Chapter 73 The First Hideout Meeting
The first den meeting was held in the Lord's Hall.
The decoration of the lord's hall was upgraded again due to the improvement of economic strength. Although Rand repeatedly emphasized not to waste money, it was very luxurious no matter how you looked at it.
But I have to say that Ellie's taste is really good. There are carved tables and chairs, marble sculptures, and flags hanging high on both sides. However, since Rand has not designed the pattern yet, there is no emblem on the flags.
According to Ellie, the lord's hall will be changed into a marble structure instead of the current brick and stone.
It may become more beautiful in the future, but Rand is very satisfied now.
The first hideout meeting was held here, and Rand arranged seats for each important member.
The first one on the left is Taner, the general who commands the army in the hideout.
The second one on the left is Lisa, who has no fixed job. She is mostly an intelligence officer and scout, and sometimes also serves as a personal bodyguard.
The first one on the right is Olenna, the adjutant and captain of the personal guard.
The second one on the right is Ellie, a researcher and affairs officer.
It was very rare for everyone to get together now, so when Rand saw that everyone was together, he planned to hold a meeting.
In fact, Taran, Sesserai, Minotaur Shasa, and Elsa can all be considered important members of the den, but the four currently present are of a relatively high level. The others need to maintain the basic operation of the den, so there is no need to pull them over to sit in.
“First of all, there are legal issues regarding the den.”
At first, Rand wanted to create the Twelve Tables Law, but then he realized that he was just an ignorant college student in his previous life and could not memorize many laws, so he created Liu Bang's "Three Articles of Law".
This is very simple and you can recite it in one go: Those who kill will be put to death, those who injure or steal will be punished.
In short, if someone kills someone, they must pay with their life, if someone injures someone, they must pay with money or labor, and if someone steals, they must compensate for the damage and be punished.
In fact, the crime rate in the den is very low. To be precise, no one commits crimes at all. But for something like a law, it is better to come up with the most basic framework as soon as possible.
Adventurers in the resort do commit crimes occasionally, but they are usually subject to solitary confinement, and no particularly vicious incidents have occurred so far.
The law was concise and clear. The four people nodded after reading it. The three points of the law only applied to civilians, not to the military or religious people.
However, if the military or religious figures commit crimes against civilians, the rules still apply, except that these people can commit crimes against forces other than those in Crescent Moon Territory. For example, when the military killed soldiers from Lake Source Territory, it was not considered a crime.
But civilians are not qualified to do so before they are authorized. There are too many ignorant and short-sighted villagers in this era. If they are allowed to do so, something bad will definitely happen.
"The second is diplomacy." Rand motioned for Olenna to speak.
Olenna is in charge of external diplomacy, while Ellie is in charge of espionage.
In fact, the only diplomatic contacts are the Black and Brown Territory and the River Source Territory in the southwest. The River Source Territory has not been affected by the army of the Kingdom of Lunsa and is relatively stable at this time.
Originally, there was no communication between Heyuan Territory and Crescent Moon Territory, and Baron Heyuan was too disdainful to discuss diplomacy with the outlaws. However, ever since the war between Earl Black and Brown and Marquis Green Leaf began, Baron Heyuan became aware of the situation.
Olenna stood up from her seat and said, "I am in charge of diplomacy with Baron Heyuan. It is mainly about trade. The profit from mixing juice tea bags is quite good."
"I am also responsible for the trade with the towns in the Black and Brown Earldom." Olenna continued, "It's mainly farm products, linen products, and hunting. Due to the reduction of taxes and trade, the villagers' living standards and economic conditions have improved. This winter, fewer people will freeze to death."
That’s the next question.
Rand waited for Olenna to sit down, then said, "Only in winter, I have decided to open up the rights to fell trees in the Crescent Moon Territory."
The vast majority of countries in this world implement the manor law, which means that all property on the territory belongs to the lord, including stones on the roadside, dead trees in the forest, fruits, and wild animals.
Everything, even the subjects, belong to the lord, which is why many people freeze to death in winter.
"I disagree." Ellie stood up. Her political sensitivity was probably the highest among all the people present. "Now we have joined the Second Prince's camp. What you are doing is undoubtedly a provocation to the Manor Law."
Now at least the Baron of Heyuan Territory must be paying close attention to this place. After all, the people here can be said to have single-handedly changed the outcome of the battle between the Earl of Black and Brown and the Marquis of Green Leaf.
"Population, population is what we rely on, it is the source of everything." Rand disagreed: "I can't accept watching them freeze to death."
Ellie rolled her eyes. How come she didn't know that Rand was so stupid before? "Who said they were going to freeze to death? You can conscript them to cut down trees, and then give them some of the firewood as a reward for them to use as fuel for the winter."
It just so happens that quite a few mid- to high-level adventurers have arrived recently and there is a great demand for luxury villas in the holiday villa, so it is a good opportunity to recruit some free labor to cut down trees for building materials.
Rand nodded as if he understood something. Isn't this work-for-relief? Now it seems that Ellie is already a qualified affairs officer. It seems that there may not be any affairs officer more suitable than her in the world.
Rand couldn't accept the thought that after getting the artifact at the bottom of the ruins, Ellie and Olenna might leave.
Rand could no longer imagine what his future life would be like if he lost Ellie and Olenna. He didn't want to let go, but he couldn't hinder the exploration of the ruins. This was something they had agreed on from the beginning, and he would never be so mean.
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And he was very sure that doing so would truly make him lose them. He was not the weirdo in some romance dramas.
However, although Rand knew that he had been exploiting Ellie and Olenna, the benefits they provided were sufficient, from the private bathhouse at the beginning to the large bathhouse now, and there were also dividends.
And even though they acted despicable at the beginning, their relationship should not be that bad now, so there might be a chance to convince them to stay.
Taner was in charge of military issues. There was not much to say, except that Taner seemed to be hesitant to speak. But when Rand looked at him, he didn't say anything. No one knew what he was thinking.
But Rand didn't care much about it. Taner could be said to be the first person to join the den. He trusted Taner almost completely. Since Taner was unwilling to say it, Rand would not force him. Anyway, Taner would never betray the den.
Finally, he looked at Lisa. Lisa blinked, her eyes wandered, and said nothing.
Rand's heart skipped a beat. He felt that Lisa was going to do something again. It seemed that he had to be careful recently, otherwise social death might happen at any time.
Elsa was holding her chin at this time, feeling a little tired, mentally exhausted.
Now we have reached the second floor of the ruins. The second floor of the ruins seems to be a test area. There are all kinds of captured monsters everywhere, such as centaurs, minotaurs, etc., but they are all locked up. The layout is a bit like the zoo in Rand's previous life.
Elsa joined another adventurer team. The members of the team seemed to admire her very much, especially the thief girl, who kept chattering over there: "Elsa, Elsa, how did you become so strong?"
With a practiced polite smile, Elsa held her chin and slightly opened her red lips: "Struggling repeatedly in the trials of life and death will naturally lead to improvement. Of course, talent is also indispensable."
It is very difficult for professionals in this world to upgrade their levels.
Ordinary people in this world are no different from ordinary people in Rand's previous life. However, in order to obtain extraordinary strength, physical professions require physical training, and spellcasters have to endure the power of magic, all of which require unimaginable costs.
Senior professionals are already the pinnacle of what ordinary people can achieve. It is almost impossible to become the highest-level professional.
But Elsa is actually not very far from this level.
As if recalling her past, Elsa's relatively gentle temperament turned cold. Her past was like a nightmare, and this nightmare could come to her at any time.
(End of this chapter)