Chapter 243: I’m Starting a New Business (1)
The barbarians gathered for the negotiation, baited with food, all nodded in agreement. There were some objections, but with Woroka’s persuasive speech, everyone was swayed.
After all, his tribe was the strongest, so rebelling would only lead to trouble.
A few days later, at the renewed negotiation, Woroka confidently declared, “The allied tribes have all agreed. We will stop our attacks and plundering against the Ruthania Kingdom for five years. I will take responsibility for preventing the raids of the few tribes that refuse to ally with us.”
“You better keep them in check. I don’t want to see your face around here again. Send a horse up to the Northern Fortress every year.”
At the arrogant words of Ghislaine, Woroka’s lips twitched. He felt like chopping off the head of that insolent fool with an axe, but fighting was too burdensome.
No, to be honest, he didn’t even want to think about the names Perdium and Penris.
“Who would’ve thought I’d ever be scared of the name Perdium?”
He had never imagined such a day would come in his life. Instead of being afraid, he had no interest in Perdium, focused solely on unifying the tribes.
To bow his head to those he had ignored was quite a twist of fate.
Of course, he had no intention of ending things like this.
“Just you wait. Once I unify the North… I won’t leave Perdium or the Ruthania Kingdom in peace. I will never forget today’s humiliation.”
Seeing Woroka’s face full of discomfort, Ghislaine snickered. It was obvious what he was thinking.
“Tsk, tsk, you won’t get that chance.”
Running a tribe and running a nation were worlds apart. Although Woroka had unified a nation in his past life, he had never managed to handle the accidents that happened everywhere.
With a lack of food and infrastructure, there was no way the country could run smoothly.
If Ghislaine hadn’t started the war, Woroka would likely have attacked the Ruthania Kingdom sooner or later.
“Then my head would have been on the line with Duke Delphine.”
Back then, the Ruthania Kingdom wielding absolute power over all the nobles could make decisions so swift that it was terrifying, and had the strength to carry them out.
Only someone like Ghislaine, whose status reached the top seven of the continent, could contend with the kingdom. Woroka’s abilities would never allow him to survive.
“If only I had some time, I would have completely wiped them out. It’s a bit disappointing.”
To wipe out not only Woroka’s allied tribe but all the others would take more than a few months.
With Harold around, he couldn’t afford to stall for time here, so wrapping things up and heading back was necessary. Naturally, Ghislaine felt a bit regretful.
“Well… this isn’t the only chance.”
Once the civil war ended, Woroka would have to make a clear decision.
Whether to make everyone submit or to kill everyone.
In any case, the negotiation ended well. Zvalter was glad that the difficult fights with the barbarians would halt, and Ghislaine was pleased to acquire a bulk of necessary horses, ensuring stability in the rear.
I was happy to acquire horses in bulk and secure the safety of the rear.
And Claude felt sad because Wendy didn’t carry him.
Ghislaine returned to the territory with over 10,000 horses, including the spoils he had gathered.
Hee-hee-hee!
As the horses lined up and entered the castle, the Territory Residents stared in amazement. They had never seen so many horses in their lives.
“Wowwwww! This is amazing!”
“Are there really that many horses? Is this even possible?”
“Incredible! Our Lord is truly amazing!”
Since the price of one horse was astronomical, there were hardly any territories that owned this many horses.
The territory was soon engulfed in a festive atmosphere. Even after repairing the roads, they were struggling with transportation due to a lack of horses.
But now, horses were overflowing. Even if some were taken for military use, they could use thousands for transportation.
Ghislaine gathered the retainers and showcased their achievements.
“Look, look! I went and established some order, and now we have a ridiculous number of horses!”
The happiest one was definitely Belinda. She was more thrilled about having beaten the barbarians than acquiring the horses.
“Of course, it’s our Young Master! I wanted to join in on beating them too!”
As the territory developed, Belinda found it harder to make time for such ventures. She had to manage the increasing number of servants.
Thus, Ghislaine planned to only involve Belinda in very important battles.
The other retainers nodded in agreement, as if results like these were to be expected.
‘Now he’s completely become a robber.’
‘He’s become someone who takes everything he needs.’
‘But since the opponents are barbarians, no one can really argue about it.’
If iron ore was needed, they’d take a mine; if they needed horses, they’d take horses. It was scary to think about what he’d come back with next.
But he had plausible reasons and justifications for everything, so no one could stop him.
He truly was a Lord who could do whatever he wanted while getting less blame.
“Alright, now that we have horses, shall we start a transportation revolution?”
Ghislaine confidently declared, but Claude interrupted the atmosphere.
“There’s a problem.”
“…….”
“There’s a problem.”
“……Are you possessed by some problem spirit or something? Why is there always a problem? Did you get cursed somewhere?”
‘It’s you! You! You! You! It’s because of you that everything always runs tight!’
After several attempts to communicate, Claude simply hid his annoyance and replied.
“……Anyway, there’s a problem.”
“Fine, what’s the problem then?”
“Well, it’s good to have a lot of horses, so I didn’t oppose this expedition much, but…the number of horses you brought back is too much compared to what I expected.”
“Isn’t having more horses better?”
“Well, it should be a suitable amount. For now, I can’t handle such an immense number of horses. We’re drastically short on stables and staff for management.”
Claude had a point. Just bringing in horses and leaving them would be nonsensical. Maintaining over 10,000 horses would require an incredible amount of resources.
However, Ghislaine brushed off this concern as if it were no big deal.
“Just build more stables and hire more people. That should do, right?”
“……Do you think money just falls from the sky? We’re already spending an enormous amount on territory development and military enhancements. We’ll need even more money to maintain that many horses.”
Although they were making a ridiculous amount of money selling food and cosmetics, there were limits. A considerable portion of the income was spent on purchasing resources.
Moreover, the amount of food and cosmetics that could be sold was also limited.
Especially with food, it was used not only for paying the laborers but also to feed the Territory Residents of the two territories, Penris and Perdium, leading to significant consumption.
Using the territory residents of the dog territory for feeding isn’t insignificant in terms of consumption.
In short, it means that additional income is needed. So Claude made a new proposal.
“How about selling half of the horses we’ve acquired this time? Even half should be enough to transport materials and train the cavalry. Since horses can be sold at a high price, it will also secure funding.”
“No way.”
At Ghislaine’s firm rejection, Claude thought to himself.
‘…I knew that would happen. You never listen to people!’
Still, Claude didn’t have a meltdown. Lords don’t like unnecessary expenses. He planned to capitalize on that.
“We could maintain it even if it stretches us thin right now. After all, we can generate funds by selling more food. But it won’t be useful to us at the moment.”
“Why?”
“Because we lack riders. What’s the point of building roads and gathering a bunch of horses? There are significantly more people lacking who can actually operate them.”
“Hmm…”
“On top of that, our territory has way too much work. Currently, not only materials but food and meat transportation are getting more and more delayed. In the end, the remaining horses will just be idle in the stables, eating and sleeping all day, right? Damn! It’s frustrating!”
Just having horses isn’t the end of it. You need someone to handle them. However, among the territory residents who had lived in poverty, there weren’t many who could ride horses.
All the soldiers brought in were just infantry; they didn’t provide much help.
Up until now, they had barely managed to scrape by, gathering all those who knew how to drive wagons or ride horses for material transportation.
In urgent times, even the knights were deployed for transporting materials.
“Due to these two problems, we can’t handle that many horses right now. It would just be money draining away. We need to sell what we can’t use right now and think about increasing our numbers later.”
Claude smiled confidently, thinking that this time the lord wouldn’t have a choice.
It’s not always about doing more or bigger. Everything has to be done according to the situation.
If you expand in scale when you can’t use what you have right now, you might end up losing even more. That’s a basic truth.
But who is Ghislaine? He’s someone who can forcibly twist situations if necessary.
Can’t use the horses acquired? Then just create a situation where they can be used.
“We can build stables, increase the number of stewards, and train more horse riders.”
“No, I mean when are we going to train them?”
To ride well, specialized horsemanship training is necessary. It’s not just about getting on a horse and moving; they should be able to move quickly and freely.
Thus, cultivating skilled cavalry naturally takes a long time. Plans to train cavalry had been set long ago, and the other retainers knew it.
However, carrying out that plan would only require half of the horses just obtained. More than that wouldn’t be usable.
But Ghislaine interrupted Claude and began speaking his piece.
“This kind of problem is nothing. I have a plan. We can solve everything.”
“What plan?”
“First, we’re going to start a new business using the roads.”
“Roads…? A new business?”
Claude and the other retainers looked at Ghislaine with anxious eyes. Nothing he proposed for problem-solving or business sounded normal.
Ignoring their looks, Ghislaine continued speaking.
“Most of the roads within the territory are almost complete, right?”
“Yes, except for small villages and remote areas, most of the cities, castles, and towns are connected. Not just our territory, but to Perdium as well.”
“Now, we’ll expand and connect it to the royal capital and the Crown Prince Faction, excluding Duke Faction nobles and any suspicious individuals.”
“Except for that one guy.”
It was an enormous project. Something only an emperor from history could pull off. No matter how much money and labor you had, it wasn’t something you’d attempt lightly.
“Connecting the territories of the Crown Prince faction and the capital could take years.”
“That’s not necessarily true. Road construction is a simple task. Simple tasks can often be resolved more easily than you’d think.”
“How’s that?”
“You just need to throw in some money and people, and it’s done in no time. Everyone knows that.”
“…….”
The retainers had no words. In reality, the Penris Territory had been rapidly developing by hurling in tons of money and labor.
But the problem lay elsewhere.
“Even if we agree on the timeline, do you really think the lords will allow it? Are we just going to pave the road as we please?”
“If we pave it, it would be beneficial. Why refuse? And if they don’t, what will happen?”
“Uh? What will happen?”
“If the royal family and Marquis Branford say to go for it, what will they do?”
That made sense. If Ghislaine asked, there was no way Marquis Branford would refuse. A well-paved road could definitely be used for military purposes too.
There were some lords who wouldn’t pave the road out of fear of invasion. But if all the Crown Prince faction’s territories were connected, it would actually make it easier to call for reinforcements, so they’d probably have to agree.
Hearing Ghislaine’s grand plan made Claude’s head spin. Just how much money would it take to connect all those territories?
“What about the money? Where are we going to find that much? No matter how much money and labor we have, we can’t handle a project of that scale!”
“Well, aside from our laborers, other lords will need to support labor from their own territories. Of course, we’ll fund it and in return, we’ll charge a usage fee. We’ll get the right to collect road usage fees through the royal family. Can you imagine how much money that could bring in?”
Gulp.
Claude swallowed unconsciously.
Well-paved roads are a rarity. That’s why transport and movement always took time.
What if they actually completed a fast-moving road and charged for its use?
The logistics and people moving on the road would turn into money flowing into Penris.
In terms of ambition, it really was a groundbreaking venture. Provided, of course, that it was realistically possible.
“……Let’s say we’re getting labor from each territory. But do we have that kind of money?”
Hearing this, Ghislaine answered nonchalantly, flashing a confident smile.
“We’ll use our money and offer shares to investment from Lady Rosalyn and Sister Meriel. I heard they have some investment group going on. Let’s pull in all the noble’s funds. Juana’s church will help too. We all know having priests means the construction will finish faster.”
Bishop Porisco would need to send a large number of priests to heal fatigued laborers. At least if they didn’t want to be accused of heresy and burned at the stake.
“…….”
It came out so smoothly. For someone without connections, it might be impossible, but for a lord with a solid network, it seemed feasible.
As everyone stared blankly at the staggering plan, Ghislaine continued with a serious expression.
“Alright, and secondly. The road usage fee business isn’t the end. Once the roads are all paved, we start a delivery business using all the excess horses.”
“……A delivery business?”
“Yeah, I’ve already come up with a name.”
“What is it…?”
Everyone looked at Ghislaine with a mix of expectation and concern. Ghislaine seemed to enjoy the atmosphere, grinning widely.
“Penris Arrow Delivery. What do you think?”
At that blatantly tacky name, everyone facepalmed.
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