Chapter 43

Name:Horizon of War Series Author:
Chapter 43

Winter had arrived in Korelia, and the landscape had turned into a beautiful white blanket of snow. As was the norm, many of the original staff had gone on leave to spend time with their families. However, this custom was not for the benefit of the staff, but mostly due to the constraint of the castle’s design.

Built mainly as a defensive structure, it had limited living space. When the outside castle grounds were buried in snow, the castle’s inhabitants were forced to conduct all their activities in the great hall.

This winter, around twenty staff, a dozen retainers, and guardsmen shared the castle’s limited living space.

Despite the lack of space, they carried on with their daily activities. Training, lunch, downtime, supper, and sleeping were done in the great hall. There, the younger staff members learned to read and write under the tutelage of their seniors, while some even practiced poetry, music, or singing.

The place was lively, but despite Lansius’s effort to free some space, comfort and personal space were still a challenge.

As for Lansius, he spent most of his time in the Great Chamber, a private place reserved only for the lord’s family. Without one, he surrounded himself with his closest circle around the large fireplace.

The chamber was a good place to relax, with a high ceiling that made it airy and more spacious. Its walls were fully plastered and painted white, while the ceiling boasted colorful decorative plants and floral patterns.

In there, Lansius ate, read books, and chatted with Audrey, Cecile, and Stirling about everything. However, two topics were off-limits: his origin as a farmer in Bellandia and his true origin.

For Lansius, the time was a well-deserved break away from guests and other responsibilities. Only at the start of winter could he enjoy a peaceful dinner.

Not everything was as enjoyable as he wished. Every day without fail, Audrey would drag him up for sword training and indoor archery.

Today, after sword and archery training, Lansius was talking with Stirling, who showed a keen interest in how Lansius had solved Korelia’s rising grain prices.

Lansius, bundled up in three layers of thick clothing and a warm fur coat, winced as he shifted in his padded chair, the bruises from a brutal sword sparring session still fresh on his skin. “First, tell me everything you know about the situation.”

Stirling, the only one standing in the room, straightened his back and gathered his thoughts.

The crackling from the fireplace filled the Great Chamber as they waited for an answer. Sitting next to Lansius, Audrey and Cecile also showed interest in the topic.

“My lord arranged for thirty carts to travel to Midlandia to purchase food.”

“Go on,” Lansius said.

“But while the merchants bought grains, my lord ordered all ten of your military carts to buy salt secretly.”

“That’s correct. Please continue.”

“After that . . . my lord paid the workers in salt. Also bought sheep and meat with salt. And then everybody seemed to have enough food for winter.” Stirling expressed his confusion.

Lansius smiled as Audrey and Cecile watched him intently. The two were also curious.

“Try to answer this question: is the problem in Korelia the rising price of grain, or the lack of grain?” Lansius prompted the group.

The lad and lass furrowed their brows, clearly thinking hard. Meanwhile, Audrey pursed her lips and looked away.

“You should give it a try,” Lansius encouraged.

Audrey held onto her golden fur coat tightly before stating, “I’m only interested in solving problems with steel.”

Lansius let out a chuckle. “You’ll make a poor baroness if you think that way.”

“I only need the money, not the title,” Audrey responded without any hint of regret.

Lansius snorted and shook his head in amusement.

Meanwhile, Cecile and Stirling listened intently. As the lord’s closest confidants, the two were privy to such information. While at first, the lord and Audrey tried to conceal it, they eventually grew tired and displayed it openly in front of the two.

Lansius, thinking he had given enough time for Stirling to think, eventually asked, “So, what’s your answer?”

Stirling drew a deep breath before answering, “The problem in Korelia is the rising price of grain, not the lack of it.”

“Exactly. As was usual after harvest, there was enough grain in Korelia. The only problem was the price.”

Stirling nodded, while Cecile and Audrey kept looking with great interest.

“To lower the price, we could bring grain from outside, but we know it won’t be enough. After all, thirty carts of grain cannot feed a whole town and troops through winter and spring,” Lansius mused.

“Only the richest and the town butcher have that much,” Cecile said as she returned to her seat.

Stirling stood uncomfortably. “But why is only my lord buying salt? Why don’t the merchants buy grain too?”

“That’s because almost everybody in Korelia is poor. Merchants don’t stock items that people can’t buy,” Lansius explained.

Lansius watched the ember in the fireplace grow brighter and decided that he had provoked enough critical thinking in them. “Let’s summarize,” he began. “First, we don’t have the resources or time to transport enough grain to Korelia to lower the price.”

The trio understood that much. Nobody batted an eye.

“So, what I did was to bypass the high grain price using salt. Remember, the problem isn’t a shortage of grain in Korelia.” Lansius paused. “There’s enough grain in Korelia, in the merchants’ storages.”

They showed slight surprise.

Lansius continued. “Our problem is the merchants. They can’t sell their grain cheaply because they follow the market to maintain their margin.”

“And salt fixed it?” Audrey asked.

“Yup. The value of ten carts of salt we brought from Midlandia could probably purchase enough grain to feed Korelia for more than two years.”

The trio’s eyes widened in disbelief at the amount of grain that could be purchased. They exchanged surprised glances before Audrey spoke up. “But then, why make it complicated? If the goal is just to buy grain, why can’t you use silver and gold to buy grain?”

“That’s the monster hiding in the shadows,” Lansius remarked. “If you use silver to buy grain, the price will keep increasing in Korelia and neighboring cities. You can say the merchants will have so much silver that they don’t want it as much as before.”

Lansius could see that the concept was difficult to understand, but he pressed forward nonetheless. “However, if you use salt to buy grain, the price increase is small.”

“But why?” Stirling asked.

Lansius chuckled. “But you have answered it already. Remember, salt has many uses: to cure meat, medicine, and all. Meanwhile, silver is only good for trade, making cutlery, or jewelry. Silver has little real usage for common people, unlike salt.”

The trio began to grasp the concept.

Lansius knew he had his work cut out for him if they wished to learn more, but for now, he was satisfied that they were trying to understand the basic principles.

“That’s why salt is just as acceptable as silver or copper. It’s even better in our case because many Korelians can find real use for it.”

A currency that also has direct utility, imagine . . . No wonder the Romans loved it.

Lansius recalled how the word salary itself was believed to be derived from salarium or salt. Because the Romans once paid their soldiers with salt.

“I still don’t get it, but if it’s fixed, it’s fixed,” Audrey commented lightly while reaching out for her cup on the small table. Cecile readily filled her cup with pale ale.

“Though I’m still curious, how did you know that the merchants would react well with salt instead of the usual coins?” Audrey asked after she had sipped her drink.

“It was a gamble,” Lansius admitted. “But a currency that has real usage is powerful. It’s resilient and stable. That’s why the merchants played along. They took the risk because they can sell salt easily for profit outside of Korelia.”

As he finished his explanation, Lansius leaned back in his chair.

Stirling rubbed his chin as he pondered. Suddenly, Lansius recalled something, “And you know what the funny thing is?”

The trio looked at each other but mostly shrugged.

“It’s only working for Korelia.” The lord laughed, leaving his friend and two attendants puzzled.

Korelia was a special case. It had an unusually large number of poor shepherd families who benefited greatly from Lansius’s salt scheme. Salt was heavily used to preserve meat and make delicacies, such as sausages, ham, and long-lasting meat jerky.

Lansius hadn’t thought about it, but it was the missing component in Korelia’s nascent industry. With products to sell, many gained more than just enough to survive the winter.

Naturally, the same scheme wouldn’t work for other places whose main populace was farmers. A farming community didn’t need a large amount of salt. Thus, there was no incentive to take salt payment or use it as a bartering commodity.

Still, Lansius didn’t disclose everything. He kept the fact that his scheme to pay in salt was causing him to lose money, with a little loss on every payment. His treasurer, Calub, had raised concerns, but Lansius viewed it as an investment.

He wanted to give something to the people of Korelia, something for them to hope for other than just another war in the future.

But Lansius knew that despite averting famine, the threat of war loomed large. Despite all his preparations, there was a high chance that he would eventually need to abandon Korelia to its fate.