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

Chapter 46 Trading
Rhodes waved his hand, signaling the guards to untie Lusen's restraints.

"Your attitude is more suitable for negotiation."

Rhodes gestured for Luxem to sit down and asked, "How will you compensate us?"

Luxen reached into his robes and pulled out two wooden bottles, explaining:
"These two bottles of Shadow Potion help the user blend into the shadows and stealth, which is how Linda and I got in."

Rhodes glanced at it twice, but didn't even touch it, and shook his head slightly, "Not enough."

"I have nothing else."

Lu Sen smiled wryly and said, "All I have left is the Wizard's Meditation Technique. If your mental strength isn't strong enough, forcing yourself to learn that will only harm you."

"Are you a wizard?"

Rhodes looked at Lucien with some surprise, "So Dawn is an organization of witches and wizards?"

“I am merely a wizarding apprentice, Your Excellency. Wizards have long since ceased to exist in this world.”

"Dawn will accept all spellcasters, not just witches and wizards," Lusen explained.

Rhodes didn't offer much comment, glancing at the small wooden bottle and saying, "I don't want to make things difficult for you, but these two bottles of potion aren't enough."

"If you don't have anything to exchange, I can let you go back and get it. Your companion Linda can stay here."

Rhodes's request was not excessive; when nobles captured prisoners, they would send someone back with a message and then bring back something to ransom the prisoners.

Luxen didn't think much of this tacitly accepted rule.

However, Luxembourg did not want Linda to stay here.

Linda is impulsive, and the Baron in front of her is no gentle man either.

If the two clash, all the previous efforts will be in vain.

Luxem was also worried about Linda going back alone.

"Please wait."

Lucien stood up and walked to Linda's side. "Bring me the spell gem."

"What are you going to do?" Linda, still sobbing, stared wide-eyed.

"Bring it!"

Lucien urged her seriously, and Linda, seeing this, reluctantly handed the gem to Lucien.

Luxen returned to Rhodes, placed a deep blue gemstone in front of him, and explained:
"This is a spell gem that can temporarily store low-level spells. It may be useless to you, but it is worth a hundred gold to us."

"I'll leave it here and come back to get it later, what do you think?"

Rhodes did not answer, but reached out and picked up the spell gem.

The system message came through immediately, and it was basically the same as what Lu Sen had said.

The value of the extraordinary gem is beyond doubt. Rhodes nodded slightly, "Okay."

As soon as Rhodes finished speaking, a system notification appeared before his eyes.
[Obtained a transcendent gem; Gem Collector progress: 3/5]

this is okay too?
Rod couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Once the entry progress is completed, it won't go backwards. Rhodes has tried it, so it doesn't matter even if the gem is returned in the future.

Hearing Rod's agreement, Lucien breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What do you want?"

"Iron ore, slaves, weapons, armor, and equipment are all acceptable."

If everything goes smoothly, Luo De's 5,000 mu of farmland can conservatively yield 2 million jin of grain after maturity. The autumn harvest will require a lot of manpower to process the grain.

Frostleaf Town is too small now; with enough food, it must expand.

Although there are blacksmiths in Frostleaf Town, they are too slow at forging.

After a moment's thought, Lu Sen said, "There isn't much iron ore, but we can bring weapons and armor, and perhaps even slaves."

How many suits of armor do you need?

Rhodes was somewhat surprised. After carefully putting away the spell gem, he looked at Lucian seriously and asked, "It seems you have quite a lot of armor?"

“We have witches and spellcasters.”

Luxem smiled but didn't explain much.

This actually piqued Rhodes' interest even more.

He stood up and invited Lucien and Linda, saying, "We've been working so hard for so long, we're a little hungry. I'll have the kitchen prepare something to eat, and we can chat while we eat."

"Okay, I'm actually a little hungry."

Luxen gladly accepted Rod's invitation, and Linda was also helped up by Avril.

Rhodes gave everyone a few instructions to keep today's events a secret, and then led them to the hall.

After being woken up, Martha prepared a sumptuous midnight snack with the slaves, which made Luxen and Linda very happy.

After the late-night snack, Rod and the two men reached an agreement.

The ransom for the two was twenty chainmail shirts and skirt armors, totaling more than thirty gold coins.

Rhodes felt that this price was sufficient.

More importantly, Rod and Luxen had agreed on a trade route, and Dawn would be bringing more goods in the future. Although Rod didn't say it explicitly, he could pay with salt in the future, so as long as Luxen could bring it, he was confident he could consume it.

Rhodes kept his promise and saw the two off from the manor after the late-night snack.

Rod also reminded everyone for the second time that no one was allowed to mention what happened that night, and that they should act as if nothing had happened.

After a busy night, Rod got up a little late the next day and didn't meet with Simon of the caravan until almost noon.

"Is there something wrong with the source of these slaves?"

Upon their first meeting, Rod got straight to the point without any hesitation.

Simon's smile was a little stiff, but he didn't budge, saying, "How could that be..."

“I don’t believe that Eagle Ridge and Border Town don’t want slaves who want blacksmiths and brewers. It would be foolish to transport them to the North to sell them.”

These two people are not only craftsmen, but also quite young, especially the winemaker.

The two craftsmen in the border town can sell for a minimum of eight gold coins and a maximum of twelve gold coins.

This is an astronomical price for many people.

The Northern Wastes are not a wealthy place; no one but the lord can afford to buy them.

Even a lord should carefully consider whether it is necessary to buy these two people.

After all, not every lord would be as eager to develop Rhodes as he is.

Rod stared straight at Simon and asked, "You wouldn't dare sell people to those two places, would you?"

Simon's smile suddenly turned awkward, and he was speechless with embarrassment.

It's not my fault!

These people were bought from another slave trader, and the price was cheap, costing only six hundred silver coins in total.

However, after buying the goods, I found out that the people here were all villagers from Xiong Yingling, and a few were residents of Biancheng.

Eagle Ridge belongs to Earl Falcon, and Border Town belongs to Marquis Cold Blade; both are noble territories.

Free citizens can move away on their own, but if they capture someone else's people and sell them as slaves, they will anger the lord if discovered.

That would completely destroy me!

That is why he had no choice but to transport people to the remote northern wilderness to sell them.

"You jest, Your Excellency Baron..."

Simon racked his brains, trying to figure out how to deceive the lord before him.

But Rod ruthlessly raised his hand to interrupt him.

“Very well, then I will write to these two lords to inquire whether anyone has gone missing in their territories recently.”

Rhodes didn’t know Earl Falcon or Marquis Coldblade at all, but that was enough to intimidate Simon.

He quickly flattered her, saying, "Please don't make a fuss, I can give you thirty percent of the profits from these slaves!"

Rhodes did not agree directly, but instead asked, "How many silver coins did you spend to buy these slaves?"

"Eight hundred silver coins, Your Excellency."

Simon answered honestly, shrinking his neck somewhat timidly.

Merchants always leave themselves a profit when selling goods.

Rhodes knew this principle well, but he didn't expose Simon. Instead, he said directly, "For twenty-seven slaves, including two craftsmen, I'll give you twelve gold coins."

"This……"

Simon stammered, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At least I made a profit.

After hesitating for a moment, Simon nodded. "Alright, my lord, since you've discovered it, let's do as you say."

Seeing that Simon didn't haggle much, Rod knew that the guy must have made some money.

However, Rod didn't mind and continued, "I don't see that the other goods in your cart are worth much. I can trade them with you for wolf pelts and dried meat. Just don't head any further north."

"Also, any slaves this cheap can be sent over in the future."

Although Frostleaf Town is next to the border town, the distance is too far, and the people of the town have almost no interaction.

Falcon Ridge is even further away, and Rhodes doesn't mind taking in these undocumented immigrants.

At worst, they can be sent to a mountain stronghold in the Black Rock Mountains to mine iron ore for them.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Simon readily agreed.

The two ended their conversation in a pleasant manner, and Rhodes instructed Lawrence to settle the new slaves.

As for blacksmiths and brewers, their special status requires special arrangements.

Rhodes personally led the two back to the manor, at which point a guard informed Rhodes that Gunther's convoy had returned.

(End of this chapter)