Setting Out

A week later, after modifying the immigration plan during this period, allocating new supplies, and organizing the fleet with new guides, Victor was finally ready to set off.

At this point, only two and a half months remained before winter. According to the plan, all the troops heading north, along with four thousand immigrants and winter supplies, had to be delivered to the Northlands before winter, and houses for winter must be built.

As planned, a single round trip for the fleet took twenty days. Exactly three round trips by the fleet could transport the supplies and personnel into place, while the remaining immigrants and supplies would be transported next spring after the inland rivers thawed.

This time, the fleet consisted of eleven ships of various sizes, transporting a total of fifty cavalrymen, four hundred infantrymen, two thousand able-bodied men, and corresponding supplies.

Victor appointed Santos as the director of the fleet, leading Powell, a caravan manager from the territory, to set off with the fleet normally.

Victor himself took another fast ship to set off earlier for the Edelweiss Territory, both to visit his eldest uncle, Soros, and to seek assistance from the Edelweiss Territory.

Five days later, the fleet would rendezvous in Bria County and simultaneously join the northward contingent from the Blue Rose Territory. Victor had already exchanged greetings with James, and they would head north together after the full assembly.

After confirming the time schedule, Victor set off with his ship alongside Ron. They moved very quickly and reached the Edelweiss Territory in three days.

The entire Edelweiss Territory was situated right on the edge of the Northlands, at the foot of a spur of the mountain range called the Wrath of Ice and Snow by the barbarians.

Therefore, when Victor's ship sailed here, raising his head allowed him to see the snow-capped mountains in the distance, which were truly magnificent.

It was said that this mountain range extended all the way to the Northern Wilderness Snowfields and was exceptionally huge. Legends claimed there were monsters like yetis upon it, but they only existed in barbarian legends and no one had ever seen them.

A small dock could be seen on the shore, consisting of just three trestles that could accommodate five or six ships. Victor nodded upon seeing it. He had visited the Edelweiss Territory once right after his memories awakened, mainly to see his maternal grandfather, and he had known back then that commerce in the Edelweiss Territory was not prosperous. It was far from the main stream and major tributaries of the Blackwater River, and the territory had few local specialties, which explained why it had been getting worse over the years.

The special circumstances of this world caused staple food crops to be of excellent quality and huge yields, especially since most of the land in the Grand Duchy of Vera could only grow one crop a year. Unless special circumstances were encountered, such as large-scale wars and years of natural disasters, grain simply could not fetch a high price.

Therefore, major nobles all liked to plant special cash crops to earn money for trade, which gradually led to the noble custom of taking miraculous plants as surnames.

The difficulties of the Edelweiss Territory are truly hard to resolve. Father told me to come up with a method. It seems I can only rely on my cheat, Number 1.

"Victor, please issue instructions."

"I'm going to stay in the Edelweiss Territory for two days. You need to pay attention to gathering all kinds of information and have the Calculation Module make a plan to make the Edelweiss Territory great again, mega." Victor unconsciously blurted out a meme from his past life.

"Victor, task confirmed."

Amidst the conversation, the ship had already docked, and a few people were waiting not far from the pier.

Victor quickly greeted Ron to get off the ship. Once ashore, he saw who had come: an old man with full white hair and a middle-aged man with golden hair, who were precisely Victor's maternal grandfather, Viscount Roy, and his eldest uncle, Lord Soros.

"Haha, come and look at this handsome young man. Truly my good grandson Victor!" Viscount Roy walked over with a big laugh, pulled Victor into a tight embrace, and heavily patted his back.

Such a strong grip, Victor muttered inwardly, then quickly broke away from Viscount Roy's embrace and said to Viscount Roy and eldest uncle Soros, "Long time no see. Grandfather, your health is still as good as ever, and so is yours, Uncle."

Soros also smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

Ron, standing aside, hurriedly said, "Father, what about me? Long time no see, too."

"Step aside, you muscle-bound fool," Viscount Roy said with a face full of disgust.

"Alright, Victor, hurry home. Your aunt, younger brothers, and younger sister have also been waiting for you for a long time. Tonight we'll have a good drink together." Viscount Roy pulled Victor along as they set off, with Soros and Ron quickly following behind.

Victor waved to signal the personnel staying behind on the ship not to worry.

The Edelweiss Viscount's Mansion. The castle of the Edelweiss Territory was situated in the north near the grasslands, while this residence was located at the foot of a hillside, closer to the river channel and with a better surrounding environment.

Everyone sat around the dining table. Viscount Roy sat in the master seat, and Victor sat on his grandfather's left hand. Initially, Victor wanted to sit below Soros, but he was stopped by Viscount Roy, who said, "You are already a baron, so follow the etiquette, otherwise people will look down on you in the future." Victor had no choice but to obey his grandfather's instructions.

Victor had not seen his grandfather's family for a long time. His maternal grandmother had passed away early, and eldest uncle Soros and his wife had three sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Douglas, was only fourteen years old and still a half-grown boy; the second son, Robin, and third son, Jackson, were eleven and eight years old respectively; and the youngest daughter, Sophia, was only five. Except for Douglas, Victor didn't really know the others, so this time he finally got to know them all.

During the meal, Victor shared a lot about his recent wartime experiences, listening to Douglas and his two brothers with glowing eyes. These half-grown noble children were most curious and yearning for such matters.

Viscount Roy and Soros also expressed their own views, and Victor agreed with them all. For a time, both host and guests enjoyed themselves immensely.

When the meal ended, the aunt left with the children, and Victor went to the study with his grandfather and two uncles.

"Victor, I received your father's letter earlier and already know the purpose of your trip this time. I don't have any major issues with it. You also know that the economic situation of the territory has not been good these past few years. You are going north to pioneer, and it stands to reason that I should help, but right now I can only provide you with troops, and you will have to be responsible for maintaining them."

"Grandfather, it's already great that you can lend me troops. We were already very short-handed. Having the elite cavalry of the Edelweiss Territory will greatly secure our pioneering efforts. We will also pay a hiring fee for each cavalryman: one gold coin per person per year. We are responsible for weapons and equipment, and you'll just have to trouble yourself with the warhorses. If there are combat losses, we will compensate at cost, and we will also pay compensation for fallen soldiers."

Soros looked at Viscount Roy with a joyful face, and Viscount Roy sighed. "How about this? The entire territory currently has over three hundred light cavalrymen and six hundred infantrymen. I estimate you don't lack infantry. I will directly arrange two hundred light cavalrymen for you, with two horses per person."

Hearing this, Victor was overjoyed. This is much better than my initial expectation. I thought getting one hundred on loan would be pretty good, but I didn't expect grandfather to directly lend two hundred cavalrymen. As for the annual rental fee of two hundred gold coins and daily maintenance costs, there were no problems at all. Even by the standard of the Golden Sunflower Territory, the total added up to only five hundred gold coins a year. Victor had long discussed this with his father: for the first three years, the Golden Sunflower Territory would give Victor fifteen hundred gold coins annually for pioneering, so five hundred gold coins was not an unaffordable burden.

"Thank you, grandfather. Tomorrow I will send someone to deliver the rental fee for the year."

"There's no rush for that," Viscount Roy waved his hand.

"Your fleet doesn't have enough transport capacity. How about this? The cavalry on my side will take the land route directly and won't go north with the fleet. Consider the material consumption on the road as my gift to you. I'll let Soros lead the team and go directly to Northwind City to find you. Since they are all cavalry, they will travel fast and won't be much slower than your fleet."

"Thank you, grandfather." It was indeed easiest to talk things over with family. If this had to go by water transport, there would be no way to guarantee the immigration progress before winter. Viscount Roy had solved a major problem for Victor.

"There's no need to say things like that. I also hope you can succeed smoothly this time. I estimate you will be promoted to viscount soon, and I don't know if I can live to see that day," Roy said with emotion.

"Rest assured, grandfather. Your health is so good, there will definitely be no problem," Victor comforted him.

"That's right, Father. With our help, and since Victor is so capable, it will surely only take a few years for him to be promoted to viscount," Soros also said.

"After that, you'll have to rely on yourself, Baron Victor—oh no, future Viscount Victor," Roy said with a smile.

After discussing the specific details with his grandfather and eldest uncle, Victor rested in the guest room, still pondering today's matters.

It went very smoothly. Counting Jack's squad plus the light cavalry squad brought by the fleet, once we reach the territory, I will directly have a cavalry force of three hundred, paired with four hundred infantrymen, which is enough to handle all kinds of situations. Thinking of this, Victor summoned Number 1.

"Number 1, how is the prosperity plan for the Edelweiss Territory coming along? Are there any suitable schemes?"

"Victor, after today's on-site survey, inspection, analysis, and calculation, we believe the focus of the plan should be placed on cashmere goat farming."

"You mean engaging in cashmere goat farming and processing using cashmere?"

"Yes. According to our observation, the cashmere goat breed in the Edelweiss Territory is very mature. The cashmere fibers produced are uniform in fineness, high in density, soft, and elastic, making them premium cashmere materials."

"This is indeed a good method, but doing so will require improving the cashmere processing technology. Fine, there's no rush for this. After the first stage of territory construction is completed, have the Calculation Module add a task to optimize cashmere textile technology, improve the machinery, and build it with the craftsmen in the Weaponry Workshop."

Once Victor figured this out, he began to rest.

Early the next morning, Victor toured the Edelweiss Territory with Soros and Ron.

Using the collected data, Victor generated a panel for the Edelweiss Territory.

Territory Data

Name: Edelweiss Territory

Population: 23,179

Area: 683,112 square kilometers

Towns: 1

Villages: 8 + 5 farms + 5 pastures

Military Scale: 1,000 (including 300 light cavalrymen, 500 pikemen, and 200 archers)

Public Sentiment: 43

Main Industries: Agriculture, animal husbandry

Annual Revenue: 1,400 gold coins

Annual Expenditure: 1,600 gold coins (living beyond its means, entirely reliant on relief from the Golden Sunflower Territory.)

Infrastructure:

Castle: A sturdy stone-built castle with defensive towers and a moat.

Farmland: Fertile land, mainly growing wheat, barley, and vegetables.

Pasture: Hillside grasslands raising cattle, sheep, and horses.

Dock: A very small inland river dock rarely passed by caravans.

Although this territory was much larger in area than the Golden Sunflower Territory before the territory swap, all its data fell short of the Golden Sunflower Territory. No wonder the Edelweiss Territory hardly sent any troops during this civil war.

After bidding farewell to Viscount Roy and Soros, Victor led the fleet to set off.

As the fleet quickly entered the boundaries of the Northlands, the number of ships on this tributary of the Blackwater River also increased.

After sailing for a day, the fleet arrived at Brook City, the administrative seat of Bria County. With one day remaining before rendezvousing with the other fleets, Victor took his people into the city to wander around. Bria County was the smallest of the three counties in the Northlands, but it was the earliest developed. The interior of Brook City was relatively prosperous, though it certainly could not compare to Blackwater City.

Following his usual routine, Victor went straight to the trading spot for miraculous plants to see if there were any miraculous plants that interested him.

After taking a simple stroll around, Victor picked two kinds of plants and bought a batch of seeds, which were respectively a type of beet seed and a type of alfalfa seed. Although these two kinds of plants did not have very special functions, this type of beet was very suitable for planting in the north and had a high yield. Sugar was extremely popular among northern people, but limited by processing technology, the quality of sugar made from beets was inferior to that of southern sugar cane. Therefore, Victor wanted to use the Calculation Module of the Beacon Lighthouse to upgrade the sugar-making technology, improving yield and quality so he could potentially run a profitable business. As for this alfalfa seed, it was even simpler: Victor planned to establish pastures after reaching the territory, and he urgently needed high-quality forage grass. This alfalfa was deeply favored by large livestock like cattle and horses, and it was also suitable for use as silage. Catching sight of this alfalfa reminded Victor of the matter of silage, and he directly established a calculation task, as this technology could be said to be very important for livestock farming in the northern grasslands.

Just as Victor was about to leave with satisfaction, he caught sight of a familiar logo at the entrance of a shop—it was precisely the Gorn Trading Company he had encountered before in Blackwater City.

I didn't expect this trading company to move so fast, already expanding its business in the Northlands in such a short time. Victor felt quite curious in his heart and walked into the shop.

Unexpectedly, upon entering the shop, he saw a familiar figure: none other than that ball person, the court noble Vitri Greenleaf of the Raine Kingdom.

Dilit also saw Victor, immediately smiling and stepping forward quickly.

"I was wondering why magpies kept chattering at the shop entrance today. So it turns out a distinguished guest has arrived. Lord Victor—oh no, you should be Baron Victor now. Long time no see." Dilit smiled and bowed to Victor.

"President Vitri, long time no see. The Gorn Trading Company is indeed extraordinarily capable; I didn't expect you to be able to gather the news of my becoming a baron," Victor said with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course. The Sunflower Baronage enjoys quite a reputation throughout the Grand Duchy of Vera, and its strength is little short of some viscountcies. For powerful nobles like you, our trading company has always paid close attention. After all, the most important thing in business is being well-informed," Vitri said with a smile.