Chapter 504 Knight Class 7 and 5 Colleges

"The Loyalty Ode of Sir Walsi" is an utterly ridiculous play, yet it still represents a new art form.

And it received applause from the town officials.

"Wow, what a great performance, what a respectable Sir Walsi, he should be a role model for all the knights in the territory!" Advisor Gort exclaimed loudly.

"When Sir Walsi fought the bandits, I felt my blood boiling. If Flower Town encounters bandits, I will surely pick up a spear and fight them to the death!" Defense Officer Nemo declared with conviction. In fact, he is just a squire, growing fatter by the day, to the point where riding a horse would be a struggle.

"Lady Avril's performance is worthy of my applause. She is very beautiful, and having such a wife is the source of Sir Walsi's fierce fighting."

"I like this... play, yes, play. It's not as funny as a farce, but it captivated me. I really wish I were Sir Walsi!"

"Unfortunately, the battle scenes were ugly; they don't even know how to wield mana."

"Don't be too picky. Farce actors are mere commoners; they don't have mana at all."

Liszt was quite surprised by these reactions. He had thought the play could be a hit, but he didn't expect such a low-quality play to still garner applause and praise.

It can only be said that entertainment options in this world are severely limited.

Music and dance have indeed developed, where pianists enjoy a status akin to nobles, and social dancing is a requisite for the nobility, but more entertainment is still a pressing need for the nobles. The same goes for the commoners; such needs cannot be satisfied by outdated farces.

The play's inception has the potential to become popular.

"It seems that plays will soon become all the rage. Should I let them find their own way, or should I offer some guidance?" The smoke task was complete, and Liszt's enthusiasm for the play immediately dropped by fifty percent. "I should offer some guidance; one shouldn't leave a task half-finished."

Liszt gathered Avril and others to offer guidance.

He isn't well-versed in plays, but at least he knows what modern plays look like, how to structure the content with a clear beginning, development, climax, and conclusion, and how to perform naturally and engagingly. Including the use of stage props, lighting, and even integrating the unique mana and magic of this world.

However, such stage productions are quite expensive.

Until the stage play matures, there's no need to overcomplicate it.

After instructing the Black Horse Island Theater Troupe, he finally found time to attend to the new task.

"Task: The number of serfs in the territory has surged, and so has the number of children who have lost their parents. The boarding system can no longer sustain so many children. Children are the future of the territory, and as the lord, it is your duty to establish an orphanage to provide them with a good education. Reward: A spirit bug."

The reward, a spirit bug, is something Liszt quite fancies.

The content is to build an orphanage.

He didn't hesitate for a moment: "Indeed, an orphanage needs to be established. During the children's formative years, they must feel the lord's care for them. Only then will the future orphans grow up loyal to me." In fact, many great lords build orphanages to gather the orphans in their territory.

Well-nurtured orphans exhibit far greater loyalty than ordinary citizens.

Both emotionally and logically.

Liszt had to build an orphanage.

He assigned the task to Advisor Gort: "Advisor Gort, choose a suitable location around Black Horse Island Port Town. I want to build an orphanage. This orphanage should be able to accommodate all the children in the territory and be equipped with mana teachers, serpent tongue teachers, and craftsman skill teachers."

"My lord, I will go and start the construction of the orphanage."

After Gort left.

Liszt was still in deep thought.

The buildings needed in the territory are obviously not just the new castle, the mage tower, and the orphanage, but also a knight academy, a city hall, watchtowers, a square, a theater, a hospital, a water plant, an exchange, and other facilities. He is no ordinary lord, content to let the city fester in filth.

He plans to build a modern castle and modernize the surrounding city. While there’s no plan for revolution, it’s essential to focus on the basic welfare of the serfs, ensuring the serfs on Black Horse Island can live stable lives, free from hunger and cold. They should also get medical care when sick; while serious illnesses may be incurable, minor ones should be treatable. But progress must happen step by step. Right now, the main focus is solving the serfs’ needs for clothing, food, and shelter.

"The officials can handle clothing, food, and shelter. I’ll first plan out the systems for the orphanage and the Knight Academy... Call the main officials and Earth Knights of the territory for a general meeting."

He’s all about taking immediate action.

The next day, they held a meeting at the port town office on Black Horse Island. The office has a large meeting room, big enough for ten people. The territory has seventy-nine Earth Knights, twelve of whom are elite Earth Knights.

"Today, I’ve called everyone here to talk about building the orphanage and the Knight Academy. Everyone knows the purpose of the orphanage and the Knight Academy: to cultivate future knights for the territory. So, I want to set up a full knight training system in the territory."

...

The meeting was short.

Using other territories as examples, they quickly came up with a new system.

The Knight Academy, the main place for knight training, covers everything needed to train a knight. In fact, the Knight Academy had been secretly established even before Liszt discovered Black Horse Island. This time, the teaching staff and construction specifications of the Knight Academy were all properly arranged.

Liszt naturally took on the role of dean of the Knight Academy.

Gort, the port town’s Advisor, and Marcus, an elite Earth Knight, were made vice deans, with Marcus as the chief vice dean handling daily operations.

The Knight Academy teaches seven courses: Loyalty, Mana, Warfare, Administration, Art, Navigation, and Culture—the Seven Courses of Knights.

The Knight Academy includes an orphanage responsible for the adoption and educational arrangements of orphans; a Craftsman Academy for training in handicrafts, agriculture, and commerce; a Preparatory Academy for early education of children of the serfs; an Administration Academy dedicated to training administrative personnel for the territory; and an Elite Academy for the exchange and management of elite Earth Knights.

So,

The structure of the Seven Courses and Five Academies of the Black Horse Island Knight Academy has been formed and will continuously provide talents for the territory in this manner.

Among them, the Craftsman Academy and the Administration Academy are advocated by Liszt.

The Craftsman Academy will operate independently outside the Knight Academy, hiring craftsmen from the territory to teach civilian apprentices, who will be directly assigned jobs after completing their training. The Administration Academy is aimed at those knights with poor cultivation talents, providing them with administrative training to familiarize them with territorial affairs before taking up their posts.

The previous method of knights charging on horseback and governing off horseback was quite crude.

Liszt hopes that knights will specialize in charging, advancing to become regular soldiers, while administrative officials will specialize in administrative management, with promotions for officials. Of course, regular knights will also enter the official sequence after retirement and receive preferential treatment. Liszt also stipulates that only nobles can hold important positions among the officials.

Important positions mainly refer to Advisors and Administrators.

Currently, there is a severe shortage of nobles, so except for Gort, the Administrators of various towns can only hold the title of "Acting."

Including the two elders, Isaiah and Blair.