You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 111 Nothing
The mining of iron ore and coal requires manpower.

The size of the army also needs to be increased.

Roman doesn't have a large demand for steel in the early stages; he only needs enough to equip five or six hundred men.

He calculated that each heavy shield warrior would need about 50 jin of steel, while the remaining warriors would need about 20 jin of iron.

It's roughly a quantity of 6 to 10 tons.

In any industry, output and manpower are inextricably linked.

Roman split up the paving team.

First, a group of physically fit laborers were selected and sent to the blacksmith's shed to assist in forging.

400 people followed the construction team to build the breeding farm.

600 people followed him in coal mining, ore extraction, coking, and iron smelting.

With coke ovens and blast furnaces, it wasn't an exaggeration for Roman to produce 6 tons of steel in a month—but all he got was pig iron.

Unlike blast furnaces, furnaces melt away impurities and slag from iron ore, turning it into sponge iron.

The blast furnace melts the entire iron ore, turning it into molten iron.

Molten iron, once formed, becomes pig iron. It has a high carbon content, is hard, and cannot withstand forging. It can only be cast, and is suitable for casting agricultural tools.

However, to obtain malleable steel, it is necessary to stir-fry the steel – adding other minerals and stirring during the liquefaction of pig iron to obtain malleable steel.

After several failures, Roman found the right formula.

This is a dangerous job.

Roman didn't demand increased production, nor could he increase it; that molten iron was no joke, and it was perfectly normal for a few people to die.

Therefore, only four or five hundred kilograms of steel can be produced each day—roughly the volume of half an adult.

If it were iron ingots, it would be equivalent to earning 10 gold coins per day.

Roman had no clear expectations or requirements regarding steel production.

All he knew was that this overwhelming output of steel could bring all the kingdoms, nobles, and churches of this land to their knees.

……

Dragon Castle.

"My lord, Macol Tide is waiting for your summons in the council chamber."

He awoke from his deep sleep, a suppressed and hoarse voice escaping his throat, "What time is it now?"

"You're about to have lunch."

The diligent servant drew back the curtains, and the bright, yet not scorching, sunlight streamed in through the blinds.

The beautiful maid took the plate from the servant, scooped out crystal-clear ice wine with a golden spoon, and brought it to his lips for him to drink.

He always says he's thirsty when he wakes up and asks them to prepare his morning meal.

The wine is a treasure of the Kingdom of Crescent Moon, the cream pudding is made by the chefs of the Free City-State, and the caviar comes from the distant Iceland. They are stored in ice buckets and are still fresh when they are delivered to the Grand Duchy. The chefs take the caviar out of the belly of the sturgeon, and each caviar is plump and crystal clear, like black gold.

These foods were given to him free of charge by merchants and nobles who admired him.

The other maids served him during his bodily functions after he got up.

After the tedious morning routine was completed, ten bald servants filed in. They came to the bedside, pulled out the palanquin poles underneath, and lifted the bed and their master together.

The archway was exceptionally wide, large enough for them to pass side by side.

Grand Duke Liejia entered the council chamber.

The long-awaited Macol Fury immediately stood up.

He was over thirty, in his prime, with long, dark blue hair as messy as seaweed, and his face was like a sculpture eroded by seawater, with deep features, rough skin, deep-set eyes, and a high, sharp aquiline nose, like a rock jutting out from a cliff.

His eyes were dark blue, deep and sinister, reminiscent of turbulent waves in the night.

"Your Excellency! The Son of the Raging Tide pays homage to you!"

Macol knelt on one knee.

"Didn't Payne come?"

Macol bowed his head and said, "Father is too busy to leave. As you know, the Duke of the Black Iron Lands cannot be met easily, otherwise everyone will tremble... Please forgive Father's concerns."

Grand Duke Crack Armor sighed, "The last time I saw you, you were not as old as when your father left. I wonder how Payne is now."

"...He will come to see you, at the latest next year, to discuss some things with you in person." Macol's tone was ambiguous.

"Is that so?" Grand Duke Cracked Armor chuckled. "Get up, child. What does Payne want to discuss with me?"

Macol stood up, his upper body clad in armor that gleamed with a deep blue light, and a striking white cloak on his back.

"War!! As you know, the conquerors' order is about to be destroyed like never before. It's time to make those thugs pay the price!"

Markel's dark and deep eyes seemed to be churning with waves.

Grand Duke Crack Armor wished he were the spirited Macol at this moment.

"The Order of the Conquerors... What did the Iron King say?"

He bowed his head and said, “The Iron King has decreed that Father will handle this matter. He says that the order of the conquerors is not far from collapse, and we cannot let this happen.”

"Very well, it's time to teach them a lesson. Three years ago, the King of Iceland gave me a dazzling ice diamond, saying it was priceless. He specially dispatched an axe guard to escort it, but they encountered pirates at sea, the ones called 'Face Tears,' right? Those pirates stole it. And I didn't even see what it looked like..."

Markel said respectfully, "I will take special care of him! I will present the ice diamond to you with both hands at that time."

"Very good! The Rift Armor Clan will fully cooperate. What do you need?"

"We need a lot of supplies. Without your cooperation, it will be difficult for the raging tide's army to set out and launch attacks on all sides!"

"Five thousand tons of grain..." Liejia said fairly.

Macol's eyes were sinister, the blood of the Raging Tide family flowing through his veins, his eyes deep and terrifying.

"I'm afraid it won't be enough," he said with some difficulty.

"Then ten thousand tons."

This is the annual output of tens of thousands of acres of land.

Markel's eyes grew increasingly sinister. The Grand Duke of Fury planned to wage war on multiple fronts, calling upon the Black Iron Lands to muster at least 50,000 troops.

If 10,000 tons are allocated to each person, only 0.2 tons of provisions will be delivered. Due to losses during transportation, how much will actually reach the soldiers?

Moreover, there were countless warhorses and livestock.

He held his breath for a moment and said to the Grand Duke of Rift Armor, "I wish to marry your daughter, Hena Rift Armor. I met her at Redwood Castle and have been infatuated with her ever since. Her face is unforgettable to me all night long..."

“Hena… I remember her husband, the one she fell in love with at first sight and insisted on marrying, the lord of Redwood Fortress died three years ago.”

Grand Duke Cracked Armor paused for a moment to recall his only, youngest daughter—his last child with his legal wife—most of his illegitimate children were born after his wife's death.

He used to have some restraint. His wife's death made him increasingly unrestrained. "My lord, Miss Hena married into the Azure Moon Land twenty years ago," the accompanying scholar, Iher, reminded him. "You gave her five thousand gold coins, a chest of jewels, and thirty knights as her dowry. Miss Hena's marriage was happy, but she had no children..."

"This may be related to the lord of Redwood Fortress. He was a distant relative of Queen Azure Moon, handsome and never aged. Some say he awakened the power of a vampire. Six years ago, that unfortunate lord died in the Battle of Emerald."

The Grand Duke sighed and shook his head: "I will not arrange the children's future."

Macol knew about this; everyone was focused on the Grand Duke of the Black Iron Lands.

The Grand Duke of Cracked Armor has been in power for far too long, fifty or sixty years, enough for everyone to know his style of doing things.

He doted on his offspring. If his illegitimate children could live a life of comfort, his biological children would only be better off.

"This is the Moonstone Ring, a treasure you personally gave her when she was born, hoping that she would give this ring to her husband in the future, so that the Moonstone Ring could protect her husband's safety. But the lord of Redwood Fortress was too badly injured, and the Moonstone could not heal his wounds, so he could only watch helplessly as he passed away—now she has given this Moonstone to me."

Markel displayed the silver gemstone ring, its surface rippling with light, as if bathed in moonlight.

"I have no wife, but I fell in love with Hena at first sight. I hope to receive your blessing."

Grand Duke Crack Armor tacitly agreed: "In that case, Hena's dowry is ten thousand tons of grain, which I will give to Payne when I meet him."

"Hena and I are truly in love. If we have a child, he will become the future Grand Duke of the Raging Tide."

Lord Liejia said, "Don't let her suffer a second injury. My unfortunate daughter has already lost her husband."

“I swear to you!” Markel said with dramatic emphasis.

“Macol…” the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor sighed.

Markel listened attentively with his head bowed.

“You’re a very promising kid, perhaps even more so than Payne. I remember Payne was fostered here when he was little. My eldest son, Gale, was the same age as him. They would argue about all sorts of things, but they would make up quickly, right there on that meadow…”

He laboriously raised his fat arm and pointed to the green lawn outside the council chamber window.

He was somewhat lost in thought, as if he saw two lively and cheerful boys chasing and playing with each other.

One had crimson eyes, and the other had messy, seaweed-like blue hair.

The two later went their separate ways.

Payne returned to the Grand Duchy, defeated his brothers and sisters, and became the Grand Duke of Rage Tide.

Gale, however, grew increasingly sullen, like tree roots twisting and spreading in the dark soil.

As people get older, they inevitably become more talkative when facing younger generations.

After listening to his rambling, Macol bowed slightly to the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor.

"When I arrived, Lord Gale mentioned that the Moya family has been somewhat restless lately."

Grand Duke Liejia paused slightly, then looked at Scholar Iher.

Moya was his vassal knight, his right-hand man.

Scholar Iher sighed, "You drove him out back then, but now you remember him."

Scholar Iher did not believe Makor's words. The Moya family had been loyal for generations. Even if they were neglected by the Grand Duke, their treatment had not been reduced. There was no reason for them to rebel, as that would only result in mutual destruction.

While the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor may have lost an arm, the Moya family would be doomed.

He shook his head slightly at the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor.

“Absolutely true!” Macol said confidently, and then recounted many signs of the Moya family’s unrest.

For example, the Moya family's reduction of military strength, concealment of information, and secret contact with other nobles, as well as the mistake made more than ten years ago, were by no means accidental!

The Grand Duke of Cracked Armor was very annoyed, but he hadn't forgotten his knight.

It was a resolute knight clad in heavy armor and wielding a large shield: "I! Aaron Moya! Your guardian knight! I swear to be loyal to you, even if I am engulfed in flames and pierced by a thousand swords, I will stand guard at your bedside, ringing the bell to keep watch for you until the end of your life."

He was one of the three knights who initially followed him in battle. He was impeccable in every way and upright, but his incorruptibility was a bit too much.

He gifted the entire Ironflower County to Moya, one of the few iron-producing areas in the Grand Duchy, to establish fortified passes that could repel any invading forces. It bordered Gael's Honeysuckle County.

He trusted Moya, but Moya betrayed his trust.

Moya said he would stay by his bedside forever, ringing the bell to keep vigil for him until the end of his life.

But before he could face death, Moya passed away first.

He killed Moya.

He shouldn't have sent Moya to find the Conqueror's route back then.

Now, he hears from his son and the son of another grand duke that the Moya family is disloyal.

The Moya family, who were the accused, were not present.

Whom should he believe?
"Summon Count Moya to see me. I want to get to the bottom of this!"

The Grand Duke with the broken armor heaved in pain.

He was losing energy and, as he got older, he became increasingly irritable with such things.

What should a child do if he accuses another child of being unfilial?

If the Moya family is indeed rebellious, as Macol claims, how should he deal with them?

More than a decade ago, Count Moya came to the castle and claimed that he had personally executed the child who had committed a grave mistake.

Even in his rage, he only told the count to get out and never appear in Dragon Castle again!

Is it because of this that the Moya family has become estranged from him?
The elderly man was in great pain.

That was Moya's descendant, his former strongest knight, an eighth-tier guardian knight.

He should have lived a long and glorious life, but he died young due to his erroneous orders, and his remains were never found.

Only a tattered shield drifted ashore from the vast depths of the ocean.

When he learned of his death, he clenched his fist and swore that Iron Flower County would always be Moya's land, and no one could change that in the slightest!
But later he developed a sense of disgust, simply because that family always barged in and disturbed him when he was indulging in pleasure.

He suddenly realized that human will and awareness are really as loose as sandcastles, collapsing as soon as the tide comes in, leaving nothing but ruins!

“Lord Gale and I will handle this.” A dark undercurrent swirled in Markel’s eyes.

Having said that, he prepared to take his leave.

“Macol…”

He stopped, turned to the side, and stared with sinister and terrifying eyes at the bloated figure behind the bed curtains.

The Armored Duke, somewhat weary, said haltingly, "Tell Payne to prepare. Even if we have to attack on all sides... he can't move..."

The old, obese monster, as if clinging to his last breath, forced himself to say:
"We cannot allow the main force of the Holy See to step out of Sinnoh territory!"

Markel lowered his head, his face rough like a statue eroded by the sea.

He gave a soft "hmm," his eyes deep and unfathomable.

(End of this chapter)