King
Chapter 65 - 65 64 Mining VS Farming_1

65: Chapter 64, Mining VS Farming_1 65: Chapter 64, Mining VS Farming_1 Spreading out the map in his hands, Hudson quickly circled more than a dozen targets after a brief scan.

Whether they were located in key traffic routes, or on fertile lands, or had mines in their households, each one of them was a land of wealth.

Taking down even one of them would make for a killing.

“We can only make an effort to try, the forces eyeing the lands of these two counties are not small.

Not only the nobles of the southeastern province, but there are also major forces from the capital and other areas.

Especially the nobles of the North, if they have a chance to go south, they will not give up.

The key is that they do not lack military merits, which invisibly increases their influence.

To compete with them, our biggest advantage is that we have been rooted in the southeastern province for a longer time, making it easier to win the support of the local nobles.

Secondly, my Koslow family is weak and cannot pose a threat to the Dalton family, and may likely gain the support of Earl Piers.”

Baron Redman analyzed calmly.

Clearly, he was well-versed in the kingdom’s politics.

He didn’t just assume that the competitors were all native nobles.

Compared to his colleagues, Hudson indeed had exceptional military merits, but they were far from the nobles of the North who held bloody brawls with the orcs every now and then from their long years of stationing in the Northern Border.

These military heroes were bound to be rewarded by the kingdom.

Nearly every year in the North, fief nobles were born, but most of them were men of high morals who turned down the lands granted by the kingdom.

It wasn’t surprising, compared to the stable situation in other areas of the Kingdom, the political reshuffling in the North was the quickest.

After waves of wars, small and medium nobles with weak strength were all eliminated.

The best land in the Northern Border had almost all fallen into the hands of a few major nobles.

The remaining lands were either too barren or constantly under the threat of orcs.

A fief that was as desolate as an uninhabited village, with no benefits in sight but bearing the responsibilities of a fief lord, Hudson wouldn’t want it either.

Including the Koslow family, numerous small and medium nobles couldn’t withstand the long-term devastation by the orcs, and were forced to shift their development direction.

After two hundred years of reshuffling, the Northern Border had completely become the territory of a few major nobles, and the situation changed from that moment on.`

There were no small and medium nobles for the orcs to snatch from, so naturally, they could only snatch from the major nobles.

Although these guys were not easy to provoke, when they were hungry and desperate, no one cared that much.

Every time it came to a season of food shortage, the orcs must harass the North, and the major nobles were also vexed enough.

Winning the battle incurred losses, losing the battle caused massive losses.

The orcs were like psoriasis, sticking on their bodies, constantly consuming their blood, and couldn’t be discarded.

At this time, the major nobles began to think about the goodness of small and medium nobles.

But everyone was scared of being scammed, even if many preferential policies were promised, very few nobles went to settle there.

Of course, to Hudson, the main reason why few people went there was that the risk and return were not proportional.

Never mind the small and medium nobles, once a large scale orc invasion occurred, even the major nobles would be finished.

In the last continental war, the Alpha Kingdom suffered heavy losses, even the kingdom’s direct dominions in the Northern Border lost three provinces, leading directly to the decline of the royal power.

The major nobles who were beaten up were not in the minority.

If it weren’t for the aid troops from all over the continent, the Alpha Kingdom might have become history.

Hudson strongly doubted that the main reason their neighbors didn’t take advantage of the Alpha Kingdom’s vulnerabilities but rather generously supported them, was that they didn’t want the orcs as neighbors.

This point, the neighboring Warhammer Kingdom and the Moxi Duchy, have a very strong say.

Since the Alpha Kingdom started its strategic contraction after the loss of cities and lands, they were forced into a border with the Orc Empire.

The threat of the orcs that originally faced the Alpha Kingdom alone became a joint confrontation of three families.

The most direct consequence was that since they became neighbors with the orcs, their territory has never expanded.

Despite losing cities and lands, the Alpha Kingdom’s defense pressure sharply reduced with the appearance of two fellow sufferers sharing the firepower.

After several decades of recuperation, its comprehensive national strength actually advanced a step further.

The guys in the North are now clamoring to join forces with the two neighbors, counterattack the Orc Empire and recover the old land of the kingdom.

Of course, this kind of slogan sounds good.

If they really had the capabilities to do it, the three countries would have already teamed up and attacked, rather than swallowing their anger.

The Orcs didn’t dare to invade recklessly, fearing not the united front of the three countries, but the intervention of other human nations.

The ultimate ruler of the Continent of Aslante is the human race.

If not for their division into dozens of kingdoms, there would be no room for other species to survive.

Facing a range of powerful competitors, Hudson tactfully eliminated several targets after some thought.

Intuition told him that it’s best not to be too greedy.

“Father, our clan already has two territories in Wharton County.

For the sake of balance, my territory is likely to be based in Layton County.

If I directly plan for a fief in Layton County, the chances of success should be higher.

If it is not possible, then I will settle for less.

This grand reshuffle will surely lead to a lot of territorial divisions and mergers.

Some of the newly merged territories might also be worth considering.

If managed properly, the return might be even greater.”

Inherent territories have clear boundaries, and it’s impossible to take more than your share.

But it’s different for newly assembled territories.

All boundaries need to be redrawn.

If you have the right connections, shifting the boundary outward by a hundred or so meters could mean the addition of another village.

While speaking, Hudson placed his finger in a corner of southern Layton County.

Apart from three Knight’s territories, the rest belonged to the late Viscount Alphonse.

It is not known whether the three Knight’s territories have been extinct, but Viscount Alphonse and his family had all died out.

Just the Dardiel City he left behind is tempting enough.

Plus, the half county’s territory left is unlikely to be usurped by others.

Even the Dalton Family wouldn’t dare to do so.

Unless the king confers a prince, but the current Alpha Kingdom only has one heir, who needs to stay in the capital to inherit the throne, and won’t come to grab territory.

The unnoticed set of hills caught Hudson’s attention entirely because there’s a fairly large iron mine there.

Large-scale mining hasn’t taken place, mainly because Layton County lacks coal, and can only use charcoal for smelting, which isn’t very efficient.

This is a disadvantage, but also an advantage.

If there was accompanying coal mine locally, it wouldn’t be Hudson’s turn to plot.

“Hudson, you must think this over.

The Salam Vein does indeed have rich iron deposits, and its discovery once shocked the entire Southeastern Province.

Unfortunately, the entire Southeastern Province lacks coal, and the few coal mines are of poor quality.

The quality of the ironware smelted is not up to standard and cannot be used to forge weapons.

Because of high transport costs, Viscount Alphonse has always used charcoal for smelting.

The ironware produced is only suitable for making farming tools, pots, and other household goods.

Although the income from the iron mine is good, the local land is relatively barren, the grain yield is low, and self-sufficiency is difficult.

Taken together, the proceeds you could get won’t be too high and aren’t as valuable as other pieces of land.”

Baron Redman reminded earnestly.

He couldn’t possibly explain that he had learned about steelmaking in his past life and could improve smelting efficiency and quality.

“Don’t worry, father, this is just one of the alternatives.

The information marked on the map is outdated, it’s always best to go and check the situation personally.

If the land is too barren, or if the iron mine falls short of expectations, then we will abandon this place and seek fertile land elsewhere.”

As he spoke, Hudson pointed at the young bear.

The previously grim-faced Baron Redman instantly felt much better.

The mining techniques in the Continent of Aslante have always been filled with magic.

Either hire an alchemist or use a magical beast with special talents.

As a child of the earth, the Earth Bear was born a superior mining detector, though the outside world only pays attention to its impressive strength.