I'm not a lord

Chapter 61 Now that you are here, don’t leave!
The serfs in White Bear Territory were unwilling to mine, and Lin En didn't want to use them for mining.

These days he has figured it out: using serfs who are skilled in farming as miners is the most shameful waste.

The North is about to fall into chaos, and any merchant with a little bit of experience must have started stockpiling food.

Local lords will no longer sell grain easily.

Food prices are bound to skyrocket.

By winter, it is normal for food prices to double or triple.

If the war continues to last longer, food prices could even increase seven or eight times by next year or the year after.

Rye will be worth more than salt.

Even if you have money, you can’t buy food.

In other words, the war had not officially begun yet, so Lin En could barely purchase some food through Leon's channels.

Although iron is also an important strategic material, the price of iron ingots will not increase much due to war.

The iron ingots at this time are sponge iron smelted using the "block smelting method".

The production process is simple and the quality is very average.

According to the information provided by Leon, in Mirror Iron Territory, which has several high-quality iron mines, four skilled ironworkers can produce three or four tons of iron ingots a year.

In order to forge this low-quality iron ingot into a qualified weapon, it requires repeated forging, which consumes far more time and manpower than iron smelting.

Therefore, what has always been expensive is ironware, not iron ingots.

Lin En estimated that the price of iron ingots would only increase slightly at most.

The people most affected by war are always the civilians in war-torn areas.

War would not only cause high food prices, but also create a large number of hungry, homeless wandering serfs.

But that was a good opportunity for Lynn to expand the population of his territory.

The prerequisite is that he must have enough food to feed the influx of foreign population.

So even if the construction schedule is more congested than highway traffic during holidays, Lin En is unwilling to reduce even an acre of arable land.

He saw clearly that food was the foundation of territory construction.

More than 30,000 mu of arable land is the red line, not a single mu can be lost, and even new arable land must be reclaimed as much as possible.

As for who will do the mining.

Aren’t there ready-made miners in the forest?
The next afternoon, Lin En and his five younger brothers arrived at the Salt Mountain in the northwest of the territory within the agreed time.

The representatives of the lowland tribes arrived half a day earlier than him.

The negotiation site was located at the foot of the salt mountain. Two simple stools placed on the saline-alkali land served as the negotiation venue.

There were three people attending the meeting: Baron Lynn of White Bear Territory, Chief Thorward Lowland of the Lowland Tribe, and his son Thorward Jr.

Soward is a common name in the Savage Tribe. Most tribal leaders are called by this name, and they are mainly distinguished by the tribal surname at the end.

"Lynn, this is my father!"

"Father, this is the White Bear Territory Baron Lynn that I always told you about! He not only generously released me, but also gave me mail armor and a sharp sword!"

Xiao Suo introduced the two to each other with a happy smile on his face.

The day before yesterday, he brought back half a sack of rye and dried peas to the tribe and treated his fiancée and two sisters to a hearty meal.

The three little girls almost licked the ceramic bowl till it was completely clean, which made Xiao Suo very proud.

The shiny mail armor on his body and the sharp sword at his waist enabled him to successfully conquer all the boys of the same age in the tribe.

He did not forget that all this came from Lynn's generous gift.

At the moment, Xiao Suo's mind was full of how to make rye and pea porridge available to the entire tribe. As for the obscure words such as hatred, revenge, and massacre that the elders often muttered, he did not understand and did not want to listen.

He just wanted to ask: Can these things be eaten as porridge?

As soon as old Thorward saw Lynn, he immediately pulled his active son to his side and bowed slightly to show his friendliness.

"Your Excellency, Baron, I must first express my deepest gratitude to you on behalf of my naughty and ignorant son. Please be sure to accept this gift."

To Lin En's surprise, the chief of the lowland tribe actually knew a little of the common language of the continent.

At least he could pronounce the words 'Baron' and 'Your Excellency' completely.

The so-called common language of the continent is actually the most widely spread language in the southern countries and the northern kingdoms.

After saying that, Lao Suo picked up the animal skin package at his feet and handed it to Lin En with both hands.

"You're welcome. I get along very well with your son."

Lin En took the package and just by weighing it, he knew that it contained a pile of animal skins and perhaps a few animal tooth daggers.

For the lowland tribes who are extremely resource-scarce and rely entirely on fishing and hunting for their livelihood, they really can't offer any other decent gifts.

At the same time, Lynn was also carefully observing the appearance and inner qualities of the tribal leader.

Like little Soward, old Soward has blue hair and the same blue eyes.

He was strong and sturdy, and looked to be less than forty years old, but his face was weathered, and there were even two hideous, winding scars on his neck.

It's obvious that they have suffered a lot of "beatings" from other tribes.

【Sowade★★★】

[Commander D+] [Strength C] [Constitution C+] [Intelligence D] [Internal Affairs E] [Charm E+]

[Loyalty: 28 (Cannot be taken as a follower)]

[Characteristic 1: Encouragement - The morale of the troops under your command is not easily lowered]

[Characteristic 2: Strong - less susceptible to illness and injury, increased lifespan]

Overall, he is a very useful military talent.

It has the characteristics of improving personal abilities and amplifying troops, and does not carry any negative characteristics.

Among Lynn's younger brothers, no one can compare to Soward.

After all, he is the tribal leader who can rule over 4,000 people, has experienced many tribal wars, and is at the peak of his physical condition. It is very reasonable for him to have attributes of this level.

After the two sat down, they exchanged a few pleasantries in the language of the barbarians and soon got down to business.

"Your Excellency the Baron, I have already fully discussed your proposal with the elders of our tribe. For the lowland tribes that are short of food, your proposal is undoubtedly very attractive.

But you should also be aware that because of what happened between us and you, the elders of our tribe are unwilling to let the tribe move into the territory of the southerners.

Not only are the elders opposed, but most of the tribe are also afraid of contact with southerners. Southerners like you who understand our language are definitely a minority, and we barely understand your language either. If we rashly live on the same land, it will only lead to countless conflicts."

Old Soward spoke very slowly, and his expression hardly changed as he spoke.

His concerns are justified.

Putting aside past hatreds, the barbarians and the southerners cannot even communicate in the same language, so how can they live in peace under the same roof?
But since he is willing to sit here and talk with Lin En, it is enough to illustrate his attitude.

Talk, we can talk about anything.

As long as Lynn can provide a reasonable solution and guarantee the safety and interests of the lowland tribes, Old Thorward is willing to push the tribe to join the White Bear Territory.

Lynn had anticipated all of this and had prepared a plan in advance.

I'm not afraid that you won't make any requests, I'm just afraid that you won't come.

Now that you are here, don’t leave!
(End of this chapter)