Painting a Vision

Old Albert might have been old, but his mind remained sharp.

Based only on the few hints Lynn had provided, he had already guessed at Lynn's future plans.

Of course, war was only a small part of Lynn's plan, and merely one of the means he used to acquire a population.

"War isn't particularly urgent. Right now, I have a more important task to entrust to you: road construction."

Lynn chatted with Old Albert as they rode, White Bear Town already coming into view.

Road construction?

Old Albert was stunned for a moment, then finally remembered. When the young master returned from his first patrol of the forest, he had mentioned this task.

He had spoken of building a twenty-kilometer road connecting White Bear Territory to the Peat Mine, and an additional small pier to the north.

"Young master, isn't this a bit too rushed? The serfs have only just begun to cultivate their own Allotment Land. If we conscript them for road work now..."

Old Albert dared not even imagine the consequences.

A large-scale rebellion might be impossible, but serf riots or desertions were certain to occur.

Even if the lord was peerless in bravery, he could not withstand serfs who had lost their fear of death!

After all, if they were not allowed to cultivate their Allotment Land, they would truly starve to death.

"Eight days. I am giving you eight days. After eight days, I want to see one thousand male serfs over the age of fifteen ready to be deployed at any time."

Lynn estimated the time and set the deadline.

The serfs' Allotment Land did not require fertilization, nor was there enough fertilizer to go around.

Removing this step would save a significant amount of time.

Furthermore, he was only conscripting male serfs; the remaining Female Serfs and child serfs should be enough to finish the work in the fields.

Countless projects were chasing Lynn from behind. Once the sixty kilometers of road were finished, he still had to develop the Salt Mine, the Bitumen Mine, build a factory to refine salt, and prepare housing for the future new livestock...

Therefore, as long as they were beasts of burden, regardless of age, they had to obey his commands.

"As you wish, young master."

Old Albert knew this was already a compromise, so he could only obediently accept the order.

Fortunately, there were only twenty-some kilometers of road to build; working from April to June should be manageable.

At this moment, the group arrived at White Bear Town, and Lynn immediately summoned the Blacksmith Qi He and the Carpenter Torima.

The location remained the only small tavern in town.

"I will begin road construction in eight days. For this, I need pickaxes and shovels for fifteen hundred people, one hundred sturdy wheelbarrows, and at least ten large, two-horse freight wagons."

Lynn did not stand on ceremony with these two leaders of the craftsmen and issued his orders directly.

"Young master, building these tools is no problem, and there is still some stock in the warehouse, but what should we do about the iron ingots?"

Qi He was not intimidated in the slightest. He had a keen business sense and knew that the new lord loved to "embark on major construction," so he had already begun training more blacksmith apprentices.

But the problem remained the same: there were not enough iron ingots.

The one thousand kilograms of iron ingots that the Black Market Merchant Leon had delivered last time were barely enough to cover the consumption for making Heavy Plows.

If these ingots were turned into pickaxes and shovels, where would the farm tools for the Autumn Harvest come from?

"You just focus on the smithing; I will find a way to handle the iron ingots."

Lynn took full responsibility as always.

With the connection to Leon, mere iron ingots were not a problem at all. Never mind iron ingots; as long as the money was sufficient, that man would even dare to sell iron armor and steel crossbows.

"Young master, we have no problem either. Isn't it just building wagons? Simple!"

Torima was even more eager; he did not fear hard work, only idleness.

The serfs all knew a little bit of basic carpentry.

More complex carpentry, such as wheelbarrows and plows, were quite durable, so they did not get much business throughout the year.

As long as there was work to do, it meant a steady stream of gold coins!

Lynn was very satisfied with their attitudes and encouraged them: "Work hard, and I will not treat your wages poorly."

He knew very well that due to the increase in demand, both Qi He and Torima would have to recruit more apprentices.

Simply by paying a few wages, he could increase the number of craftsmen in the territory; this deal was incredibly cost-effective.

To put it bluntly, one of the main reasons why feudal manors of the past developed slowly was the lack of demand.

Serfs could solve most of their life needs by farming and raising livestock.

They did not need to purchase many goods from the outside, so naturally, there were no craftsmen on the manor to produce such goods.

Lynn's massive construction efforts were equivalent to creating a huge amount of demand out of thin air, which would directly drive the development of handicrafts in the territory.

Moreover, he felt Qi He's craftsmanship was not refined enough, so he had already sent Lao San to Three Rivers City to find a better blacksmith.

At this moment, Old Albert suddenly asked: "Young master, why prepare pickaxes? Aren't the areas from the territory to the swamp in the north all forest and wetlands?"

"My exploration this time discovered a Stone Mine and a Bitumen Mine. These two deposits are not far apart, so this road construction will connect them, which will also provide materials for the road."

As he spoke, Lynn spread out a simple map on the table. The map marked the specific locations of the Stone Mine and the Bitumen Mine and redesigned the route.

The route length was still just over twenty kilometers, but two forks had been added in the middle, connecting to the Stone Mine and the Bitumen Mine respectively.

Of course, he had planned a clearer and more specific route on the large map of the Lord system, but his current drawing skills did not allow him to replicate it on paper.

But it did not matter; it was not like he was building a high-speed railway, so making do was enough.

The Blacksmith Qi He was a man of the world, and he clicked his tongue in wonder as he looked at the map: "There is actually a Bitumen Mine in the northern forest? Young master, this stuff is worth a fortune."

Lao Er, standing behind Lynn, took the opportunity to hand over a piece of black bitumen ore the size of a palm.

Lynn took the ore and slapped it onto the edge of the map: "This Bitumen Mine is buried very shallowly. Once the road is built, White Bear Territory can sell bitumen ore to the outside world. The demand for iron tools and transport vehicles will increase exponentially, and you will all be able to make a fortune."

Lynn's method of "painting a vision" was becoming increasingly skillful, and he still had one ultimate vision he had yet to reveal.

Seeing the genuine bitumen ore, Qi He straightened up instantly: "Young master, just give the order; I will obey all your commands!"

As a blacksmith, how could he not understand the benefits of mining?

Once the Bitumen Mine opened, the massive demand for ironware would come flooding in like a torrent; this was simply a windfall of wealth crashing down on his head.

Once he made big money, he could send his youngest son to the school in Three Rivers City, and the entire family would have a chance to rise in the world!

Torima followed suit and loudly pledged his loyalty. Blacksmiths and carpenters were inseparable; there would certainly be a share of the wealth for him as well.

By the time they left White Bear Town, it was nearly dusk.

Looking at the loyalty rating of 97 on Old Albert's panel, Lynn threw out his final vision of the day.

"Albert, actually, this route map is only half of it. Once the road to the Great Swamp is completed, I plan to build an additional forty kilometers of road to the west, and it must be finished this year."