What is it like to be a teacher as a magister?

Chapter 103 Ore Procurement
For Colin, this period is the most difficult. The food crisis is always hanging over his head, the manpower problem is stretched, and the fortress and Twilight City are waiting to be built. Fortunately, all tasks are being carried out step by step.

The conference room on the top floor of the castle.

Colin sat at the head of the long table, Wald, Roderick, Anne, Jennifer, Coral, Madeleine, Sophia and others sat on both sides, and as one of the general managers of the construction of Twilight City, Matthew also made an exception Entering the high-level meeting of the Winter Fortress, he was invited to participate for the first time and sat at the bottom of the long table. Although he was far away from the lord, he was still so nervous that he had nowhere to rest his hands and feet.

"My lord, the seeds in the reserved fields have basically been harvested. Only two crops of mint and ryegrass have to wait for a month, but these two are not urgent. I suggest that the official sowing can begin."

Every meeting like this is the most tormenting time for Colin. Everyone is asking him for important people, and Sophia is the first one today.

This is the most important thing in the fort right now.

The maturity period of winter wheat is 7 months, and the general sowing time is September. However, due to the special climate of the Winter Fortress, the improved seeds do not need to be planted based on past experience.

Farmers in Twilight City will harvest their own grain in May. Most of them are local rye and kidney beans. The yield is low and the taste is rough, but it is already one of the few types of grain that can grow in this harsh climate.

What Sophia proposed is a big deal and must be supported.

Colin looked at Roderick.

The captain of the fortress guard immediately sat up straight.

"My lord, the number of defenders in the fortress has been reduced to 1200. If we continue to deploy manpower... we must increase the reserve of some special arrows."

After being "borrowed" countless times, this always honest knight was also forced to learn to bargain.

Seeding is important, but the threat of orcs cannot be ignored.

However, some of the original 87 magic apprentices were taken away by Wald, and some were also taken away by Coral. The new school also needed a lot of teachers, and there were not many left.

"Each of you, let some of your subordinates come out first, and return them after the busy farming season is over."

"Yes."

In the end, Sophia had 300 fortress defenders.

It is also a helpless move for professional soldiers to farm the land. Fortunately, as long as May is over, after the summer harvest of the farmers in Twilight City, many manpower will be free.

Wald was the second to speak: "My lord, the construction of the alchemy workshop is also nearing completion."

When Colin had a headache, Wald continued: "I don't need manpower for the time being, but the current ore and black stone reserves in the fortress are far from enough to meet the operating capacity of the workshop after it starts. I suggest that this matter should be considered early. "

Colin nodded.

"Ms. Madeleine, where did you buy the most iron ore and black stone in the fort?"

The initial task of the Alchemy Workshop is to integrate all the blacksmiths in the city and upgrade the iron manufacturing of Twilight City to a higher level, otherwise it will not be able to meet the subsequent construction needs. As for the research and development of new materials, on the one hand, it is not imminent, and on the other hand, manpower Not enough, at least until the school's first batch of magic apprentices can have a certain foundation.

"There are two main sources. One is the territories of Tulum in the east, and the other is the nearby Dadamir and other small countries. You know, although Xia Ya is mountainous, there are almost no mineral deposits." Madeleine said a little Reluctantly explained: "When the commercial roads with the Western Continent were smooth before, there were still some trade exchanges, but they never sold us ores and fuels."

Colin knew something of the situation.

Xia Ya's area is not small among the surrounding small countries. The southernmost is the Winter Fortress, and the northernmost is the Starwind Port, which has been abandoned for many years.But the whole country is long and narrow, with almost no strategic depth. If it weren't for the barren land, lack of resources, and the constant threat of orcs, it might have been divided up already.

It can be seen that poverty is also a great defensive weapon.

"Then increase the amount of purchases this year." Colin thought of the hundreds of thousands of gold francs he had piled up in the castle, and the money was only counted when it was spent.

"My lord, I don't recommend doing this right away." Madeleine obviously has a lot of experience in this area, and said: "On the one hand, the price of ore peaks at the beginning of the year, and on the other hand, everyone knows that you just came to the fortress and are in urgent need of various resources. , Buying in large quantities at this time, the other party will definitely take the opportunity to increase the price, my suggestion is to survive this spring, wait until the summer harvest in May, and buy in batches in small quantities from various channels."

Colin thought for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Ms. Madeleine, you are very thoughtful, but the demand for ore may not wait until May."

"But……"

"I understand what you mean. It must be unpleasant to be taken advantage of this way." Ke Lin smiled and said, "But don't worry, I don't care about the normal premium, but if the other party goes too far... I will also write it down, Jin Lang It’s just currency, how do they get out now, they will return it doubled in the future.”

"Follow your wishes." Madeleine said no more.

"Besides, I'm afraid Jennifer is not very skilled in these matters, so you still need to pay more attention."

"I will."

Xia Ya is responsible for preventing the orcs from invading. It seems that Xia Ya has a close relationship with neighboring countries and territories, but throughout the history of the Gray family, diplomacy has always been difficult.

Although the small countries in the west still belonged to the Southern Continent, most of them were controlled by the Youlan Alliance and became a buffer between Tulum and the Western Continent.

There is only one Dadamir, and he can only protect himself.

Although the various territories on the east side belong to the Kingdom of Tulum, most of the lords are conservative party members headed by Duke Ferdinand Valente, and they are in the same situation as the Gray family who have made friends with Duke Violet.

Although it seems that they rarely take the initiative to cause trouble in the important position of the Winter Fortress, they will not accept coercion for this. At worst, they will unite with the Western Continent again to drive the orcs back just like 150 years ago. After all, the orcs are not used to the cold and dry climate in the north. , after entering Xia Ya's territory, the combat power was greatly reduced, and the continuous attack on the Winter Fortress was mostly driven by instinct.

"My lord, there is one more thing." Madeleine said: "This year's offerings for Xia Ya's four territories have been handed in, but there is a big gap."

"Oh?" Colin was stunned: "Why, do they have any reason?"

The Principality of Xia under the Gray family originally had four subordinate fiefdoms, one earldom and three baronies.

For a principality, even a principality like Xia Ya, which is almost impoverished, can be considered sparsely populated.

It is conceivable that the situation of these four subordinate fiefdoms is not much better, so the amount of tribute that they are required to hand over each year is actually not much, and Ke Lin didn't care much about these incomes at first, but there is no reason to hand over the insufficient, there must be an explanation .

"The reasons are nothing more than poor harvest this year, natural and man-made disasters, etc."

Madeleine sighed: "In fact, even when Duke Oliver was alive, almost none of their donations were paid in full. It's just because they didn't expect them in the first place, so the Duke has never pursued them."

(End of this chapter)