After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

"How did that go?"

Feeling her brother's broad hand gently stroking her head, Luna squinted her eyes, leaned forward, and whispered something in Oswald's ear while resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well done, cough, cough!" Oswald coughed for a while, his complexion clearly looking rather poor.

Luna immediately tried to soothe him with concern, "Brother, your body..."

"He's already recovering. The nun checked him and said there won't be any lasting effects." That's what she said, but since the magic crystal merged into his bones, Oswald quickly noticed the rapid decline in his bodily functions.

The specific cause is still under investigation, but recently Jenny's treatment has become increasingly ineffective.

"It's good that my brother is alright." Luna looked around, picked up the documents Oswald wanted to read, and asked with a puzzled look, "Is the matter at the library really that important?"

"The development of civilization is all contained in the knowledge in books, especially historical records, which can not only help us find the patterns of dynasties, but even the patterns of climate."

"This is what the ancients called the evolution of destiny. The past is the key to the future. Only by finding the patterns can we break through them."

Oswald didn't say anything extra, but in fact, there is a sage hidden in the Royal City Library, whom players jokingly call the one who holds the script. He has guided the hero several times in the game, and each time he has been on the right track.

Oswald planted people in the library, not only to steal knowledge, but also primarily to keep track of the sage's movements.

If the sage's script can reveal the secrets of the timeline... then the rapidly developing Northern Territory will definitely become his primary suspect.

In just six months, Oswald's military and agricultural reforms had already been implemented, and industrial reforms were just around the corner. Once the paved roads were laid, it would be tantamount to voluntarily revealing his identity to those in the know.

Of course, it wasn't the identity of a time traveler, but rather the identity of someone who knew about the timeline jumps. Oswald was keeping a close eye on things; if anyone started working on gunpowder or something like that, he'd have to go and offer his help to his fellow countrymen.

Don't overthink it. Oswald just wanted to advise him to give up. Gunpowder was too expensive and required many gold-refining processes to barely meet the material standards.

"Go have fun."

Having asked almost everything he needed to, Oswald didn't pursue the matter of Luna returning to her alma mater to get into a brawl, or threatening Duke Dale with a sword.

These people are not even worthy of his attention.

"OK."

Luna felt like she had been granted a pardon and ran out in a flash. However, despite her relief, she felt like she had forgotten something.

The plan to plunder the Western Territory was proceeding in an orderly manner. With the Duke personally overseeing the operation, Red naturally dared not slack off and worked for several days before returning to the military camp in Ice City.

As soon as he entered the camp, Red stretched his tired body, and a strong arm pulled him into its embrace.

"Hey bro, what are you up to?" Rondo asked with a grin, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Reid shook his head. They were all veterans; how could they not adhere to strict secrecy? "Is there something you need, General?"

"You're still so distant with me. We've been comrades for so many years. You call me 'brother,' and I'll call you 'younger brother.' That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Red immediately understood that Rondo probably wanted something from him.

However, this guy has a dog-like face. Back in the Earl's territory, Red almost knelt down and begged him to send troops to aid the Duke as soon as possible.

And what did he do? He immediately retorted: "Command me? When I was a general, you, Red, weren't even fit to be my guard. What kind of bullshit knight commander are you? Do I need you to teach me how to fight?"

Although it remains unclear why Rondo suddenly changed his mind—perhaps it was the tears in his eyes when he heard the bugle call, or perhaps it was because he let go of his prejudice against the Charles family.

In short, Rondo made a great contribution in that battle.

After much thought, Red still believed that Rondo was worried about the territory. "The Duke is already planning to rebuild your territory, and he's already giving it away for free, isn't he satisfied?"

Rondo chuckled and pulled Red towards the camp. "Oh, what's there to worry about? It's just that the city is destroyed. The surrounding villages haven't suffered much damage. They'll be back to normal in a year or two."

When you were secretly wiping away tears, that's not what you said...

The two entered the camp, and Rondo quickly closed the door, getting straight to the point: "Ahem, brother, I have a favor to ask of you. You must help your old brother out."

Well, if there's nothing wrong, I'm the old man; if there's something wrong, it's my older brother. You can still put on two faces by relying on your age.

Red was helpless. In his heart, he respected Earl Rondo. Putting everything else aside, Rondo's fighting skills alone were better than ten of his own combined.

"Tell me, I will do my best to help with anything I can do."

Rondo was overjoyed and pounded his chest, saying, "Good brother, you're loyal! I could tell you were meant for me back when you were a lowly soldier..."

"Let's get down to business first," Reid said, raising his hand to interrupt. This conversation was going to go on forever.

"It's really nothing serious," Rondo rubbed his hands together. "Aren't we all serving the Duke now? Look, we've brought our families to Ice City, and the Duke hasn't even offered me any command of troops or anything, has he?"

So this is what all this was about. Reid wiped his face, pondered for a moment, and realized that this matter was indeed not easy to handle.

First of all, the Earl of Rondo has a history of disobeying orders. Back when the Duke was in power, he disobeyed orders and then, after Oswald came to power, he didn't even bother to inform the Duke, clearly showing no regard for the Charles family.

Secondly, although Rondo still retains some prestige after being out of the military system for many years, the military system in Kuogu City has already begun to reform. He can't just waive everyone else just by raising his hand.

Finally, as an earl, Rondo has lands and a private army. What will happen to these soldiers and lands once he leaves? Keep in mind, the earl's eldest son is only twelve years old!

But... no matter what, Rondo pulled Red back when he encountered the Undying Serpent, which saved him from dying on the spot, and he had to repay the life-saving grace.

"Alright, I'll go see the Duke!"

Red gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, agreeing to put in a good word for Rondo.

"Good bro, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

The scene shifts, and Red is kneeling on one knee in the Duke's office, his initial imposing manner long gone. He is now bowing his head, trembling with fear, and dares not utter another word.

Oswald rubbed his temples, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Why didn't I notice how eloquent Reid was in my previous life? With such talent, why be a military general? Wouldn't it be better to be a diplomat? It would be easier to accept bribes that way.

Oswald opened his eyes and said slowly, "Red, you tell me, where should I put Rondo?"

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Red immediately delivered the speech he had prepared long ago.

"I believe that the five thousand veterans guarding Kuogu City are still lacking a city lord and a battalion commander. If we entrust them to Longdo, Your Excellency can save your energy and no longer need to personally manage the Kuogu City camp."

Oswald nodded; he shared the same idea. Kuogu City served as both the second line of defense against the demon army and a guarantee for supporting Xingluo City, making it most suitable for an old general to oversee it.

Moreover, Kuogu City is backed by military camps and reclaimed areas, and has become a core area of ​​the Northern Territory. If a respected person is not sent to manage it, trouble will inevitably break out sooner or later.

"Then how can you guarantee Rondo's loyalty? If he learned more from you, I wouldn't have to worry about this anymore."

Hearing the Duke praise his loyalty, Red felt a surge of pride. "Your Grace, rest assured, I believe that we can settle the Earl's family in Ice City and also bring the Earl's territory under our direct control. With these two measures combined, Rondo will certainly not dare to harbor any disloyalty."

After a moment of silence, Oswald finally relented.

"We will do as you say, but we cannot neglect the Earl. Order that those who hand over their territories to direct rule will retain their noble status and receive 30% of the territories' taxes annually."

Thirty percent... that much? Red thought it would be at most ten percent, but it's fine this way, at least he can give Rondo an explanation.

"Yes, Your Excellency is benevolent. Your subordinate thanks the Duke on behalf of Earl Rondo."

Red returned to the military camp in a good mood. He had never been a nobleman, so he didn't quite understand the ins and outs of the place.

In contrast, Rondo just shook his head with a wry smile; he could even picture the nobles' panicked expressions.

As expected, the news that Count Rondo had handed over his territory caused an uproar among the nobles of all sizes in the Ice City.

The Duke has indeed taken over the territories of other nobles, and now his directly controlled territory covers most of the northern territory.

The north, east, central area, and the southwestern earldom... the once-unified situation of being surrounded by nobles has vanished. With this slash in the southwest, the duke has essentially severed all possibility of a noble alliance.

They say it's 30% tax, but how much the duke actually gives is entirely up to him!

Rondo, Rondo, you've been so brilliant all your life, how could you do such a foolish thing!

However, misfortune never comes singly. The next day, another bombshell news broke: Earl Mofi had also surrendered his territory, followed by barons and viscounts of all ranks. Most of them were nobles from the surrounding areas of Ice City, so whether they surrendered or not made little difference to them.

With the nobles in the key northern regions all being the Duke's direct subordinates, Oswald, having cleared his territory, naturally turned his attention to the east.

Although Oswald distributed the land of the Marquis of the East to the people, the Marquis's private army remained, and the two sides continued to live in a state of mutual non-interference.

Perhaps thinking that the Marquis had not yet completely fallen, the nobles in the east naturally had no intention of remaining loyal.

Oswald considered taking military action at one point, but after much deliberation, he decided not to set a bad precedent.

Eliminating this group of private soldiers is not difficult, but it will inevitably sow the seeds of unrest in the northern territory.

People's emotions are simple. Soldiers who die to resist the invasion of the demon race and to defend their homes will not harbor resentment as long as their superiors provide sufficient rewards and compensation.

But those soldiers who died in political struggles could not be compensated; their families would live their whole lives in the Northern Territory, their parents would be devastated, and their children would be tainted by it.

From this point on, the trust between the two sides will collapse rapidly, and the impact may not subside for decades.