"No waste, that's good." Arthur shrugged and said.

"It's more than just no waste, My Lord!" Lanny quickly said, "The Townsfolk are all incredibly grateful to you."

"By the way, My Lord, I have already contacted the Warthog Merchant Caravan."

"They said they would finalize the meeting location and time in the coming days."

"Very good. By the way, Ruby mentioned your plan to recruit displaced people to me." Arthur changed the subject, "It's just that I still feel that,

The Warthog Merchant Caravan may not risk helping us."

Louis and Lanny exchanged glances, and Louis spoke first: "You are right, My Lord."

The feasibility of this plan is indeed not high.

We also cannot guarantee that the Warthog Merchant Caravan will act for money.

"After all, we can't follow them all the way and supervise whether they actually spread the word."

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it." Arthur interrupted him, "I'm not saying this plan has no chance of being realized at all."

"We'll discuss this in detail later."

"For now, I'd rather know, have you found Joshua's money?"

"We found it!" This time it was Snake Eye who answered, "Fool told us everything."

"He helped bury that money back then."

"Joshua obviously didn't expect the Townsfolk to let Fool go in the end."

"We found a total of about three hundred gold coins, and more importantly, there were also many land deeds, including farmland and real estate."

Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly: "It seems he first transported the tangible wealth out of the Town, leaving behind these seemingly worthless documents."

Louis took over and said: "My Lord, more importantly, we carefully examined those land deeds and found that most of the properties were registered under Joshua's name."

"The Full Moon Tavern, the Town's bakery, the blacksmith shop, and even the church; almost half of Mist Town's industries belonged to Joshua and his wife."

"Heh, what a clever trick indeed." Arthur sighed.

Joshua's actions made him involuntarily think of a certain ethnic group on Earth that had wandered for thousands of years.

After a moment of contemplation, a plan gradually formed in Arthur's mind.

"Since the land deeds are now in our hands," he said, "then we can legitimately reclaim these properties."

"You first organize all the land deeds, and I will have someone draft Joshua's 'will'."

"It will state that before his death, he left all his assets to his nephew,"

"Then, Fool will sell these properties back to their original owners at a very low price."

Seeing everyone present show meaningful expressions, Arthur added: "I know, this might not sound very ethical."

"But this is the safest method I can think of."