"How many boats are you going to buy?" Fatty Shi asked.
There is no need to buy a ship. Niujiaowan Shipyard can produce up to seven ships a year. Currently, two whaling ships and a three-masted sailing warship designed by Lorist are currently under construction. Lorist's plan was to build a whaling fleet of seven to eight ships dedicated to whaling or fishing to provide fish products to the family territory. The sea area further north of the North Land has not yet been developed and is rich in marine fishery resources, which is a treasure land for the family territory.
Next, the family must also have a powerful armed fleet to defend the surrounding sea area. This is the family's ocean territory. Although they have not encountered enemies such as pirates, the family needs prevention and security. The three-masted sailing warship that is now nearing completion is an attempt to attack a warship from a long range. In the next two years, the plan is to form a small fleet of five warships to escort the family's maritime traffic and marine development.
In this way, the shipbuilding tasks of Niujiaowan Shipyard are already fully arranged. Although it is planned to build a shipyard on Hilovas Island, the shipyard is mainly responsible for the construction of small offshore fishing boats and small cargo merchant ships in the plan. And can repair the family's large fishing boats and warships. It will take at least two years for the shipyard on Hilovas Island to achieve initial results in terms of date arrangements.
After Lorist came to Hilowas Island, he captured six sea ships, all of which were owned by the children of the nobles who occupied Wanghai Manor, and one was confiscated by Viscount Aslan to Hilowas Island to collect taxes. , are now Lorist's spoils. Two small ones became the ferry boats from Hilovas Island to Qilin Port, and the remaining four seagoing ships and two whale ships together formed a small cargo fleet from Niujiao Bay to Hilovas Island.
The development of Shilovas Island needs the strong support of the family territory, and it needs to have a large number of cargo fleets. When the family only owns one Niujiaowan shipyard, purchasing cargo ships has become the only option. . And there are many shipyards around the Golden Bay in Morente City, and you can definitely buy suitable cargo ships there.
"I don't know either. Let's inquire about the price first before making a decision when we arrive in Morente City." Lorist replied.
"This is another large expenditure, and the family's finances are not optimistic!" Fatty Shi sighed a little.
As the former chief steward of the Norton family, Fatty Shi is well aware of the family's financial situation and capital reserves. Thanks to the mopping and robbery of the family's northbound convoy, and the looting of the Grand Duke of the Northland, the family's capital reserves exceeded four million goldfords at its peak. This is an astonishing, huge, wealthy But the number of the enemy country is enough for Lorist and his family knights to enjoy two hundred years without doing anything.
However, Lorist invested all these funds in the development of the family territory and the improvement of the family's armed forces. Resisting the tide of monsters, relocating refugees, and developing Fengleyuan and Xing'anyuan cost nearly a million gold dollars. Next, invest in the development of the black mud swamp on the family territory. It is estimated that the total investment will also require nearly one million Jinford. In addition, the Niujiaowan shipyard and the black iron refining base in the Blade's Edge Mountains, the bow and crossbow manufacturing site, and the weapon production base also spent no less than half a million gold coins.
Regarding the development of Hilovas Island, after discussions, Lorist made a final decision, and the development budget given by Fatty Shi was nearly 800,000 Jinford. Now Lorist is going to buy a large number of freight ships, which are not cheap, and four to five thousand gold dollars a ship is already considered second-hand. As a result, the family's financial reserve was only about half a million gold fords, and the family's annual military expenditure and administrative expenses were close to 300,000 gold fords. Fatty Shi became a little worried about this. ,
"Don't worry about funding." Lorist smiled and comforted Fatty Shi: "Now the development of Fengleyuan and Xing'anyuan is nearing completion, judging from the tax collection situation this year, the expenditure on administration and garrison has already been able to There is still some room for self-sufficiency, and the processing factories they set up have also started to make profits. Last year, the family earned several thousand gold dollars in this area, and this year it is expected to have more than 20,000 yuan in profits, which is not without small benefits for the family.
From an investment point of view, the family's territory in the Black Mud Swamp is already in our hands, and the next focus is to build embankments along the river and harbor cities. Don't worry about the funds that have been set in advance. Another big head is the shipyard, which requires continuous investment, and this has long been arranged. As for the bases in the Blade's Edge Mountains, they have already earned a lot of profits for the family, and they don't need a lot of research funds. It's enough to spend 20,000 to 30,000 a year for them to research and improve.
The Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce, a joint venture between us and the three major families, can now bring us tens of thousands of income every year, and the investment of the family's armed forces in the past few years has basically been in the establishment of new guard battalions and sailor battalions, and the other ones have been refitted , Only the salary is needed to maintain, and in terms of military expenditures, it has reduced by nearly 100,000 Jinford. I estimate that by next year, the income from Fengleyuan and Xing'anyuan alone will be able to guarantee the military expenditure of the family's armed forces and the administrative expenses of the entire family. "
"Impossible..." Fatty Shi shook his head in disbelief: "Even if one hundred thousand is deducted, the annual military expenditure and administrative expenses will be close to two hundred thousand Jinford. It is impossible for the family territory to have such a high income."
Lorist laughed loudly: "It's impossible, there are more than 12,000 residents on Hilovas Island, and in the past few years, 50% of the tax revenue could be received around 5,000, and almost one person had to pay Half a Jinford tax. If you think about it, there are now nearly 800,000 people in Fengleyuan and Xing'anyuan in the family territory, and each person who pays a quarter of the Jinford is about 200,000 yuan, and there will be more next year. .
What's more, we don't just go in and out. Although it takes a lot of money to buy a cargo ship in Morente City, as long as we transport the Warcraft fur accumulated in the North over the past few years to Morente City, we can sell it for more than one million Jinford , and those smoked Warcraft jerky and whale meat are all best-selling goods, and soon we will be able to earn back the funds invested in development. "
"That's right, why did I forget that business transactions can be conducted." Fatty Shi patted his forehead: "But Locke, you handed over all these captives to His Highness the Second Highness, which will make the development here very tight, and Shirowas Island needs a lot. Are we really going to recruit refugees? What if His Royal Highness disagrees?"
"Should agree. Chrisya said that he is also very troubled by these refugees. He has to consume a large amount of food every month to feed the refugees in the two southwestern provinces. We want to recruit these refugees to work for him to reduce his burden. He It won't be blocked. Chrisya will bring us the authorization documents in two days, so don't worry." Lorist replied after a moment of thought.
"We have estimated that more than 30,000 young and strong laborers are needed to complete the initial development of Hilovas Island within two years. The current work to be done is the relocation of Bainiao Town, the expansion of the dock area, the construction of defensive walls and facilities, and the sea-watching. The reconstruction of the manor, the reconstruction of seven villages and the development of terraced fields, as well as the construction of the sailor battalion and fleet wharf, the site selection of the shipyard, the fort castle of the third battalion of the Guards, and the construction of the coastal embankment all require sufficient resources. Labor... ”
Fatty Shi shook his head and continued: "The development of Hilovas Island requires too much investment. According to the principle of family selection of migrant workers, we will recruit those refugees with families, and the number of migrant workers who bring their families will increase. Our expenditure and food consumption. Locke, when you go to buy a ship, you also need to order a large amount of food for storage. Once the population of the island increases, the self-produced food will not be enough for consumption..."
Lorist thought for a while and said, "I forgot to ask Chrisya last time. I heard from her that the past few years have been good. The Kingdom of Antinac has harvested a lot of grain, because the taxes are offset by grain in kind. Two His Highness has ample food reserves, I believe he will be happy to buy a batch from him. But in the future, we need to store large quantities of food, the more the better."
"Why?" Fatty Shi asked.
"It's very simple. The Second Highness will wait until the third prince dies. Chrisya said that the third prince will not survive for three months. As long as the third prince dies, the Second Highness will definitely launch a war to unify the empire. Once the war starts, if there are twists or turns If the war is defeated, I am afraid that the Kingdom of Antinac will be in turmoil. If the war drags on for a long time, I am afraid it will be like the years of the Civil War in the Empire. No one in the kingdom can farm with peace of mind. It is used to save the lives of these refugees."
"Are you so disrespectful to His Highness the Second Highness? If you want me to talk about the direction of the 300,000 troops, not to mention the unification of the entire empire, sweeping half of the empire is enough. With the addition of those sloppy things, the Second Highness's momentum will become more publicized, no? Who can stop his attack." Fatty Shi couldn't understand why Lorist always looked down on His Highness the Second Highness.
"I can't say it. It's just an intuition. I vaguely feel that the Second Highness just can't succeed. I don't know why I think so. Forget it, let's not talk about it. If the Second Highness agrees to our recruitment in the imperial capital And accepting migrant labor, who are you going to let take care of this?" Lorist asked.
"This time the family is coming with a boat, and the two managers, Kedan and Hansk, will come with the boat. I want the manager to stay on the island to help me, and let the manager of Kedan take Xi Kede to the imperial capital. They ask Ka Litoke and Krisya can just take care of them. As for the recruitment of migrant workers, I may go to the two southwestern provinces myself." Fatty Shi replied.
"Well, then I will let Jim lead a team to protect your safety with the 500 guards that came with the ship this time. I will take Josk, El, Dolles and the ten guards on Dawn's Flying Fish Morente City will do. Everything about Hilovas Island is your responsibility.
In addition, the matter of purchasing food will also be negotiated between you and the Second Highness. Also, the eldest son of Master Sid who came with the boat this time is going to explore the minerals on Hilovas Island. It is now November, so don't let him go to the deep mountains To avoid any danger, let him spend the winter on the island and take the guards to survey the whole island next year. "
Lorist patted Fatty Shi's shoulder and remembered another thing: "By the way, write a letter home to your father and let me take it there."
"What?" Fatty Shi asked.
"Buy glass, isn't your father a glass agent? Buying a large amount of glass from him and then shipping it to the family's territory reduces the shipping cost. You know that a piece of green glass can be bought for a few copper coins in Morente City? We have to spend a big silver coin to buy it after arriving in the Northland. Many residents in the family territory now have wooden panels for their windows, so I decided to purchase and transport glass as the first item after purchasing a sea-going ship." Lorist There are words.
Fatty Shi laughed: "Okay, I'll write it up and give it to you tonight. When are you going to leave?"
"In two days, I have to wait for the family's ship to arrive this time. This time, 500,000 jinfords were brought along with the ship, as well as some samples of warcraft fur and other commodities. I will bring 100,000 jinfords as a deposit and payment for the ship. The remaining 400,000 will be left here for you," Lorist said.
…
Three days later, Chenxi's Flying Fish set sail again, heading south.
The more you go south, the more sea vessels you encounter, including large and small offshore fishing boats along the coast, as well as various small cargo merchant ships.
Captain Wilson said that the former Cressen Empire did not pay much attention to the sea and did not form any fleet, mainly because there were no good ports along the north coast. Qilin Port is already the northernmost seaport known, and it cannot berth large ocean-going merchant ships and warships due to the depth of the water. The small sea-going ships in this area to the south are basically owned by the lords along the coast, and they rely on geographical advantages to obtain wealth at sea for themselves.
Lorist thought of Mr. Tim whom he met when the convoy was traveling north a few years ago. The illegitimate son whom he pushed to the position of Viscount Taberley didn't know how he was doing now. However, before Fatty Shi led the convoy northward, he facilitated the cooperation between the Peterson Chamber of Commerce and the Viscount of Taberley, and also helped Mr. Tim form a garrison brigade. Now that I think about it, I should be doing well. Maybe I can get news from him from the Peterson Chamber of Commerce. This time I will go to Morente City, and I need the great assistance of Chairman Peterson.
"Go to Viscount Terbury." Lorist ordered.
Seven days later, Dawn's Flying Fish appeared in the sea off the Viscountdom of Taberley. Dolles and El had followed Fatty Shi a few times before, and soon found the cargo pier of the Viscounty. The flag of the Taberley family fluttered over the manor castle built on the hillside.
There are only two small armed cargo ships moored at the pier, and there are no large cargo ships from the Peterson Chamber of Commerce. Wilson commanded the boat to approach the pier and stopped.
The horn sounded from the manor castle in the distance, and not long after, a group of guard soldiers rushed over, led by an old knight with white hair.
"Hehe, this is old Kemers, we have dealt with him before." Dolles and El shouted.
Lorist had heard from Tim that he was the only surviving old knight of the Taberley family, but he had never met this old knight, and the old man was also in his sixties.
The old Kemmers knight was old, and he still recognized Doles and El. He got off the horse, laughed and came up, hugged the two of them one by one, and formally saluted Lorist. However, when I heard that Lorist wanted to see Mr. Tim, I was sorry to say that it was not a coincidence. The Viscount and his wife brought their three children and accompanied the Peterson Chamber of Commerce fleet to Morente City for the winter.
What? Mr. Tim has three children? Lorist was surprised.
The old knight of Kemers expressed his gratitude that the marriage appointed by Lorist for Mr. Tim was very happy, and the couple had a very good relationship. They had two sons and a daughter in six years, and now the Viscountess is pregnant again. Since the cooperation with the Peterson Chamber of Commerce went smoothly, Mr. Tim also made a lot of money, and asked the Peterson Chamber of Commerce to buy a house in Morente City.
Because of the love of the Viscountess, now the Viscountess and his wife basically stay in Morente City for half a year, only returning to the Viscounty Land in summer, and going to Morente City again before winter comes.
Lorist said: "Forget it, we are also going to Morente City, you give me the Viscount's address, and I will visit again then."
The old knight of Kemers wrote the address and handed it to Lorist. After thinking for a while, he pointed to the swallowtail flag of the Antinac Kingdom flying on the Flying Fish in the morning light and asked, "My lord, you are now the Antinac Kingdom." nobleman?"
Lorist nodded, looked at the hesitant expression on the old Kemmers knight's face and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Excuse me, Lord Earl, you can fly the flag of your own family, or the flag of our Taberley family, but it is best not to fly the flag of the Kingdom of Antinac to Morente City. People don't like to let the ships of the Antinak Kingdom into the Golden Bay." said the old knight of Kemmers.
"Oh..." Lorist thought thoughtfully.
…