British hegemon

Chapter 134 Not Going to Die

At the beginning of April, Whiteface John, encouraged by the newly recruited Chicken-Killing Knight, still decided to head south to conquer and establish his prestige.

For this expedition, he planned to conscript 150 soldiers and decided to change the previous strategy, changing the campaign against the western coast of Galloway to an "invasion" of central Galloway, bringing the time forward to the end of May or the beginning of June, catching the English and Scottish collaborators off guard.

The heavens are enraged and the people are resentful; complaints are widespread.

On the island of Arran, which had just suffered a crushing defeat at Galloway, conscripting 150 soldiers was already a case of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, and the food, supplies, and weapons required for 150 men were an unbearable burden for Arran.

At the Baron's Court and Council meeting chaired by John the Whiteface, Roger made it clear that Milkhouse Manor would not participate in the Baron of Arlen's military operations.

But Roger did not object to the white-faced military adventure.

The Baron's Court also declared in court that the lord of Milkhouse Manor must pay a huge "shield tax" fine for his actions.

Because Milk House Estate was one of the largest estates on Arran Island, and Rogermore had ten gentry sergeants under his command, these ten sergeants meant ten "professional soldiers," whose exemption from service fines were quite heavy.

Moreover, Roger not only had to pay for all the residents of Milkhouse Manor, but also for Campbell Textile Mill, Campbell Saltworks, and all the adult men who had recently joined Milkhouse Manor.

Old Steward Bard repeatedly advised Roger to send a group of farmhands and serfs with Whiteface on the expedition, but Roger insisted on paying the fines for everyone because he didn't want his men to be cannon fodder for others.

Because of Roger's public-spiritedness, the fine he paid to Brodick Castle amounted to as much as twenty-five pounds, not including the regular military rations and "war tax" he paid.

This undoubtedly exacerbated the already dire financial crisis at Milk House Manor.

"Since mid-March, we have supplied a batch of textiles to merchants in Argyle, Islay, County Ayr, and Ulster, Ireland. These are all winter stock, totaling forty-five pounds and twelve shillings. The price is at least two-fifths cheaper than sending them directly to southern Ireland. However, the advantage is that each lord's shop brings its own ship to pick them up, saving on transportation costs and ensuring a longer and more reliable supply." The ailing accountant, Wolf, presented Roger with a parchment ledger for inspection.

Roger waved his hand gently, indicating that no inspection was needed. "I went to the salt factory yesterday. Their sales have reached £25 since mid-March, with a net profit of £22. I noticed that you haven't been producing much of the latest dyed cloth lately."

"Of course, textile factories and salt factories are different in nature, and I did not require you to achieve such a high profit margin, but you should also think more about how to make the factory more profitable."

Wolf, whose leg was injured, had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead and didn't know how to answer.

Jenny, the textile factory manager dressed smartly, stepped forward and said softly, "Sir, the main problem is that we've been working with the newly built dyeing factory for the past month. Our densely woven fabrics are different from the ordinary fabrics from the small workshops of the past; the dyeing process is much more complicated."

"Moreover, among the dyes you brought back from the south, only madder and alum are commonly used by us. We need to test the proportions of Toulouse indigo and Aragon black soap. In order to reduce waste, we can only temporarily slow down the production speed."

Roger didn't understand these purely technical issues, but Jenny had always managed the textile factory well, so she said that if there were difficulties, they must be genuinely technical.

If the Campbell Textile Mill can be fully operational, its dozen or so spinning and weaving machines, along with the complex processes of washing, combing, dyeing, and drying, can produce thirty-six yards of brightly colored finished fabric every day.

This high-quality dyed fabric can sell for an average of three shillings per yard. After deducting the costs of wool, dye, equipment, and labor, each yard can yield a profit of one shilling and eight pence.

In other words, theoretically, Campbell's textile mill could bring Roger three pounds in income every day, which would amount to 1,100 to 1,200 pounds a year, nearly ten times the annual output value of the Milk House estate.

But theoretical values ​​are always just theoretical values.

Roger's costs extend far beyond the textile mill itself.

The rent for the Campbell Textile Mill was set by the old baron before his death, and it was cheap enough. However, one-tenth of the factory's annual profits belonged to the baron's manor, which was a right granted to the lord by law. That was one point.

No matter how profitable a product is, the money is only realized when it is shipped out and sold. Transportation costs account for at least one-thirtieth to one-twentieth of the total cost. That's the second point.

After addressing the local lords' taxes and transportation costs, goods entering the market also incur high taxes. These costs vary from town to town, ranging from one-fifth of the selling price in some cases to one-tenth in others. This is the third point.

After these three layers of deductions, the income flowing into Roger's coffers amounted to seven hundred and seventy pounds.

Of course, a net income of £770 is contingent on the smooth operation of production, distribution, and sales, and on the premise that prices do not decrease due to various factors.

These three points don't even take into account the high tariffs at border crossings. For example, in recent years, King Edward VI imposed tariffs of up to a quarter on wool exports from England and Ireland, and an astonishing third on wool transiting south from Scotland.

That was a long way off; Roger could only pin his hopes on smuggling with his uncle Jeffrey.

More recently, five days ago, Cader, who was expanding his territory in Glasgow, sent back news that the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce had rashly increased taxes on goods from the Isle of Arron and restricted the amount of Isle of Arron textiles and salt that could enter the Glasgow market.

At a time when the English were once again blocking trade routes between Scotland and Ireland, this was undoubtedly another noose around Roger's neck.

Glasgow was too important to Roger.

During Roger's grandfather's time, the Isle of Aran was the second largest trading hub on the west coast of Scotland, because the seas were calm and the Firth of Clyde was bustling with merchant ships.

However, the Isle of Aran is ultimately isolated overseas, while Glasgow is the true sea and land transportation hub for the entire central and western Scotland. It not only radiates across the entire central plains of Scotland, but also connects east and west and north and south. Only by occupying the Glasgow market can one have reliable sales channels for goods and sources of raw materials.

In order to open up trade channels to Glasgow and save Milk House Estate from bankruptcy, Roger plans to personally lead a team to Glasgow.

He needed to sell off all the inventory in both factories before things got chaotic, in order to obtain disposable funds to deal with the complicated situation ahead.

"Pack up all the finished products in the factory warehouse, including the undyed and damaged fabrics. I'm going to Glasgow tomorrow, and I hope I can sell all the stockpiled fabric and salt on this trip..."

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