Suleiman turned his head, glanced at Bana, Evelyn, Lushen and Roslyn, and spoke slowly, his voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly:
"We now have Gold Dragon, we have soldiers, but we don't have a stomach."
"Warrior, no matter how courageous you are, it is useless without armor."
"Tell me, where can I get iron? A lot of it."
Financial officer Beggar Bana was the first to stand up and speak. He was a businessman before going bankrupt and becoming Beggar. He waved his hand,
As if holding a sparkling Gold Dragon in his hand. "Sir, we have Gold Dragon!"
"We can send people to King's Landing, to Lannisport of the Westerlands, or even across the Narrow Sea, to Pentos, to Myr! As long as the price is right, I don't believe we can't buy iron ore and armor!"
His proposal sounded heroic, and using Gold Dragon to open the way seemed to be successful.
But Suleiman shook his head. The cost was too high. He stood up, walked to the Westeros map hanging on the wall, and pointed at the location of the map with his finger. "Bana, your idea is good, but you ignore the most important thing."
"Seven Kingdoms, all large iron mines are firmly in the hands of the major lords, and they are also strategic resources."
"Transportation, iron ore is very heavy. To transport it to us, the tolls, transportation team and escort costs alone are enough to increase the cost several times. Moreover, they will definitely take the opportunity to raise the price. This transaction is not worthwhile."
"As for buying from the other side of the Narrow Sea, it takes too long and the risk is too high. Our fleet may encounter pirates or storms. It may be half a year or even a year before the iron ore is shipped back."
"I do have money, but I can't spend it like this."
Bana sat down silently and did not refute.
Lushen rubbed his hair violently, his eyes widened, as if he had discovered something huge. He slammed the table with a loud noise, stood up and faced Suleiman and said, "Master Suleiman! Let's go grab it!"
"High Mountains! There are damn bandits and Wildlings everywhere! There must be weapons and armor in their camp! We send troops to clear them out! Take off all their weapons and armor! Melt them! Isn't there iron?"
This proposal was full of simple and crude logic, and was immediately approved by Roslyn.
Suleiman motioned to Evelyn to explain that it was not practical to resmelt scrap metal. He did have to deal with the bandits on Riverlands's side in the High Mountains, but they were not iron tools. A large part of Westeros's bandits were because they violated the lord's laws and high taxes and could not survive, so they turned into bandits.
He has basically understood the situation. The bandits on the High Mountains side of his territory were all forced by House Terry to survive and fled into the High Mountains. Many of their family members and even the citizens living on his own land now, the most important thing is that these are the population, and he must conquer them.
Seeing Suleiman's signal, Evelyn stood up and said, "If scrap copper and iron are re-smelted and purified, the loss will be astonishing.
We may have been busy for a long time and cleared out several camps, but the pure iron we got in the end was not enough to make three good swords. For this small amount of inferior iron, we went to war and took risks, and the gains outweighed the losses."
Lushen's face turned red and he sat down like Bana the Beggar.
Council Chamber fell into silence again. It would not work to buy, and it would not be cost-effective to rob. It seemed that all roads were blocked.
Evelyn walked to the map. She did not look at the bustling cities or ports, but drew her hand to the endless mountains on the map:
"Sir, the most reliable source is always the land beneath our feet. We must be self-sufficient."
"According to my inference, there must be mineral spots in the High Mountains. The most important thing is that Wildlings has escaped into the mountains on the side of Vale. As long as the bandits are cleared, we can send people to prospect for the minerals."
"It's just that... Vale and Riverlands have unclear legal principles in the bright moon High Mountains. House Belmore of Strong Song cannot rule the High Mountains mountain range due to the existence of Mountain Clans, but he claims that the High Mountains mountain range belongs to him."
Suleiman looked at Evelyn. This woman has won my heart. I must be self-sufficient and must not rely on others. Everyone looked at Suleiman, waiting for his final decision.
He walked up to the Black Lion plate armor, tapped the cold breastplate with his fingers, and turned his head. "What you said! I will do it! We walk on two legs!"
Everyone was puzzled.
"We destroyed the bandits hiding in the High Mountains so that the prospecting team can prospect safely."
"Bana, take people with you immediately, take Gold Dragon to the land around us, go to Seaguard, we don't buy iron ore, we buy scrap iron at a high price."
"Scrap metal?" Bana was stunned for a moment.
"Yes." Suleiman affirmed, "On the battlefield with Ironborn, all the damaged armor and broken weapons on the battlefield were purchased."
"I need to arm a team first and go into the mountains to suppress bandits. If we don't have good equipment, it will cause a lot of unnecessary sacrifices."
"In addition!" Suleiman looked at Lushen and Roslyn. You go to the four Military Town and summon the affairs officer to Lion's Den to see me.
"I want to know how many families have someone who is a robber in the High Mountains."
"Send people to the four Military Towns to see how well they are doing with their population statistics and how well Three-Chief System is being implemented. It's time to test the effectiveness of their work!"
Council Chamber's stone wall echoes to see Suleiman's final decision.
Bana was the first to stand up and salute. "I will lead the people out right away! Master Suleiman!"
Lushen and Roslyn looked at each other and bowed to Suleiman at the same time. "Master Suleiman, we are leaving immediately."
No one raised any objections or questions, and the court officials began to operate at high speed under the will of Suleiman.
Two days later, four Military Fort affairs officers were brought into Council Chamber, the deepest part of Lion's Den, by Lushen and Roslyn.
They had never set foot here, and the majesty and coldness inside the mountain made them feel dizzy and breathless.
The four of them were wearing the best linen clothes, but they still couldn't hide the dust on their bodies and the embarrassment in their hearts. Before that, they were civilians who were directly promoted by Suleiman because they could read. They felt that they would let Master Suleiman down.
They stood in front of the long table tremblingly, not even daring to raise their heads to look at the young lord sitting on the main seat.
"Raise your heads! My secretaries!" Suleiman's voice was very calm, but like a stone thrown into a deep pool, it stirred up huge waves in the hearts of the four people. They raised their heads stiffly and met Suleiman's eyes.
Suleiman spoke slowly and glanced at their nervous faces one by one, "You have been my affairs officer for a long time, and you should have a general understanding of the affairs you are responsible for."
"As an affairs officer, the most important job is to understand the situation of the people in Military Fort and mediate the conflicts between the people."
"So, you all should know better than me about the situation of each of you Military Fort. This is my first time to test you."
"Now, I want to know the total population and adult males in our territory."
"How many family men are working as bandits in the mountains outside."