When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#225 - Although smuggling and loan sharking manipulate the black market, good girls

“So, you didn’t go to the winter training camp just because you drank too much and forgot the time?”

Perched on a woolen cushion in a country villa with her legs crossed, Moiraine stared icily at the knights standing in a neat row.

In this early winter weather, the mountainous county was showing signs of impending snowfall.

And in this cold weather, Moiraine's knights stood bare-chested, exposing their smooth, fleshy muscles, huddled together like a flock of quail.

The red-faced, thick-necked knights looked at each other, nudged each other, and elbowed each other, their small movements constant, until they finally pushed one person forward.

“We were wrong, we are guilty.” The square-headed knight didn't dare to look directly at the tall, iron-masked woman in front of him.

“What were you wrong about?” Moiraine asked in a deep voice.

“We were wrong that the potato root wine was too delicious and cheap.”

“I wonder who invented this stuff?”

“It's smooth and mellow, plus a few drops of fruit wine and honey for flavoring, even the Holy Father would dance after drinking it…”

The drunken knights began to discuss it noisily.

“Bang!”

Moiraine's iron gauntlet slammed heavily on the table, denting it.

“Ouch, my table—” The shouting knight swallowed his complaint when he saw the red light under Moiraine's iron mask's eyeholes.

“Did I come here to have you hold a wine tasting exchange meeting?” Moiraine stood up and looked down at the square-headed knight, Steve, “Did I teach you how to eat potato roots so you could use them to make wine?”

These knights were mountain knights, a specialty of Thousand River Valley. Because the western mountains of Thousand River Valley lacked horse farms, they had to fight on foot, even though they were knights.

Mountain knights were very different from normal knights. Their farms were not large, often only one knight leading six or seven households of farmers.

During the busy farming season, the knights even had to work in the fields themselves. Sometimes, a knight would even marry a farmer's daughter from his own territory.

Rather than knights, they were more like soldiers supported by those six or seven households.

Because the mountainous area lacked arable land, Moiraine, at the beginning of her tenure as Duchess, called for an authentic big fat pig movement.

This movement was to have the knights raise pigs and drive them into the forest to eat acorns.

After all, it was a mountainous area, and if there was one thing there was plenty of, it was forests. Acorns were indigestible for humans, but pigs could eat them without any problems.

So when Moiraine inherited the title of Duchess of Hemas, they were also called mountain pig knights.

However, after Moiraine led them over the high mountains and raided within the territory of Cod Fort, no one would use that insulting name again.

After all, no one had expected that Moiraine would create an entire transcendent army. The infantry of the entire Duchy of Hemas had breathing techniques ranging from two to four stages, and each person was an archer.

Moiraine had as many as five thousand such mountain infantry.

The Thousand River Valley mountain infantry could do this because the Duchess provided them with an annual pension of 10 gold pounds and a month of free breathing technique winter training.

As for where the 50,000 gold pounds of annual pension came from, first, the Fors family's industries within the Kingdom of France, second, the rich mines in the Thousand River Valley mountains, and third, money from smuggling, black market trade, slave trafficking, robbing churches, and high-interest loans.

Of course, although Moiraine smuggled, manipulated the black market, trafficked slaves, robbed churches, and lent money at high interest, she was still a good girl.

“Alright, all of you, go to the winter training camp. No drinking is allowed during the winter training camp. If you drink, you will not only have to do ten days of hard labor, but also be whipped.”

After pronouncing the punishment for this group of late knights, the knights did not object much, but obediently left the knight's hall in the farm.

“It's the alcohol problem again.” Philli appeared from the darkness.

“Yes.” Moiraine rubbed her neck with a headache.

The mountain knights under her command were definitely excellent soldiers, but problems such as rudeness and drunkenness caused by the children's training camp period remained to this day.

Most of the mountain knights were squeezed out of the plains by the imperial nobles, and many even became wandering knights or even robber knights for a period of time.

According to the old Duke's methods, the first generation of Thousand River Valley knights was not used or put on the battlefield.

From the second generation onwards, all male children of knight families had to go to Cold Spring City for three years of rigorous swordsman-style military education.

From this generation onwards, they would be put into use and gradually occupy a place in the Duke's administrative system.

“What are you here for?”

“The mountain knights from North County have agreed that they can gather 300 transcendent knights, of which an estimated 200 have the strength of squires and more than 50 have the strength of banner knights.”

“Is it to unite or to pledge allegiance, has it been made clear?”

“The knights of North are willing to pledge allegiance to you. In addition, many knights in Lower River County who were originally from the Kush family are also preparing to pledge allegiance to you.”

“Oh?” Moiraine sat up straight. “Are they not preparing to elect someone from the Kush family as their leader?”

Philli, as the chief of intelligence, smiled contemptuously: “The one in Jeanneau has ruined his reputation. That Constance is running around with Jeanneau's little catamite, and everyone is saying no wonder he's not married even at his age…”

“That catamite, have you confirmed his identity? Is he really the uncle of that Salvation Army leader?”

“No, he should be a scapegoat that the church dragged from somewhere. The news from High Fort is that Horn ran away before he even left Black Bone Swamp.”

Philli looked up at Moiraine, who was sitting upright. Although he couldn't see her face, he could still feel that the Duchess seemed a little absent-minded.

“Lord, are you very concerned about the Salvation Army?”

“Yes.” Moiraine nodded without hesitation. “Patrick sent a message that the leader of that Salvation Army is a witch, but a male, which is too rare.”

As an orphan adopted by the old Duke, Philli knew Moiraine's identity: “You want to, bring him over is…”

“A demon that can stably inherit the characteristics of a witch, who wouldn't be tempted by such a treasure?”

Philli immediately felt a bit of pity and sympathy for this peasant rebel leader he had never met. Falling into the hands of this ruthless Duchess, he was afraid that he would only be locked in the palace for breeding for the rest of his life.

“This is not good, he is a hero of Thousand River Valley.” As a Thousand River Valley native, Philli still said a word for him.

“Give him a prince's title, and no one can find fault with it. Is there anything else?”

Anyway, he had tried his best, and Philli quickly replied: “The dwarves of the Dragon Worship Sect have arrived at White Cedar Fort, submitted a letter, and hope to be able to visit you.”

“They came quite quickly.”

Nonsense, you used high-interest loans to force a bunch of dwarves from the Dragonspine Mountains to work as coolies in Cold Spring Fort, wouldn't their elders come running as fast as they could?

Of course, Philli didn't dare to say this to his face: “You proposed that they be allowed to publicly worship and build cities in the five mountain counties, of course they can't wait.”

“Tell them that I will meet with them within three days, and I will notify them in advance when the time comes.”