In the small garden of the manor, a silver-haired youth in a white robe was quietly laying out a parchment scroll on a marble slab, slowly writing on it with a quill pen. With autumn chrysanthemums and butterflies fluttering around, the scene was indescribably dreamy.
"Teacher, the farmer representatives from Red Leaf Ridge have arrived," a sweet-looking girl with pink hair stood behind the silver-haired youth and spoke softly. Her words made the silver-haired youth stop writing.
"Lead him to the reception room. I'll be there after I freshen up," the silver-haired youth said with a gentle smile.
"Yes." Seeing the silver-haired youth's smile, the girl, who was not much younger than him, blushed, her pink hair looking incredibly adorable.
"Go on." Nodding gently, Kayal walked towards the inner room. He looked back at the garden and sighed softly in his heart: Has it really been seven years?
Has it been seven years since then?
In these seven years, Kayal had been incredibly successful.
Kayal had mainly done only a few things during these seven years.
1. Formed an infantry!
He organized an infantry regiment of about 5,000 men, all heavy infantry, under the guise of a militia! This included one meat meal a day and six days of training a week.
Kayal could only describe this heavy infantry regiment, built with money, as formidable. However, Kayal knew that they had no advantage against the Knight Order. Although they were incredibly tough, the idea that the Knight Order was invincible was a deeply ingrained common knowledge that could not be changed overnight. Even after seven years of indoctrination, they still considered this common knowledge unshakeable, so Kayal's path to infantry development still had a long way to go.
2. Established communes!
Including merchant communes, agricultural communes, and industrial communes.
The so-called merchant and agricultural communes were easy to understand, but the industrial communes referred to workers, not enterprises.
This included various industrial and commercial products such as textiles and cloth.
Most of these organizations belonged to Kayal, including a transnational merchant group that was the third largest in the world, a farm with vast agricultural land, a textile factory, a clothing factory, and a shoe factory.
Kayal was a trendsetter in the world.
3. And most importantly, Kayal taught six thousand students!
There were far more than eight hundred students educated to at least the level of non-commissioned officers! In fact, Kayal never intended to train all six thousand of them to be non-commissioned officers or weapons of war!
Five hundred mathematicians and math teachers, to whom he taught Arab mathematics and functions. Kayal had already begun to hint to them and planned to create measurement methods and establish units of quality.
Three hundred physicists and physics teachers. Because basic calculation tools had not yet been developed, Kayal's teaching to them was only basic physics.
Three hundred chemists. Due to the lack of glassware, their work was only basic chemistry. These two subjects were very niche and lacked a foundation, so they had the fewest recruits.
Eight hundred basic linguists. They had to learn not only English but also Roman, Macedonian, and obscure languages from all over the world. Their task was not just education, but also the translation of foreign documents and the responsibility of imparting culture. They were the first students, beginning their education throughout Red Leaf Fortress at the tender age of fifteen. In later generations, they were known as the Eight Hundred Sages, comparable to the seventy-two disciples of the sage Confucius, and the only symbol in the West that could be compared to such an ancient era in the East.
The schools of thought represented by each person began to emerge after everyone turned thirty, leading to an academic golden age known as the "Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought." Unlike the different schools in each state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, this contention of a hundred schools, which erupted in a single country, attracted at least ten thousand academic schools to Camelot. Similar to the Roman Republic of that time, the second Western Academic Conference began!
Of course, that was a story for later.
When Kayal, in his flowing white robe and with his silver hair, walked into the reception room, the two people sitting on the soft animal skin sofa immediately stood up and bowed.
Kayal waved his hand, smiled gently, and said softly, "Please sit."
"Yes," both said, sitting nervously on the sofa, looking at the man who was not yet eighteen but could already decide the lives of millions with a single word.
"What can I do for you?" Kayal asked with a smile. Although he exuded a gentle aura from his main seat, it only made the two feel more nervous, as if they were disturbing his time.
"Yes, Lord Kai, well, everyone would like to invite you to the Harvest Festival," the slightly plump farmer said, rather awkwardly. He was just a small farmer, and it was impossible for him not to be nervous in front of this lord who was above tens of thousands.
The Harvest Festival, a festival established by Kayal, the September Harvest Festival. On this day, farmers did not have to worry about taxes, exploitation by their lord, or the year's harvest. After everything was collected in the morning, the afternoon was for unrestrained cheering and enjoyment!
Ale, rum, stout, wine! Every kind of fine wine could be enjoyed! A crazy festival where every kind of delicious food could be savored!
Moreover, the festival lasted for three days. The last day was a grand gathering where merchants from all over the country—no, from all over the world—converged: buying grain, fine wines, textiles, books, and luxury goods! Like a grand event, Red Leaf Fortress, which had abolished agricultural taxes three years prior, was already able to fully supply ten thousand knights, a thousand beast knights, and five thousand heavy infantry solely through commercial and industrial taxes.
Although this included the selfless contributions of tens of thousands of slaves to public works, it must be said that after the abolition of agricultural taxes, the farmers' gratitude felt like a divine favor. They eventually voluntarily gathered one-tenth of their harvest and supplied it to Kayal. Since the abolition of agricultural taxes, it had become a custom that the agricultural association would voluntarily donate after the Harvest Festival each year. There was no specified amount for the donation, but everyone consciously contributed their grain, like offerings, which deeply moved Kayal.
This was the first festival in the world, like a grand feast, yet Kayal, who proposed this festival, had never attended it even once. It must be said that Kayal was overly cautious to avoid suspicion and ensure the government's impartiality.
After a moment of thought, Kayal smiled brightly: "Alright, I agree. You all go prepare, just like before." Everyone knew that once Kayal agreed, how could it still be the same as before! This would definitely be a grand feast!!!