Chapter 277 - 18: Merger (1)
Hozer and Zip, leading the Meine traders, once again jointly won the construction project for the road from Mandu to Muscat. The enormous funds required for this had to be fronted by these suckers―the Meine traders, in Komer’s eyes who were ripe for the plucking. The construction costs that should have been borne by the Lord’s Mansion were exchanged for half of the shareholding rights to the only iron mine in the Mandu region after Puber’s negotiations. That is to say, Komer didn’t have to pay a single Gold Shield; he only needed to hand over the iron mine in Mandu, which had stopped production, to Hozer, Zip, and the others. In return, he could enjoy half of the iron mine’s dividends each year without any effort, while the Meine traders would build the road from Mandu to Muscat for free. In Komer’s words, this was like cooking their own oil with the bone of the Meine traders.
However, the Meine traders did not see it that way. At least they had obtained the development rights to the only iron mine in the Mandu region. Especially considering that although this iron mine was not as large as the Bahomon Iron Mine, it was a true mine ready for full-scale mining without any further investment. As long as they could recruit enough workers, they could start production immediately. Plus, there was already a considerable amount of extracted iron ore. No matter how you looked at it, this was a very cost-effective transaction. Of course, they needed to repair the road from Mandu to Muscat as soon as possible to truly leverage the mine’s benefits. There were plenty of stone materials left over in the Muscat Stone Mine Mountain, which could be used as excellent base materials for this road construction.
As the Chief Administrative Officer in charge of the entire region, Neptune’s passion was fully ignited. He went from village to village to understand the situation and held speeches to explain his intentions. All this was done in just one week, during which Neptune was busily engaged in all endeavors. At the same time, Neptune also conducted a survey of the land conditions throughout the Mandu region. Apart from some mines, many places in the Mandu region, like the Caucasus, were untapped wild lands covered in primeval forests, swamps, wetlands, and hilly mountains. Most of them were located in remote areas, especially near the boundary with the Caucasus. This also gave Neptune the idea of utilizing these slaves, who were mortal miners, to develop agriculture in the region and produce food to reduce reliance on external supply.
It should be said that the honesty and simplicity of these Half-Beastmen and mortal slaves meant that it was unlikely for them to rise up in defiance. They were accustomed to a life managed by others, and although the past few months had given them a taste of freedom, the lifestyle of idleness with diminishing bread supply was unsettling for them. The principle of "no work, no food" was deeply ingrained in the minds of these honest folks; the phenomenon that Komer had initially worried about, where they enjoyed freedom and were unwilling to work or accept management, simply had not occurred. Even those lower-ranking officers who had once served in Dragumo’s army accepted various arrangements with a clear conscience.
This phenomenon forced Komer to admit that if these slave miners in the mines had risen in rebellion, it must have been out of utmost desperation. Komer couldn’t imagine what kind of harsh living conditions these slaves must have endured under Boninski’s rule in the various mines, but under his own rule, he would not allow such phenomena to happen. This was the foundation of winning the support of the Half-Beastmen and mortal slaves.
The auction for the coal mines in the Mandu region was also quietly underway in Ugru. As many as twelve large and medium-sized coal mines were placed for secret auction. This was Puber’s idea, as he believed that this could maximize the construction funds for the Caucasus. However, the excessively large scale of capital attraction meant that the relatively narrow financial flow in the Caucasus could not satisfy the development needs of so many coal mines. Even with the participation of Palermo and the Barefoot Society Merchants, along with Meine traders and Susoer Merchants as the main force, only six out of the twelve coal mines found buyers. This realization made Komer and Puber recognize that to accelerate development, more avenues were needed, especially closer ties with the outside world.
When the labor of as many as 60,000 in Mandu finally got underway, Komer realized the enormous impact it would have. Trying to cover up or hide it was simply futile. Now, Komer’s only hope was that Katya and Hoffman, with their far-reaching sources of information, had surpassed his expectations. When the construction of the road from Mandu to Muscat commenced, these keen-nosed individuals realized that the Leon Region was slowly sliding into his hands according to the track Komer had initially set for them. The emerging business opportunities were the most sought-after for the merchants attached to both individuals. As a concession for agreeing to allow the merchant forces associated with them to invest in Mandu, they would help the Caucasus under Komer become a territory directly under the kingdom to the greatest extent and exert influence on the Star Chamber Court. They would lobby for the Leon Region to be declared ownerless due to the kingdom and its original Lord losing complete control. According to Kingdom Law, the first to gain actual control of an ownerless territory and report to the kingdom for approval after three years could then officially become the new Lord of the land.