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

Chapter 61 Goodwill
"This is considered important intelligence."

Rhodes handed the letter directly to Durant so he could read it himself.

The lord of Icewind Valley is from the Warblade family. His name is Bron, and he is the second son of Earl Warblade.

The fact that the lord of the Warblade family was able to send his second son to the northern wilderness shows that he is a frank man who carries out the bloody summons without question.

The contents of the letter show that Bloom is a very frank person.

Bloom shared information about the aliens' movements without reservation, saying that they had attacked Hurricane Valley.

Although Brûl led his troops to help Hurricane Valley repel the aliens, they may launch another surprise attack, or they may change their target and enter Blackpine Ridge directly from Razorfen Downs.

Bloom warned Rhodes to be careful, then expressed his desire to form an alliance.

They said the northern wilderness was dangerous, and they hoped to work together to resist foreign enemies.

Durant quickly finished reading the letter, put it back, and commented, "Judging from the letter, the lord of Icewind Valley is similar to the legendary Warblade family in terms of family values—frank and straightforward."

How do you plan to reply?

“I am very grateful for his kindness. If Ice Peak Valley encounters a crisis, I will do my best to lend a helping hand while ensuring the safety of the territory.”

Rhodes is willing to extend goodwill to friendly people, after all, everyone wants their allies to be honest and upright, not someone who stabs them in the back at a crucial moment.

"Forming an alliance is a very important matter, and I need to consider it carefully."

If an alliance is formed, Rhodes will be obligated to send troops to aid Icewind Valley should it be invaded.

This uncertainty made it impossible for Rhodes to predict what would happen.

Especially after the iron ore was mined, Rhodes didn't have many soldiers at his disposal; only his guards remained by his side.

If Icewind Valley is in danger and Rhodes happens to be unable to provide assistance, wouldn't he become a lord without any integrity?
But if it's just a proper agreement, then there's no need to worry.

“I will personally write back to Baron Bronn to express my goodwill, and I will also have Lawrence prepare some local specialties as gifts for the messenger to take back.”

Rhodes was genuinely grateful to Baron Bronn, whose news strengthened his resolve to recruit soldiers again.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant nodded in agreement and continued his report: "I've arranged for the pigeon handler to be in the most remote corner of the northwest side of the estate, where a new pigeon loft will be built."

The carrier pigeon will deliver the message, and if placed in the manor, Rhodes will receive the message immediately.

"The livestock we brought back have all been taken care of. Tomorrow we will plan out the specific locations for building livestock pens in the town."

"Stay a little further away from the manor, preferably not directly facing it, otherwise the summer wind will blow the stench into the entire manor."

Rhodes reminded.

Even though the livestock pens are cleaned every day, there is still a strong odor.

"How are your rabbits doing?" Rod asked.

"So far it's going well. She got a separate yard to build a rabbit hutch, so the rabbits can roam freely. The newly caught wild rabbits are also doing very well."

After reporting, Durant added, "Only two hares died the day after the hunting party brought them, but I don't think it had anything to do with her."

It's normal for one or two rabbits to die during the capture process, as there will be some struggle and collisions.

Rod nodded and asked, "How many rabbits are there now?"

In the progress bar for the "Stable Affinity" entry, there is already a requirement to have 50 rabbits, but Rhodes doesn't know the exact number.

"Sixty-three of them. Til brought all the rabbits from her house."

Durant asked, "Do you think we need to give her any compensation?"

"She can exchange her work points for whatever supplies she wants."

Rhodes will never be stingy with money for anyone who works hard.

“She can bring all her poultry over; they can all be converted into supplies.”

"Also, inform the townspeople that we are recruiting experienced livestock and poultry farmers, with preference given to those who bring their own livestock and poultry." Durant nodded, "Yes, raising livestock at home demonstrates more experience."

The news of the job opening for zookeepers spread quickly throughout the town the next day, and townspeople with any experience came to apply.

With food provided and a stable income of work points throughout the year, their basic livelihood was secured, and they no longer had to worry about starving to death.

In particular, there were fifty women raising poultry, but only three spots were available, and they almost fought over them.

Rhodes had anticipated this situation. He had Till select three people for each type of chicken, duck, and goose based on the number of chickens, ducks, and geese they brought and handed over, and then interviewed all nine of them.

Then, select the person who submits the most and has the most experience, one for each of the three types of poultry.

The chickens, ducks, and geese handed over by the other six people will not be returned.

Of course, Rhodes would let them choose the corresponding supplies.

This process was entirely voluntary, without any coercion.

Meanwhile, those who are not eligible to participate in the interview can also exchange chickens, ducks, and geese for supplies.

This measure allowed Rod to raise more than fifty chickens, ducks, and geese in a single day.

The only problem is that there are too few livestock.

Seven people applied for the job, bringing twenty-two goats with them. Even if Rod accepted them all, he still wouldn't have fifty goats.

Rod also left only three people to raise the livestock, and replaced all the goats they brought with them.

In order to quickly gather fifty goats, Rhodes had no choice but to increase the amount of supplies he could exchange and collect all the lambs in the town.

The remaining four were temporarily kept behind, and another thirty people were recruited to build livestock pens.

It is worth mentioning that the construction of livestock pens and poultry houses occupied the last large open space in the town, forcing Rhodes to plan the town's expansion ahead of schedule.

Rhodes temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​building a walled city directly.

—That would take at least several years, or even more than a decade, to truly complete, and the benefits would be too slow.

The new town still has wooden spiked fences and a five-meter-wide moat.

Fortunately, the No. 2 irrigation canal project was nearby, which was able to bring water over.

The new town will encompass the entire hillside and is initially planned to accommodate three to five thousand people.

This is a huge project. Even if the fences on both sides of the mountain are not needed for the time being, at least three thousand thick logs are needed just in front of it.

The initial construction of the spiked fence alone took a month, and the trench was not addressed for the time being.

Of course, all of this happened after the livestock pens were built.

On the other side, at the paper mill.

Rhodes brought back 450 pounds of tattered linen from the border town and put it all into production. As a result, the second waterwheel was also assigned to the paper mill.

With all four tamping hammers operating simultaneously, paper production officially commenced.

Of course, these 450 pounds of rags can only sustain production for a week at most, and more raw materials will need to be sent by Lawrence's friends in the future.

Gunle rested for a day in Frostleaf Town, then regrouped his team and headed toward Blackrock Mountain.

Rhodes assigned him thirty slaves and two blacksmith apprentices to be in charge of mining and smelting iron ore, and the work site was the former mountain stronghold of Raine.

Rhodes originally intended to go with Gunle and explore the mineral veins in the northwest of the territory.

However, Frost and Thunder both need to be fed by Rhodes himself; anyone else who gets close will bar their teeth and be attacked by their sharp claws.

Rhodes could only postpone the exploration until the two little ones were a bit older.

Fortunately, Rod didn't go out; it was the third day since Gunle left.

As Rhodes was feeding Frost and Thunder, Lusen of the Dawn Society arrived again.

(End of this chapter)