Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 327 - 33: I Can Afford to Support 100,000 People Too! (Alliance Leader Bonus - , Asking for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 327: Chapter 33: I Can Afford to Support 100,000 People Too! (Alliance Leader Bonus Chapter, Asking for Monthly Tickets)

"Five million catties of salt and five hundred thousand agricultural tools were just the beginning.

Next year, those numbers had to double, triple, quadruple, quintuple!

First things first, drive down the price of salt.

In the Middle Ages, salt was something that could be used for military salaries.

Due to its expensiveness and scarcity.

But the nobles could surely afford salt.

Or rather, for the nobles, consuming salt was essentially free, because the salt tax was several times the price of salt.

Even nobles who did not produce salt had to buy it, but the salt tax they collected would offset the cost of the salt.

If one were cruel enough, not only could consuming salt be free of charge, but one could actually make money from it—of course, excessive and ruthless taxation would attract the attention of the Black Iron King—the salt tax was mandated by the court, and although it varied by region, it was generally the same.

As an essential commodity, a catty of salt was equal to more than a dozen catties of wheat or dozens of catties of miscellaneous grains; maintaining that stable price was sufficient.

The nobles who produced salt made a profit at the export price.

The merchants who transported salt made a profit margin.

The nobles who did not produce salt made money from the salt tax.

Everyone was earning, dizzy with success; they all had a bright future... Roman thought this was extremely foolish!

Lowering the price of salt was just the beginning.

What had really been accomplished so far?

He wanted to popularize iron agricultural tools throughout the Black Iron Land within ten years!

Assuming the population of Black Iron Land was ten million people, and each person had an average of two catties of iron, that would be twenty million catties of steel, equivalent to ten thousand tons of steel.

The output of a small open-air iron mine would be sufficient.

Smelt!

Smelt fiercely!

Roman was currently increasing the labor force in Coal Iron Town.

...

So it was that Morry became the head of the caravan, and Daken his deputy, carrying several hundred thousand catties of salt and tens of thousands of iron tools, they set off for the Northern Front to establish trade routes.

That land now belonged to the pirates.

The moment the banner of the Thorny Iron Ring appeared, it garnered intense attention from the pirates.

However, although they were barbarians, they did not attack just anyone.

The River Valley King was definitely off-limits.

Because there was no certainty of victory, they could not win.

Robbery was a business that valued cost-effectiveness.

No one would do something as foolish as bearing a loss of ten thousand Gold Coins only to rob eight thousand Gold Coins or end up with nothing.

A few pirates were tempted by the fully loaded ship, but upon seeing the strictly disciplined River Valley Warriors onboard, they pondered for a moment, put down their axes, and swapped them for hearty smiles.

It was the first time Roman sent a caravan to trade with pirates, and it ended perfectly.

They returned half a month after setting out, with all their salt and iron tools sold out.

Salt was one thing; the pirates also controlled several Salt Mines.

Now, Alex wasn’t poor; he was quite wealthy and didn’t need the salt tax to scrape together wealth—his many robust pirate followers were not tamed Black Iron slaves; if he dared to impose a salt tax on the pirates, they dared to revolt.

Salt was not scarce, but iron tools were.

Just as Roman had predicted.

Now that the warfare in the North had temporarily subsided, the pirates had enough weapons and didn’t need to exchange them with Roman anymore.

That was also why they had not approached Roman for a while.

But agricultural tools were still scarce.

The tools Roman was supplying suddenly came as a timely aid to the pirates.

Especially iron pots; these were difficult to forge and had always been predominantly ceramic in this land.

As a result, in Origin City, an iron pot could be exchanged for one slave."

Morry and Daken brought back more than ten thousand slaves to Roman, but more importantly, they also traded steel tools for over ten somewhat worn North Ice Warships—outmoded warships that could still be used after some repairs.

The pirates weren’t the least bit worried about selling the warships and the consequences that might follow, or more accurately, they didn’t think it through.

But it didn’t matter, as the shipbuilding industry in Black Iron Land had been substandard for quite some time.

Compared to the shipbuilding skills of the Yige people, Black Iron Land was profoundly lacking in all respects.

Systemic backwardness couldn’t be overcome by merely imitating a few examples; Gael had captured plenty of North Ice Warships as well, but they were still stuck in Iron Flower County.

Roman instructed the merchant fleet to set out again, loaded with goods, and advised them not to stop for even a moment.

He ordered them to increase their efforts and continue transporting agricultural tools to the Northern Front.

The land occupied by the pirates had a population of at least one million people.

Even after experiencing warfare, floods, and slave trading, the population would at most decrease by a quarter—never underestimate human survival capabilities; unless there was an extremely high mortality disease or massacres such as the sacking of cities, it was very difficult for human numbers to decrease significantly.

After the pirates had secured their footing, they would bring their families over from Igo Land to maintain their ruling position.

Both the migrating Yige people and the local slaves who were competing for living space required agricultural tools.

Even though Igo was a harsh and cold land, the Yige people knew how to farm; that was how Ice Island had initially been established, through the mixed blood of the Yige people and those from the inland.

Roman wasn’t satisfied with just trading with the pirates; he also planned for Morry and Daken to go to Ice Island to purchase wool and sheep.

Ice Island was a major producer of wool, both in terms of quality and quantity, second only to the highlands.

But to conduct wool trade on a large scale, they needed to negotiate with the King of Ice Island.

In addition, someone had to be sent to Sea Castle.

Not only to transport agricultural tools but also to deliver a batch of fine weapons. These were for Nillie, to expedite the construction of her shipyard.

With the current state of the ships, Roman’s cargo capacity requirements were far from met.

Upon opening the trade routes, Roman found himself dealing with a sudden surge in tasks.

However, these matters all had to be handled step by step.

He first settled the new slaves in Fertile City.

Then he turned and headed to Origin City.

May arrived.

The much anticipated harvest season was upon them as well.

With over forty thousand mu of wheat fields, soil improvement, and climatically adapted wheat varieties, this year’s wheat yield was close to three hundred jin per mu.

And the experimental wheat fields that Gwivelle had blessed last winter produced an astonishing four hundred jin per mu.

Bear in mind, she had cast the spell only once.

Using this batch of wheat as seeds for the next year, it was almost unthinkable how high the yield per mu could go!

On the spot, Roman canceled the rationing system.

This year, not just eighty thousand, even a hundred thousand could be sustained!

...

Without a doubt.

This was a celebration of jubilation.

One threshing floor after another was filled with laughter and cheer; people danced and sang, the celebration unbounded.

In the current era, the most sincere, purest joy people had was the joy of a bountiful harvest.

Nothing could be more beautiful than this.

Food restrictions were lifted, and people could eat openly and freely.

The repercussions of this abundant harvest even reached the outskirts of Fertile City.

Following the celebrations, boat after boat of wheat were transported out and stored in Fertile City’s warehouses.

The residents of this city, just a few dozen miles from Origin City, were amazed to find the quality of their daily meals had improved.

Oatmeal was no longer a haphazard stew but a mix with flour, making a wheat porridge.

Bread was no longer the black, hard bread made from mixed grains but a fragrant whole-wheat bread.

Stews were not just made of vegetables anymore, but mixed with bits of meat, minced meat, and bones.

Each day they enjoyed something new called tofu—a delicious dish made with soy oil and leeks, refreshingly smooth and tender to the point of decadence, as if it was a delicacy exclusively for the nobility, so exquisite that they almost wished to swallow their tongues.