White breath escapes with each exhale.
Outside, snow is falling, and this stone castle is filled with a piercing cold.
In the office, I’m scribbling with a pen, but fortunately, there isn’t much administrative work to do.
Well, because of this cold, most of the people in my territory aren’t going outside, so my workload is light too. The only thing to do is to keep track of this year’s balance sheet.
Income is low due to reduced taxes, but there was an increase in revenue in the latter half of the year due to the activation of the gold mine. Though, a large portion of the funds were spent on contracts with mercenary groups, recruiting new soldiers, and infrastructure development to the mine. If I think of it as an initial investment, I might expect a decent income from next year onwards.
Next year’s plans, huh… For now, I need to focus on infrastructure development and repairing the homes of the people in my territory. Taking responsibility for the repairs would require both time and money. Maybe I should provide just the materials and let them handle the repairs themselves?
Would there be a risk of the materials being diverted? Well, it should be fine. In my territory, we’ve exempted the Golden Sheep Trading Company from taxes, so they have almost complete control over the market. They oversee the flow of goods in the territory, so they’d likely notice any diversion of materials. Probably.
Then there’s the recruitment of new soldiers and knights.
Given the current situation, there’s a high possibility that an encirclement might form. The Count Vywarl faction is bordered by the sea to the west, so that’s less of a concern, but nearly all of our other neighbors are potential adversaries. Our duchy also has many noble houses along the eastern border.
Currently, our forces include the 500 new recruits we enlisted recently, 300 provided by the count, 100 mercenaries, and a few dozen knights. But with a force of less than 1,000, it’s tough to defend such a vast duchy. Conscription could bring in over 10,000, but that would defeat the purpose of having volunteers, and it would likely cause dissatisfaction.
As for reinforcements from my father… I can’t expect much. He once told me to come to him if anything happened, and the initial 300 troops he lent weren’t meant for external warfare but just for basic security.
Moreover, our enemies aren’t just at our borders—my father also has other adversaries to contend with.
And as my father mentioned, we lack knights. I should have the Golden Sheep Trading Company look for wandering knights. At the same time, I’ll have to continue recruiting new soldiers.
Perhaps more boys and girls will be sent our way, but… hmm. Asking for adults would be too close to conscription.
Should I aim to recruit around 2,000 people? That’s four times the scale of the last recruitment, but fortunately, there are enough barracks for them to stay in. The issues would be food, wages, and equipment.
Speaking of equipment, prices have been rising due to the ongoing turbulent times.
I need to find ways to cut costs wherever possible.
As I pondered this, a thought suddenly came to mind.
How about having the soldiers participate in infrastructure development as part of their physical training?
This could reduce the costs associated with infrastructure work, and while the new recruits have been trained into a basic form, it will take more time before they are battle-ready. While the training period would extend, the skills they gain from infrastructure work could also be useful for building defensive structures in field operations. Not a bad idea.
Well, in the end, even with a plan, the situation might change with events like the Crown Prince’s party in early spring, and I’ll likely have to adjust.
Knock, knock.
Erich knocks on the door and enters.
“Bishop Heinemann has arrived.”
“Understood. I’ll meet him in the reception room.”
The timing was perfect, as I had just finished organizing my thoughts.
