NOVEL NEXT chapter 43 - The Second Letter from the North
The candlelight flickered, illuminating the letter spread out on the desk, its contents written in neat handwriting, just like the cautious and steady character of the old butler, Bradley.
Duke Calvin's gaze fell on the beginning of the letter; he only had slight expectations for this son.
But as the words went deeper, the Duke's initially casual expression gradually sobered, and his brows slowly furrowed.
“Performance far exceeding other pioneer territories?”
Agricultural breakthroughs, crops maturing early?
Housing problems solved more efficiently than in mature territories?
The magic marrow mine not only successfully exploited but also had a scientific mining plan formulated?
Even slave management was optimized to be flawless?
Especially the part about food production supporting an additional 1500 slaves made him thoughtful.
He sat up straighter, glancing at Bradley's signature.
If the person who wrote the letter wasn't Bradley, the Calvin Family's most loyal old butler, he would have suspected that the writer had been bribed.
But his gaze did not leave the letter as he continued to read on.
Duke Calvin soon discovered that Louis's leadership was not only reflected in his policies but also in his personal charisma.
He did not rely on the Calvin Family's prestige but rather on his own ability, making everyone in the entire Red Tide Territory follow him wholeheartedly.
Especially when Duke Calvin read about the Red Tide Territory residents' almost fanatical respect for Louis.
“Fanatical? Is it that exaggerated?”
Even the Duke himself had to admit that in his impression, very few lords in the entire Iron-Blood Empire could achieve this.
He originally only wanted Louis to go to the North to fend for himself, and incidentally, squeeze out his last bit of value.
He didn't expect this boy to actually make a name for himself?
Sure enough, his “more children, more blessings” plan was correct, Duke Calvin thought proudly.
It was like a lottery; as long as he drew enough, he would always win a few prizes.
He continued to read, and when he reached the part about the magic marrow mine, Duke Calvin's gaze paused slightly, and a hint of interest appeared in his eyes.
The magic marrow mine sales rights would be transferred to the Calvin Family in exchange for support, while retaining the processing technology.
He certainly knew what this meant.
Louis did not want to be overly constrained by the Calvin Family; he was trying to maintain his independence.
The Duke sneered, “He certainly has guts.”
However, he was not averse to it.
On the contrary, he even found it a bit interesting.
The Red Tide Territory was located in the North, seemingly barren and desolate, but if managed properly, it could become a powerful local force.
Louis's willingness to hand over the sales rights to the Calvin Family showed that he understood he still needed the Calvin Family's protection for now.
But his refusal to give up the processing rights meant he was preparing for the future.
Once the time was ripe, the Red Tide Territory's magma essence economy could completely detach from the Calvin Family and even potentially have independent say in the future market.
A pioneer lord born of a noble family would often choose to fully depend on the Calvin Family, but Louis did not do so.
Of course, these alone were not enough for the Duke to completely look at him in a new light.
Louis had not yet truly established himself in the North, and the profits from the magic marrow mine had not yet been fully realized.
Given the volatile situation in the North, his future remained uncertain.
But Louis did give him an unexpected surprise this time.
He mainly valued Louis's potential; as for the resources in the Red Tide Territory, he didn't really care much about them yet.
Perhaps it was time to reconsider this son's value.
The Duke held the letter, his fingers lightly tapping the desk, his gaze moving across the lines of text.
Bradley's high praise exceeded his expectations, even giving him a ridiculous illusion.
But no matter what, the facts were already before him.
Louis, a child he had never paid attention to, had shown stronger abilities than expected in the barren lands of the North.
Most importantly, the North was ultimately too far from the Southeast Province.
Although the Red Tide Territory's land had great potential, it was too far from the Calvin Family's core, and full support was clearly unrealistic.
The current Red Tide Territory was like an unsprouted seed, full of potential but also uncertainty.
Excessive support might make Louis eager for quick success, and he might not be able to adapt to the harsh environment of the North at all.
Moreover, given Louis's attitude towards the profits from the magic marrow mine, he apparently did not want the Calvin Family to interfere too much in his territory.
The Duke sat at his desk, his gaze once again falling on Bradley's letter.
“Both maintaining the Calvin Family's influence and not intervening too much…” He lightly tapped the desk, muttering.
Financial support would be given, but not much; he decided to allocate another 1000 to 1500 gold coins.
This amount of money was enough for the Red Tide Territory to maintain stability, but to expand?
Louis would have to find ways to make money himself, to figure out how to make the Red Tide Territory support more people.
He had to learn to increase income and reduce expenditure, rather than relying on the Calvin Family's subsidies to get by.
Making him short on money, forcing him to think, was the only way to truly see his abilities.
Military support was also necessary; the Duke decided to allocate two more knight squads to him.
Nominally, they were to protect the magic marrow mine, but in reality, they were to give him a trump card, preventing him from being crushed just as he was starting out.
This small force couldn't hold a major position in the North, but at least it could prevent the Red Tide Territory from being easily overthrown by a random bandit.
If Louis truly had the ability, the knights at his disposal would be enough for him to stabilize the situation and even develop his own power based on that.
But if he couldn't even protect his territory with this small amount of Calvin Family support…
Then there was nothing more to say; he wasn't worth continued investment.
As for talent support, Louis could handle agriculture, basic construction, and even plan mineral exploitation, which already indicated he had a certain talent for management.
The Duke would only send a few alchemy apprentices to help him with the basic technology of magma essence refining; he would have to figure out the rest himself.
He had to win people over, exchange his limited resources for cooperation, and learn how to swim in the quagmire of reality, rather than waiting for the Calvin Family to spoon-feed him.
And regarding political support, he would not give Louis any formal political support, but he would also not restrict him from negotiating with forces in the North.
Who he wanted to ally with, how he wanted to establish himself locally, would all be up to him.
But the premise was, don't cause trouble /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ for the Calvin Family.
This was like placing a chess piece on a battlefield, to see if he could charge into battle or be trampled as a stepping stone by others.
If he couldn't even withstand this much pressure, then it meant Louis was inherently incompetent, and dying in the North was only to be expected.
He would not waste resources on a useless child.
Anyway, he had plenty of children; what was losing one or two?
The Calvin Family's bloodline was never lacking; what was lacking were capable and ambitious people.
But since Louis could achieve this much, and make Bradley give such high praise,
Then it proved he had some ability, and a bit of arrogance.
Very good, then let him show some real skill.