Above The Sky
Chapter 793 - 793 33 Nobles' Enfeoffment

793: Chapter 33 Nobles’ Enfeoffment 793: Chapter 33 Nobles’ Enfeoffment The old tax official was making sense with every word he spoke.

It was no wonder he had managed to stay a tax official from the time of Old Baron Leyan until today; he had truly seen through Ian’s intentions.

But the fact that a wise person speaks reasonably doesn’t mean that others love to listen.

Most people in this world are not inclined to listen to what’s right.

——”Old Farl, you’ve made enough money that you couldn’t care less, but we haven’t made our fortune yet!”

“Maybe he’s just planning to give us a warning?”

A female tax officer commented, the eldest daughter of the Dole family: “The other party is an Alchemist Lord, and that’s quite expensive.

Maybe it’s just a warning to stop us from being greedy, or to cough up a part of the money we’ve taken in the past…

This is not difficult, paying some money will make us feel more at ease.”

“That’s right,” echoed the other tax officials: “Which of these noble lords actually manages their affairs?

Especially the alchemists, who are probably just reorganizing their finances to make sure they have money for experiments…

once this fuss blows over, if we send a big batch of Talle, things might just go back to how they were before, right?”

This remark elicited a round of laughter; obviously, such situations had occurred many times in Terra and didn’t surprise these people.

“But it’s still uncomfortable in my heart.”

A middle-aged tax official exhaled with regret: “We have dedicated ourselves diligently to the Leyan Domain for so long, and to be dismissed so suddenly—this new lord really doesn’t treat us as humans, just erasing our lifelong hard work just like that!”

At these words, everyone’s expression changed dramatically—speak for yourself, not for us!

We’re just unemployed and have gathered to drink some flavored water; we have no intention of recklessly discussing the decisions of the Lord’s Mansion!

This lord can look at you during a conversation, dislike you, and just burn your head off with a blast…

Even if he looks young and handsome, that’s a thorny poisonous flower.

Don’t let the blood splash on me!

Because of the reckless words of one with no emotional intelligence, the gathering of the unemployed tax officials ended unhappily.

The old tax official shook his head, puffing on his pipe, and left first, while the last to leave was the Ross family tax official who had started the complaints.

After leaving the tavern, the former headed straight to the municipal hall—the registration for the first batch of new tax official exams was today.

He had originally planned to give a leg up to these young people he had worked with, only to find none of them useful.

So he might as well register and then go home to prepare the exam materials.

As for the latter, he planned to go to another covert tavern with privately sold alcohol to numb the frustration in his heart with some drink.

But on the way, this Ross family tax official suddenly encountered a tanner that seemed unremarkable at first glance.

He recognized this tanner, who seemed to be an honest person who had moved here in recent years, diligently working, marrying a local wife, with a two-year-old child, and possessing fairly good skills, having made him a bear fur coat once.

“Nick, what’s up?” He said, “Are you also looking to have a drink?”

“Yeah, feeling pretty down,” replied Nick, the tanner, chuckling.

He followed up, “Mr.

Lauren, what’s wrong?

You seem to be in a bad mood?”

“Let’s not talk about it.

Isn’t it all due to the instructions of our new lord?” Lauren said, filled with gloom, shaking his head as he walked with the other to a dark tavern in the depths of an alley: “To be honest with you, I’m not a tax officer anymore…”

The two went underground in the alley and poured themselves two bottles of watered-down barley wine, and soon the atmosphere warmed up as Lauren began to vent his frustrations.

He didn’t dare to complain about Ian but failed to notice that the seemingly honest ‘tanner’ gleamed in his eyes, incessantly asking for details and about the process of the tax officers’ gathering.

After learning the tax officials’ and their families’ views on Ian, he excused himself for lack of money and left the place.

The spy from Fiery Flame Land returned to his own house and released an inconspicuous grey pigeon.

It flapped its wings a few times, slipped out of the city along the streets, and darted into the woods, flying low towards the distance.

And on a roof of a distant building, three soldiers of the White Folks watched the scene through binoculars.

“Do we capture now?”

One of the soldiers asked, while the captain shook his head, “The Junior Elder (Ian) said, let the information leakage from Leyan City be.

It can still transmit false information at critical moments, and if it turns out to be useless, we can take it out when necessary.”

“There’s no need for action now, just put him under surveillance on a list.”

“Sure,” the young soldier nodded, feeling somewhat impressed, “How exactly did the Junior Elder know that he’s a spy?

If we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, I would never believe that the seemingly honest tanner is actually a spy from Fiery Flame Land!”

“Ever heard of the ‘Prophet of the Descending Thunder’?” The captain boasted, having piloted a Magnetic Storm Armor alongside Ian in a raid against the Mountain People, and now seizing an opportunity to brag, “Our Junior Elder has many tricks up his sleeve, who knows if his Spirit Energy can see through the fluctuations of the human heart?

It’s just like a real Prophet!”

“Anyway, just do as told, he will definitely have a way!”

The name of the Prophet of the Descending Thunder was already beginning to spread beyond the mouths of the Mountain People and the residents of the Leyan Domain.

Some had even started to refer to Ian as ‘our Prophet Lord’.

This was also one of Ian’s strategies, as he was well aware that one day he would have to reveal the truth about his Spirit Energy…

although this title was fake, language is such a wondrous thing.

Nicknames and appellations, as well as actual facts, can indeed gradually become blurred, making it difficult for people to remember the differences.

By then, they will take it for granted.

As for the dissatisfaction of the tax officers and the families behind them, Ian could fully anticipate it.

But he didn’t mind that.

Because, as the old tax officer said, Ian hadn’t stopped these seasoned old hands from taking the exam—provided they could pass the written test and interview, as well as the ‘background check,’ he of course wouldn’t mind re-employing these experienced individuals.

If they were willing to act as ‘teachers’ and share their experience as tax officers, Ian would welcome them even more.

There may be no lack of other things in the territory, but ‘teachers’ were indeed as many as needed.

While the tax officers were complaining, the construction in Leyan Territory was booming.

One week after the war, Leyan City, once dilapidated, was almost completely revitalized.

Even the Northwest City District, which had its fair share of defensive fortifications and Magnetic Storm Coils and was nearly turned into ruins by the Mountain People’s bombardment, was now left with only the towers of the Magnetic Storm Coils.

According to Ian’s original plan, these towers were to be demolished, but the local residents said the coils provided them with an immense sense of security, so in the end, they weren’t torn down.

Instead, Ian simply built a ‘Thunder Plaza’ centered around the Magnetic Storm Coils on the site of the ruins as a memorial to the victory of the counterattack, which also became a great spot for local residents to stroll and relax.

In addition, Ian invited a group of craftsmen from Nauman City to renovate Baron Leyan’s ancient castle, fixing up the damaged interior and exterior.

In general, it was about completely removing Baron Leyan’s shadow from the castle, turning it into a structure that Ian himself was comfortable with.

Although the craftsmen often accidentally discovered bones and strange limbs, likely remnants of the Baron’s experiments with the Spirit Energy children, they weren’t too frightened, as Ian gave them confidence.

The all-new Lord’s Mansion was under construction, and recently, Ian had been living in the city hall, dealing with administration.

And his busy work was straightforward—buying food.

All sorts of food purchases.

The food scarcity in South Ridge would last until the harvest next fall.

Without food, the Domain Residents couldn’t work assuredly.

Even though Ian had previously brought a whole convoy of food, it had only satisfied the needs of Leyan City.

Apart from Leyan City, there were twelve towns and numerous villages throughout the territory that couldn’t be neglected.

Therefore, Ian, making use of the Boleyn Workshop’s channels, placed a large order to purchase low-priced grain from the Quinor Plains—this time, he intended to buy around one thousand tons of various grains, about half of which would be staple food with the other half being soybeans, potatoes, and various tubers, as well as a significant amount of animal fats and oils.

Altogether, these grains were worth approximately two thousand five hundred thalers.

It sounded like a lot and accounted for one-fifth of Ian’s remaining savings, but in reality, the discount wasn’t small.

You see, even without a grain disaster, the cost of these grains in South Ridge would be close to three thousand thalers.

Of course, one thousand tons wasn’t much, but this was just the first batch of orders.

Before implementing the new agricultural reform, Ian needed to accumulate enough reserves to deal with possible failures.

Besides, he made the orders from the city hall public, even having staff go out and post notices—Ian wanted everyone to know that the territory had food, had money, and as long as one was willing to work, one wouldn’t lack a meal.

Since Ian indeed brought back an entire convoy of food, no one doubted the authenticity of the orders—this relieved everyone.

In addition, Ian also contacted the Silver Bazaar Company and purchased a large amount of building materials from the old acquaintance, Mr.

Silver Workshop.

“Ian, what are you planning to do?”

Mr.

Silver Workshop felt a tinge of excitement when he heard the young man had reserved enough high-quality building materials from him to reconstruct an entire block, with raw materials alone exceeding two thousand thalers—a large order like this was not common.

However, to prevent the young man from just acting on impulse, he still had to persuade, “If you plan to renovate the Lord’s Mansion, I don’t think you need to spend so much money, and there’s no rush for the Alchemy Laboratory…”

“Not at all.”

Ian didn’t explain much, “Mr.

Silver Workshop, I hope you can help me find a group of reliable and skilled craftsmen who can build some unconventional constructions and tools, and are willing to sign a confidentiality agreement.”

“Is that so?” Mr.

Silver Workshop narrowed his eyes.

Ian’s proposal was quite excessive, but he believed the young man definitely wouldn’t offer such conditions without reason.

He must have some brand-new invention or plan.

“Alright then,” the elderly man said.

“By the way, congratulations, ‘Emissary of the Dragon God’.”

“Congratulations for what?” Ian couldn’t help but smile at Mr.

Silver Workshop’s slightly humorous congratulations—he was also a member of the Dragon Worship Cult and, of course, knew of the sequence of titles Ian and Elder Mantle had discussed.

“Of course, it’s for your official noble title.” As one of the liaisons between the Dragon Worship Cult and the Lord’s Mansion of Nauman City, Mr.

Silver Workshop was indeed well-informed, “As far as I know, the writ of appointment from Nauman City is already on its way.”

“Speaking of which, Ian, now that you have become a noble, do you plan to restore the Cheharlowa Family name, or do you intend to start anew with a new surname?”

This was a good question.

After some thought, Ian felt indifferent about the matter, making the choice even more difficult.

In that case, it would be best to contact Elder Prude.