Miss Witch, it's time to clean up the entries

Chapter 5 The Empire’s First Cancer.

Li En looked at the map of Green Shade Territory hanging on the wall and thought calmly for a quarter of an hour.

"Anna, bring me my most gorgeous dress. I want to wear it and go see His Majesty the Empire."

"Annie, please ask Miss Witch Sophie to come over. She wants to accompany me to see the messenger."

Anna took out the suit that Li En wore last night. Actually, because he had just returned to the lord's mansion, he only had this one suit.

Anne quietly left the room and went to look for the witch Miss Sophie.

The three "ministers of state" looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what solution this young illegitimate child from the countryside could come up with to break the situation that even the old lord could not handle.

"Three of you, please accompany me to meet the Imperial Honorable and the Bank Emissary."

The Imperial Honorable was responsible for conveying the king's words, and was mainly here to ask Green Shade for troops.

The bank messenger is actually the debt collector of the Imperial Bank, responsible for collecting the huge debt owed by the Green Shade Territory.

The two teams arrived at the same time, and it is estimated that the train from the Imperial Capital to the Green Shade Territory was packed.

Looking at their listless appearance, you can tell that standing is not comfortable.

On the other hand, on the Green Shade Territory side, the young new lord was dressed in a suit and looked very energetic. The three ministers were also dressed in their best clothes and looked very respectable. The lord's personal maids were actually twin beauties, like two shining pearls.

Apart from wearing a collar, bracelets and anklets, which made her look like a witch lady on the verge of losing control, Green Shade Territory, the biggest defaulter of the Imperial Bank, seemed to be more comfortable than any other debtor.

The 49-year-old bank messenger had 20 years of experience in debt collection and had witnessed countless nobles and wealthy people trembling under the threats of debt collectors. This was the first time he had seen such a calm debtor.

"This is our new lord, Lord Li En."

Foreign Secretary Alex Poole said.

"This is His Excellency Oba, the Imperial Lord. This is Mr. Emran, the bank envoy."

When Oppa saw the young Lee Eun, he narrowed his eyes and asked with a slightly contemptuous tone,
"His Majesty the King asked Greenshade whether he should respond to the call and send troops to aid the Empire in its attack on the Azure Dragon Court?"

"Master Oppa, please be patient. You have all had a long journey. Please come with us to the castle to rest. Green Shade Territory will arrange a dinner for everyone to welcome you."

Alex Poole said with a smile.

"There's no need for a dinner. We don't want to waste everyone's precious time. I'm sure you, my Lord, are aware of the main purpose of my visit. If you don't repay the loan from the Imperial Bank, we'll have no choice but to take coercive measures."

The bank envoy Emron has a powerful debt collection army behind him, which makes him speak with confidence, and he is no less confident than the arrogant Lord Oppa.

"Yes, I am also anxious to return and report to His Majesty the King."

Oppa said, raising his chin.

Minister Alex Poole looked at Lord Li En in embarrassment.

Li En said with a sad look,
"Well, since Lord Oppa is in a hurry to go back, I will speak frankly.

"As you can see, our Green Shade Territory is already deeply in debt, owing the Imperial Bank a staggering 3 million gold. We are truly powerless, and even if we wanted to send troops to help His Majesty, we don't have the strength to do so.

"Weapons, equipment, and food supplies are all needed to send troops out. We definitely won't be able to come up with this money before we pay off our debt to the Imperial Bank.

"So please go back and tell His Majesty that once we've paid off our debt to the Imperial Bank, we'll definitely respond to His Majesty's call."

If the king insists on having Green Shade Territory send troops, he will need to cancel Green Shade Territory's debt. However, canceling Green Shade Territory's debt will not only cause the Imperial Bank to suffer a huge loss, but will also cause other lords to follow suit, creating a vicious cycle!
The king would never agree, and even if he did, the aristocratic shareholders of the Imperial Bank would not agree.

Oba frowned. This was tantamount to refusing the king's call for troops. Three hundred million gold—the equivalent of three years' worth of tax revenue for a prosperous territory. With Green Shade Territory now in ruins, and the old lord absconding with the funds, it was a question of when Green Shade Territory would be able to repay.

He felt that he needed to warn the new lord, Li En.

"Your Majesty can wait, can the Green Shade Territory wait? Doesn't your guardian witch seem to be losing control?"

"Oppa-sama, is this what you mean?"

Li En took out the key and personally untied the collar on Sophie's neck and the heavy shackles on her hands and feet, scaring the imperial noble, the bank envoy and the debt collectors so much that they retreated in an orderly manner.

“These are all disguises. In fact, Miss Sophie did not obtain the entry of being on the verge of losing control at all.

"You should know that my father, Lord Moria, has many sons. In order to choose an heir, he came up with this method.
"I deceived everyone, making them mistakenly believe that the guardian witch of Green Shade Territory was about to lose control. My brothers and sisters were all scared away, leaving only me.
"That's why he passed the position of lord to me and told me that this was just a test of his courage. Those without courage cannot lead Greenshade Territory to glory, nor can they serve His Majesty the King's great cause.

"Otherwise, how could a bastard like me from the countryside be elected as a lord?
"I apologize to everyone for my father's lies."

Li En spoke nonsense in a serious manner.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Of course, I guarantee it on my father's character."

"Then why has the Green Shade Territory been urging the Guardian Bureau to send you new witches?"

Oppa questioned.

"Although our witch lady hasn't lost control, we should still replace her every five years. This is tradition. Miss Sophie has served Green Shade Territory for six years. What's wrong with us applying for a new witch?"

Li En asked back.

Oppa was speechless for a moment.

Li En had figured it out before.

Incurring a huge debt, the witch about to lose control, and being forced by the king to go on an expedition seem to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact they are essentially connected.

The core of all problems lies in solving the hidden danger of the witch getting out of control.

The witches of the empire are the empire's powerful weapons. Most of them are in the hands of the king and are under the control of the Imperial Guardian Bureau. The replacement and appointment of witches in the 22 counties of the empire are all decided by the Guardian Bureau.

If Li En's guess was correct, the Guardian Bureau not only detained the new witch who should have been sent to the Green Shade Territory, but also detained other witches who were recruited by the king to serve in the territories.

Losing the guardian witch, or losing control of the guardian witch, will cause irreparable damage to the territory.

Under this control, the lords would inevitably send troops to help the king.

But the king probably didn't expect that the Green Shade Territory not only delayed sending troops, but also owed a huge debt of 3 million gold to the Imperial Bank, becoming the empire's number one cancer.

Moriah simply walked away with his wives, concubines, and jewelry, leaving behind only a young scapegoat.

Even if the king immediately sent a capable minister to serve as the new lord, he would not be able to clean up Moria's dirty ass.

Presumably, the king far away in the capital would also be furious at Moria's shamelessness. If he couldn't properly resolve this issue, the king's immense anger would surely engulf him, and what would definitely be waiting for him would be the guillotine!

But if he could solve the witch problem first and save the Green Shade Territory, he could buy time and solve the debt crisis step by step. Then His Majesty the King would not have an excuse to attack the Green Shade Territory.

(End of this chapter)