Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 223 - 28: Town Planning

Chapter 223: Chapter 28: Town Planning

The so-called Coal Iron Town refers to a settlement for coke refining and iron smelting.

Ruto was responsible for the operation of Coal Iron Town.

But what good could a blacksmith do in management.

The specific matters were still planned out by Roman before he left.

There were no managers,

But there were jobs.

Work and you eat, make a mistake and you’re beaten, do nothing and you’re out.

Unless there were insurmountable factors, production capacity had to meet the standard.

To get steel, Roman initially relocated about four hundred people there.

Mining for iron, mining for coal, iron stoves, coking furnaces.

All these places needed manpower.

Because the transport lines were too long, Roman later built houses there, transported food, and even relocated families, specifically for laundry and cooking—these workers had wages to collect.

Roman had to pay these workers from three to seven copper coins each month.

If an accident resulted in death, he also had to pay a substantial bereavement compensation.

Otherwise, no one would be willing to work and production efficiency would drop significantly.

Later, Roman sent four to five hundred prisoners of war to mine in the mountains.

Prisoners of war couldn’t live in brick houses, as there were no conditions for that, at most they could stay in hut-like accommodations.

This slowly formed a small town.

Every two days, materials necessary for living would be transported from Origin City to this place, and the produced steel would be carried back.

Since the start of selling ironware, the number of cast products had increased and manpower was barely keeping up.

Immigration, expansion!

The population capacity of Origin City was already reaching its limit.

You might see it has only a bit over twenty thousand people.

But the burden on the big kitchens was too heavy, to satisfy the food needs of all the workforce was extremely difficult.

The main reason being that making food was simple, but transporting and serving meals was challenging.

That was like dozens of cafeterias opening at the same time, and it was a matter of coordination.

Labor distribution was also dynamic, Roman had to communicate with people from the big kitchens daily.

Today this job had five hundred people, tomorrow a thousand, and by dawn, they needed to determine food delivery for the whole day to avoid mistakes in transportation.

Even so, it still caused Roman many troubles.

Of course, these could be overcome and didn’t affect the overall situation.

Mistakes kept happening until there were no more.

But it was still the same saying, the population couldn’t be too concentrated, otherwise it was too challenging to operate, and it was gradually becoming uncontrollable.

Roman tied them to specific jobs, so operations seemed organized.

But the population would only increase and sooner or later problems would arise.

They could only be diverted elsewhere.

Coal Iron Town was one of the towns Roman chose to develop.

First, send over a thousand people and see how it goes.

The Salt Mine was the same, increasing manpower to form a scale.

Roman was preparing to complete the construction plans of these two towns by the end of the year, and also construct a road to the gold mine.

Especially for Coal Iron Town, Roman wanted to turn it into a steel processing plant, relocating all the craftsmen from the blacksmith sheds there, to form a complete steel system, and pave the way for future war plans.

But this was quite difficult.

Wilderness meant a menacing environment.

Hard ground, stubborn shrubs, rugged terrain, robust trees, hard stones, intertwining root systems...

All these were obstacles to development.

Roman’s view was to overcome them bit by bit.

If a land was wild, primal, and irascible, then tame it, enslave it, violate it, stick your foot into its mouth, and let it meekly lick your toes!

What did a strong ruler equate to?

It meant that people could cultivate, farm, and build without worries.

Because Roman could bear all their logistical consumption.

They needn’t burn their lives out working.

And a strong government could do even more.

He believed only in the power of the working people.

They were capable of creating miracles!

As long as they could be effectively mobilized!

...

In late autumn of one day,

Roman received news from afar.

Good news, Nathan had returned.

Good news, not only Nathan came back.

"What do you mean ’stopped by the Lord of Cold Wind Town’?"

"Lord Wende charged the Squad Leader a toll,"

Ess, who had left with Nathan in May, rushed back to River Valley, spurring his horse urgently to report to Roman.

"But the Squad Leader has no money!"

Cold Wind Town was a hundred kilometers away from Origin City, situated in front of the mountain ridges. Its territory was vast, but its population didn’t even reach ten thousand, it could only be described as a place of poor mountains and rivers.

Every winter, the cold air from the Northern Land hovered and howled there day and night, truly embodying the bitter coldness of the land.

"Didn’t Nathan say where he came from?"

"He did! But they didn’t believe him! They insisted on the money! And even demanded your horse, Lord!" Ess said angrily.

"Good, very good!"

Roman called for Aaron and Green.

"Go and bring Nathan back to me! I want to ask him why he couldn’t pay the toll!"

The two received their orders and immediately set off.

There were many warhorses in the livestock shed, booty from the last war.

Dick had taken fifty horses, but nearly three hundred were still left here – some of poor quality, and others excellent.

But Roman’s demands were not high, as long as they could be ridden and bred.

However, feeding them high-quality fodder every day was quite a burden for the Breeding department.

The military department also arranged for Scouts, Archers, and Heavy Equipment every day to learn to ride; only those who were very quick learners could become Riders.

Led by the two Conquest Knights, Aaron and Green, more than two hundred Riders first went downstream, then landed and passed through the Wilderness to reach the secondary road extending from Black Iron Avenue, heading toward Cold Wind Town.

They moved fast, reaching Cold Wind Town on the third day.

The town Guards were the first to spot the approaching Cavalry.

Merely because the thunderous sound of the hooves kicked up a line of dust trailing into the sky, clearly visible from five miles away.

Green led the charge alone, drawing his Cavalry Spear single-handedly, and pierced through the chest of a Guard clad in leather armor, spraying blood into the air.

The second Guard, eyes wide with terror, had no chance to utter a word before the spear’s tip slashed his throat!

He planted his spear and stood at the forefront.

The incident quickly alarmed the Lord of Cold Wind Town, who upon arrival saw more than two hundred Riders blocking the entrance to the town, cutting off all the roads.

Lord Wende’s face began to redden.

"What are you doing!" he yelled, "You’ve killed my Guards!"

Green pointed the blood-stained spear tip at the man.

He said in a flippant tone, "Now, Lord, your Guards demanded a toll from me, but I’m out of money. Do forgive me, would you kindly?"

"You’ve come for those thieves!" Lord Wende accused angrily.

Green replied politely, "The ’thieves’ you speak of were detained by you for failing to pay a toll? Are you tired of living?"

"Are you threatening me? I thought you were a duly knighted Knight. Is this how you intimidate a Noble? Is there no law anymore?"

"Well, you’re mistaken, my Lord, precisely because I am knighted I speak thusly, for you have angered my Lord, the River Valley King. His eyes tolerate no dirt. What do you take yourself for?"

Lord Wende trembled with rage, cursing Green for having no regard for rank.

"I think you should bring those ’thieves’ to me first; we can discuss whatever amount you want."

Wende glared hatefully at Green, then muttered something to the people beside him.

Shortly after, Nathan appeared before them, disheveled, his clothes tattered, resembling a destitute denizen.

Green immediately couldn’t smile.

"Did you do this to him?" he demanded of the Lord.

"Who did it! He was already like this when he arrived! He’s a deceiving thief," Lord Wende shouted.

"I’m not!" Nathan protested. "I offered my warhorse in exchange for your grain, and you only gave me three thousand jin of mixed grains—when it should have been five thousand jin of wheat! Later, you said my horse was inferior, brought a donkey to me, claiming it wasn’t worth the price, and asked for the grain back, demanding my last horse for the toll!"

"Where did you get a good horse! That’s something a lordly Knight can have! Surely you stole it! And you’ve abducted the Lord’s villagers. They aren’t slaves, you must have lured them away!"

"It was given to me by my Lord! Those people are my fellow villagers; I am taking them to see my Lord!"

"You stole your Lord’s horse! You’re not a Knight yourself, you’re just lowly peasantry! You’ve no right to pawn it for grain. Once here, the horse is the property of our Lord, and the people too. Lord Wende will sell them for a good price!"

"You damn dare!" Nathan raised his voice furiously, bursting out in vernacular.

But he faced not only Lord Wende, but also his Steward, attendants, and servants, who collectively slandered and cursed him mercilessly.

After Green discerned the true cause of the dispute, he became furious.

"Release everyone immediately! And return the horses! Otherwise, I swear blood will be spilled!"

"Blood has already been spilled!" Lord Wende bellowed.

Green coldly responded, "That was a warning! Because you definitely don’t want to shed more!"