CH 280

I still can’t sort out my feelings because of what happened in the morning. Shortly thereafter, Victoria left. It wasn’t completely decided that I would be the successor to Kruck Trading Firm, but Victoria declared that she would move forward assuming that was true. She just left my responses and feelings behind…

Of course, it’s not like I’m suddenly going to inherit everything. She barely spoke about it, but it seems that Victoria is gradually getting me involved in the management of Kruck Trading Firm, accumulating achievements, gaining control over her subordinates, creating a faction, and then taking over.

I understand. That would be how you should do it. Should an outsider with no experience or track record suddenly take over, the existing employees will protest, inevitably. If someone who has never worked at the company suddenly takes over because he is the president’s son and says that he will replace his parent as president from now on, no one will listen to what he says.

If you want a child to take over as president, it’s normal to first give them a certain title and position, let them accumulate achievements, get them to get close to executives and executive candidates, and gradually solidify their footing before taking over. Unless there is something unforeseen along the way, that’s how things generally go.

I understand that…but why is it me in the first place…?

Kruck is the largest company in the Kingdom of Ploiss, and it is large enough to do business with neighboring countries. What’s more, it’s backed by the Kreff Duchy, Dietrich’s House, and he is also the prime minister, so if I were to suddenly take over Kruck, I’m sure I’d end up in conflict with the Kreff Duchy.

And I don’t think even the royal family would stay silent. Just with the Caan Knights Nation, I already have a territory and population on par with a duke. It’s no exaggeration to say that if I were to control Caanza Trading Firm, the Caanza Alliance, and then Kruck Trading Firm, I would be able to control almost all distribution and retail in the Kingdom of Ploiss. Can the royal family allow me to concentrate so much wealth and power on myself? It will be unforgivable.

Even though the Caan Knights only took back the territory of the Kingdom of Ploiss, even if they gave me the territory, the Kingdom of Ploiss didn’t hurt themselves in the process. We only reclaimed and were granted land that was originally stolen from us. Even if you give me all of it, the tax revenue will only increase, and there will be no loss.

But Kruck Trading Firm is not like that. Originally, they had a deep connection with the Kreff Duchy, and they probably had close ties with the royal family and the Duke of Kreff himself. If Kruck becomes mine, it will be a shock that cannot be compared to giving me the Caan Knights Nation.

“Haa…” I sighed.

“Floto… what are you worried about?” Louisa asked as she peered at me in worry.

“Huh? Ah…” I said vaguely.

“I don’t think I can help you with your troubles, Floto… but don’t overdo it,” Louisa said.

“Louisa… thank you,” I said.

It felt like Louisa’s feelings were pouring into me, and I felt warm. I feel like things have become a little easier with just that. As we rode and sat together in a carriage, Louisa patted my head and gave me a shy smile. She is very cute. I get the urge to hug her, but we’re in a carriage with the other wives and passengers are able to see, so I hold back.

I haven’t decided on Kruck Trading Firm yet. Will I inherit or not? How do you persuade those around me? That’s a story for the future. Maybe I won’t succeed due to opposition from those around me, and even if the people around me keep quiet, there’s still a chance that I’ll refuse anyway. Thinking too much about the future will only make you tired.

Ignorance is not good and idealism is not good either, but worrying about things you don’t know yet will only exhaust you. Let’s do our best to inspect what we do know rather than think about what we don’t know. There’s no way I can do anything else if the territory under my feet falls out from under me.

We arrived in Floren and found it has changed a lot in the last six months. At first, I thought it was still a small village, but now the number of buildings and people has increased considerably. And the fleet hidden in the covered facility… we don’t connect to the sea here… it’s not like it’s impossible, to begin with, but currently, you can’t come and go without passing through the straits of the Demon Country and the Kingdom of Del.

The lower reaches of the Welzel River belong to the Kingdom of Frasia, and even if we were to go down the Welzel River to reach the Hermann Sea, we would have to go through Demon Country and Del to reach the Hulk Sea.

My goal is not to go from the Hermann Sea to the Hulk Sea, but to go further west from the Hermann Sea to the ocean. But even if Floren doesn’t go to the Hulk Sea, it’s not convenient for Floren to be my home port.

First of all, Floren is a river port even though it is a port. It is located in the Welzel River Basin. Even if you trade from the Hermann Sea, it takes a lot of time to go up here. After all, it is better to have a port facing the sea.

And that the lower reaches of the Welzel River are part of the Kingdom of Frasia is also a problem. In this world, the right of passage is ambiguous. There will be people who pass by here and there on their own accord, but if they are found, it could lead to a fight, or even a war. Even if I get permission to pass through, I don’t know when the passage will be banned due to the circumstances of the other party.

Furthermore, even if Floren were able to go out to the Hermann Sea and trade, we would not have sea control, seaports of call, or bases there. Of course, it might be a good idea to prepare such things from now on, but there are the Kingdoms of Frasia and Hollant in the West. There’s no way the other side would just sit back and watch us enter their domain.

Besides, with our navy… or rather, with the House Caan Merchant Fleet, securing sailors is also a problem… adding ships is not difficult. If you build a shipyard and build it over time, it will increase naturally. But sailors are not as easy. I set a goal of building 50 ships, but if I try to secure the crew for that, it’s going to be in the tens of thousands.

Even if you rely on civilians for lower-ranking sailors tasked with mundane work, you will still need dedicated militarized sailors. Currently, the fleet buildup is progressing at a rapid pace, but there are various problems.

First of all, having so many professional sailors is a big burden. Luckily, the problem of the population supporting the sailors was largely resolved with the acquisition of the Caan Knighthood. Besides, the House Caan Merchant Fleet, which is usually for mercantile work, is easier to maintain and less of a burden than a purely militarized navy. But even so, having tens of thousands of sailors is a big deal.

And the lack of time to identify and train soldiers. There is still a surplus of ships. Ship construction is going very well. However, the securing and training of the sailors to sail in them are not in time. At this rate, the ship will just be deadstock at the port. Was I in too much of a hurry…?

Should we slow down the pace of construction a little and let them build old-fashioned ships like cogs and hulks for civilian use, or even gradually introduce caravels and carracks to the private sector? I feel like it’s still early, but… as expected, if the carrack ship is analyzed, the structure of the galleon ship will also be exposed. After all, even if it is still distributed to the private sector, should it be limited to those related to Caanza Trading Firm?

Come to think of it, I also had to develop a riverboat. I need a small boat that can go up the river to the Caan Barony. Will some of the current surplus shipbuilding capacity be used to build old-fashioned small ships and newly developed riverboats?

“Lord Caan, how are you doing? How do you find Floren?”

“Reiner…” I said. “you’ve developed it so quickly. It’s amazing to see how things have changed since six months ago.”

The Mayor of the Town of Floren, Reiner, has arrived. He must have rushed over after hearing that I was coming around for an inspection. Or should Floren still be called a village? I think it’s safe to call it a town already.

“Do you have any problems or requests?” I asked.

“Huh? Ah, indeed…” Reiner said.

Originally, reports and requests have arrived, but it’s also important to listen to them discuss it face-to-face. There may be nuances that cannot be conveyed in writing, and things that are difficult to express in writing.

“I suppose the lumber and labor shortages are our biggest problems?” Reiner said.

“I see……” I said.

It was a request that had been raised for some time. There is no immediate solution to the labor shortage. Even so, Floren’s population and migrant workers have increased explosively in the last six months. Even if you say it’s not enough, you can’t help it. All this will have to take time.

What is more serious is the lack of wood… at the beginning of the development of the Caan Knighthood, timber was abundant. The first necessary amount was procured from Carruthers and Lubek, and along the way, there was a large amount of wood from the cleared forests.

But currently, no roads have been cleared, and no large-scale reclamation has been done to maintain the vast land. As a result, the supply of lumber which was produced only by clearing land is starting to stagnate. Some of it is felled from the mountains and forests and brought back, but it’s not enough compared to our consumption.

If we cut down too much, the forest will disappear. We are also planting trees and restricting the amount of logging, but the supply is insufficient to meet the demand. I’m surviving with the stock of wood that came out when we first opened this up for development, but if I keep going like this, the stock will eventually run out.

“Let’s do something about the manpower with the Caan Knights Nation…” I said. “Please wait a bit for the wood resources. I’ll do something about it.”

“We thank you for your consideration,” Reiner said.

And after some time discussing things, Reiner went back to work. The labor force can only be increased gradually. Now that we have the Caan Knights Nation, we have no choice but to choose people we can trust from there and have them move here.

The problem is the wood… Forests are still abundant. That’s why the residents will say that they should clear up the forest. But if we rely on logging here for all of our consumption, we’ll surely run out soon. Forests do not become rich mountains and wooded zones unless they are managed by humans to some extent, but if they are cut down too much under the pretense of management, they will soon dry up.

This balance will develop gradually over the years. The demand is too great in the Caan Knighthood which is currently in the midst of large-scale development. At least until the development is settled down, if it is not supplied from somewhere, it may be full of bald spots.

I didn’t say it just now, or Reiner didn’t notice or mention it, but there’s also the food problem… The population is increasing explosively not only in Floren but also in the Caan Knighthood. Not just the wood supply, but the food supply is also insufficient. Right now, we rely on imports via Carruthers territory and the Caanza Alliance, but we can’t just stay like that forever.

Workforce growth is not the only problem here. Overall population growth needs increased food supplies, too, it’s as much a priority as wood.

In that case…there is no choice but to carry out large-scale development in the Caan Knights Nation. There is plenty of labor over there. Open a large farm and ranch under the direct management of the House Caan. Farms and ranches aren’t all that secret. Using local labor will not be a problem.

Take cows, pigs, and chickens from here to the ranch… then let’s grow rice in the Caan Knights Nation. It’s not the purpose of getting them to eat rice. Wheat and so on are also over there. No need to bring it from here. Since rice is only cultivated at home and purchased from the Demon Country, if we don’t bring it from here, it won’t be there.

Let’s gradually expand this terraced field for the tea plantation. In the Caan Knighthood, rice is cultivated and sake is made from it. If a rice diet becomes established, we can recommend it to others.

The rest is cotton… cotton is not suitable for growing around here. I want a place with a more suitable climate…

South……. Should I go south?

Perhaps, but as far as I was shown a rough map, if I go beyond the Principality of Aust in the south and go further southeast, the climate will become the one I want. I just have to go beyond Aust and the country beyond.

Or go around the sea. If the land route is troublesome, there is no choice but to go around the sea. If it goes out to the western ocean and then goes south, it will come out to a temperate or tropical climate. However, we cannot avoid conflicts with the countries that have control of the western seas.

It seems that there is an inland sea if you go south beyond the Principality of Aust. If we go southeast by land, we have to do something about the countries along the way, but if we cut through the Principality of Aust to the south and go out to the inland sea that lies ahead, then we’ll have to deal with sea transportation. Conflicts with the countries of the southeast may be minimized.

Either way, conflict with neighboring countries is inevitable… This is because in order to go out to the temperate or tropical zone and carry out trade, it is necessary to pass through somewhere.

Even if we don’t intend to fight forcibly, the neighboring countries won’t let us just pass like that. In such a world, the national system of the times… then… I can’t just hold my finger in my mouth and watch.

I’d like to proceed as peacefully as possible, but… I should prepare to go west and south. From now on, for me… for the Kingdom of Ploiss to survive, I have no choice but to take steps ahead of those around me.