Afternoon.

Rosen once again stopped on the parapet of Crescent Castle, and this time Selena also came.

The two stood side by side, looking out at the river valley plain west of Crescent City.

There, there was a transport convoy that seemed to have no end.

First, there was the smuggling from Aji, a merchant from Gaoshan County, and now there is the large-scale sea transportation of supplies from Muradi, which has brought in a total of 15,000 tons of food.

There are only about 66,000 people on the entire island.

Even if the island itself does not grow crops, based on the estimated annual consumption of 200 kilograms per person, this amount of food is enough to feed the entire island's residents for more than a year.

What's more, the island itself produces food.

The winter wheat grown in the fields, the fish, seaweed, shells caught from rivers and offshore, the wild animals in the mountains and forests, and various local products planted sporadically, all added together, can barely feed the islanders.

Food is the most important thing for people.

If you are not hungry, you will be at peace. No matter what Rosen does, nothing serious will happen on the island.

In addition to food, there are more than 4,000 tons of other materials.

Not only did it greatly make up for the previous consumption, but it also provided a batch of supplies for building the navy.

An island without a navy is like a man without toys in his crotch. It is absolutely unacceptable.

We must have a navy, and it must be established as soon as possible. It must be as strong as possible, and in the short term, at least be able to achieve near-sea denial.

Otherwise, all the wealth accumulated on the island is just a temporary deposit of the powerful.

Of course, this is very, very difficult and, above all, expensive.

As far as Rosen knows, the current top-level ironclad rune battleship in the Witt Continent, also known as the dreadnought battleship, weighs 2,000 tons and costs at least 500,000 Oggs each.

It's just a boat.

Such a precious item, let alone Rosen now, even the Earl of Charles County would not dare to think about it.

But no matter how difficult it is, we will find a way to build a navy.

On the parapet, the two looked at each other for a long time. Selena said softly, "The island conference will be held tomorrow. A group of brave knights will be disappointed when they hear that you will no longer appoint the town lord."

There are five towns on the island, and the lords of the five towns and their core knights were all trapped on the banks of the Hanshui River.

But according to the island tradition, the Five Towns always need a lord, so the Crescent Knights who are high in status and qualified enough naturally want to be canonized as knights.

Now that Rosen says he won't confer the title, those with good tempers will feel disappointed, while those with bad tempers will curse inwardly.

This is human nature.

But the knights will not resist.

Because it is only the frustration of expectations rather than the deprivation of what one already has, the resistance caused by the former is far less intense than that of the latter.

Rosen could hear the worry in Selena's words.

Because she grew up in a traditional feudal system, although she supported Rosen's new policies, the sudden change made her feel insecure.

People always feel comfortable in familiar things and environments, and subconsciously resist completely unfamiliar things.

This is human nature.

He smiled and said, "Thank you ma'am for your reminder. I will pay close attention to it."

He has been very busy these days. He has summoned every knight with high reputation, high qualifications and high ability to have individual talks with them, and has already taken control of the situation.

Seeing that he looked as indifferent as always, Selena found a familiar sense of security in him and felt relieved.

Amid the bustle of fulfillment and joy, the island passed quietly overnight.

Early the next morning, the conference to promulgate the new island policy was officially held!

The meeting place is at Crescent Castle.

The main venue was in the lord's long house. The participants were all prominent figures on White Sturgeon Island. There were more than 300 of them, almost filling up the second step of the hall.

This group of people included the Crescent Knights, mages from the Magic Center, prestigious gentry on the island, elders from the Ego tribe, and so on.

The Flame Regiment's commander, Yop, and several deputy commanders were also there.

There were only four of them, and they were very inconspicuous. In their opinion, they were just pretending to be in compliance with the employment contract.

The first step of the hall, connected to the open space outside the house, is the civilian audience seat.

Those invited are civilians with outstanding abilities from all walks of life on the White Sturgeon Island.

Including honest small businessmen, skilled craftsmen, farmers with outstanding farming abilities, and so on, in short, people who have some influence in the countryside.

There were a total of 1,000 people in this group.

This was the first time they received an invitation to such a conference.

Although they were just listening, every invited person felt extremely excited to observe the operation of the highest power on the island at such a close distance.

In the corner of the open space outside the hall door, Muradi, Maxim and his servants were also there.

All three of them wore hats, casual clothes, and looked low-key.

Looking at the boiling crowd in front, Maxim whispered: "If the open space is not wide enough, I suspect the Baron would invite everyone on the island."

Muradi shrugged. "The Baron might really do such a thing, because he always has many strange ideas."

Maxim chuckled: "It's indeed a wonderful idea, but I'm afraid it won't work in the end."

The attendant beside him also said: "Young Master is right. Look at these civilians. Most of them are not here to attend the meeting, but to see something new."

At this moment, a clear but solemn young female voice was heard in the hall.

"Please invite Lord Rosen and his wife Princess Chenxi to take their seats."

The spacious door of the long house was open, and a large number of magic lamps were lit inside the house, illuminating the hall as bright as day. Through the densely packed backs of heads, Muladi and the other two could clearly see the Baron and Baroness walking up to their seats.

After taking a look, Muradi said softly, "He looks much more majestic now."

A month ago, he was just a tall and outstanding young man, but looking at him now, Muradi felt a heavy heart and a pressure that could not be ignored.

This is a trait only possessed by lords who have strong control over their territories.

Because in this territory, he is the only master, and his will can easily determine the fate of anyone on this land.

Sir Maxim also felt it. He whispered, "He looks a bit like Aaron's Lion King. Oh no, he has more of the elegance of a wizard and less of the savagery of a warrior. He seems to be more profound."

The Lion King is another name for King Dange. No matter how people criticize his bad habits, Dange is indeed the most powerful king in the Natural Alliance.

The attendant Ade grinned and said, "Master, I am just a small island baron with only tens of thousands of people under my rule. How can I compare with a king with over 100 million people?"

Maxim smiled slightly: "Whether they can be compared or not, we will know after we see the content of the new policies he promulgated later."

Ade was stunned: "No matter how much trouble a small island has, it is still a small island. The new policy is not an oracle, can it be crowned?"

Besides, even oracles are useless these days.

Maxim whispered, "All the great trees grow from tiny seeds. The Baron was originally just the seed of a small shrub, but he married the princess."

Having said this, he kept silent and raised his hand to stop the servant from talking: "Keep reading, Ade."

At this time, the tall female warrior beside the baron shouted again.

"The first step of the conference is to promulgate new policies!"

The female warrior's voice was young but loud, with clear pronunciation, and with the help of mental magic, it was clearly heard by every participant.

"The new policy for islands, full name 'Island Citizens' Political Participation System'."

"Citizens are individuals who are recognized as legally qualified by the lord and live on the White Sturgeon Island, St. Ann Island, Hank Island, and the triangular waters within the line connecting the three islands."

These words sound somewhat complicated, but the meaning is clear, and the complexity mainly lies in a series of place names.

There are many more places than the White Sturgeon Island.

Having said this, the female warrior looked around the audience and spoke loudly again.

“Every island citizen will have five basic rights.”

"For the right to life, property, protection, education, and most importantly, the right to vote!"

This statement caused a lot of feedback, but because the right to participate in politics was not explained in detail, although the people were very concerned, they didn't know where to start.

The female warrior continued.

"Every citizen also has four basic obligations."

"They are paying taxes, abiding by the law, safeguarding the public interests of the island, and performing military service."

Because it directly involves everyone's vital interests, the island residents attending the meeting all listened carefully and discussed in low voices.

"It seems that there is no special change from before?"

"I have one more right than an obligation. The Lord is so kind."

"I wonder how big the political power is?"

The female warrior waited for a moment, then emphasized her tone and said loudly, "Now, please allow the lord to speak."

Rosen, who had been sitting, stood up.

All the islanders also pricked up their ears subconsciously.

Rosen looked around the room and said in a deep, majestic tone:

“I know that everyone here is very curious and confused about the right to vote, and they don’t know what these three words mean.”

"I'll explain it to you in a moment, but first, I need to tell you something."

After everyone focused, Rosen spoke again.

"I want to tell you that the world we live in is moving forward rapidly, and the power of the countries outside the island is increasing at an astonishing speed."

"To meet this challenge, we must make profound changes and enhance our strength to resist the powerful enemies who are trying to invade the island."

“Otherwise, the next person to land on the island will not be me, the son of the old lord who has returned from Dawn City, but a barbaric bandit who comes to enslave the island or even destroy it!”

As soon as these words were spoken, all the knowledgeable people on the island felt a chill run down their spines.

Yes, the one who landed this time was the old baron’s son. Although he possessed great power enough to destroy everything, he always maintained the greatest restraint.

But this is because Rosen is everyone's lord.

But what if it wasn't? The island would be completely destroyed, and all the people would become slaves of the invaders, enslaved to death!

For a moment, many people broke out in cold sweat on their backs.

From the expressions on everyone's faces, Rosen knew that his words touched everyone's heart.

“Change must happen, change fast, and everyone must change!”

“You have to change!”

"As a lord, I must also change!"

"The so-called right of island citizens to participate in politics means that the many military, political, business and other new fields that will soon emerge on the islands will all be open to island citizens!"

"As long as there are island citizens who demonstrate sufficient ability, no matter what your background is, no matter whether you are male or female, you will be able to get a position that corresponds to your ability."

"Even if the position is the chief administrative officer, the commander of the Crescent Knights, or even the mayor of a small town!"

After the last sentence came out, all the island residents present were instantly in an uproar.

The first two are fine, they are ministers serving the lord, and as long as they work hard and have some luck, ordinary people can barely get in.

But the five major towns were originally knighted lords, and the title was hereditary, and had nothing to do with ordinary people. Now it was put up for competition among all the island residents! The value of this citizen participation right suddenly rose to an astonishing level.

This change is indeed astonishingly huge, even shocking.

In the past, the island knights would definitely fight back and quickly help the lord correct this outrageous mistake.

But the knights of the White Sturgeon Island were all gone.

All the interest groups that were dependent on the knight were also purged.

However, due to the harsh living environment, the idea of ​​"the capable are the king" is much stronger in the nature of island residents than in people from other regions.

Because if you don’t have the ability, you will really die.

Therefore, Rosen's statement that the capable person should be appointed as the mayor is in line with the ideas of the islanders.

If capable people don't rush to the front and lead the crowd, who will lead them? Should they be led by idiots like M'Bahate and Ales? ! Therefore, whether it is the Crescent Knights, elites from all walks of life, or even the forest spirits who walked out of the mountains, after careful consideration, they all think that the lord's idea is quite reliable.

This is what the Lord of the White Sturgeon Island should do! Then, the crowd cheered violently, and the ordinary people who were listening outside the house were the most excited.

The cheers were so loud that they nearly blew off the roof of the lord's longhouse.

Of course there are calm bystanders.

The attendant Ade whispered, "I thought it was some great new policy, but this is just a replica of our national reform."

Levant's national reform began ten years ago.

Muradi shook his head slightly: "No, it's quite different."

Sir Maxim also nodded: "It is indeed different."

"What's the difference?"

Maxim said: "He increased the right to education. In addition, all the upper nobles on the island were killed. Therefore, this may be the most thorough reform implemented in the entire Witt continent."

Levender's national reforms did have some results.

The problem is that the aristocracy still firmly controls the lifeline of the kingdom and the path to advancement, so the so-called national reform is nothing more than a brilliant firework.

After all, he was also a noble, even an upper class among the nobles. He saw many of the country's ills, but unfortunately~~~~ Ade muttered: "It's not completely thorough. The Baron's family is still there."

Maxim had sharp ears and smiled slightly when he heard this.

"It is impossible to pursue the most complete perfection in the real world. The Baron is the most indispensable leader of the island. Without him, everything else exists. Without him, this place would be just a marginal island."

The attendant Ade was convinced: "Master is right."

At this time, the baron spoke again: "After many days of discussion, a new island management system of "Three Repositories, Six Departments and Twelve Towns" was launched."

"Next, we will begin the process of appointing heads of new departments on the island."

(End of this chapter)