Resisting Temptation

The banquet, which ended in discord, further deepened the divide between the Northern Aristocrats had migrated south and the local nobility.

The next morning, the Governor's Mansion sent someone to deliver the contract documents, saving them the trouble of reporting and registering.

No one offered to keep them, not even a polite gesture. It was as if they were being sent away as if they were plague carriers, wishing they would disappear from sight immediately.

From beginning to end, Count Pierce never showed his face. The aristocratic bureaucrats, adept at reading people, fully understood their boss's intentions.

Aside from sending soldiers to guide them, they ignored the Northern Aristocrats, and even the most basic introduction to their territories was just a map.

There was no information whatsoever about the specific distribution of land resources, suitable crops to grow, or suggestions for economic development; not even who the neighbors were.

This is a typical example of not stopping, not cooperating, and not taking responsibility.

Even so, it still surprised the Northern Aristocrats. The handover went too smoothly; none of the difficulties they had imagined occurred. It was simply too orderly.

As for full cooperation, no one harbors such illusions. How can you expect someone to cooperate when you're trespassing on someone else's territory?

Baron Ciss was excited about the fertile fiefdom he was about to acquire, but he was dumbfounded the moment he opened the map.

A perfectly good baronial territory was directly divided into four large parts, spanning the counties of Laite and Huaidun.

At that moment, he desperately wanted to curse Governor Pierce's ancestors.

Although they acquired the most prosperous Dadir City, all the land outside the city belonged to others, and their own territory was still a hundred miles away.

It seemed that even disposing of the city's garbage would require the neighbors' approval first. Thinking of this horrible scene, Ciss wanted to go to the Governor's Mansion to demand an explanation.

But in the end, he held back. This kind of tactic wasn't Count Pierce's invention; it was something the five great families of the Northern Frontier had done back then to eliminate dissidents.

You can only swallow your pride and bear the consequences of your own ancestors' actions. Although it's completely against the rules, once a fuss breaks out, these old grievances will be brought up again.

Rather than humiliating the family in aristocratic circles and triggering a political upheaval, it's better to swallow this bitter pill.

After all, having prepared himself for difficulties before setting off, Ciss was quite adaptable.

Similar concerns were shared by many Northern Aristocrats. Even if they weren't scions of the Five Great Families, they were still vassals of Five Great Families. If they offended their own lords, how could their families possibly have a good life?

It's just an enclave; there are ways to resolve that. At worst, we can exchange land with the neighbors, and if they disagree, we can fight it out.

One isn't enough, we can have two; two aren't enough, we can have three, four...

Based on their past experience in the North, they knew that as long as they fought enough, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish.

If so, it must mean they lost the fight.

With heavy hearts, the group of Northern Aristocrats set off for their respective territories.

Hudson, who was overjoyed at the successful blast furnace ironmaking in the Salam Mine Area, suddenly received a notice from the Governor's Mansion that his good neighbor from the Northern Frontier would be arriving in Wright County soon, and that he should prepare to "welcome" him.

That's not the most important thing. The key issue is that the previous bureaucracy in Wright County has been completely wiped out and needs to be reorganized. Someone has suggested that he could participate in the competition for Sheriff.

In the Alpha Kingdom, aristocratic autonomy is prevalent, and being a prefect is a desirable job as the local administrative head.

As long as there is no rebellion or major unrest within the county, there should be basically nothing to worry about.

Even taxes were collected by tax officials appointed by the King. Of course, most of the time the King wasn't so bored as to send tax officials to every region.

With the exception of a few regions, most of the kingdom operated under a tax farming system. Local officials were typically contracted out to collect taxes.

Any excess collection goes to the individual; if the collection target is not met, the individual must make up the difference.

It's a sure-fire way to make a fortune; if managed well, earning tens of thousands of gold coins a year is a breeze. Within the kingdom, the governor also has a special title. "Viscount."

Of course, it was just an honorary title, not comparable to a real fiefdom viscount, but it still placed him above all other barons.

It goes without saying that it takes considerable strength to collect taxes from a group of nobles with armies.

The nobles who usually serve as prefects are also the most powerful nobles in the prefecture, occupying the largest city and the most fertile land in the prefecture.

Even if one's own strength is not the strongest, with the combined strength of allies, one's overall strength is still the strongest.

Is he the most powerful nobleman in Wright County?

No one can give a definitive answer to this question.

After all, the power struggles among nobles are not only about one's own strength, but also about the level of investment from the families behind them.

However, it is certain that Hudson, even if not the strongest noble in Wright County, is among the top few.

The title of "Divine Bow Knight" still carries considerable weight among the lower and middle nobility. Those six hundred veterans are considered to be among the top ranks of the feudal nobles.

When the two are combined, the resulting destructive power is even greater.

In the event of a large-scale battle, Hudson could hide behind the army and launch surprise attacks, resulting in a complete massacre of ordinary soldiers.

If they could get the full support of the Coslo Family, they might actually be able to participate in this competition for the county governorship.

After hesitating for a moment, Hudson finally resisted the temptation. He admitted that Count Pierce was indeed generous enough to gain the support of the Dalton Family's retainers with just a nod.

With the connections of the Coslo Family and Hudson's own management, more than half of the fiefdom lords in Wright County would support him.

Unfortunately, he didn't dare to get involved until he could figure out the stance of the Northern Great Houses.

If it's just a tentative gesture, that's fine. But if they're determined to establish themselves in Laite and Huaidun counties, even the Dalton Family might not be able to stop them, let alone a nobody like him.

As for the feud between the Coslo Family ancestors and the Northern Great Houses, it was utterly insignificant in the face of survival.

Even if the Northern Nobles become powerful in Wright County, they still have to abide by the rules and cannot act as recklessly as they do in the North.

Looking at the newly forged pig iron, Hudson smiled slightly, thinking to himself, "Let them cause trouble! If the world were at peace, who would buy these things?"

Although the overall quality of these pig irons is still not very good, some of them are of medium quality.

If it is forged a few more times, it can already be used to forge weapons. If charcoal is added for quenching later, it might be able to be forged into steel.

That's enough. Noble lords may not value these iron weapons, but equipping their troops with them would be quite appealing.

There's no other reason than that it's cheap. These iron weapons cost only one-third the price of steel weapons.

The northern armies had already been equipped with these weapons on a large scale. The Southeast Province, lacking coal and not producing their own weapons, and with the humid climate making iron weapons prone to rusting, used them relatively less.

With this in mind, Hudson immediately wrote to his relatives and friends to borrow men. Blacksmithing is a skilled trade; whether forging pots and pans or making farm tools and weapons, it requires a professional blacksmith.

Although Hudson's territory has a few blacksmiths, it is far from enough for large-scale production.

If the conflict between the parties escalates, the required weapons will number in the thousands, and the few blacksmiths he has can't forge that many in a day.

If we add the need for forging pots, pans, and farm tools, the shortage of blacksmiths will be even greater. We can't just sell iron directly like the previous lord did, can we?

Although selling iron directly can be profitable, the profit margin is nowhere near that of selling finished products.

Selling iron yields a 50/50 profit; crafting it into farm tools, pots, and pans and selling it brings in a 70-80% profit; forging it into weapons and selling it means you'd be embarrassed to call yourself an arms dealer if you didn't make two or three times that amount.

During special periods, it's not impossible to make ten or eight times the profit.