At the harbor, many people were struggling to make a living, mostly young men and elderly people.
One man was collecting ship insurance payments. Anyone who needed to gamble on a long voyage would seek out these people to accept their payments. If word of their death arrived, their families could use the contract to receive several times the amount paid.
It was essentially a form of insurance, though some people intent on dying also came forward to pay for ship insurance. It was the most primitive form of the insurance industry.
The people of this era were ignorant, and they had no right to safeguard their own lives. On a noble's estate, the lives of ordinary commoners were worth next to nothing.
Lords possessed almost insane levels of power, controlling the lives of most people within their domains.
Su Qin sat in a carriage, followed by four of the more capable militiamen. They had belonged to the army disbanded by Fett, the former Baron of Gulltown.
In fact, several dozen of the one hundred newly recruited men had served the former lord. They had not left with Fett.
Su Qin had them do the same as everyone else: when they went home at the end of the month, they took not only their pay of three silver coins but also one unit of grain each. This had successfully won them over. One unit of grain was worth 1.5 silver coins, and they appreciated it greatly.
In truth, the new lord was not cruel, and the people of his domain gradually grew accustomed to this eastern lord's presence. After all, he really had little effect on their lives, and they enjoyed the benefit of tax exemption.
In fact, the militia's loyalty was quite good, all around seventy. This meant the soldiers would not betray him easily; substantial rewards would be needed to make them betray him willingly.
Su Qin could indeed use some of the system's minor features, such as checking loyalty. It was practically a bug. He could distinguish friend from foe very easily, but he had yet to encounter anyone for whom the system said he needed to "pay a fee" to investigate.
Su Qin had also checked some of the serfs on the estate. Many had very low loyalty scores, some even negative.
Su Qin understood them too. Perhaps they naturally hated nobles!
Still, he gave each of them several units of grain, returned their contracts, and expelled them from the estate.
Su Qin could pity them, but he would not leave any threatening factors on the estate. Everyone on the estate had to have loyalty above seventy, and everyone in the castle had to be above eighty. These were the most basic requirements.
With the soldiers beside the carriage, Su Qin sat inside as they slowly headed south.
They held wooden-shafted spears, whose silvery heads gleamed in the sunlight. Suddenly, the carriage stopped.
"My lord, we've reached the docks," a soldier reminded him.
Su Qin lowered the carriage curtain, withdrew his gaze from the outside world, and slowly stepped out of the carriage before jumping down.
He looked back at the elderly driver. "You drive well!" Still, Su Qin decided to find an opportunity to build a carriage for his personal use.
The driver waved his whip and smiled. "My lord, my family has driven carriages for three generations!"
Hearing this, Su Qin nodded, fumbled inside his lord's robe, and slowly walked over to the old driver. He took out ten copper coins. "Is this enough, driver?"
The old driver's eyes widened. He had never intended to charge Su Qin a fare. How could he have known the lord would be so generous? Ten copper coins-that was two jin of grain!
He hesitated, looked at Su Qin, and said, "My lord, I can't accept this."
Seeing the longing yet frightened look in his eyes as he stared at the silver coins, Su Qin reached out, drew his left hand over, and placed the copper coins in it. Then he smiled. "Driver, I hope I run into you the next time I go out!"
With that, he turned and waved behind him, swept his gaze around, and said, "Guards, follow me!" Then the five of them headed toward the busy docks.
The driver watched Su Qin's retreating figure for a while, then tucked the copper coins safely into his clothes. He decided that whenever he had nothing to do, he would wander around North Street.
At the docks, three large ships lay close against three berths. They were dozens of meters long and over ten meters high! Chains connected the ships to stone pillars onshore, and four anchors at the bows and sterns lay in the water.
Groups of workers were carrying pieces of redwood over ten meters long aboard, one after another.
In fact, these ships had been designed specifically to transport timber, with special ballast and cargo-hold arrangements inside. In a sense, the people of this era had found ingenious ways to keep cargo ships from sinking under excessive weight.
This was their ingenuity. Several merchants supervising the laborers spotted Su Qin's party from afar. Once Su Qin drew near, they immediately approached with their assistants. They were the owners of these three ships.
Accompanied by his militia guards, Su Qin stopped at a suitable spot and watched them approach. This was necessary!
The leading merchant saw Su Qin extend his hand for a handshake, so he walked over and extended his own.
Then they began sizing one another up. Merchants were among those most sensitive to changes in the lordship of the regions where they traded, and they had already gathered some information about Su Qin.
After a brief handshake, the leading merchant immediately spoke. "Honored lord, it is our privilege to meet you here!"
Su Qin nodded and began asking questions. "May I ask your names and where the three of you come from?"
The merchants answered immediately. The lord had actually addressed them politely.
The leading merchant immediately answered, followed by the others:
"My lord, my name is Banli!"
"My name is Kuyang!"
"My name is Matt!"
Su Qin nodded. Suddenly, Kuyang, who stood behind their leader Banli, began coughing violently. "Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough..."
The servant behind him immediately handed him a woolen handkerchief. When the coughing stopped and he lowered it, there was actually blood on it!
Banli immediately realized something and shot Kuyang several glares. Kuyang understood at once and withdrew into the distance with his people.
Su Qin silently watched Kuyang in the distance and asked Banli, "Does he have some kind of illness?"
Banli gave an awkward smile. "A few years ago, we ran into a storm while transporting goods in Blackwater Bay. Unfortunately, he fell into the sea. The sea god blessed us, and we found him on a nearby island."
"Afterward, he began coughing, and his health grew worse and worse. Now it's become even more serious."
"Oh, my lord, we come from Featherwood, in the royal domain. We're responsible for transporting Runestone redwood for a lord!"
Banli tried to steer the conversation back. Su Qin withdrew his thoughtful gaze from Kuyang, his eyes flickering.
He smiled. "Featherwood? Then have you ever met any easterners? Would a lord who looks like me be rejected by the people of the Crownlands?"
Hearing this, Banli thought for a moment, then smiled. "My lord, you are the Earl's vassal. King's Landing has no authority over you! Besides, you speak the tongue of Westeros, don't you?" He had understood Su Qin's meaning: Su Qin was asking whether the king rejected outsiders.
Su Qin laughed. "I'd like to hear your suggestions and opinions about Gulltown's harbor. Banli, would you be interested in talking with me at the dockside tavern?" Banli naturally agreed.
Inside the tavern, Su Qin had the proprietor open a small private compartment for them and began drinking with Banli. The guards stood watch around them as Su Qin slowly turned to the matter at hand.
"Banli, what do you think of the harbor?"
Banli took a sip of wine, thought for a moment, and said, "My lord, I think the docks are too chaotic!"
"Chaotic?"
Su Qin thought for a moment. "In what way?"
Banli smiled and pondered for quite a while. "My lord, merchant ships and fishing boats berth wherever they please. The fish houses of Gulltown's fishermen are mixed in with all sorts of shops and inns. Add the refugees gathering at the docks looking for work, and the filth and rubbish everywhere on the ground-isn't that chaotic enough?"
"My lord, look at the layout of the buildings outside. As the second-largest harbor in the southern Kingdom of the Vale, isn't Gulltown's harbor chaotic enough?"
"As far as I know, refugees die unnatural deaths at the harbor every day. If we merchants went out without a few guards, we'd probably be robbed of everything. My lord, isn't that chaotic enough?"
Banli took a sip of wine, then continued, "My lord, I've heard something of your deeds when you first arrived. I greatly admire your prowess, and the workers have told me about you."
"That is precisely why, since you asked, I wanted to speak to you about this."
Su Qin stared intently at the harbor outside the window. After listening, he slowly nodded. "Mr. Banli, thank you very much for telling me all this. I'll gradually find ways to resolve it..."
Banli smiled. Looking at the somewhat melancholy Su Qin, he thought for a moment and said, "My lord, here's an interesting piece of news. Prince Rhaegar of King's Landing is about to become engaged to Princess Elia Martell of the Kingdom of Dorne." Su Qin immediately seized on that information. Rhaegar Targaryen was getting engaged!
He did not know the exact timeline of the plot, but he remembered the key figures, so he immediately pressed, "Mr. Banli, when is the engagement?"
Banli answered immediately. He realized that Su Qin seemed very interested in this?
There was nothing wrong with being interested. Who wouldn't care about the marriage of Rhaegar Targaryen, the most handsome man in Westeros? Every noble cared!
"In six months, my lord, in November. There will be a knights' tournament then, and all the great nobles of Westeros will attend!"
Recalling the story of Su Qin taking on more than forty men alone, Banli added, "I hope to see you there in King's Landing, my lord!"
Su Qin smiled. "Let's drink, Banli. I was truly fortunate to meet you today. I'll definitely go!" Afterward, the two began drinking and continued discussing various happenings in Featherwood and King's Landing. This was very important to Su Qin.
Su Qin did not yet have intelligence agents whose reach extended to King's Landing, let alone the more distant Casterly Rock or Dorne!
Before leaving, Su Qin gave Kuyang, who kept coughing, a capsule as a gift!
He said taking it might ease his symptoms!
Half doubtful, Kuyang accepted the capsule!