"Big Brother, the envoy told me he'll most likely come again next month. If we want to replace military service with the shield tax, we'll need to have a hundred gold coins ready before then."
Lao Liu had no fondness for that haughty ducal envoy.
But in order to pry out as much information as possible, he had no choice but to greet him with a smile.
Fortunately, the bastard had been fairly easy to talk to. Before leaving, he revealed several crucial pieces of information to Lao Liu.
"Don't worry. I'll handle the money."
To Lynn, any problem that could be solved with money was no problem at all.
Not to mention the Salt Mine route that would soon be opened, he could always borrow money from the Black Market Merchant—his future brother-in-law—if necessary.
Come to think of it, there seemed to be quite a few things he needed to borrow from Leon.
A hundred gold coins for the shield tax, the bottomless consumption of iron ingots, equipment for laying roads and excavating mineral deposits, rye to feed the conscripted serfs...
Altogether, it might come to more than two hundred gold coins.
But it did not matter. Once the Salt Mine began excavation, every problem would be easily resolved.
Besides, internal debt was not really debt.
It was all for the development of White Bear Territory, for excavating the Salt Mine, and for letting everyone get rich together.
How could that be called debt?
Most importantly, the Marsh Duke would most likely lead his troops out to war in June.
That was absolutely fantastic news.
The greatest obstacle to the illicit salt-selling plan was the Marsh Duke himself and the upper nobility he represented.
Once the war began, they would inevitably leave the Marsh Duke's territory.
Since they were