"It's over thirty degrees below zero... Just kidding. We captured some prisoners while suppressing bandits and sent them to the mining area for them to undergo labor reform. They came to see you on their way."
As Dick spoke, he took out two large barrels of wine from his space bracelet and placed them on the ground. These were all spoils from the Saxon family's manor. Dick picked out a dozen barrels of the best vintages from the hundreds of barrels in the wine cellar and stuffed some of them into his space ring, keeping them for emergency use.
For example, at a time like now, when Dick generously took out two large barrels of the famous premium Ice Spring wine, the dwarf engineers who originally had some reservations about Dick because of his elf ancestry, all smiled happily as if they had seen their real father.
"How embarrassing is this?"
"It's just a little something. You're welcome. But please don't drink while you're at work."
"Haha, don't worry. Dwarves never drink alcohol when they are working."
Because of the two barrels of wine, the dwarves' enthusiasm towards Dick increased by more than one level, and they invited him to look at the mining area transformation map that was being improved.
"Governor, I have to say that the engineer who built the mine before was an absolute liar. Except for the earliest mines No. 1, 2 and 3, which were relatively reasonable, the other five were dug randomly. Mine No. 5 was seriously deviated from the ore vein, and Mine No. 7 even dug through the underground river, and caused Mine No. 8, which was connected to Mine No. 7, to be partially flooded. Damn it, it was just a mess!"
"What about your renovation plan?"
"Hole No. 7 and No. 8 will be backfilled and discarded. Holes No. 4 and No. 6 will be retained. Hole No. 5 will be backfilled by two-thirds and a branch mine will be opened from a remote location to start digging again. Don't worry, the output will definitely not be affected."
"I trust professionals when it comes to professional matters. I don't understand mining, so I won't interfere."
"I really want people like you. I wish all the human nobles in the empire could have your awareness."
As if they recalled the horror of being dominated by amateurs, the dwarf engineers now liked Dick more and more, and they patted their chests and promised that they would never betray this trust. In addition, during the exploration, they discovered some associated minerals of cold iron, which were all valuable for mining.
After leaving the dwarves' workshop, Dick received a lot of praise wherever he went in the mining area.
Not only did the miners praise him, but even the lowest-level slave laborers were grateful to him.
And what Dick gave them was just the treatment they deserved.
Wages that are not deducted and meals suitable for heavy physical labor, that's all!
In a country where everyone is vying to show off their lower standards, the working people will worship you like a saint just for being a human being.
At night, Dick stayed overnight in the mining area, and the person in charge voluntarily gave up his residence.
Dick wanted to decline at first, but when he saw where the guy lived, he suddenly realized that the other party's courtesy was actually an attempt to demonstrate his integrity.
The room was not big, and the decoration was simple but warm. Except for the new mattress and matching bedding on the big bed in the bedroom, other items did not look like they had been moved.
The former head of the mining area also lived in this house, but there were many expensive luxury goods placed in the room. There was a wooden box full of gold coins under the bed, and there were even two half-naked male children tied to the head of the bed with chains like pet dogs.
Dick had Rita cut the offal in half with a sickle right there and then... vertically!
After the previous person in charge was executed, the current person in charge moved into this room but handed over all his belongings to the Governor's Office, leaving only one thing hanging on the wall.
That is the whip that the former person in charge broke into two pieces, using this moment to remind himself to perform his duties conscientiously.
Dick was quite satisfied with this guy. He was not the kind of subordinate who simply wanted to do his job well, but an ambitious striver who was ready to climb up.
In a way, he is very similar to Dick!
"not bad."
"Yeah, this mattress is really good."
Dick, lying in bed, saw Rita looking at him with a smile, and she reached out and gently flicked the tip of Dick's ear with a finger. The tingling feeling made Dick's ears tremble like cat ears.
Seeing Rita getting more and more addicted to the game, Dick said speechlessly.
"Is it fun?"
"I could have fun all day."
Grabbing Rita's hand, Dick pouncing on her, turned over and pinned the maid down. The maid also cooperated and played the weak role. Rita, who had good physical fitness even without the Valkyrie armor, pretended to struggle but couldn't break free, and finally had to accept her fate.
The acting is undoubtedly superb, and you can't really tell whether it was used in the wrong place.
Although Rita was the third batch of maid members summoned by Dick, it was Rita who first attacked Dick and took his virginity with her first blood.
Belfa was "plotted" by Rita, and in order to prevent her from interfering with him, he deliberately played a trick to get rid of her. When Belfa found something wrong and hurried back, everything was already a foregone conclusion. So he had no time to grieve for the loss of his master's virginity, and joined the battle in anger.
However, Dick could also see that Rita's active dedication to him was not a simple love relationship between a man and a woman. She was different from Belfa, who was the perfect maid who devoted everything to her master, while Rita was more or less a bit of a bitch in her original world.
Therefore, her dedication is not only an expression of recognition of Dick as the summoner, but also a bit of fun factor in it. It is not even ruled out that she did this to stimulate Belfa.
However, as time went by and they fell in love, their compatibility both mentally and physically became increasingly stronger.
Compared to Belfa's service, Rita seemed more like she was just playing.
On the warm bed, a hot kiss is the signal that a night of passion has been ignited, and Dick is the arsonist who pours gasoline all over Rita's body, from her tempting red lips all the way over mountains and ridges to the valley. The soft elf ears now become a tickler to add interest, rubbing back and forth on Rita's sensitive and delicate thighs.
In terms of breast size, although Rita's breasts are also huge, they are slightly inferior to Belfa's, but her legs are the best of the best! Therefore, after the two of them established that kind of relationship, they were often taken advantage of, and every night of passion with Rita inevitably became a burden that Dick was happy to bear.
After a round of exciting hand-to-hand combat, the two snuggled together during the "half-time break", and Dick used a "moisture absorption" magic to clean up the battlefield.
Rita's face was rosy, her beautiful lips were slightly opening and closing because of her uninterrupted breathing, and her watery eyes were filled with tenderness and tenderness that was rarely seen in this "bad woman".
Dick met those eyes, suddenly hugged Rita and whispered.
"Rita, I love you."
"Master, how can you confess at a time like this?"
"And I have to say sorry for being such a playboy."
"Pfft! How can there be a playboy like you who would passively let others eat you?"
"Hey, hey, that's really hurtful!"
Dick, who was teased by Rita, thought about it carefully. Although he had his strong moments, he was indeed pushed back more often in terms of relationships between men and women.
Each of these big sisters has a rebellious heart and always wants to ride on him!
Moreover, this trend is currently intensifying. Apart from the few people who have already established relationships, the rest of the people have more or less shown signs of wanting to make some moves.
One day, someone might not be able to resist the evil impulse in their heart, suddenly beat him to his knees, and then drag him back to the room to be a star...
Thinking of this situation, Dick couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
To forge iron, one must be strong himself. To expand power, one does need to summon more talents, but one cannot neglect one's own magical practice, otherwise one will be sorry for the blessing given by the God of Winter.
Moreover, after breaking through the Saint level, whether it is a warrior or a magician, there is one benefit, that is, one's own racial bloodline will be significantly strengthened.
In this regard, each advanced intelligent race has its own characteristics.
The human race's bloodline enhancement is the least distinctive, but also the most stable, that is, comprehensive enhancement, which belongs to the category of training a bucket number. It has no outstanding strengths and no obvious shortcomings, highlighting a balance.
The elves have gained the "fairy transformation" which allows them to transform into incorporeal elemental fairies, which are completely immune to physical damage. However, when they transform into elemental fairies, they can only transform into a single element. While strengthening this element, they are actually magnifying the corresponding weakness.
As for the third bloodline in Dick's body, the succubus bloodline, since this race has not yet produced a strong person above the Saint level, no one knows what kind of bloodline enhancement they will get.
As a hybrid of three bloodlines, they were despised by those who believed in bloodline theory as "bastards". However, some of their kind had become famous saints and even sub-gods.
Some people only received the corresponding enhancement of the race with the strongest blood concentration, while others received enhancements of multiple or even all bloodlines, but they were all weakened versions. Some were neither high nor low, and were not even as balanced as humans.
He felt speechless when he thought about how he had to rely on luck to strengthen his bloodline like playing a card drawing game.
At this time, Rita had turned over and became the master. The quilt had slipped off, exposing her fair skin completely. Under the light of the fireplace, it was coated with a layer of golden light.
Dick admired the "beautiful scenery" in front of him. Under Rita's guidance, he climbed up along the waist that was so slender that it seemed to be able to be held in one hand, and climbed up to the two soft and glutinous fruits hanging high on the branch.
Deeply feeling Rita's inner passion, Dick suddenly had an idea. He couldn't just become stronger himself, he also had to find a way to help the girls under him improve their strength.
034. Dick's Ambitions
After returning to the castle from the mining area, Dick immediately convened a military meeting and called all officers above the rank of centurion to the meeting to summarize the combat experience of eliminating the Vulture Gang.
Most of the middle and lower-level officers have always believed that poison gas is really useful! They thought it would be a tough battle, but it turned out to be so easy, with an amazing record of no casualties and no deaths.
The only injured person was the one who stepped on ice under the snow and hit his head while climbing the mountain.
Seeing his officers so excited, Dick thought that it was just as expected. The use of poison gas this time made many people a little arrogant, thinking that they could have a single trick to conquer the world in the future. That was why Dick called a military meeting so quickly, just to suppress this idea.
You must know that poison gas is a double-edged sword, and the choice of usage scenarios will also be subject to certain restrictions.
The reason why poison gas was used to attack the Vulture Gang this time is that their lair is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the closed cave environment can maximize the effectiveness of the poison gas. If it were in a plain area, it might not be effective.
Lily does have the ability to produce more lethal poison gas, such as mustard gas, which was so terrifying that soldiers from both camps were terrified during World War I. But Dick did not intend to let his army rely too much on chemical weapons, and he still had to work harder to improve his own strength.
So seeing that everyone was so enthusiastic about the poison gas, Dick stepped out at the right time to pour cold water on it and explained the limitations and disadvantages of this thing.
The simplest question is that poison gas is blown by the wind. What if you are in the downwind of a battle between two armies? If there are enough magicians on the other side, they can use wind magic to blow all the poison gas back to you. How should you deal with it?
"So the purpose of holding this meeting today is to tell everyone that poison gas must be used with caution. Strengthening the military training of soldiers and improving our armament level is the right way. I can now tell you a good news. The application I submitted to the Duke has been approved."
"What application?"
"Hantie, I applied for a hundred kilograms."
Everyone was a little surprised to hear that the Governor had applied for a batch of cold iron.
Cold iron is one of the most superior natural magic metals in the world. It is light but very tough, and has super strong magic resistance, which can offset more than 70% of the power of ordinary magic.
Laguge is the main production area of cold iron, but this magical metal, which can be called the vibranium in the magic world, is a type of military strategic material controlled by the empire. Civilians who privately possess more than ten grams are guilty of a capital crime. Although the mining area is on the fiefdom of the Best family, only the imperial family has the exclusive right to purchase the cold iron produced.
The reason for the prosperity and wealth of the Best family is not only because their ancestor was a founding hero who accompanied the founding emperor to conquer the world, but also because they presented the cold iron to the imperial royal family.
Of course! While the royal family gave the Best family wealth and splendor, they also did not forget to exercise restraint.
The Best family has been an imperial aristocracy since the founding of the country. Although the family has many fiefs, they are scattered all over the empire and have to appoint governors to manage them. Direct family members must stay in the imperial capital. The old duke only has the title of war commander and serves as a military minister similar to the "Minister of Defense", but he has never left the imperial capital since he succeeded to the throne, and most of his sons have joined the Royal Guards.
On the contrary, Dick, the youngest son, was freer because he was a bastard and could leave the imperial capital to serve as governor of Laguge.
On the surface, it seems that he was exiled because he took the blame for his elder brother, but isn't this a kind of freedom!
Back to the good stuff like cold iron, according to the empire's military supplies control decree, all the cold iron produced in Laguge must be purchased by the imperial royal family. The mining area has a rated production target every year. If the target is not met, everyone from the miners to the governor will be punished.
But the royal family also knew that they could not eat alone, so every year they would take out the excess beyond the quota as a reward, and give a little to the meritorious nobles. The Best family would get 300 kilograms every year, the most after the royal family.
It is not difficult to see from this that David was really blinded by greed and was willing to commit suicide!
In fact, all the previous governors were corrupt, but as long as the targets were met and the amount you stole was not large, the higher-ups would turn a blind eye and tacitly regard it as the governor's dividends.
But David is different. He is the kind of guy who takes advantage of others to get the upper hand. During his three years in office, the number of workers in the mine has increased, but the amount of cold iron handed in every year is just enough to meet the standard.
The old duke was no fool. Just by looking at the problematic production, he knew that this guy was already madly testing the brink of death, so he replaced his illegitimate son with the governor of Laguge.
What the old duke wanted was to give some face to his second wife's family and to keep some dignity for his nephew. He asked him to step down honestly and the dirty deeds of the past three years could be treated as if they had never happened and bygones be bygones.
As a result, David himself did not want to be decent, but the youngest son, whom the old duke did not take seriously on weekdays, came to the fore after arriving in Laguge and showed his decisive and ruthless side.
David was gone, and all parties tacitly regarded his death as an ordinary bandit killing, and hastily concluded it. Dick wrote a detailed report, and put the thousands of tons of ore he had seized directly into a storage ring and sent it to the Duke's Mansion by someone.
This incident made the old Duke start to re-examine his youngest son, and he immediately realized that this kid had been enduring in the previous 18 years in the Duke's Mansion. His disguised nerdy personality deceived everyone, even the old Duke himself.
But the Duke was not angry. Instead, he began to admire his unfavored youngest son.
This was also the "truth" that Dick deliberately exposed to the old duke after fully analyzing the old duke's character from a psychological perspective. It would help him gain the duke's appreciation and make his position as governor more secure.
So Dick tried to apply for some cold iron, mainly to do a test to see how the old duke felt about him. As a result, his application was approved, and he was directly given 100 kilograms, which was enough for him to make at least ten sets of heavy plate armor!
In this world, because the average physique is stronger and there are warriors who practice martial arts, they can wear very heavy armor. The armor of regular heavy infantry is over 40 kilograms, and heavy cavalry is lighter than that, but still over 30 kilograms, not counting the armor on the horse.
In ancient times on Earth, this soldier had absolutely top-notch load-bearing capabilities.
The so-called "cold iron armor" is generally a composite armor plate, with cold iron only used on the outermost layer. Therefore, to make a set, the amount of cold iron used is about 8 to 10 kilograms.
The armor made entirely of cold iron is an heirloom of the royal family and the grand duke's family, because the material used is so luxurious!
However, of the 100 kilograms of cold iron approved by the higher-ups, Dick only planned to use half to make six sets of armor to reward the most outstanding heroes in future bandit suppression operations. He planned to use the rest for other purposes.
At the end of the meeting, Dick decided to make some adjustments in response to the attack on the liaison officer.
In the past, in order to speed up the process, there were usually two liaison officers corresponding to one "Green Village", and the two took turns to perform liaison tasks, and they always acted alone.
Now he decided to gather the existing liaisons and divide them into three teams, connecting all the green villages (safe villages) and yellow villages (targets) on the map into a line, and let the three teams march along this line. The line formed a cycle mode in which one team just set out, one team was halfway, and one team rested in the castle.
In addition, green villages that are completely under the management of the Governor's Office, have a population of more than 300 people, and happen to be located at important Vatican nodes are required to build their own security forces. All yellow and green villages must set up beacon towers and build a simple early warning system first. We don't need to make it perfect now, as long as it can be used for the time being.
Dick knew that the temperature would continue to drop. Those bandits were also human beings and needed food and firewood to survive the winter. But when they were short of food, they would not spend money to buy them. The heavy snow on the mountain could not stop the hungry wolves.
Some bandit villages marked in red on the map will also choose times like this to temporarily change their identities and attack the weaker villages around them. The evil deeds they do are no less evil than those of professional bandits.
The previous governor was just a figurehead and never paid any attention to this.
