Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Over the next two days, the nobles in Golden Feather City became exceedingly active. In pursuit of votes, they would even call on complete strangers, leveraging the most tenuous of connections to do so.

Ultimately, however, this selection process came down to a noble's overall standing. Connections, wealth, and personal strength were what mattered most.

Some of the lesser nobles coveted the Chief Steward positions in the Six Ministries, but their overall standing was simply too low. No amount of networking would change that.

So, a few of the bolder ones came to Wushan Manor to visit Ronin, hoping he might establish more departments and give them a chance to serve the Kingdom.

These visits served a dual purpose: they were seeking personal gain while also covertly pledging their allegiance to Ronin.

After all, in the near future, even if this young powerhouse didn't inherit Oduin's throne, he was certain to establish his own kingdom.

The Six Ministries system Ronin was currently implementing would undoubtedly be used in his own future kingdom as well.

Therefore, by making an appearance before Ronin now, these people hoped to have a chance at securing an official post in his kingdom later on.

If they did nothing now, it would be too late to act when the time eventually came.

Ronin didn't refuse their visits. He would exchange a few extra words with those he knew, and simply go through the motions with the strangers.

During this period, he had Carolina inform Macken to return to Purple Thunder Territory and, together with Melonika and Petro, begin planning the campaign to conquer the Villa Duchy.

He also sent Carlos and Elron back to Wubei Territory to launch an attack on Screaming Island, coordinating with the Navy trained by Reis and Karda.

Screaming Island was a large territory, consisting mainly of numerous islands. Even with Patridge as his man on the inside, conquering all the islands at once would be a time-consuming challenge.

Thus, he selected a few Viscounts and Barons from his list of visitors to dispatch troops to Screaming Island alongside his own.

Lurans wasn't idle, either.

The campaign against the Villa Duchy from Wushan Territory was bound to have widespread repercussions. So, while considering candidates for the Six Ministries, Lurans also had Wiggin issue a mobilization order. Every noble in Wushan Territory, great and small, was to commit their full strength to attacking the Villa Duchy until its lands were completely occupied.

Of course, the war wasn't limited to just one front.

Several small-scale conflicts had already erupted along the border between the Gistana Duchy and the Ferrensburg Duchy.

As Ferrensburg was inherently stronger than Gistana, the latter had been on the losing end of these skirmishes.

Duke Valgis had no time to worry about the Six Ministries. After convening a meeting with the nobles assigned to him to discuss the western front, he rushed back to his own territory.

On the western front, he faced not only the Ferrensburg Duchy but also the Balaton Duchy, located beyond the Brown Forest to the Southwest. The pressure on Duke Valgis was considerable.

Before Valgis left, the five members of the War Council agreed that Ronin would act as mobile support, reinforcing the various fronts as needed.

He was now their equivalent of a nuclear weapon—a powerful deterrent to be deployed wherever necessary.

Of course, Ronin's own campaign had to advance steadily as well. After all, the sooner he occupied Giant Dragon City, the sooner he could establish his own kingdom.

As for the territory his kingdom would encompass, it would naturally include the lands between Mist City and Giant Dragon City, covering three major cities—Mo'er City, Banks Forest, and Lakefront City—as well as five smaller cities and over a dozen towns.

Oh, and Giant Dragon City. The capital of the Tricia Kingdom would likely be incorporated into Ronin's territory as well.

Presumably, no one would object.

「Two days passed in a flash.」

On the morning of the third day, the same banquet hall was even livelier than it had been three days before.

The sounds of campaigning, vote counting, and applause were incessant. The competition for the Chief Steward positions became so fierce that some nobles even began flinging accusations at one another, their faces flushed with anger.

A single day was not enough to finalize the appointments for the fifty-four official posts. The council met for three consecutive days, barely managing to conclude their decisions by nightfall on the third day.

Ronin looked over the final list. It contained many familiar names.

For instance, Arsenno, the former Minister of State Affairs, had run for the position of Minister of Personnel and secured it as expected.

Then there was Luther, the former Minister of Commerce, who was now the Minister of Revenue.

The Minister of Rites was Randall, Bellora's great-grandson.

The Minister of War was Broel, former Vice Leader of the Griffin Knight Order.

The Minister of Justice was Texas, who had also previously served as the Kingdom's Minister of Justice.

The only one Ronin didn't recognize was the Minister of Works, Koben. He was a Minister from Double Peaks Ridge, backed by Ibn Count.

Looking at the vice ministers, nearly all of them came from the background of an Earl Clan. It was only at the Chief Steward level that one began to see Kingdom Viscounts and Barons.

While Ronin hadn't had his people vie for any of the minister positions, he had secured the post of vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel for Wilson.

In addition, Albert, recommended by Lurans, was appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The vice minister of the Ministry of War was Eight-dimensional Snyder, who had been supported by Duke Valgis before his departure.

The selection process for the Six Ministries was, in effect, a grand partitioning of power.

Now, it remained to be seen how these new officials would get the Kingdom functioning once more.

Ronin took this as an opportunity to observe the entire process. He would need to continuously optimize his own departmental structure when he established his kingdom, and this was a chance to consider the rules and responsibilities for other future departments.

Beyond that, another major task for him was to have the Ministry of Rites begin planning for education, which would be rolled out as the war drew to a close.

After all, he didn't want a system where talent was selected based solely on noble recommendations and public speaking campaigns.

Of course, the education system he envisioned wasn't a pure imperial examination. It would be geared toward a modern curriculum—subjects like language, mathematics, and engineering—with talent selected through examinations.

This meant the Ministry of Rites would also be responsible for standardizing examination rules across the country, creating uniform textbooks, and more. As the top manager of the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce, Minister Randall had certainly taken on a massive project.

「Late that night.」

After seeing Broel off, a weary Ronin collapsed onto the sofa.

Blanche walked over, rubbing his shoulders and massaging his scalp. "How are you? Feeling exhausted?"

"Yeah. More tired than that fight with Serdil and the others."

As the Vice Leader of the Griffin Knight Order and an Honorary Count of the Kingdom, Broel had decent connections, but they weren't quite enough to make him Minister of War on his own.

He only managed to secure the position because Ronin had given him a glowing endorsement during his speech, allowing him to edge out Bawei by a slim margin.

The Ministry of War was responsible for the Kingdom's military affairs, security, army administration, and logistical supply.

For the time being, Broel wouldn't need to handle military affairs or army administration. He was proficient with matters of security, but he wasn't familiar with logistics, which is why he had come to consult Ronin.

The Kingdom's resources were abundant, but with wars flaring up on all sides, supporting every front was essential. Managing the supply of materials was a massive undertaking.

Ronin planned to arrange a meeting between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to discuss the issue in depth.

"Tomorrow, tell Carolina to help me write a letter to Wubei Territory. Have Rogner prepare to take up a post under Broel."

Although each noble was limited to one official appointment within the Six Ministries—Ronin included.

That didn't stop him from slotting his own people into other roles.

Not as Ministers or Chief Stewards, of course, but simply to learn under them.

Rogner had long been responsible for coordinating supplies for Wubei Territory, Moonlight Valley, and the front lines at Mist City, so he was quite experienced in this area.

By having Rogner assist Broel, Ronin was not only helping the new minister but also giving Rogner more exposure to the Kingdom's affairs, grooming him as a trustworthy official for his future nation.

"Then who will be in charge of logistics for our own territory?" Blanche asked, continuing her massage.

"That is a problem."

Ronin thought for a moment. "Let's give it to David. He's been with me for a long time, his strength improved late last year, and he recently spent some time working under Rogner. With Pearson assisting him, there shouldn't be any issues."

Blanche nodded slightly.

David was also familiar with Wilson, Chahar, and the others. It would be relatively simple to have a veteran like him coordinate resources from different locations.

"Alright. I'll have Carolina send out the notifications tomorrow."