Heroes of Might and Magic: Knight Chapter 18: Territory issues

What Viscount Sauter is worried about is naturally the ownership of the territory. How to legally occupy the Will Territory and rule it for a long time is a difficult problem facing the Hunter family.

After all, the Will Territory and the Hunter Territory are not two countries at war, but nobles who are under the rule of the Golden Dragon Kingdom and are enfeoffed by the kingdom. Therefore, it does not mean that whoever you defeat can directly annex his land. Before The Weir family has never wanted to directly capture the Hunter Territory, they just want the Hunter family to become a vassal.

The Golden Dragon Kingdom has a vast territory. The northern border alone has nearly five million square kilometers of land and tens of millions of people. There are more than 100 families in it, large and small, among which the smallest one is The barony is only a dozen square kilometers in area and has only a few thousand residents.

The largest one is the Marquis Mansion in the North, with a territory of nearly one million square kilometers, more than two million people under its rule, and one hundred thousand armored men. It can be said to be the largest hegemon in the North.

The only territory directly under the Golden Dragon Kingdom is the central Great Plains. The marginal lands are ruled by great nobles such as the Marquis of the North. They only need to make timely contributions to the capital every year and respond to the king in time of war by leading troops to join the war.

As for the conflicts that broke out among small lords in such nooks and crannies as the Will Territory and the Hunter Territory, the Kingdom generally did not bother to pay attention to it. After all, there were too many small lords like the Kingdom, and several conflicts occurred almost every month, which the Kingdom could not manage. I don't want to care about it.

But the kingdom will grasp one thing. Even if you capture the opponent's territory and kill the opponent's lord, the title will be inherited by the knights among your relatives. If you do enough, kill all the possible enemies of the opponent. Knights with inheritance rights, that's fine, because the kingdom just can't find any land to grant to the newly rising military nobles.

In short, although the Hunter family has completely eliminated the Will family and occupied the Will territory, this land does not belong to the Hunter in terms of title.

But as long as any system exists, there will always be loopholes to be exploited. Many territories that have been operated for decades or hundreds of years will be completely lost without a knight-level strong man because of a certain generation's inactivity. This is difficult for most nobles to accept. of.

So they will look for a knight without a title or territory in advance, let a woman in the family marry him, and let him inherit the territory and title. In most cases, at least he will not be kicked out directly by the new lord and can continue to protect the family. The prosperity and wealth is equivalent to having a more powerful son-in-law.

……

"Good day, Lord Viscount"

"Sir, what are your orders?" Ron, who had no idea that Richard had been used as a tool, was led to the garden of Ironwood Castle.

Viscount Sauter had a complicated expression on his face, while Richard stared at Ron with a smile that made Ron feel a little scared.

"Ron, you have made great contributions to the Hunter family during this period. It can be said that the current situation of the Hunter family is due to you."

"Thank you, sir." Ron was a little confused. Just call me over and tell me this.

"My father and I have discussed that you will become a member of our Hunter family from now on."

"It is my mission to serve you."

"I mean, you have to add a last name, like, Ron Hunter."

"Thank you, sir, for the surname."

Ron has no objection to the surname Hunter. In fact, even in Erathia, it is an extremely honorable thing to be given a surname by a follower. In the past, this kind of thing did not happen to a mere Crusader. body.

"Haha, don't thank me, you have to thank father. You will still be my brother from now on."

"Dare not"

"Don't be afraid. From now on, you will be the illegitimate son of your father who was away from home in his early years. You grew up outside the castle and were quietly taught by your father."

Ron understood what he needed to do under Richard's explanation.

"You will not be disappointed."

"Although the illegitimate child is fake, he deserves to be called an elder brother to me."

Richard did not let go of any opportunity to win over people's hearts. Even Richard, a crusader produced by the system, habitually showed his leadership.

Although Ron was busy saying that he didn't dare, he was still called brother at Richard's insistence, and changed his name to Viscount Sauter's father.

"Yes." Although Viscount Sauter understood Richard's arrangement, he was still a little embarrassed and just nodded in agreement.

Ron was fine. In fact, Viscount Sauter's attitude was not important to him.

"Brother, while serving in my Hunter family, have you ever considered personal matters?"

At this point, Richard's fox tail was finally exposed.

Ron was getting more and more confused by Richard.

"Can you please clarify this please?"

"That's right, um, do you want a wife or not?"

Ron "..."

……

In the end, Ron agreed to marry an unpopular little girl from a branch of the Will family. The girl was petite, with fairly regular facial features. There was always a sense of sadness between her brows, which was endearing and easy to arouse. Arouse men's desire for protection.

Ron declined a few words and then agreed. In fact, there is not so much free love in this era. Parents' orders are the mainstream of this era, and the effectiveness of the marriage granted by the master's family is equivalent to the parents' orders, and Ron does not resist.

As for the little girl of the Will family, there is no room for refusal.

……

Things were done in a hurry, and the wedding was held for Ron in Ironwood Castle the next day.

The wedding was not large, with only a dozen members of the Hunter family attending. However, Viscount Sauter caused a commotion when he announced Ron's identity at the wedding.

Everyone had doubts in their hearts, but since not even the Viscountess said anything, no one was stupid enough to stand up and question it. Instead, they were surprised. After the commotion, there was even more surprise. After Richard, another knight appeared in the family. The family's power is growing day by day, which has real benefits for everyone here.

Some people guessed that there was something wrong with Ron's origins, but Richard's second and third uncles were definitely in the same vein as Viscount Sauter. They even began to recall which maid was close to Viscount Sauter when they were young. This Ron was the son of Viscount Sauter. There was no doubt at all.

Richard's third uncle even walked up to Ron with a wine glass in hand and gave Ron a toast with a deep expression on his face.

"Child, you have suffered in the past, and your uncle failed to fulfill his responsibilities. This glass of wine will make amends for you."

Ron:......

Richard:......

Viscount Sauter:......

The wedding banquet was held until late at night before slowly dispersing.

Ron carried the bride back to the room arranged for him by Viscount Sauter in Ironwood Castle.

Richard also left with everyone after the banquet. He was not in the habit of listening to others.

Richard, who was a little tipsy, was about to fall asleep when he suddenly showed a strange expression.

"The satisfaction value of the special Crusader Ron reaches the critical point, and the hero template is opened."

"That's okay," Richard said to himself

"Sure enough, everyone likes it as a gift to my wife."