Keon Rhein was able to serve as the commander of Ironforge for thirty years, and his true surname was naturally not as rough and fierce as it seemed, and no matter how tempting Leon's conditions were, he also had to consider the key gains and losses.

After all, being an official official of the kingdom and a knight serving the lord are completely different things.

"Lord Keane, you don't have to rush to answer..."Leon smiled, "I welcome you to join me at any time and become a member of the new Salling!"

He was promoted from baron to earl by two levels, completing a leap that others could hardly achieve in their lifetimes, and he also had a vast territory worthy of the title, and his strength expanded rapidly enough to make people jaw-dropping.

But Leon knows very well that owning a territory and mastering a territory are two different concepts, and the Ironforge Fort area is not the Thrall City in the mountains, it has a large population and various forces are intertwined, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a hot potato.

For him, the most important thing is the talent in all aspects, the talent that helps him rule and master the new territory, and this old knight of the lion is undoubtedly an excellent candidate, so Leon did not hesitate to offer a sky-high salary of 100,000 gold coins.

But the old and spicy Keane was not immediately knocked down by money, which made Leon appreciate him more and more, and at the same time did not want to force him, otherwise it would be self-defeating to cause the other party's rebellious mentality.

"Okay!" the old knight nodded, after all, he still couldn't ignore the temptation of a hundred thousand gold coins.

The handover of Ironforge was very smooth, in fact, the work had started half a month earlier, but it was only until Leon came in person that the final work could be completed.

All 3,000 garrisons withdrew from Ironforge, and Concordia and Rose led 500 Thunderbeast warriors to take over the small fortress on the edge of the southwestern province, and it will officially disappear from the kingdom's military sequence.

On the tallest building in the center of the fortress, the banner fluttering in the wind was replaced by the Thunderbeast Battle Banner, which was erected to mark the beginning of Leon's rule over the new territory.

The real test for Leon has just begun.

......... At night, the former garrison headquarters of Ironforge Fort.

The tallest and best building in the fortress is now the residence of Count Léon, Lord of Thrall, and although it is deep, the study on the fifth floor is still lit.

"According to the current preliminary statistics, our new territory has 11 small towns and hundreds of villages, and more than 100,000 hectares of farmland, but the yield is not high, so the annual tax is very low. ”

In the study, Corinna sat behind the oak desk and introduced to Leon: "The population of the territory is about 100,000, of which nearly 30,000 are in Ironforge Castle, and most of them are workshop workers and their families. ”

"The trouble is that we can't collect commercial taxes from the Iron Forge, and we have to invest at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins every year, and according to the agreement with the kingdom, we need to pay an additional 500,000 gold coins in mining taxes every year, and we must also ensure the supply of weapons and equipment to the kingdom, which is another big expense!"

Corinna rubbed her brow, looking like she had a headache.

After following Leon back to the Sal Territory, the fox-born girl from a famous family was appointed by Leon as the chief tax officer of the new Sal Territory, and was in charge of the finances of the territory.

She is not only a powerful magician, but also a shrewd businessman, more than capable of the job.

However, even with her considerable experience, Corinna is quite troubled by the situation that Salling is currently facing.

"Brother Leon is a lord, why can't he collect taxes from Ironforge?" asked Rose on the side.

Tonight, Leon summoned his henchmen to a secret meeting to discuss plans for the construction of the new territory.

The meeting was attended by Concordia, Rose, Akrand, and Cher, who had just arrived from Salling.

"The situation is very complicated, although Leon is a lord, he can't force taxes on those workshop shops. Corinna smiled bitterly, "Unless we offend all the forces here." ”

With a history of more than 200 years, Ironforge Castle was originally an adventurer's town, but it gradually developed into a fortress city due to the discovery of rich mineral deposits in the nearby mountains and the threat of the Dark Lands.

The kingdom, the Senate, the military, the mercenary union, the Tomund magnates, the Kingdom Chamber of Commerce... Each of them has its own industrial workshop in the Ironforge Fort, where the high-quality ore excavated from the mountains is smelted, or forged weapons or sold directly to the Terran countries in the south.

Due to complex reasons, each workshop in the Ironforge Fort is not subject to taxes, and has its own mining sphere of influence, and the kingdom sends garrisons to protect the security of these mining areas, and a large amount of money is invested in this for this purpose every year.

The area of Ironforge is a burden to the kingdom, so it is happy to make it Leon's domain.

They divided the richest areas of the east, threw away bones and left flesh, and collected a large annual tax from the territory of Leon.

And the Rhine family threw this territory to Leon, which was also a hidden evil, and Corinna did not know enough about this territory in advance.

But Leon would definitely not be dissatisfied because of this, if it wasn't for the existence of a problem, how could such a large territory fall into his hands.

"Also, we must build up a new army quickly, otherwise we won't have enough strength to destroy the monsters and dark elves from the ground in the event of a beast plague. Concordia said in a deep voice.

"The task of expanding the territory army is entrusted to you!" Leon said categorically: "You can also recruit from the mercenary adventurers, we give a higher salary than the regular army of the kingdom, but there must be strict standards, it is better to have a shortage than to overuse!"

Concordia nodded, this wolf knight who originally belonged to the Corinsvo family is now the strongest knight under Leon and one of the most central vassals.

"As for the matter of Ironforge Fort, I have other plans, let the soldiers increase patrols to avoid any bad things. Leon said, "Concordia, Aklan, go back and rest first!"

After Concordia and Akram leave, the room is left with three women: Corinna, Rose, and Cher.

In fact, there was another woman lurking in the shadowy corner of the room, a black elf who rarely appeared in front of people, guarding Leon's abode like a ghost.

The atmosphere in the study was a little strange, because the three of them and Leon were inextricably linked.

"What do you want to say?" Corinna smiled.

She was the oldest of the three and had the most intelligent mind, and of course she could see that Leon had something to communicate with them privately.

"I'd like to marry the three of you after the Summer Harvest Festival!" Leon said.

His voice was not loud, but it exploded in the ears of the three women like thunder, and they were all frozen for a while.

Although it is said that whether it is Corinna, Rose or Cher, they all have a deep affection for Leon, it must be true that Leon is not false.

But no one expected that Leon would be so direct, and he would marry three at a time!

In order to reproduce the race, the kingdom encourages multiple births, and it is common for nobles to have several wives and concubines.

With Leon's current status as an earl, there is no problem in having three wives, but it is rare to marry three at the same time.

But this is also Leon's style, he thought that no matter which one he marries first, it may make the other two sad, and holding three weddings is even more costly, and one solution is the most appropriate.

The most important thing is that in the situation of strong enemies and a long way to go, Leon does not want to put too much energy on the love between men and women, so he adopts this way of cutting through the mess with a quick knife.

"I know it may not be romantic enough, but I'm genuine about each and every one of you..."

Leon took a small box from his bosom and walked over to Corinna.

He knelt down on one knee, opened the box and stared at the other party and asked, "Corinna, will you marry me?"

In the box, a beautiful diamond ring sparkles with brilliance.

Crystal tears immediately welled up in Corinna's eyes, and she stretched out her trembling hand to take the ring: "I do!"

There is no timidity and reserve, because similar scenes have appeared many times in her dreams, although Leon's sudden marriage proposal seems too domineering and lacking in romance, but her heart has long fallen for the other party, and she can't say no words of refusal.

Leon smiled slightly, got up and took her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

After the kiss, he walked over to Rose with Corinna in his arms, took out another brocade box, and knelt down on one knee.

"Rose, will you marry me?"

Corinna couldn't help but chuckle, but Rose's pretty face was so red that it almost dripped blood.

Although she and Leon have the closest relationship, this leopard girl is still quite pure in heart.

However, under Corinna's encouraging gaze, Rose took the ring and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, "I do." ”

The last one is Cher.

Among the three daughters, Xue'er's surname is the most subdued, although she also blushes, but she agreed to Leon's marriage proposal without the slightest hesitation.

At the end of this rare marriage proposal, Leon opened his arms and hugged the three of them at the same time, and said with a smile: "Okay, from today onwards, the three of you will be good sisters, who will accompany me at night?"

The front was okay, but the last sentence made the three girls blush at the same time, Rose broke free from his embrace, took Xue'er's hand and ran: "This matter will be handed over to Sister Corinna!"

Leon smiled and wrapped Corinna, who also wanted to escape, in his arms: "That's you!"

"Think beautiful!" Corinna said coquettishly, "I'm going to sort out the accounts of the territory at night, you can sleep alone!"

The warmth of the veins, flowing silently in the room, is intoxicating.

(To be continued)