The Expansion Plan for the People

Ironrock, Earl Cress's mansion, inside the study.

Count Kress—a middle-aged nobleman with gray hair, a stern and serious face, and eyes as sharp as a hawk—sat upright behind a large mahogany desk.

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the smooth tabletop, producing a dull, soft sound.

A suede money bag, not full but enough to feed an ordinary family for several years, was casually placed on the corner of the table.

"Father, you wanted to see me?" The study door was pushed open, and his eldest son, Renault Kress, walked in.

Renault was tall and inherited some of his father's heroic stature, but his brows revealed a hint of frivolity and arrogance nurtured by pampering and power.

He was wearing a well-tailored hunting outfit, as if he had just returned from outside.

"How's the situation at Emberstone Ridge lately?" Count Kress raised his eyelids, glanced at his son, and asked in a low voice.

Renault walked to the desk, his gaze casually sweeping over the money pouch, and replied nonchalantly, "What else can it be? Half-dead. But that old knight Conrad is a bit of a surprise; he actually sold his warhorse for some food and supplies. It seems they're trying to hold on."

"Conrad sold his warhorse?" Count Kress paused, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He knew all too well what a fine warhorse meant to a knight—it was practically half his life.

"Yes," Renault smiled smugly, "that horse is in my stable right now. It's a rare find, spirited but with excellent physique."

Count Kress leaned back slightly, sinking into the thickly padded armchair, his gaze deepening: "It seems they really intend to settle down in Emberstone Ridge."

His tone was neither happy nor sad; it sounded more like a cautious assessment.

"Who knows?" Renault shrugged dismissively. "Conrad might not care, but Matthew and Will, those two pampered guys in the royal city, I bet they won't last long, and might even die one day from a goblin or beast attack."

Count Kress didn't respond to his son's words, but instead pointed to the money bag: "Arrange for a reliable person to go to Emberstone Ridge and deliver these gold coins to Will Blackwood."

Upon hearing this, Renault finally looked at the bag of money, a puzzled expression on his face: "Father, what does this mean?"

"Lady Alicia sent it secretly through someone," Earl Kress said in a flat tone, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Renault stepped forward, picked up the money pouch, and weighed it in his hand. The weight made him curl his lip in a mocking smile: "Ha, Lady Alicia? Does she want Will to stay in this godforsaken place? I thought that fat pig would eventually get too hungry and slink back to the capital, so we wouldn't have to see him."

Count Kress's sharp gaze swept over his son, carrying a hint of warning, his voice still steady yet unquestionable: "What Alicia thinks is none of our business. You only need to deliver the gold coins. Whether Will lives or dies, stays or leaves, is the Blackwood family's own affair. We don't need to interfere or ask questions."

Seeing his father's serious gaze, Renault suppressed his frivolous expression and lowered his head, saying, "Yes, Father, I understand."

He picked up the money bag, bowed to his father, and turned to leave the study.

As the heavy wooden door closed behind him, Renault stood in the shadows of the corridor, his previous submissiveness vanishing instantly, replaced by an undisguised cunning and greed.

He weighed the money pouch in his hand, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and pocketed it directly.

"I'll gladly accept this money."

He knew very well that the gold coins were most likely sent by Lady Alicia behind Lord Vargas's back, and not many people knew about it. Even if the Blackwood family asked about it later, he could just find a servant to take the blame and say that the coins were robbed on the way, lost due to poor handling of the matter, or that the person had absconded with the money.

The Kuroki family wouldn't go so far as to harm the Kress family for the sake of this useless son.

Moreover, if Vargoth truly cared about the life or death of his son, he had a thousand ways to keep him in the capital.

He straightened his collar, his face regaining its haughty expression of a noble young master, and strode forward with light steps, while in his mind he was plotting how to squander the gold coins.

Perhaps you could invite a few close friends and have a wild party at a brothel.

……

When Matthew and Conrad left Ironrock again, they had loaded the truck with a full load of supplies.

The wheels creaked heavily as they rolled over the rough road.

Matthew lay on the carriage with his arm as a pillow, gazing at the sky, pondering the situation of the population of Ashstone Ridge.

Although he could summon goblins, they were not his subjects and were limited by magic, making it impossible to meet the needs of sustainable development of the territory.

Not long ago, when he passed by the slave market, he considered spending money to buy a few slaves to take back with him.

After all, for some low-end labor, the cost of using slaves is far lower than that of summoning goblins oneself.

Moreover, in terms of labor force, the short-statured goblins are indeed no match for the humans of this world, unless they are large goblins.

Therefore, good steel should be used where it's needed most, and summoned goblins should be used for technical work as much as possible.

Of course, besides buying slaves, Matthew also thought of another better and more long-term solution—to "recruit" refugees or displaced people from within the kingdom and even from neighboring countries that were suffering from natural disasters, wars, or oppressive regimes.

Those desperate refugees and displaced people have the strongest will to survive and are the most likely to accept a new home.

At that time, by setting up secret recruitment points through agents, not under the guise of "selling", but by using the generous conditions such as "recruiting free people in a newly developed territory, providing land, farming tools, seeds and initial rations, and tax exemption for three years" as bait, a large number of high-quality laborers will surely be attracted.

Then, using the Black Bear Merchant Guild's caravans and clerks, these voluntary "immigrants" were disguised as temporary workers, farmers, or even guards employed by the guild, and were sent to Jinshi Ridge in batches, on a small scale, and quietly via trade routes.

With that in mind, Matthew began to formulate a plan.

The first question is where to recruit. This is easy to solve. On the way from the royal city to Emberstone Ridge, Matthew witnessed a lot of human suffering and saw many displaced refugees.

Moreover, with the Black Bear Chamber of Commerce's channels, obtaining accurate information is not difficult.

In fact, there are many poor people struggling at the bottom of society in Iron Rock City, some even going hungry.

But Matthew understood one thing—the human heart is like water, and the movement of the people is like smoke.

The more locals there are, the more fragile their loyalty may be, because they have always lived in Ironrock City and are destined to have countless ties with it that cannot be completely severed. This means that they will not have an absolute sense of belonging and loyalty to a new territory.

In the future, they could easily be controlled and turned by the forces of Ironrock City; human nature sometimes cannot withstand the test.

In contrast, those displaced people who have lost their homes and have nothing are the best option.

They were like rootless duckweed, and every bite of food and every inch of land that Jinshi Ridge gave them was a real life-saving grace.

With no way out, they will see Emberstone Ridge as their only hope and refuge, making them naturally more loyal.

They come from all over the country, and their complex backgrounds make them difficult to infiltrate and control by a single force.

More importantly, they are already grateful for being able to survive, have food to eat, and have land to cultivate. They are more easily satisfied and more easily assimilated by the new order and new culture of Jinshiling.

Getting back to the main point, transporting the remaining personnel was not a major challenge.

The difficulty right now lies in finding someone to carry out this task. Matthew currently only has Will and Conrad under his command who are capable of undertaking this important mission.

"Sigh, we really don't have enough talent under our command!" Matthew sighed inwardly, gazing at the clouds in the sky as he fell into deep thought once more.

However, Matthew was unaware that behind him, in the shadowy space invisible to ordinary people, a person and a cat were silently following him, arriving at Emberstone Ridge.

……