After seeing off Emily, Pierre, with a complicated mood, wandered around Deepwater Port with his two dazed sons.
After completely aligning with Graywhite Territory, the supervision over Pierre was significantly relaxed. After all, it was now impossible for Pierre to return to Doug’s command even if he wanted to.
Pierre had been to Deepwater Port before; after all, a tributary of the Deepwater River could lead directly to White Frost Fortress. Therefore, the Laurent family had once wanted to collaborate with the nobility of Deepwater Port to develop this port and facilitate mutual connection and protection.
However, despite possessing a port, the past situation of Deepwater Port could only be described as tragic, lacking the characteristics a commercial city should have.
The nobility here was different from the Champagne Nobility in the west. Although the original lord of Deepwater Port liked commercial activities, he did not engage in collaboration but instead fiercely collected taxes at the dock.
The Lars Family taxed one out of ten, but the lord of Deepwater Port taxed eight out of ten, making it a total tax of nine out of ten.
Of course, to pay fewer taxes, one could offer goods, women, and treasures to the lord of Deepwater Port to enjoy extremely low tax rates. Nobles who had a good relationship with the lord could even avoid taxes completely.
The exorbitant tax rates were only used to exploit the lower-class workers, such as porters, boatmen, and haulers.
Ordinary people certainly couldn’t pay the taxes and ended up as slaves to the lord, with almost everyone signing a contract of servitude.
Eventually, only some noble merchants would pass through Deepwater Port, and due to the poor infrastructure, even those noble merchants were reluctant to stay.
If it weren’t for the favorable geographical location of Deepwater Port, it would have long since become a ghost town.
Pierre had initially given up on cooperating with Deepwater Port for this reason; the lord there really just wanted the Laurent family to come and pay taxes.
In the end, Pierre even abandoned his original plan for a joint defense with Deepwater Port, believing that it was better to concentrate on defending White Frost Fortress rather than collaborating with such a lord.
Eventually, Pierre’s suspicions were proven right; the lord of Deepwater Port was so uncharismatic that when it came time to surrender, Graywhite Territory selectively turned a deaf ear, ruthlessly overrunning Deepwater Port, executing the original lord publicly, and taking over the city.
Even now, Pierre could still see the corpse of the original lord hanging at the entrance of the former lord’s mansion.
This sight sent chills down Pierre’s spine, not because the death was particularly tragic, but because the Graywhite lord would truly choose to take over after purging the area of certain troublesome elements.
No wonder they spared White Frost Fortress; compared to these individuals, Pierre indeed felt that the Laurent family was relatively humane.
The impact of the former lord’s corpse on the Laurent brothers was clearly greater than on Pierre. After all, it was the first time the brothers saw that even noble aristocrats could die, and once dead, they would smell foul and looked anything but elegant; even the once luxurious clothing of the former lord was stained with many unknown yellow liquids.
After shaking his head, Pierre took his two sons away from the area. Apart from the former lord, Pierre was most curious about how the dock at Deepwater Port was now.
As they walked, Pierre noticed many workers laboring by the riverside. In addition to the original dock, it seemed that another dock was being constructed.
With Graywhite merchants reacting to the news, many began to pursue this route, and for a moment, Deepwater Port finally exhibited the prosperity it should have as a nodal city.
Pierre stopped a worker and, after careful inquiry, found that the individual was originally a guard of Deepwater Port, captured for construction work. However, due to the magnitude of the construction project, mere guards were insufficient, so many people from surrounding villages were also called in to work.
As he spoke, the expression of the guard clearly showed some displeasure, which puzzled Pierre. Upon further questioning, he learned that participating in this work actually came with wages.
The nobles believed that serfs or commoners laboring for the lord or king was a form of honor, so such matters typically had no monetary reward, or at best, meager compensation. Being provided food was already quite good.
Moreover, these guards were originally prisoners; Pierre had never heard of paying prisoners wages.
No wonder these guards had some aversion to outsiders; they were worried that these visitors might come to occupy their jobs now or in the future.
These guards no longer considered themselves military captives of Graythorn Territory; they effectively became “locals.”
After carefully questioning the workers, Pierre found a piece of open ground by the dock construction site and sat down.
Seeing his two sons fidgeting, Pierre said, “If you want to play, go ahead, just remember the house rules. Do not argue with anyone, do not hurt anyone, understood?”
The two sons seemed to recall the body of the former lord hanging, shook their heads, and sat beside Pierre.
The three of them did not appear to be nobility, but rather traveling wealthy merchants. The Lars knights guarding them in the distance did not rush them but gazed toward the construction site at the dock along with them.
One must say, the governor of Graythorn Territory was quite effective with this method. With the infusion of funds, Deepwater Port quickly became bustling again. Pierre couldn’t help but wonder, where did Graywhite Territory get all this money?
Pierre’s gaze turned to the stone tablet by the entrance to the construction site that recorded some donations and amounts contributed by merchants and nobles to the port. To be honest, relying solely on this money was far from sufficient to plan and construct a large port.
He then looked at the shops being constructed by the port, mostly belonging to businesses connected to Graywhite Territory. After inquiries, Pierre found that these people essentially followed wherever the Graywhite army went.
Because wherever Graywhite Territory conquered, if conditions allowed, they would conduct what was called “work for relief,” constructing infrastructure while distributing money to “locals.” These merchants, following the military, found themselves surrounded by cash in places designated for work relief, ensuring they always had business.
After all, post-war times were marked by shortages, and those receiving wages were sure to find ways to exchange that money for goods.
In the end, the officials of Graywhite Territory would collect taxes from these merchants to establish a positive cycle.
After piecing things together, Pierre sat still to think. It still didn’t quite add up— even with the help of merchants, they surely couldn’t gather enough before the ports were completed. This governor had such audacity that Pierre couldn’t help but admire.
But where did so much money come from? Was there truly a hidden treasure of the Lars Family that no one knew about?
At that moment, in the castle of River Valley, Doug was holding the battle report with trembling hands.
“It’s okay; once Sir Jefferson’s cannons arrive, everything will get better.”
To expedite Jefferson’s delivery of the cannons, Doug had used his financial resources more than once to smooth out the smuggling line.
“Governor, Sir Jefferson, Sir Jefferson has indeed sent the cannons.”
“Really? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Quickly get these cannons sent to the following locations. No, I’ll deliver them personally.”
“Governor, it’s just… it’s just that Sir Jefferson only brought the cannons; he said the shells would require more payment.”
Hearing that more money was needed, Doug nearly fainted.
“Then continue to pay; as long as we can get more shells, our alchemists will be able to produce the shells themselves in no time. No matter the cost, we must get the shells, understood?”
Having already incurred too many sunk costs, Doug felt he could no longer back down.
