I'm not a lord

Chapter 54: The Situation in the North

"Brother, the messenger told me that he will most likely come again next month. If you want to use the shield tax in lieu of military service, you must prepare a hundred gold coins before then."

Lao Liu had no good feelings towards the arrogant Duke's envoy.

But in order to obtain as much information as possible, he had to try his best to smile.

Fortunately, the guy was easy to talk to and revealed some key information to Lao Liu before leaving.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the money."

In Lin En's opinion, any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem.

Not to mention the upcoming salt mine line, at worst he could borrow money from a black market merchant and future brother-in-law.

After careful calculation, it seems that he currently needs to borrow a lot of things from Leon.

One hundred gold coins for the shield tax, the bottomless iron ingot consumption, the equipment for paving roads and digging mines, and the rye for feeding the serfs.
All together, it might be over two hundred gold coins.

But it doesn’t matter. As long as we wait for the salt mine to be excavated, all problems can be solved.

Besides, domestic debt is not a debt.

It's all for the development of White Bear Territory, for the excavation of salt mines, and for everyone to get rich together.

How can this be called a debt?

The most important thing is that the Duke of Swamp will most likely lead his troops to war in June.

This is absolutely great news.

The biggest obstacle to the private salt trafficking plan was the Duke of Swamp himself and the upper aristocratic group he represented.

Once the war breaks out, they will have to leave the Dukedom of the Swamp.

Since they are fighting for the throne, they must definitely attack eastward into the crown territory under the royal family.

Whoever conquers the crown lands first and gains recognition from the major nobles of that land will be the new King in the North.

As for how long this war will last, Lin En estimated that it would be at least two to three years, or even longer.

The Crown Territory is located in the plains of the middle and lower reaches of the Jinghe River. It has fertile land and the only large seaport in the North. It is the richest and most densely populated land in the Northern Kingdom.

The place was full of brick and stone castles, and the nobles were well-equipped.

However, the feudal knight armies of that time generally lacked siege capabilities and in many cases could only rely on siege and siege force.

In fact, Lin En underestimated the time of two to three years.

The three great dukes of the North have not had friendly relations with each other, and frictions and conflicts have often broken out in the past.

The other two dukes certainly couldn't sit idly by and watch the Duke of Moor wear the crown.

When the Duke of Swamp sends troops, these two big guys will definitely send troops to fight for the throne.

There are even more factions within the crown territory, and several powerful earls and royal merchants have their own candidates for the new king.

For example, the "Salt Field" family that monopolized the salt trade in the North.

They had publicly supported the Duke of Marsh to inherit the throne as early as last year, but failed to get the approval of the late king.

The reason is that the Duke of Swamp strictly cracked down on the private salt trade in the country and had close ties with the salt field families.

If the late king's son-in-law, the king of the southern border, could get involved, the scene would be simply too beautiful.

By then, the Crown Territory and even the entire Northern Kingdom will be in chaos, and it is impossible to guess who will eventually take the throne.

"By the way, big brother, the messenger also told me that the Shoal Territory in the south has also chosen to pay the shield tax, and their land is larger and more fertile, so they need to pay a full 130 gold coins." Lao Liu then provided another key piece of information.

At this moment, Yagena knocked on the door. "Sir, dinner is ready in the kitchen." Lin En ordered through the door, "Go and bring it in. I'll eat in the study."

When Yagena walked into the study with a tray of food, Lao Liu tactfully left and closed the door.

"Sir, I asked the kitchen to prepare cheese, flatbread, stewed lamb chops and pickled cabbage." Yagna introduced the food while arranging the dishes for Lin En.

Scones are baked with dough made from a mixture of wheat flour and rye flour and are an absolute luxury food in White Bear Territory.

Wheat is very picky about the land, and its requirements for fertility and water are much higher than those of rye. Its yield per mu is lower than that of rye, and its price is usually 1.5 times that of rye and twice that of oats.

White Bear Territory only planted less than a thousand acres of wheat. In addition to supplying the castle, most of the wheat flour produced was exported for foreign exchange.

The lamb chops are stewed early and can be eaten after heating up.

Lynn picked up a sliced ​​scone, wrapped it in the rich broth of the lamb chops, and stuffed it into his mouth. After filling his stomach a little, he asked, "If we continue to consume food at the rate we've consumed over the past week, how long can the castle granary last?"

"It can last less than a month." Yagena knew the food reserves well.

"enough."

Lynn nodded, cut the lamb chops with a knife, and then picked them up and ate them directly with his hands.

He once thought about getting some chopsticks to eat with, but found that it was unnecessary. Food these days was too rough and simple. Hands and knives were enough, unless he trained some chefs who could cook Chinese food.

But the ingredients were too scarce, and there was no way to recreate the familiar Chinese food, so I simply put it aside.

At the latest at the beginning of next month, black market merchant Leon will come to White Bear again.

Lin En has already sent someone to deliver a letter to him. I believe he will come to White Bear Territory with a boat full of food.

Due to the melting of spring snow, the water volume of the Baihe River has increased significantly recently.

Taking a paddle boat down the river from the White Bear Territory, you can travel more than 100 kilometers a day and reach Sanhe City within three days.

When going upstream, the boat speed will slow down to one-third, and it will take about eight days to get from Sanhe City to White Bear Territory.

As the water volume increased, the White River became navigable by single-masted cargo ships with a load capacity of about one hundred tons.

A full ship of food, combined with the meat hunted by Lin En, was enough to feed more than a thousand serfs for nearly two months.

According to the current progress of the project, two months is enough to complete the construction of the 60-kilometer salt transportation line.

Yagna stood beside Lin En, looking at the man's profile as he ate meat with big mouthfuls, and her heart was inexplicably beating.

She hesitated several times before finally summoning up the courage to speak: "Sir, you must be tired these days. Rest in the castle for a few more days."

"Why, did you miss me?" Lin En turned to look at the increasingly mature girl, a mischievous smile flashing in the corner of his eyes.

In fact, he smelled the faint fragrance as soon as Yagena entered the study, and naturally knew what the girl was thinking.

Alas, being a lord is tiring. Not only do you have to feed thousands of mouths outside, but you also have to pay taxes back home.

“I just want to get pregnant with an adult’s child as soon as possible.”

Yagena and Lin En have been together for nearly two months, and their words have become more and more direct and explicit.

But in the end, she couldn't overcome the shyness in her heart and lowered her head with a blushing face.

But at this moment, Lin En suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, what do you think of your brother in Shoal Territory? If nothing unexpected happens, I will send troops to Shoal Territory by next spring at the latest."

"Sir, I..." The blush on Yagena's face instantly faded and her face suddenly turned pale.

"Tell me what you really think."

"My lord, I don't want to see him or his mother again." After a moment of silence, Yagna gave the answer.

(End of this chapter)