Arrival at Sunset City
Victor stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the receding Blackwater City, a sense of indescribable loss welling up inside him.
Since conquering Blackwater City, it has become a jewel in his business empire. As one of the few major cities in the entire Grand Duchy, Blackwater City has brought Victor endless wealth.
During the Civil War, Victor led his army to successfully capture this fertile and rich land at a relatively small cost.
Under his rule, the smoke of war gradually dissipated, and commerce and trade, which had stagnated due to the war, were revitalized.
Victor amassed a fortune from these revived commercial activities alone, and through trade fairs organized by large merchant guilds, he also found a channel to sell the vast spoils of war acquired by the Southern Marching Legion during the Civil War.
Meanwhile, the noble territories whose trade routes had been disrupted by the war now had markets where they could sell their specialties.
Victor, acting as a middleman who could push their mountain of surplus goods to market, along with the efforts of his newly recruited subordinate Gaita, amassed a great deal of wealth and scarce resources for the territory.
At this very moment, the massive fleet beneath his feet was returning laden with spoils: it carried not only countless essential supplies desperately needed by the Two Rivers Region, with a total value of tens of thousands of gold coins, but also a batch of invaluable trophies and a considerable amount of gold treasure.
These substantial fortunes were of great significance to Victor, serving as a powerful support for further consolidating his position and expanding his territorial influence.
These supplies not only contained many precious and rare items, but even more surprisingly, they included some treasures that Victor had been searching for for a long time but had never found—a mysterious substance similar to rubber from his previous life!
It turns out that this batch of supplies was provided by a multinational chamber of commerce called "East Sea Alliance". They brought a unique plant that looks very similar to the Eucommia ulmoides tree from my previous life, but it actually has its own unique name: Softbark Tree.
The bark of this tree has a leather-like suppleness, so it is often sold as a medicinal material and widely used to treat serious injuries such as fractures, supposedly promoting rapid wound healing and physical recovery.
When the Medical Department of the Southern Marching Legion learned of this, they immediately became very interested in the Softbark Tree and decided to purchase a portion for contingency purposes.
However, during a chance research experiment, military medic Isaac unexpectedly noticed that the resin secreted by this plant seemed to have some similarity to the object that Victor had been searching for.
Therefore, he reported this important clue to Victor without hesitation.
After obtaining this plant, Victor treasured it. After in-depth and meticulous research and analysis, he finally succeeded in confirming his guess—it is indeed possible to extract a considerable amount of high-quality resin from the roots, stems and leaves of the Softbark Tree!
After a long period of careful observation and research by Victor and Number One, they concluded that this resin was perfect from every angle—its properties not only far surpassed those of the Gutta-Percha they remembered, but it was also an excellent insulating material!
Previously, how to manufacture cables suitable for underwater environments had been a major headache for Victor and Veronica; but now, with the advent of this miraculous resin, all difficulties have been solved! Even more surprisingly, its production volume is far higher than in the previous life!
Although Victor currently lacks sufficient experimental facilities to accurately determine the exact resin yield of this tree species, the fact that such a simple operation as making a small incision on the trunk yields an astonishing amount of resin speaks volumes. Furthermore, some tender branches and stems spring back to their original shape with just a slight bend...
Taking all factors into account, even using the most cautious and conservative estimation method, Victor still firmly believes that the gum content of this tree is at least twice that of similar products from his previous life!
That means it can be maintained within the range of approximately 25% to 30%.
Faced with such an unbelievable yet real fact, Victor was once again overwhelmed with an indescribable sense of awe—he was deeply impressed by the world before him, a world full of endless mysteries and extraordinary wonders!
Victor not only bought all the saplings and finished products from the merchant's house, but also placed an additional order for a huge sum of five thousand gold coins! His purpose was to have the merchant send another batch of saplings and finished products next year.
It turned out that Victor had already planned to buy up these things in large quantities and transport them back to his territory of the Two Rivers Territory and the Golden Sunflower Territory for cultivation.
It is worth mentioning that this plant, called the "Softbark Tree," has an extremely strong ability to withstand cold, so it can fully adapt to the cold and harsh climate of the north and thrive—thus, it has a profound and significant meaning!
Of course, the benefits Victor gained from this operation went far beyond that; in fact, besides the Softbark Tree mentioned above, he also acquired many other crucial resources... In short, it was a truly fruitful trip!
After the fleet left Blackwater City, Victor sailed downstream. Only when passing through Boler County did a detachment of the fleet enter a tributary of the Blackwater River in Boler County, from where the detachment would head towards Golden Sunflower Territory.
In addition to transporting some supplies to Golden Sunflower Territory, the troops conscripted in Golden Sunflower Territory will also return to Golden Sunflower Territory with the fleet under the leadership of Foss Regiment to spend the winter.
Victor did not accompany them this time; he only entrusted a letter to Foss to deliver to Steward Boon, instructing him to prepare for receiving a large number of immigrants next year.
During this promotion ceremony, Victor also brought along the main officers of the legion. All the Regimental Commander of the Southern Marching Legion were granted noble titles. James, who was already a baron, was even promoted to viscount, while Ron, Santos, Marvin, and Foss were all promoted to barons.
Victor, as their lord, plans to place their territories near the Two Rivers Territory as a protective perimeter. Victor also plans to confer the title of knighthood upon the deputy Regimental Commander and some outstanding civil officials of the territories, with each person possessing a fiefdom of at least 10 square kilometers and a population of over 500.
Of the 500,000 immigrants Victor will acquire in the future, Victor plans to allocate 100,000 to his subordinates for managing their territories.
Having gained unlimited expansion rights, Victor already had a plan for expanding the territory of Two Rivers Territory. With his promotion to Marquis, he now had even greater authority and could formally establish his own vassal system.
So when he had nothing to do on the ship, besides handling official documents, Victor would plan on the map of the Northlands Two Rivers Territory, how to plan for the next step of territorial expansion and how to divide up territories for his subordinates.
One day, Victor was working in the cabin when he suddenly heard Blox's voice outside the door.
"My lord, we've arrived at Sunset City!"
Victor got up and walked out of the cabin. As soon as he reached the deck, he could see Sunset City not far away. The huge city was located on the alluvial delta at the mouth of the Blackwater River.
The buildings in the city, mainly made of gray stone, were indeed incredibly beautiful under the setting sun.
It was already evening, Victor happened to have business to attend to in Sunset City. The fleet could also rest here for a day or two, replenish their food and water supplies, and then set off north to return to the Northlands before winter.
Thus, Victor led a squad of guards and left the fleet alone in a small boat. When he was about to reach the shore, he found that someone was already waiting at the dock.
A squad of soldiers dressed in armor bearing the emblem of Great Oak Crest stood in formation on the pier; the surrounding docks were deserted, and there was no one else in sight.
As soon as Victor landed, someone came to greet him. It Knight Yellen, who had returned to the Great Oak Territory ahead of time without attending the promotion ceremony.
Knight Yellen immediately ordered the soldiers to form two lines to welcome Victor, while making way for him.
"My Marquis, welcome to Sunset City!"
Victor looked at the commotion Yellen had made and felt a headache coming on. "Yellen, you've gone bad too!"
"Oh, and here's your letter of appointment. Congratulations! From today onwards, you are a Viscount!"
After speaking, Victor handed over a wooden box that had been prepared beforehand, inside which was Yellen's viscount certificate and a map of the territory.
Yellen accepted the wooden box, somewhat ashamed. "Thank you, Your Excellency Marquis, but I truly feel unworthy of this honor, as these military achievements clearly belong to the Great Oak Family..."
Victor interrupted him, "This was agreed upon by the Old Count and me beforehand, it belongs to you, don't think too much about it!"
Just keep it safe. Besides, your territory is located in Suffolk County, which will make it convenient for you to continue guarding Great Oak Territory!
You should consider getting a coat of arms for your family so you can report it to the Kingdom's Heraldry. The location will remain the same.
"Alright, Yellen, you should take me into town now. I still have a letter of appointment to give to Magnus, and I also brought a gift for Brando. Don't waste any more time!"
"Yes!" Yellen smiled wryly as she put away the wooden box and then led the way for Victor.