A Chaotic Age Is a Stage

A Chaotic Age Is a Stage

As Leon stared at the unremarkable chunk of salt ore in his hand, his expression first turned uncontrollably excited, then fearful.

After hesitating for a long while, he finally forced out, "My lord, I can pretend I never saw this stone."

Lynn looked the greedy Black Market Merchant up and down and merely snorted.

"Leon, at this point, do you think you can pretend you never saw it? And would someone like you fear the gallows? The crimes you've committed so far are enough to hang you ten thousand times over!"

Smuggling prohibited military equipment, helping Horse Bandits dispose of stolen goods, selling the whereabouts of nobles. Any one of those was an indisputable capital offense.

Leon shook his head lightly. "That may be true, but selling untaxed salt is like dancing on the King's nose. My lord, you should know what relationship the Northern Kingdom's largest salt merchant has with the King. They're practically wearing the same pair of trousers!"

Not all gallows were the same. Leon's network in Three Rivers City was enough to shield his black-market business.

But if he got involved in selling untaxed salt, even ten Three Rivers Cities could not protect him.

Due to the climate, the coastal regions of the Northern Kingdom could not produce salt on a large scale through evaporation, and no large salt mines had yet been discovered within its borders. Most of the salt it needed had to be imported from the Southern Border.

Coupled with the Northern Kingdom's relatively isolated terrain, bulk goods from outside could almost only enter through the mouth of Quiet River.

As long as the King controlled the mouth of Quiet River, he could easily monopolize the salt trade of the entire Northern Kingdom.

Though the three Grand Dukes each commanded powerful armies, they could only get a share of the King's profits.

The largest—and only—salt merchant in the Northern Kingdom was the Salmont Family from the Southern Border, also known as the "Saltworks" Family. The family had originally risen to prominence by drying and selling sea salt.

The Salmont Family had close ties with the royal family. Two mistresses from that family resided in the court of the current King of the North.

So just how profitable was the salt trade in the Northern Kingdom?

Take White Bear Territory, for example. Salt from Three Rivers City sold there for roughly one silver coin per two kilograms.

Meanwhile, an adult goat or 38.5 kilograms of Rye also cost one silver coin in White Bear Territory. The standard Northern Kingdom silver coin contained approximately sixteen grams of silver.

It took nearly twenty kilograms of Rye to exchange for one kilogram of salt.

According to the territory records in Lynn's possession, a serf family of five consumed no less than ten kilograms of salt each year.

Half the income serfs earned from painstakingly raising twenty sheep every year had to be spent on that damned salt.

The cost of producing salt was practically negligible. The Southern Border had no shortage of salt pans and established large-scale salt mines.

The Northern Kingdom had at least six or seven million people. One could only imagine the terrifying profits flowing into the pockets of the King and the Salmont Family.

To protect those terrifying profits, they would do anything.

Lynn scoffed. "You mean the King of the North, who is over seventy and has no legitimate male heir? Leon, with your temperament, would you be afraid of a King who is about to be buried? Once he dies, who knows how many people will trample over his crown!"

The Northern Kingdom practiced male inheritance. The current King of the North had married four wives, yet fathered only two daughters.

After his death, the Northern Kingdom would inevitably descend into an utterly chaotic battle royale for the throne. Who would still have the energy to worry about salt smuggling then?

"But the Marsh Duke also has very close ties with the Salmont Family. His Grace cannot possibly ignore untaxed salt appearing within his territory."

Leon had clearly been swayed by Lynn's words, but he still hesitated.

Over the past century, the Salmont Family had built an enormous web of interests across the entire Northern Kingdom.

From the King to the Dukes, from Counts down to the lowliest Barons, all were part of the salt-profit network.

Every year, salt from the Southern Border was transported through Quiet River and its tributaries to every corner of the Northern Kingdom.

After local distributors in Three Rivers City received the salt, they brought it to White Bear Territory in autumn. Then the Baron of White Bear Territory sold it to the serfs.

Through the salt trade, the previous Baron of White Bear Territory had earned over a dozen Northern Gold Shields every year. It was not much, but it was stable, and it counted as one of the ways Lords exploited serfs.

Even a minor low-ranking Baron could profit from the salt trade, so there was no need to mention the Marsh Duke.

The Duke did not even need to sell salt himself. As long as he cracked down hard on salt smugglers within his territory, the Salmont Family would regularly send crates of gold coins into his court.

"What is there to fear from the Marsh Duke? Once the King dies, would the Duke still have time to care about untaxed salt? He's been expanding his army like mad these past few years. Is it because he's afraid the gold in his vaults will grow moldy? He will surely take part in the struggle for the throne that will sweep across the entire Northern Kingdom."

Lynn did not care about the royal family, so naturally he would not care about a mere Marsh Duke.

He had given up being a free and unrestrained Horse Bandit leader and chosen this moment to take control of White Bear Territory precisely because he had calculated that the Northern Kingdom was about to descend into chaos.

At present, who knew how many ambitious men were eagerly awaiting the death of the King of the North.

And that aged ruler truly did not have much time left.

As early as last autumn, rumors had spread through the court that he was no longer lucid. He spent more than half of every day unconscious, kept alive only by the clergy of the Church.

Such forced prolonging of life was destined not to last. The aged and frail King of the North would certainly not survive the year.

White Bear Territory was remote and geographically enclosed, making it ideal for a "small" ambitious man with no backing like Lynn.

While everyone outside fought to the death, he could quietly focus on building his strength.

Once he had fully developed, he could emerge to clean up the mess and rebuild the realm.

If he could successfully mine the salt deposit to the northwest, it would undoubtedly greatly shorten the time he needed to build his strength.

For Lynn, road construction and mining were actually the easiest parts.

The greatest problem he faced was how to sell this salt and exchange it for the precious funds needed to develop the territory.

The essence of business was trade, and the core of trade was distribution channels.

He had previously only been a Horse Bandit leader. He lacked channels for foreign trade, and he also lacked merchants bold enough to smuggle salt.

Before discovering that salt mine, Lynn had only intended to discuss the territory's grain and iron ingot trade with Leon.

Yet during the time Lao San had gone to Three Rivers City to deliver a letter, he had discovered a salt mine with considerable reserves.

So he decided to go with the flow and turn Leon into his cutout.

Through several business dealings, along with intelligence gathered from certain noblewomen, Lynn had seen through Leon's greed and ambition.

This Black Market Merchant was not satisfied with his current position. He desperately wanted to climb higher.

Lynn would provide him with the ladder for that leap between classes, while also placing a noose around his neck.

That noose was Leon's precious younger sister.

No alliance was more effective than a union of bloodlines.

That said, Lynn did not truly covet Leon's sister. After all, he had never even seen the girl in person.

His forceful demand for that beautiful sixteen-year-old girl was merely to keep a hostage by his side.