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

Chapter 198 The Deteriorating Situation

An infantry battalion, which is only a quarter of the total force for Roman at present, is simply not feasible to deploy.

But that won't be the case for him next year.

By this time next year, he plans to form ten infantry battalions, not counting other branches of the military.

Mass produce troops!

A massive army buildup!
How can you sweep across this land without massing troops?

The foundation for mass production of troops is farming and development.

Use the most efficient means to integrate all resources and concentrate all efforts to support the training of the army.

However, Nellie reminded him of something.

On the second day of the celebration.

Roman summoned the three-star apostle Nathan.

The tall and imposing apostle immediately understood why Roman was looking for him. He came to stand before him and looked at Roman with eager, expectant eyes.

Roman said, "My promise is valid. We won't have to face war for a while. You can go and bring your wife over."

“Sir, thank you for your kindness.” Nathan’s eyes were almost as piercing as Neel’s.

But Roman had no interest in Nathan and no desire to French kiss him.

He gestured and said, "Be careful on your trip. I've done a lot for you, so you must come back safely."

“I understand!” Nathan was very patient until the very last moment.

Roman had the manor maid tidy up his face and hair, making him look clean, and then took him to the military camp to pick out equipment for him.

A set of seventy-pound heavy armor belonging exclusively to Nathan, with inner chainmail and leather soft armor, a long-handled axe, a throwing spear, a throwing axe, a shield, as well as a large amount of dried meat and water, and several pounds of candy made from maltose—this high-energy food was important for long journeys.

Take as much as you can, and we'll provide enough travel expenses.

Two veterans were selected from the third battalion to follow their battalion commander.

Finally, five warhorses were led out of the stables—all fine warhorses ridden by knights of war, with exceptional endurance and stamina.

Roman escorted him all the way to the dock.

He was repeatedly reminded to act cautiously.

Nathan nodded repeatedly, now clearly understanding how much Roman valued him.

One of only four battalion commanders!

Alongside him were Aaron, Green, and Kao.

He was the only captain who wasn't a war knight.

Even if he dies out there, he'll have to come back with his head in his hands.

"Thank you, sir. I will definitely come back."

Nathan thanked him again at the end.

Roman saw Nathan off onto the ship and watched him leave.

He wasn't actually that worried about Nathan's safety.

The latter's five attributes have now all been reduced to D level by Roman.

This means that he is now at least a third-tier transcendent being, and with his innate characteristics, even a fourth-tier knight wouldn't be able to kill him.

But we have to make it look like this.

……

[Dispatch Operation Begins]

[Event - A Thousand-Mile Search for Relatives]

Your 3-star apostle Nathan longs to bring his family to his side; they are thousands of miles apart, and the journey is fraught with danger.

[Mode: Dispatch Operation]

[Recommendation Level: ——]

[Battlefield Log: —]

……

The current situation is truly dire, a complete mess.

Because of the blockade, Sig Town is very slow to develop in the outside world.

It was all thanks to the merchants who came to Sig Town who brought a lot of information.

First, the pirates elected a pirate king named Alex through a pirate conference. Since the beginning of this year, Alex has led more than 10,000 pirates, along with slaves, on a large-scale invasion of the land.

The Grand Duke of Liejia led a large army of 70,000 nobles and vassals, divided into several routes.

While joining forces with the King of Iceland to resist pirate raids, he also supported the Highland Kingdom in fighting against barbarians, hunted down witches, and suppressed rebellions.

Other routes will not be discussed for now.

Let's start with the battles along the coast. There were both victories and defeats.

As long as the pirates are successfully repelled, it counts as a victory.

If the defense line is breached, it's considered a defeat.

Therefore, it's too early to say that we're in a state of continuous defeat.

The war between pirates and nobles has not affected this area for the time being. At most, it has affected the commercial network of a small part of the Black Iron Lands, but his side has not been affected yet.

Roman ignored this.

All they do all day is fight wars!
They're neglecting production targets and ignoring logistical support!

Once I've fully developed, you'll all be dead!

……

The third day of the celebration.

Three merchant ships arrived yesterday, and four merchant ships arrived today.

Trade in Sig Town is developing better and better.

After defeating the noble alliance, Roman's name was known for miles around, making him a powerful figure in the remote wilderness.

Farmers with some spare money took this opportunity to come to the market by the dock to trade with merchants—Roman prohibited unauthorized persons from entering the town and specially arranged for police officers to guard them.

The businessman wasn't bothered by it.

As long as I can sell things, I don't care if it's at the dock or even in the water.

The town of Sige produces salt, and the commercial taxes are low, so merchants are happy to trade there, and it's only natural that they follow the rules.

After all, their goods might not sell out if shipped elsewhere. But if they're shipped to Sig Town, they'll definitely be bought up without hesitation.

The gap in social resources is too large.

However, the products that Sig Town can produce are very limited, which makes it difficult to attract more merchants.

So Roman started selling iron.

Salt and iron were crucial to agrarian civilizations.

The latter is about survival, the former is about efficiency.

The steel production capacity in Rome is too high.

This is, after all, an agrarian society, so the demand for steel is not great. It is used either to make armor or tools. What other uses does it have?

That's all.

Farm tools and weapons generally weigh only one or two pounds, and even the heavier ones weigh only three or four pounds.

Even armor, a single piece would weigh at most twenty or thirty pounds.

During the Han Dynasty, iron smelting led to the widespread use of iron agricultural tools. In some places, iron was smelted in one go to produce enough for a year's worth of use, and then smelted again after that.

Producing five hundred farm tools and weapons, or fifty simple half-body armors a day, is a production volume that would make anyone's scalp tingle.

It's more than enough, absolutely more than enough.

Roman was prepared for any eventuality, so he never stopped producing steel.

As for the consequences of selling the iron, they were not even within Roman's consideration.

If they dare to attack again, I'll definitely give them two punches!

He wasn't selling iron ingots, but rather kitchen knives, hoes, and iron pots—all pre-cast and mass-producible.

In this era, kitchen knives and hoes were relatively easy to obtain, but iron pots were not yet common.

All the iron pots are made of refined iron.

Plate armor is forged in the same way that fine iron pots are forged.

The materials and craftsmanship of cast iron pots are superior to those of cast iron pots.

This is easy to understand. If you use aerospace alloys to forge an iron pot, the material and process are superior to those of a cast iron pot.

This space-age iron pot has to be sold at an exorbitant price, otherwise the cost of materials and labor cannot be recouped.

Therefore, making a cast iron wok involves complicated steps and is expensive.

Cast iron pots are much cheaper.

Roman was cast directly from pig iron.

With large-scale production, it can produce forty to fifty cast iron pots per day, each weighing about three kilograms.

Of course, we offer iron pots in different sizes.

The large iron pot weighs about ten kilograms and is specially used for cooking large batches of food.

Roman's large kitchen contained hundreds of cast iron pots, capable of cooking tens of thousands of kilograms of wheat porridge at a time, greatly improving the efficiency of the cooks.

Even so, iron pots were not a necessity in this era.

Inexpensive earthenware pots can also be used for cooking.

However, there are still some businessmen who find it novel and are willing to pay for it.

Because Roman lowered the acquisition price.

A 3-jin (1.5 catties) fine iron pot would cost about 2 silver coins on the market – that is, about 300 jin (150 kg) of wheat would be exchanged for an iron pot. A hoe was relatively cheaper, costing about 1 silver coin, which was equivalent to about 100 jin (50 kg) of wheat.

Roman priced the cast iron pot at eight copper coins.

If purchased in bulk, each iron pot can even be reduced to 5 copper coins.

Roman never cheated anyone and made it clear beforehand that his ironware could not be reforged.

Things formed by molten iron cannot be forged again.

(End of this chapter)