Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

Chapter 462: Chapter 186: Taking Stock of Losses and Spoils of War

Oliver’s description of the territory’s unrest is somewhat exaggerated. With his iron-fisted methods and cold heart, should anyone dare to stir unrest, he would dare to raise the butcher’s knife.

During the time Su Li was bedridden and recuperating, it was he who mobilized the dwarves and made the strategic decisions to suppress the mob and the rebels.

Under his orders, at least hundreds of rioters and rebels were executed and hanged.

Though he had only been in the territory for a short time, the atmosphere under his rule quickly became harsh and severe.

In his past life, Su Li had a social mentality akin to a baby, which, to put it nicely, could be called kindhearted but, to put it bluntly, was naïve and weak. So much so that at one time even slaves dared to face him defiantly and mock him for being hypocritical. Because since entering the territory, he rarely ordered killings personally.

But in just over a month, Oliver instilled his authority deep into everyone’s hearts. His willingness to kill was real; within a mere few dozen days, he earned titles like the ”Tiger of Hesse” and the ”Iron-blood Chancellor”.

Indeed, there was a lot of unease and clamor among the people in the territory, gathering daily in front of the Bauhinia Palace, inquiring about the distribution of the war spoils.

Many free people participated in the Free People’s Corps precisely for the post-war allocation of spoils.

They were different from those opportunistic looters, they genuinely rose up, fought to the last against the monsters, defended their homeland to the end, serving as the backbone of the territory.

They, of course, cannot be simply and brutally suppressed.

Thus, Su Li said to Oliver, ”Then let’s first talk about the spoils from our battle with the Green Dragon.”

Oliver was well-prepared and immediately began to detail like counting treasures, ”Although our battle with the Green Dragon was very arduous, we captured tens of thousands of apparatuses, armors, and items, piled up like mountains.”

”Among them, just the number of weapons exceeded 42,000 pieces. Many monsters each had two main and secondary weapons, some even had three weapons.”

Upon hearing this, Su Li’s eyes immediately lit up and he said, ”The Blood Mist Hills area is indeed rich in resources. Even in human armies, it’s rare to see soldiers carrying three weapons.”

A long lance, a shield, a sword, or a bow, if all these are equipped, then that counts as a fully armed attendant. Even in the provincial legion, they could become a qualified soldier.

Hilude, upon hearing this, took the initiative to speak, ”Lord, I need to introduce you and the other ministers to the resources around the Blood Mist Hills and Lake Essonide.”

”The richness of resources here is in no way inferior to the mining areas at the foot of the Gray Mountain Range, where we took over the mining area from the Forest Legion, including a gigantic iron mine, a Fire Spike Crystal mine, three crystal mines, and two mithril mines.”

The yield of the crystal and mithril mines is relatively low, slightly higher than Vibranium, but their value is incomparable to ordinary ores; they are necessary materials for making advanced rune equipment.

One could say that this mining area can almost fulfill all of the current mineral needs for equipment forging in the Hesse Territory.

As long as there are enough master dwarven forgers in the Hesse Territory, it would be easy to realize the vision of equipping the entire territory with fine-level equipment.

By that time, 2000 or even 3000 elite infantry and cavalry can be well-equipped, their armor shining like the sun, capable of easily defeating enemies two, three, or even five times their number, with negligible losses for themselves.

With this foundation, it is not equipment that the territory urgently needs, but rather the people’s morale is the utmost priority.

So, after pondering for a moment, Su Li said to Oliver, ”Being able to win this battle cannot disregard the Free People’s Corps fighting to the death and the unified effort of the territory. Therefore, I plan to take out thirty percent of the spoils as rewards to honor everyone.”

”Thirty percent?!” Oliver’s stern eyebrows raised as he said, ”Lord, your generosity is truly astonishing. If any free person does not praise your virtue, then they truly deserve to be hanged!”

Thirty percent of the spoils, just the weaponry alone, means the territory will hand out more than 13,000 items to the soldiers and the Free People’s Corps.

Bear in mind that at its peak the Free People’s Corps had only 2000 to 3000 people. The brutality of the war resulted in significant losses for the Free People’s Corps, with over 600 directly killed in battle.

There were even two to three times as many wounded, and almost no way for them to receive effective treatment, relying solely on prayers before Shalya’s religious holy image, with a very slim chance for a few to disperse the despair and pain afflicting them, obtaining limited healing.

Such is the world—hopeless and dark. Though the war is over, the anguish and despair induced by the wounds remain far from soothed, and the severe conditions of the war are projected to impact the evaluations for Pioneer Territory progress next year.

The significant population loss and the collapse of towns, villages, and fields will make it difficult for the territory to be directly evaluated as a Baron’s Territory, at best equivalent to the status of a Kingdom Knight.

Do not complain to the evaluating officials about the havoc caused by monsters, the war’s impact, and the brutal process. The fertile land of the Border Prince’s Territory is enough to sustain numerous Pioneer Territories while also naturally harboring countless monsters, bandits, and beastmen warbands.

Every Pioneer Lord of the Border Prince’s Territory faces these challenges, which is also the reason the Empire sends them here.

Otherwise, if just peaceful farming could confer the honor of an Empire noble, what family scions wouldn’t break their necks trying to get to the Border Prince’s Territory? Would there still be so many Pioneer Knights dying in exotic realms?