Three days later, Sunbarwood led the Lightning Strike Fleet and escorted more than eight hundred merchant and cargo ships to the Romani Cape. He immediately requested to see Lollister.
"Your Highness, this is the list of goods and personnel carried by the fleet. There are a total of eight hundred and forty-three large merchant and cargo ships. Among them, there are a hundred and three large merchant ships carrying more than a hundred thousand new recruits, all of whom are young and strong. More than five hundred of the ships are carrying rations, while the rest are mostly military supplies. Also, there are thirty-eight large merchant ships carrying nearly a hundred thousand barrels of green vine glue … "Sunbarwood reported in detail.
Lollister was stunned. Why would the Trade Alliance transport so much green vine glue? A hundred thousand barrels was almost the entire annual output of the Romon Empire. He took a look at the list of supplies handed over by Senbarwood. It was recorded that the Twin-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce had bought the Romon Empire's annual production of green vine glue at a price 30% higher than the market price. They had also cleared out all their stocks.
Strange, why would the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Group want so much green vine glue? Lollister only took a moment to understand. Three years of continuous bloody battles had turned the Mana Hill Plains into ruins. The reason why the Double-headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce bought so much green vine glue from the Romon Empire was probably to rebuild the Mana Hill Plain. Perhaps, it could also be used to rebuild the defensive facilities and the destroyed city walls of the fortresses that had been recaptured by the Commerce Federation.
A barrel of green vine glue weighed fifty kilograms, and a hundred thousand barrels would be five million kilograms. With the green vine glue as a binding agent, Lollister could perfectly realize an idea he had in the past two days. This was like a pillow sent to him when he was dozing off, and Lollister was extremely happy.
"Very good, I'm lacking manpower and labor." Lollister said to Sunbarwood in satisfaction, "Let the hundred thousand new recruits disembark and work for me ashore. Now that they have become our captives, they don't need to go to the Mana Hill Plains to die. Tell them that as long as they perform five years of labor, they will be free and send them home. Also, unload the hundred thousand barrels of green vine glue and pile them ashore. "
"Eh? Your Highness, aren't we going to transport these 100,000 barrels of green vine glue back to our family's territory? " Compared with the 100,000 young captives, Sunbarwood valued the materials more, which may be related to his experience as a pirate in his early years. He valued property more than life.
"Follow me." Laurist did not answer. Instead, he brought Sambarwood out of the captain's cabin and onto the deck.
"Did you see that? I'm going to build a city here and set up a checkpoint. This will be the starting point for the Norton Family to control the Sunshine Sea's golden coastline, "Lollister said.
Sunbarwood's eyes were wide open for a long time, and they were rippling like waves. Hmm, I looked in the direction that Laurist was pointing at. That was the Romani Cape on the cliff. Could it be that Laurist wanted to build a castle on the cliff? Sunbarwood could not figure it out no matter how he thought about it …
When he didn't get a response, Laurist turned to look at Sunbarwood and knew what he was thinking. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Where are your eyes looking? I'm not going to build a city on a cliff, but on this reef area. "
Only then did Sunbarwood understand that Laurist was really pointing at the sea. But even if it was a reef area, it was impossible to build a city there. This reef area was more than ten meters deep, and the shallowest was only two or three meters deep. Even when the tide was low, there were only a few reefs exposed. Unless Laurist filled in this reef area, it would be impossible for him to build a city on it.
"This reef area is close to the Golden Sea. If we build a city here and set up a checkpoint, our family will only need a few Thunderstrike warships and bronze cannons installed on the city walls to control the throat of the southern seas to Hidden Gold Bay. Then, the trade union's lifeline will be in our hands. Our family doesn't need to take the risk to go to the southern seas. If we build a city here, it will be connected to the south and north of Cirvas Island. This will also allow our family's fleet to have a base of supply and a foothold in the southern seas … "Laurist had come up with the idea of building a city after receiving Schwald's report two days ago. He had already sent people to survey this reef area.
"But Your Highness, this is a huge project." Sunbarwood gulped. "Our family is still at war with the trade union. Even if we have enough resources and a hundred thousand captives, it won't be possible to fill in this reef area in a short period of time. It will take at least three to four years. Isn't it not worth it to spend so much manpower and resources?"
Laurist laughed. "If it takes three to four years to fill in this reef area, it won't be worth it. But I think we can fill in the reef area in two months and start building a city. Half a year later, this place will become the base of the Norton Family's fleet. "
"What? That's impossible! " Sunbarwood shouted. "Your Highness, how can we fill in this reef area in two months? Even with the hundred thousand young captives working day and night, it's impossible …"
"Of course it's possible, because we don't need to fill in the entire reef area." Laurist laughed. "Sunbarwood, did you know? The results of the naval battle three days ago are out. Out of the 472 warships in the Invincible Fleet, only 147 are left in good condition. Apart from the 74 large warships that we destroyed at the front, the remaining 250 warships were more or less damaged by our cannons.
If these damaged warships are repaired, they can sail to Hidden Gold Bay. But after that, they can only stay by the shore and slowly rot in the wind and rain. If we repair these warships before sailing, it will be too risky and irresponsible for the lives of the sailors. Perhaps they can last for a while longer in the calm southern seas, but in the northern seas, where the winds are strong and the waves are strong, they can't withstand the ravages of the waves.
But the Norton Family is in the north, and the northern seas are the foundation of the Northsea Fleet. So these warships that have been bombarded are useless to us. It's a pity to abandon them. Since that's the case, I'm prepared to make use of these warships. Think about it. If we fill these warships with rocks and soil and sink them around this reef area, we can quickly form a dam.
There's an oval-shaped lagoon in the center of this reef area. It's about ten to twenty meters deep. As long as we remove a few unsightly reefs, this lagoon can become a harbor for our family's fleet. Therefore, the 100,000 barrels of green vine glue you mentioned are too useful for us. We don't need to stir them. We just need to dilute the green vine glue and pour it into the cabins filled with rocks and soil. After it solidifies, these sunken ships will become the foundation of the impregnable fortress that we're going to build on top of them. "
So this was Laurist's idea. He wanted to make use of waste. He would use those broken ships filled with rocks and soil to sink them into the reef area to form a dam. Then, he would build a circle of fortress walls and install bronze cannons. This way, he would be able to control the golden sea route from the southern seas to Hidden Gold Bay. At the same time, it would give his family's Northsea Fleet a base and foothold in the Sunshine Sea.
Sunbarwood suddenly understood. He was full of admiration for Laurist. This was practically making something out of nothing. Building a fortress in the reef area was surrounded by steep cliffs that couldn't be conquered by land. And what kind of warship could be used to attack a fortress with bronze cannons at sea? Just as Laurist had said, this was equivalent to controlling the throat of the trade union's sea transportation route. This knife would stab deep and painful enough.
"Your Highness is wise …" Sunbarwood slapped his forehead. "I never thought there would be such an unimaginable method. After building a fortress and checkpoint here, the sea toll our family receives every year will become a huge sum of income. Not a single smuggling ship will be able to escape the taxes our family collects. Your Highness, can I request to use this income to expand our family's fleet? "
Laurist was stunned. "Sunbarwood, I've already ordered the Oxhorn Bay shipyard to build another ten Thunderbolt warships. We're planning to expand the Northsea Fleet's fleet to twenty-four warships. At the same time, we'll reduce the number of large armed warships. We'll design a new type of large, long-distance armed transport warship with a small number of bronze cannons to serve as a supply transport for the Thunderbolt warships. But what do you mean by sea tolls? "
Hearing that Laurist had ordered the construction of ten new Thunderbolt Warships, and that he was going to develop some new type of long-distance armed transport ships, Sunbarwood was overjoyed. He hurriedly explained, "Your Highness, the sea toll is actually a form of tax. In the past, the Invincible Fleet was the overlord of the southern seas. All family ships and private ships sailing in the southern seas had to pay a fee to the Invincible Fleet and obtain permission to do business in the countries along the Sunshine Sea and the Golden Coastline. Otherwise, they would be sunk or confiscated by the Invincible Fleet in the name of pirates or smugglers. From what I know, the standard fee for a large, long-distance merchant ship is twenty-five gold fords a year. "
"Huh? Wasn't the Chikede Merchant Group the overlord of the southern seas? How did it become the Invincible Fleet? " Laurist asked. Tagger's report clearly stated that the overlord of the southern seas was the Chikede Merchant Group. Why did Sunbarwood say something different?
"Your Highness, it's not wrong to say that the Chikede Merchant Group is the overlord of the southern seas. This is because the Invincible Fleet is a shareholding company. The Chikede Merchant Group takes forty percent of its profits, while the remaining sixty percent belongs to the other six merchant groups of the Trade Alliance. However, after the Visia Merchant Group was destroyed by our family, its shares in the Invincible Fleet were swallowed by the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Group.
On the surface, the Invincible Fleet is the overlord of the southern seas. It can do whatever it wants in the name of the Trade Alliance. The countries along the Golden Coastline are afraid of the Trade Alliance's power and can only swallow their anger. Meanwhile, the Chikede Merchant Group secretly controls the Invincible Fleet. At the same time, they have a monopoly on a few of the more profitable products in the southern countries of the continent. Their merchant fleet and armed fleet are the largest apart from the Invincible Fleet.
Even the ports and docks of some coastal countries have fallen into the hands of the Chikede Merchant Group. It can be said that the Chikede Merchant Group has woven a large maritime trading network in the coastal countries of the continent. Only the businesses that they look down on will become the profits that the noble fleets and private ship owners of the coastal countries will fight over. Therefore, it is not wrong to call the Chikede Merchant Group the overlord of the southern seas, "Sambarwood explained. The Invincible Fleet and the Chikede Merchant Group had always been the focus of his attention.
"Oh, I see." Laurist understood now. The Invincible Fleet was called the overlord of the sea because of the fleet's military strength, while the Chikede Merchant Group was called the overlord of the sea because of its comprehensive strength. "Umm, Sambarwood, you said that after the castle is built here, we can collect a huge amount of sea tolls? What if those merchant ships don't come … "
"Hehe, Your Highness, don't worry." Sambarwood was amused. "If those merchant ships only go around the southern seas of the continent, they won't earn much at all. Only by shipping the southern products of the continent to Hidden Gold Bay and selling them to the merchants of Morent City will they be able to earn a price. That's because the merchants of Morent City will sell them to the central and northern regions. Then, they will purchase the local products from the central and northern regions and sell them to the southern parts of the continent through these merchant ships. After deducting the costs, a merchant ship can earn at least a hundred gold fords. That's enough to make one trip a year. "
"I see. But how do you know so much? Don't tell me you're doing this in private?" Laurist looked at Sambarwood suspiciously.
Sambarwood was sweating profusely. "Your Highness, I'm not doing any private business. These were all told to me by the owners of the private ships when I took over the transport fleet. They did me a great favor by stopping the escorts sent by the Invincible Fleet from sinking the ships and destroying the goods. They handed over the transport fleet to me. I asked them what reward they wanted, and they said they wanted to see Your Highness. "
Laurist was interested. "Why do they want to see me?"
Sambarwood scratched his head and said with some embarrassment, "Your Highness, logically speaking, the merchant ships of these private ship owners were requisitioned by the Invincible Fleet and the Chikede Merchant Group. They joined the transport fleet of the Trade Union and are now our captives. They should be our family's spoils of war. However, those private ship owners want to see you for their merchant ships. They're begging you to return them to them. Although they did our family a great favor by stopping the sinking of the ships, it's enough to reward them with ten gold merit points. There's no need to return those merchant ships to them … "
"I'm not going to see them." Laurist stroked his chin. "Agree to their request. I'll return the ships to them after they've finished transporting the goods."
"But Your Highness, these are more than three hundred large and medium-sized merchant ships and cargo ships. They're worth a lot of money …" Sambarwood was still a little reluctant.
"Return them. There are more than eight hundred ships in the transport fleet. Even if we return these three hundred ships to them, we'll still have nearly five hundred ships left. What we lack now isn't ships, but sailors and crew to pilot them. We won't be able to recruit enough trustworthy navigators in the short term. Moreover, this is an opportunity for our family. "
Laurist said thoughtfully, "Hasn't our family been unable to open the trade route to the countries along the Sunshine Sea's golden coastline? Perhaps this will be a good opportunity.
In the past, the trade route to the southern seas was monopolized by the Chikder Merchant Association and the Petersen Merchant Association. The goods produced by our family's territory became the production and purchase point of the two merchant associations. Now, we've cut off all trade.
Let these private ship owners transport the goods to Syrovas Island and let them see the display of our family's goods. Let them purchase freely. Perhaps the goods produced by our family's territory will be sold to the southern countries of the continent through these private ship owners … "
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll definitely do as you say." Sambarwood understood Laurist's intentions.
"Mm, if Syrovas Island can become a fulcrum of the golden sea route, then the fortress checkpoint set up here might really bring our family great benefits. I'll check it at the end of the year. If the amount is large, I can consider expanding the Northern Skeleton Fleet into three sub-fleets. Twelve Thunderbolt Warships, twelve new large ocean-going armed transport ships, and twenty-four new medium-sized armed warships equipped with cannons will form a sub-fleet. It'll be enough for you to dominate the southern and northern seas, "Laurist promised.
"Thank you, Your Highness …" Sambarwood was so happy that his grin reached his ears.
But then Laurist said sternly, "Sambarwood, your next task is very important. First, hand over the entire sea assault team to Schwald. He needs people to watch over the hundred thousand young captives and work on the shore. Next, take ten Thunderbolt Warships and escort the captive sailors of the Chigda Kingdom's Firebird Army and the Invincible Fleet. Then, take the three hundred private merchant ships to Syrovas Island to transport the goods. I've already used a messenger hawk to order Baron Camorra to head to Syrovas Island to receive the captives and goods.
I'll bring the remaining transport ships and the warships of the Invincible Fleet to Amethrin Port and rendezvous with the Monolith Army and the Royal Guards. Once you've sent the captives and goods to Syrovas Island, return here. First, supervise the project to fill in the submerged reef area and control the surface of the ocean. Second, gradually transport these hundred thousand young captives to Duke Kenneth's family's territory, Sigler Province. Then, go ashore from Platinum Beach to Yungesandra Province. The family needs these hundred thousand laborers to develop this province … "
"But, Your Highness, aren't you going to attack Hidden Gold Bay and take over Moronte City?" Sambarwood was anxious. It sounded like Laurist had excluded the North Sea Fleet.
As expected, Laurist shook his head. "We don't need the North Sea Fleet to attack Hidden Gold Bay. Look at the warships and transport ships of the Invincible Fleet that we've captured this time. We can definitely use them to enter Hidden Gold Bay and take over Moronte City. "
Yes, it would be safer to enter Hidden Gold Bay while pretending to be the Invincible Fleet, and the enemy would be less likely to be on guard. If a Thunderbolt Warship appeared, it would instead alert the enemy and make them more vigilant and more vigilant. Sambarwood quickly understood this point.
"Alright, Your Highness, I'll definitely complete the task," Sambarwood said dejectedly.
…
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