Chapter 280: Restoring Production

When Luoning first arrived in Shanlin Town, he had almost nothing.

At that time, his requirements were not high; he only hoped to have one Advanced Knight under his command so that he could contend with Baron Leisen of Swamp Town.

Now, he not only has a Level 6 Magic Scholar under his command but also two Silver Knights, yet he still feels it is not enough.

Especially after witnessing the tenacity and strength of Amikusi, he increasingly feels that the territory needs a Meteor-level Knight.

However, limited by the panel's cap, Ruidar and the others cannot break through in advance; if he wants Wubei Territory to have a Meteor-level, Luoning must break through himself first.

On the back of Kaierluosi, Luoning consumed 1510 Attribute Points, allowing his strength to increase by a significant margin.

【Level】: 5-Silver Knight (1500/1500); 5-Chief Mage (1586/2000)

He is still short 414 Attribute Points to break through to Golden Grade, let alone breaking through to Meteor-level.

Nowadays, apart from the routine check-ins, he can only pin his hopes on the achievement panel to shorten the time required for a breakthrough.

Of the five achievements—Famous Throughout the World, King of Slaughter, Population Prosperity, Gongchengluedi, and Wealthy—the King of Slaughter one is very difficult to complete now.

Luoning has neither seen a Silver Moon Knight nor a Magus to this day; where is he supposed to go to kill a Level 8 Transcendental unit?

Furthermore, it is not certain who would kill whom if they met.

Therefore, he can only put effort into the other four areas.

"Becoming a Count..."

Luoning's heart stirred; with the merit he established this time, it should not be a problem to ask Lulansi to enfeoff him as a Count of a Marquis Territory, right?

After becoming a Count, his check-in rewards will be three times the base amount.

At that time, it will only take one month to gather these 414 Attribute Points.

After adding points for himself, Luoning prepared to consume the Energy Essence as well.

This time, he accumulated a full 3000 points of Energy Essence, which can improve the strength of Maiken and the others significantly.

First is Ruidar; his level progress was at Silver Grade (1005/1500). This time, Luoning directly invested 495 points, raising the other's strength to Golden Grade (0/2500).

Thus, Wubei Territory now has two Level 6 Transcendental beings.

Next is Maiken; Luoning invested 400 points, raising the other's level progress to the mid-stage of Silver Grade (500/1500), giving him a place in the Silver Grade stage as well.

As for the final 2065 points of Energy Essence, Luoning poured them all into Aierlong, allowing the latter's level progress to reach Magus (2067/3500).

In any case, Luoning still has plenty of time before breaking through to Meteor-level; he does not need to rush Aierlong's level progress to the max, as the other can cultivate on his own.

Of the four followers who can have points added, only Kaierluosi has not received a single point of Energy Essence.

It is not that Luoning does not think highly of Kaierluosi, but rather that the other's experience bar is simply too long.

Every time he sees that string of numbers (17/12500), Luoning cannot muster the slightest urge to add points to him.

After returning to Chishan Town, Luoning prepared for the next steps.

Regarding the Chishan Iron Mine, Tolu, Mawen, and the other nobles have absolutely no ideas, clearly having fallen into Luoning's pocket.

As for the share of the iron mine...

When talking at Wushan Castle, Weijinsi said he wanted thirty percent of the iron mine, and for Luoning to give him six thousand gold coins every year for doing nothing.

At the time, Luoning only felt that thirty percent was a bit high, but considering that in this war, he was purely sightseeing, building credentials, and presence, he could consider sharing the iron mine's profits with Weijinsi.

But now, this war was won because of him, and it was also because of him that Wushan Castle avoided a serious disaster.

With such war merit, it is absolutely no problem for Luoning to ask Lulansi for this exclave of Chishan Town; there is no need for Weijinsi to do any extra persuasion or advice.

In this way, Luoning has no need to discuss the iron mine share with the other party anymore.

Since he has already treated Chishan Town as his own territory in advance, restoring the production capacity of the iron mine becomes very important.

War often leads to the residents fleeing the territory.

However, due to the timely blockade by Maiken and the others, not many residents of Kaxier Town and Chishan Town managed to escape.

Once Luoning had his men spread word of his identity and benevolent policies, and distributed black bread in the town, the public sentiment stabilized somewhat, and even fewer people wanted to flee.

After all, unless they truly cannot survive, who would want to flee their own home?

After stabilizing the people's hearts, Luoning set about recruiting miners.

Adhering to the principle of "using the old," Luoning had them select from those with mining experience, offering a daily wage of three copper coins while covering their food and drink, and soon reached the previous mining scale—150 people.

Besides this, Luoning also recruited 130 people for transport, processing, and other tasks, also providing food and drink, but with a daily wage of only two copper coins.

Although it sounds a bit harsh, compared to the style of Keruien and Amikusi—who either gave little or gave no money and did not let them eat their fill—Luoning's arrangement had no opposition, and in fact, many people signed up.

Kaxier Town and Chishan Town do not have much arable land; many families rely on the Chishan Iron Mine to live. As long as the mine owner can provide a meal and let them support their families, they do not mind suffering a little.

To stimulate the workers' productivity, Luoning brought out the old methods from Wubei Territory.

He tracks the weight of ore mined each month; the top three each month receive money and grain rewards, and those who rank last for three consecutive months are dismissed.

He believes that with this incentive, once people taste the benefits, it will certainly boost their enthusiasm.

Besides the matter of restoring iron mine production, there are several other things Luoning set about handling.

First is the spoils of war; the Bolante Bandit Group was completely annihilated, and the weapons, armor, warhorses, and other items left behind are spoils of war. The logistics personnel of the Noble Allied Forces are counting these, and Luoning needs to distribute them.

Secondly, he had Maiken take men to recruit craftsmen in Jushi Territory, Chishan Town, Kaxier Town, and even further out in Liusha Town and Anbian City.

Whether they are blacksmiths, carpenters, or masons, as long as they have a craft, he recruits them all.

If they are willing to follow him to develop in Wubei Territory, besides being given considerable pay, the policy of Wubei Territory to attract foreign population is equally effective for them.

Although he has this exclave of Chishan Town, Wubei Territory is Luoning's main rear area.

Only when the rear area is stable can he output with peace of mind at the front in the future.

As for Chishan Town, for now, he will treat it as a production base.

When he has time, Luoning considers moving Kalesi and the others from Wubei Territory to Chishan Town to build High Furnaces on-site and process weapons and farm tools; once self-use is satisfied, they can be sold externally.

The craft of selling iron ore is still a bit low; processing iron ore into products to sell brings much higher profits.

In the future, an ironware processing plant will appear here.

"My Lord, a craftsman named Fengsi wants to see you."

Dawei came in to report: "He hopes to serve you, but he would like to ask for your help."

A craftsman?

Luoning's eyes lit up: "What is his profession?"

"He is a Blacksmith."

Dawei said: "According to him, he can forge Knight swords and armor of superior quality."

This was truly a rare talent.

Luoning said with a smile: "Bring him to see me quickly!" (End of this chapter)