Chapter 140 139 The name of Kardman City is so unlucky! I want to

Chapter 140 139.Cadman City’s name is so unlucky! I’m going to call it .
It is now the 23rd hour since the young players left Transylvania.

After sending off Natalie and the remnants of her Witch Hunters with the Major Fraser who had been recording the story and giving each other a remnant of Salokdar’s Patriarch’s Ring as proof of death, Murphy quickly called a meeting.

To be precise, this is also the first time Murphy summoned the administrators of his territory as “Count Cadman”.

Therefore, it could be called a meeting of the retainers.

However, Murphy hadn’t appointed the three barons, but he hadn’t made any specific appointments in the territory, so it was certain that everyone involved in this meeting would probably have a few more official positions after the meeting was over.

This is the obvious thing.

Therefore the people who were invited to attend the meeting, except for Duchess Miriam and Professor Malcolm, everyone else was beaming with joy, and despite trying very hard to maintain their composure, the light in their eyes had already betrayed their moods.

Although the city of Cadman was destroyed.

Although the 150,000 dead and missing in the city had less than 3,000 left by now.

Though everyone was still living in shacks, and the rest were destined to have hard times until the reconstruction was complete.

Although the Blood Vulture Clan, which has been the “Transylvanian Protector” and the orthodox clan for 400 years, has been greatly weakened to the point that it is only one step away from extinction, it is not easy to realize that the Blood Vulture Clan is still in the process of being destroyed.

But it doesn’t matter!
If you can take this opportunity to realize an overnight class leap like Miss Miriam, no, like the noble Baroness Miriam, then this disaster is not a life-time opportunity for opportunists.

As for the calmness of Miriam and Professor Malcolm, it was because the former had already had her share of the cake and had braced herself for it, while the latter was a scholar who had seen the world go by.

The decency that came with knowledge allowed him to understand the danger and badness of the situation at hand enough that the status, official position and honor that was about to come into his hands didn’t seem to smell so good.

These administrators, large and small, were sitting in a room on the edge of the second hall of the Blood Wyvern Cloister, the place meant for the cloister guards to rest and relax modified into a conference room.

All of them were waiting for the Count’s arrival.

“Snap.”

“His Excellency Count Cadman has arrived!”

The door to the room was pushed open.

At the reminder of Lady Adele’s slightly hoarse voice, everyone stood up to welcome the master of the earth beneath their feet.

Murphy did not wear his own blood light armor, but just wore a scarlet robe with the Necessary Evil at his waist, and walked into the room with his hands behind his back in an elegantly decent yet charming smile.

Loyal Maxim and Adele would also be involved in this arrangement of the bylaws of the administration of the territory as the two barons under his command.

The vampire lord reached down and pressed his hand, signaling for everyone to be seated.

He looked around the crowd with a scarlet gaze, and seeing the expressions on the faces of the people gave him a strong sense of vested interest, as if he were back in the regular meeting of the company he worked for discussing the week’s work with a group of lifeless part-timers on a dreary Monday when they came to work.

Well, that was a position that he had fought for ten years to get, it was a bit of a pity to think about it, and I wonder which lucky person would be cheaper?
With such a mood, Murphy coughed.

He sat down on the chair that Mrs. Adele pulled out for him, and spoke in a four-fold tone:

“Thank you all for your contribution during this period of time, it is because of your assistance that the survivors of Cadman City were able to settle down quickly after the disaster. My eyes have seen the changes taking place in the camp on a daily basis, and I have witnessed fearful refugees regaining their confidence in life under your management and reassurance.

And in the wake of the celebrations, they are ready and courageous to return to the places where they live and rebuild their homes.

This is all thanks to you, gentlemen!
I may be a vampire, but I know a lot about that human society thing, so I decided that before we really start talking about the big things, I’d like to give you back what you deserve.”

After saying that, Murphy waved his hand, and Lady Adele, who was serving at his side, immediately unfolded the scroll in her hand.

The “Voice of the Count” cleared her throat and read:
“By virtue of the ruling power vested in the Count of Cadman by the Grand Duchess Tris Cavendina Ja Lorraine Le Sombra, Ruler of the Night of Transylvania, the following are the names of the Count’s vassals and territorial administrators:
Lady Miriam, Baroness of Moorland, was granted the title of ‘Scarlet Consul’.

On behalf of the Earl of Cadman, she will be in charge of all governmental affairs in the territory, except for the granting of titles and lands.

Baron Maxim Sena Vlad Le Sombra of Lim was granted the title of ‘Military Commander’.

He will be in charge of the military and the re-establishment of the official army in the territory on behalf of Lord Count Cadman.

Prof. Winston Malcolm was awarded the title of ‘Administrative Knight’ under the Earl of Cadman as well as the title of ‘First Adjutant of the Consul’.

He will assist Baroness Moeran in administering the realm for the Earl and will establish local laws and lead the Earl’s people, using the Bloodwing Clan’s prior administration as a model.

Mr. Firjo Portman has been awarded the title of ‘Executive Knight’ and ‘Commander of the City Guard’ under Count Cadman.

He will be responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the territory and the reestablishment of the territorial police and militia.

Mr. Franks Chauvin was awarded the title of ‘Administrative Knight’ and ‘Commander of City Logistics’ under Count Cadman.

He will be in charge of stockpiling, mobilizing, and transporting all of the city’s supplies, as well as keeping track of the two meals a day and labor credits provided to the people who work in the city during the rebuilding process.

Sister Jules was awarded the title of ‘Administrative Knight’ and the title of ‘Commander of the City’s Medical and Faithful’ under Count Cadman.

She will be responsible for all medical matters in the city, as well as managing the affairs of the various faith communities in the city and finding and sniffing out potential cultists among the people for the Count.

Ms. Blanche Parian Fedor has been awarded the title of ‘Administrative Knight’ under Count Cadman and the title of ‘City Warehouse Master’.

She will be in charge of food gathering and storage in the territory, and will be responsible for replenishing the territory’s food reserves before the first snowfall of winter, as well as setting up a minimum of six large food warehouses.

Your attention please!
The medical affairs that Sister Jules is in charge of should be elevated to the highest priority in the subsequent administration.

His Excellency the Count does not wish to see a plague or epidemic situation in his domain.

The priority of the food gathering affairs handled by Lady Blanche Parian Fedor should be elevated to a higher priority in the subsequent administration.

His Excellency the Count does not wish to see a situation of frequent starvation in his domain.

The above appointments are made with the careful consideration and full discretion of His Excellency Freneau Murphy-Lessembra, Count of Cadman.

All appointments are effective immediately from the date of issuance of the authorizing instrument.”

After this order was read out, the atmosphere in the entire room instantly turned cheerful, and even though no one spoke up, the relaxation and joy that pervaded the crowd, except for Sister Jules, was still visible to the naked eye.

The officials Murphy had appointed were all residents who had already served as administrators at the survivor camp, and their abilities had been affirmed and recognized by the recent bustle of affairs.

And the vampire lord had not heard a grumble of discontent rise in anyone’s mind when he listened with his desire sense.

They were content with the status quo and rejoiced that they were recognized by their new lord, even if he was a very different vampire from them, but the differences in race seemed to have been quietly erased in the process of decentralization.

Power was a good thing.

It could erase all grievances if it was utilized properly.

“Let me emphasize once more! These appointments are all deserved by you and not a gift from the higher-ups, and I would like to take this opportunity to lay out to you my general plans as a lord for my territory in the future.”

Murphy stood up and Maxim immediately rose to unfold a prepared map beside the lord.

On it was the outline of the entire Earl Cadman Territory, occupying a third of Transylvania, and another third of the Andromeda Hills near the border of the Kingdom of the Golden Sparrow, in the northwestern part of Transylvania.

That place had been sealed by Tris to the Great Lady Femis.

However, since the latter was still being questioned on the side of the Knights of the Blood League, when she didn’t return, her territory was looked after by Murphy on the side.

The last piece is the northern part of the Sicor Earldom, which has existed in a “semi-independent” manner for the past 400 years, and has never really been brought under the administration of the Blood Vulture Clan, so there’s no need to talk about it in detail.

However, the Westcoat Earldom has been destroyed during the Ten Years’ War, and although there are still some settlements there, their order is much worse than that of the Cadman Earldom.

So theoretically speaking, Murphy is the actual administrator of the current Transylvania region, but of course with his power it is still completely insufficient to take care of the whole of Transylvania.

“Please look at the map, gentlemen.”

Murphy’s finger pointed to the map that Maxim had propped up, which had been scribbled with different areas in different colors, and he said:

“In my future plans for the territory, each of the three baronial fiefdoms will have different responsibilities.

The Barony of Moreland is near the trade and commerce routes.

So Baroness Morland should focus on restarting commerce that was delayed by the war while managing the territory, our territory needs wealth.

The Barony of Lim is close to the north.

It could absorb into our domain the mountain people of the Count’s Domain of Sicor and further north in the Sax and Ice Bay regions who have been driven from their homes and made homeless during the Ten Years’ War, and we are now also severely lacking in population. I think that now that the Ten Year War is substantially over, there will soon be war displaced people from other regions as well.

They are also the ones who must be taken seriously.

Therefore Baron Lim should also focus on absorbing more people into the territory when managing the territory’s military, and only if there are enough people can we mobilize enough manpower to rebuild Transylvania.

Lastly, there is the southern Spectral Barony.

Not only is it close to the Filthy Swamp and the Smuggler’s Woods, but it is also rich in minerals, yet we certainly don’t have the manpower to develop it for at least half a year.

Duchess Miriam suggested an idea for me.

She thinks we can temporarily lease the minerals here to the Brass Dwarf Prospecting Team of Brass Castle as a way of exchanging them from the Dwarves for the food and weapons we desperately need at the moment”

“Ahem, Lord Earl, I have a better opinion on that.”

Professor Malcolm, who had changed into decent clothes but still wore broken glasses frames, coughed a few times.

He was still a bit uncomfortable with such a detailed and practical overview of the territory’s development in front of him, which was very different from the other feudal lords, but he felt that he needed to remind the young vampire lord.

“Oh, Your Excellency the First Lieutenant, please speak freely.”

Murphy smiled and made a ‘please’ gesture as he said:
“I am in desperate need of your wisdom right now! Believe me, I need advice from you all very, very urgently, the Earl’s Domain is not just my territory, it’s also your hometowns, and it’s in all of our interests for it to get better.”

“If we’re going to lease out the minerals, then finding dwarves might not be a good idea.”

Professor Malcolm said eloquently:

“The issue of distance between their Brass Castle and Transylvania is a dead giveaway, and as far as I can tell, the mines in the Spectral Barony are apparently much closer to the Crimson Fortress. Considering that it’s currently occupied by the Kingdom of Nordtorf, the local occupying forces will inevitably need more minerals in order to rebuild their new borders.

That need exists, and one should never underestimate the territorial obsession of those Northmen in Nordtorf.

Therefore, if one can establish a trade relationship with them, the revenue that can be gained from leasing the mines to them is obviously more substantial.

They have taken over the fertile Kavkhoka Plain.

It had been the most important food-producing region in the Bosia Confederacy and even the entire human civilization, which meant that the Northmen now had very, very much food on hand.

When there’s more grain, it will depreciate and drop in value, so it’s a great opportunity to purchase it now!”

“Professor, there’s a problem.”

Miss Miriam said with a frown:
“We don’t have trade ties with the Nordtorf Kingdom right now, and I’ll say this in a not-so-good way.”

She peeked at Murphy’s face and said softly:

“It’s questionable whether or not that Wolf Woman’s majesty recognizes Count Cadman’s authority, and the military discipline of the Yankee border guards is a big, ancestral problem. They’d probably prefer outright robbery to trade, and we don’t have enough power to defend our property at the moment.”

“Uh, Lord Earl, Lady Consul, and His Excellency the First Lieutenant.”

Having just been appointed as the commander of the city’s warehouses, Ms. Parian, a large, middle-aged woman with a big waist, was apparently attending a high-level meeting like this for the first time.

Once a small merchant, she was still a bit uncomfortable.

Getting up with bad manners, she wanted to express her respect, but was stopped by Murphy waving his hand as he said in a gentle tone:
“Ms. Parian, there’s no need to be like this, we are discussing for the future of the territory, it’s obviously a bit out of place to insist on etiquette in such a situation, please directly say what you think.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Seeing that the lord was so gentle, Ms. Parian breathed a sigh of relief.

She organized her words and said:

“When I was doing business in the small Transylvanian border town of Batasin before, I got to know some Yankee merchants who had bragged that they were acting as business agents for some sergeants of the Yankee Border Guard, so perhaps we can rely on those smugglers to make connections.

Also if the Yankees wanted to sell us grain, it would certainly pass through the hands of those merchants.

It might be better to contact them directly.”

“Very well Ms. Parian, that is exactly the kind of advice I need.”

Murphy nodded with satisfaction and gave a wink to Miriam, and the clever consul immediately nodded and said:
“Then, Knight Parian, I now formally appoint you as the plenipotentiary for business transactions with the Yankees, and the appointment papers will be issued later.”

“I have suggestions as well! My lords.”

Seeing that the cunning Parian used her connections to gain her the power to intervene in trade, the other “new nobles” were instantly unable to sit still.

The city guard commander, Mr. Firjo Portman, immediately rose, and he said:

“I have a distant cousin in Ice Bay who has long purchased the souvenirs of the barbarian tribes of Western Sahara, and I can write to him that the barbarians would be glad to give us large quantities of cured meats and air-dried catches, provided we pay him some adequate sums of money.

I’ll admit that those frozen hardened frozen fish definitely don’t taste too good, but everyone shouldn’t be picky more than that in their current state!
After all, it only takes three frozen fish with a bit of local wild greens and enough crumbled bread to make a pot of gumbo that could feed ten laborers! Best of all, buying from the barbarian tribes was cheap.

Even lower than you can imagine!
Both the Yankees and the Sealanders look down on them, and the rich catch and specialties of the Ice Bay region always lack long-term patrons.

This is an opportunity!
The Lord Earl as well as the Lady Consul!”

“Very well! Knight Portman, I now appoint that distant cousin of yours as the Plenipotentiary of the Earldom of Cadman for commerce in the Ice Bay region, what is his name…”

“And me, Lady Consul!”

Grand Cook Franks Shovan was a bit anxious.

Seeing that the benefits were going to be divided up, the cook with the big head, thick neck, odd tattoos on his arms, and a social air got up and shouted:

“My brother-in-law helped the city’s gangs for a while in the past, smuggling firearms and explosives from the Canary Blossom Kingdom’s border guards.”

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he realized something was wrong.

But it was too late to shut up, as the others were staring at him with a “You’re a fucking criminal” look on their faces.

Shawan also realized that he had spoken out of turn.

Arms smuggling is the kind of work that any sensible lord would have to be killed first and then asked questions later, not to mention that his brother-in-law is also engaged in this kind of thing from the Golden Bird Flower Kingdom, which is currently an “enemy country”.

He sat back in his chair, somewhat disheveled.

He said in his heart that this time the whole family will probably be killed by the count, however, Murphy laughed loudly, he shook his head and said:

“Very well, I need a talent like your siamese brother-in-law and his connections now. You go and look for him, Knight Shawan, I only give him fifteen days, I want to see at least three thousand soldier muskets and enough ammunition.

I can trade directly with gold, but don’t fool me with defective products, if you do a good job I will pardon his previous sins and even give him a formal official position and even a knight title.

But do a bad job .”

“I guarantee it with the heads of my entire family, my lord!”

Returning from the dead, the peaked Shawan Knight immediately got up and slammed his fist on his chest as the rather bandit-like chef exclaimed:

“We’ll need thirty days, but I promise I can get the weapons you need! Even armor and artillery can be negotiated, the war is over, and there must be a huge backlog of weapons in the hands of the Xilans that need to be disposed of.

They are still in the process of military reform, those old style weapons are going to be destroyed even if they are not sold to us.

So perhaps a good enough one can be bought for a third or even a fifth of the usual price…”

Once such professional words were spoken, the eyes of the others became more subtle.

Good for you cook!
To have such a punishable and torturable side business.

This kind of thing is actually all clear, so your brother-in-law is afraid that he is just a horseman, and the mastermind of the real underground arms smuggling is your kid, right?
“Very well, go and do it.”

Murphy does not care about these.

He now needs to use all the power that can be used.

He was well aware of the fact that each and every one of these guys in front of him who were able to show their talents in time among the survivors were by no means easy, but it didn’t matter, if they wanted to redo their lives and change to a nobler origin, Murphy could satisfy them.

As long as they can bring win-win benefits, all these can be negotiated!
(End of chapter)