It must be said that Beowulf was a powerful warrior. Besides Gawain, among the many Knights present, very few could defeat Beowulf!
No, perhaps two.
They were both very famous individuals. One was somewhat familiar, Gareth, son of Grand Duke of the North, West. He was always quiet and unassuming, rarely speaking when the four Grand Dukes' sons chatted. But unexpectedly, he was strong enough to fight Beowulf to a draw. It must be said these guys are very low-key. The other was Gawain's younger brother, Gareth, also a son of the Earl of Birmingham, who pledged allegiance to Gawain. Gawain had always been very high-profile, serving as the leader of perfect Knights, courteous, unparalleled in martial arts, and even his character was very gentle and perfect. Unlike Kailar's gentleness, Gawain, with his inherent authority, was a perfect idol.
Kailar had plans to establish Gawain as a model and idol for promotion.
And Beowulf had, unknowingly, been used as a tool to measure the strength of the Knights.
What greatly pleased Artoria was that someone had helped her realize her childhood dream: the dream of proclaiming that women are no less than men. The Knight who helped her achieve this dream was Bedivere.
Evidently, this girl from a remote territory possessed exceptionally powerful combat skills. Her extremely refined swordsmanship forced Beowulf to a draw, allowing her to be included among the Thirteen Knights.
By now, several of the Thirteen Knights had already appeared: Gawain, Gawain's younger brother Gareth, Gareth, Bedivere, and Beowulf. Even Grand Duke Andre couldn't resist the urge to draw his longsword, using his seasoned martial arts to suppress Beowulf. Even with Beowulf's arrogance and talent, he couldn't help but realize how vast this world was. Even within Camelot, with all its essence gathered, he found himself in such a predicament. It must be said that the breadth of heaven and earth, the vastness of the world, far exceeded his vision.
Leaving aside Beowulf, who was ashamed of his earlier narrow-mindedness, Kailar instead spoke up to help Beowulf out of his predicament: "Beowulf challenged twenty people, four succeeded, sixteen failed. His stamina is exhausted, there's nothing more to say, right! Next up is the battle of Camelot's own people!"
"Those who wish to challenge the Knights of the Round Table, step forward. Untitled Knights who defeat twenty people can advance to the next stage. Titled Knights who defeat thirty people can advance to the next stage."
"Next are one-on-one duels. Those who win three matches advance to the next level." Kailar calculated the odds in just a moment and announced the start.
Then the arena emptied, and royal servants brought thrones and other seats for them to sit at the side.
Regardless of the group currently dueling on stage, Beowulf, Bedivere, and Gawain stood behind the others, already showing the self-awareness of close-quarters Knights.
"My plan is to conquer Ireland and Scotland (since I couldn't find the nicknames for Ireland and Scotland from that period, I'll use modern terms directly). We'll take Suger Island as a springboard, which allows us to advance and attack Rome, or retreat to dominate the seas and defend the Camelot homeland." Kailar stood between Artoria and the four Grand Dukes, explaining his goal: "And this plan requires the conquest of Ireland and Scotland! We absolutely cannot let them cause trouble behind our backs!"
Kailar's words made Grand Duke of the North nod in agreement. If Ireland and Scotland were conquered, then the northern region would be clear. He and Grand Duke Andre would only need to station troops along the coastline, enough to prevent any invaders from landing. If this plan were realized, it would be a grand scheme capable of increasing national strength by several folds.
"And the most crucial law for implementing this plan is: 'Farming and Warfare'!"
Kailar pointed to the endless beautiful scenery behind him: "If we encourage farmers to develop agriculture and gain titles by donating grain, then the national treasury will undoubtedly have an inexhaustible supply of grain. And as agriculture develops, various other professions will also flourish: tea farmers, cotton farmers, silkworm farmers, merchants, factories, and so on." Kailar had no intention of a complete revolution. As for an industrial nation, given the current productivity, it would simply be idiotic. Until the steam engine is invented, an industrial revolution is impossible. However, emulating the Qin Dynasty's 'farming and warfare' is indeed possible now. Firstly, 'farming and warfare' can sustain continuous combat without hindering farming. Secondly, it would show results in just one year, and after accumulation, it would be astonishingly prosperous, promoting both the economy and people's livelihoods.
Kailar's words made the four Grand Dukes and Artoria thoughtful. In fact, Artoria was not particularly skilled in civil administration, but being in her position, she had to consider such matters.
Because she was already the King.
"Furthermore, the power of the nobility must be curtailed. At the very least, nobles with territories must have their lands reclaimed or their power suppressed, rather than acting like independent kingdoms. Otherwise, policies will not be effectively implemented, leading to the misuse of new decrees for perverse actions." Kailar was confident. As long as he gained the support of these people, no reform would be a problem: after an iron-fisted suppression, there would be no political compromise, because this was a brand new, vibrant new regime!
"And most importantly is the reform of the army! At sea, we cannot defeat Gaul. In the mountains, we cannot defeat the Romans. It is only on our plains that we can defeat everything. This does not align with the original purpose of the army! The army does not exist for offense! The army exists to protect the people. An army that cannot protect the people has no reason to exist." Kailar's words deeply resonated with Artoria.
"The military branches will be detailed as heavy cavalry. Considering Camelot's strong cavalry tradition and the King's economic capacity, the heavy cavalry will be structured to around five to eight thousand men. The Thirteen Knights of the Round Table will serve as their leaders." Kailar said. Eight thousand heavy cavalry was the final calculation, carefully considering that one horse consumes as much food as two people. Leaving aside other factors, that many cavalry truly consume a lot of grain!
"Next are light cavalry and mounted archers. Light cavalry will number around fifteen thousand to thirty thousand, with three thousand forming a cavalry unit to patrol the coastline. I believe that even without heavy plate armor and lances, Knights wielding Knight swords can clear out those Gaul trash." Kailar's words made Gawain, Bedivere, and the others puff out their chests.
"Archers will number around ten thousand to twenty thousand. I hope they are all skilled warriors in both archery and horsemanship, warriors who can hit a bullseye from a hundred paces." Kailar nodded. Due to the existence of these two types of cavalry, light infantry became relatively less important.
"Finally, the regular formation will be heavy infantry: warriors specifically for defending cities." In fact, the presence of light infantry is manifested in mountain warfare, but Kailar felt it would be better to specially train small, elite mountain warfare masters: special forces. Therefore, the presence of light infantry was particularly weak in Kailar's eyes.