The drizzle was as fine as silk, creating delicate ripples on the water, like silver threads passing through blue satin.

The river surface was shrouded in a thin mist, and as Saint Sun's Ship sailed, mountains and forests replaced hills and plains.

By stepping on the slippery deck and gazing ahead, one could see the faint outlines of distant mountains and pine forests, as well as the villages and towns on both sides of the river.

Although not close by, Horn could see the spire of the church piercing through the mist, and farmers in short cloaks carrying farm tools walking on the embankment.

Similar to Red Mill Village in the past, most of the village churches in Shangruifo County are located by the river.

Shangruifo County used to be a populous county among the five mountainous counties and had a certain level of prosperity.

But the two successive floods and military disasters reduced Shangruifo County's population by nearly half.

The original people of Shangruifo County either relocated to North Mande County to work as miners or migrated to Daze Village or Pingyuan County to work as laborers or join the army.

Of course, many also died in the floods and under the blade of swords.

Now when Horn looks out, he can see clusters of abandoned village sites or scattered settlements.

As for the fields, from afar one can see patches of knee-high weeds.

The previous county governor of Shangruifo County has already been dismissed.

As for the Priest-in-Charges at various levels, due to the floods causing population dispersal and an influx of Shepherds, Iron Fist Battle Group, and other outsiders, the original household registers are almost useless, causing them to also lose grassroots control.

Although quite a few Wandering Cultivators are still striving to organize farming and mulberry cultivation, after the floods, Shangruifo County cannot recover for at least three to five years.

Although the floods have stopped, the tax revenue from Shangruifo County is unlikely to recover anytime soon.

Just consider it a large fallow period, Horn could only comfort himself this way.

At least after leaving the land fallow for two or three years, Shangruifo County will certainly see an explosive harvest, and social conflicts can be alleviated somewhat.

Rubbing his temples, Valent Taylor appeared at the bow with unsteady steps.

He immediately noticed the young Pope standing at the bow.

His Holiness was not wearing the intricately adorned Holy Robe but was clothed in a black wool uniform over a fine woolen vest.

Raindrops fell on the scabbard of Blood Covering Cloud, sliding gently off, eventually dripping onto the deck.

"Your Holiness." Valently Taylor nodded and slightly bowed to Horn, standing beside him as a form of salutation, "Where have we arrived then?"

"In three days, we'll be there." Horn leaned against the ship's railing, holding onto the sword hilt, "With these old friends to assist, we won't be stranded, right?"

Valent Taylor forced a smile, "You are my greatest support."

Horn laughed quietly, "The countless believers are your greatest support. I'll ask you again, can you take on the role of Senior Pastor?"

"I can."

"Do you know what we're going to do in High Castle?"

"I know, we have our plans." Valent Taylor took out several sheets of paper and handed them to Horn.

Scanning over the watermark- and oil-stained yellow draft papers, Horn quickly skimmed through the passages composed of various handwriting.

After a moment, he set down the papers, saying contentedly, "You've all improved."

"First comes literacy and reading, then implementing Hundred Households Districts and going to the battlefield. It would be strange if we didn't improve."

"Good." Horn nodded, "At the next village stop, I'll send a fast courier to notify the Imperial Cardinal Conference. You can just take my administrative order and go."

"As for the County Monastery in Shangruifo County..."

"It's also allocated for your use. After all, they have no work at the moment."

"Thank you for trusting me, Your Holiness." Valent Taylor solemnly performed a chest salute to Horn.

"I know you."

Upon hearing,"I know you," this short phrase, Valent Taylor felt a sudden pang of emotion.

Horn still retained his smile, "Since the plan is in place, when we arrive, act as you see fit. I won't interfere much."

"Please don't worry, Your Holiness."

Horn naturally had confidence. If Valent Taylor had been as opportunistic and indecisive as André, there would have been no need for the furious slaying of the lord and uprising.

Compared to André, Valent Taylor, a righteous person with a steward background, certainly had no problematic stance.

As for the proposed strategy, it's clear it is a reference to Horn's provided information combined with their own thoughts.

Now, the focus would be on execution issues.

......

It must be said, because the Holy Father wasn't pleased, it rained continuously for three days, and with a headwind each day.

This led to Horn's fleet frequently having to stop and rest, even having to hire towmen.

His Holiness the Pope was generous, but it was hard on the accompanying steward's staff.

Later, they simply left six battle groups at Sentry Fort, with only the First Holy Armor Corps and the Eighth Vanguard Corps escorting Horn and Valent Taylor.

This finally sped up the journey.

However, waiting in High Castle was challenging, as the Border Knight Order was attacking, and they still had to dispatch high-ranking personnel to wait in High Castle.

This battle group was originally molded by Moliat, and Horn hadn't been able to establish a strong authority within it.

Moreover, there were quite a few members from the former Death Corps and Eagle Corps who had clashed with Horn Salvation Army in Cheese Bay.

Those low-level officers and soldiers naturally whispered among themselves.

The monks from the local Priestly Order who got the news naturally saw it in the "Truth Report" and arrived in High Castle early to welcome them.

Hearing the soldiers' complaints, these monks didn't dare confront them directly.

After all, André's Iron Fist Battle Group had gradually marginalized the Priestly Order.

But if they couldn't deal with the Iron Fist Battle Group, surely His Holiness the Pope could, couldn't he?

Thus, complaint letters and reports flew towards the Saint Sun's Ship like snowflakes.

Each time a small boat delivered water, accompanied by a large bag of letters, Valent Taylor frowned deeply as he read them.

The local Priestly Order being marginalized was not without reason.

Shangruifo County, as a Mountain Faction territory, also had noble forces appointing Hundred Households Captains, working with Wandering Cultivators to govern.

And the Wandering Cultivators at this level, due to Horn's later shortage of staff, were mostly drawn from the local monastery and church rather than the Saint Grandson faction.

Despite being trained, these individuals' stance and will were far less resolute than those of the Saint Father's Association monks, causing the local monastery and Iron Fist Battle Group to repeatedly falter in the power struggle.

The result was a transformation from mutual non-interference to a model where André commanded the Priestly Order.

After reading these letters daily, Valent Taylor, while furious at the local monks for their lack of support, also cursed André for overstepping his authority.

This Falan rogue actually dared to privately appoint military territorial officials.

The military territorial officials recruited Shepherds, where a single draftee meant the family could receive fifty acres of land.

But the problem was, due to the dispersion of the population, invalidated domiciles, and the Priestly Order's inaction, land ownership was extremely confused.

Although these lands were farmed and grazed, reports arriving to Horn indicated that they were wastelands.

Since they were wastelands, they naturally weren't taxed.

However, this was just one of André's methods for maintaining his army.

The mainstay of the Iron Fist Battle Group surprisingly relied on border trade.

He massively expanded his troop numbers, then went to the Imperial Court Order with this roster, saying he didn't need salaries as long as he could get food rations for the troops.

The Imperial Court Order, seeing he was over the limit, naturally refused. So André pleaded desperately, asking if he could purchase them instead.

But Horn had declared a wartime state, prohibiting the free trade of grain, so the Imperial Court Order, exhausted by his pestering, granted him permission to purchase grain externally.

Then André began his performance.

In short, importing cheap grain from Red Leaf Hill, selling it at Shattered Stone Plain in exchange for wool, delivering the wool to South Mangde County for money, then using the money to buy more grain.

It's important to note that just because Horn could manage the floods well didn't mean the Broken Stone Primordial People could too.

The floods had submerged the grain-producing lands of Shattered Stone Plain, causing a famine.

Particularly as the Duke of Wing Nest fled, leaving the nobles leaderless. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Initially, the Oslar Clan at Thorn Garden could lend a hand, but now they were caught up in their conflicts, so it was every believer for themselves.

In today's Shattered Stone Plain, a sack of grain can easily buy large quantities of wool or even people.

This effectively meant André was consuming the wool taxes of Shattered Stone Plain to maintain his army and himself.

Indeed, Battle Commander André was even engaging in corruption.

Valent Taylor faced these letters each day, hurling void insults at André.

In contrast, Horn often chimed in, noting that without organizing, it was uncertain whether the local monastery could withstand the Broken Stone Noble's attack, given the local monastery's ineffectiveness.

André's ability to operate this way was predicated on his absolute suppression of the southern nobles of Shattered Stone Plain.

A significant portion of the corrupted gains indeed went toward the soldiers.

"Truly unfathomable,"

Valent Taylor's bewildered and angry comment accompanied the fleet's arrival in High Castle City.