For any organization to function effectively, it must be supported by substantial financial resources.
War is fought with economics, and development also relies on economics.
The same applies to the vampires.
Li De's farming plan would require a significant amount of financial support in the future, which is why he was in such a hurry to acquire a merchant guild.
Once the grain purchases were completed, Li De would inject more funds to ensure the Golden Wheat Merchant Guild could operate normally.
With a high-level mage like him as their backing, the Golden Wheat Merchant Guild would no longer be subjected to endless exploitation by greedy nobles and could develop much more effectively.
Moreover, the vampires had over a hundred intermediate-level mages. By assigning half of them to produce magical items, the Golden Wheat Merchant Guild could make a substantial profit.
The reason why mages were an enviable profession wasn't just because of their powerful abilities but also their exceptional ability to generate wealth.
Magical potions, scrolls, equipment enchantments—all of these required the use of magic.
And these industries were among the most lucrative, even more profitable than the arms trade.
The Vampire Progenitor, with his proud and aloof personality, had never considered using the vampires to make money, especially since the vampires had never been short of funds before.
But now, things were different. The farming plan required a bottomless pit of financial resources, and the wealth accumulated by the vampires would eventually run out. If they didn't prepare in advance, they would face the dilemma of a financial breakdown.
His plan to train mage apprentices was also part of this strategy. However, at this stage, the priority was to serve the upcoming large-scale farming project. Making money would have to wait until everything was running smoothly.
Without a sufficient number of humans entering the ancient castle, all his ideas would remain as mere reflections on the surface of a lake.
Only when the vampires had at least ten thousand humans would they be able to escape the predicament of risking their lives every year to raid humans beyond the Far Mountain Range.
Only then would they truly have control over their own destiny.
Moreover, in his plan, the number of humans residing in the ancient castle wasn't limited to just ten thousand. The fertile land in the rear could support hundreds of thousands of people.
Once the initial challenges were overcome, Li De believed the ancient castle would undoubtedly become a powerful force.
The potential of the vampires wouldn't be inferior to Green City, a major city with a population of one million.
By the time they reached that level of development, he wouldn't need to worry about the troublemaking, death-seeking players anymore.
After the five mage apprentices escorted Laurent and the oak chest filled with gold pucks out of the mage tower, Vina eagerly approached Li De.
Her dazzling blue eyes, like spring azaleas, seemed to speak volumes as they fixed on the master of the mage tower.
"Lord Li De, were you just answering everyone's questions about magic?"
Seeing the envy shining in the girl's beautiful blue eyes, Li De nodded gently.
"Yes. You, along with Karu and Cohen, come with me to the study. I'll give you another lesson."
The girl's eyes instantly curved into crescent moons, her joy overflowing on her face.
Karu and Cohen, who had already gained a lot, were even more pleasantly surprised. They hadn't expected Lord Li De to offer them another lesson.
The other mage apprentices, though envious, were self-aware. Their talents couldn't compare to these three.
"You don't need to envy them. Their skills have already far surpassed yours. Work hard and strive to catch up. When you do, I'll also provide you with personal guidance."
These words instantly filled the mage apprentices with excitement.
"Yes, Lord Li De!"
"I will definitely work hard!"
"Thank you, Lord Li De!"
Seeing their excited expressions, Li De nodded and walked toward the study.
Since he had decided to train these apprentices, he would do his best. The sooner these apprentices became official mages, the greater the help they would be to him.
---
The efficiency of the vampires far exceeded Li De's expectations.
On the third day after returning to Green City, while Laurent was still busy with the massive grain purchases, Odys sent a message via bat: the cleanup of the southern district of the ancient castle was complete.
The cleared area could accommodate over eight thousand humans, and they had also found thousands of winter coats in the warehouse.
Li De breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the news.
Half of the preparatory work for the farming plan was now complete. Once the Golden Wheat Merchant Guild acquired enough wheat, the plan could be launched.
Of course, he wouldn't wait until all 1,800 gold pucks were spent before moving to the next step.
As soon as one-third of the grain was purchased, the population acquisition plan could begin.
"Odys, immediately send 50 clansmen to the southern part of the Far Mountain Range, near the battlefront of the Beastmen Empire's invasion, to gather information on refugees. If large groups of refugees are encountered, assign clansmen to follow them.
Ensure you stay far from the main battlefield and avoid any encounters with the Beastmen's wyverns."
On a sheet of white parchment, Li De wrote in standard Continental Common Script, a pictographic script completely unrelated to Chinese characters.
After rolling up the paper, Li De tied it to a specially crafted alchemical storage pouch on the bat's belly.
Flap, flap~
The trained bat, released from Li De's hand, flapped its wings and flew out of the mage tower through the half-open stained-glass window.
Li De gazed through the translucent stained-glass window, overlooking Green City, lost in thought.
Due to the Beastmen Empire's invasion, the number of refugees in Green City was increasing. If Green City, hundreds of miles from the border, was experiencing this, it was clear that the fighting at the border was far more intense than in previous years.
In recent days, Li De had noticed a significant increase in tension within the city. The number of beggars and refugees on the streets had multiplied several times over.
This was the perfect time to send out the vampires to gather information. By the time Odys had gathered enough intelligence, the Golden Wheat Merchant Guild would have completed the grain purchases.
A two-pronged approach.
Once one-third of the grain reserves were secured, the refugee acquisition plan could begin.
His plan was simple and direct: find the refugees, those who had lost their homes due to the war, and bring them back to the ancient castle.
Under normal circumstances, if the vampires were to abduct humans on a large scale, it would undoubtedly lead to disaster. Vampires, whose entire bodies were valuable alchemical materials, were the kind of creatures mages loved to encounter.
But now, things were different. The Beastmen's army had devastated the border regions, and no one would care about the disappearance of a group of refugees.
Thus, this was the perfect opportunity to expand the population. Missing it would mean waiting until next year when the Beastmen launched another invasion.
The Beastmen, lacking food during the winter, invaded the Nolan Empire every year to plunder enough supplies. By the time spring arrived, they would retreat to their barren wastelands.
The wealthy and agriculturally skilled Nolan Empire had become a feeding ground for the Beastmen, who would come every winter to take what they needed.
However, since the Beastmen always retreated in spring, the Nolan Empire lacked the resolve to confront them head-on. The noble lords were even less willing to fight the brutal Beastmen for the sake of commoners on the border.
After all, once spring arrived, the Beastmen would retreat. Since there was no loss of territory, what did it matter to them?
Thus, the civilians living on the border became the sacrificial lambs, enduring this cycle every year.
But it had to be said that the borderlands were indeed fertile. Despite the annual devastation, the border civilians always managed to recover in the shortest time possible.
The population in the border regions had remained relatively stable over the years.
It was precisely because of this historical context that Li De had the confidence to formulate this plan.
However, he could already foresee that the population issue would remain a significant challenge for the ancient castle for a long time after the farming plan was launched.
After all, acquiring five thousand people was not the same as acquiring fifty thousand.
And the number of people he envisioned for the ancient castle was in the hundreds of thousands.