"I''m moving the castle from here in Nevre to the port town of Maust on the river."


    I made that clear.


    I knew it, but some of you were confused. I can see it in their faces.


    It''s hard to leave a place you''ve grown so accustomed to. It is a natural feeling for any human being.


    But there is something that must take precedence over such feelings.


    "Castle Nayvle was only a stronghold when I was a lord of only one and a half counties. This place is too small for my future. It''s off the main road. So we move to Maust in the county of Kinase. There I will build a castle more than twice the size of the current one.


    He had already explained to some of his chief advisors that he was moving the castle, so they showed no surprise. Serafina was not present, but when I talked to her in her bedroom, she was happy that I had made the right choice.


    "I think that ...... it would be good to unify all the provinces before we change the base. ....... Once the province is stable, it will naturally be easier to gather materials. ......


    Gildone, an old vassal who has served me for four generations, since my grandfather''s time, told me, "I have been a servant for four generations.


    I appreciate your loyalty, but I''m sorry to say that I don''t think you have the foresight to see what''s coming. It is not Gildone''s fault. He should have served in that way in the past.


    "One way or another, I''ll have to leave here someday. And the sooner we move to Maust the better to raise money for the army. It is, after all, a port town on the river.


    "Then, isn''t Nevre also crowded with crops? I don''t remember any financial difficulties.


    Oda Nobunaga was laughing before I was laughing. It''s too noisy when he laughs too much.


    --This old man doesn''t seem to understand even the most obvious things. The amount of money that can be obtained mainly from agriculture is different from the amount of money that can be obtained by holding down a commercial city, even from the order of magnitude. Of course there is more money to be made by using Maust, which is already famous as a commercial city, as a base and developing it further.


    You are absolutely right.


    The old man does not understand the necessity of making money. Unfortunately, no one can guarantee that he will be safe and sound as a lord for a hundred or two hundred years.


    Little by little, the small lords are being absorbed by the big powers.


    Even our neighbor Minelia has been destroying her vassals who did not follow her for the past 20 years or so, slowly creating a situation where she could expand her power to the outside world.


    Of course, there may be some who remain old-fashioned in their thinking, like Gildone, but they will be destroyed sooner or later.


    I also want to move my base to Maust because I am thinking beyond the unification of the provinces. Down the river you can reach the Nagouri Province in the north. It is a good direction to attack Minelia while maintaining a cooperative relationship with her, and there are several port towns facing the sea in the Nagouri Province.


    In a large scale war, most of the soldiers would be recruited from the people, but if it is only military power, professional soldiers are stronger, as the SS did in the last war.


    And it costs a certain amount of money to increase the number and maintain the quality of the SS. If I am to become a superpower in the future, I need a system to collect more money, and the only way to do that is to seize cities.


    And maybe the relocation of the castle will serve as a sieve.


    "Gildone, it is true that moving is too much work for an old man like you. So you may remain in Navarre.


    "No, ......, that''s not what Gii meant. ......"


    If you are negative about the way I do things, you might not want to follow me.


    I''d appreciate it if they could present me with better ideas, but most of the time they are just naysayers.


    "Nevre is also the birthplace of the Nevre family and the place where the family name comes from. Don''t worry, it won''t cease to be an important place. The castle will not be destroyed. It must be protected. Please, stay.


    "No, Ji is more interested in this land than in Maust..."


    Boom!


    I hit the floor with my spear.


    The air goes silent.


    "Have you ever thought of a place in this province that would make a better base than Nevre?"


    "Oh, no. ......"


    "So, have you ever looked around the castles of lords who hold lands in a single province?"


    "No. ......"


    "Keep in mind that admonitions without evidence are the same as idle rumors."


    "Wow, okay. ......"


    Zildene folded.


    Raviara nodded in agreement. I told Laviala my plan in detail. She really understands me.


    --Whenever you try something new, there is always opposition, as there is everywhere.


    Was that the case with Oda Nobunaga?


    A man who calls himself the High King can''t be a conservative.


    --There is definitely value in tradition. The High King tried to use it to the fullest when he could. He also cared about his reputation. But tradition is also something to be used. It is not something that should be kept without thought.


    Thank you for your words. Your thoughts are often helpful.


    Perhaps the biggest bonus of the profession Odanobunaga is this advice.


    If Odanobunaga has become the High King in some other world, I am hearing directly from the High King.


    It is definitely more valuable than hearing a good story from any wise man in this world.


    "You are right to be worried. You have never served a lord with such a large estate before. Common sense will naturally change. I''m not trying to be eccentric, I''m trying to be pragmatic."


    I smile, because I don''t want to be seen as a scary monarch, even if I show my dignity.


    "Don''t worry about it. Don''t worry, I won''t move in a day or two. Just make sure you study the geography of Maust now. And there''s something else I''ve been thinking about, so I''ll tell you about it here."


    I thrust my spear to the floor once more.


    But not with as much force as before. I do not aim to intimidate him.


    "This spear, a gift from the cathedral, is very long indeed. It exceeds three jaguars."


    One jarg is equal to the height of a tall man. A man of one jarg automatically means a man of great stature.


    In other words, the spear is as long as three large men.


    "It is truly majestic, but it must have been dedicated to the gods. It is too long to be used as a weapon.


    One of the vassals said something like that.


    "Yes, it''s a bit long for common sense."


    I chuckle.


    "That''s why we mass produce spears of this length. I''m going to create a unit to handle this spear. I''m going to call it the "Three Jags.