Road to the Crown 121 Negotiating with the villagers

"I know this might sound weird, but do you maybe have any huge pots? The bigger, the better. Also, if you have any men looking for work, I could make use of them as well."

Rather than replying in kind to the rude question of the villager, I simply explained what I came here for, hoping that my politeness wouldn't be taken as a sign of weakness. While it was rare to see villagers randomly attack a noble, especially if they knew that not only he had an armed escort but also a huge group waiting for his return, I couldn't help but worry.

After all, in this day and age, taking one's life was as simple and easy as eating a meal!

"We don't have any spare ones, but Nemen Village might have some in stock. After all, they have a smithy…"

As soon as the villager finished his sentence, he spewed his saliva to the side, as if even a single mention of the neighbouring place made him want to throw up. But while others might take it for a bad sign, since the conflict between local communities would make it harder to cooperate with them all at once, I saw a nice opportunity in it!

"Tell me, do you guys hate each other to the point when you would be forbidden entry into the other village?"

Rather than having my workers or even retainers move around the large swaths of land, trying to collect anything that could seem to be useful, it would be far easier to simply make the locals do it in our steed.

"Nah, those fuckers simply can't stand the fact that they need to pay us a transportation fee whenever the time for shipping the grain comes. But for some reason, our benevolent lord decided to send a smithy to their place, rather to our village!"

So rather than a real, ongoing conflict or some kind of blood-feud, the enmity between those two places steemed directly from the conflict of interests… That meant that my sudden idea would turn all the easier than I imagined it to be!

"Okay, I think I get it. What would you say, if I offered to pay double what they would ask for their pots? Would you be willing to fetch them and bring them along with anything else that I would need and you could organise to my place?"

Flaunting the money was always the easiest way to make others cooperate with you. Just like that, rather than negotiating between the two places, or even using my technology to help the closest village to triumph over the one further away, I could simply smack them in their faces with the silver from my pouch, and have everything I deemed useful transported directly to the construction site!

"Sir… Of course, we would!"

When it came to the location of where they would have to bring the stuff, they only had to take a single look at my group to realise that with no horses, the distance we travelled on foot, especially with me being a noble used to all sorts of luxuries, couldn't be that big, getting rid of the only point they could potentially hesitate on the spot!

"Okay then. Also, I think I can safely assume you don't have any spare food? My men would use some fresh meals rather than those preserved rations we brought with us…"

The point I brough right now was something that I said completely randomly. From what I knew, even in the later ages, all the way until the modernisation entered its full swing around the world, the current time of the year was rather rough for the villagers' life. With the supplies left from the last year slowly dwindling, and the first sprout of the harvestable food only coming in about month or two, I asked them for food more for the sake of making them believe I was a clueless noble just like most of them, rather than receiving fresh supplies!

With how generous I was, claiming to pay double whey they did for the materials I required, I was giving them quite a huge field for simple cheating. By reinforcing the image of stupid noble in their heads, I could simply send one of my men to the neighbouring village to watch the events and fish for the rumours, and when he would go back with his report, I would have all the rights to take back even more money than the villagers ripped of me, simply because of the compensation right!

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't really have any food to spare. If you will remain in the vincity of our village all the way to the harvesting season, we could easily trade some grain or maybe even some meat, but right now, if we were to sell you some of our supplies, then some of our people might starve later on!"

Nodding my head while listening to the guy's words, I noticed that at last, his party finally lowered their weapon, now holding them as nothing but additional luggage they stupidly brought. If I were to have any intention of attacking them, now would be the best time for it but…

"Okay, I get it. You can find my encampment just by following the river downstream for a while, so if you have any boats, you might want to use them for the heavier stuff. As for the men free enough to work under me for a while?"

Putting up a front of kind and understanding yet naive noble, I switched the topic to the next most interesting matter for me. With all the wood that I had to cut and turn either to firewood or planks, with all the digging I had to do to obtain enough clay to start making my own bricks, with all the work that could be at least started before the steam horse would be finished, a bit over a hundred people was simply not enough for me!

While I knew that hiring even more workers would hit me in my pouch, but what would be the use of money if not investing it to gain even more of it? With every finished project of mine, I could count on the Governor to provide me with supplies and investment fund, while in about two weeks, Elia would come to pay me a visit and bring yet another batch of gold partially siphoned from the beer income. If I were to keep my money for myself, in about two weeks time, I would have way more of it, with no real use for it!

"Spare men… Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can answer this question right away. While I and my sons are free since we took care of most of our duties already, I know for a fact that some of my neighbours…"

As the villager who was most likely the village elder or leader from how he was leading the discussion with a damned noble without showing any real fear in himself, turned around to look at the people behind him, I could see whenever his sight lingered on someone's face for a slightly longer moment than it did on the others, making their cheeks instantly turn into a nice tone of pink.

"... my neighbours… Some of them may be willing to work, but we are not as free to do it for free!"

Chapter end