Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 81 Banquet
The baron wanted to say something more, but he was interrupted halfway through opening his mouth.

“Your Excellency Louis!” a cheerful voice suddenly broke in.

A young nobleman approached with a beaming smile, his face full of flattery: "You are now my greatest idol in the North!"

Before he could finish speaking, another person squeezed in—a middle-aged nobleman with slicked-back hair and wearing a brocade robe.

"Would you do me the honor of visiting my territory someday? We'll certainly prepare the finest wine and the tenderest roasted deer leg!"

Immediately afterwards, as if a dam had been breached, even more people surged in.

One by one, with ingratiating smiles and wine glasses in hand, they surrounded Louis, exchanging pleasantries, offering toasts, and handing him their name cards.

The Southwest Baron could only watch helplessly as he was pushed out of the crowd, his expression somewhat embarrassed.

Louis, on the other hand, maintained his polite smile throughout, responding to pleasantries while mindfully maintaining appropriate distance from others.

"Thank you for the compliment. I will definitely visit you when I have the opportunity."

"You flatter me. I greatly admire your demeanor."

Every sentence was perfectly worded, neither too close nor too distant.

But there were just too many people, and no matter how calm and thorough he was, he was quickly overwhelmed.

Just then, a neatly dressed attendant quietly approached and whispered in his ear, "Your Excellency Louis, the Duke requests your presence."

"Excuse me." Louis seized the opportunity and gracefully took his leave.

Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, he was led away from the banquet hall by his attendants and headed towards the Duke's drawing room.

Duke Edmund was already seated there, surrounded by a dozen or so nobles with impressive presence.

“Louis, let me introduce you to a few people,” the Duke said with a smile, introducing them one by one to Louis: “This is Earl Abbott, and this is Earl Grant…”

Each of them is quite famous in the North; these people must be the Celestial Dragons of the North.

“The Calvin family’s offspring are indeed no ordinary people.” Abette’s first words carried a hint of commentary. “There are many who can fight these days, but few are as outstanding as you.”

"You really took down a Snowsworn outpost with just over a hundred men?" Earl Grant asked from the side.

Louis calmly replied, "It was mainly good luck; I dare not take credit for it."

"Hmm, he can talk." Earl Grant scoffed. "Much better than some of those greenhorns who start telling stories as soon as a war is over."

Duke Edmund saw this and was even more pleased.

He chuckled and said casually, "I invited him here today in the hope that he can integrate into our Northern Border community as soon as possible."

The nobles exchanged glances, their eyes showing surprise.

This kid... he just won one battle, right?

While it is indeed beautiful, the Duke seems to be taking it far too seriously.

However, since everyone present was Edmund's vassal, no one dared to refute him on the spot.

Count Abbott thought for a moment, then raised his glass and said in a hearty tone, "Young in age, but with a bright future ahead. We're about to have another outstanding companion."

Louis smiled and raised his glass in return: "Thank you for your kindness, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

The group smiled and nodded, and after some pleasantries, the topic gradually shifted.

The nobles discussed the most pressing issue: surviving the winter.

"The winter snow will probably come early this year. The houses in my territory are only half-finished. I wonder how many people will freeze to death."

"That's easy to solve. We can just buy more slaves in the south when spring comes."

"But slaves are getting more and more expensive, and I'm afraid I won't be able to afford them in the future."

"Hahaha, at worst we can just go north and capture some barbarians."

"That won't work, barbarians are hard to manage."

……

The nobles chatted amongst themselves, treating serious matters with the ease and casualness of discussing a few domesticated animals. Louis remained silent, listening intently, his expression growing increasingly gloomy.

He couldn't escape the problem of getting through the winter either.

The victory at Qingyu Ridge brought him new land, which naturally made him very happy.

But behind this reward lies three times the territory, several times the population, and countless problems.

Moreover, this year's situation is somewhat special, as a large-scale war has just taken place, and resources will only become more scarce.

He knew very well that if he wasn't prepared, over the course of a winter, not just a few men would die, but thousands or even tens of thousands.

However, the Red Tide Territory can still cope, as it is able to maintain its basic needs for the time being thanks to smoked fish and this year's harvest.

There are enough houses, and there are geothermal eruptions within the territory, so people won't freeze to death for the time being.

But those newly taken-over areas...

The people were dressed in thin linen clothes, and the roofs were still dilapidated. A blizzard could very well lead to their annihilation.

These old nobles make it sound so easy, but their families have cultivated the North for many years and have a deep foundation.

A single cold winter wouldn't be enough to seriously damage them.

Moreover, they don't care about the lives of the lower-class people.

If there aren't enough people next spring, we'll just spend money to buy some from the south.

Hey, the slave market is full again.

This is much easier than maintaining the lives of slaves.

But Louise couldn't be that cold-blooded; she still wanted to save more people.

Prepare more food, build more houses, and prepare more firewood.

But such challenges require a lot more effort.

Just as Louis was silently pondering the future of his territory, the nobles' conversation took another turn.

"Those pioneering nobles are a joke, a bunch of good-for-nothings."

"War only adds to the chaos, and territorial development only burns through money. This war, however, has resulted in quite a few deaths."

"Hmph, good riddance," one person sneered. "It saves us the trouble of cleaning up their mess."

A few soft echoes resounded in the reception room.

No one noticed that Louis, sitting to the side, was a member of the so-called "pioneer aristocracy".

But his expression didn't change; he simply picked up his glass quietly and took a small sip of wine.

Indeed, Louis was different from those people; he was not the good-for-nothing they described, and he did a better job than most Northern nobles.

That's why they forgot that this young man was originally just a "newly rich" who had been "exiled".

“But not all pioneering nobles are useless,” Earl Ebett glanced at Louis and casually added.

Duke Edmund smiled and seized the opportunity to bring up something he had prepared to tell everyone beforehand.

“Speaking of expansion,” he said casually, yet his tone was impossible to ignore, “His Majesty has also been making some moves lately.”

Everyone was slightly startled.

"His Majesty intends to expand southward in a few years, with his target being those small countries in the southeast," Edmund said softly. "He wants some knights from our northern border to come as reinforcements."

The moment the words left his mouth, the air tightened.

"It's us again?" Earl Grant frowned. "We can't even finish our own wars."

“That’s right, Southerners only know how to suck our blood,” another nobleman complained.

(End of this chapter)