Lord Harland

The Harland Fair has been held for six years, the first two years in early November.

Because of the severe cold weather in northern Xinjiang in November, Richard moved it forward to October.

However, the autumn harvest in the Harland Territory began in mid-September. After the autumn harvest began, the territorial civil servants were very busy. They not only had to collect taxes and grains, but also made random checks and statistics on the agricultural production throughout the year.

Holding a commodity expo is not an easy task and requires a large number of public servants to communicate and connect with external caravans.

Especially in the past three years, during the commodity expo, hundreds of caravans will rush to the Harland Territory. During this period, the foreign population integrated into the territory exceeds tens of thousands.

To manage these migrant populations, it is necessary to deploy personnel from all aspects of business, security, and taxation. In addition, the territory also needs to be responsible for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the foreign caravans, and the odds and ends are particularly troublesome.

The commodity expo was held for two years in October, but because there were not enough civil servants available, the management seemed a bit chaotic.

After deliberation for a long time and weighing the pros and cons, Richard settled on November again from last year.

The Harland Territory has been developing for more than ten years. There have been more than 10,000 students graduating from territorial schools, and more than 20,000 students are currently studying there. A large part of these people have entered the territorial civil service system.

Compared with other territories, these grassroots civil servants have been educated for five years, can write official documents, and are proficient in elementary mathematics. Their quality is obviously higher.

Although there are relatively high-level civil servants responsible for various tasks, holding such a large-scale commodity expo is a test for Harland's organizational and coordination abilities.

On the sixth day of November, the fourth day of the Commodity Fair, the sky near Fort William was filled with dark clouds and heavy snow began to fall.

Despite the heavy snowfall, the streets in the southern city of Fort William were still crowded with people, the sound of bargaining was everywhere, and the merchants' interest remained undiminished.

After many years of operation, this street has become the largest wholesale market in Harland.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street are government-run businesses. Although private chambers of commerce are also developing, the accumulation time is still too short and the funds are also relatively low.

Odaye was walking on the street, grabbed a businessman, and tried hard to sell him the flour he produced.

"Mr. Malan Nisolan, look at the selected flour we produce. The quality is really good. Not only is the color beautiful, but there are also very few impurities. Even if it is placed in the Nolan Palace, it is considered a top-quality product. Ours The product is not only of high quality, but the price is also very low. You can buy twenty bags with only three gold coins. I think this is a product in line with the eating habits of the nobles, and you should buy some."

Malan Nisolan is a member of a hereditary baron family in the province of Sodamia.

The province of Sodamia is located in the southern part of the Gascoigne province, about 360 kilometers away from Fort William from the territory of the Nisolan family.

Every year in late September, the Nisolan family organizes caravans to trade with the nobles of the three northern Xinjiang provinces and participate in the commodity expo in the Harland territory.

Although the Nisolan family is average in strength, it has formed a horned rabbit breeding industry in its territory.

Although the Magic Horned Rabbit is of average strength, it is a very low-end monster. Breeding this monster will not help in combat at all. However, the Horned Rabbit's horn is a material for various pharmaceutical formulas. Its fur can be used to make magic gloves, and its internal blood can also be used to make Tenghui potions. As long as the scale is established, profits can continue.

Although the Nisolan family looks unremarkable, they can earn five thousand gold coins every year from selling horned rabbit materials, which is far more than many barons who farm.

Seeing Odaye trying hard to sell his flour, Malan Nisolan waved his hand and refused clearly: "There are not many rich people in our territory, and eating black bread is their habit."

"Mr. Nisolan, black bread is as hard as a rock and tastes so hard to swallow. Eating such things will make us look as pitiful as livestock. As a person from a civilized world, white bread should be placed on the table Up. Devouring unpalatable black bread as only an orc can do.

For only three gold coins, you can get a thousand yani flour, which is only more than twice as expensive as black bread and doesn't cost much. As long as you are in the middle or upper income class, you can afford it. You can let your entourage taste the white bread in my hand. "

Yani, dat is the mass unit of the Grant Kingdom. One yani is converted to about 0.46 kilograms, and one dat is 240 yani, which is about more than 110 kilograms.

However, in Harland, the Yani and Dart systems were abandoned, and kilograms and tons were used as mass units.

The Haaland Territory was created by Richard hand by hand, which was equivalent to drawing a picture on a blank piece of paper. There was very little resistance to reform. Compared with the more complicated yani and dat systems, kilograms and tons are obviously simpler.

As the Harland Territory's influence grows, many territories in northern Xinjiang begin to use kilograms and tons as weight units. The Nisolan territory is not very far from Fort William, and Nisolan certainly understands the conversion of kilograms to yani.

Large-scale flour manufacturing was also a new industry in Haaland territory.

Although many water-powered mills were built in the Harland territory in the past, the flour ground by the original stone mill was very rough, and it was difficult to separate the flour and bran. Flour ground with stone mills can only be made into black bread and steamed buns, which are difficult to eat.

With the invention of the steam engine and the development of steel smelting technology, various types of machinery began to appear. The steam flour mill successfully manufactured last fall uses a steam engine as power and fine wire as a screen, which has greatly promoted the development of the flour manufacturing industry.

With Richard's support, Harland led the establishment of Graveson Flour Mill, which soon bankrupted various manual and water-powered mills.

Odaye has always been in the catering industry and is a big customer for purchasing selected flour. He quickly discovered this change, consulted comrades such as Jennings and Sulla, found out the territorial policy, and found that the city hall did not prohibit it. Private capital is moving in this direction.

Then he quickly raised capital, borrowed money from a few well-off old comrades, and immediately entered the flour production industry.

He customized a steam flour mill from the Mechanical Research Institute, hired some workers to establish the Salamander Flour Mill, and its development momentum was catching up with the state-owned enterprise Graveson Flour Mill.

The flour ground by the steam engine is not only good in color and quality, but also not particularly expensive. It is only twice as expensive as the black flour on the market. It quickly occupied most of the flour market in Harland. The vast majority of free people had enough money in their hands, so they naturally wanted to eat better.

Whether it is the Harland Territory or the Northern Xinjiang region, the living environment has been fierce for more than a hundred years. With the powerful threat of orcs, there is no habit of hiding silver coins in cellars.

The consumer desire in northern Xinjiang is very strong. Whether they are soldiers with strong spending power or ordinary free people, most people do not like to save money. On the contrary, the people who migrated from the Delong Kingdom have the habit of saving money.

Due to strong consumer demand, white flour has almost completely replaced the black flour industry in the Harland territory, spreading to nearby areas after the autumn harvest.

In less than a year, the flour mill run by Odaye recovered its investment and began to make money.

"According to the wholesale price at the Commodity Expo, one hundred gold coins buys about fifteen and a half tons of flour, which is less than thirty-four ducats, just enough to load a ship.

From Fort William, sail south along the Powell River into the Black River, then up the Stax River, disembarking near Fort Victory. This 260-kilometer journey relies on water transportation, and the transportation cost is very low.

There is only less than a hundred kilometers left from the Castle of Victory to the Nisolang Family territory, and the transportation costs can be fully borne by the Nisolang Family.

Even if the retail price is increased by 50%, a professional family can still spend a lot. This business should be profitable? "

After listening to Odaye's introduction, Malan thought for a moment and decided to buy 100 gold coins of flour first to see if he could make money?

Although the Nisolan family's baronial territory only covers an area of ​​more than 600 square kilometers, it is very wealthy. The territory is all fertile plains and the population exceeds 40,000.

Because of the horned rabbit breeding industry, the Nisolan family has less pressure on the territory's population and supports a group of middle classes. The population with spending power exceeds 15%, which adds up to about 6,000.

If each of these consumers eats 2.5 kilograms of flour, this batch can be sold out.

After completing the transaction, Odaye took several workers and loaded the flour on a transport ship. After loading the ship, Odaye asked politely: "Mr. Nisolan, do you need to buy insurance?"

This ship is also the property of the Harland family and comes from a shipping company. It takes about three days to transport it, and the freight is nine gold coins. The price is much cheaper than carriage transportation.

To transport fifteen tons of grain by road requires at least thirty horse-drawn carriages and a journey of 260 kilometers, which takes about twelve days. Moreover, the road from Malte Castle to Black River Castle is very difficult, and more horses and personnel are needed.

Malan has been to Haaland Land many times and knows what insurance is.

The insurance business is a new business promoted by Harland Ling last year. Businessmen who hire Harland Ling Freight Company can pay a fee equivalent to 12% of the goods to purchase insurance.

If there is a problem during transportation and the goods are lost, as long as insurance is purchased, the loss will be fully borne by Harland Transport Company.

Although the Grant Kingdom is a unified country, the internal trade routes are actually not safe. In particular, some greedy hereditary nobles often participated in bandits and robberies.

When Richard went to Nolan for the first time to buy slaves, he encountered this kind of thing. If Richard hadn't saved a hand and strengthened the guard force, safety might not have been guaranteed.

In the mountainous areas near the capital, people openly robbed people. In the northern Xinjiang region where the people are barbaric, this kind of thing is even more common.

After the introduction of the insurance business, many caravans with insufficient strength will purchase insurance from Harland Transportation Company.

The transportation company then spends money to hire city defense troops or mercenary groups to ensure the safety of the goods.

Although the city defense army led by Harland is a second-line force, it has developed over the years and has very complete equipment. The quality of the soldiers is comparable to that of the ordinary baron's private army, surpassing most mercenary groups.

The total number of city defense troops and security forces exceeds 30,000. In a war situation, they have to undertake garrison tasks and are used to fill the defense line. In a peaceful situation, their training tasks are not heavy. They can also make some money by taking on escort tasks.

The three provinces of Northern Xinjiang rely on the tributaries of the Heihe River, and water transportation is relatively developed. It is rare to hear of strong water bandits. Generally speaking, it is difficult for the barons and viscounts to have the financial resources to support the navy. When it comes to the Duke of Northern Xinjiang, it is basically impossible to support them. Instead of making a small amount of money from plundering goods, they value the family's reputation, and it is basically impossible to participate in plundering.

Moreover, the goods of Malan and others were entrusted to ships from the Harland territory for transportation. The flag of the Duke of Harland was erected on the ship. Even if there were scattered water bandits, they would not dare to easily provoke the Duke of Harland. The water transportation passed through Black River Fort, Wright. There are several big cities such as Fort, and there are endless cargo ships along the way, so it is relatively safe.

The remaining section of the road was only a hundred kilometers away. The caravan of Malan Nisolang already had sufficient guard strength and was not willing to waste money.

After reaching the deal, it was getting very late. Odaye treated Malan and others to dinner, and then invited the caravan management staff to stay at his home for a few days. As for the remaining manpower, they can only live in simple hotels.

During the commodity expo, in order to make room for the caravans, Harland thought of many ways to convert the indentured slave camps built in the early years into simple hotels. Because the conditions were not very good and the living price was very low, every day For three copper coins per day, hot water and breakfast and dinner are also provided.

Because the commodity expo is becoming more and more influential, more and more people are participating. Even after large-scale expansion, simple hotels can accommodate tens of thousands of people. In the past three years, simple hotels have no longer been enough. If you want to stay, you need to book in advance. , you have to come at least three days early.

In the past three years, during the commodity expo, the city defense troops had to vacate their barracks, and the two primary schools near Fort William also had to take a ten-day holiday to vacate their buildings for outsiders.

This problem is almost impossible to solve in a short time. Within ten years, we can only make do with it for a while. Once the population near Fort William exceeds one million and a number of hotels have been established, it will be relatively easy to solve this problem.

Despite the many arrangements made by Leader Harland, many caravans who arrived late were unable to stay in simple hotels and could only pitch tents in the wild.

The weather is already very cold in November. Although Harland Territory can provide some coal, it is still very inconvenient to live in the wild.

Malan Nisolan came to Harland to lead this time. In addition to buying flour for 100 gold coins, he also planned to buy some scarce resources, such as enchanted armor and alchemy bombs. Even magic hot air balloons, he wanted to buy some.

However, the competition for these scarce extraordinary resources is fierce, and they will basically only be sold to the hereditary nobles of the three provinces of northern Xinjiang. Malan only grabbed five pieces of first-order snake scale armor and ten enchanted long swords this time.

In the next few days, Malan Nisolan bought some Harland specialties such as liquor, brown sugar, soap, medicine, etc., and headed south all the way to the City of Victory.

Since the rebellion of the Blood Horn cultists, the population of Victory City has been reduced by more than half. Even though more than ten years have passed, the vitality of this area has still not recovered.

However, as Harland Territory developed and expanded, with a population of more than one million people added, business in Northern Xinjiang became more prosperous.

The City of Victory is located at the southern entrance of the Dragon Canyon, which is considered a key location in the three provinces of Northern Xinjiang. The Harland family still has some properties in this castle.

In addition to the trading station in the castle, the Harland family also purchased land outside the castle and built docks and cargo stations along the Stax River. There are more than 20 people staying at this cargo terminal all year round.

The white flour that Maran Nisoulang bought a few days ago is stored in this cargo station.

After loading fifteen and a half tons of white flour on the carriage, Malan and others returned to the territory smoothly, although he doubled the selling price to four copper coins and one yani.

White flour costs four copper coins and one yani, and the price is only slightly lower than brown sugar. Even though the price is four times that of black flour, the middle and upper class population still want to try it.

In the consumer market of 6,000 people in Nisolan Territory, the supply of fifteen tons was pitifully small, and it was quickly sold out.

Malan quickly earned more than 90 gold coins from wholesale flour for the first time.

More than ninety gold coins are not a small amount of money even for a baron. This amount of money is enough to support ten junior officers.

After realizing that this business was very profitable, Malan came to Harland again with only his personal entourage this time and began to place additional orders with Odaye. This time he planned to hire Harland Transport Company to take care of the transportation work and purchase insurance.

As for the Nisolan family, they just need to lie down and make money.