Chapter 178: Finally, the Time Has Come. (1)
While the knights were focused on training, the reinforcement work for the hot air balloon was also completed.
Galbarik, who had once been humbled, pounded his chest and boasted, “The reinforcement is definitely finished! This time, there won’t be any accidents! As long as we don’t get attacked or have any idiots pulling strange stunts!”
Indeed, the dwarves had put their pride into it, and the reinforced hot air balloon completed its flight safely.
But the dwarves were responsible for more than just the hot air balloon.
Ghislaine immediately started checking on the other things. “What about the under armor made from Blood Python? You said that was urgent too.”
“That’s all done. Cutting it was such a pain that even the mages had a tough time.”
The dwarves, along with the mages, had created outfits from the Blood Python leather that covered critical areas like the neck, chest, arms, and legs.
With limited materials, they focused on covering vital points rather than making full-body suits, so wearing it under armor would likely keep most soldiers alive.
The leather of the Blood Python is incredibly tough to cut without using mana.
“Of course, it’s the dwarves. The armor for the knights must be finished, right?”
“We’ve filled in the missing quantities. That was actually the easiest part.”
Galbarik’s words dripped with heartfelt sincerity.
Making armor was indeed the easiest task, as it was the thing they had done the most. It simply required repairing existing armor or filling in the missing quantities.
Ghislaine nodded. Basic weapons and armor for the knights had been completed.
But that didn’t mean all preparations were finished.
“Now that we know how to reinforce the hot air balloon, we need to produce more. We never know when the enemies will invade. We need to make them as quickly as possible.”
The dwarves had arrived late, and due to a shortage of materials, they had already started later than Ghislaine originally planned.
Reinforcing the hot air balloon had eaten up even more time.
Schedules are ultimately something done by people, so it’s not easy to get them perfectly aligned.
Even though Ghislaine purposefully set a tight schedule considering such things, he wasn’t pleased with the current situation, especially since he was always pressed for time.
But Galbarik felt the same way about the schedule.
“Come on, we’ve created an extraordinary device, can’t we take a break? There’s so much work that we’re practically dying here! If this keeps up, we’ll go on strike! Protect the workers’ right to rest! Guarantee it!”
“No way. I’ve told you several times that there’s no time. But if we manage to stick to this schedule, I’ll give you a vacation.”
“A vacation? Are you serious?”
Galbarik’s eyes lit up at the mention of a vacation.
Hearing about a vacation while he was so busy he couldn’t even sleep made his heart race.
For someone who was not just of low status but was truly working like a slave, a vacation was an irresistible temptation he couldn’t refuse.
To him, vacation was an irresistible temptation that could never be turned down.
“How much are you thinking of giving?”
“I’ll give you a week. It’s not common to get a week off in our territory.”
Galbarik immediately jumped into negotiations.
“Give me a month!”
Honestly, it was true that the dwarves were doing the most work and taking on all the important tasks, so Ghislaine nodded readily.
“Fine, I’ll give you two weeks.”
“It has to be three weeks!”
“I’ll give you one week.”
“Why is it going down again?”
Typically, wouldn’t you give more than two weeks, even if you didn’t agree to three?
Seeing Galbarik flustered by this unfamiliar negotiation tactic, Ghislaine casually tossed out an idea.
“How about just three days? More is better if you don’t take a break.”
“……I’ll take one week.”
Galbarik’s tone became polite again.
It was a relief to at least get a promise for a week. However, he couldn’t hold back his tears.
“I should have just taken the two weeks when I had the chance.”
Still, taking a week off might help him catch his breath. That is, if the amount of work didn’t increase from now on.
Using the vacation as an excuse, Galbarik hastily ran away before he was given more work. He had completely figured out Ghislaine.
When Galbarik left, Ghislaine reviewed the achievements he had made during this time.
After returning to the territory, he had been moving frantically, preparing many things.
Immigrants had flowed in, expanding the residences, workshops, and farmland. Other facilities were also rapidly increasing.
After the dwarves arrived, the variety of equipment and tools had multiplied quickly.
The knight training was also proceeding smoothly.
It would have been impossible without Ghislaine using his future knowledge to accumulate wealth and without people working hard enough to work themselves to the bone.
Thanks to everyone coming together, the development speed of an ordinary territory had surpassed expectations multiple times.
But was this enough?
Ghislaine shook his head.
“It’s insufficient.”
If it had been another territory, they would have enjoyed the progress with a joyful heart.
But for Ghislaine, who had a powerful enemy to fight, such thoughts were a luxury.
Even now, Ghislaine’s wealth was rapidly depleting, while the taxes collected were almost nonexistent.
The only product that could be called a product of Penris Territory was cosmetics. Most of what was produced in the workshop was war supplies, and they were buying food instead of selling it.
The number of novice knights had increased drastically, but that meant their entire military force was composed of just one knight order.
They couldn’t even be compared to the great lords with thousands or tens of thousands of troops.
That’s why Ghislaine couldn’t afford to rest.
“There absolutely must not be any mistakes. I have to minimize the damage.”
Currently, Penris Territory was pursuing extreme development, and it was certain that a single misstep would lead to a collapse.
As Claude had said, this precarious state couldn’t be called a proper territory.
Thus, winning this war was extremely important.
It was perfect victory or perfect defeat.
Only those two options.
To win while lacking adequate military power, they had to carry out dangerous operations that the enemy wouldn’t predict.
“The preparations are nearly complete. The time to fight will come soon.”
Gathering his thoughts, Ghislaine stepped outside and looked up at the sky.
“It’s getting hotter.”
Even now, everyone hadn’t noticed yet. The north was originally known for its capricious weather.
But having experienced the future, Ghislaine knew very well what the current weather changes meant.
Feeling that the time was close, Ghislaine summoned his retainers and issued a new order.
“Stop all the ongoing construction for the time being.”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
When it was time to rush because there was no time, telling them to stop construction now was puzzling.
Rather than feeling good about not having to work, they were more afraid of what kind of accident might happen next.
Instead of feeling good, a sense of dread loomed over me, thinking about what trouble I might cause next.
Claude cautiously asked in a frightened tone.
“Stop construction all of a sudden? We need to speed up the residential work to accommodate the next immigrants.”
“It’s not like we’re quitting altogether. The dwarves will focus on hot air balloon production, while everyone else will be assigned to work on the waterways, reservoir construction, and expanding the reservoirs.”
Claude and the retainers tilted their heads in confusion.
Waterways and reservoirs are essential facilities for agriculture, and Ghislaine had emphasized them several times in the past, so they were always the first tasks tackled when working on new farmland.
The current waterways and reservoirs were well-maintained enough to handle the existing production capacity without the need for further expansion.
Claude, who had a firm grasp of the territory’s work status, asked again.
“We’re already prepared with enough reserves for any potential disaster. Not just here, but there’s water stored in the communal reservoirs of each town as well.”
At this, Ghislaine shook his head.
He knew something might happen in the future, but he hadn’t personally confirmed the situation here in his past life.
He had only seen it through records.
Any event not personally experienced should be prepared for even greater than what the records predict.
“Having extra won’t hurt, right? We’ve already laid the groundwork, so expanding it shouldn’t be difficult. Imagine pulling from all the surrounding rivers to get it done. I’ll also provide funds and labor support to Perdium, so tell them to make a few more.”
Hearing this, Claude nodded a few times and stepped back.
Managing water is one of the lord’s important duties. In harsh areas like the North, its importance increases.
Doing too much wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Ghislaine then asked Claude.
“How’s the food situation? Are we still buying it?”
Claude made an openly exasperated face at this question.
That food talk came up every meeting. Just hearing the word “food” made him feel nauseous.
“The storage is about to burst, so we’re expanding continuously. There’s so much food lying around that even the stray dogs and cats in the neighborhood have gotten pudgy. By the end of this harvest, the lord will be hailed as the food king of the North.”
The territory residents had gone from starving to being well-fed, so their morale was up, and praising the lord was only natural.
But for Claude, things couldn’t just be left as they were. Too much money was being spent on food purchases. It had reached the point of being painful.
At first, Claude just let it slide. A lot of food was necessary for defense preparations.
But now, there was too much. Quantity-wise, the stock could last over ten years inside the castle. But it would all rot before that happened.
Even if the retainers advised him several times, Ghislaine wasn’t listening at all, so discussing it further would only be exhausting.
Ghislaine nodded a few times and continued speaking.
“Prepare supplies for 3,000 troops. We will be departing soon.”
Claude’s face twisted in disbelief at this statement.
The territory’s forces, even with a hastily assembled knight order, only numbered around 500.
This made it clear.
“Our lord doesn’t even know basic math!”
*
News about the large-scale food purchases in the Penris Territory reached Harold’s ears as well.
“What? That fool Ghislaine is still buying food?”
“Yes, thanks to him, food prices in the North have risen significantly. He’s buying up all the food from merchant groups coming in from other regions without a care.”
Harold couldn’t hold back his laughter at his retainers’ report.
“Ha ha ha, what a foolish guy! Soon the harvest will be over and prices will drop; can’t he even wait for that? Just because he made some money from runestones and cosmetics, he’s spending it like there’s no tomorrow!”
“Are you waiting for something! You just thoughtlessly spent the money you made from the runestone and cosmetics!”
“Well, it seems like you flipped the territory to improve agriculture before, but the harvest has decreased instead. And with immigrants flooding in, it looks like food is in serious shortage.”
“Of course. It was nonsense from the start. It’s the result we expected. If you don’t want to starve, you’ll need to keep buying food.”
Thanks to Ghislaine sealing off the territory, the rumors about Penris Territory’s food production hadn’t spread yet. So everyone just thought Ghislaine’s agricultural improvement had failed.
‘Increasing the harvest was a problem I couldn’t even succeed at, so how could that rookie accomplish it?’
Harold had a pleasant smile.
How could he not feel good knowing that someone he found annoying suffered a significant loss?
After a moment of thought, he asked his deputy.
“How many food reserves do we have left?”
“Since Digald was in charge of supplies during the last war, we still have enough. If we manage this harvest, we should have quite a lot left.”
“Good. Then sell off the surplus from our territory at a high price this time. We need to make that arrogant brat feel a solid loss.”
“Understood. I’ll have the merchant group prioritize our goods for purchase.”
At his deputy’s words, Harold smiled with satisfaction.
Desmond Territory boasted the highest food production in the North.
One of their main sources of income was food sales, so they couldn’t miss this great opportunity.
“How fortunate the heavens are. My budget has been tight due to the last war.”
To Harold, it truly seemed like a chance from the heavens.
With the aftermath of the defeat against Perdium still lingering, they were spending enormous amounts of money rebuilding their forces and supporting Amelia.
Was that all? The money spent trying to gain control over the Northern territories was also substantial.
So it was no surprise that even Desmond Territory was staggering.
If the Duke Faction and Count Cabaldy hadn’t supported them, they wouldn’t have even been able to rearm.
It was hard to sell their main product, food, at a high price as the harvest season approached.
But who would have thought such a golden opportunity would come?
Not only could they replenish their lacking funds, but they could also inflict losses on Ghislaine. It couldn’t get any better than this.
“Indeed, what succeeded before was just due to luck. That rookie was being too cocky. Now that they hit the wall of reality, they’re seeing their limits. They probably went off making luxury items like cosmetics, not even realizing how important food is.”
Harold hastily belittled the cosmetics highly praised by the Duke Faction. He had to do that.
Otherwise, his pride wouldn’t be able to take it.
“If I control the food, I can squeeze everyone’s throats. In the North, food is the most important thing. Far more than cosmetics.”
The food situation in the North was dominated by Desmond and Raybold.
If food was sourced from other areas, the shipping costs made it much more expensive, which was only natural.
Ideally, he wanted to tighten everyone’s necks with food, but with Raybold as a competitor, that method was off the table for now.
But that wouldn’t last long.
“If Amelia’s rebellion succeeds, we can completely seize control of the North’s food supply.”
The lords of the North, having found themselves in a weak position, would kneel without a fight.
That’s why both the Duke Faction and Harold were focused on Amelia’s rebellion.
If it weren’t for that, Ghislaine would have been swept away long ago, whatever the justification.
“Ho ho, I’ll sell you food for now, so eat your fill. When the time comes, I’ll feast on you.”
Harold smiled again. He was feeling very good.
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