Way of Overlord-Chapter 428: Blueprints for the North

"Not Burchu"

Burchu has proven himself but it is not enough.

Burchu is loyal but he is still too young. Mukhulai is not yet well known.

"And I still need to see how he would performed. He seems good at leading his men and there doesn’t seems to be any problem when he goes to the west. And there is even a commendation from Ota and Valgrun about Mukhulai ability to lead men."

Aeryon wanted to polish Mukhulai more.

And also, because Mukhulai while he has convinced his men, he could not yet convince the tribe.

For Aeryon to make Mukhulai the overseer of this area, he had to use his prestige and his name

And Aeryon knows that to put Mukhulai in this position would not hep that young one. Instead, it would hinder him.

Mukhulai is a former slave.

And to govern would require administrative abilities

It is something that Mukhulai has never bene taught.

Maybe in a few years after he had gained experience, then he could effectively govern an area. But for now, his talent is best used elsewhere.

Not to mention, that Mukhulai himself would be dissatisfied if he could not make any achievement. Achievement in war is more impactful than an achievement of building a city.

At least it would seem so in the eyes of the warriors of the Steppe.

Aeryon however believe that when the time of peace came, the ability to make a city prosperous and rich and strong is more important.

But a castle is not built in a day. Any castle that is built in a day, would surely use shoddy construction method and weak material

Aeryon sighed. And then he chuckles.

"In the end, there is only one candidate that is suitable to be stationed here and would make the surrounding tribe think twice before even they dare to attack"

"And this one did not have to worry that he would not get promotion. His loyalty is something I would not doubt"

Belarion is the only suitable candidate at this moment.

But this candidate had one fatal flaw

he is not good at governing.

So, Aeryon thinks of letting Xiwanu and Lughan to help him and advise him from the side.

Let Belarion holds all the military power while those two have priority in determining the governance.

And Belarion himself is no longer the fool of the tribe.

"Maybe, the energy of Heaven and Earth is also helping him to become smarter" Aeryon notices this.

Belarion still has that kind of innocence that made him a gentle giant

But, to say that it is the innocent of a child.....that is exaggerating. The more Belarion fight and the more he stimulates himself, the more it seems that his mind is expanding. He began understand certain hard concepts that he did not understand and he begins questioning things.

Even though Aeryon did not talk as much with Belarion as before, every time he did talk, he is surprised to discover that Belarion is changing slightly.

This Kusa, this internal energy is hard to explain. Maybe the moment that Belarion step into the battlefield, this transformation is inevitable.

’Belarion is the perfect candidate"

Aeryon try to think of a reason not to station Belarion but he could not think of one. The reason why Belarion is the perfect candidate is because, he wanted to establish a strong military presence here.

So, he needs to leave behind a garrison of his most disciplined warriors to deter rebellion and maintain order.

Belarion knows how to fight and when in a fight he always could pick the right place to attack. But before the attack, he is very lacking.

"I need to remind him where to position the warriors" Aeryon then pull a map and begin circling the key location around the area like trade routes, resource hubs and population center, big clans and small tribes.

And the reason why Xiwanu and Lughan is there is none other than to win the hearts of the local population.

Aeryon had taken the biggest settlements in the area which is the Wustkazan settlement

It is good that they were defeated in one battle.

If Wustkazan is not defeated in one battle, they could entrenched themselves in some other tribes and it would take a long time to subdue them

But fast win also has its con.

In Aeryon case, it is the fact that with his win, not all the small tribes and clans is welcoming.

They did not attack him but the fact was that during the time of the small resistance by the remnants of the Wustkazan warriors, there is many small tribes and large clans that supported these resistance

"Organize feast and get to know the leaders. Promise them some benefits while displaying strength. Fair treatment, protection and opportunities for the local leaders to retain influence" Aeryon mutters as he write it down.

He is writing the short-term policy for this area.

The region under his rule is becoming larger and larger and it is time to delegate.

But not many of his men are fit to lead a region and they at least need some kind of order so that they could implement it

If Aeryon let them lead the way they did before, then it would not change anything. And Aeryon wanted to change a lot of things.

But he needs to start with the little ones.

It is also god for training his people

Some of it could be implemented easily while some others needs a more finer touch.

"Belarion has the hard power to convince the warriors but to revitalize the area and to make the area safe so that more people come here and return would need some subtle manoeuvring"

This kind of job could be delegated to Xiwanu and Lughan who is already the people of Kazan and would know better.

Unlike other chief, he wanted more people. Food is something that he did not need to worry about .

And from the report he got from Mayeux, the experiment with the seeds has succeeded.

The further north they go, the harder it is for the seeds to germinate but the fact that they could farm around the area of Brolgadhr is good enough.

"The pilot projects also should only be focused on the Brolgadhr core area. Later, when the area is truly pacified, then we could try it in some lands near the streams" Aeryon thought to himself.

Vegetables are not the diet of the Steppe but it could also be used as a way to increase Tayak production.

If the Tayak is healthy then they could bred more. Meat is still the diet of the Steppe. It makes many of them stocky but it also gave them strength that not many people of Yan have.

Their cows and their beast of burden is usually used for agriculture and to eat it without certain extenuating circumstances is against the law.

"More people is needed" Aeryon is probably the only chief that wanted more people. Belarion would not understand nor would he be able to handle many people going and coming here

But Xiwanu and Lughan probably could. Great warriors that accompanied the chief usually not only adept at leading men into battle, they also usually the confidant of the chief and would also learn one thing or two about governing the area.

Xiwanu and Lughan has followed Wustkazan chief for so long, they must have learned something from him

It is also a way of showing those two that they are not neglected.

"And the most important thing is to create some kind of economy here. It is even more imperative to connect it to the south. The trade routes.....hmmm"

Aeryon look at the cure map on his left and his eyes narrowed.

He seems to be thinking of something.

Right now, his mind is visualizing the area

There is already a trade route there. It is created by merchants.

The trade route is there and Aeryon usually did not need to protect it.

There is no need to give too much protection for it. Most merchants have their own mercenaries group following them to protect them

Ordinary bandits would usually not be able to rob such caravans. Sometimes, the merchants caravans even also have a deal with this bandit not to attack them

Most bandits are not all gung-ho in killing merchants.

After all, they wanted resources and if these merchants all backed up in a corner, sometimes it would be counterproductive for their business of plundering

they would just robs these caravans and usually when the merchants caravans are cooperative, these merchants could still survive and goes to trade.

Of course, such caravans is operating at a loss sometimes.

Aeryon also wanted to create a safe trading environment so that trade goods from the far north and other regions of the Steppe could arrive in the Southern Great Steppe and reach his tribe but this is matter that he could only meddle with after he pacified the entire Southern Great Steppe.

It is not yet in his power to change this

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