Chapter 188: Visitors from Afar

In the Bolerum Territory these past few days, some were happy while others were worried! In fact, not long after this year’s Battle of Brandenburg, the casualty list was sent back to the Bolerum Territory. Even the pensions and preferential policies for the martyrs had already been implemented. However, the families could not psychologically accept this reality; they would rather temporarily refuse the pensions and wait for news of the returning troops.

However, when the mostly intact bodies were pulled back to the territory by carriages, this cruel reality shattered their last bit of hope. Now, just like the residents who lost their relatives in the pirate raid two months ago, they were immersed in boundless grief. Fortunately, the number of soldiers who died in Brandenburg was far smaller than that at Morbihan Port. Tears and low sobbing sounds did not permeate the streets and alleys of Poitou City like last time.

Similarly, those veterans who retired due to injuries also harvested tears of joy for surviving the disaster and reuniting with their families. That was a double joy that infected both themselves and their families. These former fighters could no longer fight desperately against enemies on the battlefield. After losing their most important source of income, and with some even suffering physical disabilities, they were still full of enthusiasm and hope for the future.

Because they knew that the Lord would not give up on them. Regarding the work issues, the civil servants at City Hall would also make unified arrangements as soon as possible. As long as they worked hard in the future, they would not have to worry about having food to eat. Similarly, their past experiences and scars, in the environment of the Duchy of Nohan, were more like military medals than burdens.

Of course, the reason why the Bolerum Territory could so easily, just like the planned economy period of Tianchao before transmigration, properly resettle these soldiers, was fundamentally because of the large and small factories and workshops George built in the territory. Only the labor demand similar to industrialized mass production could provide such conditions and satisfy this material basis.

But looking at the current situation, what George worried most was how long this situation of exclusive operation, formed by technical monopoly, could last. Technical blockades ultimately had a time limit, especially in this world with supernatural powers. A single charm person could solve things that many business spies could not do before transmigration. Even if no one knew the entire process, it would just require multiple careful actions. The appearance of imitations of distilled liquor before was the best example.

Fortunately, in this world, due to transportation reasons, being far from the raw material origin meant freight alone was a headache for any workshop. Except for certain goods with extremely strong market demand, short shelf life, or extremely inconvenient transportation. Basically, all workshops were established in locations easy to obtain raw materials. After all, deep-processed products had higher added value, which could offset the impact of freight to a certain extent.

This was also one of the reasons why the Bolerum Winery’s products could still sell well even after distilled liquor appeared in other regions. Another reason was the unique climatic conditions of the Bolerum Territory itself, with hot and dry summers and mild and rainy winters. The agricultural production type formed in the Bolerum region was unique.

Influenced by this climate, agriculture in the region formed characteristics combining drought-resistant crops, woody cash crops, and livestock breeding. Of course, because of the rivers passing through the territory and the continuous construction of water conservancy facilities by generations of Lords over the years, the main crops were wheat and barley, followed by oats and beans. Grapes, the woody crop olive, and figs were cash crops widely planted in this region; the latter was typical fruit horticulture, represented by citrus, grapes, and olives. In summer, it was hot and dry, and water evaporated intensely, leading to sugar accumulation in the fruits; the mild climate in winter was conducive to the safe overwintering of plants, and sufficient water resources met the plants’ needs for water.

Excellent raw materials made the wine brewed in the Bolerum Territory unique in both taste and smell. Otherwise, just by being one step ahead, it would be impossible to establish a brand and reputation. This was a gift from nature, an innate condition difficult for others to copy.

But George’s worry was not unreasonable; once technology spread, the competition that would follow represented a bloodless cruelty. This could not be accomplished just by external industrial plunder. Because the history before transmigration gave George the best inspiration.

Engels once said: “The power of British industry is maintained only by barbarously treating the workers, by destroying their health, and by neglecting the development of whole generations in social, physical, and spiritual aspects.” In the early stage of the Industrial Revolution, both Sweden and Britain were engaged in the textile industry. In Swedish textile factories, the mortality rate of child labor exceeded 30%. In British textile factories, it was guaranteed that no matter who you were, a worker would be worked to death after three years in the factory—and then the Swedish textile industry could not compete with Britain in cost and was finally crushed by Britain.

According to Engels’ description, the average life expectancy of the upper class in Liverpool, Britain at that time, including nobles and professionals, was thirty-five years; for merchants and better-off craftsmen, it was twenty-two years; and for workers, laborers, and general hired laborers, it was only fifteen years! In Manchester, over 57% of workers’ children died before the age of five, whereas only 20% of the upper-class children died before five. And in agricultural areas, the average death rate of children of all classes before five was less than 32%… The result of the Industrial Revolution was actually making people live more miserably!

Alright! In this world, there were indeed territories where life was no better than in London, Britain, at that time. But that definitely had nothing to do with the Bolerum Territory. If George really turned the territory into that state in the future, could he still expect them to support House Bolerum like they do now? Although forced by the disparity in strength, they would not dare to openly resist, passive sabotage and non-violent non-cooperation would be inevitable. Not to mention keeping the army with high morale and combat effectiveness.

This was like on the eve of the American Civil War, when the abolitionist movement became increasingly intense. Some Southern slave owners were extremely annoyed, so they found some poor white people from the North to give firsthand accounts to those moralists in society who talked without thinking, and to the incited Black people. They described what kind of “beautiful” life these “free men” in Northern capitalist factories actually lived.

This made the Black slaves surprised to find that the free men in the factories were actually shorter-lived than the slaves on the plantations, and their lives were even harder—at least on the plantations, they could usually stop work and go to sleep when it got dark, because farm work couldn’t be done at night, while the workers had to continue working until midnight under the stars; food and clothing were about the same.

When workers got old, they were almost certainly kicked out by the capitalists to fend for themselves, whereas old Black slaves were often arranged some light work in a corner of the Manor to spend their remaining years in peace; due to poverty, many male workers in their thirties and forties lived single lives, and the difficulty of finding a satisfactory wife was no less than that of a Black slave; in addition, “free” female workers were just like Black female slaves. They were treated without any human rights, casually used by rich men as they pleased… God! Calculating this way, being a free worker was really not as comfortable as being a slave! Such “freedom” was better off refused!

In view of the above tragedies, the slave owners claimed with justification that compared to these so-called free workers, the living conditions of Black slaves were a hundred times better! At the very least, Black slaves were considered valuable property of their owners. The owner had to consider the preservation and appreciation of the property. They couldn’t be worked to death!

Similarly, the subjects in a certain sense also belonged to the Lord’s property, and George would never squeeze them to death. But once commercial competition started, the most likely one to lose, like Sweden, would be George’s side. Because those merchants from the Commercial Republics over there did not have these concerns.

So George was now using the first-mover advantage he seized to constantly expand his own advantage. On the other hand, he prayed that there would be no revolutionary development in the transportation industry.

Just when George was overwhelmed with work in City Hall, dealing with various accumulated affairs and making short and medium-term plans for the future development of the territory. He would never have thought that on a cargo ship entering Morbihan Port, someone would bring crucial changes to the production and life of the Bolerum Territory for a considerable period of time in the future.

“Alamil, you bastard, didn’t you say you served on your uncle’s fleet?” Mario said with a livid face while supporting the railing, the acid at the corner of his mouth pulling a long thread, accompanied by a “Ugh—” breaking free from the restraints and falling into the wooden barrel held in his left hand. It was so damn disgusting here!

“I… Ugh—” A certain well-dressed former Navy member was now lying on the deck, “Damn it, I finally know why some people say Ugh—Bird Cat Sea is just a big bathtub. The difference between it and the open sea is just too big.” His body was covered in filth, and he didn’t even look at Mario, “If I knew earlier, I wouldn’t have taken a ship to save time; it would have been much better to obediently take the land route! Now I’m fucking vomiting so much I can’t even stand up…”

“I said, can you not just lie there all the time?!” Fral Ursin looked with a speechless expression at his two comrades lying on the deck. As for the few others next to them who could barely stand holding the railing, they looked like they were disgusted too. But they weren’t much better either, also giving people a shaky feeling. He cursed in his heart, ‘If you can’t handle taking a ship, don’t show off! Especially you, Alamil, you bastard, if you brag too much, you might lose Divine Grace.’

“Hehe—Ugh—Don’t mind.” Green Beren forcefully suppressed his nausea and looked at Fral Ursin’s speechless face, “This is something that can’t be helped, right? If we took the land route, it would take half the time again!”

This short Halfling didn’t look like his usual agile self at all. Fortunately, although he was also seasick, he wasn’t vomiting his guts out like the others.

At the same time, the team’s ranged attacker, Stone Marx, was currently chatting idly with a sailor on the ship, seemingly unaffected. As for the cute tomboy Mage, Lino Ebertz, she had been hiding in the cabin refusing to come out to see anyone. It seemed that even if she wasn’t as miserable as the two Clergy, she definitely didn’t look good. Most of the time, women paid much more attention to their image than men.

Indeed, traveling by sailboat in this world was a smooth journey compared to the land route with its mountains and checkpoints. But this plan soon encountered variables; no one expected that these steel warriors who could crush Cultists and were quite famous in the adventure team would now be completely defeated by the waves of the sea.

Bramble Ultrad Alamil, a Paladin of the Lord of Justice with Heavenly Realm bloodline, if his attributes were quantified, he had good Charisma, Strength, Constitution, and Perception. Only in the aspect of Agility was he really unsatisfactory. So, less than an hour after departure, this tough guy with keen senses but poor balance, even with the help of Divine Grace, still lost in round after round of confrontation. Afterward, he vomited everything out, making the cabin filled with a pungent stench. He was kicked out onto the deck very early.

Correspondingly, the Sun God Priest, Kisac Mario, seemed even more miserable. In terms of Perception, if Bramble Alamil’s value was 14, then Uncle Mario was at least 16. But regarding Agility, the key value for balance, he seemed worse than an ordinary person due to innate reasons. Even with the help of Divine Arts at the very beginning, but since he couldn’t pray normally for a long time after, his final performance was even worse than Alamil’s.

Just like that, these two Clergy with super high Perception suffered severe seasickness due to their low Agility attributes, and their non-combat attrition rate reached 100%. The reason they could struggle for more than ten days in the waves and finally arrive at Morbihan Port was entirely due to their strong bodies cultivated from years of exercise.

But by now, both of them exuded a smell that made people want to stay away. Fortunately, after spending a little money upon arrival at the port, the sailors carried these two “corpses” off the deck. The flies flying in the air and the crowd avoiding the smell made the people who saw this scene feel sad—these were actually rotting corpses, it was so tragic.

And Green Beren, as a Monk, although his Perception was not much lower than Alamil’s, which made him uncomfortable a lot on the way. But fortunately, Monks, a rare profession, were all known for their agility. With his not-low Agility, he didn’t suffer too much. Leaving those two unsteady brothers and the pungent smell behind, Green Beren suddenly didn’t feel that dizzy anymore. It turned out that vomiting was contagious; if you vomited enough, you got used to it.

Then, with the support of Stone Marx, the tomboy in the team, Lino Ebertz, got off the ship with weak legs. Fral Ursin stayed on the ship to settle the remaining fare with the captain.

However, it could be seen that the bearded captain seemed to demand more payment on the grounds that this adventure team had damaged the sanitary environment of the ship. But in this era, the sanitary conditions of ships sailing at sea were not much better either. Fral Ursin was refuting based on the food, service provided, and the ship’s own environment, arguing that the payment he offered was appropriate.

In fact, most of the time, this kind of negotiation work in the team was handled by the beloved Comrade Alamil. In the vast majority of cases, he could get relatively satisfactory results. But today, a certain brother was still lying like a corpse. It could only be handled by Fral Ursin, a Trickster who used to mix in the streets.

Because among the remaining few, he was the best candidate. Whether it was the female Mage who was not good at communicating and looked a bit rough, or the Ranger who was a bit cynical, neither was a good choice. As for the Monk Green Beren, oh! As an ascetic, he couldn’t even touch Gold Coins. But soon, the two reached a price that satisfied both parties.

The next few people, except for Green Beren, started to clean up their personal hygiene in the inn with the best reputation in Morbihan Port. This was not to say that there were no public baths available in Morbihan Port.

At the beginning of the port expansion, George attached great importance to this. As a low-cost public facility similar to welfare, its biggest role was to earn a good reputation.

Although the smell of the two brothers in the group really drifted for three miles in the wind, it was far from the point where the public baths would refuse to accept them. However, both of them, being of noble origin, could not accept being naked in the same bathhouse with a large group of men if there were conditions. What if the soap was dropped or someone else dropped the soap? Especially since both of them were considered quite charming in various aspects.

So they had to spend a little money to use the shower service of a high-end inn. Fortunately, after Morbihan Port became prosperous, the service industry here also developed rapidly. If it were still like before, the two Clergy would have had to squeeze into the public baths. As for whether they would be bent, except for themselves, who cared!

However, after cleaning up, this adventure team, by the collective vote of the minority obeying the majority—determined that having one’s feet on the ground was the romance of men, and braving the wind and waves was heresy that must be completely abandoned.

And just at this time, Val, holding a wooden stick, was supervising several companions in their training. He seemed to suddenly sense something, and turned his head to look west without any reason.

Similarly, the shaft of the silver-tipped Quill Pen in George’s hand suddenly snapped. This made his face seem to take on a bad color.