Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

Chapter 960: Chapter 129: The Fantastic Geography and Numerous Divisions of the Black Pine Forest (Part 3)

Don’t underestimate Su Li just because he’s a small border development lord; thinking that his expeditionary army is the smallest in the Human Empire. In fact, the scale of his expeditionary army surpasses countless Kingdom Knights, Barons, and even Counts.

Even among the troops of Counts, the size of his army ranks among the top.

He was able to gather such a large force due to a combination of timing, geographical advantage, and human resources. Just as his territory was hosting a grand festival, he used his unparalleled charisma to rally over twenty thousand Ranger Knights and Adventurers from outside his territory.

It can be said that he raised this army almost in the name of the Divine Chosen of the Sun Goddess, so its momentum is grand.

To supply this army, there are over 2,000 military wagons alone, and the Brionne River has 20 large merchant ships transporting food, weapons, and supplies.

However, that’s just the army’s own supplies and provisions. Behind them are nearly 3,000 merchant caravan vehicles. About half of these will follow them as accompanying merchants, providing fresh vegetables and supplies, and purchasing their spoils of war and materials. They also offer services such as prostitution, gambling, and loans.

The other half are caravans from various trading houses heading to Marle Castle, as there’s no better business opportunity. They can sell a massive amount of goods to these knights, soldiers, and mercenaries along the way. More importantly, their destination is the same.

The expeditionary army is heading to Marle Castle, and so are the caravans. As long as they follow the expeditionary army, their safety is greatly ensured.

On the road, they no longer have to worry about being robbed by monsters or harassed by bandits. Even passing through the Red Dragon’s territory, the Red Dragon would not dare to appear and block such a large army.

The Expeditionary Army and the knights are only seeking glory, and they don’t care where they find it. If a Red Dragon does appear, they wouldn’t mind raiding the Dragon’s Nest and continuing to Marle Castle.

Although the Red Dragon is powerful, it would find it hard to gain an advantage against nearly 1,000 Elite Knights and more than 4,000 Armed Attendants and mercenaries. If it were to exhaust its strength, these thousands of expedition members could strip it of its skin and flesh.

Typically, not even the most foolish Red Dragon would harass the Expeditionary Army. Even if it won, other expeditionary armies would get excited and come to attack wave after wave, endlessly.

Departing with the Expeditionary Army are Roger, President of the Gray Market Trading Company, and the Ramsey family members. As merchants, they naturally hope to hitch a ride, minimizing travel losses and expenses.

They have gained much during their time in the territory, achieving all their initial goals. President Roger might have gained slightly less, but he is very satisfied, taking away 600 sets of [Star Iron Armor] when he left.

Although selling to him was the most profitable, the Hesse Territory did not choose such a shortsighted move by handing over all their armor to him. Instead, they seized this opportunity to greatly promote their territory’s reputation.

During the Radiant Festival, the territory’s Divine Chosen level armor was introduced, and during the preparation for the expedition, the Hesse Territory crafted as much armor as possible, selling it to knights from all corners.

This is a great opportunity to build a reputation! Countless knights who purchased weapons and equipment from the Hesse Territory helped promote Su Li.

To meet this massive demand, Su Li even put up his strategic reserves and part of the current equipment from his Armed Attendants for sale during this grand expedition.

Once these knights leave, the Hesse Territory just needs to stabilize and develop for a month or two to replenish their armor and other supplies.

This earned Su Li a substantial fortune. Just from what Gilles took, there were up to 120,000 Gold Coins. Su Li will hand this wealth over to the expeditionary army’s Commander-in-Chief, who will then send it back to Grand Prince Philis.

To be honest, such a large sum, 120,000 Golden Crowns, is enough for Philis to use for a long time.

Especially since her troops are largely integrated into the expeditionary army, reducing her maintenance costs significantly for at least one or two years.

She has already been recognized by the Imperial Elector Council as the Grand Prince of the Sulande Province. Even if her direct troops are slightly weaker, the other nobles in the Sulande Province wouldn’t dare to rebel, let alone assassinate her.

Su Li can finally breathe a sigh of relief, estimating that Philis’s financial situation will improve a lot within this year.

Especially as it’s now the summer planting season, the turmoil in her territory has subsided. Once the people start producing again, the financial situation will steadily improve.

Her current actions are wise and reasonable, focusing on reducing military expenses, rebuilding territorial production, and prioritizing post-disaster recovery and development, gradually reducing the fiscal deficit.

With the deficit level reduced and Su Li’s aid of over ten thousand gold coins, even if her methods aren’t highly advanced, she can easily get through the year.

And by next year, things will be even better. Not only will her territory’s tax revenue increase, but Su Li’s aid will also be greater.

After managing the relations on this side, Su Li’s other old friend also came to bid him farewell.

The Dwarf Kingdom’s diplomat, Bierga Iron Oath, completed his mission and officially withdrew all the troops from the territory. He had previously gone to the Redbeard Clan and Gray Rock Clan to assemble the Alliance Army and clear the way to the Dwarf Kingdom through Lady Grey Pass.