Return and Letters
After Victor and Number One finalized the iron ore mining plan, they stopped paying attention to it, since the main character hadn't returned.
For the next period of time, Victor continued his daily work, overseeing the progress of various projects in the territory.
On October 18, the last transport fleet arrived at the dock in Wood Fort Town. Victor was also there, partly to send letters back to Boler County, and partly to receive personnel and important supplies.
This time, the fleet brought many supplies from a list provided by Victor, which basically covered the most important directions for the future development of the territory. The fleet was more than twice the size this time, and James also returned with it.
After disembarking, James went directly to Victor and reported to Victor with the courtesy due to a vassal.
"Lord Victor, James Blue Rose sends his greetings. From now on, Green Valley Territory will obey your orders without question and with all his might."
"James, what's going on here?"
"Victor, if it weren't for your help, I don't know how long it would have taken me to become a baron. Green Valley Territory will become a vassal state of Two Rivers Territory. This is my idea, and it is also the idea of my father, Viscount Ronald. Please do not refuse."
Seeing that James was unmoved and refused to get up no matter what, Victor had no choice but to give in.
"What exactly happened, James?"
"After I returned to Boler County, I discussed future plans with my father, Viscount Ronald. We believed that the development direction of Green Valley Territory was closely related to that of Two Rivers Territory, and there was no need to start from scratch. We just needed to follow the arrangements of Two Rivers Territory."
James continued, "After I became a baron, my father kept his promise. He agreed to provide me with 5,000 farmers and herdsmen, and also transferred 400 professional soldiers from the territory as the direct force of my territory."
"That's great news, congratulations."
"Victor, I've gained a lot of face among my family by becoming a baron. No one calls me the second son anymore; everyone calls me Baron James." James paused. "Victor, you can arrange everything for me, just as I promised you before. All the work in Green Valley Territory will be decided by Two Rivers Territory, and I will have no complaints." James emphasized.
"Well then, James, I have a very important task for Green Valley Territory. It may be difficult, but I believe you can handle it."
After finishing his explanation, Victor told James about the existence of the iron ore mine and the mining plan. He thought James would need some time to accept it, but to his surprise, James agreed to all the terms immediately.
"James, aren't you afraid I'll set a trap for your territory?" Victor was also curious; James's composure suggested he might have prior knowledge of the situation.
"There's no need. The existence of the iron ore is exactly what I want. I didn't really know how to manage the territory, so I'd be more than happy if you could help me decide on a development direction."
Victor didn't waste any words and went straight to confirm the next steps with James.
James had no objection to the Green Valley Territory that Victor had allocated to him. However, Victor also considered that the 5,000 serfs in the Green Valley Territory might not arrive until next year. In addition, James's manpower was limited, so Victor initially designed the mining labor force for the iron ore mine to be Barbarians slaves.
Victor has already sent word to the two chiefs of the Horseshoe Tribe that they will spend the entire winter conducting caravan trade on the grasslands, using the goods provided to them by the Two Rivers Territory to explore the surrounding Barbarian Tribes.
Victor plans to wait until next spring, based on the intelligence gathered by the Horseshoe Tribe, to directly organize an army to sweep and clean up the surrounding Barbarian Tribes, capture a large number of Barbarians slaves, and directly use Barbarians slaves as the main force for mining.
James had no objection to this; on the contrary, he was happy to command the sweeping force. As he said, the future of Green Valley Territory was entirely up to Victor.
The arrival of this fleet not only brought Victor scarce supplies, but also a letter from Victor's father, Wembley.
In the letter, Wembley expressed his pride in Victor's promotion to viscount, but also his concern about Victor's actions. Wembley hoped that Victor would act within his capabilities and not be too radical.
Victor understood that Wembley was worried about him. Old Baron Wembley had adjusted the fleet's supplies. Wembley had guessed that Victor would be short of iron, so this time the fleet brought 200 tons of iron directly. At the same time, they also prepared 2,000 tons of wheat for Victor, which Wembley had specially collected from two branches. He guessed that there might be a shortage of staple food in the Two Rivers Territory, so he directly purchased a batch from Sunflower Territory and Silver Sunflower Territory to fill the gap for Victor. Another 6,000 tons will be sent next year.
In the following days, Victor took James back to the iron ore mine and explained the entire mining plan to James on-site, including the site selection of the entire mine working face and the transportation method. James was also surprised by the huge project of the entire mine. He thought it was a simple ore mining, but he did not expect that there was so much knowledge involved.
Victor also promised James that although the future development of the entire Green Valley Territory would revolve around this iron mine, the Two Rivers Territory would help Green Valley Territory establish a normal territory production system to ensure that Green Valley Territory could achieve self-sufficiency in food and basic materials. The Two Rivers Territory would also purchase all the iron ore from Green Valley Territory at market prices and would never let James suffer a loss.
James had nothing to say. He proposed that he lead the sweep of the Barbarian Tribes next spring, which he considered his duty, Victor had no objection.
After finishing his communication with James, Victor simply moved into the Steelworks. The 200 tons of materials delivered by the territory fleet had been arranged by Victor to be smelted in the Martin furnace. The first batch of steel was produced on October 28th and will be used as building materials for future rail construction.
To better complete the production of the mine tracks, Victor personally went to the Steelworks to adjust the formula and optimize the production process. With a stable source of iron ore, the Steelworks will become an important source of revenue for the territory in the future.
Victor also knew that with the expansion of the entire territory, the territory's goods would definitely face various kinds of competition in the future. However, the victory in this battle naturally made the governor value Victor. With the endorsement of Iron Birch Territory, the future trade of Two Rivers Territory would definitely be much smoother.
The reason Victor was so eager to get James involved in the preliminary work for the mine was to ensure that this work could begin as soon as possible after winter ended, so that mining could start as soon as possible.