Chapter 118 – The Governor, Cement, and the Population Trade
After a long time, John Rice once again met the master of this land, the Viscount of Lanwan, Charlotte Mellerfield.
What surprised John Rice was that Charlotte's demeanor was almost unchanged from their last meeting during the negotiations at the Lanwan Isthmus. Before coming, John Rice had thought that a young lord, after crushing seven city-states in northern Sokea, including Ambratu, would show some signs of complacency and arrogance. But the Viscount of Lanwan before him was still modest, elegant, and polite.
"Please sit, Mr. John. It's been a while. You've gotten much thinner. How is your health?" Charlotte made an inviting gesture and asked with a smile.
Whether he was thinner or not, Charlotte didn't know, because she didn't remember him at all. However, Charlotte felt that the "007" work schedule on the canal should have some weight-loss effects.
"Thanks to your care, my health is still quite good," John Rice said as he sat down opposite Charlotte.
Charlotte didn't care if there was any sarcasm in his words. She nodded slightly and said, "It's good that you're healthy. I have some important matters that I need your help with."
Hearing this, John Rice couldn't help but sit up a little straighter. Charlotte pushed the petition in front of John Rice.
Puzzled, John Rice opened the petition and began to read. As he read, his lips visibly turned pale, and his fingers began to tremble. For Charlotte, the petition written by Bill was nothing more than a bit of grumbling from a remnant of the old guard who missed the era of the city-states. However, for John Rice, what was described within were the flesh and bones of his former compatriots.
"Demon, demon..." John Rice muttered to himself as he read.
Flipping through the copies and seeing the familiar signatures page after page, John Rice finally couldn't bear it anymore. He lowered his head and pleaded with Charlotte, "Your Excellency the Viscount, please spare the citizens of Ambratu. We have no intention of opposing you."
"Why must you say such things, Mr. John," Charlotte quickly shook her head and smiled. "I never intended to do anything to the citizens of Ambratu in the first place. After their labor service ends, I will naturally let them go home. I called you here today to discuss the matter of the governor of Ambratu County."
"The matter of the governor?" John Rice was a bit confused.
"Yes. Jonathan Hackman has been treating human lives as if they were grass, doing whatever he pleases in his position as governor, causing turmoil and widespread public resentment in Ambratu County." Charlotte's tone grew sterner, as if she were genuinely angry, and she even slapped the table. "Without a doubt, Jonathan Hackman is no longer fit to remain in the position of governor of Ambratu County. I have already issued an order to dismiss him from his post."
"Really? Thank you, Your Excellency, for upholding justice for the people of Ambratu!" John Rice was both surprised and overjoyed to hear this. Jonathan Hackman's dismissal was undoubtedly great news for the former citizens of Ambratu. Regardless of how much truth there was in Charlotte's words, her recalling of Jonathan—this hawk who harbored great malice towards the citizens of Ambratu—proved to some extent that the Viscount of Lanwan did not intend to annihilate the former citizens of Ambratu.
"No need to thank me. Appointing such an incompetent person to govern Ambratu was my own dereliction of duty. Here, please allow me to apologize to you and to the people of Ambratu like you." Charlotte bowed slightly.
"No, no, you don't need to apologize. This is all Jonathan's fault. It has nothing to do with you." When you're the fish on the chopping block, John Rice didn't dare to accept Charlotte's apology.
Charlotte paid no mind to John Rice's panic and continued, "After Jonathan is dismissed, Ambratu County will lack a governor who can appease the people, resolve conflicts, and restore public livelihood. I sought the opinions of some people from Ambratu, and they unanimously recommended you. May I ask if you are willing to accept this appointment?"
"Me? The governor?" John Rice was shocked.
"That's right. Are you willing to take on this position?" Charlotte asked again.
John Rice hesitated. "This... I'm afraid my abilities are insufficient for the task."
"You're being too modest," Charlotte smiled. "The people I asked all praised you as being selfless, capable, and experienced in governance. I am sure you can govern Ambratu well."
Hearing this, John Rice was suddenly moved. Although he didn't know who had recommended him, he was sure they were people of Ambratu who had been terribly oppressed by Jonathan. How desperate must his compatriots be to place their hopes on a mediocre person like himself! With his compatriots placing such high hopes on him, John Rice felt he could not shrink back.
Finally, John Rice said, "Thank you for your trust. I am willing to serve as the governor of Ambratu."
After issuing the letter of appointment to John Rice and dispatching a knight to escort him back to Ambratu, Charlotte went back to work.
Charlotte was drawing blueprints. She was using the knowledge from her memory to design a vertical kiln for producing cement. Of course, a vertical kiln was inferior to a rotary kiln in terms of production efficiency, raw material utilization, and other aspects. In Charlotte's previous life, cement vertical kilns were already outdated technology that needed to be eliminated. But what could she do? Charlotte couldn't build a rotary kiln. In this world, a cement vertical kiln was already cutting-edge technology.
Cement was widely recognized as a transmigrator's divine tool. However, Charlotte had procrastinated until today to think about making it. The reason for her lack of enthusiasm was actually quite simple—she couldn't afford to use it.
Some might wonder, aren't the raw materials for cement just limestone and clay? How could it be unaffordable? It was actually a simple math problem.
Take the simplest cement road, for example. The ratio of cement added per cubic meter of concrete for building a cement road is generally between three hundred and four hundred and seventy kilograms, depending on the compression standard. Considering the needs of this era, Charlotte could build the main road of her territory according to the lowest standard, which is adding three hundred kilograms of cement per cubic meter of concrete. Even so, a one-kilometer, five-meter-wide main cement road would require twenty-two and a half tons of cement.
Take the earthen vertical kilns that were popular in the rural areas of China in the late 1950s—these were the easiest cement kilns for a transmigrator like Charlotte to build. But these earthen kilns often had a daily output of only a hundred kilograms, or even just a few dozen kilograms. What was that enough for? Building one meter of road per day? And then passing the task down to her children and grandchildren, ad infinitum?
Charlotte didn't think her mountain slaves, who couldn't even count to five, would be more productive than the farmers of the 1950s in her previous life. So she had never been in a hurry to produce cement. It wasn't until she occupied Ambratu and won the North Sokea front, with relatively sufficient manpower and resources in her hands, that Charlotte began to consider building a cement plant. Charlotte felt that for cement to be truly meaningful and contribute to the prosperity of the territory after the Lanwan Grand Canal was opened, the daily output of this first cement plant had to reach at least one hundred tons.
Just as Charlotte was concentrating on drawing the blueprint for the future, Cecilia suddenly came to report that a merchant wanted to see her.
"A merchant?" What merchant needed to be received by her personally? In the past, merchants who came to seek an audience with Charlotte were usually received by Cecilia. Charlotte was puzzled, but she still let Cecilia bring the person in.
Before long, Charlotte saw a somewhat familiar person—the merchant who had stopped her a few days ago, Jean Jolly.
"Sir, I didn't expect you to come back again," Charlotte smiled. "Are you looking for another rejection?"
"No, no," Jean Jolly waved his hands quickly, then bowed in greeting. "It's an honor to see you again, Your Excellency the Viscount. However, the one who wishes to see you this time is not me, Jean Jolly, but my master."
Only then did Charlotte notice that a noble lady, who looked to be in her thirties, with a dignified yet slightly charming appearance and a mature yet capable temperament, had entered behind Jean Jolly.
"This is my mistress, Baroness of Sus, Lady Winona Jolly," Jean Jolly introduced.
"Respected Viscount of Lanwan, please forgive my presumptuous visit," Lady Winona curtsied to Charlotte, speaking in the Oran language with a Gangtu Empire accent.
Charlotte also quickly stood up to return the courtesy and invited Lady Winona to take a seat before asking with a smile, "Lady Winona, what brings you to my humble backwater?"
"Your Excellency's territory is so prosperous, how can it be considered a humble backwater?" Lady Winona said politely, then got to the point. "I have come this time to purchase the two bottles of 'Sea Serpent' in your possession."
"This... I believe I've already told Mr. Jean Jolly, haven't I? The 'Sea Serpent' I have is not for sale," Charlotte said, spreading her hands.
"I have, of course, heard," Lady Winona frowned in thought for a moment, then finally sighed helplessly. "I have a reason why I must purchase the 'Sea Serpent'. I implore Your Excellency the Viscount to be accommodating..."
Lady Winona then explained. It turned out that the Jolly family was once a prominent noble family in the Gangtu Empire. The highest title in the family was the Count of Mihefanting, with a fiefdom on the coast of the Pottery Kettle Inner Sea, adjacent to the Lesalei Kingdom. However, the previous Count of Mihefanting, Robert Jolly, had handled matters poorly and failed to present sufficiently good black pearls to Emperor Jefferson Shane as a birthday gift. As a result, he was punished by Jefferson for the crime of disrespecting the emperor, and Robert Jolly's son was forbidden from inheriting his title.
Lady Winona's husband, Chris Jolly, was the eldest son of Robert Jolly. Originally, Chris Jolly could have become a count, but after being punished by the emperor, he could now only be a minor baron. Lady Winona was unwilling to accept this and had always wanted to help her husband restore his title.
Jean Jolly calling Lady Winona his mistress was actually a bit of self-aggrandizement. Like many great noble families, the Jolly family had many branches. Jean Jolly's branch and the Baron of Sus's branch were long-lost relatives and had never had contact before. However, Jean Jolly felt that the "Sea Serpent" was definitely a good business opportunity not to be missed. Since he himself lacked the power to obtain the "Sea Serpent" from Charlotte, he sought out the Baron of Sus, Chris Jolly, for cooperation.
After hearing about the whereabouts of the "Sea Serpent" that had been robbed by pirates, the Baron of Sus hadn't said much, but Lady Winona was already tempted, believing this could be a good opportunity to get her husband's title back. So she immediately took a fast boat with Jean Jolly and rushed to the Lanwan Viscountcy.
"If Miss Charlotte is willing to sell those two bottles of 'Sea Serpent'," Lady Winona said, "I am willing to pay one million Fuso."
"One million Fuso," Charlotte raised an eyebrow slightly, then smiled. "It seems the Baron of Sus is much richer than I am."
Lady Winona also laughed. "The Jolly family did once hold the title of count, after all, and our family also has some maritime trade businesses, so we are indeed not too poor. Besides, Miss Charlotte, you are also being too modest. Who doesn't know that the Mellerfield family is a top noble family in the Oran Empire?"
"The family fortune of a top noble family doesn't fall to me," Charlotte waved her hand dismissively, then paused for a moment before adding, "Lady Winona, you may be disappointed..."
Hearing this, Lady Winona's expression immediately tensed up.
"I've already drunk one bottle of the 'Sea Serpent'. Now there's only one left," Charlotte said.
Lady Winona sighed in relief. Although it was a pity to only be able to buy one bottle, it was better than nothing. "For the remaining bottle, I am willing to pay five hundred and fifty thousand Fuso," Lady Winona said.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Charlotte blinked and said. "Things are precious when they are rare. If you really want to buy the last remaining bottle, you should be offering one and a half million Fuso, shouldn't you?"
"One and a half million... this price is too high," Lady Winona said with a troubled expression.
"Haha, one and a half million was just a joke," Charlotte laughed. "I'm not that heartless. It's not impossible to sell you the last bottle cheaply, but I have an additional condition."
"Really? Whatever the condition is, Your Excellency the Viscount, please just say it," Lady Winona said quickly.
"I want to do long-term business with you," Charlotte said. "As you can see, my territory is undergoing major construction projects and is in severe lack of labor. I want to buy at least ten thousand adult slaves from the Gangtu Empire and the Lesalei Kingdom. I wonder if you can manage that?"
"Ten thousand slaves? That's not difficult. There are some, um... conflicts... in the Gangtu Empire, so slaves are relatively plentiful. It's just that I will need some time to procure them for you," Lady Winona said vaguely.
"I've already said it's a long-term business. I will naturally give you time to procure them," Charlotte said. "In addition, I also need to purchase one thousand children with transcendent aptitude, five hundred boys and five hundred girls, under the age of fourteen."
"This may take even longer," Lady Winona said with a wry smile.
"You can consider whether to accept this deal," Charlotte said.
"What choice do I have left," Lady Winona let out a breath and braced herself. "I will do my best to procure these slaves for you within half a year."