Chapter 177 New Factory, New Castle
Guldan left angrily, leaving the gold coins; Hyde only stayed for one night, leaving the deposit and decided to return to the city.
Hyde's territory is in dire straits, and there are many things that need to be dealt with by him.
It is worth mentioning that Raven tried to sell granite to Earl Tyrone through Hyde, but failed.
According to Hyde, the Slater family had been severely weakened before, and granite was so expensive. Earl Tyrone felt that instead of spending the gold coins on repairing the Monn City Castle, it would be better to use them on more practical things. place.
For example, replenishing the scale of hippogryph knights, promoting some outstanding private soldiers to become extraordinary, and replenishing worn-out equipment.
Of course, Hyde's situation is different. His territory is newly built, and the castle's appearance cannot be fooled. After all, it will be passed down in the future.
Understanding this, Raven admired Earl Tyrone even more and felt like a confidant.
It is an extremely rare quality to be able to not be trapped by the false reputation of aristocrats and start everything from a practical perspective.
No wonder the Slater family was passive in the war of the Death Hand Order, but still firmly suppressed the Fox family.
Outside the Eagle Castle, the sun was shining brightly. Water had just been sprinkled on the ground, and the horse's hooves trampled on it, making a crisp sound.
Hyde smiled and said: "Baron Raven, don't try to persuade me about the granite."
"Of course, you are not Gul'dan, so you are not that easy to fool." Raven continued to promote his products: "There is no urgent need for granite. You need equipment and weapons, right?"
Hide said: "You are talking about the Gray Mountain Mine, right? It is indeed a good move to capture it."
"But you don't have an iron furnace. With so many craftsmen, how much can we produce?”
"I can't say for sure." Raven smiled mysteriously: "But you will be able to see the results within half a year at most, and it will never be worse than the previous iron collar."
If it were another person, Hyde would definitely not believe it, but when this sentence came out of Raven's mouth, Hyde couldn't help but take it seriously.
This time when he came to the Eagle Territory, what shocked him the most was not the fact that Raven had become a second-level magician, but the Eagle Town.
Being able to build the run-down town of Eagle Town into a prosperous town that is not inferior to the inner city of Munn City in more than a year, there is no doubt about Raven's ability.
"Well, I will mention it to my father." Hyde nodded: "If you can do it, even if my father doesn't buy it, I will buy it from you."
"When the time comes, I will definitely give you a discount." As he said that, Raven changed the subject: "Does the Slater family intend to sell some hippogryphs?"
Hide looked at Lei with some caution. Text: "Don't take advantage of the male hippogryph. The air power will be destroyed. It won't be restored to its former size in less than twenty years. If I dare If you mention it, you will definitely be scolded by your father.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that ungrateful.” Raven spread his hands and said, “I want to purchase a batch of female hippogryphs that can lay eggs. That kind of thing.”
In the entire Nord province, only the Slater family has the ability to produce a large number of female hippogryphs at once.
Hide breathed a sigh of relief: "It's easy to say, how much do you want? If the quantity is not large, I can decide it myself."
"...Let's get two hundred first."
"How much!?" Hyde was shocked: "Why do you want so many?"
The cost of Warcraft is not just the purchase price. , they eat a lot, and must add specific magic plants to their feed regularly and quantitatively, otherwise they will gradually lose the characteristics of magic beasts.
The purchase price of a female hippogryph is about 200 gold coins, but the annual cost of raising it is more than 20 gold coins. Two hundred animals, the annual consumption is 4,000 gold coins, enough to eat a large animal. Finances of the majority of barons.
It is true that hippogryph eggs are valuable, but sales are a big problem. Even the Slater family itself consumes most of its annual output internally.
Seeing that Raven didn't seem to be joking, Hyde thought for a moment and said: "I will discuss this amount with my family."
Leaven said: "The price is not a problem, it can be deducted from the balance payment . ”
Hearing this, Hyde looked much more relaxed and became motivated to help Raven.
By lowering the price in front of my father and raising the price in front of Raven, I might be able to save myself tens of thousands of gold coins.
As for the Slater family's losses - who is not doing it?
Don't you feel bad for selling your father's land?
After discussing some more details, Hyde left. Before leaving, he took a deep look at the monument outside Eagle Fort.
Sent Hyde away, Raven held a meeting.
Old Gordon, Eric, Fiona, Coleman, Fili, Poirot, and Raven's core were basically all present.
With the income just now, the cash on the book has exceeded 200,000 yuan, so of course I have to spend it well.
But it's not a negotiation. Raven has already made a plan and is waiting for the funds to arrive to make detailed arrangements.
First of all, Xuefeng received the balance payment for the two factories, and the remaining 40,000 gold coins were allocated to Kuman to speed up the construction.
The next step is the construction of the brewery. Raven is not planning to find another location, but will directly expand it with the riverside workshop as the center.
The construction cost of the brewery itself is not high. Even if it is divided into three brewing areas: red wine, beer and ale, the total budget is only 7,600 gold coins.
After it was completed, Raven was ready to hand it over to Poirot. First of all, Poirot had made remarkable achievements in the management of the riverside workshop during this period, showing a very good overall planning ability.
Secondly, in the Middles continent, a good chef is often a senior sommelier, who can ensure the quality of the wine.
Poirot was so flattered by this that he couldn't hold back the smile on his face. Fili cast an envious look at him, and at the same time looked at Raven much more eagerly.
As an important transfer station in Xuefeng County, Lei Wen did not forget the construction of Flash Gold Town, and decided to invest five thousand gold coins to build a agricultural trade in the east of Flash Gold Town, on the street leading to Eagle Town. The shopping mall is mainly engaged in the trading of agricultural products and livestock.
After all, Raven's standards for collecting grain are quite loose. Only 40% of the harvest is collected, and the subjects can enjoy full control over the remaining land output.
On this basis, folk grain, vegetables, and fruits can be circulated to a certain extent.
Territory construction is on track, and the next thing to do is to recruit troops. The first batch of Raven decided to start in Xuefeng Territory, planning to recruit 3,500 people, and train with the recruits previously recruited in Meng'en City to form a legion. .
According to the regulations of the empire, a baron should not have more than two brigades of private soldiers, which is about a thousand people.
But rules are dead, but people are alive.
Lei Wen can declare to the outside world that he only has 500 soldiers, and the rest are civilians. As long as Lei Wen does not rebel, no one will take a closer look.
The expansion of the army caused Eric to show great enthusiasm and at the same time express his concerns.
Recruitment itself does not cost much. Even if one year's military salary is advanced, the total amount is less than 4,000 gold coins.
The problem is the equipment for five thousand people.
Even the previous two thousand recruits from Meng'en City were barely equipped with leather armor, and most of their weapons were still made of wooden equipment.
Expanding the army at this time, not to mention armor rate, weapons and equipment will be a huge trouble.
You know, even a spear with only a pig iron tip on the market now costs as high as 63.7 silver coins. If it is made of steel, it is normal for the price to increase three to five times.
With the current price of equipment, whoever buys it will be taken advantage of.
Leaven said there is no need to worry about this. He should gather the team first. The training process can be replaced by wooden equipment. As long as the blacksmithing workshop is built, everything will be fine.
"The next thing I want to say is the focus of today's meeting, which can also be said to be the core of future territory construction."
Leaven looked around the venue, his voice was calm, attracting everyone's attention come over.
“With the expansion of the territory, Eagle Castle is no longer suitable as the center of the territory, and the location of Xuefeng Castle is too remote. I decided to find another land and build a new castle.”
Raven's voice was calm, but the content stirred up the hearts of everyone present.
A new castle is not only Raven's residence, but also means changes in the overall economic, political, and military structure of the entire Eagle Territory and Snow Maple Territory. It can also be said to be a "capital move" within the territory. Not too much.
The redrawn map was opened, covering the entire Eagle Territory and Snow Maple Territory.
Under Raven's instruction, everyone began to discuss the location for building this new castle.
Eric's suggestion continued the current ideas for the construction of Eagle Fort, and was more radical. The location was selected in the northwest of Xuefeng Territory.
It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces a river on one side. It has abundant water resources and is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as a stone bridge is built across the river, the new castle will become an indestructible fortress.
But this proposal encountered fierce opposition from others, especially Old Gordon.
In his opinion, the construction of the new castle should never be built solely for military purposes - if the castle is surrounded, then why did the Baron recruit so many soldiers? Guarding the safety of the territory is Eric's responsibility!
The new castle will be the symbol of the Griffith family, so its development potential in terms of economy and population must be fully considered.
So Old Gordon chose to place the new castle on a plain in the central and western part of Xuefeng Territory. It was just a piece of deserted land. There was no need to spend extra gold coins to buy the land, and it would have the least negative impact on the people's livelihood in the territory.
Moreover, there is a mountain road in the southeast of this land. You only need to spend a certain amount of gold coins to widen it. Then both land transportation and water transportation are very convenient, which is a major benefit for the construction of the castle and future development.
This proposal was supported by Fiona, but Kuman expressed his opposition tactfully.
The establishment of a new castle requires a lot of labor and a long period of time, ranging from half a year to several years, and the location chosen by Old Gordon was originally a piece of white land. Under such a premise, in order to facilitate construction, a large number of people need to be relocated from elsewhere, which will undoubtedly cause the mature gathering place of the territorial residents to become deserted and dilapidated.
The effect is equivalent to sucking the blood of the entire territory, tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall. In addition to getting a new castle, it will be a huge blow to the economy of the entire territory. , it may not be possible to recover for several years or more than ten years.
In fact, Cuman also has his own selfish motives. The reason why Xuefeng Town can reach its current scale is mostly because it is adjacent to Xuefeng Castle and can be regarded as the center of Xuefeng Territory.
With the establishment of the new castle, the center of gravity of Xuefeng Territory will inevitably shift, and the decline of Xuefeng Town is probably inevitable.
So Kuman proposed that the new castle can be built outside Xuefeng Town, and the original Xuefeng Castle can be dismantled and used as building materials for the new castle. This can greatly save construction costs.
What the three parties said all made sense, but in the end it was of course up to Raven to make the final decision.
Leaven had already made up his mind about this. He walked to the edge of the map and used a charcoal pen to draw two straight lines across the territory, running horizontally and vertically, in a standard east-west and north-south direction, and he His hand fell on the intersection of these two lines!
The intersection of the central axis of the entire territory was the place he chose to build the castle!
Everyone looked stunned.
Eric blinked, Coleman frowned in thought, and Old Gordon pushed the monocle: "But Lord Baron, this is... a river of liquid crystal!"
The location chosen by Raven's finger is exactly between the Eagle Territory and the Snow Maple Territory, where the Jinsha River and the Flowing Crystal River meet!
“It’s right here.” Raven said in an orderly manner: “The river channel of the Liquid Crystal River is wide. Fill in the middle and create land, and the castle can be built here. At the same time, the river channel will be widened without affecting the waterway. Transportation.”
Eric looked astonished: "And with the river as a moat, the defense capability will be very good, and there is no need to worry about someone cutting off the water source of the moat. It is extremely safe."
Leaven nodded and continued. : "Yes, and the transportation here is convenient, which facilitates the distribution of goods, which means it is conducive to the circulation of people."
At this point, Raven's eyes fell on Kuman: "This What you said makes sense before, but there is one thing you didn’t think clearly about.”
Kuman frowned slightly: “I wonder if I didn’t consider it carefully enough?”
“You. Considering that the new castle will affect the population distribution in the territory, this is very good." Raven praised, and then changed his tone: "But there is one thing you did not consider, and that is the purpose of building the new castle."
"I just want the population to be concentrated here!"
Originally, Old Gordon felt that something was floating in his mind, but he could not grasp the main point. Now when he heard Raven's words, he immediately understood it. , he pointed at the map and said: "The construction location of this new castle can completely cover Gold Flash Town, Eagle Town, and the small half of Xuefeng Territory!"
"Sir Baron, although you Granting land, but a prime-age laborer can completely cultivate it Thirty acres of land, but now a family’s land is only about ten acres.”
“The Baron has always paid wages when he recruits and recruits people, as long as the income from working exceeds the income from farming. , then someone will definitely be tempted to rent the land to others for farming. This is what the Baron said, the solution..."
Seeing that Old Gordon couldn't remember for a while, Raven smiled and said: " Free the workforce.”
"Yes, liberate the labor force!" Old Gordon nodded heavily: "And when these workers have money, they will definitely consume. This will not only re-stimulate the economic vitality of Goldsmith Town, but also cause more people to spontaneously gather around New Castle. Trade. "
Cuman also understood that the key point is the word "spontaneous". In this way, building a castle is no longer a purely political act, but an economic stimulus for the entire territory. , not only will the territory not lose blood, but it will also greatly increase the economic vitality of the territory!
I originally thought that Baron Raven had only made great achievements in military and political matters, but I didn't expect that he also had such a far-sighted vision in the economy.
The construction of a new castle and the large-scale spontaneous gathering of the population, this...
An idea appeared in Cuman's mind, and then he couldn't suppress it and blurted out: "You want to build a new city!? ”
This sentence immediately awakened everyone present, especially Fiona. She took a look at the map and recalled the city outline map she had seen: "Whether it is Monen City, Hovey City, or even the Royal Capital, they are all built on By the river.”
"In the province, there is Hovey City in the southeast and Meng City in the middle. Only the northwest lacks a real big city. Lord Baron, is this your ultimate goal!?"
Everyone present said: He looked at Raven with eager eyes.
City and castle are the same word, but their meanings are completely different. The establishment of a real city is a major event that can be recorded in history, enough for anyone involved to leave their mark in the long history. name!
Leaven showed a happy smile: "Yes, I do have such a plan, but the food has to be eaten one bite at a time, and the things have to be done bit by bit. The current focus still has to be on the construction of the castle! ”
"Do you have any questions about site selection?"
Everyone shook their heads. They had all been convinced by Raven.
Now that the location has been determined, the next step is the specific architectural details.
In Lei Wen's plan, the main body of the castle will have seven floors, covering an area of 12,000 square meters, and a height of about 36 meters. It will be built with granite and has various internal structures. It has everything, including dungeons, warehouses, armories, conference rooms, laboratories, studies, and even a small library.
Total calculation, the first batch of construction funds will require an investment of 120,000 gold coins, and all building materials used will be local materials as much as possible.
Everyone was excited to think that such a magnificent building was about to appear on the territory, and they all put forward their own ideas. Only Fiona expressed a little concern: "Lord Baron, this castle is very good, but it is not too high. A little, from the first floor to the seventh floor, just walking up, I'm afraid it will take two minutes..."
This worry is not unreasonable, even though it is only thirty-six meters, but when Raven travels through Before, it was only 12 or 3 storey residences, which also depended on the conscience of the developer.
If the floor height was lower, it would be possible to create fifteen or sixteen floors from thirty-six meters.
In particular, Raven's bedroom must be located on the seventh floor, which is the highest.
Climbing up and down more than ten floors every day cannot be said to be a kind of enjoyment.
Of course, Lei Wen was not repairing the castle just to find fault for himself: "I have already considered this and contacted the Mages Guild in advance."
"Look at this."
Raven's finger fell on a hollow in the center of the castle on the blueprint.
Old Gordon frowned: "Isn't this the default patio?"
Raven shook his head and said with a smile: "No, I am going to install the latest invention of the Mages Guild here - —Magic Elevator”
"Magic...what?" Eric didn't understand.
The so-called magic elevator is actually an automatic up and down device powered by magic crystals. It is similar to an elevator, but its working principle is completely different.
This invention is actually a "compromise" choice. Within the Magician's Guild, the magicians use short-distance portals to move around in the magician tower.
But this method of mobility is difficult to promote on the mainland.
The portal in the mage tower is not used very frequently. Many chores can be completed by magic creations; when the mage tower is being built, a magic well is usually built to supply energy to the mage tower at all times.
If placed in a noble family, servants coming and going are indispensable, and the cost of the portal is too high; the magic well is uncontrollable and too dangerous for most ordinary people, which is equivalent to burying a timer under the castle. bomb.
So in order to make money and "increase income", the Mages Guild developed this magic elevator that is easier to use and promote.
Of course, this kind of elevator is not cheap. A complete set, not counting maintenance costs, even with discounts, costs 17,300 gold coins.
Even after Raven explained it, not everyone present could understand its principle, but at least they understood its function and began to imagine what it would be like to work and live in the castle in the future.
The vast and majestic castle can be traveled up and down without moving. This kind of life is enough for everyone to yearn for.
After the budget was arranged, everyone dispersed and began to perform their respective tasks.
This is the advantage of a group that is on the rise. Everyone is full of energy and vitality.
After solving the financial problem, Raven's life returned to leisure again. Anyway, the people below would handle all the chores for him. He only needed to make the final decision, so he had a lot of free time.
In addition to practicing magic, Raven also didn't forget to go to Bucky to learn about alchemy.
As a branch of magic, alchemy itself is also very profound, involving a variety of professional knowledge and vocabulary, such as "magic halogen blending", "raw material blackening", "product fixation" ", "Elemental Flow", "Magic Neutralization" and so on.
This involves many concepts that Raven has never understood before, and he is accustomed to understanding the concepts first and then remembering the nouns, so he wastes a lot of brain cells and spends a lot of time reading books.
This step allowed Bucky to find some balance - it seems that Raven is not a genius in everything!
However, when it came to the actual operation stage, the balance in Bucky's heart was completely unbalanced.
When a normal alchemist enters the profession, even if there is a teacher to teach him step by step, the success rate of alchemy is usually less than 30%, and it is normal to fail seven or eight times out of ten.
But Raven only made a few mistakes when configuring the "Burn Potion" for the first time. After that, the success rate remained high.
Even the "Fire Glue", which is known as the "Rookie Killer" and requires six kinds of raw materials, Bucky was stuck at for two months. Raven only failed twice, and the success rate after that was maintained at 60%. above, and gradually moves higher over time.
Ordinary alchemists can only rely on the external performance during the refining process and empirically grasp the changes in the elemental magic power in the bottle, but Raven has the Eye of Truth.
The reason why it still fails is mostly because the impurity content of different batches of raw materials is different, and some subtle changes are difficult to predict. If the quality of the raw materials can be guaranteed to be stable, Raven's success rate can be increased.
Bucky gradually discovered with some despair that in addition to giving Raven some experience and knowledge guidance, Raven could even serve as his teacher in terms of practical operations!
But Bucky's mentality soon adjusted - a monster like Raven is not something he can compare to, and if Raven succeeds in alchemy in the future, he will be known as Raven. Wen Zai's alchemy enlightenment teacher, isn't that also very respectable?
Time passed little by little, and Raven's life was dull and fulfilling. The construction of the new castle also broke ground, along with the construction of Goldshire, Riverside Workshop and Xuefengling Factory. The entire territory was bustling with activity.
And Raven could often hear complaints. In addition to Eric, Old Gordon, Fili, and Kuman took turns coming to complain to Raven. They all expressed one thing - there are not enough people. !
You must know that in addition to construction sites, there are still large areas of land that need to be reclaimed. This involves the fundamentals of the territory and cannot be stopped.
In response to this, Raven comforted them one by one and told them that the problem would be solved soon.
In early August, the 20,000 serfs promised by Viscount John finally arrived.
……
(End of this chapter)