I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 139 He's willing to spend gold coins on me?

……

……

With Rhodes' promise in her heart, Sherry happily left Frostleaf Town.

Rhodes didn't do anything underhanded; he genuinely wanted to build such a Snow Rabbit people infrastructure team.

This is a gradual process. Whether it's training, team building, or the acceptance level among the people of Shuangye Town, it all needs to be done slowly.

Of course, the Rhodes cellar and ice cellar will be completed soon.

As long as the Snow Rabbit's ability to dig burrows is as impressive as Sherry boasts, that's fine.

Rhodes was already starting to look forward to his underground project, his grand underground palace project.

Meanwhile, the windmill forging hammer on the other side was also completed.

The windmills built in the northern wastelands had no shortage of power; on the contrary, the strong winds provided an abundance of power.

The winds in the wilderness are strong and frequent, posing a great challenge to windmills.

Rhodes' new design was to have a windmill lift the hammer up, and then let the hammer fall freely due to gravity to strike, so as to ensure the stability of the falling force.

Rhodes also increased the weight of the flywheel to increase its inertia, and tried his best to ensure that the hammer could be lifted at a constant speed regardless of the wind force.

The wind drives the flywheel, which in turn lifts the hammer through the rotation of gears. Once the hammer reaches a certain height, it detaches and falls freely to strike the iron material.

This is the basic principle of Rhodes' wind-powered forging hammer.

When there's no wind, the blacksmith has to work on his own.

Fortunately, the winters in the northern wastelands are almost never short of wind.

No additional infrastructure like water is needed; the wind-powered blacksmith shop is located within the town, making it convenient for Rhodes' daily inspections and eliminating concerns about attacks.

In the northern wilderness, after winter sets in, there are only half the days that are truly sunny.

For half the day, the wilderness is still covered in snow, so it is not suitable for outdoor activities.

Despite such harsh conditions, caravans still made their way from the border town to Frostleaf Town.

Rod felt genuinely gratified by the hard work of these merchants.

He instructed Lawrence to prepare hot soup and a warm, comfortable house for them to ward off the chill of their journey.

Rhodes originally wanted to exempt them from some taxes, but the merchants bargained with Rhodes because of the difficult journey.

Ultimately, Rhodes abandoned this benevolent idea.

At the same time, he received some less pleasant news.

……

……

Since being discovered, Ivan has had a relatively peaceful life.

Now I only need to do some manual labor every day, chopping wood, and I can go back to the house to rest before evening.

But he felt no relief; he remained uneasy.

Because the two slave companions who followed him were soldiers from Frostleaf Town.

They kept a close watch on Ivan and waited for his contact to arrive in Frostleaf.

"Sigh, another day has passed."

As the sun began to set, Ivan, carrying firewood, let out a long sigh.

Just then, the oxcart in front suddenly went out of control and rushed towards Ivan.

Fortunately, at the most critical moment, the frightened cow was pulled back.

"Please be careful!"

Ivan frowned and complained, "You almost killed me just now!"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

The man leading the cow apologized repeatedly.

"This cow has poor eyesight during the day and can't see what it should see."

Perhaps his eyes will be brighter at night.

Upon hearing this, Ivan's heart skipped a beat, and the piece of wood in his hand almost slipped from his grasp.

The two slave companions beside them also turned their heads to look.

Ivan's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered and managed a forced smile.

"If your vision is good at night, then I advise you to go out at night."

He responded with a pointed remark.

"Yes, I often take it for a stroll after dinner, and if we happen to be near a pub, I'll have a couple of drinks."

The man leading the ox bowed down again to apologize.
"I'm very sorry, I hope you're not upset by what happened today." "It's alright, you can go now."

Ivan waved his hand. "I hope your cow doesn't run into anyone at night."

The man smiled, led the cow away.

After the man walked away, his two fellow slaves quickly surrounded him.

Ivan nodded solemnly and said in a low voice, "It's him."

……

……

"So are you sure you're the contact person?"

Rhodes placed his hands on the table, his eyes sharply fixed on Ivan.

"Yes."

Ivan lowered his head, not daring to look Rhodes in the eye.
"All his talk about going out at night was in code, and so were my replies."

“Yes, the location is near the tavern, and the time is after dinner,” Rhodes said calmly.

There is no precise timekeeping tool; all times are approximate.

“Yes, my lord.” Ivan nodded.

Durant looked at Rhodes and asked, "Baron, should we send someone to arrest him?"

"Need not."

Rhodes shook his head and said with a smile, "Everything is proceeding as planned."

Rhodes looked at Ivan and said, "Report everything about the situation here to him."

Rhodes had already prepared lies for Ivan, including information about Frostleaf Town's population, military strength, food supply, resource reserves, and the treatment of some soldiers.

Of course, these are all fake, but to ensure authenticity, some information is ambiguous.

After all, Ivan was just a slave.

For many confidential matters, Rhodes had Ivan say he didn't know, which made it more realistic.

"Then, Lawrence."

Rhodes looked to the side.

“Please give your orders, sir,” Lawrence replied respectfully.

"Go and find out who that person is,"

Rhodes instructed, "No rush, just find out the basic information about this person. Then go to the border town to investigate further."

Rhodes felt somewhat out of touch with the world.

He thought for a moment and then said to Lawrence, "We should take this opportunity to expand our intelligence network."

Durant, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "We definitely need more intelligence."

"No problem, my lord."

Lawrence nodded respectfully, then whispered a reminder.

"However, intelligence networks cost money, specifically gold coins."

"Ok, I know."

Rod frowned slightly, his fingers gently stroking his chin.

"So let's take it slow and use a few 'rats' to gather some basic intelligence. But remember, keep it a secret."

"Then... should I ask my brother for help?"

Lawrence chuckled twice. "Last time I told him I had become your butler, he was very envious and wanted to serve you as well."

"Is he more interested in earning gold coins in Frostleaf Town?"

Rhodes chuckled and countered, "If he's willing to serve me, is he willing to spend his gold coins on me?"

Lawrence shook his head slightly. "That's worse than killing him, sir."

"Alright, I won't interfere with what you do, but make sure you don't reveal your identity, whether it's you or your brother."

Rhodes glanced at Ivan and cautioned, "Rats are unreliable."

This is why the other party concealed their identity.

"Understood, sir, I will handle it well."

Lawrence assured him.

Rhodes nodded, then looked at Ivan.

"From now on, it's all up to you."

(End of this chapter)