Chapter 3 Team Framework
Rhodes walked out of the medal awarding hall with his sword and pioneering order.

Under the marble pillars outside the door, two men in knight uniforms were standing upright and waiting.

One of them had a youthful face, brown hair and brown eyes, and looked about the same age as Rhodes.

When he saw Rhodes coming, there was an uncontrollable excitement on his face.

"We are going to explore the northern border and form our own team." Rhodes said to him.

"Follow your will!" He clenched his fist and knocked hard on his left chest to show his attitude of following.

Noah Herbert, the youngest son of Viscount Herbert, a vassal of the Duke of Jianling, was the same age as Rhodes and was a family knight who grew up with him.

Now, I will serve as his retainer and go to the northern border to open up the new territory together.

In this era, noble lords could have bad relationships with their wives and children, and have many conflicts with neighboring nobles, but they had to learn to maintain good relationships with their retainers.

Because the other party is the one who helps you rule over your fiefdoms and is the important guarantee for you to enjoy your old age and avoid being murdered by your descendants.

Rod and Noah have a very good relationship.

They grew up together and knew each other well. Noah had a straightforward personality and no major problems except that he tended to get carried away when he was emotional.

With Rhodes' help, he had advanced to the rank of knight not long ago, but he had kept it to himself. He would be an important force in his future expansion into the North.

Rhodes looked at the other person, a middle-aged man with a weathered face and a somewhat cold and depressed expression.

This is his mentor knight, Holmes Bann, who is responsible for teaching him the art of knighthood.

Based on this relationship, under normal circumstances, when Rhodes left the family castle, the other party would most likely choose to follow him and leave together.

However, since Rhodes neglected knight training, his relationship with the instructor knight was average.

After learning that he was going to the North, Knight Holmes seemed unhappy.

"This is not a mandatory requirement. Jianling still has a place for Knight Holmes." Rhodes said to him.

Although the power of knights is extremely important in pioneering, it is not indispensable to Rhodes.

If the other party is unwilling, there is no need to force it. In the desolate and vast northern territory, trustworthiness is more important than strength.

Knight Holmes looked at the sword in Rhodes' hand and bowed his head with complicated eyes:
"Please allow me to follow you to the North. I am willing to be the sharp blade in your hand to pave the way."

His words were firm, but he was sighing in his heart.

If possible, Holmes would certainly not be willing to follow the gardener knight in front of him.

After five years of knight training, except for the first year when he was quite serious, he barely saw each other in the following years. I'm afraid he can't even hold the sword steadily.

The arms of the northern barbarians are thicker than his thighs. Going there would be tantamount to seeking death.

But due to Rhodes' bad reputation, he would most likely not be able to recruit other knights.

Holmes knew in his heart that if he chose to follow the Duke, he would treat his son well and train him to be a knight even if he died.

If he refused, he would probably be pushed out to a small village in the suburbs, and then he would not be able to gather the resources to promote his son to a knight.

My life is coming to an end anyway, so I might as well use the last bit of my ability to pave the way for my children.

Rhodes didn't know what Knight Holmes was thinking, but knowing his family, he could roughly guess why he agreed.

No matter what the reason was, since the other party was willing to follow him, Rhodes would naturally keep it in mind.

"Then let us go to the North together and open up our own land." Rhodes smiled and hugged him, welcoming him to join.

One day later, halfway up the mountain of Jianling.

Directly below the side gate of the castle is a large flat area that has been cleared, used as a training ground for knights and retainers. At this moment, this area is temporarily occupied.

On the platform, Rhodes was standing in the center, with Noah and Holmes standing behind him.

Below Rhodes, a group of people had gathered, numbering in the early sixties.

"Twelve knight squires and fifty-two city militiamen." Rhodes looked at the crowd and thought.

These people were the initial team he recruited, and the knights and squires were recruited from the castle by him based on his own status.

The Gardener Knight is also a knight, and considering the deeds of his grandfather William the King, when these young people heard that they were going to the North, they were so excited that they chose to follow on the spot.

The knight's squire systematically learned swordsmanship, archery, horse riding, arithmetic and literacy.

They are also able to understand the army's tactical commands and convey them quickly, and can be said to be the core skeleton of the army's formation.

As for the militia, Rhodes originally wanted to recruit professional soldiers from Jianling's regular army.

But the soldiers could only obey their superiors, and the superiors only obeyed the Duke himself and ignored him, the second son.

There was no other choice, Rhodes could only settle for the next best thing and choose these so-called militiamen, but in fact they were ordinary residents who had only touched weapons a few times a year.

At least they are young and healthy enough, and this alone is enough to defeat more than 90% of the civilians.

After briefly meeting with them and letting these uneasy young people know that he was the boss, Rhodes asked Holmes to step forward.

"Holmes, you come and tell them the important things to pay attention to on the road to the North."

Rhodes walked down the mountain and entered the port city below.

The members of the pioneering group already have a framework, and now he needs to solve the most important thing.

Equipment for everyone, as well as food and drink along the way.

Rhodes walked along the Platinum Avenue and finally stopped outside a large wooden house.

There are two signs hanging above the wooden house, one of which says Equipment Chamber of Commerce, indicating the identity of the wooden house.

Another sign had a pattern of a golden wheat ear laden with fruits, with Jianling Castle vaguely visible in the background.

That is the logo of the city's commercial guild. Hanging this sign means that the owner of this wooden house is a member of the guild and is qualified to do business in the city.

In addition to commercial guilds, the city also has a blacksmith guild, a textile guild, and more.

These guilds are all certified by the lords. Only by joining the guilds and becoming members are the residents of the city eligible to engage in specialized professions.

If you want to be a blacksmith, you need to be an apprentice to a master who runs a blacksmith shop for more than ten years, get the master's recommendation, and become a member of the blacksmith guild, otherwise the blacksmith shop will be closed down.

Unless big merchants from outside are accepted by the merchant members of the commercial guild, they have no right to do business in the city.

The closed loop of the guild ultimately leads to the solidification of various industries.

It's okay for ordinary residents to do small business, but once the business becomes big, they need to rack their brains to get the approval of the guild.

The outcome is often bankruptcy and the destruction of the family.

Standing in the castle and overlooking the city over the years, Rhodes has witnessed the rise and fall of countless destinies.

A wealthy man who has made his fortune from scratch and is the center of attention at a banquet today may rot in a garbage dump on the street corner tomorrow, with his wife and daughter becoming prostitutes.

There are many rules in this city, some good and some bad, but no one in Rhodes has the right to touch them and can only watch quietly.

Rhodes looked towards the north and began to look forward to this long journey.

(End of this chapter)