??Chapter 277: Chapter 18: rger (1)
Chapter 277: Chapter 18: rger (1)
Hozer and Zip, leading the ine traders, once again jointly won the construction project for the road from Mandu to Muscat. The enormous funds required for this had to be fronted by these suckers―the ine traders, in Kor’s eyes who were ripe for the plucking. The construction costs that should have been borne by the Lord’s Mansion were exchanged for half of the shareholding rights to the only iron mine in the Mandu region after Puber’s negotiations. That is to say, Kor didn’t have to pay a single Gold Shield; he only needed to hand over the iron mine in Mandu, which had stopped production, to Hozer, Zip, and the others. In return, he could enjoy half of the iron mine’s dividends each year without any effort, while the ine traders would build the road from Mandu to Muscat for free. In Kor’s words, this was like cooking their own oil with the bone of the ine traders.
However, the ine traders did not see it that way. At least they had obtained the developnt rights to the only iron mine in the Mandu region. Especially considering that although this iron mine was not as large as the Bahomon Iron Mine, it was a true mine ready for full-scale mining without any further investnt. As long as they could recruit enough workers, they could start production imdiately. Plus, there was already a considerable amount of extracted iron ore. No matter how you looked at it, this was a very cost-effective transaction. Of course, they needed to repair the road from Mandu to Muscat as soon as possible to truly leverage the mine’s benefits. There were plenty of stone materials left over in the Muscat Stone Mine Mountain, which could be used as excellent base materials for this road construction.
As the Chief Administrative Officer in charge of the entire region, Neptune’s passion was fully ignited. He went from village to village to understand the situation and held speeches to explain his intentions. All this was done in just one week, during which Neptune was busily engaged in all endeavors. At the sa ti, Neptune also conducted a survey of the land conditions throughout the Mandu region. Apart from so mines, many places in the Mandu region, like the Caucasus, were untapped wild lands covered in prival forests, swamps, wetlands, and hilly mountains. Most of them were located in remote areas, especially near the boundary with the Caucasus. This also gave Neptune the idea of utilizing these slaves, who were mortal miners, to develop agriculture in the region and produce food to reduce reliance on external supply.
It should be said that the honesty and simplicity of these Half-Beastn and mortal slaves ant that it was unlikely for them to rise up in defiance. They were accustod to a life managed by others, and although the past few months had given them a taste of freedom, the lifestyle of idleness with diminishing bread supply was unsettling for them. The principle of “no work, no food” was deeply ingrained in the minds of these honest folks; the phenonon that Kor had initially worried about, where they enjoyed freedom and were unwilling to work or accept managent, simply had not occurred. Even those lower-ranking officers who had once served in Dragumo’s army accepted various arrangents with a clear conscience.
This phenonon forced Kor to admit that if these slave miners in the mines had risen in rebellion, it must have been out of utmost desperation. Kor couldn’t imagine what kind of harsh living conditions these slaves must have endured under Boninski’s rule in the various mines, but under his own rule, he would not allow such phenona to happen. This was the foundation of winning the support of the Half-Beastn and mortal slaves.
The auction for the coal mines in the Mandu region was also quietly underway in Ugru. As many as twelve large and dium-sized coal mines were placed for secret auction. This was Puber’s idea, as he believed that this could maximize the construction funds for the Caucasus. However, the excessively large scale of capital attraction ant that the relatively narrow financial flow in the Caucasus could not satisfy the developnt needs of so many coal mines. Even with the participation of Palermo and the Barefoot Society rchants, along with ine traders and Susoer rchants as the main force, only six out of the twelve coal mines found buyers. This realization made Kor and Puber recognize that to accelerate developnt, more avenues were needed, especially closer ties with the outside world.
When the labor of as many as 60,000 in Mandu finally got underway, Kor realized the enormous impact it would have. Trying to cover up or hide it was simply futile. Now, Kor’s only hope was that Katya and Hoffman, with their far-reaching sources of information, had surpassed his expectations. When the construction of the road from Mandu to Muscat comnced, these keen-nosed individuals realized that the Leon Region was slowly sliding into his hands according to the track Kor had initially set for them. The erging business opportunities were the most sought-after for the rchants attached to both individuals. As a concession for agreeing to allow the rchant forces associated with them to invest in Mandu, they would help the Caucasus under Kor beco a territory directly under the kingdom to the greatest extent and exert influence on the Star Chamber Court. They would lobby for the Leon Region to be declared ownerless due to the kingdom and its original Lord losing complete control. According to Kingdom Law, the first to gain actual control of an ownerless territory and report to the kingdom for approval after three years could then officially beco the new Lord of the land.
At this point, Kor could not afford to be overly concerned. Hor had never been friendly, and even if relations deteriorated further in the future, they would not be much worse than they were now. What he needed was to produce as much food as possible and to establish a passage to the outside world. Relying solely on Mattdam, which was already threatened by the Hor Navy Fleet, was clearly not sufficient to handle the increasingly heavy external transportation tasks, especially after the large-scale operations of the mines in Mandu comnced.
Standing on the River Harbor at Bahomon, Puber smacked his lips thoughtfully while giving frenetic instructions to the bustling Barbarian workers, “Boss, it looks like Bahomon is fast becoming the premier employnt destination for Barbarians. Do you know how many Barbarians are living and working within your territory? I’ll tell you, there are over two thousand just in Bahomon alone, most of them working as miners and transporters in the mines, and then there are those who work as porters on the docks, their work efficiency is no worse than those seasoned Half-Beastn workers. There are also many Barbarians who can’t find work here and have to move to Ugru and Santiago, it’s just a pity that those places are a bit farther from their holand. They prefer life in Bahomon; it’s closer to ho and they can just spread their legs and run back in a day. Alas, the Iron Mine Mountain is almost at peak extraction now, so we can’t hire more workers, otherwise, these Barbarians really are the best workers.”
“Puber, I must remind you not to let your feelings color your view of races. Is it just because you got yourself a Barbarian woman? By irresponsibly cheering for the Barbarians like this, you could influence the Mine owners in their hiring, and be careful not to upset the Half-Beastn. I’ve heard complaints about your bias from so Half-Beastn. I also want to remind you, I have no energy to distill a second batch of Wellness Elixir, and you spending all your days on that Barbarian girlfriend of yours—be careful she doesn’t dehydrate you into a mummy! When that happens, not even ten bottles of Wellness Elixir will be of any use!” Kor scorned Puber’s words. The Barbarians indeed were hardworking and willing, but the Half-Beastn were no less so, and most of them had experience working in mines—a seasoned worker is much more suitable for a mine owner. Puber’s apparent favoritism might influence the mine owners’ opinions, and Kor certainly didn’t want to see any disputes arising between the Barbarians and Half-Beastn, especially since these Barbarians were just temporary workers earning so food money, while the Half-Beastn were his true citizens.
Staring fiercely at his Boss’s impassive face for a while, Puber finally said through gritted teeth, “Is it that damn Half-Beastman Hybrid who reported to you again?! Boss, can you get him to stop sticking his nose into my business and let him do sothing more useful for our Caucasus instead? Do I, Puber, need that Hybrid’s permission to have my way with any woman I like?”
Seeing his friend’s genuine anger, Kor couldn’t help but privately chuckle, but he replied seriously, “It’s not that Maha Gummi has that hobby. Rather, it’s a serious issue to the Half-Beastn that the Chief Administrative Officer of the mighty Caucasus Territory has taken a shine to a Barbarian woman and turns a blind eye to all the Half-Beastman beauties on Ugru Street. The Half-Beastn see this as an insult and a challenge from the Barbarians, and so they are greatly indignant and have voiced their complaints to . Perhaps, Puber, you should broaden your tastes a bit. Maybe I’ll find you a beautiful Half-Beastwoman to enhance your blissful life.”
“Spit on that, I haven’t seen a single decent woman among those Half-Beastn. To get intimate with those Half-Beastwon who don’t bathe for half a year? I’d rather sleep with a female gorilla and have more fun.” Puber roared crudely while furiously venting his anger at Kor’s intelligence officer.
“Alright, you better just take care of yourself. Your Barbarian girlfriend may be uniquely flavorful, but you still need to exercise moderation. The last thing I want is to see you return to Cyprus looking like a skeleton, or your mother will co after .” Kor changed the subject, moving the topic away, “How’s the progress on Mattdam’s dock expansion project?”
Taking a deep breath, Puber’s expression returned to normal. The joking between friends had co to an end; it was ti to discuss official business, “Boss, the dock expansion isn’t a problem. The real issue is that our export of Ore and imported food are facing significant restrictions. These limitations aren’t because of the docks, you know. The main reason lies with the Hor Navy Fleet.”
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