Volume 2 chapter 54
Three days later, three Counts stood hand-in-hand outside the borders of Smolder Territory.
Inside Charlo's main tent, Charlo sat at the head of the table. The three Counts flanked him, while Ivorson Smolder sat opposite Charlo, alone.
"...Based on the principle of peaceful coexistence... the penalties for the Smolder family are as follows..."
Lawrence held the treaty scroll, reading through the lengthy list of demands. It took quite a while to finish.
Finally, Lawrence put down the document and looked at Ivorson. "Mr. Ivorson, does the Smolder family agree to these terms?"
"The Smolder family... agrees!" Ivorson's lips trembled, but he forced the words out.
"Then, please sign here." Lawrence pushed a copy across the table.
Ivorson picked up the pen and shakily signed his name.
"Excellent! The Smolder family has chosen peace! They have chosen to end this senseless conflict. In these tense times, this is the best choice for everyone! Let us congratulate them!"
After the signature was inked, Lawrence cheered loudly. "Today, under the witness of three Counts, the treaty is signed, and peace returns to both territories!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Charlo led the applause. The three Counts followed suit, clapping politely.
"Sir Charlo is truly righteous and magnanimous!"
"Indeed, indeed! The situation is unstable right now. Restoring peace promptly is more important than anything!"
"It is an honor to witness this reconciliation!"
Ivorson slumped in his chair, watching the celebration. The smiles felt blindingly bright, mocking his humiliation.
At least... we weren't exiled... Keeping something is better than nothing... He comforted himself silently.
Staying in the territory was better than being cast out. Without land to support them, how could a family of thousands survive? Who would support a Count family with no High-Rank power? The return on investment was nonexistent. No one wanted to be a sucker. They were lucky not to be eaten alive.
After the signing ceremony, Charlo invited the three Counts and Ivorson to a banquet. Ivorson made an excuse and fled, leaving the victors to celebrate.
"Sir Charlo! Truly young and promising! Advancing to the Seventh Rank before thirty... Counting the past ten thousand years of Imperial history, no one has matched this speed!" Count Cameron, a middle-aged looking man, raised his glass in a toast.
"Haha! Just luck, just luck!" Charlo laughed heartily and drained his glass.
"Sir Charlo need not be humble! To achieve such success at your age is the pride of the entire Empire!" Count Ronald, the eldest at over three hundred years old, spoke warmly. Despite his white hair, his body was robust, showing no signs of frailty.
"Viscount Charlo... soon to be Count Charlo! I congratulate you in advance! And I hope our future relationship will become even closer!" Count James, who looked only a few years older than Charlo but was actually over 150, raised his glass as well.
"Haha! Congratulations to us all!" Charlo beamed. "Regardless of rank, our trade partnership will not be affected! In fact, it will only deepen!"
Hearing this assurance, whether true or false, the three Counts smiled genuinely.
"To our future Count—Cheers!"
"Cheers!" Charlo raised his glass without hesitation.
Charlo had secured the support of the three Counts by promising a trade partnership. Industries from their territories could trade in the expanded Ironwood Territory at half the original tax rate.
Furthermore, they could purchase bulk goods from the United Chamber of Commerce at low prices, with exclusive resale rights and pricing power in their own lands. This profit-sharing turned the three Counts into his staunchest supporters.
What they didn't know was that even at "low prices," the United Chamber of Commerce still made a profit. Moreover, by swallowing the Mana Stone mine in Smolder Territory, Charlo now had a legitimate reason to sell Mana Stones openly!
He would grasp money from commoners with one hand and money from supernatural nobles with the other. He would earn from both ends!
At the same time, letting the three Counts resell goods like grain, refined salt, and spices—items Ironwood produced in suspicious abundance—allowed Charlo to keep making money without drawing too much unwanted attention.
He didn't want to flip the table until the very end.
The next day, Charlo returned to Ironwood carrying five large chests filled with 5,000 Imperial Gold Coins.
A few days later, the Smolder family withdrew from the ceded lands, and Ironwood soldiers marched in to take control.
Before leaving, the Smolder family stripped everything valuable they could carry. What they couldn't take, they smashed to pieces, determined not to leave anything useful for Charlo.
Charlo just smiled and didn't care. He was going to demolish those old structures anyway. Smolder doing it for him just saved him the demolition costs!
"...Report on the reception of Smolder Territory complete!" Lawrence put down one report and picked up another.
"Next is the report regarding the five Viscounts! All five have invested their family assets into the United Chamber of Commerce. The total value is approximately 35,000 Imperial Gold Coins, accounting for a 5% share."
"Across the five territories, we have acquired over 130,000 citizens and over 150,000 slaves. Arable land: 548 square kilometers. Warhorses: 6,200. Draft horses: 18,000. Oxen: 32,000. Sheep: 35,000."
"Mm!" Charlo nodded. This expansion brought in a fortune. Including the 5,000 gold from Smolder, the total intake was 40,000 Gold Coins—equivalent to half the assets of a Count family!
Of course, much of it wasn't liquid cash. But 40,000 gold coins? Even a Marquis couldn't pull that much out at once!
Murder and arson really are the fastest ways to get rich. The ancients didn't lie!
Charlo sighed internally but didn't let greed take over. He reminded himself that this method was a temporary measure. Relying on plunder would only lead to ruin.
He calmed himself and asked, "How is the expansion of the Construction Corps going? Can they handle the workload?"
"The Construction Corps has expanded to 180,000 men. If we start work on the five Viscount territories and the Prague River Estuary simultaneously, we are short by about 30,000 men!" Lawrence calculated quickly.
"Then recruit more! Absorb those slaves into the Construction Corps!" Charlo waved his hand decisively.
"We have so much to build! Ports, roads, houses, bridges, factories... we need manpower!"
"Understood!" Lawrence nodded, then asked, "What about the family members of the Viscounts?"
"Those people... treat them like we did with the Balar nobles! Those guilty of crimes stand trial. Those innocent get a job as literacy teachers for the farmers and slaves!"
Handling the surrendered nobility had become a headache for Charlo.
Ironwood's military expansion had been explosive—from a few hundred square kilometers to 5,000 square kilometers in three years. Population exploded from tens of thousands to 600,000.
Administration was stretched thin.
While most new subjects were commoners or slaves, many were surrendering nobles.
Charlo viewed nobles with extreme skepticism. He allowed them no power in politics or military affairs. Even in economics, they held idle positions—shareholders who received dividends but had no decision-making power.
But there were too many of them. After the war with Balar, Charlo realized he didn't have enough idle positions for all these nobles.
How to dispose of them? They were educated, so executing them or letting them rot was a waste. Charlo had a flash of inspiration: Literacy Classes!
Modeled after the mass literacy campaigns of Earth's history, these classes aimed to eliminate illiteracy.
This way, when he issued policies, he wouldn't need a town crier at every notice board. Moreover, literacy was the first step to awakening the will of the people. Once they could read and think, they would realize who treated them well and who treated them poorly. This would naturally erode the authority of the old nobility in their minds.
"Young Master, I must remind you! The combined family members of the five Viscounts far outnumber the Balar surrenderers!" Lawrence shook his head. "Literacy classes alone cannot absorb over 16,000 people!"
"Hm? How many?" Charlo froze.
"Over sixteen thousand!"
"Hiss..." Charlo sucked in a cold breath. Average of 3,000 per family? Good lord, as expected of nobles. Even with the debuff of supernatural fertility, they breed like rabbits!
The higher the rank, the lower the fertility. Mana erosion eventually replaced genetic reproduction. But these Low-Rank families hadn't been sterilized by power yet.
"This is really..." Charlo rubbed his temples. "What do we do? Just let them sit around? But they are rare intellectuals... Sigh!"
Charlo slapped his forehead. He had an idea.
"Lawrence, what if we put the excess personnel into a Market Expansion Department of the United Chamber of Commerce?"
"Market... Expansion Department?" Lawrence looked at him, puzzled. "We don't have that department, do we? Just Transport, Investment, Regulation, and Production."
"Well, now we have a Market Expansion Department!" Charlo laughed. "Let them take our goods and go out to sell to other nobles! Let them open new markets! If they fail, it doesn't matter. If they succeed, don't recall them—send them to the next place!"
"Uh..." Lawrence thought for a moment. "Will they agree to do that? What if they refuse?"
"Simple!" Charlo snapped his fingers. "They get a 10% commission on the market share they open! Of course, they don't have to work all year... give them a one-month vacation annually!"
"It doesn't waste manpower, and it fully exploits their noble connections... 10% commission..." Lawrence calculated silently.
"This method is feasible!" He looked up and nodded.
"Then make it happen!"
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.