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"It's best not to offend such a person... You never know when he might bite, so sometimes he can be more dangerous than Shireck." Watching Qiumuluo leave, Roger reminded Tang Mo.
Tang Mo flashed a smile at Roger, "We are not villains, we are but merchants! Although we sell the reaper's sickle, we are not scoundrels... I will have someone keep an eye on that bastard. If he wishes not to live, I shall oblige him on his journey."
"As long as you are aware," Roger said, noticing that Tang Mo didn't take Qiumuluo seriously, and after giving him a reminder, he spoke again, "Actually, when Dino came to look for you just now, it reminded me of another matter."
"What matter?" Tang Mo asked as he entered the room and took off his fur coat, hanging it on the somewhat cold wall.
His room was quite a distance from the factory, so the heating overhaul hadn't reached this area. To save money, he still lived in this colder, old room, which made him appear even more shabby and stingy.
Fortunately, on the last return of the caravan, the daughter of Earl Fisheo had someone deliver to Tang Mo a very precious, pure black fur coat. The fur on the coat was exceptionally smooth to the touch and felt very comfortable.
What's more, the fur coat was very warm to wear, and the inside was carefully sewn with pockets, revealing that the tailor had put in great effort.
"We still have a recorded but uncollected debt," Roger reminded Tang Mo, "the Poplar Kingdom, Elf Augustine John, owes us 100,000 Gold Coins. It has been four months, and he has not returned as promised."
"Perhaps he has some important matters to attend to. Of course, it's also possible that he is already on his way here," Tang Mo casually replied unconcernedly.
His room was now even more crowded because he had added another table, which cut across the middle of the room, separated from his work desk.
Now, his work desk was piled with blueprints and some documents that needed attention, while the new table had a bottle of barley wine and several cups on it.
All the cups were different, each belonging to someone specific. Tang Mo picked up the bottle in the middle and gently shook it.
Removing the wooden stopper, he half-filled a cup specially for Roger and pushed it toward him as he said, "Pay attention to the new slaves, have someone explain to them properly, to let them know they were rescued, so they don't misunderstand and think we caused their families to be torn apart and their lives to be ruined..."
"I will, and with several hundred new mouths to feed, it seems we need to stock up on more food," Roger replied as he took the cup, carefully adding to what Tang Mo had said.
"Exactly! What would I do without your help?" Tang Mo said with a laugh as he poured himself a cup and raised it in a toast to Roger, "We've certainly taken in quite a few idlers recently."
"Indeed, not a small number at all. The fleet has been in constant training, hundreds of people, over a dozen ships, and all without profit..." Roger became somewhat anxious as he mentioned it, "In addition, we have just taken on several hundred slaves who cannot just be put to use immediately..."
"However," he quickly reassured Tang Mo, "once the weather improves, the fleet can go out to trade. If all goes well, they might bring us more profit. So, in this regard, the fleet is not kept for nothing."
"Also, we can put these slaves to use. Soon we'll be expanding the factory and building roads; indeed, we will be short of hands." After saying this, he looked at Tang Mo.
Fishermen sold their catches clean, the brothels were bustling with patrons coming and going, the hearty men in the taverns feasted and whistled cheerily, and even the snow-covered streets were swept clean.
As days passed by, the ships from the Poplar Kingdom still had not arrived. Other than Roger, few discussed this matter in front of Tang Mo, as it seemed to everyone that this would upset him.
However, in fact, Tang Mo didn't care about the "loss" of the hundred thousand Gold Coins and had directed all his attention to chemical experiments and some mechanical design improvements.
With him leading the way, these chemical experiments went smoothly; once Tang Mo introduced the concept of a periodic table, the alchemists he had purchased began to worship him as a deity.
Before long, Tang Mo had created an array of bizarre and curious items in the laboratory, all of which he would need for future production and innovation.
While Tang Mo, with the help of his golden finger, was expanding his technical territory, a knight bearing the Northern Ridge Wolf Banner arrived in Brunas.
"Sir!" Upon seeing Tang Mo, the knight was very respectful, gave a slight nod, and then took out a copy of a document from his chest, "This is from Lord Earl, the treaty has been signed, and the land south of the Ice Crystal River has officially become the new territory under Lord Earl's command."
"That is good news." Tang Mo took the copy of the treaty and read it carefully.
It appeared that the Suthers Kingdom had completely lost patience with the chaos south of the Ice Crystal River, and in one fell swoop, dumped those "non-tax-paying" troublemakers into Count Fisheo's lap.
Clearly, the Leite Kingdom was also cautiously observing Count Fisheo's rise and showed little interest in the chaotic region south of the Ice Crystal River, simply acknowledging Count Fisheo's expansion.
In addition, the Suthers Kingdom compensated Lord Earl Fisheo with 350,000 Gold Coins, to be paid over three years in installments of 120,000 each year, with the excess being considered interest.
What somewhat irritated Tang Mo was that after such a show of sincerity from Suthers, Fisheo had to make concessions.
He was forced to return 1,500 prisoners of war to Suthers, along with the legion standard captured by Tang Mo, and General Tucci's sword.
Additionally, Northern Ridge had to return the 20 cannons captured on the battlefield to the Leite Kingdom's military—those cannons were lost by them last year and were now returned to their original owner.
In return, the Leite Kingdom pinched its nose and recognized Fisheo's request to expand his forces. Northern Ridge's current authorized strength was three legions, a total of 4,500 soldiers.
But the kingdom did not bear the expenses of these troops nor did it provide the corresponding weapons—this was probably Leite Kingdom's final show of defiance.
Unfortunately for them, Fisheo was no longer interested in Shireck's flintlocks or field cannons. He was indeed planning to make his own equipment purchases, from Tang Mo...
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Ah, thanks to the Emperor for the reward, so happy~~ Truly grateful!