Reaching a Deal

"You've already put it this way, how could I possibly disagree? After all, a business worth tens of thousands of gold a year is no small sum for Iron Birch Territory. It's a pity that if you had told me last year, I could have sent people to buy sugar beets in time. Now we can only wait until the end of the year," Count Colt sighed.

"Actually, buying Gray Sugar is fine, but Gray Sugar is mainly produced and sold by the Freemen and serfs of my territory, so it's not easy to buy it on a large scale. However, I don't think there's any need to rush. The 100 tons of White Sugar from my territory can be transported to Iron Birch Territory first, where it can be sold. I'll take one-third of the profits. I don't plan to expand the sugar beet planting area this year either. The current 400 mu is enough. This year, the yield per mu can be increased, and 2.5 tons per mu is no problem. In the future, I will control the annual White Sugar production between 120 and 140 tons. The rest of the production share can be arranged by you, Count."

"100 tons of White Sugar, at your previous price of 1 Silver Coin per kilogram, would only be worth 4,000 gold, which is too little. Since this is the first year, scarcity will drive up the price, so let's set it at 4 Silver Coin per kilogram. This way, we can make a profit in gold. We can split it 50/50, and this business is still profitable."

8,000 gold may not sound like a lot, and Alex spent just as much in Two Rivers Territory. But that's how weapons are, especially since the military nobles of the Northlands are very sensitive to advanced and powerful weapons. They are willing to pay extra for them. Moreover, when Victor sold the weapons, he not only sold the weapons, but also shared the core blueprints and principles. Iron Birch Territory is capable of absorbing and digesting this knowledge, and can earn back the money through its own construction and resale.

For Iron Birch Territory, the standing army exceeds 50,000. Although it has been accumulated over many years and the annual maintenance cost is much cheaper than that of Victor, it still costs 30,000 to 40,000 to maintain the army.

Victor also estimated the population and economic strength of Iron Birch Territory through the Calculation Module. The population of Iron Birch Territory, including the hidden households, is about 1.2 million to 1.5 million. The annual income from all aspects is only about 60,000 to 70,000 gold. 8,000 gold coins is more than 10% of the annual income, which is definitely not a small amount of money for Iron Birch Territory.

Most of the Northern Frontier nobles were in a similar situation, investing the bulk of their annual income in military equipment. Some even struggled to make ends meet. For example, Viscount Luowei Viscount Edelweiss, Victor's maternal grandfather, relied on his son-in-law for financial support. If Victor hadn't provided the cashmere textile project, he would likely have had to reduce the size of his standing army in a few years.

Most of the nobles who ventured from the interior to the Northlands this time would not have invested more than 5,000 gold coins, which was not a small amount for many viscounts.

James' father, Viscount Ronald, initially provided James with 2,000 serfs and 250 professional soldiers, which could be considered a mainstream level. Even after James was promoted to baron and added a new branch to the Blue Rose Family, Viscount Ronald only provided another 4,000 serfs and 200 professional soldiers. With the addition of money and resources, the total amount provided by both instances was just over 5,000 gold.

Those who go all in like the Golden Sunflower Family, accumulating investments exceeding gold, are exceptional cases, but they have also reaped substantial returns.

When Wembley and Victor were communicating, they joked that if the money were given to Grand Duke Mora, the Golden Sunflower Family might be promoted to viscounts without Victor having to risk his life on the battlefield. After all, this amount of money was enough for the duchy to arm another full-strength legion.

Even though Grand Duke Silver Maple controls the most land, the largest merchant guild, and the output of Silver Maple in the country, his annual income is just over 200,000 gold. It sounds like a lot, but the duchy is too large. The annual pensions of the 300 honorary noble families alone exceed 60,000 gold. In addition, the eight legions and 100,000 standing troops require 70,000 to 80,000 gold in military expenses every year. There are also many other miscellaneous expenses, leaving only a surplus of 10,000 to 20,000 gold each year.

Last year, three legions were wiped out, and two legions suffered heavy losses and need to be rebuilt. It can be said that the Grand Duke is extremely thirsty for money. If the Golden Sunflower Family really wants to produce gold, it is entirely possible that the Grand Duke will grant them the promotion to viscount.

However, such a promotion to viscount would be meaningless for the Golden Sunflower Family. The family would not become stronger; on the contrary, it would become extremely weak due to the depletion of its resources.

The Golden Sunflower Family now has two territories totaling over 1,100 square kilometers, a population of nearly 70,000, a total military strength of nearly 5,000, and a standing army of over 3,000. Although they still owe Jin foreign debts (including low-interest loans from the Gorn Trading Company and mortgage loans from the Wright Trading Company), with such capital, the creditors are all very polite to them.

The Golden Sunflower Family is now a first-class viscount family in the entire duchy. It can be said that the Golden Sunflower Family seized the opportunity in the complex political environment of the duchy Civil War and soared to great heights.

Continuing from the previous article.

Count Colt quadrupled the price of White Sugar, which Victor thought was too high. The profit margin was already 400%, but now it had become 1900%.

"Count Excellency, with such a high price, only nobles and a small number of wealthy Freemen can afford it. Is this feasible?"

"You underestimate the competitive mentality of nobles. Even four Silver Coin are much cheaper than honey. In addition, White Sugar is much sweeter than honey, so many people will like it. 100 tons is not a large quantity. If we can't sell it all domestically, we can sell it to the East Sea Alliance and the Scorching Sun Islands in the south through our fleet. If we want to make money, we have to make more. We shouldn't pay attention to petty profits."

Victor was persuaded by Count Colt.

"As you say, Count Excellency. I will simply send a message to the territory and instruct them to transport all the White Sugar over as soon as possible."

"Sure, but to save time, I'll just send a ship to pick it up, and I'll send your letter over at the same time."

"Understood, I'll finish writing the letter tonight." Victor also gained a deeper understanding of Count Colt's decisiveness.

"Your Iron Knights should be established by now. Iron Knights tactics differ from those of regular Heavy Cavalry. I will send a small squad of Iron Knights to your territory to teach them the Iron Knights tactics, which I believe will be helpful."

"Thank you so much, Count Excellency, I couldn't ask for anything more."

"I will send you another batch of Iron Birch Wood with the fleet. Most of the Iron Birch Wood on the market is defective. I will send a batch of high-quality ironwood to the Two Rivers Territory every year for free. They are all top-quality materials."

With such a generous boss, Victor couldn't refuse and could only silently give him a thumbs up.