Chaotic Dadir
Pushing open the warehouse door was like entering a new world. All sorts of farm tools were neatly arranged and piled up throughout the room.
"Please feel free to choose; this is only a small selection. If you are not satisfied, there are other types of farm tools available later."
Hudson said, feigning indifference.
In fact, the seemingly diverse array of farm tools doesn't actually represent that many different types. The variety of styles primarily stems from the work of different craftsmen.
To provide customers with diverse services, Hudson did not pursue standardized production. After all, they are all handmade, and standardization would be a hassle.
Due to the need for differentiated pricing, the same product made by different artisans can have slightly different prices.
Of course, the price difference wasn't significant, not because Hudson's marketing was ineffective, but mainly because these products were ordinary farm tools and didn't have the capacity for high premiums.
An awkward scene unfolded: Baron Katerley, staring at the diverse array of farm tools before him, had absolutely no idea where to begin.
Ask him to choose weapons, and he can speak eloquently and offer expert commentary on all kinds of weapons. But choosing farm tools is clearly beyond his comprehension; it's never been within his knowledge base.
Baron Katerley, who originally thought there were only a few types of farm tools and that he could just buy them without putting in much effort, is now in a dilemma.
Go back and bring the old farmer over to choose?
No, that would make the great Baron Katerley seem less than a lowly serf!
Looking at the prices marked on each farm tool, Baron Katerley breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know how much the prices had been inflated, the unit price certainly wasn't high.
For example, the cheapest plow cost only 3.5 Silver Coin, while the most expensive cost no more than 8 Silver Coin. The main factor determining the price of a plow was not its craftsmanship or design, but its weight.
Of course, what's stored here are small farm tools; those big machines that need eight oxen to pull can't be bought for just a few Silver Coin.
The reason large farm implements were not marketed to Baron Katerley was that his estates lacked sufficient livestock and relied entirely on human power, rendering large farm implements useless.
Picking up a farm tool at random and weighing it in his hand, Baron Katerley frowned and said, "Baron Hudson, these farm tools are far too weak and not sharp enough. Couldn't you have used better iron to forge them?"
Hearing such amateurish nitpicking, Hudson simply rolled his eyes. Using top-grade iron to forge farm tools? He must be dreaming.
"If you can afford three times the price, I wouldn't mind using the finest iron for casting. However, that would be too extravagant. Farm tools are, after all, just farm tools; their performance requirements are far less demanding than those for weapons."
The performance of these farm tools is more than sufficient for daily farming. If their quality were further improved, they would no longer be farm tools, but weapons.
The customer is the Lord of Dawn. In theory, Hudson will not refuse any reasonable request from the customer, provided that the money is paid in full.
As long as he was willing to pay more, Hudson could have his men forge farm tools of the same quality as weapons and equipment.
As for the idea of buying farm tools to smelt and forge weapons based on the price difference, that's just a pipe dream.
Not to Hudson, but once these farm tools were melted down and forged into weapons, the quality of each one would be absolutely as impressive as could be.
Unless more money is added, the quality gap between farm tools and weapons cannot be changed. Lord Hudson was very principled in this regard.
Unsure of which tools to choose, Baron Katerley simply bought whatever he had seen before. While the farm implements he bought might not be the best value, at least they would work and he wouldn't be ripped off too badly.
Throughout the entire process, Hudson remained silent, allowing him to choose freely, with the only restriction being that he could not bargain.
Of course, this is just a minor issue. As high-ranking nobles, few of them are fond of haggling over every penny. Especially when it comes to low-priced items, they certainly don't have an accurate pricing template in mind.
In less than half an hour, Baron Katerley had completed the selection of goods, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.
Hudson was very satisfied with the customer's prompt response. This was much simpler than doing business in his previous life; not only were the quality requirements for the goods lower, but he also didn't need to worry about after-sales service.
With such high-quality customers, Hudson felt embarrassed to overcharge them. After all, this kind of business is about long-term, sustainable profits; you can't just cut them off all at once.
"The total is 401 gold coins, 3 Silver Coin, and 40 copper coins. Let's round it down to 401 gold coins."
You have 99 gold coins left to reach the minimum spending requirement. Perhaps you could choose some everyday items, such as a kitchen knife, an iron pot, and an iron spatula...
Everything needed for daily life is available here. Using these supplies in the kitchen will significantly improve the soldiers' living standards.
Hudson enthusiastically promoted it.
He didn't mention serfs because he knew that in the minds of the noble lords, it was a blessing for lowly serfs to survive, and improving their living standards was not even a consideration.
People didn't care much about the serfs, but they paid special attention to their elite soldiers.
They are all meritorious soldiers, and given the right conditions, we should naturally provide them with a better life. Otherwise, who would be willing to risk their lives?
"Then I'll have to trouble Baron Hudson!"
"That's what Baron Katerley said calmly."
Seeing that both of his wagons were fully loaded and there was a pile of farm tools waiting to be loaded on the ground, and that it had only cost him 401 gold coins, Lord Kateley was no longer flustered.
Having bought the most needed farm tools, the rest was no longer a problem, since he was determined to only make the bare minimum purchases.
Seeing that he couldn't get any more wool out of him, Hudson got tired of wasting his breath and took Baron Katerley directly into the kitchenware warehouse to make some selections.
The so-called selection was really just for show. After hastily gathering the minimum spending amount, Baron Katerley took his leave.
Judging from their demeanor, it was as if staying in the Mountain Territory for even a moment longer would bring misfortune.
However, considering his experiences, Hudson understood. Each trip here resulted in a hefty fine; the Mountain Territory was indeed Baron Katerley's unlucky place.
After seeing Baron Katerley off, Hudson realized there was a problem with his business model. All the clients he developed were local neighbors; he had no major clients outside the area.
Occasionally a few merchants would come by, but they were more interested in selling than buying. It wasn't that the merchants couldn't see the business opportunities; it was simply that Hudson's products were too unique.
Weapons and equipment sell best, but unfortunately, without real strength, you simply can't do this business.
Although the risks were not high, noble lords were accustomed to buying iron and forging their own farm tools and everyday items such as pots and pans.
Compared to manufacturing finished products, processing them in-house is clearly more cost-effective. Unless Hudson can significantly reduce prices, making purchasing finished products cheaper than casting them themselves.
Obviously, this is impossible. Even if Hudson wanted to engage in cheap dumping, it would first need to achieve industrialized production.
With the limited production capacity within his territory, there was simply no possibility of dumping. His only advantage was controlling the largest iron ore mine in the Southeast Province, which allowed him to influence iron prices on the market.
The current rise in the price of iron goods on the market is not only due to the local nobles driving up prices, but also largely due to his cessation of iron sales to foreign countries.
An awkward scene then unfolded.
In the short term, the main way to make a profit from selling weapons is to rely on the needs of local nobles to expand their military.
However, their main customers for promoting agricultural tools and other daily necessities were the Northern Nobles. As outsiders, they did not have enough blacksmiths of their own and had to purchase these items in large quantities from elsewhere.
Both sides are clients, and I can't afford to offend either of them. Isn't this forcing myself to be a fence-sitter?
Regardless, business must be done. Only with sufficient financial resources can Hudson develop his territory.
Although the local nobles of the Southeast Province considered the small mounds of the Salam Mountain Range as worthless wasteland, Hudson saw them as having great potential for development.
Grain production reached 70% of that from outside sources, and after feeding the serfs, there was still a surplus. However, compared to the enormous investment in land reclamation, the return period was a little longer.
If we change our approach and develop animal husbandry, there are basically no restrictions.
The only problem is that everyone is playing the self-sufficient economic model, there is no fixed sales market, and the cattle and sheep raised can only be consumed by themselves.
There may be consumer demand in big cities, but that's the base of the local elites, and it's not up to outsiders to interfere.
A self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy is not suitable for the development of industry and commerce, while a self-sufficient aristocratic economy severely suppresses industry and commerce.
Forced by circumstances, Hudson had to repeatedly revise the territory's development plan based on the actual situation, and to this day there is still no complete development outline.
There are only two certain development themes: finding ways to make money and finding ways to increase the population.
Only when money and manpower are available can a territory be fully developed. Only with a solid economic foundation can one have the strength to drive the development of military power.
It can be said that Hudson's plan was completely incompatible with the way the world's nobles rose to power.
Almost all the great noble families rose to power on the battlefield. They achieved rapid growth in their strength by plundering spoils from their Eastern Expedition.
The rise of every great noble family is accompanied by the birth of a "chosen one." Sufficient good fortune is required to achieve initial wealth accumulation in a seemingly effortless and unpredictable manner.
Rubbing his forehead, Hudson, who didn't believe he had any extraordinary luck, decisively gave up on following in the footsteps of his predecessors.
Times have changed. The resource monopoly of the great nobles has been established, and unless an external force breaks this pattern, there is simply no room for newcomers to grow.
No matter how strong they are, the pit is already full, and there's no room left above them.
You either oust someone and take their place, or you are overthrown and die without a burial place.
After sorting out his thoughts, Hudson put aside the jumbled ideas in his mind and directly arranged for people to load the trucks.
The grand feast in Dadir City, attended by Nobles of the Two Counties, is something I absolutely must attend to capitalize on. A successful deal like this would be far more lucrative than three years of farming at home.
The carriage slowly drove out of Beda City, Count Pierce's forehead wrinkled even more. The situation on the continent was becoming increasingly complicated, forcing him to change his plans.
Originally, they wanted to take the opportunity to teach the Northern Aristocrats a lesson, to break their backbone, and then slowly push them out.
Unfortunately, the situation on the mainland has changed drastically. The kingdom and the Church have clashed, and now domestic stability must be maintained.
Against this backdrop, excessively targeting the Northern Aristocrats migrated south is an act that undermines unity and is clearly inconsistent with the kingdom's overall environment for maintaining stability.
"It seems we have no choice but to let this go! I just wonder what those old foxes in the Northern Frontier are thinking. Do they really believe that these few pawns can cause any trouble?"
Governor Pierce muttered to himself.
From beginning to end, he never took the troublesome Northern Frontier youths seriously. For a powerful figure like Count Pierce, only equally powerful forces were qualified to challenge them.
Information travels quickly in the magical world, but the speed at which messages spread is ultimately determined by the thoughts of important figures.
If they arrive in time, news from the Royal Capital can reach the Southeast Province on the same day. But if the important figures are not in a hurry and let the messengers travel on the road, it is not uncommon for it to take ten days or half a month.
Of course, this only refers to the transmission of information and does not include the decision-making time.
Often, slow message delivery isn't due to the message itself being slow, but rather because important figures need slow message delivery to mask their inefficient decision-making.
This time was no exception. Count Pierce had already received news that the King's messenger had been intercepted and killed by the Church, leading to tensions between the kingdom and the Church.
However, because they hadn't figured out how to deal with this unexpected turn of events, the news was already on its way, and the nobles of the Southeast Province hadn't received a single word of it.
The news will officially reach the Southeast Province once he makes the decision.
If things drag on for too long, rumors might get around first. After all, the other nobles aren't pushovers either.
Although they lacked access to channels for rapid information transmission, the noble scions living abroad would still actively inquire about news.
Ordinary news is fine, but for news with a significant impact like this, people will still try to pass it on.
However, since the information comes from "inquiries," its accuracy depends entirely on luck.
Furthermore, those capable of relaying messages were mostly nobles with some wealth. Lower-ranking nobles, even if they learned of the message, would find it difficult to send it back in time.
"Da, da, da..."
The sound of the carriages moving forward continued, and the Dadir City, a hundred miles away, had become bustling with activity.
The nobility was also strictly hierarchical, and although a time had been agreed upon, everyone consciously arrived early.
Even the Northern Aristocrats who didn't get along with the Governor's Mansion didn't put on airs at this time, and obediently came over to wait.
Lively doesn't equal prosperous. Despite Baron Ciss's best efforts, Dadir City remains a city in ruins.
It will take at least one or two years to see any results after the damage is repaired.
As the host, Baron Ciss has been having a tough time lately.
The influx of a large group of nobles was tantamount to a host of troubles being delivered to their doorstep.
His territory was already short of food, and having to entertain such a group of old men only made his already meager wallet even tighter.
This made Ciss somewhat suspicious that Governor Pierce deliberately chose Dadir City as the location for the mediation to target him.
When it comes to substance, appearances are no longer enough. To save money, Baron Ciss even canceled the welcoming banquet.
Daily hospitality is limited to providing temporary accommodation, water, firewood, and some basic necessities; there is absolutely no food provided.
It wasn't a matter of being stingy or not; the lord's household genuinely had no surplus food. At the very least, he simply didn't have enough food befitting his noble status.
Losing face is one thing, but this thing is only uncomfortable at first, it will pass eventually.
What troubled Ciss was that few of the nobles were well-behaved; they were either causing trouble or on their way to doing so.
Fighting and brawling are just the most basic things. A moment's carelessness and you're in a street brawl.
Unlike before, when there were clear-cut factions and he only needed to consider the interests of the Northern Aristocrats, now, as the host, he has an inherent responsibility to maintain order.
The casualties of ordinary soldiers are no big deal, but if a nobleman is injured or even dies, he will be held responsible.
In order to maintain order, he not only sent his men out, but also patrolled the streets himself.
Unfortunately, this was of no use. The Northern Aristocrats still gave him, the nominal leader, some face, but the local nobles completely ignored him.
It only takes one party to start a conflict. Once someone stirs up trouble, the other party can only passively participate.
Occasionally, the fighting would escalate to a real brawl, with even those trying to break it up getting beaten up. Baron Ciss's men would often go out spiritedly to mediate, only to return bruised and battered.
There were even a few unfortunate individuals who were accidentally killed while trying to break up the fight.
The result was predictable: endless wrangling. Only nobles dared to have such a blast; ordinary soldiers had the concept of "a life for a life" in their minds and knew they couldn't kill in this situation.
There was nothing Baron Ciss could do; faced with such bad luck, he had no choice but to accept it. The perpetrator was only responsible for paying compensation; if he wanted the other party to pay with their life, he would have to appeal to the Noble Council.
It goes without saying that this matter should end here. The essence of the Noble Council is to protect the interests of the nobility, and it is self-evident whose interests the outcome will favor.
If you're really angry, you can only find an opportunity to beat the other person up later.
Baron Ciss now had only one thought: he hoped Count Pierce could arrive quickly, otherwise he really couldn't hold on any longer.
The chaotic scene not only hurt the host, Ciss, but also infuriated the "businessman," Hudson.
Originally, he was just a happy bystander, quietly watching the performances of all sides. With the enlarged version of the Earth Bear's three-meter body, he was enough to instantly calm down the hot-headed guys.
After all, even among nobles, there's a degree of restraint in fights, and everyone knows how to control their strength. It's hard to say about Warcraft.
Given Earth Bear's current physique, unless you're a professional monster hunter, you simply can't tell what stage of growth it has reached.
It would be a great injustice if he were slapped to death.
Hudson, riding on the coattails of a bear, walked down the street and sailed smoothly.
But accidents always happen so suddenly; before the excitement was over, I became the center of attention.
He set up a stall on the street and unfortunately got caught up in a conflict between two groups.
If it were just a stall being smashed, that wouldn't be a big deal. The real problem is that some guy got really angry and casually picked up a sledgehammer and cracked the other guy's head open.