Chapter 396: Good News
"This is a mattress. I think the craftsmen sent it while I was in Eldora." Simon said with a smile.
In ancient times, beds were made of solid wood, which was not very soft. After installing spring beds in the Goldwynd family restaurant, he specially asked the craftsmen to make a mattress for him.
This mattress was supported by springs and filled with cotton. Although not as elastic as modern foam, it was a high-end product for this era.
"A mattress?" Elin pressed on it with her finger, and it bounced back quickly.
Simon smiled. "Try sitting on it. It’s very comfortable. I’m planning to produce these mattresses for the merchants."
Elin lightly sat down and felt as if sitting on water. She bounced up a little and was surprised, opening her mouth wide.
"How is it? More comfortable than a wooden bed, right? From now on, we’ll sleep on this." Simon teased.
Elin blushed slightly.
Simon was about to tease her again when Ysabeau came in and said. "My Lord, Sir Baldwin is here. He says the potatoes are ready to harvest."
"Really?"
Simon thought for a moment. He had returned just in time; it was the potato harvest season.
Laughing loudly three times, Simon’s mouth watered. His favorite fries would soon be a reality.
After laughing, he said to Elin. "Princess, you stay here and get familiar with things. I’ll be back soon."
Elin looked surprised as Simon and Ysabeau left for the main hall.
After Simon left, Elin sighed and suddenly smiled mischievously. She lay down on the bed and rolled around happily, hugging the soft quilt.
"What a comfortable bed! Brambleford really is amazing, so different from Eldora."
In the main hall, Baldwin waited for Simon.
Soon Simon arrived and said at the door. "Let’s go straight to the plantation."
Baldwin smiled as he followed.
He was also excited. He wondered if this potato crop, which Simon said could yield 20 bags per plot, would bring a miracle to Brambleford.
They mounted their horses and headed to the plantation outside the city.
This time Simon returned just before winter, a season when food was scarce. With potatoes, both the army and the academy could have more food options.
At the plantation, Eden was already waiting with the village slaves.
Seeing Simon and Baldwin arrive together, he immediately stepped forward and respectfully said. "I greet Your Highness and Sir Baldwin."
"No need for ceremony," Simon said, looking over the fields.
There were raised ridges of earth covered with green, low plants, the stems and leaves of the potatoes.
The actual potatoes grew buried under these ridges.
"Your Highness, over the past few months, the slaves carefully tended the crops. You said the minimum yield would be 20 bags per plot. If well tended, it can reach 40 bags. We followed the handbook you gave without any slack." Eden said excitedly, his face flushed.
Simon had promised that if the potato yield exceeded 30 bags, Eden would be freed from slavery and become a true Brambleford resident.
"Hmmm, we have to check what’s really inside," Simon said excitedly, looking at the endless potato fields.
On the way here, Baldwin mentioned they planted a total of 3,000 plots. He was looking forward to the harvest.
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"Start!"
With that order, Eden led over a thousand slaves rushing into the potato fields.
Harvesting potatoes was simple: just dig open the raised soil ridges, and inside were the yellow-orange potatoes.
When he was young, Simon often mixed up potatoes and sweet potatoes, which are actually a different high-yield crop not yet introduced from overseas.
Modern agriculture was part of his plans too, so he aimed to collect crops from all over the world.
Meanwhile, the three warships Desmond took south had nearly finished repairs. The expanded Ashenford shipyard had been producing galleys all year, and by year-end it could launch at least twelve.
According to Harlan’s report, these twelve galleys included one flagship, a first-class sailing warship, three second-class, four third-class, and four fourth-class sailing warships.
If these ships were finished by year-end, his navy would have fifteen galleys. Though this number was far less than Western naval powers with hundreds of ships, for Simon, this fleet was enough to confront colonizers already reaching into the Eldorian Empire. From his experience, the West was not united. Their main colonies were in the Americas, and they did not commit many troops to the East.
Plus, the long journey far from home meant that even if war broke out, messages and reinforcements would take months to arrive, and supply lines would be difficult.
For him, fighting on home ground was a clear advantage.
After reclaiming Snake Pass, Simon planned to take back the Split Rock Islands from the Dutch. The island’s location was crucial.
Controlling Split Rock would completely block trade routes from Latin and the Outsiders going south. But his real goal was not just Split Rock; the key resources he needed were sulfur, gold, and silver.
Records showed that in the late 16th century, Latin was booming in mining. Many silver mines were discovered. From 1562 until the Edo period, the Silver Mine in the City was the largest silver mine and one of the world’s largest.
At that time, Latin was one of the world’s top silver producers, providing about a third of the world’s silver.
Besides silver, Latin held about 5% of the world’s gold production, and its most important resource was sulfur, a key ingredient in gunpowder.
Latin was a major sulfur supplier. Now, Simon mostly got sulfur shipped from the south.
He found out that these sulfur supplies were mostly brought by sea merchants from Latin.
In the past, when the Eldorian Empire needed little gunpowder, sulfur was even more expensive than saltpeter. Now, with Brambleford producing large amounts of gunpowder, sulfur prices soared.
This only strengthened Simon’s resolve to drive out Western colonizers and monopolize the trade, and even colonize Latin if possible. In this era, the key to survival was seizing rare domestic resources from outside.
This was an age where industrial growth depended on resource plunder. Without any one resource, industry could stall.
While he pondered, Baldwin began inspecting the fields.
He dug out two potatoes the size of fists and excitedly ran over. "Your Highness, these things are really heavy."
Simon snapped back to attention and looked across the fields. Everywhere the ridges were turned up, slaves were busy harvesting with bright smiles, the joy of a good harvest.
Taking the potatoes from Baldwin, Simon smelled them carefully. A familiar scent spread, moving him deeply.
"This is the smell," Simon said excitedly, ignoring Baldwin’s surprised look.
Baldwin couldn’t help but wonder. "Has Your Highness eaten this before?"