"Crack! Crack!"

The sound of metal rubbing came all the way to the dining room, and Paul looked at the commander of the 1st Battalion of Infantry in full armor with some astonishment.

"Bryce, what are you?"

"Oh, my lord!"

Bryce knelt down on one knee to salute. Unexpectedly, he hadn't worn this set of armor for a long time, and he was a little unfamiliar, and it took a lot of effort to stand up.

"I am doing the etiquette of a noble retainer. As your former military chief, I should wear armor at all times so that I can defend my lord from any possible threats."

Paul didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and invited him to sit down at the table.

Soon, butler Philip directed several servants to put delicious food on the table.

Paul ordered: "You step back first, I want to stay alone with Lieutenant Colonel Alder for a while."

Old Philip followed the instructions and led the servants out of the restaurant.

Bryce raised his eyebrows. It seemed that the Earl was looking for him for more than just a meal tonight.

After the footsteps of the servants completely disappeared, Paul picked up a bottle of wine, filled the glass in front of him first, and walked to Bryce.

"Bryce, let's start with some wine for an appetizer."

As he spoke, he poured it into the glass in front of Bryce.

Seeing the earl pouring wine for himself, Bryce got up quickly, but was held down by Paul.

"Sit down, you are my guest tonight."

"Thank you...thank you, Lord Earl."

Bryce was so nervous and excited that he couldn't speak well.

Paul returned to his seat, raised his glass and said, "Come on, let's finish this."

Bryce also raised his glass quickly, and the two glasses made a crisp sound when they touched each other.

After drinking a glass, Paul filled up the glasses of the two of them again, causing Bryce to thank him again, and the two chatted while eating.

While chatting, Paul casually asked: "I said Bryce, the Alder family has been working for the Greimans for a long time, right?"

"Yes, Lord Earl." Bryce replied quickly: "It started from my great-grandfather's generation. Oops! I'm really sorry to have been favored by Lord Earl's family."

"Haha, Bryce, you are too humble. I won't talk about your ancestors, but you alone have solved my problems several times, and you have made great contributions."

"Where is there!" Bryce looked terrified, "A credit of average size! It is really a credit of average size. Besides, it is my duty and obligation as your retainer."

"I actually think that you are the most credited among all my subordinates, even Schroeder, who is above you, is not as good as you."

"This... this..." Bryce was a little speechless, "How dare I compare with Master Schroeder, Master Schroeder is an upright knight."

Paul waved his hand vigorously: "No, I don't care about any title or position here, only the actual credit."

In fact, Paul was a bit against his will when he said this. When the pirates were wiped out, in the second battle against Quaker, if Schroeder hadn't stopped the rout immediately, this book would have been unfinished.

Moreover, Schroeder served in the Northeast Army of the Kingdom, and he was the only person in Arda with serious military experience. He perfected the Arda army, which could only be called a grass-roots team at that time, and he brought Paul from the earth. Some modern military concepts landed in the army, and it was also because he taught a group of rookie officers in the Greiman Military Academy how to deal with the army of this era, not to mention the fact that he made many plans in the War of the Usher and led the army to open up the second battlefield. up.

However, Bryce’s contribution is not low. After the old Gleiman left, he and Cecil acted together to stabilize Paul’s lordship. Escaped, led the army to defeat the enemy in Bidowburg in the War of the Ustor, and then led the army to attack Emden, occupying half of the land of Maltz Kent's hometown, which greatly accelerated the progress of the war.

The victory in Bidoburg was particularly important. This was the first battle for Arda's army to show its strength to the outside world. In one fell swoop, Arda got rid of his weak image in the eyes of the lords of the Northwest Gulf and displayed his military might.

The merits of the two can be said to be equal, and it is difficult to distinguish between them.

"Come on! Cheers to your work!"

Paul raised his full wine glass.

"Haha! I'm really... really... really ashamed of the earl's praise!"

Bryce blushed and raised his wine glass, with shame, but also pride and pride on his face, the Earl recognized himself.

The two clinked glasses again and it was over.

Then one cup after another. After an unknown number of glasses, both Paul and Bryce were a little tipsy.

"Bryce..." Paul shook the glass, the wine in it rippling slightly.

"Yes, my lord."

Bryce straightened his body all of a sudden, sat upright, and his intuition told him that the big show was coming.

"Hansel brought back the king's decree from the capital, and you must have heard of it."

Sure enough, Bryce's heart tightened, reminding himself never to say the wrong thing.

"Uh...yes."

Paul stared at the other party, and asked slowly: "Since the power that a lord should have has been restored, it is natural to show something against those who have made credit. Bryce, how do you think I should reward you..." He Noticing the slight twinkle in Bryce's eyes, "...and the others?"

"This..." Bryce was a little afraid to look into Paul's eyes, and turned his head slightly, "Of course it's all up to the Earl to decide."

"Hey, you are my number one hero. You are my confidant. Do you understand my confidant? Naturally, I will discuss it with you."

Bryce looked at Paul again, scratched his head and said, "Your Excellency is really embarrassing me~lightnovelpub.net~ I'm a rough man, I can charge and fight, but if it's about meritorious deeds, why don't you find Mr. Ford Or Master Schroeder?"

The eyes don't look fake, all right. Paul drank the wine in his glass.

"Bryce, in the past two years, I have built schools, promoted education, and used exams to recruit officers. Do you know why?"

"This..." Bryce frowned and thought for a while, "My lord, you are now in command of Arda, Bairding, and Emden, but you don't have a bunch of reliable lower-level lords. Naturally, you need to find talented people from the people. To help rule the territory, or... use the school to 'produce' talented people."

"Use school to 'make' it? Haha." Paul was amused by Bryce's description.

"You are right, just as canning is produced in a canning factory, and porcelain is fired in a china factory, so talents are produced in schools."

"With a large number of talents as officials, I don't need any subordinate lords to firmly control a large area of ​​land."

"According to my optimistic estimate, in another five years... no, in another four years, Arda, Bairdin, and the more extensive Emden will all be under the firm control of the Government Council."

Paul held the cup in his right hand, and suddenly clenched his fist with his left hand, full of confidence.

Bryce felt even more restless, but it wasn't the excitement just now. The Earl's words meant...

He froze in his seat, waiting for the next word from the lord.

"So, I'll just say it!"

Paul's eyes focused on Bryce's face.

"What price do I need to make you willingly... only accept the honor of a nobleman with a sword, and at the same time give up the power of a nobleman with a sword?"