I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 108 Baron Bronn's Request

Bloom had already arrived at the town gate, and Rod naturally couldn't leave him standing there.

Rhodes then invited Baron Bronn into town.

"My soldiers should remain and set up camp outside the town."

Baron Bronn volunteered, "The weather is very pleasant now, there aren't many mosquitoes in the wild, it's very comfortable to camp here."

Rhodes knew perfectly well that Baron Bronn was avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

Earlier, at the border of Black Pine Ridge, after Gangle sent out the letter, Bron led his soldiers forward.

Bron supported Rhodes, who originally brought thirty elite soldiers. After encountering Gunle, half of them were dismissed, and now only fifteen have come with him.

Rhodes's gaze swept over Baron Bronn's fifteen soldiers.

"No matter how comfortable camping is in the wild, it's not as comfortable as a hotel."

Rhodes turned around and smiled, "Let's go. You dared to enter my town alone, so of course I'm not worried about these fifteen soldiers."

"Thank you for your trust."

Baron Bronn nodded slightly and followed Rhodes into the town.

Brûl had been to Frostleaf Town before.

When he took office, he passed through Frostleaf Town, so he could see the changes in the town.

What was once a crude and simple village has now truly transformed into a formidable stronghold with strong defenses.

Towering spiked fences surrounded the area, along with deep trenches filled with spikes and numerous watchtowers.

Bloom could vaguely see archers carrying bows and arrows patrolling back and forth along the edge of the fence.

Such defenses are almost second only to those of cities with city walls.

The once bumpy dirt road has become smooth and flat.

Bloom couldn't help but look down for a closer look; it looked like fine sand mixed with something else spread on the road.

Bloom thought that even if he stepped on it barefoot, it shouldn't hurt his feet.

Frostleaf Town, which was originally a sparsely populated town, was bustling with people today, with townspeople busy going back and forth without stopping.

The key point is that he had a smile on his face, as if he was looking forward to something.

Bloom was shocked.

In just six months, Lord Rhodes has transformed this place into this state?
How many gold coins did he actually invest?

How much support did the Tulip Family provide?
Bloom's shock was not as superficial as that of an ordinary businessman; he thought about it more deeply.

—Because he himself was a lord, he understood how much effort it would take to do these things.

Brown instinctively wanted to ask Rhodes how he did it, but since it concerned the leader's secrets, he ultimately chose to remain silent.

His gaze swept across the town and found that nothing else had changed much, except for the addition of many new wooden houses.

"Baron Rhodes, what is that?"

Bloom looked up at the distant mountaintop and asked curiously.

Rod looked in the direction he was pointing and calmly replied, "Windmill."

"A rather unique decorative item that looks beautiful but is actually not very useful."

Rod said casually, without batting an eye.

Merchants who come here always ask about the windmills, and Rod has gotten used to making things up.

Bloom nodded, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but still agreed, "Yes, it really is very beautiful."

Because of the harvest celebration,
The townspeople then brought out their own tables and arranged them in a long line along the main street, almost occupying the entire square and the north-south main street.

Frostleaf Town now has more than 1,200 people, requiring far more space than imagined, and the amount of food to be prepared is also enormous.

The harvest celebration will last for a whole day, requiring an astonishing amount of bread and meat.

All the women in town were busy, while the men were in charge of setting up the venue.

Bloom looked at the busy crowd and was amazed.

Before he could ask, Rod invited him, "We're having a harvest festival tomorrow, you can stay and join us."

Thank you for your invitation.

Bloom nodded slightly, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Harvest celebrations are a custom found in almost every part of the world; they may have different names, but they all involve similar feasts.

Bloom is no stranger to this either.

Originally, the Ice Peak Valley would also host a harvest festival.

However, because of the Brotherhood of Blades, Braum had to put his plans aside and focus on dealing with the bandits.

Rhodes led Bronn into the hall, where the maid Lydia served them freshly brewed flower tea.

"I shouldn't have bothered you in the first place."

After taking his seat, Bronn spoke first: "I'm here mainly to discuss with you the ownership of the Blade Brotherhood's spoils."

Rhodes nodded.
"please say."

"Before your men arrived at Luanshi Village, I cleared it out and seized 38,000 catties of grain."

“They stole this food from me.”

Bloom frowned slightly and said with a hint of embarrassment, "I really need this food."

"But I know very well that the main force that wipes out the Brotherhood of Blades is your army."

"Therefore, these spoils should be yours."

After a moment's hesitation, Bron said, "How about we each take half of the grain?"

Rhodes raised an eyebrow, not expecting that Braum had come here because of this.

Rod thought the other party wouldn't give him a single pound of grain.

After all, Gunle came up empty-handed and did nothing.

Rhodes was surprised by Baron Bronn's kindness.

Rhodes nodded. "Okay."

"But my territory lacks food."

Baron Bronn hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I would like to buy your half, and even more grain from you."

"This one……"

Rhodes thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Half of the spoils can be sold to you, but there's no extra food."

It wasn't that Rod was stingy; he needed to reserve enough food to prepare for future development.

He was willing to sell half of the spoils to Baron Bloom, but he only agreed because Baron Bloom came with goodwill.

"But I don't want gold coins. I want you to exchange the grain for slaves."

"no problem."

Baron Bronn nodded readily, letting out a sigh of relief. He laughed heartily, "My town has taken in quite a few refugees from Razor Plains this year."

"We don't have enough food this year, so these slaves are perfect for you."

Bloom lowered his head and did some calculations. "Some of that grain is wheat. If we convert it all into slaves, I can give you eight able-bodied male slaves, or twelve young women."

“I want men.” Rhodes made his choice.

"No problem, it's a pleasure to work with you."

Bloom nodded slightly and said, "I'll send someone back with a message in a bit, and then bring the person here."

"it is good."

Rhodes nodded, then changed the subject, asking, "The towns of Razor Plains were completely destroyed?"

"Ah."

Baron Bronn's face turned cold, and he recalled with disdain in his eyes, "Those people deserved to be slaughtered by the alien race!"

"They colluded with foreign tribes to murder their own lord, and they deserve such punishment!"

Nobles naturally find it easy to empathize with other nobles.

Such acts of rebellion by those below were considered taboo by all nobles.

Even if Baron Bronn and the lord of Razorfen Downs were at peace, Baron Bronn would still despise such an act of murdering his own lord, even if the two sides were at odds and fighting.

This was also one of the cornerstones for the aristocracy to maintain their rule.

Rod took a very relaxed view of this kind of thing; everyone should rely on their own abilities.

However, in Rhodes's view, colluding with alien races was not a good thing.

"Alas, the lords of the Razor Plains are truly pitiful."

Rhodes sighed, then asked, "So you didn't set foot in Razorfen Downs?"

Baron Bronn shook his head slightly. "There are too many things to do in Icewind Dale. I don't have the energy to deal with Razorfen Downs."

"Also, the alien races there are rampant, so it's best not to set foot there lightly."

Baron Bronn then asked, "Do you have a map of the Northern Wilderness?"

Rhodes nodded and then had his maid, Lia, bring the map.

Bloom glanced at it and frowned slightly. "Your map has a lot of blank spaces. There's not a large area in the north."

Rod was surprised; this was his universal map.

what?
Except for a few private markers in Heisongling, all the necessary signs are there.

Before Rhodes could react, Bronn said:
"Please send someone to inform my subordinates to bring me my map."

"it is good."

Rhodes immediately sent a messenger, and Baron Bronn's guards soon delivered the new map.

After looking at the contents spread out on the table, Rod sighed deeply.

It is indeed more detailed than my own map.

Baron Bronn didn't waste any words, pointing to the map and explaining, "It's not just Razorfen Downs, the Shadow Forest to the north, Icefang Mountain, and Howling Hills have all been occupied by alien races."

“I contacted the lord of Changdong Town in the west, and he said there were traces of foreign tribes in the northwest as well.”

Baron Bronn drew a line on the map with his hand. "This means that everything from here to the north is occupied by foreign tribes!"

"That's what I wanted to tell you too: we must unite to curb their expansion!"

Rhodes nodded slightly; indeed, the alien race could not be allowed to continue developing.

"However, this winter is not a good time, as our soldiers are not as resistant to the cold as the alien races."

"In winter, we can only defend ourselves."

Bloom agreed.

“I agree with your point of view. The plan can be implemented starting next summer. We need to spend the rest of the time conserving our strength.”

Rhodes stood up, looked at the map, and asked, "Can I copy your map?"

"Sure, please."

Rhodes then instructed Leah to invite Avril to the hall.

Rhodes introduced Avril to Bronn, but did not reveal Avril's identity.

The problem is that it's hard to explain, so we have to fabricate another lie.

Rhodes gave Avril the identity of a scholar working for him.

Avril Lavigne also deserves this name.

After all, she has learned quite a bit about herbalism, barbarian language, and monster studies.

For Avril, drawing maps was an easy task.

"I never imagined that you would have such a beautiful, noble, and wise lady."

Bloom gave Avril a slight nod in greeting.

"His behavior and mannerisms do resemble those of a nobleman."

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Avril bowed and then began to copy the text as Rhodes had instructed.

Rod, as was his habit, poured Avril a cup of herbal tea, which she naturally accepted with both hands, took a sip, and continued working.

Brown noticed these subtle movements and realized that Avril might not only be a wise woman, but also a lover.

"It may take some time to copy."

Rhodes turned to Baron Bronn and said, "If you feel tired after a long day, you can go back to the inn to rest. I'll return the map to you tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll send someone to inform them to send the slaves over."

Baron Bronn nodded slightly.

Rhodes then had his guards take him to an inn to rest.

"Thank you for your hard work, Avril."

Rod sat down next to Avril and said, "No need to rush. It's okay if you don't finish copying today. It's fine to delay it for another day."

"should be okay."

Avril looked at the two maps and smiled sweetly, "I'll be done soon. You don't need to stay with me. Go ahead and do your work."

"it is good."

Rhodes stood up. "Take care of yourself and get some rest."

After giving a word of advice, Rod left the manor to continue his work.

With the harvest celebrations fast approaching, and fearing that everyone might become complacent, Rhodes had to be fully alert and inspect the blacksmith's shop, the paper mill, the granary, and all the other facilities.

Meanwhile, Rhodes also had to prepare for winter.

(End of this chapter)