Chapter 59: Recruitment Order, Expenses
Sky Knight Rune had said that overusing those three inexhaustible foods would leave one feeling mentally drained.
Levi paused for a moment, then arrived at a guess.
Those three items were essentially the same type of existence as the Queen's Magic Mirror. Using them required paying a price.
It was just that the price was nowhere near as severe as the Magic Mirror's.
Moreover, not just anyone could use them.
Levi himself could use them, but it consumed Magic Power.
Yalina, however, could not.
Rune and Yalina were the same in that regard. Neither of them were wizards and neither possessed Magic Power, yet Rune could still use them.
The cost for him was stamina instead.
Behind these fairy-tale treasures, there seemed to be some enormous secret hidden away.
It was just that the level of Levi's Detection was still too low to uncover any useful information.
He set the matter aside for now and first said to Rune, "For the time being, store up as much food as possible."
"No problem." Rune nodded without hesitation.
"After that, I'll issue a recruitment order and conscript soldiers to form the castle's standing guard force. You'll be responsible for training them," Levi gave the order.
"Of course. Lord Levi, how many men are you planning to recruit? In my opinion, Hornreach simply doesn't have that many people available to recruit!" Rune voiced his judgment.
"One hundred men in the early stage. Once the refugees driven out by Viscount Silverclaw arrive, we'll recruit able-bodied men from among them and expand the force to around five hundred," Levi said lightly.
"Lord Levi, are you planning to provide only food, without any additional pay?" Sky Knight Rune asked a crucial question.
"No. We'll follow the standards of a lord's garrison force," Levi said. What he wanted was a fully professional army, not a mob of peasant soldiers holding manure forks.
"Have you considered the expenses involved in this?" Rune asked with a grave expression. "Although I'm not very familiar with Hornreach's financial income, even maintaining a fifty-man garrison is an enormous burden for a territory."
He was extremely knowledgeable about these matters.
For a fifty-man garrison, wages alone were already a massive expenditure. The captain and veteran soldiers could not be paid poorly, since they were responsible for command and training.
The ordinary soldiers received moderate pay, while recruits could be paid slightly less.
Even so, in terms of salary alone, a lord would need to spend around four hundred fifty to five hundred gold coins per year for those fifty men.
Then there was the matter of equipment.
The lord had to bear the initial cost of arming the soldiers as well as the cost of regular maintenance.
At the very least, a basic set of leather armor, weapons, and shields was indispensable.
The expenses in this area alone would amount to several hundred gold coins.
Those pieces of equipment also required routine maintenance. Weapons would grow dull, armor would become damaged, and shields would crack.
The lord needed to employ blacksmiths, armorers, and craftsmen to keep the equipment in good condition.
If battle broke out, the equipment would suffer damage and require repairs.
And repairs were even more expensive.
In some cases, a single battle could result in more than fifty percent of the equipment being damaged.
That would be yet another enormous expense.
Then there were food and lodging costs, which were another massive drain on wealth.
These were absolutely unavoidable.
Soldiers needed sufficient food to maintain their physical strength, mainly meat, bread, beer, and beans.
A fifty-man force, together with its support personnel, consumed a staggering quantity of food.
Housing and winter heating also could not be ignored. If the soldiers were stationed within a castle or fortress, then their accommodation and winter heating—such as firewood or coal—would also require funding.
None of these expenses could be cut.
Unless a lord wanted a garrison with miserable combat capability that would collapse at the first touch, then all of these costs were necessary.
By conservative estimates, merely maintaining a fifty-man standing force would require annual expenditures of around eight hundred to one thousand gold coins.
And this was a long-term, continuous expense that had to be paid every single year.
Meanwhile, a relatively prosperous manor could only provide its lord with profits of around two hundred to three hundred gold coins annually.
A lord needed to directly control at least four or five manors or villages just to barely support a fifty-man standing army.
But a lord's expenditures were not limited to military upkeep alone. Maintaining noble dignity and prestige required money everywhere.
One could say that every aspect of noble life consumed wealth.
Even for a baron, maintaining a fifty-man standing force would already leave him financially strained.
Unless he happened to be an exceptionally wealthy baron.
As for Levi, it was even more outrageous. He casually spoke of establishing a one-hundred-man garrison, and later expanding it to five hundred men.
How was that even possible?
Rune thought Levi simply didn't understand these matters.
But in reality, Levi understood them perfectly clearly.
After pondering for a moment, he said, "First, regarding soldiers' wages, we can lower them appropriately. After all, the treatment of soldiers has to take into account the actual conditions of Hornreach. But this won't remain the case forever."
"I'll design a seniority ranking system. Once they meet the standards for promotion, they'll receive higher pay."
"But keeping things lower during the initial stage is perfectly normal."
"In that case, during the startup phase, we can reduce military payroll expenses considerably. I estimate that around two hundred gold coins a year should be enough," Levi said.
Rune expressed a different opinion.
"Ordinary soldiers' pay can be reduced, but what about knights?"
"A garrison without knight-level fighters is like a body without a skeleton. If it truly encounters a knight-level opponent, one charge from the enemy would collapse the entire formation."
"Lord Levi, I can manage this force for you, and I can even forgo payment. You only need to meet my most basic needs."
"But I cannot stay here for the rest of my life," Rune said honestly.
Levi nodded. "Of course."
"I know you're searching for your lover. I won't stop you. At the same time, once I have the ability to do so, I'll help you as well."
"Returning to the matter of the garrison—the era of knights will eventually pass," Levi said meaningfully.
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." Rune froze slightly. His eyes flickered, and after a brief silence, he spoke.
Levi raised a hand.
Rune's Alchemy Musket flew into his grasp.
"This will become the mainstream of the future," Levi said.
"I admit, this thing possesses remarkable power. It allows an ordinary person to wield strength comparable to that of a knight, provided sufficient distance is maintained."
"However, its cost is far too high."
"Lord Levi, do you know how much this thing is worth?"
"Fifty gold coins!"
"A full fifty gold coins!"
"It requires a veteran alchemist working together with several apprentices for an entire month just to manufacture one."
"Production is limited. It's a rare item."
"It—"
Before Rune could finish speaking, Levi used Level 4 Synthesis.
During this period, Levi had already raised this spell to the standard of a First-Ring Spell, which was relatively easy for him.
Thus, he directly synthesized an identical alchemy long gun.
In truth, it was essentially a matchlock musket.
From Levi's modern perspective, this matchlock musket had many flaws, but within this era, it was already considered high technology.
"It will shine with endless brilliance in your hands." The moment Rune witnessed this miraculous scene, he immediately changed his tone. There was even a trace of flattery on his face.
"Heh…" Levi chuckled softly as he tossed both matchlock muskets back to Rune.
Rune examined them over and over again, yet he could not discover the slightest irregularity. The two alchemy muskets were completely identical.
Rune's expression immediately became complicated.
"Lord Levi… are you planning to form a musket squad?" he asked.
Levi nodded, then shook his head.
"I can't devote all my power solely to manufacturing muskets. What I need is for the territory to develop to the point where it can independently produce firearms like these—or even more advanced ones."
"And at this current stage, equipping everyone with muskets wouldn't be suitable either."
"I'll probably manufacture ten muskets first, to equip specialized personnel."
"But right now, what I need to train is an ordinary guard force. It can lack knights, but it must possess loyalty. Later, we'll gradually outfit them with firearms step by step," Levi slowly explained his plans.
"The wages can be reduced. I'll handle the equipment. You'll provide the food for now, and you'll also oversee the training," Levi said.
He was basically treating Rune as a consumable resource.
Rune thought for a moment before saying, "If that's the case, then I can accept it. However, the amount of food I can provide each day is limited."
"I'll solve that problem," Levi said calmly.
"Alright." Rune agreed, then asked, "What about manpower?"
"Among the people I divided into groups inside the castle, there are some who are relatively reliable. You can select personnel from among them to serve as the backbone of the force."
"In addition, I'll issue a recruitment order throughout the town. I'll place gold coins and bread on display and personally conduct the recruitment myself," Levi said.
"As for lodging and training grounds, we'll use the castle for now. If it's only one hundred men, that should be sufficient."
These people would become the seeds of his future army, so Levi placed great importance on them.
"Then I have no further objections," Rune nodded.
"Good. Then go make the preparations."
With Levi saying so, Rune withdrew.
As soon as he left, Levi called Yalina over.
Miss Nightingale Odelle also came along.
"My coachwoman, how much wealth do we currently possess?" Levi asked.
Yalina rolled her eyes at him and said, "You originally had 1,542 gold coins and 635 silver coins left. I didn't bother counting the copper coins."
"And from Steward Mott's room, we found another 872 gold coins and 458 silver coins. No copper coins."
"Oh? It seems Mott was rather wealthy." Levi chuckled softly.
Yalina rolled her eyes at him again before continuing, "Your current total assets amount to 2,414 gold coins and 1,093 silver coins."
"Sounds like quite a lot." Levi's expression showed no reaction at all. He said to Yalina, "Prepare a large chest for me and fill it with gold coins. I have a use for it."
"Alright." Yalina agreed without hesitation.
"Yalina, my coachwoman, you'll need to take on a heavier burden," Levi looked at her and said.
"A heavier burden? What are you talking about?" Yalina's expression turned strange.
"I mean you'll need to handle more responsibilities." Levi only then realized that people of this era wouldn't understand such metaphors, so he laughed self-mockingly and explained.
"I knew it." Yalina looked exactly as if she had expected that response. "Go on then, what do you want me to do?"
"Steward," Levi said. "Mott's former position. Managing Hornreach."
"I can't do that." Yalina hesitated.
"If there's something you don't understand, you can ask Odelle, or ask me."
"If you don't know how, then learn gradually."
"You're the only person I can truly trust, which is why I'm entrusting this responsibility to you," Levi said.
The moment Yalina heard those words, her expression immediately changed.
After hesitating for a while, she said, "I'll try."
"But if I do badly, you can't blame me."
"Don't worry. You have me behind you," Levi encouraged her.
"Your first task is to recruit enough literate administrative personnel, thoroughly inventory Coldwind Keep's assets, understand the overall situation, and put everything under proper management. You can temporarily use the administrative staff left behind by Steward Mott, but you cannot trust them. At the same time, you must cultivate replacements for them."
In truth, Levi had already used Detection to learn many of the details perfectly clearly.
But knowing alone was useless.
He needed extensions of himself—real people capable of managing everything properly.
The moment Yalina heard Levi's instructions, her face immediately turned bitter.
The requirements were so high. This was way too difficult!
When Levi saw Yalina's expression, he simply turned his head away and pretended not to notice.
...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The people inside the castle had all been sent out by Levi to spread the news throughout the town that the new lord was recruiting members for the garrison force as well as clerks.
The townspeople all remained cautious and observant.
After all, they were not fools. The moment the new lord arrived, he flipped the table and openly fell out with Viscount Silverclaw. There was no way the viscount would simply let the matter go.
If Viscount Silverclaw attacked, wouldn't they all be doomed?
At the end of the day, they still did not trust Levi, this new lord.
They had yet to witness how powerful Levi truly was.
But Viscount Silverclaw's strength was something they understood very clearly.
One could say that Viscount Silverclaw was the heavens here—the sun and moon of this region.
Especially after Levi killed the soldiers sent by Viscount Silverclaw, everyone knew the viscount would never let the matter rest.
Thus, when faced with recruitment from Levi, the new lord, the fishermen and loafers all chose to wait and see.
Levi, however, had long been mentally prepared for this.
He had people carry a massive chest overflowing with gold coins through the streets of the town. Behind it came another large chest filled with fragrant freshly baked bread and ham.
As they paraded through the streets, they attracted countless greedy gazes before finally arriving at the recruitment site.
As Lord Levi's representative, Yalina announced to the crowd that anyone who successfully passed recruitment, regardless of who they were, would immediately receive one gold coin as advance payment.
At the same time, they would also receive a loaf of bread filled with roasted ham.
The moment those words were spoken, many people began to grow restless.
Compared to some uncertain future danger, gold coins right now felt far more reassuring.
Even after Yalina added that once recruited, deserters would face severe punishment and could even end up on the gallows—
—it still could not suppress some people's enthusiasm.
Very soon, someone stepped forward.
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