Chapter : 40

'Oh-!

It was a timely notification.

According to this, the reaction was quite good. Now it was just a matter of me coaxing them properly.

“It seems you’re already proceeding with the canal on your own…. So, are you asking us to invest in the relay market?”

Viscount Peronne’s eyes sparkled. It seemed he had caught the scent of money at the words ‘relay market.’

“Precisely. I would like the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild to take an active role in revitalizing the relay market that will connect the south and the north.”

“Hmm….”

At my proposal, Viscount Peronne trailed off.

“A relay market connecting the north and south… Your Excellency the Margrave’s proposal is truly attractive. However.”

After taking a breath, Viscount Peronne continued.

“This domain doesn't have any proper specialty products, does it? Besides, the north and south use different currencies. The gold and silver content varies, making trade inconvenient, and the creation of a relay market could fail.”

Viscount Peronne rattled off a series of negative points. But I knew well that this was not a refusal.

In the end, it was a matter of profit.

There are risks, so give us concessions.

“I have already taken measures for that. We are building large-scale workshops with materials supplied from neighboring domains. As for the currency issue, I plan to create an exchange office. It won’t cost a great deal of money.”

Knowing his true intentions, I pretended not to notice. Viscount Peronne then took a step back with an indifferent voice.

“Then what is there for the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild to invest in?”

“Ahem. Is investment only limited to material investment? I heard your people are so sharp with their money calculations?”

“Then are you entrusting us with the operation of the exchange office?”

“No.”

I said firmly. Once the relay market was revitalized, the exchange office would be no different from a goose that lays golden eggs.

There was no way I was crazy enough to give that to the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild.

Upon hearing my words, Viscount Peronne looked dumbfounded.

“It costs a lot of money to train people who are skilled at calculating money. Are you saying you’re just going to take that for yourself?”

I could feel a sense of insult on Viscount Peronne’s face. He seemed to have misunderstood my actions as a sign of disrespect.

It was a natural reaction. My words were no different from a robber’s.

But I was planning to give him something else.

And that was.

“I will give you a trade permit.”

“What? A trade permit, you say?”

“Are you aware that I recently summoned my feudal vassals?”

“Of course, I am.”

“Then do you know the details?”

Viscount Peronne shook his head from side to side. Well, if he had found out about this, it would mean there was a hole in our security.

With a sigh of relief, I brought out information that I had not yet told anyone.

“There are a few discussions in this summons. One of them is the authority to waive passage taxes in my domain and that of my feudal vassals. And that is.”

“The trade permit, you mean. Your Excellency the Margrave.”

Viscount Peronne’s eyes sparkled as he finished my sentence.

He seemed to be calculating in his head which was more profitable. Finally, Viscount Peronne asked me.

“Then, of course, only the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild will receive the trade permit, right? Your Excellency the Margrave.”

“Of course. Only the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild will be able to as an external merchant guild. That is, until they ‘completely take root’ here.”

“An external merchant guild….”

Viscount Peronne paused. But I knew it wouldn’t last long.

Sure enough.

[Stratagem Correction!]

[You have persuaded Viscount Peronne of the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild. He is very satisfied with your proposal.]

“I’m not entirely pleased with that, but very well. I look forward to working with you, Your Excellency the Margrave.”

“I look forward to it as well.”

And I replied with a bright smile.

* * *

After reconfirming our opinions with Viscount Peronne, I documented the agreement.

Now all that was left was to pass all the agenda items during the feudal vassal summons.

And today was finally the day I was to review the pikemen unit led by Captain Konrad.

-Dum-dum-dum.

The drum on the training ground sounded. In time with it, soldiers holding long pikes marched in formation.

“It’s truly a magnificent sight, my lord. Biden’s words were not an exaggeration.”

“Elite soldiers. Themselves. The sense of intimidation is no joke.”

“That’s right. A coward would piss his pants at this sight.”

“Meeeh~! They are very fine soldiers, mer!!”

The vassals who were watching quietly commented one by one. It might have seemed like excessive flattery, but it was the truth.

I thought so too. The sight of the dense pikes, swaying slightly with every movement, was like a walking forest.

Even the heavy cavalry of Aquitaine, famous for their strength in [Pangea Universalise], would surely not charge recklessly if they encountered a pike unit.

‘As expected, knowing it through text and seeing it in person are worlds apart.’

If it's this impressive with only a few hundred, how intimidating would it be with thousands or tens of thousands?

I couldn’t quite imagine it.

I watched the soldiers’ movements with a weary expression.

“This should be enough to crush the spirit of the feudal vassals.”

“That's right. After passing through those pikemen to enter the inner castle, they won't even dare to look at your face, my lord.”

Chamberlain Hamil, who was watching quietly, said in a voice filled with emotion.

It had been 30 years since he had dedicated his body to this family.

They had never possessed such elite soldiers, so it was understandable.

I smiled at Chamberlain Hamil.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Of course, I am. I am a little disappointed to be giving up the rights passed down from our predecessors, but you must have a plan, my lord. I believe in you.”

“Then I’ll be counting on you. I want to end this vassal summons without any problems.”

“Do not worry.”

Chamberlain Hamil replied in an uncharacteristically loud voice.

He looked quite reliable. I watched the pikemen's review for a while, and a sudden curiosity prompted me to ask Captain Konrad.

“When will the pikemen be ready for battle?”

“Hmm, their training is almost complete, human lord. The phalanx itself was an application of the ancient empire's infantry phalanx, so it wasn't difficult to train. The rest is combat experience, so it's a matter of fighting consistently. However….”

Captain Konrad trailed off and frowned slightly.

“However?”

“Well, it’s the same as what I said before! Human lord. Pikemen alone cannot defeat the enemy.”

A point he had made before.

In the end, the pikemen were just the anvil, and to crush the enemy, a unit corresponding to the hammer was needed.

I fully agreed with Captain Konrad’s words.

‘Certainly, the areas bordering other domains are all plains, so it would be difficult to defend with only infantry. Especially with slow-moving pikemen, it’s almost impossible to stop cavalry from running rampant.’

Of course, it was hard to imagine the knights of this era, whose brains were filled with muscle, leaving the infantry in front of them to go elsewhere.

Still, there was always a ‘what if.’

If the knights bypassed them and refused to fight, it could lead to a disaster. Fortunately, I had found a solution to this problem.

“Don’t worry. I’ve decided to introduce steel crossbows as a solution.”

“You mean the steel crossbows those Veneti bastards use? Human lord?”

“Yes. In fact, I was planning to test the results with you today.”

“Hoh.”

Captain Konrad seemed interested.

I beckoned to Biden behind me. Biden brought ten steel crossbows that he had secretly purchased.

Skilled soldiers formed groups and began to load them.

Creeak-.

Creeeaak-.

The metallic sound of the iron crank was heard, and soon the taut bowstring was fired towards the target.

Whoooooosh-! Thunk!

The sound of the air being torn apart, and the armored scarecrow set up as a target swayed.

Its power was so great that when I went to check, there was a large hole in the middle of the chain mail. Unbelievably, it seemed to have pierced it cleanly.

“Ha, what incredible power.”

“It's like a ballista.”

“Me, meeeh~!”

The vassals who were watching let out cries of admiration again. It was that terrifying a power.

If it could cleanly pierce a stationary target, it would surely show even greater power against charging cavalry.

“This will be the birth of an infantry that devours cavalry. Knights will become unnecessary.”

Chamberlain Hamil muttered as if in fear. The reason knights wore heavy armor, sacrificing mobility, was for its excellent protection.

If the penetrating power was that strong, there was no reason to train heavy cavalry. It would be better to lighten the armor and increase mobility.

For Chamberlain Hamil, who was a former knight, it was a truly terrifying future.

Agreeing with his words, I asked Biden.

“Can you buy more steel crossbows?”

At that, Biden looked troubled and said.

“It's not easy. They can give us regular crossbows, but the steel ones are under the strict control of the Veneti Council.”

“Hmm.”

It was a shame.

“Well then, we'll have to copy them ourselves.”

“I heard it takes a very long time to make the bow stave, human lord. It requires steel, and most of the dwarf craftsmen who know how to make it belong to the Veneti Council, so even if we replicate it, mass production will not be easy.”

“Hmm, steel….”

On this point, even I was at a loss. What I remembered was the manufacturing method, not the steel smelting method.

Steel was difficult to make, and the methods for mass production were passed down as secrets within each guild.

‘If I look carefully, I might be able to recruit someone who knows how to mass-produce steel….’

At this time, the continent was in turmoil, and many artisans were frequently on the move.

Especially since the Great Famine was coming soon, this would be accelerated, so I would have to watch for that opportunity.

‘First, I’ll have to contact Viscount Pierre or the L’Isle-Ponte merchant guild for help. If I pay a reasonable price, they should be willing to pass on some information.’

Of course, that didn't mean I was just going to sit back and wait. If I couldn't import steel crossbows, I planned to first organize units with regular crossbows, even if their firepower was lacking.

Regular crossbows were only inferior to steel ones; their destructive power was sufficient to pierce chain mail.

“For now, I will allocate a generous budget. Purchase steel within the limit and produce crossbows. For now, even if we can't mass-produce them, training skilled craftsmen is the most important thing. And so that we can proceed without a hitch when we do mass-produce them in the future, record the process in detail and conduct experiments.”

“Understood, my lord.”

After giving these orders, I ended today’s review.

Now all that was left was to welcome the feudal vassals.

And four days later.

Countless processions streamed endlessly into the domain.

Finally, the feudal vassals who had answered the summons had arrived.