Chapter 351: Infrastructure Construction of Fort Zhendara
Riding on Grape's back, Horn did not go to Fort Joan of Arc from the original road from east to west, but first took a detour to the north, then went south along the stream, and finally arrived at Fort Joan of Arc.

This was not Horn's intention to revisit the red maple forest that he and Jeanne had seen, but he had no choice but to do so.

The dirt road from Mayo to Grayfurnace and then to Fort Jeanne was now ordered by Horn to be converted into a mortar road.

Arriving at the edge of Fort Jeanne, Horn looked to the east and could see laborers pushing wheelbarrows and trotting to deliver building materials.

Most of them wore only a vest to block the sun and carried baskets of soil to the roadside.

The former knight wore an iron collar around his neck and held a wooden hammer in his hand, sweating profusely as he compacted the foundation made of slag and ash bit by bit.

Ankle-high wooden formwork was erected on both sides of the road, and on the compacted roadbed, mortar concrete carried by wooden barrels flowed viscously from the edges.

This mortar road was named Attack Avenue after many fist fights between the heroes in the Senate.

It was transformed from a road with blurred edges formed by fences and weeds to a mortar road with a roadbed width of 6.5 meters and a road surface width of 5 meters, which can accommodate two carriages running side by side.

To be rich, build roads first.

Whether it is for external trade in pork, wood and stone with North, or for internal rapid mobilization of troops and goods, a solid and convenient road is needed.

Moreover, after the fight with the Ibe Knights in the south, local horse-drawn carriages were used in large quantities to transport supplies.

Today, their trade with Kasha County has shrunk significantly, but the production capacity of the mortar workshop on Qiumu Island has been increasing.

In order to consume this part of the production capacity, Horn had to carry out some large-scale construction projects, such as the reconstruction of roads and sewer systems, the Insula Apartments for workers to live in, and the drainage and dam projects of Nanze Lake.

After the Holy Hoe Monastery, these projects are the only ones that can continue to absorb excess labor.

However, Horn is currently facing a big problem, which is that he is spending money too quickly.

After launching so many projects, Horn had spent more than 30,000 gold pounds from the initial 100,000 gold pounds by the beginning of June.

Later, some funds were raised through jihad bonds and house confiscations.

It would be best to defeat the Ibe Knights before August, otherwise hidden dangers both inside and outside will emerge.

The city of Rapids has been under siege for almost a month, and the Upper River County in the north has completely fallen into the hands of Meliati.

But under Prince Condai's offensive, only about half of it is left.

Time waits for no one. We must quickly defeat Knight Ibe and head west to support Rapid City. The two sides will then join forces and head north to support Meliati.

But the stupid knight just hid himself in his shell and did almost nothing except sending troops to harass. This made Horn admire his strategic fortitude.

After watching for about ten minutes under the scorching sun, Horn returned to the Holy Hall with Busak and others who were about to faint from the heat.

After washing his face with cold water and sitting at the desk, he finally had time to pick up the report brought by Busak and read it page by page.

The so-called Black Hat Army Enlistment Investigation Report mainly investigates the Black Hat Army’s motives for joining the army, their concerns, and their understanding of the “Holy Word of God for Salvation”.

As the saying goes, without investigation, there is no right to speak. Horn attaches great importance to data and investigation reports.

As long as the charm of statistics does not appear, data can very well reflect the objective state of things.

The survey results of more than 3,000 members of the six Black Hat Corps showed that:
More than 1100 people, about 34%, joined the army for the purpose of exorcism, revenge, gratitude, or defending their homeland.

More than 1300 men, or about 41%, joined the army for the sake of high wages, promotion, wealth, and high status as war monks.

More than 600 people, or about 20%, joined the army because they had nowhere else to go, did not want to work, wanted to reduce the burden on their families, or were angry with their families.

In addition, there are more than 130 people, accounting for about 4%, who came to see the world, I don't know, the church/knights/parents asked me to come, or I thought it was fun and came. It is very interesting that many of the new recruits of the Black Hat Corps were night guards who once served the knights.

They have undergone basic military training and can pass assessments more easily than ordinary farmers, so the Salvation Army is actually a mixture of new and old military forces.

According to the summary of the detailed survey, it can be roughly summarized that most war monks do not actually understand what free and equal labor proposed by Horn is.

To a certain extent, they were fighting for the Holy Grandson.

But from subsequent investigations, this did not prevent them from responding to simple and clear slogans and bursting out with great fighting enthusiasm.

Although the fighting enthusiasm of this part is basically erupted by the more than 2500 people in the first two groups, as the backbone leading the whole, the morale will not be low.

Hakuto made a note on the report, saying that he had never seen an army with such high morale, and that as long as they could maintain the same morale in the future, they would be able to fight against the Extraordinary Knights.

"I've said before that after the war, the Black Hat Legion will continue to recruit two more legions in Jinhe Township, and after completing eight legions, the Black Hat Regiment will be established." Horn raised his head and said to Busak in the room.

"We are making preparations." Busak, who had changed his clothes, nodded.

"You can assign a few more clerks to each regiment, and after the war, write the military judge's report, the orderly's argument and the results of the review into a war history." Horn picked up a pen and made two notes on the notebook he carried with him.

"We need to let the new recruits who join the Chapter know how many honors their Chapter has won. When they join, they can share this glory, but they must also jointly safeguard this glory."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"In addition, the brothers of the Holy Fathers Society can develop in the Black Hat Army. Don't be afraid. The Holy Fathers Society and the Salvation Army are one and the same."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After making four or five suggestions in a row, Horn told Busak, "Draw up a specific plan for these matters and discuss it at the regular meeting next week."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Today, the administrative procedures of the Papal States have gradually become routine, and whether something is feasible still depends on the opinions or suggestions of the cardinals who handle the affairs on the front line.

After confirming with Bussack, Horn called René who had been waiting.

"What are those four wizards doing here?" Horn walked around the table and leaned against the edge and asked.

René didn't say much and directly took out two copies of the letter and handed them to Horn.

Horne opened the first one suspiciously, and as soon as he read the beginning, he immediately knew that it was a private letter to Pasrick.

After all, the letter begins with "To my long-lost friend Pasrick: How are you doing recently? My dearest Penny..."

After realizing this, Horn closed the remaining copy and did not read it again.

"Since it's a private letter to Pasrick, don't show it to me. Just give him the original letter." After saying that, Horn picked up the second letter and was about to unfold it, but stopped.

"and many more……"

René stopped and turned around, looking at Horn in confusion.

Horn stuck his head out and looked through the window at the two sphinx statues of Hoge outside the Holy Hall, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I suddenly remembered that there doesn't seem to be anyone named Pasrick here, right? There is only a man named Crispa." Horn's tone was a little excited, "How about this, you call Crispa over, maybe he will know who this is."

(End of this chapter)