Lord: Starting from the Pit-Dwelling Courtyard

Chapter 85: The Knight Class

Fanta led his knight guard to patrol the battlefield three times, and only after confirming that there were no ambushes or straggling cavalry did he allow the militia to begin clearing the corpses from the barbican.

The remains of dozens of heavily armored knights were piled together, their bodies completely bare. Several strong women were squatting beside the pile of corpses, using pliers to remove arrowheads. The arrowheads were retrieved, and the remains were dragged to a fertilizer pit outside the city.

This is the wasteland approach: people come naked and leave without taking anything with them.

When Ron came out of the hospital, his cuffs were still stained with blood. This was his usual area of ​​activity for the past two days, where he was teaching Lillie to perform simple surgical procedures and practicing on the wounded soldiers.

He stood in the courtyard of the pit-dwelling and took a deep breath. The air was filled with the smells of gunpowder, blood, and the burnt aroma wafting from the distant bakery, creating a unique odor that could only be found after the war.

Leonardo da Vinci had been waiting in the courtyard for a while.

"My lord, I would like to ask you for someone."

"explain!"

"That kid Shanlier, he's done scouting with Mad, guarded the south wall with me, and last time he knocked down two big goblins on the wall without his hand shaking. I'm thinking of taking him on as a knight apprentice."

Ron sat down on the stone bench, took the glass of water that Mrs. Moriel handed him, and took a sip.

Shanlier was among the first group of people to voluntarily pledge allegiance to him after his transmigration. From a young man so thin you could count his ribs to a militia leader capable of defeating a big goblin, the difference between them wasn't time, but several hard-fought battles.

Ron put down his cup and nodded. "Okay. Let him follow you. You teach him breathing techniques, swordsmanship, and tactics. But there's one condition: don't turn him into someone who only knows how to fight recklessly. Those who fight recklessly die the fastest."

Leonardo da Vinci grinned: "Don't worry, my lord. I survived by the skin of my teeth, so I know how to teach people to cherish their lives."

Fanta came down from his shift on the city wall and overheard the second half of the conversation. He tucked his helmet under his arm and walked over to sit down opposite the stone table.

"Young master, speaking of which, the guard needs fresh blood. Although no one died in this battle, the knights of the guard are all wounded after the last goblin siege and today's battle. Moreover, the population of the territory is increasing, and we need to train some loyal new knights. I want to select a group of promising young men from the militia, formally award them swords, and enlist them in the guard as knight apprentices."

Ron did not answer immediately.

He was thinking about something else. Thun had already broken through to become an Earth Knight, and Fanta was also an Earth Knight. The upper-level combat power of the territory was sufficient for the time being, but the middle level was severely lacking.

There were only about twenty official knights and seven or eight apprentices; the rest were all militiamen and reserves.

Last time we were attacked from all sides, if the city walls hadn't been high enough and the catapults hadn't been powerful enough, we wouldn't have been able to fill in all four walls by manpower alone.

He needs more full-fledged knights, even if they are just apprentice knights, so that they can step in at crucial moments.

"Alright," Ron said. "You and Leonardo da Vinci go and pick men. Choose from those who have been on the city walls and those who have fought goblins. Those who volunteer will not be given priority. I want men who dare to fight, not men who want to be knights."

Fanta and Leonardo da Vinci stood up at the same time, bowed, and turned to walk towards the militia camp.

Ron sat quietly, while old Hall appeared beside him at some point.

"What do you think, Old Hall?"

Old Hall pulled out a chair and sat down, and Moriel followed suit, the three of them sitting around a table.

Old Hall spoke first: "To grant knighthood is not just a matter of strength; it also requires honors, land, and rights. For the current territory, it does more harm than good."

Moriel shook her head: "Fanta and Thun are alright, and their territories are getting better and better. The lord can't let them be lone knights forever. Da Vinci also has children. He may not be thinking about it now, but what will he think in the future?"

Ron said, "It's better to guide than to block. I have an idea, what do you think?"

Old Hall nodded and took out his notebook.

"After becoming a knight's apprentice, you cannot obtain land for the time being. In addition to work points, you can also receive 50 catties of grain per year. Those with outstanding merits can increase by 10-40 catties according to their merits. After becoming a formal knight, the minimum standard for grain subsidy is 100 catties and the maximum standard is 300 catties. You can have a private plot of land, with a maximum limit of 10 mu. You need to cultivate it yourself, and you can pay taxes according to the standards for nobles. Earth knights receive 500 catties, with a maximum of 1000 catties, and a maximum of 50 mu of private plots."

Moriel nodded in agreement, then raised her doubts: "That's good, young master, but what about Sky Knights?" In the kingdom, Sky Knights are already eligible for the title of nobility and possess a knightly territory. The smallest knightly territory in the kingdom covers at least 600-700 acres; if placed in a vast, sparsely populated, barren place like the wasteland, it would need to be at least 1500 acres."

Ron rarely smiled: "Managing territory is difficult, but there's plenty of land in the wasteland. Just draw a piece of land and let him develop it himself. If he doesn't want to build a new territory himself, he can be granted a title by using the developed land in his territory. However, he can only have the right to the income from the land in his territory, not the right to operate and manage it."

Old Hall and Moriel's eyes lit up at the same time.

Given the state of the wasteland, it's unlikely any knight would be willing to develop it themselves. Just look at the kingdom; over a third of the nobles don't own land, yet we haven't seen them voluntarily apply to come to the wasteland to expand their territory.

It's too difficult and too risky; it's better to just use what's readily available.

Most importantly, by granting only the right to the land within the territory, it is guaranteed that the land belongs entirely to Lord Ron, and these knights cannot shake his rule.

Compared to the kingdom's system of governance, Ron never intended to emulate it from the beginning. He wanted centralized power, but he could not ignore the large knightly class.

Therefore, we had to change our approach and make use of the Japanese Hatamoto samurai system.

From the perspective of consolidating centralized power, the Japanese banner system was far superior to the European knightly feudal system.

The knighthood system naturally leads to the decentralization of power and feudal separatism, while the banner system is a sophisticated tool designed to strengthen central authority.

"Young Master, we can't restrict the fiefdom too much."

Ron was silent for a moment. "You mean, I should allow other lords to appear in my territory?"

"It's not that you're allowing it," Old Hall said, closing his notebook. "It's that you can't stop them. Rather than waiting for them to run off and claim territory on their own, you should draw a circle and let them run wild within it. Taxes will still be collected, soldiers will still be conscripted, and they will still be your vassals in name only."

Ron looked at him for a moment, then nodded: "Okay! But I'll draw the circle."

The nobility's fiefdoms shouldn't be restricted too much, otherwise it won't attract other ambitious people to come and join them.

The new knighthood system was gradually perfected during the three's conversation, but no one could have imagined the enormous impact their new system would have on the kingdom.