Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence - Chapter 473 - 297: Winning Hearts and Minds (Part 2)
Chapter 473: Chapter 297: Winning Hearts and Minds (Part 2)
“Regarding your husbands.” He raised his voice slightly: “The treatment of the Broken Blade Knight Order will be increased by 30% on the original basis, and the equipment, horses, and military pay will all be distributed in accordance with the standards of the Red Tide top-tier knight order. They have followed me here, and I will never let them down.”
He calmly scanned the families in front of him, cart by cart.
“I dare not promise you riches overnight, nor can I assure smooth sailing, but I can guarantee that everyone willing to take root in Red Tide will receive the respect and rewards they deserve.”
For a moment, the surroundings were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Amidst this silence, the little girl in Mary’s arms suddenly moved.
“Mama…” Her voice was very light, yet it fell right into Louis’s ears.
Louis turned his head and saw the child with wide eyes timidly poking her head out from the blanket.
He then smiled gently, bent down, squatted in front of the child, and softly asked, “How old is she?”
Mary was startled, hurriedly stood up to pay her respects, with a hint of unease: “She’s three, my lord… her name is Yini.”
“Yini…” he repeated softly, as if trying to remember the name.
“In the Red Tide Territory, children start school at six. Even if they cannot become knights, as long as they are willing to work hard, they can become deacons, accountants, or even leaders of the territory.”
Then Louis looked up, scanning the group: “If anyone here has any suggestions or questions, you can bring them up now.”
He spoke sincerely, but after his words fell, there was silence.
Several women lowered their heads, while some children peeked at him from behind, yet no one spoke up.
Some were overwhelmed by the future prospects his words revealed, while others were intimidated by his status as lord; at any rate, no one dared to speak first.
Seeing no one speak, Louis nodded to a few nearby Broken Blade knights and gave instructions on details about the distribution of family carriages and accommodation arrangements.
After speaking, he mounted his horse, ready to leave.
Emily had long been waiting by another horse, and the two rode off together, traveling far through the snow.
The crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The tense atmosphere loosened like a snapped string, and murmurs immediately spread among the carriages.
“That was Louis… My God, he’s so young and so handsome!”
“Did you hear that just now? Fifty gold coins… and it’s paid directly!”
“My goodness, that’s a whole year’s salary for an elite knight! And it’s solid gold!”
“I thought he’d talk to us about Northern ideals, but he went straight to arranging living, food, and jobs… That’s just so straightforward.”
They didn’t hear any empty grandiose talk, nor were they convinced of glory and sacrifice.
What they heard was a “truly belonging to the family” house, “if you want to work, work can be arranged, if you want to farm, there’s land.”
It’s “the treatment of Broken Blade knights is 30% more than over in Frost Halberd City.”
And the resounding promise: “No one following the Red Tide will be mistreated.”
This hit right at the mark.
They brought their children, luggage, pots, and pans, leaving the familiar Frost Halberd behind to follow the garrison where their husbands were stationed.
The future was unfamiliar, the journey exhausting, who wouldn’t have apprehension in their hearts?
But now, a young lord stood in front of them, personally telling them: “Your husbands deserve the best, and you will be well taken care of.”
This feeling was completely different from those distant nobles they had dealt with in the past.
It was no longer “knights should listen to the lord, you pray for your own blessing,” but “since you are willing to follow me, I will protect you completely.”
Mary listened quietly, her gaze still fixed in the direction Louis had left.
She continued holding her daughter, but her arms relaxed significantly.
She was genuinely a bit swayed.
She had always been cautious, even pessimistic, never expecting to live well in a place like the Northern Territory.
Even though Smith constantly reassured her: “Don’t worry, the Red Tide Lord is capable and generous.”
She only took it as her husband’s loyal defense.
But upon meeting Louis for the first time today, she sensed that difference.
There were no boastful promises, nor commanding authority.
His speech was not fast, but it was sincere.
Even without having ever participated in public affairs, she could clearly feel this.
She glanced down at Yini, gently arranging her hair: “Maybe… we can really try to believe this time.”
……
The Broken Blade Knight Order is now one of the strongest military forces in the entire Northern Territory.
In the past, Duke Edmund managed to stabilize the Northern Lands for decades, relying on the three elite knight orders in his hands.
Now the Duke has handed over actual control of this legion, along with their families and offspring, into his hands.
As for the leaders, vice leaders, and other high-level members, Louis had long reached a preliminary understanding with them through a series of negotiations and mutually beneficial arrangements.
But for those middle and lower-ranking knights and those weary families with their homes in tow, children in carriages, the name Louis Calvin was too far off.
Could a young man under twenty-five really lead them?
They had doubts, suspicions, fatigue, and unease.
Louis didn’t expect a mere order to earn loyalty, which is why he specifically arranged this inspection.
It wasn’t orders, nor lectures, but the direct distribution of heartwarming gold coins and specific policies.
A small gesture of fifty gold coins seemed to most like an unnecessary expense.
But to Louis, it was the cheapest investment.
Only a few carts of gold coins were needed to establish trust in the lower ranks of an elite knight order towards the new lord.
Moreover, this was a bearable expense for Louis, the entire Mine Boss.
“If you want to gain the loyalty of an army, it’s not just about treating the generals well, you have to make every soldier’s wife, child, and parent feel that following you has hope.”
This is straightforward logic. After all, with sufficient meals at the forefront, quick strike isn’t the limit.
Of course, economic and material incentives are just the first step Louis took.
Distributing houses, arranging jobs, increasing military pay, a settlement fund of fifty gold coins…
All these were the simplest yet most effective ways to make people stay physically.
But what he truly sought to establish was a complete sense of belonging, both physically and mentally.
To make families of an army keep their mouths shut, money alone is not enough; when they speak up, it should be in your defense.
This is Louis’s forte, the construction of personal worship.
It wasn’t his first time doing so.
Back in the Red Tide Main City, he earned the title of a war genius on the stage with personal exploits of slaying magical beasts in the classroom and a savior’s persona on the townspeople’s lips…
Of course, these stories were real, only expressed artistically and somewhat exaggerated.
This time was no exception, and though it couldn’t be accomplished in one fell swoop, he was very confident.
However, Louis had already made a good start.
On the first night after he left, the families of the Broken Blade, who initially complained about “settling in the wasteland,” were already not sighing so heavily.
By the campfire, the once-complaining voices quietly changed tune.
“Not to mention, his aura is really entirely different from those princes we’ve seen before… That gaze, like it can see through people.”
“I initially thought it was already impressive that someone his age could fight, but now I see, tsk, he’s more handsome than my husband.”
“The key is, he’s not just someone that looks good, the things he said just now… were for us families, right? Have you ever heard of a lord personally handing out money, arranging houses?”
“And you see Miss Emily standing beside him, aren’t they just a perfect match… Standing together, they look like a painting…”
For many of the Broken Blade knights’ families, an emotion of personal admiration had quietly arisen, even after only seeing this young lord once.
