Chapter 97: Candidate

After all, unlike the previous life, where people were the priority, the current Norman Empire was a society centered around nobility.

Everyone here was a noble. They would frequently cross paths, and Bruno's own household was still in disarray. It wouldn't be reasonable to forcibly drag him north to join the war.

Though the nobles of the empire undoubtedly engaged in countless shady dealings behind closed doors, they still cared about maintaining their reputations. Nobles had to uphold a sense of gentlemanly decorum and dignity.

Thus, Bruno's letter essentially served as a preemptive measure, clearly informing the Regency Council that his current life was difficult, his household was in turmoil, and they should absolutely not summon him for battle. If pirates were to plunder his territory in his absence, they wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.

Even though Bruno often called himself a minor noble, his title of Earl was actually quite significant.

While he couldn't compare to the Earls whose lands were in the prosperous heartlands of the empire, he still had a certain level of prestige.

After delegating the letter-writing task, Bruno turned his attention to a more troubling matter the intelligence system.

Building an intelligence network might not yield immediate benefits, but in the long run, it was an indispensable step for Idar's future.

From a military standpoint, if Idar could anticipate the movements of various factions in advance, then in the event of conflict, its forces could seize the initiative, prepare ahead of time, or even launch surprise attacks on enemy weaknesses.

From a commercial perspective, having early access to information would allow Idar to exploit information gaps to maximize profit and financial gain.

Moreover, since Bruno was merely laying the groundwork for this system, it wouldn't be excessively costly or require too many personnel.

The biggest issue at hand was who should oversee this intelligence agency?

The intelligence network was crucial, but as the lord, Bruno couldn't personally handle everything. Otherwise, what kind of noble would he be?

A noble should have the mindset of a noble. A comfortable, leisurely life was the standard for a lord.

In this regard, Bruno believed he was doing an outstanding job.

Thus, selecting the right person to lead the intelligence agency was of utmost importance.

This person needed to be decisive, calm under pressure, and, most importantly, unwaveringly loyal to Idar and to Bruno Stuart.

To be honest, the first candidate that came to Bruno's mind was Old Ford.

However, Old Ford was already heavily burdened with managing several key industries in Idar, such as sea salt production and liquor brewing.

Adding another responsibility to his plate at this point would be inappropriate.

As for Shabi, Lopida, and Lister, they were all occupied with their respective duties and couldn't be pulled away to build the intelligence system.

Furthermore, according to Bruno's plan, the leader of the intelligence agency must have military experience.

The military profoundly shaped an individual in various ways, and that experience was critical for this role.

With that in mind, Bruno instructed Lister to retrieve the list of Idar's "bandits."

Yes, the bandit list!

Idar's "bandits" not only had military backgrounds but also displayed a high degree of loyalty to the territory.

During their initial selection process, the ideological screening of these soldiers had been a crucial step.

Moreover, as per Bruno's earlier vision, Idar's so-called "bandit" corps was meant to serve as an excellent talent pool for the intelligence network.

They played a vital role in the structure of Idar's armed forces.

Currently, Idar's military forces consisted of the following: 

Idar Standing Army: 300 soldiers

Idar Elite Cavalry: 100 soldiers

Anti-Smuggling Unit: 50 soldiers

Idar "Bandits": 50 soldiers

In total, Idar had 500 armed soldiers. Excluding the 50 anti-smuggling soldiers who couldn't be freely mobilized, Idar had 450 combat-ready troops in the event of war.

450 soldiers might not seem like much, but considering the typical ratio of soldiers to civilians in the Norman Empire, this was a respectable force.

During peacetime, the Norman Empire maintained a military-to-civilian ratio of 1:100 to 3:100.

With the recent influx of outsiders, Idar's population had reached approximately 20,000 people.

This meant that, under normal conditions, Idar could sustain a military force of anywhere between 200 to 600 soldiers.

If the Hanging Garden's "15% increased food production" effect was factored in, Idar could potentially sustain a force of up to 700 soldiers.

While still not a massive army, this number was quite substantial compared to other noble territories within the Norman Empire.

After all, many nobles didn't see the point in maintaining large standing armies.

If they had the spare funds, they would rather spend them on purchasing beautiful, golden haired, blue eyed maids from slave traders.

Not necessarily for anything illicit sometimes, just for the sake of aesthetic pleasure.

Thinking about this, Bruno couldn't help but feel that he was a remarkably upright person always surrounded by rough, burly men instead of enjoying finer company.

Even though there was still a considerable gap between 500 and 700 soldiers, Bruno wasn't in a hurry to expand the standing army.

Because Idar still lacked a navy!

At this thought, Bruno felt a headache coming on.

With Idar's current population, establishing a navy prematurely would be a significant burden. If the profits from overseas trade didn't meet expectations, Idar's financial situation could become extremely tight.

However, there was no way Bruno would allow pirates to occupy the Franz Archipelago and continue harassing Idar unchecked!

There was only one option—fight!

But forming a navy required a significant number of men at least 200 to 300 sailors.

This was one of the reasons Bruno had chosen to build three-masted ships!

Three-masted ships were known for requiring the least manpower among sailing vessels during this era.

Shaking off his scattered thoughts, Bruno finally turned his attention to the Idar "bandit" roster before him.

At the very top of the list was the name of the current bandit leader—Krell.