"Just listen to the Lord! There’s pay and a future for us." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"The Lord is doing this for our own good, don’t you think?"

Jonah began shouting to the soldiers again.

Fang Zhen couldn’t help but glance at this Jonah.

’This Jonah guy,’ he thought, ’is a real eager beaver.’

’Back when I was a student or just one of the crowd, I sometimes found these eager beavers annoying. But now I’m the one in charge. From this perspective, I see they’re quite useful. At the very least, they can serve as an example and a mouthpiece in critical moments.’

Regardless of his reasons, Jonah’s performance was decent.

’This kid’s on the right path.’

Besides, what he said was true.

In this day and age, you became a soldier for one of two reasons: either to earn a living with military pay, or because you had ambitions to raise your status.

Fang Zhen was a descendant of the Augustus Family. He had the lineage, and few in the Kingdom outranked him. On top of that, he had strength and, apparently, wealth.

His military discipline might be a little strict, but it was reasonable—demanding, not draconian.

Following Fang Zhen meant prestige, a future, and money. He satisfied their emotional, idealistic, and practical needs. He was, without a doubt, the perfect lord.

None of the soldiers were fools. Now that things had come to this, a single call was met with a hundred responses.

At some point, someone among the soldiers started shouting "Augustus!" Before long, the shouts merged into a unified roar. The morale of the several hundred men surged as they repeatedly chanted the name "Augustus."

The four directly subordinate Knights looked at each other, all of them understanding the situation.

No matter how they looked at it, their only choice today was to submit.

One by one, the four Knights performed the kneeling salute reserved for a Lord.

Fang Zhen watched them and listened to the fervent shouts, smiling to himself.

’These men,’ he thought, ’have been well and truly subdued.’

...

Fang Zhen took half a day to swiftly resolve the issues with the army.

Dalia had accumulated a considerable fortune from selling luxury goods for him last time. A tenth of it was more than enough to cover the pay for Henry’s Army.

Of course, this was no longer Henry’s Army; it was now an army under Fang Zhen’s direct command.

The slain Bawei was made an example of. His body was sent out to the commoners of Ashton to vent their anger, and the stolen wealth and women were returned.

The residents of Ashton hated those thuggish soldiers, and Bawei’s corpse was gnawed on by dogs. With their property and people returned, a great deal of the public’s resentment was dispelled.

After doing all this, Fang Zhen also obtained the heirlooms left behind by Henry.

These included a suit of high-quality plate armor, an exceptionally sharp greatsword, and three Extraordinary Items.

The plate armor was a bit small, so Fang Zhen couldn’t wear it. However, it looked like a good fit for his previously hired combat partner, Jilenna. Fang Zhen kept it, thinking he could give it to Jilenna in the future in exchange for some of the extraordinary products from her region.

After reorganizing the army, Fang Zhen immediately led them out of the Ashton Territory.

He intended to occupy Count Henry’s territory in the shortest time possible.

...

「Two days later.」

In those two days, Fang Zhen’s trek took him through five of Count Henry’s garrison posts and two towns.

He used the same methods that had subdued Count Henry’s soldiers the first time, repeating the process several more times.

With the Count’s former personal Knights and soldiers setting an example, he met little resistance. Fang Zhen easily won over the soldiers at these garrisons and brought the two towns under his control.

And so, the force Fang Zhen led quickly snowballed from five hundred men to twelve hundred.

His next destination was the core city of Count Henry’s territory: Nottingham City.

However, at this moment, Fang Zhen received some unexpected news.

Duke Tarrenno had just concluded a border war for the Duchy. Leading his army, he was passing by Nottingham City and was about to run into Fang Zhen’s forces.