At night, a small celebration party was being held in the Lord's Mansion.
Elsa was sitting in a corner, sipping her juice. Elijah was beside her, looking for delicious food to bring back for her mother. Brian and Edgar were drinking so much that their faces were glowing. Even better, Fiona was not as angry as before.
Tang En threw out another piece of news.
"What? You want to build a charcoal factory? "
Fiona was stunned. "Are you crazy?"
"Of course I'm not crazy. What's wrong?"
"You're asking me what's wrong?"
Fiona counted with her fingers for Tang En. "The farmers' subsidies cost about a thousand gold coins. The guards' salaries and bonuses cost about two thousand gold coins. Then we have to build a Chamber of Commerce and a mint sugar factory. A conservative estimate of ten thousand gold coins. My Lord, even if Hogg left behind a lot of gold coins, we can't afford to spend like this. Don't forget that we don't have any income right now! This month's taxes added up to less than a thousand gold coins! At this rate, we won't get more than ten thousand gold coins a year. You've spent it all in just a few days! "
Tang En smiled faintly. "When the Chamber of Commerce is successfully built, we'll have income."
Fiona sighed. "That will be built on the premise that we have enough goods. Moreover, we have to ensure that our goods are attractive enough."
"You don't have confidence in the mint sugar and soap?"
"I have confidence. However, if we want to rely on these two products to support a Chamber of Commerce and a territory, it's not enough."
Fiona stared at Tang En. "We still need more products, more valuable products … for example, magic scrolls?"
Fiona did not forget that Tang En was a powerful mage. If he could casually create a few powerful magic scrolls, such as the tier 4 magic scrolls that he used to scare Barker, they could make a lot of money by selling them!
"Don't think about magic scrolls for now — at least not to sell them."
Tang En shook his head. He didn't know what rules the magicians in this world followed. If he rashly intervened in the magic scroll market, he was afraid that he would be boycotted by other magicians, which would be very detrimental to his development.
"Alright, since you're the Lord, you have the final say."
Fiona turned her head away angrily.
Tang En laughed involuntarily. Fiona looked like a cute little girl when she was angry. Tang En always had the urge to tease her.
Fiona waited for a long time, but Tang En did not comfort her. She could only glare at him angrily. This unromantic idiot!
"Tell me, why do you want to build a charcoal factory? It's almost summer. Even if we burn charcoal, it's useless. It's a complete waste of gold coins! "
"Because I want to produce steel."
Tang En's answer was very simple.
"Steel?"
Fiona had never heard of this rare word, so she was a little puzzled.
"Yes, a material harder than iron and more versatile. It can be used to forge armor, and can also be used to produce other utensils, such as … tableware? Kitchen utensils? Or other things. In short, this material has a very wide range of uses. "
Tang En gave a simple explanation, but he did not expect Fiona to have no reaction. When Brian and Edgar, who were drinking, heard Tang En mention a new type of material, they sobered up a little.
"Brother! You want to refine a new material!? "
Brian's eyes lit up. "What do you need me to do!? Just tell me! "
"My Lord! What does this new material have to do with charcoal!? "
Edgar's attention was closer to the core.
"Yes," Fiona frowned. "Steel … What does it have to do with charcoal?"
"Of course, iron ore, charcoal, and limestone. None of them can be missing."
Tang En smiled. Although he had never learned how to make steel, he had heard of the original method of making steel. Naturally, he knew the principle of making steel.
Steel, or to be precise, iron-carbon alloy, differed from iron in the amount of carbon. By blowing charcoal into the furnace, the excess carbon in the iron would be removed, and quicklime would be added to make slag to remove the waste. What was left was the steel. Of course, Tang En did not consider special steel at the moment. Rare metals such as chromium, manganese, and molybdenum were things that Tang En had never seen before, let alone find a way to refine them.
What he needed now was some basic steel.
Tang En did not explain too much to Fiona. He just said, "The charcoal factory must be built, and the steel mill is the most important thing for Ellington's development in the future. It must be put on the agenda. In addition, these two factories must be built as far away from the town as possible because they will produce a lot of pollution."
"… I understand."
Fiona had to compromise with Tang En.
Tang En also knew that it was like forcing a duck to a perch, but it was impossible not to make steel.
Prandal had magic metals with superior performance, but on the one hand, magic metals were too rare and expensive. On the other hand, they were strictly controlled and monopolized. It was difficult to popularize them.
Steel was different. Steel made from iron could not only be used to produce armor and weapons in the early stage, but it could also continue to shine in the civilian field when it was powerful and had magic metal veins.
This was something that had been verified on Earth. Steel could be said to be the material foundation of modern society, and it had important uses in every field. Back then, it was even used to measure the strength of a country by its steel production, so Tang En did not doubt this point.
"Uh, that, of course, making steel is a good thing, but I want to tell Sir Lord …"
Edgar raised his hand weakly.
"Go ahead."
Edgar looked embarrassed. "Sir Lord, we … have no iron ore."
"Pfft!"
Tang En was stunned. "How is that possible!?"
"Sir Lord!"
Edgar felt very wronged. "Didn't you calculate how much iron ore we have recently consumed? First, we made a large number of iron farming tools, and then we built such a big water wheel. You also took some iron ingots. Ah, by the way, Sir Lord, I have given the bill of those iron ingots to Miss Fiona. I have been in Ellington for so many years, and this is the largest batch of iron ore I have consumed in a short period of time! "
Edgar said with a smile. "If Sir Lord still wants to use iron ore to make steel, I am afraid that I will have to wait for a month before I can buy a new batch of iron ore."
"Are you kidding me!?"
Tang En's eyes widened. "Let's not talk about Ellington, I remember that there is an iron mine not far from the west of Ellington! There is an iron mine, and you don't have iron ore!? "
"Ah? Sir Lord, you know about that mine? "
Edgar was stunned. "But didn't the others tell you?"
"Tell me what? Fiona? "
Fiona's face was blank. "I don't know … What happened to that mine?"
Edgar said with a strange face, "That iron mine … was occupied by Baron Duwei of Kasparmi Castle in the north."
Tang En's face showed a "Are you kidding me?" expression. "The Lord of Kasparmi Castle extended his hand here, and that Hogg didn't react at all!?"
At this time, Elsa interrupted and said, "When Hogg was in office, the mine was occupied by a group of magic beasts, so he directly abandoned it. Later, a group of mercenaries from Kasparmi Castle cleaned up the mine. Baron Duwei received the news and took over the iron mine and began to excavate. When Hogg received the news, it was already too late. Baron Duwei's soldiers and slaves had already occupied the entire mine. Baron Hogg attacked several times, and after dozens of people died, he simply gave up."
After listening to Elsa's explanation, Tang En had a headache. He had never asked about the mine before. He thought that the mine had been operating normally and was transporting iron ore to Ellington.
Who would have thought that this damn Hogg, even after death, still lingered and left such a mess for him!
Tang En was not happy. That mine belonged to Ellington's property. In other words, it belonged to him!
Now that Baron Duwei dared to openly plunder his wealth, how could he tolerate this?!
Although iron ore and copper ore were one of the most basic ores, they were also very important. In particular, the iron mine was also related to Tang En's steelmaking plan. This mine must be taken back!
"Elsa, cancel tomorrow's training plan."
"Ah?"
Elsa froze for a moment and immediately understood Tang En's meaning. "Sir Lord, you want to …"
"That's right, what belongs to me, no one can take it away. Whoever dares to touch my things, I'll make them pay back ten times over."
Twain said faintly, "What's more, even in the Empire's law, that iron mine is my property. Baron Duwei ignored the Empire's law and openly robbed my wealth. Fiona, what can I do under the Empire's law?"
Fiona looked at the side of Tang En's face and revealed a smile: "Of course, a tooth for a tooth, blood for blood, take it back."
"Yes, the imperial law is very clear about this. If a noble's private property is violated, they can use force to defend their rights and take back their wealth."
Tang En smiled a bit, but this smile was a bit cold: "Presumably, Baron Duwei had already thought of this result when he made his move."
Brian laughed: "Brother, it seems he's not afraid of you. Otherwise, he would've restrained himself after hearing the news of you taking office."
"Then we'll let him know how terrible the wrath of Lord Ellington is."
Tang En patted Brian: "The dwarves should be very interested in the iron mine, right? Are you interested in going with me for a stroll this time? Relax a bit? "
"Of course!"
Brian gulped down the ale in his glass and slammed it on the table: "My warhammer has been itching for a long time!"
"Elsa, assemble the guards tomorrow. I want to see everyone there."
Tang En shook the glass and drank it in one gulp. With a "bang", the glass in his hand shattered into pieces.
Tang En calmly said: "We're going to take back the iron mine."
"Wow!"
Elijah exclaimed. Her eyes lit up and clapped hard: "Sir Lord, you're so handsome! Another one! Another one! "
Tang En, Elsa, Fiona, Brian, Edgar, Tina: "…"
PS: Dear ones, remember to vote ~ Mwah ~
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