King

Looking at the hanging map, Hudson shook his head helplessly. There are ambitious nobles everywhere, but there are only a few who are powerful.

The best positions in the two counties were occupied by the nobles of Northern Xinjiang. Although the Governor's Mansion caused a wave of enclaves to cause trouble, it still failed to change this fact.

Among the local nobles, those with a slightly better geographical location are the few small nobles who inherited their ancestral business. Whether or not the family business can be preserved is still unknown.

Not to mention Hudson supporting them, even if the local nobles in the two counties supported them, they would not be able to compete with the Sith Baron.

After all, in the world of nobles, you still have to rely on yourself, and the support from outsiders is just support and cannot essentially change the gap in strength between the two parties.

In particular, the Sith Baron also has a grand duke father. Although I don't know how strong the support is, the eight hundred elite soldiers who followed him south were enough to dispel many people's thoughts.

Even Hudson, after falling out with the Sith Baron, did not rush to take action because he was worried that the Archduke thousands of miles away would intervene.

There is no way. The gap in status and strength between the two sides is really too great. They are not on the same level at all.

It's just a matter of secretly adding fuel to the flames. If there's a direct conflict, what if the old guy doesn't follow the rules and directly sends someone to kill him?

Counting on the Dalton family to come forward?

If you had accepted Count Pierce's solicitation before, you might still be able to look forward to it. Now, Your Excellency the Governor has not retaliated against him, that is generous enough.

After reviewing the smooth sailing of the previous development, Hudson gradually realized that something was wrong. It is the instinct of the big nobles to suppress the rise of small and medium-sized nobles within their own sphere of influence.

The Mountain Territory is developing so rapidly, and everyone can see the rising trend. The Dalton family has not made any reaction, which is obviously inconsistent with common sense.

Thinking of the Sith Baron in his prime, Hudson understood instantly. The relationship had developed smoothly before, but it still delayed this uncle's happiness.

Although the Governor's Mansion has used many small tricks, these are still far from enough to squeeze out the noble children of the North.

If the Dalton family could take action against them, then Earl Pierce would not have intervened in the dispute between the two counties so early. All he had to do was watch the conflict escalate and ten or eight nobles die before he came out to clean up the mess.

As for the tense situation in the mainland before, can those old guys still see that both sides are bluffing?

If a turmoil really breaks out, with the power of the Dalton family, they can eliminate the unstable factors before the chaos breaks out.

He did not continue to add fuel to the flames and took the opportunity to beat the Northland nobles to death with a stick. It is estimated that the families behind the Northland nobles exerted pressure, or they made deals with the Dalton family in other ways.

If it's not convenient to go out in person, and you don't want a bunch of northern aristocratic children to take root in your back garden, you need to let the chess pieces go.

There is no doubt that all the local nobles in the two counties are pawns of the Dalton family, and Hudson is no exception.

The last time he was in Dadir City, Count Pierce did not shy away from instigating the relationship between Hudson and Baron Sith.

Thinking of this step, Hudson groaned secretly. Sure enough, the more you know, the more troubles you will encounter.

If he didn't know anything, he could start a fight with the Sith Baron and use all his connections to slowly take him down.

Are the Eight Hundred Elites amazing?

As long as a few more neighborhood disputes are provoked, it will soon become seven hundred, six hundred, five hundred... He keeps winning battles, but the strength in his hands is constantly weakening, until one day the advantage is exhausted.

Unless his grand duke father is willing to invest continuously, Hudson has a way to slowly bleed the Sith Baron.

But now that he knows Earl Pierce's plan, Hudson can no longer play like that. Not only did he have to fight the Sith Baron, but he also needed him to make some noise to attract the attention of the Dalton family and secure a relaxed development environment for himself.

It is best to let the Dalton family think that the two sides are evenly matched and it is difficult to tell the winner for a while, or that they are slightly at a disadvantage.

As long as there is a stalemate, the Dalton family will think that everything is under control and will not rush to suppress the development of the Mountain Territory.

"Tell the person who delivers the letter that I will bring people to attend on time."

Hudson said coldly.

You have to attend the party, but not to join in the fun, but to stir up trouble.

Maybe he seems a little petty and his methods are not clever enough, but as a little noble who needs to be careful, his methods don't need to be too clever.

Sometimes the means are too clever, which is also a sin.

In the world of aristocrats, if the family is weak and the individual is too strong, they will often suffer big losses.

…

In the Maple Leaf Territory, along with a large number of orc slaves heading south, Baron Kettle really picked up a lot of bargains.

"Monopolizing the orc slave trade" and becoming "the largest orc slave merchant in the southeastern province"... Baron Keterai has achieved all of these ambitious goals.

Then, things got awkward. It would be fine for him to lead troops in war, but it would be difficult for him to do business. The group of warriors under him are obviously not business material.

Although he was involved in the smuggling trade when he was in the Northland, that kind of business was dominated by the family, and he was just the executor of the middle link.

The goods that travel between the Alpha Kingdom and the Orc Empire are all rare and in short supply locally. They have been booked early, and there is no need to find sales at all.

I originally thought that as long as I had a monopoly on the supply of orc slaves, customers would come to me on their own. Facts have proved that he was overthinking everything.

The Northland nobles and the local nobles were completely different circles. The news that Baron Keterai held a large number of orc slaves was only passed on to their inner circle. The outside world did not know that he had become the largest slave merchant in the southeastern province.

If the message is delivered slowly, it is not unacceptable. As long as some time passes, other nobles will still receive the message.

The key to the problem is that he sent people to notify some nearby nobles and clearly told them that he owned a large number of orc slaves. As a result, they responded to him with three words - "I know"!

“These damn Southern Xinjiang nobles, for the sake of their pitiful face, they all even disregard their own interests!

Although he knew that his territory was short of labor, he didn't know how to buy some slaves to supplement it. Just wait, there will be times in the future when they will regret it..."

After silently greeting all the local nobles and their families, Baron Keterai found out helplessly that the problem still needed to be solved.

Slaves are not other commodities that can be sold for a long time. These guys have to eat. With tens of thousands more mouths, just eating and drinking every day is a huge sum.

What's more, in order to monopolize the slave trade, Baron Kettle has spent all his wealth, and relied on the guarantee provided by his family to owe a large amount of foreign debt.

Now there is only the funds on hand to maintain the operation of the territory. If these slaves cannot be sold in time, the territory will declare bankruptcy next month.

"How about it, Uncle Holman? Is there anyone willing to bid?"

Baron Kettle asked expectantly.

In order to find a guy to take the lead in purchasing, he had to send his most trusted Knight Holman. After all, the threshold for noble gentlemen is very high. Unless the nobles come to visit, they probably won't even be able to see them in person.

"Caitley, prepare for the worst!

Originally, everyone was very excited when they heard that there were cheap slaves for sale, but when they learned that what we were selling were orc slaves, their expressions changed.

Even the orc slaves we gave as gifts were returned by them. The reason is: it may frighten the residents of the territory, and they need to be responsible for all territorial residents.

Of course, it’s not completely unnoticed. Several nobles are interested in Fox Girl, Cat Girl, Rabbit Girl, Leopard Girl... If the price is cheap, they say they can take it over.

There is also a noble who said that he has connections in the Colosseum. If we have orcs from the five royal families for sale, he can help contact us. "

After hearing Knight Holman's explanation, Baron Kettle almost vomited blood. No one wants the slaves given away for free, how annoying this orc must be.

He only has deep feelings for Fox Girl, Cat Girl, Rabbit Girl, Leopard Girl... Is he the kind of arrogant, extravagant and unconscionable aristocrat?

Although there are indeed a few foreign beauties among the acquired slaves, they are used to build relationships and expand contacts, not to be sold individually.

If sold individually, no matter how high the price is, a foreign beauty will only cost one hundred and eighty gold coins at most.

Unless the foreign beauty is a noble among the orcs, or a member of the five royal families, it is possible to sell it at a higher price.

But the question is, are the orc nobles so easy to catch? Even if the slave-catching team is obsessed with profit, they must first ensure that they can come back alive.

Contacting the Colosseum is even more nonsense. Capturing orcs from the five royal families as slaves, I really think that the bureaucrats of the orc empire are all dead!

In normal times, everyone engages in smuggling trade or arrests a few slaves, but there is no big fuss. That is because protection fees have been paid in advance.

As long as you keep your eyes open and don't provoke the big shots of the Orc Empire, if you don't happen to encounter the Orc army, there is a 70% to 80% chance of escaping unscathed.

If someone in the slave-catching team acts recklessly, messes with someone they shouldn't mess with, or does something they shouldn't do, triggering a backlash from the orcs, the slave-catching team that goes deep into the orc empire at the same time will suffer heavy losses.

This is not the most serious thing. What is more serious can even set off a military conflict on the border.

"Why, that Baron Hudson isn't interested either? His mines require a lot of labor, and these stupid orc slaves are the best consumables."

Baron Kettle asked strugglingly.

The worst plan is to select beautiful women from all the slaves and sell them to the nobles, and then sell the races with stronger strength to the Colosseum.

Select slaves who are easy to manage and good at farming from the remaining slaves and keep them for your own territory.

For the remaining rubbish slaves, all you can do is ask for help, and ask the nobles you are friends with to help digest them for the sake of past friendship.

If you really can't deal with it, then have a tearful sale. Deal with it cheaply to an unscrupulous mine boss, and get back every penny of the capital.

Baron Kettle purchased slaves in bulk at very low prices. Theoretically speaking, as long as it is done properly and handled in this way, there is a high probability that the money can be recovered.

If you succeed, you will make a profit; if you fail, you will save your capital. Even if there is a loss, it will not be too serious. Such a transaction is naturally worth risking everything.

It's a pity that the plan is beautiful, but the reality is really ugly. In order for a monopoly business to make money, it must have a prerequisite - rigid demand.

Orc slaves are obviously not a necessary product. Even if there are nobles who are interested in foreign beauties, they are optional consumption, and no one is interested in paying a high price to take over.

There are only three or five Colosseums in the entire southeastern province. Even if they are willing to open up acquisitions, it is estimated that they will only be able to acquire a few hundred people at most.

This has to be relevant in order to be able to sell it. After all, they have fixed partners and will not change them easily.

The most valuable slaves could not be sold at a high price, so it was impossible to make money by monopolizing blood. Even the difficulty of the reward has increased several times in an instant. On the contrary, the probability of losing money began to rise sharply.

"I haven't seen Baron Hudson in person. But his steward said that their order quantity has dropped sharply recently, and they will slowly reduce production after spring.

News should be reliable. Shandi Ling received a lot of big orders this year. The total number of products sold in just half a year exceeded 50,000 gold coins.

Now that the situation is stabilizing, the pile of junk weapons they produce are useless except cheap and will definitely not be sold in the future.

Just selling farm tools and daily necessities, next year's orders will definitely not be comparable to this year's. If Baron Hudson continues to insist on not selling iron, a reduction in mine production is inevitable. "

Knight Holman replied helplessly.

It's not that he, a salesman, doesn't work hard, it's precisely because he works too hard that he even inquired about the production situation in the mountain territory.

There is nothing wrong with knowing yourself and your enemy. Unfortunately, what he contacted was only a loaned butler, not the real decision-maker of the Mountain Territory, so the information he got was naturally only superficial.

The erroneous news directly led to Holman Knight's misjudgment, believing that Master Hudson's demand for labor dropped significantly due to the mine's reduced production.

Although the mountain territory continues to open up wasteland, the outside world still does not believe that this situation can continue forever.

Most people believe that Hudson spent a lot of money to open up wasteland just to achieve food self-sufficiency in the territory and to reduce the territory's financial expenditure.

Based on the current population of the mountainous territory, the land reclamation operation will be almost over after one or two years. To continue investing, even if Hudson is willing, his wallet must be able to bear it.

The consumption levels of working serfs and non-working serfs are completely different. Especially for heavy physical work such as land reclamation, the body will not be able to sustain it if the nutrition is not supplied.

The output of newly opened land is low. In the past few years, it was mainly used for land cultivation. The land income will definitely not be expected in the short term.

Now Hudson can risk his life, and that's because he made a lot of money selling weapons this year. But such hugely profitable transactions don’t happen often, and the mine’s profits cannot remain so high.

After pondering for a long time and experiencing a fierce ideological struggle, Baron Keterai slowly said: "Don't sell the foreign beauties for the time being. These are cash cows and it is not economical to sell them all at once.

Arrange for a businessman to open a brothel in his name. The location is placed in the territory to attract those nobles to come and have fun.

I originally wanted to arrange restaurants, casinos, and arenas, but now that the territory is not financially wealthy, we can only postpone it.

The remaining slaves can be sold as much as they can, and as much money as possible can be recovered first.

I want to pay a visit to Baron Hudson in person. Although orc slaves are not very useful, they can still be used as coolies.

Mountain territories are not all plains. With so much land cultivated, we can’t rely entirely on the sky, right?

I guess our neighbors have already started planning a water conservancy project, which is a bigger project than land reclamation. There aren't enough lives to fill it in, so I'm afraid it won't be completed.

Construction hasn't started yet, so he probably isn't mentally prepared to take human lives to fill it. Although serfs are not valuable, excessive wear and tear will still damage the reputation of the nobles.

From what I know, that profiteer is a man who seeks fame and reputation, and will never let himself be known as cruel and violent.

Under normal circumstances, he would probably do part of the construction every year to extend the construction period and reduce casualties.

But now there is a slave who is cheap and can be messed with at will. I don't think this guy will refuse.

If everything goes well, we still have a chance to keep our principal this time. Even if you really lose money, you won’t lose too much.

Although our neighbor is a profiteer, we have to admit that he still has a bottom line in what he does. Having done so many businesses, I have never pushed anyone to the edge.

Before the autumn plowing, he had sold out a lot of farm tools on credit. Although the price is a bit high, it still solves the urgent needs of many people.

I guess except for me, the unlucky guy who got screwed badly, most of the people he has dealt with are still secretly thinking of his good qualities. "

It can be seen that Baron Kettle is very unwilling. But there is no way, the nobles of the southeastern province really have no love for the orc slaves.

What is the specific reason? It is most likely that he was not forced to a dead end. As a local snake, it is much easier to obtain serfs than outsiders like them.

Why buy uncertain orc slaves when there are better human serfs available?

If nothing else, the language barrier alone is a big problem. Unless Baron Kettle is also equipped with a translator while selling slaves.

This is obviously impossible. There are many orc races. Apart from that group of weird shamans, who dares to say that they are proficient in the languages ​​of all orc races?

It cannot solve the pain points of users, so this business was destined to fail from the beginning.

What was most difficult for him to accept was that he had to work so hard to win over an enemy, but in the end he still had to expect his competitors to behave in order to keep his capital.

After saying that, the resolute Baron Kettle stepped directly out of the horse. He couldn't delay it any longer. Every extra day of delay would consume tens of thousands of pounds of more food. He really couldn't bear it.