Nelson took Todd and the others into the study of Pinghu Fort, and saw Viscount Randall, who had black hair and black eyes, and delicate facial features like sculptures.

All the people saluted the lord at the same time. Victor waved his hand and said in a gentle voice, "Don't be restrained, just sit down." His gaze turned to Nelson and teased, "First of all, I wish Lord Nelson a happy marriage." ”

Nelson blushed, touched the back of his head, and said curtly, "Thank you, sir." ”

Soon after he returned to Randall's Territory from Rock Town, the Duke of York and Lady Catrina selected a young and beautiful ordinary noblewoman and sent her to Pinghu Town to serve as the Lord's personal maid. Nelson now has a wife and three personal maids, Linda, Joanna, Lauvita, and Laika.

A nobleman marrying a personal maid does not have a marriage ceremony. They received the blessing of Father Miller at the church in Pinghu Town, and registered it, even if they were legally married. On behalf of Victor, Nicole sent a generous gift and attended Nelson's family dinner.

Victor focuses on Nelson's family because his family relationships reflect the political ecology that characterizes Randall's domain.

The 300-square-kilometre lord made many knights and nobles jealous, and Nelson was favored by noblewomen. It stands to reason that the newly crowned lord lord should devote his energy to his territory and family, marry four partners as soon as possible, let them take care of the territory, have children, and raise offspring, so as to lay the foundation for the future development of the family. However, Nelson's situation was unique, he and Linda had few loyal and reliable followers, and the majority of the lordship's population was almost exclusively homeless hired laborers. Moreover, Nelson and Linda had no savings and had to hold important positions in Pinghu Town, receiving an annuity to maintain the dignity of the lord's family. What's more, they must maintain Lilia's status, and they can't leave the power center of Randall's territory.

Lord Nelson had neither money nor people, so he had to entrust his territory to Viscount Randall. The town of Pinghu manages the exiled hired labor of the lordship, and Nelson becomes the landowner and nobleman of the Randall Domain.

Caterina had originally planned to choose a female probationary knight who had been trained in her bloodline and give it to Nelson, the military leader of Randall's Domain. She wanted to strengthen the military ties between Jinshui City and Pinghu Town through marriage. But Nicole gets a head start and marries the secret knight Lauvita to Nelson. Victor and his army can now count as a descendant of the Rose Manor, on an equal footing with the Fangs of Goldwater. The Duke of York naturally gave up on the original idea.

Victor's proposal of the tenant system in Jin Shuicheng simply tickled the Duke of York's itch. The lord can seal the land, but he is not willing to divide power. The tenant system effectively deprived the lords of their autonomy, because the tenants were under the direct administration of the upper lords and did not belong to the subjects of the lords. Victor did not allow the nobledaughter of the House of York to change the status quo of Lord Nelson, and the Duke of York also hoped that Randall's Lordship would set up a model for the successful reform.

The two sides hit it off, and Jinshuicheng arranged for Nelson to be a personal maid who was lonely.

Nelson's family represents the future direction of the tenement-employment system, and the fiefdom system is centralized.

The so-called centralized fief system means that the ownership of the fief belongs to the nobles, and the ruling power of the fief belongs to the center. For example, the young knight Klaus served in the army and helped the Randall family conquer large territories. Victor rewarded Claus as a baron, selected large and small lands from various provinces, and gathered 150 square kilometers to reward Klaus. Baron Claus started his own family, but he had to lease the land to tenants and continue to hold a military position. Klaus's knightly belief changed from protecting his family and territory to protecting his family and kingdom. The Council of Nobles will meet the political needs of the Grand Knight nobles.

In fact, the centralization of fiefdoms is nothing new. As early as the Golden Age, the political model of several knight families ruling city-states and ruling large territories was centralized. The canonization of the nobility of the court by kings in the Bronze Age also had the shadow of a centralized system. It's just that the centralized fiefdom system is not good at attacking. In the Silver Age, because the mortal army could not keep up with the pace of the knights, the knight family suffered heavy casualties, and the centralized system was eliminated by history. Of course, there are reasons why the Pope is dragging his feet.

The sub-feudal system, the knight lord fiefdom is established, relying on each other and guarding layer by layer. Even if a certain knight family is defeated by the orcs, it will not cause the knight class of the entire kingdom to suffer a heavy blow. The defeated still have a chance to draw blood and make a comeback.

For thousands of years, knightly aristocrats and noble clergy have worked to improve the combat effectiveness of mortal armies. The emergence of Victor provided an opportunity to switch from defense to attack. The feudal system, which was more than enough to defend the territory and lacked progress, was destined to be replaced by centralization.

The entrenched ideology of feudalism was now the biggest obstacle to the reform of the lords.

Those who don't understand still don't understand, and those who understand pretend to be confused. Everyone watched in amazement as Viscount Randall ate the first crab.

Victor's sword with the Lord is definitely a clever move.

The vast majority of lords wanted to hold the power of the lordship in their hands, and there was no problem of contradicting the tenant system. If the Lord Lord is a small crab, then the Baron Lord must be an oversized crab, delicious but troublesome. Giant crabs like viscounties and countdoms...... Not troublesome, deadly.

Therefore, the conditions of the Randall family are unique, and when other powerful lords are still fighting against the giant crabs in their families, Victor may have eaten a giant by eating crabs.

Victor looked at Nelson, Todd, Barrett and Barol like four little crabs, and his heart blossomed. He smiled and said, "Lord Nelson, you have a wife and an heir, you can start designing your own family crest...... What do you think of the crab?"

"Crabs?"

Nelson shook his head like a rattle, and said angrily, "Crabs are not pretty." I still prefer bears. ”

A bear with two crabs' large pincers...... Victor took the smiling image out of his mind and turned to the slightly older Barrett, "Barrett, we haven't seen each other for a long time. It's really hard to sleep in the open with a bear group...... Come back this time and take care of your body. I have prepared two golden sunflower potions for you. If you want to stay in Randall, then hand over the affairs of the Bears. Nelson also needs a helper here. ”

Barrett stepped forward, stroked his chest and saluted, "Thank you for your concern." My body can still hold ......" he smiled bitterly and said in a low voice: "There are thousands of people in the bear group now, and they all call me Daddy Barrett...... I'm really reluctant to leave them behind. ”

"Oh, yes. The old instructor straightened up and said with a beaming look: "I have married three women, and they have given birth to me a pair of children. My little cub is only 1 year old. I brought him back and wanted to entrust him to Nelson to raise. ”

Victor gave Barrett a deep look and asked in a deep voice, "What's his name?"

"Master, his name is Wolf. Barrett replied respectfully.

The main force of the bear group is alchemy humans, and Victor is not worried about losing control of the bear group at all. But Barrett showed loyalty to a son, which was in itself a rule. There is no reason for Victor not to accept it, not to mention that Barrit's territory and property in Randall also need to be inherited and supervised.

"Wolfe. Victor nodded, and said with an indifferent expression: "Then from today onwards, Wolf is your heir." Lord and Mrs. Nelson served as his guardians. ”

"Yes. Barrett breathed a clear sigh of relief, took a step back, and returned to his seat.

Victor's gaze swept to the other seat. Todd immediately stood up, his eyes calm, but secretly excited.

"Todd, I'm curious, you have a chance to get out of Ascending Rock City, why don't you leave alone, or join the Dwemick family?

"My lord, I have always demanded that I be a knight. Todd lowered his head and said in a deep voice.

Victor's eyes flickered, and he continued to ask, "When you evacuated Ascending Stone City, you insisted on taking the two hostesses with you?"

Todd was bitter and explained, "Those two women are at the lame hotel, helping me gather information about the Brotherhood of Kamen...... I can't bear to implicate them...... But I promised, they didn't know anything! Later, I gave them a sum of money and let them go. ”

"yes, they know everything. They risk their lives to do things for you, and they just want to be the woman who can become Ghost Rider one day......"

Victor shook his head and sighed, knocked on the table, and said coldly: "The big weapon fight in Ascending Stone City, thousands of dead and wounded, spread the word...... They don't know that you did it, can't they think that the Earl of Kinrique, who was assassinated on the same day of the Great Fight, and that the Marquis de Wemick could not have imagined?"

"Those two hostesses have been captured by my men, and I want you to kill them. Victor stared at Todd with deep eyes.

Todd's face was pale, cold sweat oozed from his forehead, he knelt on his knees, and said in a trembling voice: "My lord, I have made a mistake and am willing to accept any punishment. I don't defend those two women anymore...... Although my hands are bloody, I ...... I can't kill people who really help me. ”

There was an oppressive silence in the study. Todd was relieved and waited quietly for the lord's fate.

"Loyalty, humility, arrogance, mercy...... I believe you're a knight now. Victor nodded, smiled and said, "You have done a good job for Mercury, but I have already rewarded you." You are to be commended for being able to uphold your principles, to live the virtues of knighthood, and to be kind to those who help you. ”

"Welcome to the Randall family, Lord Todd Randall. ”

Todd raised his head, rolled his Adam's apple, and finally got down on one knee and solemnly swore to Victor: "Todd Randall will die for his master!"

Victor was not prepared to embarrass Todd, nor did he arrest the two hostesses, his temptation was only a means of domination.

Things are gathered by likeness, and people are divided by equals. Nothing inspires allegiance in his subordinates more than a sovereign's affirmation of his principles and character. If Todd obeys Victor's orders, he chooses to kill people. Victor would only laugh, praise him for his loyalty, and take it for himself. However, in this case, Victor will inevitably become wary of Todd.

Todd was not a good man, and he used bloody methods to suppress gold mine slavery for Duke Erickson. But he also has a good side, using two prostitutes to complete the task, but letting them live, so that he puts himself in danger. In a sense, both good and evil are shortcomings of human nature. There are shortcomings to change, and human nature is complex and full of vitality.

For the family, good and evil should not be the standard for judging family members, there must always be someone to do the dirty work. But a person with no shortcomings and no principles is destined to be a lone wolf who cannot be controlled. If he thinks that the family is not good for him, he will immediately turn back.

Victor himself is soft-hearted, especially for women and children, anyway, he has a bunch of inhuman alchemy creatures, and if he is really going to be in a hurry, then out of sight is pure. When the homeless people attacked Randall's territory, the alchemy mastiff bit some old and weak women and children to death.

As for the two hostesses, they can be put away, it's not a big deal. Assassinating knights and nobles and inciting outcasts to riot, who will tell the lord about the evidence? The Marquis of Dwemick used two inferior people to testify against Viscount Randall, and Victor could immediately find 200 inferior people to fight back. If the Dwemick family did this, it would only make people laugh out of their big teeth.

Todd's choice is in line with Victor's moral aesthetic. In fact, the concept of family and family in human society in another world places special emphasis on giving preferential treatment to women and children.

Victor was also deeply affected, and he now looks at Todd more pleasantly.

"Get up. Victor asked kindly, "I heard that the Shadow of the Mask you captured is a wizard?"

Todd stood up and described in detail what happened to the wizard with palpitations, and finally said, "Fortunately, the elite guards cultivated by the family secretly are not afraid of that wizard. Otherwise, Barol and I will die at their hands. ”

Nelson couldn't help but ask, "The wizard is so powerful?"

"It's not awesome. Todd shook his head and explained, "I lost my mind all at once, and the wizard's shadow warriors were enough to kill me several times. ”

Victor glanced at Nelson and said in a deep voice, "This has something to do with the power of the mind, and that level of witchcraft shouldn't be able to take you." ”

Nelson smiled dryly, and the other three all looked worried. There are wizards behind the Kamen Brotherhood, and there may be more than one, making the problem very tricky.

Victor didn't want to go into details, and instead asked, "Did you collect the crystal shards on the wizards?"

Balor pulled a small pocket out of his waist pocket and respectfully handed it to the table.

Victor picked up the bag, flipped it down, threw it into the drawer, and said quietly, "Todd, I'll give you two choices now." ”

"This season of fire, the Randall family will wage a multi-year fish-man war. You can choose to join the mercenary army and lead a 500-strong infantry regiment under Lord Nelson on a combat mission to clear the mudflats of fishmen. When the war is over, I will reward my deeds. ”

"Or continue to serve in Mercury, but you will take someone to the kingdom of Seuss to expand the periphery of Mercury. You're definitely going to bump into the Kamen Brotherhood...... When choosing mercury, you are taking a lot of risk. If you can complete the task of expanding the periphery of mercury, you are the leader of mercury!"

Nelson laughed and patted Todd on the shoulder enthusiastically, "Your kid has good swordsmanship, and it's just right for dealing with those ferocious fishmen." Join our mercenary legion, as long as you have made meritorious achievements, I recommend you to lead an army alone and expand the territory for adults in the future, how about it?"

Todd's heart fluttered, and he turned his head sideways to see Balor's eyebrows lowered and he didn't say a word. He hesitated again.

Nelson's strength is too strong, and if he does things under him, he will always be overpowered. Although mercury is dangerous, it is the henchman of the master's henchmen. The Randall family has magical golden potions, there are secret dead men who can fight wizards, and they have killed the silver knights of a large family thousands of miles away, and even Lord Nelson and the bear group have to obey the command of mercury. The potential of mercury is staggering. Add mercury, and the owner might be able to let me go a step further...... The more Todd thought about it, the more excited he became, his blood boiled, his eyes lit up like a flame, and he stepped forward and said, "Master, I am willing to go to the Kingdom of Seuss!"

"Good. Victor nodded, looked Todd up and down a few times, and said, "You can't leave a scar on your face, and you have to change your body shape." I've sent you to the Paladin's body remodeling, which will not only give you a new lease of life, but will also significantly improve your physical fitness and mental strength. You can use these three months to learn all sorts of useful tips from Baror's agents. Once you've done all these preparations, head to the kingdom of Seuss. I'll prepare you 6,000 gold soles, 30 elite guards, and 40 arcane deadmen......"

Victor paused, turned to Baror and asked, "How many people can Mercury draw out?"

"My lord, we have more than 300 black market merchants in Gambis, and more than 6,000 peripheral thugs who rely on them for food. The old spy said lightly: "There is no problem at all in dispatching seventy or eighty reliable men. Black businessman, liar, thief, killer, villain, rogue ...... Pick and choose. ”

Listening to Barrol's words, Nelson and the others were dumbfounded. Victor was silent for a long time, and said angrily: "I said why doesn't the Golden Regiment make money...... Raising so many people!"