Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Previously, the aristocrats had never hesitated in killing. To them, although the knife was not the best weapon, it was useful at the very least. If killing meant settling an issue, they would use this solution. Thus, nobody disagreed with the suggestion to silence the commoners through force.

  After the decision was made, more than one of these aristocratic leaders relaxed.

  “There’s one more thing that I’m worried about. After this plan is released, for the explorers who intend to settle down, would they want to choose merchant land to live on? To them, long term residency and possessing skillsets is a given, and thus, they would be able to gain a surname as long as they chose to live in the north.” Marquis Yug commented.

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  “Well, wouldn’t they go to the Republic then?” an earl asked.

  “The republic has strict control over its residents, and many are not accustomed to it. Among the permanent explorer residents, many have done shameful or illegal things to earn their keep. These people would not fit in with the Republic. Why would a crow want to force itself to blend in with doves? It can’t be done.” Marquis Yug smiled.

  This ridiculous analogy stirred some laughter in the crowd.

  “However, to us, whether one is a crow or a dove doesn’t matter. As long as they are able to contribute, their background is of little importance. I believe this is the same mindset that the merchants have. Therein lies our problem, since they have a choice to live with us or the merchants, they would definitely choose the latter to start a family with as they would be happier.”

  The earls furrowed their brows and became worried.

  Although it did not seem like a huge issue, it was actually rather pressing. Explorers who intended to become permanent residents were seen as the best human resource to the leaders as they had an inheritance as well as skill. Many became disciples under the leaders after settling down and contributed substantially in wars thereafter, earning themselves titles, such as the title of a knight. For example, under Keane, amongst his two strongest knights, the Ouss’ family were actually explorers. As for this family’s neighbor, Viscount Samat, who was a leader in the South, was also a previous explorer.

  This was an extremely common situation, and much of the land that belonged to the aristocrats had such knights. One could say that without the explorers there to add value, and with banking solely on developing the aristocrats, they would not be able to fill the positions of knights. Furthermore, it took time and money to develop talent. While the aristocrats had money, they would not be able to sustain such intense development in the long run.

  For example, to develop a knight, one had to first teach him the full set of battle strategies: he had to practice using long and short weapons as well as a crossbow; he had to be able to ride a horse into battle; he had to be able to wear heavy armor with ease; he had to have sufficient battle experience; he had to be able to react in stressful situations; in battle, he had to be able to lead a team, and when retreating he had to know how to do so tactfully. He had to be able to escape when things turned sour……

  A normal person would not be able to reach such a level of holistic skill with normal training. Only those who were agile and healthy were able to train to such a step. With such a criterion, one could already easily eliminate about ninety percent of the population. Amongst the remaining ten percent, only about one out of thirty to forty people would be able to be fully developed. In essence, to develop a knight, one would have to pick thirty to forty youth out of about three to four hundred men to train long-term, and eventually, only one would be successful. Although this selection process would not cost money, the training costs of thirty to forty men exceeded the amount that many were willing to take on.

  During the training process, the men also required substantial nutrition. The price of food would add to their training costs. There was also the cost of equipment and the potential need to replace them when damaged. One also had to factor in medical costs for those injured, and there were herbs and medicines that needed to be purchased. Finally, one also had to invest in weaponry for exposure for these men.

  If they had no choice, the aristocrats would take up the idea of developing their own people into knights. However, many felt that it was not worth the cost. Someone had calculated the potential costs before, and it was about tens of thousands of gold coins. Aristocrats in the Commonwealth of Gold Coins had a relatively high salary, but it still did not exceed more than two thousand gold coins a year on average; half of it came from their own earnings, and the other half was from their management of different industries and the shops under them. One could say that they would have to use up about five years’ worth of earnings to develop a knight, and they would not be able to spend much during this time period. This was virtually impossible for any respected elder aristocrat.

  Thus, they were mostly set savings aside. If one received two thousand gold coins a year, they would be deemed thrifty if they were even able to save five hundred gold coins. With this, it would mean that they would need twelve years to successfully train one knight. This was an unacceptable cost, so other than passing down basic knight knowledge through the generations, they chose their knights from among the settled explorers. One could say that a mid-level explorer was able to do a knight’s job decently. However, in most cases, when an explorer wanted to retire, he would have already attained a high-level and thus was easily able to take on the role of a knight.

  There were not many high-level explorers, and so many settled for mid-level explorers that were “knights-to-be”—those with aristocratic identity but drew a salary without owning any land. They were promoted to actual knights if they were able to prove their worth and further their careers. If they did not do so, they would be downgraded to official bureaucracy. This talent training mechanism thus served the dual purpose of scouting retired explorers as well as developing their own family.

  If all went as to how Marquis Yug predicted, all the retired explorers would choose to live on the merchants’ land. They would not see any short term issues, but over time, there would be a huge loss on the side of the aristocrats. They would have a huge shortage of talent in warfare as compared to the merchants. This meant that they would face the threat of becoming weak.

  Those who were great governors were, of course, intelligent, and so upon hearing Marquis Yug’s words, most were able to think about the issue in the long term and began to worry. To the common folk, the aristocratic noble lord was a high god who they could not go against. However, to the explorers who had spent most of their lives in danger, they were less concerned with titles and only bothered with those who they held in regard. If they had the benefits that suited them, they were willing to migrate and even attack the aristocrats. After all, they were extremely practical people who only cared about their individual gains.