Chapter 790 - 31 Why not build the Heavenly Kingdom_2

Chapter 790: Chapter 31 Why not build the Heavenly Kingdom_2

"Even some people believe that everyone is out to steal their credit, so they withhold important intelligence and waste crucial opportunities for battle—sounds inconceivable, but their numbers are truly substantial!"

"But because of the conscription system, we can’t guarantee the quality of recruits. At least these people are still willing to fight; there’s really no choice but to take them!"

At this point, even Scott, who was normally good-natured, clenched his teeth in frustration, "Of course, there’s the worst kind—those who are truly foolish and simply cannot comprehend our tactical deployments!"

"You can deal with the former, but the latter are beyond help!"

All eyes turned toward Green Tide, causing the Seaborn Swordsman to sit up straight with unease, "What? Why are you all looking at me? I might not have thought about all that much, but I can still understand tactics just fine!"

"It’s okay," Ian reassured him, "You’re a genius, I can be sure of that."

Scott summarized it well: soldiers without professional training come with a whole host of problems. The issues mentioned above were actually the lesser ones. True military riffraff and bandits were not uncommon in Terra, and such elements were what any army must absolutely eliminate.

"Find some experienced individuals from among the mercenaries, appoint them as instructors, compile their experiences into manuals."

Ian summarized all the suggestions everyone had made, refining them into a general outline, including even what Green Tide had said—although his suggestions were indeed correct, they were too outlandish to consider, "To be honest, finding instructors is not difficult. The mercenaries that came from Harrison Port each have over fifteen years of combat experience, and they all have a wealth of knowledge to teach, as long as they’re paid well, they don’t mind passing on these experiences."

"Right now, what’s lacking in the territory are ’civilian staff’... such as tax officers and stewards for the various plantations."

"Eh?"

Hearing this, Scott caught the implied meaning in Ian’s words, "Are you suggesting, my Lord, that you intend to dismiss all the tax officers from Baron Leyan’s era...?"

In Terra, the role of a tax officer is not a minor one; they are essentially confidants of the lord, and positions are not usually given to those without some status. Many Minor Nobility serve major Nobles, typically as stewards and tax officers.

"Of course."

Ian spoke with an even tone, as if he wasn’t discussing the fate of dozens of key personnel, "These tax officers are deeply entrenched, each one planted by powerful local families and significant figures of Leyan Territory. They are accustomed to tax evasion and even frequently embezzle the territory’s assets."

"Baron Leyan himself didn’t manage these issues, as long as no one interfered with his resurrection experiments, but I’m different. I have many things to do that require a lot of money. The tax system must be clear and reliable, and this situation must be eradicated."

Contrary to what Fiery Flame Land anticipated—that Ian might quickly recruit soldiers and equip nearly a thousand elite militiamen with seized weapons—Ian wasn’t in a hurry to expand his forces.

His idea was to retrain the existing two hundred plus militiamen and eighty mercenaries, recruit an extra two hundred people for the reserve squad, and maintain a battalion of around five hundred people. But this battalion had to be highly disciplined and elite enough to carry out various tactical missions.

Finances were the priority.

After losing its lord and being occupied by the Mountain People, Leyan Territory was in extreme financial disarray. Taxes hadn’t been collected in a long time, and the agricultural reforms and alchemy industry developments Ian was planning needed a large amount of Talle. Fixing the financial issues was the starting point for all further development. Without securing the coffers, the territory couldn’t depend solely on Ian’s research funds for development, right?

Leyan City, with its advantageous location, should be an asset to Ian, not just crawling forward because Ian himself had to "sell blood" to fund it.

"First, solve the financial issues related to taxation, then take a census, count the number of manors and plantations, and prepare for the upcoming agricultural reforms. The agricultural reform is the prelude to the development of the alchemy industry. We need a large amount of raw materials and Talle. Leyan City’s main industry is the raw materials for alchemy; self-sufficiency in this is entirely possible, solidifying the foundation before taking big strides forward."

Ian’s explanation was clear, and everyone present understood his approach, "Apart from raw materials, the main issue with the alchemy industry is energy. I’ll discuss this later with Gu Ying. Whether it’s the Prism System or the Magnetostorm System, substantial energy is needed for development. This could also indirectly strengthen the defensive forces of the territory."

"Then, the most important thing is education. Start with adult technical education and gradually transition to compulsory education for all citizens."

"Sounds familiar?"

Adalbert felt like he had heard this term before and said subconsciously, "Isn’t that the policy of the Former Emperor and the current ruler? I remember the results weren’t very good..."

"The Former Emperor didn’t understand education. Or rather, he did, but the era he was in didn’t allow for it."

Ian stated firmly, "Compulsory education for everyone should be the last step. Before that, we need to ensure the people in the territory have enough food and don’t require child labor—Leyan City is in very good shape for this. It’s prosperous enough to have a high literacy rate, but that might not be the case for other towns in the territory. That’s why we need a census of the entire territory to understand the situation and formulate policies."