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

Chapter 94: Disgraced
Noble friendships are not based on verbal agreements, but on written contracts.

Morey took out the contract.

Roman discovered that the young businessman had come prepared.

The contract terms clearly define the scope of responsibilities for both parties.

If Morey were to encounter trouble, Roman would help him through the crisis.

This assistance could be in terms of identity verification, protecting his safety, or even mobilizing troops to provide support.

The last condition was truly terrifying.

This means that if Morey is captured, Roman will have to go and rescue him from this predicament.

Of course, most friendships between merchants and nobles didn't go that far; at most, they would exchange a few words of condemnation.

The cost of such a large-scale operation was not something all nobles could afford.

Generally, this is limited to the first and second conditions—merchants can use the coats of arms and banners of nobles, and can also provide a reliable source of guards.

Furthermore, if Morey is subjected to political persecution or flees to Skye for any other reason, Roman must unconditionally protect Morey's safety until he has weathered the storm.

In return, Morey had to contact slave traders in various places to transport at least 300 slaves to Skye Town every month.

If a slave trader cannot be found, his caravan will take on the transportation task.

Roman would then pay money or salt to buy these slaves.

……

This is a contract that satisfies both parties.

Finally, there's a way out.

Morey thought to himself.

He was absolutely certain of this.

No matter what storms or upheavals may arise in the outside world, once he arrives in Sige Town, everything will be fine.

All external changes and wars have no effect on him!

The environment here, and the people in power here, make me feel so safe!
Morey believed that even if the church forced him, this descendant of the Cracked Armor family would not hand him over.

Imagine a lord who provides all his subjects with spacious and sturdy brick houses. How would he treat his friends? Would he be more harsh on them than on his subjects?
My father said I couldn't do anything great, but I never thought about doing anything great; I just wanted to stay alive.

Morey carefully placed the thick paper contract into his arms.

……

Roman was also very happy.

This means that the town of Sig has a stable source of people every month.

All the worries and anxieties he had accumulated over the past few days vanished.

But the exact price of this ship of slaves still needs to be given.

He had Seth take Jimmy to negotiate the price with Morey.

This is a rather complicated process.

Because the slaves brought by Morey were of high quality, they recovered very quickly in just half a day and were able to put them back into work immediately, greatly improving construction efficiency.

Roman, however, expanded the new residential area—increasing the number of brick houses from five hundred to eight hundred, almost doubling it, single-mindedly thinking of the benefits of a one-time solution.

The residential area, which originally could accommodate 3,000 people, has been expanded to accommodate 5,000 people to make it easier to accommodate future population growth.

As long as Morey fulfills his agreement, there will be ample manpower available in the future.

……

The residents of Seaburg were quite depressed after becoming slaves, and they thought they would have a relatively bleak and unsuccessful life ahead of them.

But soon, they were surprised to find that this was not the case. Although they had to live in those resettlement houses for the time being, after talking with the residents and former slaves, they learned that this massive complex was built for them.

I should have known that most of the houses in the city of Heyburg were just wooden and stone structures, rather than sturdy brick houses.

The brick houses in Haibao mean that even in strong winds, they won't creak or groan, and there's no risk of the roof being blown off.

But only noblemen could afford to live in those stone buildings, which would not collapse even after a hundred years.

Having received a clear answer, these new slaves, with mixed feelings, threw themselves into the busy construction process.

Like all the laborers here, they eat the same meals every day, start working as soon as it gets light, rest for four or five hours at noon, and then pick up their tools and continue working when it gets less hot in the afternoon.

Although this kind of life is monotonous, the progress of construction is visible to the naked eye.

On the third day of Morey's arrival in Skye, it was a rainy day, with a light drizzle falling from the gloomy sky.

Because the temperature had dropped, they didn't even rest; they spontaneously gathered together and braved the light rain to work at the construction site.

On that day, freed from the torment of high temperatures, the increasingly skilled bricklayers erected the red walls of fifty buildings in a single day.

Some were carrying bricks, others were mixing mud, and various oxcarts and horse-drawn carts were transporting building materials back and forth.

In Skye, Morey finally calculated the value of all the slaves and was fortunate enough to witness this miracle.

He was dumbfounded.

They never expected that these farmers and slaves would be so efficient.

Morey thought to himself.

If the peasants under those nobles were this efficient, would their castles still need construction periods of several years or even decades?

The supervisors whipped their bodies until their skin was torn and bleeding, but why did the construction efficiency never improve?

He therefore had even more confidence in the town of Sig.

Morey was quite certain that if someone wanted to destroy those buildings; if someone wanted to steal the brick houses they had worked so hard to build; if someone wanted to take everything away from Roman Riftarms.

Then everyone in Sig will take up arms and fight back!

Unless a large number of knights come, the conscripted troops will not be a match for these angry farmers.

After the light rain stopped, he prepared to leave.

On that same day, a fleet of ships appeared from the direction of Silver Dragon Canyon, with flags flying on the ships, each flag embroidered with an iron tree covered in barbs.

Because the docks were packed with Morey's merchant ships.

It took the fleet quite a while to get into position.

“You really should renovate the dock properly. It is your master’s face, and you have made him lose face.”

Those who disembarked complained to Seth.

His facial features are somewhat similar to Morey's, but he looks younger.

Hoss Perea had visited Sig Town twice before.

He and the local lords were engaged in the salt and iron trade.

But he still found it difficult to get used to the docks in Sig Town; they wobbled and swayed when he stepped on them.

The logs in the river were rotten beyond recognition.
He was terrified that the cracked plank would break at any moment, causing him to slip and fall into the water, which would be undignified.

Seth asked, "What's the dock like in Irontree Territory?"

"It is naturally very spacious. The port of Irontree Territory has more than a dozen docks, lined up in a row, and the ships coming and going never stop." Hoss puffed out his chest as he spoke of the grandeur of Irontree Territory.

Little Jimmy next to Seth muttered, "Then there must be a lot of people walking around every day, putting the Iron Tree Lord's dignity at risk."

Hoss's expression froze.

(End of this chapter)