King

75: Chapter 74, Illusion and Reality_1 75: Chapter 74, Illusion and Reality_1 When you have food on hand, a mine at home, there’s no need to panic.

Based on the current cleanup speed, production could resume as early as next month.

Regrettably, the territory is lacking a bit in vigorous labor force, making it hard to boost the production.

The thick blue smoke rising up was particularly pleasing to Hudson’s eyes.

This was a prerequisite for the resumption of mine production — the making of charcoal.

The miners were seen skillfully placing cut wood neatly into charcoal kilns, applying mud while leaving a hole for ignition, and then pouring in the burning charcoal.

Next to them were two workers, constantly fanning with enormous leaves.

One could tell that in the current era of production, the charcoal-making process is well established.

The way of air supply is primitive because they used to use magic technology, a device similar to a fan.

The device was destroyed due to war, and no substitute could be found immediately, resulting in an abrupt return to primitive air supply methods.

There was no hope for magic technology, as it couldn’t be purchased over a short time.

Hudson had no choice but to resort to a bellows to substitute.

He had already passed on the manual bellows process and arranged for it to be made.

However, the technique is not yet mature and the practicality of the products needs to be improved.

If all goes as planned, it would be a while before the mines can utilize this magic technology.

Everything boils down to cost.

Human labor is much cheaper compared to the pricey magic devices.

Installing one alchemy-based fan could buy you ten strong and healthy slaves.

Worse still, this device needs magic crystals to operate, something Hudson was badly in need of.

With the small quota allocated to the barons, most of it goes into his own practice.

How could he possibly waste it here?

Let’s accept lower efficiency, it’s okay.

After all, labor costs are incredibly cheap.

By using a manual bellows as a substitute, it could even cut costs further.

Before he could plan further, Hudson received news from his clan.

Officers who were in charge of setting boundary lines have embarked on their journey and will arrive at Layton County soon.

He had no idea where they would start or when they would arrive at his territory.

The only thing he could do was wait patiently at home and not wander off.

If the officials come and the landlord is not at home, it seems like a recipe for disaster.

Given the workstyle of the bureaucrats at the Governor’s mansion, they certainly wouldn’t wait for the landlord to return.

If the landlord is not at home, they could make all decisions using the map by themselves.

As for the party involved being satisfied with the outcome, that actually never has to be taken into consideration.

Those with strong connections could request another round of boundary setting.

Those who are lacking in connections, background, and strength would simply have to come to terms with the situation.

Although Hudson wasn’t exactly totally without any connections or background, he didn’t think he had enough to warrant the Governor’s Mansion sending an official to meet him separately.

As for military strength, it was purely hyped up through commercial mutual publicity.

Hudson being able to earn the title of “Divine Archery Knight” was largely thanks to the hard work put in by his team in spreading the word about him.

In order to prove his achievements in battle, the records were as much exaggerated as possible.

In particular, their overwhelming victory against the Church’s elite cavalry claimed as many as 3,000 lives, while only 500 were in reality.

Perhaps thinking it sounded too exaggerated and unbelievable, they finally added a further explanation: “We completely wiped out 1,000 of the Church’s Elite Cavaliers and 2,000 members of the rebel main force.”
The so-called “master in commanding troops” was based purely on the rebels’ ineptitude.

This was something that could not be concealed from anyone who wanted to investigate.

If he were really as powerful as the rumors suggested, then with one kick, he could make the whole southeastern province tremble.

Without a doubt, the southeastern province, dominated by the Dalton family, would never allow such a powerful figure to exist.

If such a person emerged, they would either be assimilated or strangled.

Hudson’s leisurely lifestyle itself was proof enough of how exaggerated the rumors were.

It might have scared smaller nobles, but it certainly didn’t scare the Governor’s Mansion.

…

“Uncle Scolari, Uncle Bajins, Uncle Hiludi…”
Hudson felt a bit numb after calling all these “uncles” in a row.

Those who presided over the boundary setting were all friendly with the Koslow family, he didn’t think this was a coincidence.

It’s either the Governor’s Mansion trying to entrap him in a sting operation, or they deliberately created an opportunity for them to show bias in the boundary setting.

After a little thought, Hudson came to a quick conclusion.

This was not the way to set up a fishing law enforcement trap.

As a privileged noble, showing favoritism in boundary demarcation wouldn’t be considered a serious crime at all.

The worst outcome would merely be the loss of office and another round of boundary delineation.

With a little caution, ensuring no obvious procedural flaws, there wouldn’t even be a penalty.

Unless one has gone mad, nobody would go through so much effort in a setup just to achieve such a minor penalty.

If it’s the latter, I’m guessing the future of Layton and Wharton counties will be turbulent.

There has always been conflicts between neighbors, and with a governor devoted to digging pitfalls, disputes are inevitable.

The welcome banquet was quite shabby.

Despite Hudson’s efforts, food in his territory was rather monotonous, and even held the banquet outdoors.

There was no other choice, the mining site was just too remote, and it had been overlooked by the previous Lord.

There were hardly any substantial buildings nearby.

The scanty stone houses available were used for storing food and raw iron and were not fitting for nobility.

Luckily, those present were all construed as “one of us”, or otherwise such treatment might lead to a grudge.

Since they were all old acquaintances who had interacted before, a few drinks helped them loosen up.

“Hudson, your territory is really too remote, why didn’t you choose a rich large town?”
Baron Scolari asked, puzzled.

This was also a question shared by many in the noble circle.

They held two impressions towards the Salam Mountain Range— barren land and minerals.

Minerals were indeed an advantage, but it couldn’t make up for the disadvantage of poor land.

The agricultural yield in the Salam Mountain Range was only 70% of that in the plain areas.

The labor input was the same, or perhaps even higher, yet the yield difference was so drastic, it was evidently not cost-effective for grain farming.

Although mineral exploitation could bring short-term advantages, in the long run, it was a disadvantage.

Once the mines were depleted and the surrounding land was polluted.

I’m afraid even the 70% of grain output would be hard to maintain.

For nobles, who are accustomed to permanently settling in one place, it’s crucial to consider the long-term development of their territories.

Some nobles, in order to ensure sustainable agricultural production, wouldn’t mine, even though they knew that there were minerals underground.

“Uncle Scolari, while the Salam Mountain Range is a bit remote, and the grain yield is low, its extensive area is not to be overlooked!

In addition to the mining areas marked on the map, only the outer three knight’s territories are shown on the map.

The rest, hundreds of hills, are ownerless, nearly equalling half the size of Layton County.

Though the cost of development is relatively high and not very cost-effective, there are still development values.

Relying on quantity to compensate for quality would not bring losses.

However, the human resources, material resources, and financial resources required are enormous.

Without decades of long-term investment, it would be hard to see results.

What truly made me choose the Salam Mountain Range are the upcoming conditions in Layton and Wharton counties.

The Northern aristocracy dared to offend the Dalton Family to move south, clearly their appetite could not be satisfied with just a few Baron’s territories.

Being a minor clan, Koslow might struggle in the event of conflict with these northern military nobles.

While prosperous central towns are great, they must also be defensible.

What if their backup clans continue to reinforce?

We cannot endure that.”
Explaining half truthfully and half falsely appeared most convincing.

After all, these people were closely related to the governor and their control over information was greater.

The earl’s apprehension towards the Northern Aristocracy was glaring, which thus called for caution among his followers.

The more they knew the greater their respect became.

No one was surprised at Hudson’s words.

After all, The Koslow Family also originated from the Northland.

Understanding the strength of the Northern Aristocracy was only logical.

“True, those chaps from the North are annoying, but the power they hold is quite astonishing.

If they get a foothold, not only will the land of Layton and Wharton counties be unstable, but the entire Southeastern Province will probably be in turmoil.

But Hudson, you are just too cautious.

Even if those chaps from the North come to make trouble, they won’t start with the Koslow Family.

As the most populous clan in the kingdom, combining all your branches would make you quite powerful, not to mention the support from the native nobles of the Southeastern Province.

Should a conflict break out, it’s unclear as to who would be at a disadvantage and who would benefit!”
Baron Scolari laughed, saying.

He was just short of directly telling Hudson, “don’t worry, go for it, the Governor’s Mansion will support you”.

Of course, saying it out loud was useless.

The Koslow Family wasn’t dumb, war results in casualties, confronting the Northland nobles moving south would only waste the family’s manpower, resources, and wealth, benefiting others by proxy.

Even if victory were possible, at most they would collect some ransom, which wouldn’t even cover their war costs.

Considering their opponent’s background and influence, recovery would not be a problem.

If they lose, it would be even worse.

The casualty rate would be tragic, and they might even lose their foundational business.

Any sane person would avoid such guaranteed loss ventures.