Although Powell has heard the name of Elf Black Tea, he has never drank it.
Before becoming hereditary nobles, the three William brothers combined to earn several hundred gold coins per year, which was already very impressive among professional families. Their social status and income level were already second only to hereditary barons.
But if they want to become a hereditary noble, they must save money to develop their territory, and their ordinary lives are very frugal.
In the first few years after becoming a hereditary noble, the territory could not make ends meet, and life became more difficult.
It was not until last summer that the income from liquor and steel continued to flow, and the Harland family became a little more comfortable.
Powell also wanted to taste the elf black tea. He opened his mouth and took a sip. He immediately frowned and looked a little ugly.
"What, you can't get used to drinking?"
"The taste is too bitter, and I really can't get used to it. Maybe I'm just a country bumpkin, and I think brown sugar water is the best."
"The production of brown sugar increased by 60% last winter. I will bring you a few bags in a moment. Wendy and Sophia will continue to raise seedlings. In a year or two, the brown sugar can be exchanged for money."
"I just look forward to the rapid expansion of brown sugar plantations. If I can drink brown sugar water every day, I will have no regrets in my life even if I die."
"Uncle Er, your request is too low. The production of brown sugar may double this year, and your request will be realized by then."
"This is really good news. Richard's mind works really fast and he can think of all kinds of ways to make a fortune. The development and growth of our Harland territory is all due to your fantastic ideas and business strategies.
In recent days, there has been a shortage of salt in the territory. I went to Heihe Fort to buy it and found that the price of salt in Heihe Fort has increased by 60%. The territory's more than 20,000 people and hundreds of thousands of livestock need salt. The price increase of salt is not a one-time increase.
A small sum of money."
The most lacking supplies in the territory are cloth and salt.
Northern Xinjiang is not very short of salt.
However, no salt mines were found in the three central provinces directly controlled by the royal family.
The salt needed in daily life is mainly obtained through trade with other provinces.
The three major salt production areas in Grant Kingdom.
The first is sea salt from the four major eastern provinces. The territory of the four eastern marquises is close to the sea. They use a lot of manpower to cut down trees and boil seawater to obtain salt.
The second is the mineral salt in the Dukedom of Jonathan. The Dukedom of Jonathan has a salt mine that can mine a large amount of salt.
The third is the well salt of the Duchy of Lorraine.
Of these three types of table salt, well salt is the most expensive and of the highest quality, and is the salt used by nobles.
The salt business in Gedda Province was monopolized by Jerram Horan, who used sea salt from the territories of the four eastern marquises.
After listening to Powell's story, Richard showed some worry on his face.
"We use such a large amount of salt. Can you talk to Archon Jerram about lowering the price?"
"Jerram's butler Savile made it clear that this is the consul's request and there is no way to negotiate."
Richard took a sip of the elf black tea, weighed the pros and cons and said: "Since Jerram is unwilling to talk, we have to find a way on our own. Salt is a necessity of life, and we must not let others pinch our balls.
I plan to organize a caravan and take people to the Dukedom of Jonathan. Not only can I buy salt, but I can also sell some specialties from my territory.
The Purple Head Peak in Vicksburg can already produce a lot of honey and some royal jelly. In addition, there are 200 kilograms of brown sugar, 300 jars of white wine, and two tons of steel arrowheads.
Calculated, the value exceeds eight hundred gold coins, which is enough to organize a caravan."
"This is equivalent to us finding another channel for salt, and I'm afraid we will offend Archon Jerram."
Although the position of consul Jerram was high, he could not control the hereditary barons. Moreover, the consul was a wandering official and could not serve for more than a few years in northern Xinjiang.
Although provincial consuls can use various legal and illegal means to suppress hereditary nobles.
However, hereditary nobles can also use the method of overturning the table and go to the Royal Parliament of the Nobles to sue the provincial consul.
If the provincial consul ignores the rules and causes anger and resentment, he may be overthrown by the noble assembly.
The noble council made a decision, and it was difficult for the royal family to violate it.
Although the Grant royal family is the most powerful, it is not as powerful as one-third of the Noble Alliance.
If the royal family really arouses public anger, it may be overthrown by the big nobles below.
This is how the Grant royal family came to the throne. Next door, Duke Jonathan, gave birth to a foolish king, and the regime was overthrown in the Grand Duchy of Stanek.
The main reason why the Harland family is unwilling to offend Jerram is Jerram's sister Agnes Holland.
Mrs. Holland was King Charles' favorite woman. Although she was over forty, her figure was still graceful and her complexion was as white as snow.
Mrs. Holland gave birth to three children for King Charles.
Rumor has it that King Charles is not satisfied with his eldest son and is planning to replace him.
As long as he doesn't push too hard, Richard is actually unwilling to offend Jerram Holland.
The relationship between the Haaland family and Consul Jerram is very normal. In order to obtain a good fiefdom last time, William found the army commander Zachary and asked Zachary to come forward to communicate. William gave Consul Jerram a sum of money.
.
Archon Jerram used money to do things, and because of Zachary's face, things went smoothly.
The two sides had interacted once, and William's relationship at Black River Fort was mainly with the Northern Army.
The price of salt has increased by 60%, which is a huge burden for the Haaland family.
Richard could only choose to open up a new channel.
As for whether it will affect Jerram's interests? I don't care too much now.
Since Zachary doesn't give the Harland family face, don't blame the Harland family for affecting his business and slapping him in the face.
After sending away his second uncle Powell, Richard personally came forward and began to allocate supplies and form a caravan.
The sixth squadron of Harland Territory is composed of mercenaries under uncle Soros as its backbone. They can just take on the task of protection. Anyway, they have experience.
In addition, the caravan also needs some merchants who are proficient in trade. Such talents are difficult to find. For large-scale goods trade, you must be proficient in mathematics.
The vast majority of ordinary people in Chenxi Continent are illiterate, and those who understand mathematics are very rare.
Not everyone has the vision to spend a lot of money to train their children to attend church schools.
Caravans controlled by hereditary nobles, such people are selected from the noble branches and slave families.
The Harland family has only been prosperous for a short period of time. They lack suitable talents and can only choose from indentured servants.
Fortunately, there are all kinds of characters among the indentured slaves, especially the more than 2,000 indentured slaves who escaped from the Orc Empire, and their quality is higher.
Richard quickly selected seven or eight indentured slaves who were proficient in basic mathematics and asked them to transform into businessmen and serve as the backbone of the caravan.