Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence

Hearing Su Li mention a small problem that needed his help, Steward Kurt was very happy. Wasn't this what relationships were all about? You help me, I help you, and eventually, the favors become so intertwined that you become close partners.

He immediately bowed slightly and said, "Happy to be of service, mighty Lord Su Li."

Su Li said, "If you are going to Maleburg, could you help me contact a few slave-hunting groups? Tell them there is a deal worth two thousand gold crowns in Hesen Territory, and they are welcome to bring enough slaves here."

Slave-hunting groups usually have their own networks. They capture slaves everywhere and take them to various towns. If they are willing to come to Hesen Territory, it will be much more convenient than Su Li going to Maleburg to buy them himself.

After all, if he personally bought a batch of slaves and set off from Maleburg, he would easily be attacked by the pioneering lords along the way.

And to defend against these raiders, he would have to bring a large army, which would be too wasteful of wealth and time. Su Li was not afraid of fighting, but taking a large number of slaves and an army to march thousands of miles was really a heavy burden for a small pioneering territory.

Without enough financial resources, it was impossible to support an army of a thousand people marching thousands of miles. So, the best way was for these slave-hunting groups to arrive in the territory one by one to trade, with each group bringing dozens or hundreds of people. Anyway, slave-hunting groups were naturally mobile between various territories.

When Steward Kurt heard the number of two thousand gold coins, his eyes lit up, and his evaluation of this emerging territory secretly increased several notches.

He said with some surprise, "The eagle flag of the Zijinghua Family will be enhanced by your presence, Lord Su Li. 2000 gold coins is an incredible number. From what I know, most baronies can't come up with that much wealth. We, the Wester High Merchant Guild, will participate in this feast and get a piece of the pie. After arriving in Maleburg, I will contact the slave-hunting groups in the merchant alliance and have them come to Hesen Territory as well."

This was not just flattery from Steward Kurt. 2000 gold coins could buy ten elite knights if used to buy slaves, and many baronies really couldn't save that much money. Su Li's thousand or so gold coins were mostly obtained by looting a wealthy halfling family.

Su Li smiled calmly and said, "We naturally welcome the arrival of the Wester High Merchant Guild. If you are willing to operate in our territory, I will give you special treatment, including tax rebates and subsidies."

To attract investment, of course, you have to give the other party some tax incentives. Of course, the preferential treatment would not be too high, at most twenty or thirty percent. Just lower the nineteen tax a bit.

Steward Kurt was instantly intrigued. Without waiting for Su Li to gloss over it, he asked, "I wonder how much tax relief the lord can give us? This will determine the scale of our operations here."

Su Li originally wanted Laun to talk to him about it, but since it had come to this, Su Li directly gave a reply, saying, "I have decided to give you a 40% tax rebate, making it five out of ten."

Six or seven out of ten was the usual tax rate for imperial nobles, and it was common in many other forces as well. For a luxury item priced at 100, sixty to seventy percent would be taxes, especially for imported goods, where a 75% tax was not uncommon.

Su Li needed to develop the territory. Since he had personally promised to give him extra tax incentives to attract them to invest in the territory, he might as well lower it by another ten percent to show sincerity.

Anyway, even with five out of ten taxes, it was still increased revenue. If they didn't invest, Su Li wouldn't be able to collect a single copper coin in taxes.

Su Li's investment promotion offer immediately attracted Steward Kurt's interest. After thinking for a moment, he solemnly promised, "We still need to discuss with the higher-ups of the merchant guild which projects to invest in specifically. But I can guarantee that within my authority, the first batch of investment will be no less than 50 gold crowns. We will build a grocery store, a carpentry workshop, a furniture store, a herb shop, and two mills."

This result could be called rich. Obviously, Steward Kurt should have considered the need for supplies for future logging in the Blood Pine Forest. A merchant industry in a territory near the Blood Pine Forest would be of great help to their future logging.

As the lord, Su Li naturally welcomed the merchant guild's investment and construction in his territory. He smiled and stood up, shook Steward Kurt's right hand, and said, "As the lord of Hesen Territory, I welcome your arrival and promise that you will receive fair treatment in your operations here."

"We are an emerging territory and are interested in everything about your caravan. For example, the bottles you use to make potions, and the precious seeds you encounter in the forest."

Steward Kurt pondered for a moment, then took out a cloth bag from the leather satchel around his waist and handed it to Su Li, saying, "The bottles for making potions are not scarce. After we build a grocery store, we will sell them to your territory. As for precious seeds, we haven't had any gains on this trip. These are clover seeds I collected in the Lawrence Forest when I left the Wester Territory."

"The people in our hometown are relatively superstitious. Legend has it that in a pile of clover, a mutated four-leaf clover seed will briefly appear when a lucky goddess descends divine grace on the mortal world. The person who collects this four-leaf clover will be blessed with good luck. I will give this bag of seeds to you, Lord Su Li, as a token of our friendship."

The attendants and officials beside Su Li all brightened up. It was a well-known fact in the territory that the goddess of luck favored their lord. It wasn't just lifting her skirt, it felt like she was going to give the lord her underwear under the skirt!

Su Li was also very happy. If a four-leaf clover was born, then with his ability to get daily intelligence, he would definitely not miss it.

So, after thinking about it, Su Li took off a dragon bloodstone from his waist and gave it to Steward Kurt, saying, "Our place is relatively remote, and there is nothing precious. This is a local specialty ore, I'll give it to you as a token of our friendship."

"Dragon bloodstone?!" Steward Kurt's eyes widened instantly. This was too precious. He wanted to refuse, but he really couldn't let go.

This was a dragon bloodstone! Which man didn't like it?

Eastern nobles wear jade on their waists, while imperial nobles must wear dragon bloodstones on their waists!

This was a symbol of wealth and status.

Su Li had also experienced the powerful effects of this dragon bloodstone during this period. He felt that he and his little brother had grown one or two centimeters taller.

Every time during knight training, when he looked down at Hilde and Avril kissing and serving him on the left and right, that majestic and high-spirited posture and strong sense of conquest would explode.

He knew too well how much this dragon bloodstone attracted men.

It could be said that giving a dragon bloodstone to a friend was no less than the grace of a godfather!

Steward Kurt's face was flushed with excitement. He greedily looked at the dragon bloodstone for a long time, but he couldn't resist the temptation and put it in his satchel. Then he turned to Su Li and said, "Lord Su Li, I came in a hurry this time. Next time I visit your territory, I will definitely bring you a precious specialty to thank you for your generous gift."

Su Li waved his hand lightly. He had hundreds of these things now. If it weren't to ensure scarcity, he could take out dozens of them at a time to trade.

"I would be very happy if Steward Kurt could come to our territory again. Gifts are not important."

Although that's what he said, Steward Kurt knew that he must show something. He was already thinking about how to persuade the higher-ups of the merchant guild to invest more in this territory.

A territory that could take out dragon bloodstones and give them away casually must have extraordinary abilities, and its development prospects are immeasurable.

While the two were talking, hurried footsteps came from outside the castle. Avril's voice came before she even entered the castle hall. This was the first time Avril had behaved so unladylike.

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"Lord, Lord, we have retrieved the hail crystals, but the insulation effect of wrapping them in cotton cloth in iron boxes is not very good. They have already started to melt. We need to bury them in the ground as soon as possible."

As soon as the voice fell, Avril rushed into the hall with anxious steps.

Su Li had already chosen the location for burying the hail crystals, which was on the square north of the castle. He planned to plant the more precious spiritual plants directly in the castle garden. At that time, the unique plants with flowing light and color would decorate the castle, making it look very fantastic and high-end.

On the other hand, it could also effectively protect these precious plants.

The castle had a good protective effect. In the case of raiders, warbands, beastmen, and other looting territories, they generally would not attack heavily guarded castles.

If Su Li suffered a defeat in the future when fighting with other forces, the enemy could loot the residential area south of the river crossing, but they would not be able to attack the castle. This way, he would still have a guarantee to restore his strength.

Seeing Avril alone, Su Li immediately asked, "Where are the hail crystals? Why did only you come back?"

Avril quickly replied, "The attendants are carrying the boxes behind. I came back to inform you first. If we choose the location, we can save the time of carrying them back and forth."

Su Li nodded with satisfaction and praised, "You are very thoughtful, come with me."

Steward Kurt, who was on the side, was also full of curiosity and followed Su Li to a piece of land that had been reclaimed on the north side of the castle.

He had traveled through many territories for business and could be considered knowledgeable, but he had never seen hail crystals before. He had never even heard of them.

This seemingly unremarkable territory really hid a lot of strange items.

Under Su Li's command, armed attendants quickly drove a four-wheeled carriage carrying two heavy iron boxes of hail crystals to the pre-selected square in the territory.

The two iron boxes were thickly wrapped in white cotton cloth. The principle was the same as when small vendors sold popsicles in harsh conditions.

This could only provide a basic sealing and insulation effect to keep the ice cubes at a low temperature. But it definitely couldn't completely insulate them, so the attendants sped up to bury them in the ground as soon as possible.