"Tilan from the Miracle Port female camp has completed her Loyalty Trial. Issue an appointment document for her to return to Miracle Port and take over Daisy's position." In the castle study, Lynd looked at the report in his hand and instructed Moose, then asked, "Is there anything else today?"
Moose asked, "Bishop Zanqi's identity has been recognized by the church, and he is also about to depart for Miracle Sanctuary. Do you want to meet him?"
Lynd shook his head and said, "Bishop Hulen already brought him to meet me before. Everything that needed to be explained has been explained, so there's no need to go out of my way to meet him again."
After Bishop Josais became the executive bishop of his newly formed Church Secret Society's arbiter, the position of Bishop of Miracle Sanctuary became vacant, and he had to select a new bishop for Miracle Sanctuary.
However, this time he did not apply for a bishop transfer from Starry Sept or other church sanctuaries, but directly selected a suitable candidate from the monks of Miracle Sanctuary.
The person recommended by Bishop Josais was his assistant monk, named Zanqi. This assistant monk was a senior monk whose qualifications were already sufficient to be appointed as a bishop. It was just because his personality was a bit rigid and not very likable that he had never obtained the bishop's status.
Because Zanqi had been Josais's assistant monk ever since Josais became the Bishop of Miracle Sanctuary, he was very familiar with all matters big and small concerning Miracle Sanctuary. During Bishop Josais's Seven Gods Trial, he had always presided over the affairs of Miracle Sanctuary as acting bishop, so it was only natural to officially promote him this time.
"What is the reaction of the people below to the military reform?" Lynd then asked Baelon.
Baelon replied very concisely, "Mercenary knights approve, mercenaries and free riders also like it, but noble knights are a bit unwilling."
Lynd didn't mind, saying, "It doesn't matter, they will adapt. Those who cannot adapt will be eliminated."
During this recent period, Lynd has been focusing on military reforms within the Summerhall territory.
These military reforms, in addition to further refining the functions of various departments of the standing army's Chosen Legion, focused more on the conditions for military officer appointments.
Previously, capable knights were directly appointed as captains to lead the soldiers of the Chosen Legion into battle.
But now, all knights must enter the Army Camp to receive unified training and master command abilities before they can become low-ranking officers like captains.
And high-ranking officers can only be appointed after knights who have achieved military merits undergo a Loyalty Trial at Redemption Sanctuary or Holy Sanctuary.
This is clearly completely different from the military systems of the various territories in the Seven Kingdoms today. Most of the armies in other kingdoms are still in a mercenary model, hiring mercenary knights, mercenaries, and free riders when battle is needed, forming an army, and fighting in conjunction with temporarily recruited troops within their own territory.
Once the battle ends, all armies are disbanded on the spot, retaining only a portion of the standing army to maintain public order within the territory. Usually, the standing army consists of only a few hundred people, or even dozens, and only large cities like Lannisport, White Harbor, and Oldtown maintain a standing army and garrison of over a thousand people.
However, Summerhall now not only maintains a standing army of five thousand people, but also has garrisons in various towns, and even hired mercenaries like mercenary knights on a long-term basis instead of short-term. This is equivalent to completely rewriting the military system of the Seven Kingdoms.
There are also intelligent people in the Seven Kingdoms who can see the benefits of such military reforms and know that they can improve the army's combat power, but they do not believe that Lynd's military reforms can be maintained for a long time, because they can all calculate that the money required to maintain such a standing army is enormous, and they do not believe Lynd has the ability to sustain it.
Only those under Lynd who truly understand his financial situation know that military expenditures account for only a small portion of the funds in Lynd's hands. Not to mention anything else, the monthly sales revenue from the special Seven Gods Potion alone is enough to cover all military expenses, with plenty to spare, not to mention the even larger volume of weapon sales. If the income from gold and silver mines is added, the wealth Lynd has accumulated in a short time is already enough for him to rival the Lannister of the Westerlands.
However, all financial income has been hidden by Lynd, and only a few people know the total annual income. Others only know a part, and local financial officials know even less.
It is also because of such strong financial support that Lynd's drastic reforms to the military system within his territory did not encounter too much resistance; otherwise, his personal prestige alone would not have been enough to suppress all opposing voices.
Half a month later, Daisy, having relinquished her duties, came to the castle to meet Lynd.
Thanks to Lynd's current military system, Daisy's departure did not significantly affect the combat power of the female camp.
But to the outside world, who were unaware of the situation, Daisy's resignation was undoubtedly a very big event in Summerhall, and some even believed it would shake the stability of Lynd's army.
This was mainly because they misjudged the importance of Daisy Mormont in Lynd's army. They, following traditional thinking, believed that Daisy Mormont had followed Lynd every step of the way in establishing such a large enterprise, held such an important position in the military, and had recently achieved such great merits, and therefore thought Daisy held a crucial position in Lynd's army.
But in reality, in Lynd's army, apart from Lynd himself, everyone else was unimportant and could be replaced at any time.
Although the replacement or departure of high-ranking generals like Daisy would indeed cause some turmoil, such turmoil was small-scale and would not cause significant adverse effects, and it ended quickly.
From the time Tilan took over Daisy's duties, Daisy finished her auxiliary work in just half a month and returned to Summerhall Castle for her final debriefing, which shows how quickly this wave of departure-related turmoil completely subsided.
"This is my complete plan for Bear Island. Take a look." Lynd handed the plan he had organized during this time to Daisy, pointed to a chair nearby, and said, "Take your time, no rush."
Daisy took the scroll, sat on the chair, and read it carefully.
Before joining Lynd's service, Daisy was illiterate. In fact, many lord-nobles were illiterate; they believed that having a maester help them read and write documents was sufficient, and they only needed to make decisions, so literacy was not important.
But Lynd required every one of his officers to be literate, able to read military orders and intelligence, so all officers, including Daisy, from top to bottom, learned to read, and even special exams were set up.
Although Daisy passed the exam, she hadn't been learning to read for long, and reading long documents was a bit strenuous. Many parts she only knew how to pronounce but not the meaning, requiring her to stop and ask Lynd. So, she read from morning until evening before fully understanding the plan scroll.
"You don't need to return it to me. This one is for you. If you have any questions when you go back, you can take it out and look." Lynd motioned for Daisy to take the scroll back, then asked, "Tell me your thoughts on this plan."
Daisy thought carefully and said, "I don't have any thoughts; it's already very complete. Although Bear Island belongs to Winterfell's jurisdiction, as long as enough taxes are paid, Winterfell usually won't have any issues with general affairs. Trade with the Beyond the Wall Savage Tribes also benefits Bear Island, and I can persuade the people of Bear Island. For the Night's Watch, your letter will be needed. However, Bear Island does not have enough ships…"
Lynd replied, "You don't need to worry about that. I have prepared twenty ships for you in Lannisport. Take them with you when you return to Bear Island. After the Stepstones are pacified, I will reassign Asha and Beller back to the Iron Islands, and they will cooperate with you then."
Daisy nodded, then said, "Establishing a forward base on Bear Island is also not a big problem, but if it's possible not to transfer people from Summerhall, but instead hire people directly from Bear Island or the North, it might be better, so Winterfell won't find an excuse."
Lynd hesitated at this suggestion, then nodded and said, "That's also not a problem, but the appointed officers must be recalled to receive training at the Army Camp. Only those who have completed basic officer training can officially take up their posts."
Daisy said no problem, which was exactly what she wanted. After all, she was already accustomed to commanding disciplined regular officers and soldiers, and thinking back to the armies of the North, they were truly a bit unsightly.
This was like someone accustomed to fine dining suddenly being given a trough of pig feed to eat; there's no way they could eat it.
Afterwards, the two discussed the location of the trade route, eventually making slight modifications to the originally planned trade route. While Asha and Beller had not returned to the Iron Islands, trade with Beyond the Wall would take the route of Brightflame Bay, Salt Spear Beach, and Hotwave River, landing at Kalin Bay, then passing through Kalin Bay to White Harbor, where Summerhall's merchant fleet would wait, and goods would be directly loaded onto ships at White Harbor and transported across Across the Narrow Sea for trade.
Once Asha and Beller return to the Iron Islands and gain control of the Iron Islands, another shipping route will be branched off to transport goods to Lannisport or continue south to Oldtown for trade.
In addition, Daisy also proposed that she wished to exchange all her military merits and salary from these years for grain, because Bear Island's land is barren and cold, with very few places suitable for growing grain. It is precisely because of the scarcity of grain that Bear Island's population is limited.
Lynd agreed to Daisy's request and also promised to additionally gift a batch of grain and weapons. Furthermore, he would be responsible for the costs associated with building the base and connecting the trade route.
The two finished discussing all matters by evening. Moose drafted an offensive and defensive alliance agreement that night, which was slightly different from those with other lords. After signing this agreement, Daisy, accompanied by thirty female camp personal guards specially authorized by Lynd, left Summerhall that night for Lannisport, to take a ship back to Bear Island.
Before Daisy left, Lynd tried asking Daisy if she wanted to become the first female knight in Westeros, offering to knight her. Daisy refused, however, because she worshipped the Old Gods, not the Seven Gods.
And because the first female knight in Westeros was mentioned, Lynd thought of Brienne, so he summoned Brienne, who was leading her subordinates on patrol in Redemption Town, and handed her a letter from Duskendale Hall that had just arrived today via messenger. This letter should have been from Lord Selwyn. The fact that it was delivered by messenger rather than a raven indicated its importance.
Brienne took the letter and read it carefully, and the contents made her frown.
Although Brienne was only in her teens now, she was already about as tall as Lynd. Because some of her bad habits had been corrected, her teeth were very straight, her nose had not suffered too much damage and was not crooked, and her hair, thanks to daily care from her maidservants, was not messy like straw. Overall, she looked much better than described in the books from his previous life; at least, she could still be distinguished as a woman.
However, the biggest change in her was confidence, that self-evident confidence that didn't require the approval or concern of others, which she hadn't possessed before becoming Lynd's squire.
"What does the letter say?" Lynd asked when he saw Brienne put down the letter.
Brienne handed the letter to Lynd and said, "Father is ill and hopes I will return to manage the affairs of Duskendale Hall, preparing to take over the Duskendale Hall territory."
Lynd also looked at the letter in his hand and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Brienne looked at Lynd and said, "I don't know."
Lynd easily saw through Brienne's thoughts and said, "You probably hope to be knighted by me before returning to Duskendale Hall, right?"
Brienne, whose little thoughts were exposed, nodded slightly.
"Then tell me, are your achievements sufficient to receive my knighthood?" Lynd counter-questioned.
Brienne shook her head slightly, her expression somewhat dejected as she lowered her head.
"How about this!" Lynd flipped through the documents on the table, found an invitation, and handed it to Brienne, saying, "King Robert, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of killing Prince Rhaegar, ascending the Iron Throne, and establishing House Baratheon, is preparing to hold a martial arts tournament in King's Landing five months from now, in March of next year. I am invited to attend, but because Nameria is pregnant and due to give birth soon, I definitely won't be able to make it. You will represent me then. If you can win the championship in any martial arts competition, I will personally knight you, making you the first female knight in Westeros."
Upon hearing Lynd's words, Brienne's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Are you serious?"
"Of course, I'm serious." Lynd gave an affirmative answer, then said, "You go back and think about which martial arts competition you want to participate in, and then, using these five months, I will give you specialized training."
Brienne answered without thinking, "Lance! As a knight, of course I'll participate in the lance tournament and win the championship." As she spoke, she requested, "Can Lord Baelon and Lord Roso train me in lance skills? They are the best lance knights I've ever seen."
"No need." Lynd shook his head and said, "You are my squire, so of course I will train you."
"What? You train with a lance?" Brienne looked surprised. Before she could speak, Nameria, who had just entered the study to discuss something with Lynd, already questioned with surprise, "Do you know anything about lances? Don't mess Brienne up."
Being questioned like this, Lynd looked displeased. However, he couldn't blame Nameria for questioning him, as none of the combat skills he had shown in the past were related to lances. So, he could only curl his lips and say, "I'm too lazy to explain. You'll see the results."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"