Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 294 Ransom and Allegiance

Harvey sat leisurely at the head of the castle hall, holding a paper list in his hand and reading it slowly - this was a list of the property of the surrendered and captured nobles that was confiscated after the Battle of Grizzlie Castle, with Earl Fagan's family at the head.

Numerous warriors in neat military uniforms stood on both sides of the hall, staring intently at Baron Trevor and his group standing in the center. They were not wearing heavy, shiny armor, nor gorgeous cloaks and ribbons, and they didn't even draw their swords casually hanging at their waists, yet they felt pressured and uncomfortable.

"Who is Trevor Fagan of the Fagan family?"

The baron's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency... Lord Harvey, I am Trevor Fagan." He paused and emphasized in a low voice, "Baron Trevor Fagan."

As soon as he said this, he felt vaguely uncomfortable. The other party was obviously an ordinary commoner who didn't even have a noble title. Although he had the blessing of the identity of a spellcaster, he needed to treat him so humbly at this moment. It was really uncomfortable.

"Oh..." Harvey was a little unconvinced and looked through the list in his hand again. "Duckman Fagan... Count, it's yours..."

"My cousin, Your Excellency, the current head of the Feigen family, Earl Feigen, is my cousin."

"Hmm... I'm afraid I'm no longer the current head of the family," Harvey quipped with a smile, causing the stern-faced bloodline warriors standing by to twist their faces into stifled laughter. "As the instigator of this war, I don't think I need to explain the details of the battle and its final outcome to you, right?"

He paused, raised the paper in his hand, and continued, "You should be thankful that you didn't follow Earl Fagan into the attack from the beginning, and that you didn't choose to fight stubbornly until the end, thus sacrificing your life in vain."

Baron Trevor wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "It was my foolish cousin who easily believed the slander of the villain and coveted the unfounded gold mines and wealth in your fictitious fiefdom. That's why...that's why he acted so absurdly and recklessly. I...I tried my best to dissuade him, but it was of no use."

Harvey chuckled, his attitude noncommittal.

Baron Trevor said quickly, "I don't know how much ransom Your Excellency requires us to pay. Apart from the treasures in the Earl's family treasury, as long as the Fagan family can still provide, we will do our best to meet your requirements..."

He knew very well that the things in the family treasury had been considered as the lord's possession and could no longer be used as ransom or bargaining chips to redeem himself. However, the Fagan family had been operating in the Grizzli Territory for several generations and had many other fiefdoms and large amounts of farmland that could be sold and exchanged.

"I don't need money." Harvey shook his head. "And I'm not interested in your land or the businesses you run in Grizzly Castle."

He tilted his head to signal the waiter to hand a stack of documents that had been prepared long ago to Baron Trevor, and slowly explained, "Food, livestock... and people. This is the price I need you to pay."

Asking for food and cattle and sheep is a normal request. Whenever a small-scale battle or conflict breaks out between the noble lords of the southern countries, the loser will end up paying a large amount of money and food as compensation. If it is a non-harvest season such as winter and spring, livestock and horses will be used as a substitute when there is not enough food.

But...but what does it mean to ask for people? Does this pioneer lord need to drive a large number of slaves to reclaim the mountains and wastelands for him? It seems reasonable to think about it. After all, this is the barren northern wasteland.

"My Lord, we have no problem with livestock and grain. The noble families will be able to gather them quickly and pay you. But as for the population... do you need a large number of young and strong serfs or freemen?"

Harvey took a sip of hot tea and said calmly, "Not just young and middle-aged men, I want craftsmen, farmers, hunters, fishermen..."

He pointed to the list in the baron's hand. "According to the numbers listed, discuss with the other captured nobles. Regardless of how you distribute them, you must gather a total of 5,000 people. These people must be handed over to me as family units within one month."

Baron Trevor's heart moved, and he immediately sat down cross-legged on the ground without paying attention to the noble etiquette. He spread out the stack of lists in his hand in front of himself and read them in detail.

Grizzli Castle has a population of approximately 10,000 people, and the fiefs of the surrounding vassal nobles also have a similar number of people. If you add the industrial population of the family branches, it is not difficult to gather a number of 5,000 people, especially since the lord specifically requires that the number of people be reported in units of families. This means that if a tenant farmer's family has five people, all of them can be used to make up the number.

Of course, the five thousand couldn't all be filled with tenant farmers. Otherwise, a large amount of farmland in the fiefdom would be uncultivated by next spring, and too many craftsmen couldn't be mobilized. The family's defeat had wiped out almost all of their accumulated wealth, and now was the time to restructure their industries and recuperate. Speaking of which, the Wasteland Lord's demand for the population of his fiefdom as ransom had unexpectedly helped him greatly. Otherwise, with Grizzly Castle in its current state of chaos, the severely weakened Fagan family wouldn't be able to control the situation in the city. Furthermore, other nobles would be eyeing this lucrative piece of land, which no longer had any authority or military power.

He instantly realized that if he was given a few days, he could make a big deal out of this, calculate the optimal population payment configuration, and meet the other party's needs at the lowest cost.

"My Lord, could you give me some time, just three days will do?" Baron Trevor pleaded sincerely.

Harvey nodded in agreement. "Then I'll give you three days. And... you can return to Grizzle Castle to discuss further. Aside from the nobles who followed Earl Fagan into battle, all the nobles who voluntarily surrendered during the Battle of Grizzle Castle can return first."

Baron Trevor was stunned for a moment, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Sir? Are you saying... we can return to Grizzly Castle, pack up some supplies and valuables, and then leave?"

He originally thought that the other party still had some soldiers left in the city and wanted to directly occupy Grizzly Castle and expel all the nobles in the city. The baron had already planned his next move in advance - the family also had a large villa in a mountain town in Grizzly Territory.

"What valuables are you packing up?" Harvey asked doubtfully. "There are still nearly ten thousand people living in Grizzly Castle, and all the noble officials responsible for governing the city have left. Are they planning to leave this mess to me?"

He paused, as if understanding the Baron's meaning, and said with a hint of amusement, "Do you think I will directly occupy Grizzly Castle? Yes, in the future, this city will indeed only retain the army I sent as the sole armed force, but the operation and management of the city will still require someone to act on my behalf..."

Harvey stood up, his eyes blazing as he gazed at the nobles below him. He then asked, "Gentlemen, do you think that with the force I possess, the Grand Duke of Jinhui City is capable of standing up to me?"

Everyone lowered their heads in fear, secretly wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads and not daring to answer.

Harvey didn't force them to reveal the obvious answer. Instead, he turned to Baron Trevor, the leader, and chuckled, "Mr. Baron, I heard that in the Fagan family, you, as the only adult male besides Earl Fagan, were stripped of your right to inherit the title for no reason, right?"

As soon as these words came out, the baron's heart was immediately filled with shock.

Indeed, the Fagan family was a military aristocracy that made its fortune through force and war. Countless men in the family had died on the battlefield throughout the generations. When Earl Fagan inherited the title, he was already the only legitimate son left in the family. As his close cousin, he should have had the earl's inheritance line, but the earl himself did not think so. He seemed to be more devoted to his incompetent illegitimate son, and planned to go against the family's ancestral teachings and train him as the next generation earl's heir.

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind that he couldn't even believe. Once this greed appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

"Your Excellency..." Baron Trevor noticed his voice trembling, so he swallowed hard, clenched his fists, and said in a deep voice, "Regarding His Majesty the Grand Duke of Saint Valen's declaration of war on the Spellcaster Union, the Fagan family believes that this is an illegal and completely unjustifiable act..."

"From now on, the Fagan family has decided to stand on the side of the Federation. We will do our utmost to cooperate with you and your spellcasters to resist the invasion of the tyrant and the church!"

After saying this, he knelt on one knee and saluted Harvey with the etiquette required of a vassal noble to pledge allegiance to his lord. The group of minor nobles behind him followed suit. Most of these guys were the second sons of the family or the unlucky ones who were at the bottom of the inheritance line. After all, the real heads of the family followed Earl Fagan and joined his coalition for merit and benefits, and were now squatting in Harvey's territory prison, waiting for redemption.

Harvey looked at the large group of people kneeling below with interest, and suddenly found it a little funny.

He doesn't even have the lowest-level title of knight, but he can make so many true nobles swear allegiance to him. It seems that compared to money and power, the ruthless iron fist of war can "touch" people's hearts more.

He still pretended to walk down the stairs, and with one hand helped Baron Trevor, who was kneeling at the head of the group, to his feet. He said gently, "That's not necessary. Justice is in the hearts of the people. Since you all understand the wrongdoings of Grand Duke Saint Valen and Count Fagan, I will naturally not criticize you any further... Especially you, Mr. Baron. Um... Sorry, perhaps next time we meet, I should address you as Lord Count Fagan."

(End of this chapter)