Chapter 198 Big Expenses
Roning and Pearson chatted for quite a while. They learned more about the caravan's operation and decided on the remuneration and expenses of the caravan members.
Simply put, Roning provided all the caravan's consumables, such as pack horses and vehicles for transportation, rations needed for people and livestock on the road, etc.
Pearson and his staff are responsible for visiting customers, promoting products, and facilitating cooperation.
There is no such thing as a bonus commission in this world, so Roning offered a fixed salary to all caravan members.
As the caravan manager, Pearson earned 20 copper coins daily, and his nine deputies earned an average of 5.
Compared to the period of Lei Sen, Roning increased Pearson's salary by three copper coins and increased each of his deputies' salary by one copper coin.
This salary level is already very impressive, considering that Wilson's daily salary was only ten copper coins while serving as a political official.
However, there is a reason why they can get such high rewards. After all, the caravan brings three to four hundred gold coins of income to the territory yearly, and they have made many efforts.
"What a wonderful morning!"
Standing on the steps in front of the castle's drawbridge, Pearson swept away the anxiety and uneasiness he had when he came here, and he regained his former spirit.
He didn't expect that he could gain the trust of the new lord so easily. Not only did he let him continue to manage the caravan in Swamp Town, but he also increased his salary, which made him look forward to the future even more.
"Although the Lord is young and kind, he is not as bad as the rumors say."
It was obvious that Pearson's understanding of Ronin was still early, and he knew nothing about what the new lord had done recently.
He just made this judgment based on his feelings.
Pearson could sense from the conversation just now that this young lord was not simple-minded, and his kindness was only intended to make you serve him more wholeheartedly.
They will be punished if he and his caravan do anything out of line.
But Pearson has a clear understanding of himself.
He was just a businessman dependent on the lord. Without the lord's support, he was nothing.
"We must gather those little guys and get ready to work!"
Pearson did not stop and strode out of the castle.
Next, he and his men will complete the first task assigned by the lord - not sales but purchasing.
First, to cope with the upcoming land reclamation work, Luo Ning planned to purchase 3,000 kilograms of wrought iron to make plowshares and various working tools;
Secondly, the arable land reclaimed in Swamp Town, Forest Town, and several villages has reached 100,000 acres, and it is impossible to grow barley and wheat on all of it. The diversity of food must also be considered.
Therefore, Roning also planned to purchase crops such as peas, lentils, and onions. They could enrich people's food, and beans, for example, could also be used as an excellent feed for war horses.
Last but not least, he needs to purchase food.
The grain harvested by Shanlin Town last autumn was sufficient to support itself. Still, after barely distributing it to the four villages in the north, it could no longer support the food rations of the thousands of slaves about to arrive, let alone support Swamp Town.
According to Chahar's statistics over the past two days, Swamp Town had a food shortage of at least 300,000 kilograms before today's autumn harvest.
Although the subjects need to spend money or labor to buy from him, he has to pay the money to buy from outside.
Three hundred thousand kilograms of grain would cost at least nine hundred gold coins at once, plus the cost of wrought iron and seeds, almost twelve hundred gold coins would be gone.
After making such calculations, Roning was somewhat impressed by Lei Sen. After all; it took him a lot of effort to support such a large swamp town.
If Roning didn't have enough money, he wouldn't know where to get it to buy food.
Of course, 300,000 kilograms of grain cannot be purchased just like that.
Firstly, it was not easy to store food here, and secondly, he was not bold enough to give Pearson thousands of gold coins.
I asked Pearson to buy the wrought iron and seeds; this time, the main thing regarding food was finding the purchasing channels.
When it comes time to buy food, Roning arranges for several knights to accompany the soldiers to ensure the safety of both money and food.
"With a larger population, the expenses will be higher!"
Roning stood on the tower overlooking the town. Although the expansion of the territory made him feel happy, making money also became urgent.
"Although there are two gangs of people, the Black Gold Brotherhood and the Polish Thieves, causing trouble in Wushan Territory, they are minor incidents and have not plunged the territory into a wartime state. This is why the price of food in Wushan Territory remains at a relatively low level."
The average price of barley, wheat, and rye is less than four copper coins, which is quite low.
But once a war breaks out, the price will not be this high anymore. It may double, triple, or even increase.
Wushan has three major grain production bases: Wushan City, Lingchuan City, and Heimang City.
Even though Wushan City belongs to the Wushan Family, the Levi Family, which controls Lingchuan City, also stands on Roning's side and speaks for him in Wushan Castle. However, when food is scarce, Roning may not be able to buy that much.
In a place like Swamp Town, where there is a food shortage of hundreds of thousands of kilograms every year, it is easy for famine to occur and people to starve to death.
Roning was a kind lord. He didn't want to see his subjects starve to death. After all, one death meant one less labor force.
"We must be self-sufficient in food!"
"And there must be enough reserves!"
While Wushan Territory is still peaceful, Luo Ning must actively advance the progress of land reclamation.
When he was full of confidence, a group of people from afar appeared on the road leading to the Swamp Castle, attracting Ronin's attention.
"It's Tom who's back."
Before going to Wushan Fort last year, when Luo Ning passed by the Horse Herding City, he bought forty-four horses from the Tieti family's stable at a very favorable price.
However, due to the rush at that time, Roning did not have the staff to bring these horses back to the territory, so he could only leave them in the Tieti family's stable for the time being.
After returning to Swamp Town, Roning asked Tom to take some cavalry to the Horse Ranch to transport the horses back.
Speaking of this, we must mention the number of horses Ronin has now - a lot.
Excellent war horses: 10;
ordinary war horses: 29;
riding horses: 93;
pack horses: 27.
Ronin owned so many horses mainly because he had confiscated wealth from the Swamp Castle—he seized 65 horses from Leisen!
Now, even if Lord Wu Bei wants to form a second team of knights, Roning doesn't have to worry about not having enough horses.
This is a huge hidden wealth.
"Huh?"
Luo Ning looked at the team and found two familiar figures.
"Rogna and Kurami, why are they here?"
Tom and his party stopped outside the castle gate on the road in front of the drawbridge.
"I'm afraid Baron Leisen didn't expect that the swamp castle he spent a lot of effort to build would fall into the hands of Viscount Ronin."
Kurami looked at the castle carefully, her eyebrows slightly frowned, "The castle is nice, but it's a pity that the air here doesn't smell very good."
Rogner smiled slightly, "You'll get used to it."
"Rogner is right. I was a little uncomfortable on my first day here, but after a good night's sleep, I felt the smell of soil in the air had faded."
Tom smiled and dismounted, "Wait a moment, I'll go in and inform the adults."
Rogner also dismounted and smiled, "Thank you for your help."
He took a deep breath. Today was finally the time for him to take action.
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