Chapter 49: Population Problem

Open-pit mining had very low costs and was much safer than mining tunnels. If this mine appeared within the Florence Kingdom, the nearby nobles would definitely go crazy fighting over it. Although it was just an iron mine, the investment was low, and the profits it produced were higher than those of a typical silver mine.

After confirming the mine’s location, Su Lun opened the Strategic Map to look at the route from there back to his territory. He planned to find the shortest path.

Soon, Su Lun noticed something on the map. About one kilometer from the mine, a river flowed by. Su Lun specifically went to check it out. The river was between eight and thirteen meters wide, about two to three meters deep, with an average flow—just an ordinary small river.

But this small river was a tributary of the White Water River. Extending about three kilometers further northeast from here, it would merge into the White Water River. Then, going upstream along the White Water River, one could eventually reach the dock in his territory. With this river, the ore mined from the mine could be transported entirely by water to the territory.

Water transport had far more advantages than land transport. Not only could it carry large quantities, but it was also faster and cheaper.

Although a river three meters deep and eight meters wide could not accommodate very large boats, it was fully sufficient for transporting iron ore. The labor used for mining ore was also slaves, whose cost was pitifully low. Additionally, since Su Lun’s territory already used Hydraulic Forging Machines, labor costs were further reduced. As for the blast furnaces and fuel needed for smelting ore,

that part of the cost was also very low. Trees were everywhere in the wilderness, and cutting them down could also be done by slaves. With all this factored in, the cost of forging a piece of Hundred-Tempered Fine Iron was shockingly low.

For example, the set of equipment Su Lun forged for his Barbarian Guard—if it were in Karlt City, that set would cost at least two hundred Gold Nar. But in Su Lun’s territory, the cost of that set was at most thirty Gold Nar.

Apart from mining labor costs and transportation costs, the most expensive part—forging costs—was replaced by Hydraulic Forging Machines. The new-type blast furnace used in the territory increased output while further reducing costs. That’s why the final minimum cost for that set was so low.

Even if Su Lun sold each set of equipment for one hundred fifty Gold Nar, he could easily earn a large profit. Moreover, such a low price could also attract merchants willing to take the risk to trade here.

Having made up his mind, Su Lun did not linger here any longer. He ordered two Barbarian Warriors to command the Kobolds in building houses there, while Su Lun hurried back to his territory.

The territory now had one thousand five hundred Goblin, Kobold, and Gnoll slaves. Among them, Goblins were the most numerous, with about over seven hundred people. Kobolds were the second, with over five hundred people. The rest were Hobgoblins and Gnolls, totaling about two hundred.

Although Kobolds were not very strong, this race was skilled at mining. Su Lun planned to send all these five hundred-plus Kobolds to the mine for mining work. Together with the original two hundred or so Kobolds at the mine, there would be nearly eight hundred Kobold miners, which should be just about enough. Additionally, a team needed to be formed to protect the mine.

But doing this meant that the territory, which originally had a sufficient population, once again faced a shortage.

As the territory developed, Su Lun had already felt that his Barbarian Guard was understaffed. There were few Freeman in the territory, making it impossible to recruit human Soldiers. As for the Barbarian women and children, some of the children could join the reserves; many Barbarian youths would come of age next year.

But even so, it was like distant water couldn’t quench a nearby thirst.

This situation couldn’t be changed in a short while. The Recruitment Token used last time hadn’t recruited even a single ghostly figure up till now. Su Lun had completely given up on it. He planned to first mine some iron ore and transport it back to forge weapons.

Once the weapons were forged, he would have Ji En lead the Caravan to transport the weapons to Karlt City for sale. Given the low costs here, even if he lowered the selling price a bit, he could still make a hefty profit. With money, he could then go to the slave market to buy Serfs or other slaves.

These slaves would fill the population gap in the territory. Besides this, Su Lun also intended to promote his territory in the surrounding cities to attract commoners who wanted land to come and become Freeman.

Around Karlt City, because there hadn’t been war for decades, the population had surged. Many people were born without land. It should be noted that in this world, property inheritance rights went to the eldest son; other sons had to leave when they grew up.

This situation resulted in many people having no farmland and no money, forcing them to work in the cities. Most Mercenaries were such people. Those who already had property or farmland were rarely willing to move; Su Lun’s territory held no appeal for them. Only those who had nothing would be willing to take the risk and cross hundreds of miles of wasteland to live in Su Lun’s territory.

Su Lun’s target was these people—to recruit them to come to his territory and become his Freeman. Though most had no assets, as long as they worked diligently in the territory, Su Lun would pay them wages so they could establish themselves in the territory. Alternatively, they could buy farmland from him through installment payments.

In fact, Su Lun was already considering freeing the Serfs under him, though he wouldn’t do it just yet.

He planned to let these slaves work for several years first, then gradually abolish their slave status, turning them into Freeman. Although releasing slaves might seem like a loss for Su Lun—a heavy loss—in reality, the math didn’t work that way.

When they were slaves, these people naturally wouldn’t work hard. Even if forced, their efficiency wouldn’t be high. Though it saved money, the value they created wasn’t much. But if Su Lun made an agreement with them that if they worked diligently for him for several years, he would pardon their slave status and they could become free people,

then these slaves’ motivation would definitely see a leap in improvement. After a few years, when these slaves became Freeman, they would naturally want a better life, so they would definitely work even harder and pay taxes to Su Lun.

Calculating this way, the value they created would far surpass that of slaves. Of course, Su Lun didn’t do this from the start, because traditional forces in this world were still strong.

At least he planned to wait until he was more powerful before doing so. If he were in the south, Su Lun would have to worry about the impact on neighboring territories, but here in the Northern Wilderness, where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, basically no one would care.