Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 65 Banquet and Report

Anvil Territory celebrated a day of jubilation, especially in the evening when a grand banquet was held in the square, open to all citizens.

To ensure a sufficient food supply, Vilan had sent Scarface and his men out to hunt a lot of deer several days earlier. Combined with the wine confiscated from Wirtz's house, the people and soldiers had an unforgettable night.

Everyone gathered around the campfire, singing and dancing, listening to the soldiers recount stories of the day's battles.

After the banquet ended and the people went home, Vilan sat in his study chair, looking at the three people in front of him.

Llorente, Steel Cable, and Hans.

The people can go back to sleep, but the lord cannot; he has many things to do.

"Mr. Hans, you go first. The results should have been tallied by now, right?" Wieland asked Hans.

The latter nodded. "Yes, we captured a total of 100 weapons in this battle, but they were all ordinary swords and knives, which are completely incomparable to our magic powder weapons. My suggestion is to send them to the workshop to be melted down into suitable farm tools."

"There are also dozens of thick clothes, all taken from the corpses of those bandits, which can be used after cleaning and modification."

"The biggest gain was the supplies that Mr. Steel Cable brought back from the bandit camp. Among them were more than 100 gold coins and a box of silver coins, as well as 1300 catties of various goods, 15 horses and donkeys, and a lot of grain, enough to feed the newly added people for a while."

After Hans finished speaking, Wieland was not surprised.

After all, the Strong Winds Bandit Gang is likely backed by that Greedy Baron, and since they primarily rob bard merchants, it's not surprising that they possess so many supplies.

The original plan was for Vilan to wipe out the bandits in order to replenish the supplies he had lost over the past few days.

Hans submitted another detailed list of supplies, which consisted mostly of rye, but Vilan only glanced at it and then ignored it. What he was really interested in were the goods of the bard merchants.

"Wine, salt, honey, linen, leather... these are all good things that Anvil Territory is in dire need of. These small merchants know what we need."

Vilan smiled, then looked at the steel cable. "How's it going? You should have observed enough these past few days. Tell me what you've learned."

This was also the task that Viran gave him when he released Steel Cable. Steel Cable needed to observe as many modifiable individuals as possible among the bandits, as well as those who were unforgivable. Naturally, the kidnapped prisoners were also people he needed to understand.

Steel Cable took a deep breath and said confidently, "As you wish, I have divided the prisoners into two groups. Twenty of them have been thieves for many years and have killed innocent people. They are all unforgivable. As for the other 60, they are all displaced people who were forced to join the thief gang because they could not survive and were threatened by the strong winds."

Vilan nodded and said casually, "Those 20 who are unforgivable will be hanged in the square tomorrow. The rest will be sent to the mine. Tell them that after three years of reform in the mine, I will pardon their crimes."

"You are a magnanimous lord," Steel Cable said admiringly.

Vilan smiled, then looked at Llorente, "Mr. Advisor, how are the kidnapped merchants doing?"

Upon hearing this, Llorente took out a stack of papers and handed them to Vilan.

"I've spoken to each of them, and this contains all their information, including their names and backgrounds, as well as the amount of cargo they were robbed of."

"Hidden goods? They don't think those goods still belong to them, do they?" Vilan joked with a laugh.

What a joke! The robbers stole their things, what does that have to do with Vilan?

Those goods are now his spoils, and no one can take them back.

Llorente shrugged. "Unfortunately, that seems to be their thinking. A couple who were robbed yesterday are the most emotional. On the one hand, they are extremely grateful to you and want to thank you in person; on the other hand, they want all their goods back so they can continue doing business."

"That sounds like a reasonable request, Mr. Advisor. We can't let the businessmen think that Anvil Territory is an unreasonable place, can we?" Vilan countered.

Llorente nodded. "Of course, this concerns your reputation."

"So, I have to return the goods to them?"

"That's not necessarily true. Didn't you get a lot of gold and silver coins from the robbers? Given the choice between dying and going home with the money, I believe they can make the right choice."

After Llorente finished speaking, Vilan gave him a knowing smile.

As expected of his advisor, he's very reliable.

That makes sense. After all, Vilan wants the goods, and he also wants to win over the merchants.

We can't just take it for free; we have to buy it.

The value is hard to say. Those two guys who were kidnapped yesterday might be lucky enough to get back 4% of the value.

Others can only get back 1% to 3% of the value, since their goods were stolen by bandits and have been squandered by them over time. Vilan is also helpless about this.

After confirming these things, Vilan took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote as he spoke, "Those merchants have many channels for goods. Tell them we want everything, as long as they can ship it over."

Upon hearing this, Hans said worriedly, "I'm afraid they won't dare to come again."

"The robbers are gone. If they don't come, it means they don't have the guts. A truly smart merchant wouldn't let this opportunity pass by."

Vilan said nonchalantly, while thinking of James the smuggler.

That guy is a true profit-driven individual, incredibly audacious, and very much to Vilan's liking.

"In addition, among the rescued slaves are some homeless and pitiful people. No matter what they have been through, help them integrate into the Anvil Territory and let them feel warmth. If any of them know any craftsmanship, send them to the workshop. Mr. Hans, this matter is entrusted to you."

"Then there's the gunpowder problem. Damn it, we should have brought Merino over too. We're currently facing a huge shortage of saltpeter. Advisor, go and select a few bold and clever merchants and have them find a way to transport as much saltpeter as possible. We'll settle accounts with gold coins and magic powder weapons."

"Steel Chain, your mercenary friend has also done a good job this time. He'll bring back some gold coins later as my reward. Also, I know you're all good cavalrymen. If possible, train a squad of rangers for me."

Once Vilan started talking, he couldn't stop, writing down every single command in great detail on paper.

Upon hearing his mission, Steel Cable looked surprised. "Lord Vilan, with such a powerful guard, do you still need rangers?"

"Of course, do you expect them to charge into a regular cavalry corps? Even without a charge, they can't catch up with people fleeing on horseback. Rangers aren't the main fighting force; they're only responsible for scouting and pursuit support. As for their numbers... let's tentatively set it at 20, mainly because there aren't enough horses."

Vilan continued speaking to himself, but his words terrified the three people opposite him.

What is Lord Vilan thinking...? How could Anvil Territory be fighting against the cavalry legion?