274: Changes in nobility

Over a year had passed, and aside from its size remaining the same, the Red River Territory had undergone significant changes in other aspects.

First was the population; the Red River Territory had grown from its original two million to over two and a half million people. Aside from a portion of newborns, most of these were Slaves purchased from the Golden Plains.

On the other hand, the territory's agriculture and animal husbandry had made great strides; more farmland had been reclaimed, and a large number of ranches and livestock farms had been established.

The grain and meat production of the Red River Territory had both increased significantly, with meat production seeing the largest boost, more than doubling its previous output.

The Red River, the mother river of the Red River Territory, had been fully developed from its source all the way to where it flowed out of the Blackstone City area. Many fish ponds and lakes were built along the way, leading to a massive increase in fish yields.

With the Red River Territory's army clearing out Foreign Races from the wilderness year after year and the territory's population steadily growing, a large number of villages and towns were established. There was no longer any uncontrolled wilderness in the entire Red River Territory.

This also provided a stable environment for the construction of ranches and livestock farms.

In addition, infrastructure projects such as road construction, village settlements, and the construction of the Iron Wall Fortress were all completed one by one according to Reyn's plan.

In just over a year, dozens of large-scale projects had been finished.

And these were only the most basic things; besides these, the Red River Territory's teams of Professionals also continued to develop rapidly during this year.

A large number of Bronze Rank Professionals emerged in an explosion, which was the result of the increasing number of Potion Masters and the improved yield of magic plants.

With a massive injection of resources, the process for a soldier in the army to go from an ordinary recruit to a Black Iron Rank Professional and then to Bronze Rank was not so insurmountable; the most critical factor was the investment of resources.

Among the high-level Professionals, hundreds of Silver Rank Professionals appeared during this year, including dozens of rare Silver Rank Spellcasters.

The improvement of the Spellcaster team was good news for Reyn; it meant that the Red River Territory was now capable of steadily cultivating Silver Rank Spellcasters on its own.

The number of Gold-rank Professionals increased by six. These six individuals were talents who had been specifically focused on for cultivation, so their breakthroughs were within Reyn's expectations.

Looking at the fruitful results achieved by the Red River Territory over the past year, Reyn was extremely satisfied.

"Not bad, none of you have disappointed me!"

"The rapid development of the Red River Territory is inseparable from your contributions, so I have decided to confer titles of nobility upon you as a reward."

"Conferring titles?"

Reyn's single sentence set the hearts of everyone present racing.

Most of the high-level officials in the Red River Territory came from ordinary backgrounds, and some were even former Slaves; for them, a title of nobility was an unattainable dream.

Even though many of them were now Professionals of extraordinary strength and would occasionally think about titles, no one ever dared to ask Reyn for one. They all knew where everything they had came from; without Reyn, they would be nothing today.

The Red River Territory had grown and expanded so rapidly—from a few thousand people in a small town to a massive territory of millions—the entire process had taken only seven or eight years.

Territory construction that would normally take decades or even centuries had been completed in just a few short years under Reyn's leadership.

Wave after wave of territorial crises and such a rapid pace of construction kept everyone immersed in endless work every day, leaving them little time to think about anything else.

Looking back now, they suddenly realized that the Red River Territory had become a behemoth.

The once-unreachable dream was now within their grasp.

Nobility was a question Reyn had been contemplating for a long time. He hadn't mentioned it before, but he knew in his heart that he would have to face this issue sooner or later.

Now, the development of the Red River Territory had reached a bottleneck. Although the growth rate was still fast, Reyn had already foreseen the problems the territory was about to encounter.

A territory's potential is limited, and the potential of the Red River Territory had basically been fully triggered. To continue growing stronger rapidly, expansion was the only path forward.

And as the Red River Territory continued to expand, the issue of nobility could no longer be avoided.

Reyn had already thought of a way to solve this problem.

In the future, the nobility system of the Red River Territory would differ from the existing system of the Kingdom of Asriel. This was also a challenge for Reyn, but he had to do it.

"Yes, titles!"

"I have decided to confer ten Viscounts, thirty Barons, and one hundred Lord of Merits, as well as one thousand Honorary Citizens."

The hall, which had been somewhat noisy, fell silent the moment Reyn finished speaking.

As a Count, Reyn had the authority to confer the titles of Viscount, Baron, and Knight, but the number of titles he just mentioned was far too many; the Red River Territory simply couldn't accommodate that many nobles.

Furthermore, what were 'Lord of Merits' and 'Honorary Citizens'?

These two brand-new terms left everyone puzzled, and they pondered them repeatedly in their minds.

In the Hall of Glory, everyone tacitly fell silent and looked at Reyn, knowing their Lord of Merit would surely explain it to them clearly.

"I think you all understand that I am not a traditional noble of the Kingdom; if I were, you wouldn't be where you are today."

"I broke the Kingdom's thousand-year-old iron rules to feed everyone in the Red River Territory, gave you secret cultivation techniques and precious resources, and each of you has enjoyed precious supernatural items more than once—items that only high-ranking nobles were once entitled to."

As Reyn spoke, his sharp gaze swept across everyone present.

"My territory does not need the kind of nobles found in the Kingdom. It didn't need them before, it doesn't need them now, and it never will."

"I, Reyn Derrick, am the master of everything in the Red River Territory. Each of you once swore to follow me for eternity, offering me your loyalty, your lives, and even your everything."

"You haven't disappointed me, and likewise, I haven't disappointed you!"

"The titles are yours, but remember, only what I give you belongs to you."

"The nobles of the Red River Territory will not own fiefs, nor will they possess the absolute privileges held by the Kingdom's nobles. However, you will possess honors they have never had."

Reyn explained his decision to everyone. From now on, the nobles of the Red River Territory would not be landed nobles like those in the Kingdom, but honorary nobles.

Nobles would enjoy certain privileges and generous salaries, but even so, Reyn would keep the number of nobles in the Red River Territory from becoming excessive.

The rank of Lord of Merit replaced the Knight class; from now on, the Red River Territory would no longer have 'Knight' as a title, but only as a profession.

Honorary Citizens were Reyn's reward for the common people; he also showed respect to those ordinary people who contributed to the territory, with the title being an acknowledgment of their contributions.

In addition to the titles, Reyn had Holland and the others forge a batch of Medals of Honor and Ceremonial Swords as symbols of status.

Reyn's series of changes to the nobility system was a fundamental alteration of the Kingdom of Asriel's nobility system. In any other territory, it would definitely cause an uprising, but in the Red River Territory, Reyn was confident he could suppress anything.

This conferment of titles was a reform and also a test for the current high-level officials of the Red River Territory. If anyone expressed dissatisfaction with Reyn's reform, they would no longer be fit to follow him.

After finishing his explanation, Reyn announced that the formal investiture ceremony would take place in one month.

Afterward, the people in the hall left the Red River Fortress with various thoughts in their minds.