68: slave trade

"True, but he's just from a Barony family. He probably doesn't even know what the Thousand Year Iron Law is."

Dario himself came from an Earl's family, was well-informed, and knew fragments of the Kingdom's secrets.

He had dedicated over twenty years to his family, and at forty years old, he was still at Silver Peak and hadn't broken through to Gold Rank. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be difficult for him to advance further in this lifetime.

This Barony was his hope for breaking through to Gold Rank. As long as he developed the territory, created enough value for his family, and demonstrated his ability, Dario believed the family would give him a chance to reach Gold Rank.

This was also why he had staked everything, abandoned all else within the family, and fought for this Barony.

Thinking about having to develop the territory and grow within the Red River Valley in the future, Dario didn't want to become enemies with Rein.

"Forget it, I'm not an Ordinance Knight, why should I care about this? It's just a frontier Baron messing around in his own territory. I doubt His Grace the Grand Duke and the Patriarch will care."

Thinking this, Dario chuckled lightly, stopped thinking about the Red River Territory, stood up, and walked out of the tent.

The former Black Iron Territory Baron's castle was destroyed by the Fel Orcs, leaving only ruins. Now, thousands of people were busy working on these ruins.

Dario's butler respectfully reported the situation to him.

"Master, the ruins are being cleared quickly. A lot of the stone and timber can still be used. We estimate you will have a warm room to live in before winter."

"Don't forget to build some living quarters for the Serfs as well. I don't want them freezing to death in the territory during winter. These Serfs are my property; ensure they stay alive to work for me."

"Yes, Master!"

The same situation was unfolding on the ruins of the Rye Territory castle and the ruins of the Rock Crystal Territory.

Several days later, when the massive fleet of ships passed by the Red River Territory again, Rein stopped the merchant ships.

"I salute you, Baron Rein."

"Good day, President Field."

Field, the President of the Salak Merchant Guild, smiled and bowed to Rein.

The merchant ships led by the four Barons of the Red River Valley all belonged to the Salak Merchant Guild. Only the Salak Merchant Guild, the largest merchant guild in the entire Rage Bear Territory, had the capability to dispatch hundreds of cargo ships at once.

Because the guild had dispatched too many cargo ships and the value of the goods was too high, coupled with Alistair's esteemed status, President Field led the team personally.

"President Field, you seem very happy. It looks like your trip went smoothly."

"Yes, all the goods have been safely delivered, and the funds have been handed over. Sir Alistair is also very satisfied with our service. This mission has been completed successfully."

Since everything went smoothly, Field was naturally delighted. The guild earned at least twenty thousand Gold Coins just from this trip to the Red River Valley, and he would receive a considerable commission from that.

"Congratulations then, President Field. I wonder if President Field is interested in making another deal."

"Baron Rein, you want to do business with me?"

Rein specifically stopped Field, of course, not just for a chat.

"President Field, as you can see, my territory suffered a major blow after the Fel Orcs War. The population has decreased by over two-thirds. Now, the territory doesn't even have ten thousand people."

"Therefore, I want to purchase a batch of Serfs!"

"That's no problem, Baron Rein. How many Serfs do you need?"

"Ten thousand people!"

Field's somewhat casual tone instantly became serious.

"Ten thousand people?"

"Baron Rein, that's not a small number. Do you have any specific requirements?"

"Ten thousand Serfs. At least half must be men, and all must be young, strong, and healthy."

Field immediately started calculating the costs for Rein.

"A healthy, young, and strong male Slave sells for one Gold Coin. A young, healthy, but ordinary-looking female Slave sells for eighty Silver Coins."

"According to your requirements, Baron Rein, if the gender ratio is sixty percent male and forty percent female, these ten thousand people would cost 9,200 Gold Coins."

"However, this price is the selling price at the Rage Bear Fortress Slave Market. Baron Rein, if you require us to deliver the Slaves to your territory, an additional fee will be required."

Rein frowned. He could accept the price of the Serfs, but the extra charge for door-to-door delivery annoyed him slightly.

"How much?"

Field sensed Rein's displeasure and explained:

"I hope Baron Rein can understand. After all, long-distance transportation of these Slaves is different from transporting ordinary goods. The losses along the way are significant, and we cannot bear them."

"Fortunately, although the Red River Territory is far from Rage Bear Fortress, the transportation cost is not high because of the water route. Based on normal attrition calculations, Baron Rein, you will need to pay an additional one thousand Gold Coins as freight."

"The total is ten thousand two hundred Gold Coins. I'll round down the change for you, making it exactly ten thousand Gold Coins."

"Ten thousand Gold Coins, and our guild guarantees that all the goods will be delivered to your territory with guaranteed quality and quantity."

A thousand Gold Coins for freight was not cheap; even after rounding down, it was still eight hundred Gold Coins. However, Rein didn't have the capacity to retrieve these Slaves from Rage Bear Fortress himself, so he had to accept it.

"Fine!"

"Ten thousand Gold Coins. I accept this price. How long will it take to bring these Slaves to my territory?"

Field quickly calculated in his mind.

"Baron Rein, the existing Slaves within Rage Bear Fortress have all been purchased by Alistair and the other Barons. There are currently no ready Slaves in Rage Bear Fortress."

"The next batch of Slaves transported from the Golden Plains will likely arrive in about a month."

"We estimate that the Slaves you require can be delivered before the first snow."

"Before the first snow? That would be around mid-to-late October!"

Field affirmed, "Yes, all the Slaves you require will certainly be delivered before mid-to-late October."

The wait was a bit long, but since this was the reality, Rein couldn't expect Field to conjure people out of thin air.

"These Slaves are all from the Golden Plains? I thought they would be people from our Northern Territory."

"How could that be? The population in the Northern Territory is inherently small, and there are no major wars right now, so the number of local Slaves is very low."

"Over ninety percent of the Slaves sold at Rage Bear Fortress originate from the Golden Plains."

Field spoke with an expression of envy.

"The Golden Royal Family controls the two major money bags: grain and the Slave trade. They earn an unknown amount every year; it's truly enviable."

Rein hadn't known that the Slave trade was actually dominated by the Golden Royal Family.

"Are there really that many people in the Golden Plains?"

"You wouldn't know this, Baron Rein, but the Golden Plains has fertile land, and the grain produced every year is enough to burst the granaries of those nobles."

"Besides being sold to the Four Territories, this grain also sustains the large population in the Golden Plains."

"The climate in the Golden Plains is pleasant. Unlike our Northern Territory, where people can freeze to death in winter, people there won't freeze even lying outside during winter. The number of Foreign Races in the wild has also been greatly reduced."

"With ample grain and a pleasant climate, coupled with the fact that the major nobles in the Golden Plains intentionally encourage Serfs to reproduce, the population there grows wildly like weeds every year. This population increase is basically sold off to various parts of the Kingdom's Four Territories."

Thinking of what he had seen and heard while doing business in the Golden Plains, Field couldn't help but sigh.

"The nobles in the Golden Plains are all extremely wealthy, relying on grain and selling people, unlike the nobles in our Northern Territory, who live poor lives."

Rein smiled.

"The Northern Territory also has its own pride, something those Royal nobles wouldn't understand."

"Naturally, naturally!"

Field's eyes darted, and he immediately realized he had said too much, quickly changing the subject.

"Baron Rein, what else do you require?"

"If President Field can deliver the Serfs on time, I will also need to purchase a batch of grain to feed these Slaves."

"About three thousand tons of grain?"

"Grain is no problem. Three Gold Coins per ton."

"How much? Three Gold Coins per ton?"