Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 126 County City Resource Area

The knight commander stayed in Longlet Castle for another week before leading his troops back to the capital.

After all, the kingdom is still at war, and Conrad has more important things to do. It's already a great favor that he was able to stay in Longlet Castle for a week to stabilize the situation.

After a week of administrative management, Maggie also regained some power, mainly in the resource areas.

Due to the rampage of Isildur's vanguard, many cities were destroyed, and the people were displaced and had to flee to certain places.

Currently, there are still some well-established cities, with Kuraki Town being the most popular. According to Forrest, it already has a population of over 25, and a large number of outsiders enter every day.

To the south, no intact cities remain; almost all have been ravaged by war, and even villages are few and far between. To the west, only one peripheral city, Graystone, escaped the ravages of war—the city of the opponent, Nit. Conversely, the north experienced a brief period of peace after the Kyle civil war, and Whitestone, under the rule of the Argyle family, gradually recovered its prosperity.

After the war, many territories became unclaimed lands. Even though a batch of resource-rich lands were given to the Northern nobles, Longlet Castle still had a considerable amount left.

Three stone quarries, one forest farm, two windmills, one waterwheel, one gem mine, and one refining room.

Maggie unfolded the map and pointed out the locations of the resource sites one by one, which made Su Mu's eyes widen in amazement.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. As expected of a county town, it has a natural right to control resources. As long as the resource areas are left unmanaged, they will return to Langlit Castle's control.

"Workers need to be sent to these resource sites, otherwise daily production cannot be restored. I have already selected team leaders through the council to go to various resource sites. As long as there are no unexpected events, we will receive 42 raw stones, 14 logs, 7 gems, 7 mercury, and a number of special resources every week."

Due to differences in transportation and refining processes, there will likely be some fluctuations, but it will be roughly at this level.

No wonder so many people wanted to marry Maggie. Marrying her meant inheriting a marquess's estate, making a fortune without lifting a finger—it sounded incredibly wonderful. If it weren't for wartime, those resources alone would be enough for a lifetime of wealth and luxury, allowing them to live a life of ease and comfort.

"It will be helpful to have Forrest stationed in the county town in a few days!"

Su Mu had not forgotten this logging master. He could not only increase the output of the forest farms, but if he was stationed in the main city, he could also increase the output of all the forest farms in the area.

However, Forrest is currently more focused on the development of Kuraki Town and has not yet paid attention to Longlet Castle.

Maggie then moved her finger to the North, frowning slightly: "The enclaves of the Northern nobles are all in the northern region, adjacent to Whitestone City. We originally planned to use Ivan to separate them, but unexpectedly, the Argyll family has cooperated with Saliman. As a result, I'm afraid the north will not be very peaceful."

Upon learning the news, Wayne discovered that the nobles had dispatched troops to the enclave and were conducting strict searches of caravans. Without a pass issued by the Salim family, no one could pass freely.

As a result, we can only sell our resources to the west, and the prices in the market have doubled!

Every city has a market, but apart from the features attached to buildings and the base price, the daily resource exchange rates fluctuate.

Due to the influence of trade routes, prices in the markets of Longletburg and the surrounding area have risen. Buying one rough stone costs at least 1000 gold coins, while selling one rough stone only yields 100 gold coins.

Although Su Mu has not yet inquired about the situation at the Kuraki Market, judging from the current state of trade, it is definitely not very friendly.

"If you have resources urgently needed for city repairs, go to Kuraki to exchange for them first."

After all, the Kuraki Market has a special effect: transaction fees are reduced by 80% compared to other markets. This is due to the pricing power of the sacred building and its influence on the benchmark price. Even if trade increases further in the future, it will still have an advantage.

Longlit Castle has been ravaged by war, and many buildings require repair, costing a significant amount of rare resources and gold. Currently, only the barracks and Griffin Cliff are barely usable; the watchtowers and archer towers have not yet been restored. This decision was made by Su Mu after careful consideration. At present, higher-level troops are needed to maintain order, and Longlit Castle can provide enough Griffins and Swordsmen; the others can be restored gradually.

Maggie said with a hint of worry: "I'm afraid that after the Knight Commander leaves, the Northerners will become even more rampant. These past few days, Nate has been going to Saliman every day. He has also sent a large group of soldiers to build roads, as if he wants to connect with those enclaves."

Once the connection is established, Salman will be able to smuggle resources from the north directly into the heart of the kingdom, making our situation even more difficult.

Hearing this, Su Mu couldn't help but laugh out loud: "After the Knight Commander left? Worried?"
To be honest, I've been waiting for this too. If it weren't for the Knight Commander being there, and me giving Salman some face, would he have been able to run rampant in the Marquisate?
The war is far from over, and bandits and outlaws are everywhere. I don't know where he gets the confidence to guarantee the safety of trade routes!

Maggie's expression changed as she said, "The kingdom forbids nobles from killing each other; violators will be placed on a kill list."

Su Mu waved his hand: "Don't worry, if they don't do anything outrageous and stay in the Northern Territory, I won't bother with them. But if they cross the red line I've drawn, I have plenty of ways to deal with them."

In the past few days, Su Mu has also gathered a team from Cangmu Town, mainly consisting of wild griffins and swordsmen, to maintain order in the eastern half of the Marquisate, keeping a clear separation from the northern army and temporarily keeping to themselves.

Saliman controls the northern part of the Marquisate, but due to the numerous enclaves he's granted, it's indeed difficult to maintain control over this area. Maggie has essentially tacitly accepted the power of the Northern nobles here. However, if they intend to interfere in the western cities and monopolize trade routes to the heart of the kingdom, then intervention is necessary, especially since Greystone City is currently still under the control of Longlet Castle.

In fact, Maggie had already lodged several protests in the council, urging the Northern nobles to control their subordinates, but they ignored her.

Perhaps they felt that Longlet Castle was in dire need of rebuilding, or perhaps they felt that there was a shortage of soldiers after the Battle of Kuraki Town; in any case, the Northern nobles were a little too bold.

Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say.

Su Mu has already had Wayne gather a group of thieves, all of whom are from neutral buildings or refugee camps and only care about money, not people.

We need to show those fools in the North what bandits in a marquisate are like; no Tom, Dick, or Harry can survive in this region.

Maggie cautioned, "I have a feeling that Salman has other schemes up his sleeve. These past few days I've been dreaming of a witch in an orange robe crossing the border gates and stepping into the snow-covered land, bringing war and bloodshed."

This is probably an ominous sign!

Maggie's Dream Realm skill not only grants her magic, but also special information and omens.

Since she could dream of this witch, it must be related to the current situation, perhaps the Arcane Empire has intervened?

Judging from how impatient Salman Jr. is, it's quite possible.

"Don't worry, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. If the Arcane Empire dares to extend its reach into the Marquisate, I'll chop it off!"

Although the enemy was lurking in the shadows and constantly plotting, Maggie felt reassured when she thought of Su Mu's advanced governance skills. Strength was the foundation of everything, and the Northern nobles couldn't overturn the situation.

Just then, the guard outside came in and reported: "Ivan Argyll requests an audience!"

Su Mu and Maggie exchanged a glance and then walked outside.

He had been in Longletburg for so long, actually waiting for Ivan.

(End of this chapter)