The next day, the Chief Administrator of the Free Union, Ledos, hurried over to seek an audience with
"Your Highness, have we done something to offend your family?" Ledos asked bluntly.
"Hm? What do you mean?" Lorist was puzzled.
"Then why did Baron Shrade come to me yesterday saying he wanted to rent land in order to move your family's fleet out of the harbor fleet district?"
Only then did Lorist understand —
"No, you've misunderstood, Ledos. I was the one who instructed Baron Shrade to rent land from you. Now that peace has returned to the Mana Hill Plains, our family's armed forces have completed their mission and promises, so before the end of the year, all four legions of our family's military will be withdrawn back to the Northland. Our family fleet was originally supposed to withdraw from Hidden Gold Bay as well, but considering that the Free Union currently has no naval forces, and that you wouldn't be able to invest massive funds to build an armed fleet to protect Hidden Gold Bay and the outer sea routes anytime soon, our family fleet, while it must leave
And with Morant City and Hidden Gold Bay having returned to their bustling scene of ships coming and going, which also concerns the sea lane safety for our family's merchant convoys coming to trade, our family fleet will not be able to leave Hidden Gold Bay for the time being. In order to maintain the friendly relations between us, I personally believe our family fleet can no longer occupy your harbor fleet district for free. That is why I sent Baron Shrade to discuss with you about renting land to build a new fleet camp elsewhere, so that the harbor fleet district can be returned to you..."
"So that's how it is," Ledos sighed with relief. "Your Highness, you're right. The Free Union currently has no plans and no funds to build an armed fleet to maintain maritime security, so the issue of sea safety going forward will still have to rely on your family fleet. However, I don't think we need to discuss any matter of renting land — we can lend the harbor fleet district to your family fleet free of charge for ten years."
Lorist waved his hand. "No, Ledos, we cannot lease the harbor fleet district. Now that peace has arrived, the Free Union is an independent and sovereign nation, and Morant City is the union's capital. Therefore, the presence of another faction's armed forces within Morant City simply cannot be permitted, lest your Administrative Council face accusations of selling out the nation. Moreover, the current maritime trade situation is growing better by the day, with merchant ships from all the nations in the southern continent converging here. The dock area of Morant City will soon face the issue of expansion. Under such circumstances, if our family were to lease the harbor fleet district, it would cause great disruption to the harbor's operations.
"I'm not speculating, Ledos. Right now, if we lease the harbor fleet district from you, no one would question it. But what about two or three years from now? As more and more merchant ships arrive, the harbor fleet district we're leasing will occupy a large swath of sea territory due to military restrictions, causing great inconvenience to your harbor operations. Under the temptation of profit, our lease will become a thorn in the side of many interested parties. My concern is that if a conflict arises at that point, we'll still have to vacate the harbor fleet district. So it would be better to move away from Morant City early on and lease land elsewhere in Hidden Gold Bay — that's the best course of action."
Ledos felt a bit dizzy listening to all this. "Your Highness, aren't you overthinking this..."
Lorist chuckled. "It's just a precaution. The
Ledos thought it over and nodded. "Alright, Your Highness, you make a fair point. So where in Hidden Gold Bay would you like to lease land to establish your family fleet camp?"
Lorist pointed to a map of Hidden Gold Bay hanging on the wall. "Here — what our family would like to lease is this area of land at the bay's entrance."
"What!" Ledos's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "But Your Highness, that area is wasteland — rocky beaches and nearshore reef zones..."
The entrance to Hidden Gold Bay was flanked on the outer side by Greater Isle and Lesser Isle, their forms curving like a powerful arm cradling the bay, shielding it from the open ocean's waves and leaving Hidden Gold Bay as calm as a still spring pool. Both Greater Isle and Lesser Isle were steep, barren stone cliffs with not a blade of grass to be found. The outer cliff faces were as hard as steel, enduring the ceaseless battering of wind and waves day and night. The inner cliff faces were riddled with small hollows — nesting sites for petrels. It was said that the summits of Greater and Lesser Isle also held the nests of sea eagles and hawks, but the heights were so perilous that humans could hardly climb them.
On the map, Lesser Isle resembled a colossal palm, tilting slightly inward, while the shoreline featured a sprawling nearshore reef zone. Several reef formations as large as small hills stood facing Lesser Isle across a stretch of open water roughly five hundred meters wide. This was the entrance to Hidden Gold Bay — and its exit as well. Ships entering or departing all followed the rule of sailing to port side to avoid collisions.
On days when both moons in the sky were full, seawater would even surge backward into the Silver River, which was why the banks on both sides of the entrance were uninhabited swampland.
Morant City sat at the very bottom of Hidden Gold Bay, so the most prosperous and bustling shores lay along the great bay's broader expanse, while the shores of the smaller bay up ahead appeared rather desolate. The far side of the Silver River, in particular — that vast stretch of coastal land was completely uninhabited. Just as Ledos had said, it was wasteland and rocky beach, and the area near the Silver River was mostly swampland. But whether it was the small bay or the great bay, all of Hidden Gold Bay belonged to the Free Union. The place Lorist had pointed to was precisely that uninhabited stretch of wasteland by the nearshore reef zone at the small bay's entrance.
Yes, the area our family wishes to lease is precisely this region — a thirty-li radius around it," Lorist nodded and said. "Since our family fleet is also an armed force, staying away from the bustling city center serves multiple purposes: first, we won't disturb the civilians; second, it's convenient for the fleet to conduct drills without affecting the normal passage of merchant ships. Third, we'd be close to the sea exit, allowing us to quickly sail out to carry out pirate suppression and trade route protection missions. That's why we've decided to lease this area."
"But — but it's far too desolate there, isn't it? It's much too far from Morant City as well, which makes it inconvenient for your fleet to come and procure daily consumable supplies. Moreover, you'd have to spend enormous amounts of money and effort to build a camp from scratch... Also, why would a fleet garrison need such a vast area for a lease? A thirty-li radius around it could be conferred as a baronial territory..."
Ledos couldn't quite figure out whether Lorist's lease of that barren stretch of land concealed some other intention. In reality, he thought it would be best if the Norton Family fleet's leased area was as close to Morant City as possible. Setting everything else aside, the daily procurement of food supplies alone for a fleet would be a fine piece of business, let alone the spending of fleet members visiting Morant City for leisure. Everyone knew that the Norton Family's soldiers were all wealthy and generous, well-behaved and law-abiding — far superior to those petty, freeloading old soldiers. They were the most welcomed guests at taverns and brothels alike.
"Because in addition to providing training grounds for our fleet soldiers, we also plan to relocate the families of the stationed soldiers here. For that reason, we intend to build farmsteads, livestock breeding facilities, and vegetable gardens. We may even construct a town here to service the garrison fleet. Taking all of this into consideration, our family decided to lease such a large area. After all, to you, this is nothing but a stretch of wasteland — you'll earn our lease payments while we develop and build it up for you. When the lease expires, we can return this developed land to you free of charge..." Lorist made a promise that Ledos found almost impossible to believe.
"This... this..." Ledos finally raised a crucial question. "How many years does your family intend to lease it for?"
"Well, we'll need to calculate that carefully. The key factors are the annual rent you'd charge us for this land, and how much capital we'd invest in developing it. As a businessman, Ledos, you should understand that we won't blindly throw gold coins away without any prospect of returns. After all, everything here belongs to the Free Union once the lease expires. So depending on the lease term, we can consider spreading the development and construction costs across each year. We'd lease it for as many years as it takes to recoup our investment. I'll have Baron Shrade negotiate this thoroughly with your Administrative Council to reach a result satisfactory to both sides."
Ledos bowed respectfully and took his leave. "Your Highness, you are quite right. I shall go and discuss this with the council members for now, and await Baron Shrade's arrival."
Three days later, Fatty appeared before Lorist. "Your Highness, it's done. Here's the lease agreement. The Free Union's Administrative Council has leased the land at the Silver River estuary on the opposite shore to our Norton Family for ninety-nine years, at an annual rent of three thousand gold coins. I had originally wanted to lease it for a hundred and fifty years, but Ledos and the others worried that such a long lease term would draw accusations that they were essentially selling off Free Union territory in disguise, so it was changed to ninety-nine years. But Your Highness, are we getting a raw deal spending nearly three hundred thousand gold ferdens to lease this godforsaken stretch of land for ninety-nine years? And on top of that, we'll need to invest enormous sums in development and construction..."
Lorist smiled with satisfaction. "Heh — nearly one hundred and eighty square li of land, leased to us by the Free Union for just three thousand gold ferdens per year over ninety-nine years. I can only say we've gotten an incredible bargain. Three thousand gold ferdens a year — Ledos and the others are pricing it as if it were the annual income of an ordinary baronial territory. For our family, this is a strategic location that lets us control Hidden Gold Bay. Those one hundred and eighty square li of coastal land are merely a bonus — what truly matters is this reef zone. It's worth more than ten thousand gold pieces and absolutely irreplaceable!"
Picking up a charcoal stick, Lorist sketched a few marks on the map of Hidden Gold Bay. "Take a look, Shrade. Do you understand now?"
Lorist connected the reef zone along the coast at Hidden Gold Bay's estuary on the map, making it look like a fist extending into the sea. Fatty immediately understood: "Your Highness, you mean to fill in this reef area and build a sea fortress, just like the reef zone at Romani Cape?"
Lorist nodded. "The reef zone isn't very large. The most important part is these several reef mountains that extend into the sea. If we connect them into a continuous stretch and set up an artillery battery on top, the entire estuary will be under our control. Whether heading out to sea or entering Hidden Gold Bay, no merchant ship can escape the range of the artillery on the battery. Whoever controls this place controls all of Hidden Gold Bay."
"A camp? And how large would this camp be?" Fatty asked.
"In my original plan, I only intended to build a berthing base for a fleet detachment — somewhere the fleet members could briefly rest and resupply. But I never expected the Free Union to agree to lease that one hundred and eighty square li of coastal land to our family as well. That was originally something I planned to use as a bargaining chip. This is quite a pleasant surprise. A ninety-nine-year lease gives us enough time to invest in comprehensive development and construction here. At the very least, we can make the Norton Family fleet self-sufficient in grain and other daily provisions."
"Given the scope of comprehensive development, we'll need to send people to thoroughly survey and map this area, then select suitable locations to build a town where the families of fleet members and garrison soldiers can live. In addition, I plan to station a regiment here — four battalions, twelve thousand men total: one artillery battalion, one cavalry battalion, one garrison battalion, and one steel crossbow battalion. They'll serve as the defending force for this territory. With this garrison regiment, I believe that even if something unexpected happens, they can hold out long enough for our family's reinforcements to arrive."
"As for the development and construction of this fleet camp and territory, I plan to hand the responsibility to Schwade. He did an excellent job with the castle construction at Romani Cape last time, and I was very satisfied. Besides, Schwade has a resolute character, takes his work seriously, and is both cautious and easy to get along with. He will also serve as the commander of this garrison regiment. I want him to gain more experience, so I'll have him hold this post on his own. What do you think?" Lorist said.
Fatty nodded in strong agreement: "Your Highness, Schwade is indeed a very suitable candidate. We watched him grow up and become capable, and we know him well. With him in charge here, we can rest easy. How about this — Malek and I will take a team to do a thorough survey of the area first. We'll draft a blueprint for the development and construction, then hand it over to Schwade so he can follow our plans during construction. But we lack labor for construction here. How do we solve that? Should we send a batch from the family's territories?"
"There's no need to transport labor from the family territories for construction," Lorist said after a moment's thought. "We can contract the basic construction work to the various building guilds in Morant City. However, we can dispatch a team of skilled construction personnel from our family territories. When it comes time to build the classified defensive installations, our technicians can supervise our family soldiers during construction. That way we can also speed up the progress and complete the territory's development sooner."
"Alright then, I'll take my leave first, Your Highness. Tomorrow, Malek and I will head over there to take a look."
"Wait, Shrade, I have nothing to do tomorrow either. Let's go together."
"..."