Farming with Entries: From Lord to Emperor

"Tell Brando to bring out all those weapons and armor he has stored away. I need a powerful army."

Garrick looked at his Lord Earl in disbelief, his mouth slightly open as if wanting to say something, but he held back.

Since Lord Earl arranged things this way, there must be a reason.

Lord Earl doesn’t explain, and Garrick also doesn’t need to ask more.

"I will arrange it right away, my lord."

Garrick responded respectfully, quickly retreating.

...

...

Luo De did not immediately accept the flattery from those lower lords of the Cold Blade Clan.

Because Luo De discovered a problem.

The gifts they sent were merely a drop in the bucket of their family wealth.

These fellows seemed respectful on the surface but were mentally calculating how to keep their wealth, as if picking out a few Copper Coins from between their fingers to dismiss a beggar.

Luo De knew very well that if he didn’t show them the true might of the Dragon’s Breath, these greedy and foolish people wouldn’t voluntarily offer up their wealth.

Therefore, Luo De directly began a sweeping confiscation operation.

Receiving gifts?

Nothing is as satisfying as directly plundering homes!

The key is, they wouldn’t gift Luo De experienced blacksmiths or knowledgeable clerks.

But plundering homes is different.

Plundering homes can directly acquire these talents.

Especially those clerks who stayed away from the Lord Manor year-round.

They barely saw the lord a few times a year, unlike the manor stewards who grew up by the lord’s side and had almost blind loyalty to him.

Luo De improved their salaries, allowing their children to work and study in Frost Leaf Town, and these clerks willingly pledged their service to Luo De.

There were a few old knights, however, who stood firm, unafraid of the Dragon’s Breath, and were not swayed by Luo De’s generous treatment, resisting with iron-clad loyalty.

Luo De greatly admired such devoted old knights, sending them directly to the north to mine.

To see whether the ores were tougher than their bones.

Of course, given the numerous lower lords within the Cold Blade Clan, Luo De didn’t plunder every household.

Doing so would completely disrupt order in the territory.

Luo De only targeted the wealthiest and most unruly lords.

One Count and two Viscounts.

After their estates were ransacked, a slew of carts filled with valuables and slaves poured into the border town.

Boxes of Silver Coins piled up like mountains in the courtyard, and there were forty-five maids, each skilled in various tasks.

Some maids were adept at cooking, others at embroidery, some were skilled in serving men, and some even knew herbal knowledge.

As for the slaves sent over, Luo De wouldn’t use them casually; Durant scrutinized them, quickly uncovering thirteen spies among them.

They arrived ostensibly to serve Luo De, but in reality, they were there to gather intelligence.

They weren’t aiming to harm Luo De immediately but intended to remain nearby for a long time, gaining Luo De’s trust to further their lord’s interests.

Luo De treated spies uniformly, sending all thirteen female spies to the mines and the seaside.

While Luo De might overlook the criminals working in the mines, the soldiers stationed there needed to balance their inner fervor.

As for the remaining thirty-two maids, those with competence were assigned to the workshop.

The rest, considered "vases," were placed into the work credit exchange pool as high-priced slaves for everyone to redeem.

Luo De’s principle has always been clear.

Apart from the ownership of the territory, everything else—money, beauty, status, honor, etc.—can be distributed to his subordinates.

Only in this way could he ensure his subordinates were utterly devoted to working for him.

The lords sent flattering valuables and slaves, but Luo De had no interest in them.

Gold and silver jewels held no meaning for Luo De.

What Luo De truly needed was land, power, and absolute control over the entire territory.

Thus, Luo De offered these lords conditions similar to the Hawk Clan: they could keep one-third of their family wealth, and their hereditary noble titles would have "Honorary" added to them.

They could continue enjoying the privileges of nobility.

They could remain living in their manors.

They could continue wearing luxurious clothes to attend banquets.

But they would no longer have soldiers under their command.

Most of the nobles weren’t foolish; they realized Luo De intended to seize their land and power.

One Viscount stood up at the table, his face turning red with anger.

Pointing at Luo De’s nose, he loudly roared that this was an insult to the dignity of nobility.

Additionally, five Barons also rejected the conditions Luo De offered.

They claimed they’d rather die in battle than accept such humiliation.

They vowed to defend their family honor, showing the courage of nobility through their blood.

Luo De agreed with them

—their blood merely stained the sheets and tables, failing to defend their family honor.

If they didn’t agree, others would.

Luo De turned the same conditions over to their uncles, nephews, cousins, and other relatives, and these six lords were killed at the hands of their own family members.

Some even offered, of their own accord, to keep only one-quarter of their family wealth to express their loyalty to Luo De.

Luo De was very pleased with such clever individuals.

What he needed were obedient, capable people who could help manage the territory.

As for their surnames, names, whether they were originally the lord’s nephew or a bastard, none of that mattered.

The only thing that mattered was completing the tasks Luo De assigned them.

Dealing with these nobles of the Cold Blade Clan took Luo De a whole month.