Chapter 199: Chapter 198: Large Expenses

Ronin and Pearson spoke for a good while. Ronin used the time to better understand the trade caravan’s operations and to finalize the salaries and expenses for its members.

To put it simply, Ronin would provide all the caravan’s supplies, such as packhorses and carts for transportation, and the rations required for both men and beasts on the road.

Pearson and his men, in turn, were responsible for visiting clients, promoting goods, and securing deals.

This world did not yet have the concept of bonuses or commissions, so Ronin offered all caravan members a fixed salary.

As the caravan’s manager, Pearson’s daily wage reached twenty Copper Coins, while his nine subordinates averaged five Copper Coins per day.

Compared to his pay under Reisen, Ronin had given Pearson a raise of three Copper Coins and each of his subordinates a raise of one Copper Coin.

This level of pay was already quite substantial. After all, even Wilson’s daily salary as a Civil Servant had only been ten Copper Coins.

However, there was a good reason for their high pay. After all, the caravan brought in three to four hundred Gold Coins in revenue for the territory each year, and they had contributed a great deal.

“This is truly a wonderful morning!”

Standing on the steps before the castle’s drawbridge, Pearson’s earlier anxiety and unease were swept away, and he seemed to have recovered his usual spirit.

He hadn’t expected to gain the new Lord’s trust so easily. Not only was he allowed to continue managing the Swamp Town caravan, but he had also received a raise, making him look forward to the future even more.

’The Lord is young and benevolent, but he’s not nearly as incompetent as the rumors make him out to be.’

Clearly, Pearson’s perception of Ronin was still based on old information; he was completely unaware of the new Lord’s recent actions.

He had simply made this judgment based on his own intuition.

Pearson could sense from their recent conversation that this young Lord was not so simple. The Lord’s benevolence was merely a way to make you serve him more diligently.

If he and his caravan were to do anything out of line, they would surely receive the punishment they deserved.

But Pearson had a clear understanding of his own position.

He was merely a merchant dependent on the Lord. Without the Lord’s support, he was nothing.

’Time to gather those lads and get to work!’

Pearson lingered no longer, striding away from the castle.

Next, he and his men would carry out the first task given to them by the Lord—not sales, but procurement.

First, to prepare for the upcoming land reclamation, Ronin planned to purchase three thousand *jin* of wrought iron to forge plowshares and various other farming tools.

Second, between Swamp Town, Mountain Forest Town, and several other villages, the total cultivated land now reached one hundred thousand *mu*. It couldn’t all be planted with barley and wheat; crop diversity also had to be considered.

Therefore, Ronin also planned to purchase crops like peas, lentils, and onions. Not only would they diversify the people’s diet, but legumes, for example, could also be used as excellent feed for warhorses.

Finally, and most critically, he needed to procure grain.

After providing for itself and barely managing to supply the four villages to the north, Mountain Forest Town’s grain from last year’s autumn harvest was spent. It was nowhere near enough to feed the thousand-plus slaves who were about to arrive, let alone support Swamp Town.

According to Chahar’s calculations over the past two days, Swamp Town was facing a grain deficit of at least three hundred thousand *jin* before this year’s autumn harvest.

Although his subjects would need to spend money or labor to purchase the grain from him, he was the one who had to foot the bill to buy it from outside sources.

Three hundred thousand *jin* of grain would cost at least nine hundred Gold Coins. Adding the expense of the wrought iron and seeds, that was nearly twelve hundred Gold Coins gone just like that.

After running these numbers, Ronin found himself somewhat impressed with Reisen. After all, it seemed that supporting a place as large as Swamp Town must have taken a considerable amount of effort.

If Ronin’s own pockets weren’t so deep, he truly wouldn’t have known where to get the money to buy grain.

Of course, buying three hundred thousand *jin* of grain wasn’t as simple as just deciding to buy it.

For one, it wasn’t easy to stockpile grain here. For another, he wasn’t so reckless as to entrust Pearson with over a thousand Gold Coins at once.

He would have Pearson buy the wrought iron and seeds on his upcoming trip, but for the grain, the main goal for now was to establish a purchasing channel.

When the time actually came to buy the grain, Ronin would arrange for several Knights to go along with some soldiers. This would ensure the safety of both the money and the grain.

’More people means more expenses!’

Ronin stood atop the tower, looking down at the town. Although the expansion of his territory was exhilarating, the need to make money had also become urgent.

’Even though Wushan Territory has troublemakers like the Black Gold Brotherhood and the Polante Thief Gang, their activities are just minor skirmishes. They haven’t plunged the territory into a state of war, which is why grain prices in Wushan Territory have remained relatively low.’

The average price for barley, wheat, and rye was less than four Copper Coins, which was indeed quite low.

’But if a war were to actually break out, the price wouldn’t stay this low. It could easily double, triple, or even more.’

’Wushan Territory has three major grain-producing bases: Wushan City, Lingchuan City, and Black Python City.’

’Wushan City belongs to the Wushan Clan, and the Rive Clan, which controls Lingchuan City, did speak up for me at Wushan Castle. But when everyone is short on grain, I can’t be certain I’ll be able to buy that much.’

A place like Swamp Town, with an annual grain deficit of hundreds of thousands of *jin*, could easily fall into famine, leading to people starving to death.

Ronin was a benevolent Lord, and he didn’t want to see his subjects starve. After all, every person who died was one less laborer.

’We need to be self-sufficient in grain!’

’And we need to have sufficient reserves!’

While Wushan Territory was still at peace, Ronin had to push forward with land reclamation.

Just as he was filled with ambition, a group of riders appeared on the main road to Swamp Castle, approaching from a distance and drawing his gaze.

’It’s Tom. He’s back.’

Last year, before heading to Wushan Castle, Ronin had passed through Pasture City and purchased forty-four horses from the Ironhoof Clan’s stables at an extremely favorable price.

However, he had been in a hurry at the time and lacked the manpower to bring the horses back to his territory, so he could only leave them boarded at the Ironhoof Clan’s stables.

Only after returning to Swamp Town this time did Ronin send Tom with some cavalry to Pasture City to bring the horses back.

Speaking of which, it was worth mentioning the number of horses Ronin now possessed—a great many.

Superior Warhorses: 10

Regular Warhorses: 29

Riding Horses: 93

Packhorses: 27

The main reason Ronin had so many horses was thanks to seizing the wealth of Swamp Castle—he had confiscated a full 65 horses from Reisen!

Now, even if Wubei Territory wanted to form a second Knight Squad, Ronin wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough horses.

This was a huge, hidden asset.

“Huh?”

As Ronin sized up the group, he noticed two familiar figures among them.

’Rogner and Krami? What are they doing here?’

Outside the castle gate, Tom and his party came to a halt on the main road before the drawbridge.

“Baron Reisen probably never imagined that Swamp Castle, which he spent so much effort building, would fall into the hands of Ronin Viscount.”

Krami studied the castle before them, her delicate brows knitting slightly. “The castle is nice, but it’s a pity the air here doesn’t smell very pleasant.”

Rogner smiled faintly. “You get used to it.”

“Rogner’s right. I wasn’t used to it my first day here either, but after a night’s sleep, the earthy smell in the air seemed to fade.”

Tom dismounted with a smile. “Wait here a moment. I’ll go report to the Lord.”

Rogner also dismounted and said with a smile, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

He took a deep breath. Today was finally the day for him to take action.

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