Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 911 - 19 Human Head Ticket_2

Chapter 911: Chapter 19 Human Head Ticket_2 Chapter 911: Chapter 19 Human Head Ticket_2 Mr. Leo’s plump face had turned somewhat red: “By tying headright certificates to land, you’ve covertly reduced the difficulty of trading land, leading to increased land liquidity.

Previously, all land deals had to go through the New Reclamation Legion. What about now? Land trades have become ‘money in one hand, certificates in the other,’ no longer priced by the New Reclamation Legion.

Moreover, with thousands of new headright certificates suddenly flooding the market, it’s as if you’ve thrown hundreds of thousands of acres of land into it at once. I’m not trying to be alarmist, but once the people of Iron Peak County catch on, the price of land there will collapse. All landlords in Iron Peak County will become your enemies.”

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At first, Winters frowned tightly while listening, because Mr. Leo was raising issues he had never considered.

But when he heard Mr. Leo solemnly warn, “You’re going to crash the land prices of Iron Peak County,” Winters’s brows smoothed out.

“Wait.” Winters asked with a smile, “You’re saying that if headright certificates continue to be issued, it will cause the land prices to drop? Make land deals easier?”

“Of course!” Mr. Leo did not understand why he was asking but still patiently explained, “It’s like a cloth merchant suddenly releasing hundreds of thousands of bolts of wool. Naturally, the price of wool on the market will fall.”

...

Winters nodded, his expression easing somewhat: “Then, I can breathe a little easier.”

Mr. Leo, like trying to converse with a self-taught boar-like economist, said: “Your Excellency Montaigne—All landlords in Iron Peak County will see you as an enemy.”

“I know.” Winters weighed the pros and cons, “But it’s less than the resistance stirred up by direct land distribution. Estate owners may be disgruntled, but more people will become my allies, so I’m not too afraid.”

Mr. Leo was speechless and then asked, “But have you considered, what if the landlords buy up a large number of headright certificates? You want to give land to the poor, but what if it ends up in the hands of the landlords again?”

Winters was stumped, silent and deep in thought for a long time before he grasped Mr. Leo’s hand: “Then you have to help me figure out a way to prevent this from happening.”

…

The next day, Ivan got up early, intending to find a familiar sheriff to ask if anyone was buying headright certificates.

Leaving home, he wrapped his clothes tightly around him and headed to the other end of town.

Passing through the square, he saw many people gathered in front of the bulletin board. It was just dawn, normally there wouldn’t be so many people out and about.

Driven by curiosity, Ivan approached the square.

Most of the crowd around the announcement board were illiterate, but that was no problem, a clerk from the municipal office was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Ivan stood on the periphery of the crowd and listened for a long time, roughly understanding three things:

First, the county government was going to start land measurement, promising to redeem headright certificates for anyone who wanted to cash them in after Corpus Christi Day next year;

Second, the county government would issue smaller denomination headright certificates, gradually replacing the current ones.

Hearing this, Ivan stamped his feet, ready to go home. He no longer wanted to sell his headright certificates as each was worth a hundred acres, and he would be pained to part with any of them.

He wasn’t in a rush for money, so he planned to exchange for smaller denomination certificates later and then sell them according to his needs.

…

Iron Peak County, Manyun Valley.

The mayor of Manyun Valley originally thought that Tamas’s cavalry was the entirety of the “Bridge Builders.”

Only when he saw Tamas designate a vast campsite capable of accommodating thousands did he realize how wrong he had been.

With Paratu stepping deep into winter, scarcely any travelers were seen on the roads. Yet, the road from Revodan to Manyun Valley was unnaturally busy.

Ever since the cavalry arrived at Manyun Valley, for several days in succession, armed convoys kept arriving from Revodan.

From dawn to dusk, townspeople could hear the grating noise of heavy wagons on the move.

Tamas kept his promise; once the fortifications were completed, he immediately set people to cutting down trees and setting up the Floating Bridge.

A sense of fear lingered in the mayor’s heart, and he secretly speculated, “With so much supply being brought in, are we heading for another war?”

The clever ones in Manyun Valley were not just the mayor, as talk of war spread quickly. Suddenly, many wealthy families even fled overnight, seeking refuge with relatives.

“What’s all this?” Tamas said with a wry smile, “Should we convene everyone to explain?”

“Explain what?” Moro put down his charcoal stick, speaking impatiently, “The more you explain, the less they believe. They’re idle at home in winter with nothing to do. They latch onto something to gossip about… War? They have no idea what war is like…”

As he spoke, Moro realized he was saying too much and suddenly stopped, continuing his drawing in silence.

“You can’t blame them. First, it was grain conscription followed by manpower conscription. Fighting with Mont Blanc County and then with the Herders; there has been no peace.” Tamas sounded somewhat emotional: “If I were a commoner in Manyun Valley, I would be afraid too.”

Moro continued to draw his map, ignoring Tamas. After a while, he said coldly, “You are no longer a civilian… When are the people from Mont Blanc County arriving?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tell your men to laze around less and get the Floating Bridge done quickly.”

The next day, the arrival of Mont Blanc County’s troops on the opposite riverbank sparked panic in Manyun Valley.

Tamas had no choice but to come forward to explain the situation and calm everyone down, to little effect.

The movements of Mont Blanc County’s troops were strikingly similar to those on the Iron Peak County side: they first built a stronghold on the riverbank, then proceeded to construct a bridge.

The Floating Bridge was completed earlier than planned, crossing east and west.

The person in charge from Mont Blanc County was a lieutenant of the sappers named Woods. He was not tall and spoke in a gentle manner, lacking the subtle arrogance often sensed from “military men.”

“Tamas.” Woods truly did not know how to address him; after much consideration, he chose an error-free option: “Mr.”

Tamas nodded, signaling with body language that he was listening.

“Regarding the thousand horses that your side agreed to return…”

“Rest assured, not one will be missing.”

“I believe the quantity is certainly not an issue.” Woods looked towards the herd of horses with furrowed brows, “But the horses you took are Paratu horses, and these, if I am not mistaken, are Herder horses, right?”

Before them, the horses grazing were generally one to two fists shorter than Woods’ mount.

Moreover, the condition of the horses was not good; their bellies were sunken, with ribs protruding one by one.

Tamas felt somewhat ashamed and scratched his head: “You may be unaware, but many of the warhorses obtained from your county have died of exhaustion or disease, leaving barely a few left. We only have these captured Herder horses now. See, the horse I am riding is also a Herder horse, isn’t it?”

Saying that, Tamas patted the neck of his mount.

“Why then are the warhorses that serve as goods…” Woods pointed towards another group of horses in the distance.

That group in the distance was obviously larger in size than the Herder horses before them.

Tamas hurriedly interjected: “Our side will certainly prioritize delivering the best warhorses as goods to your side; otherwise, wouldn’t it result in a loss for you? Return is return, and trade is trade. The two must not be confused, nor can the two groups of horses be mixed.”

Woods twisted his riding crop, asking, “Does Colonel Gaisa know about this?”

“Of course, he does.” Tamas patted his chest confidently: “His Excellency Montagne has already obtained Colonel Gaisa’s understanding.”

Woods’ expression became increasingly peculiar: “When Captain Montaigne obtained the colonel’s understanding… was the colonel fully conscious?”

“This… I’m not sure about that.”

After Woods repeatedly confirmed that Colonel Gaisa was aware of the situation, he sighed helplessly: “Well, let’s leave it at that. Thinking from a different perspective, no matter how much you give back, it’s a gain for us.”

“You have already checked the warhorses.” Tamas put away his smile: “What about our people?”

“They’re on the opposite bank, will be sent to you in a moment. They’ve been well-fed and taken care of, not a tooth missing.” Woods took out a notebook: “Now, we can discuss other trades.”

The civilians of Manyun Valley were shocked to find that the “Rebels” and Mont Blanc County’s troops did not engage in battle, but seemed to have an unspoken agreement, each stationed at the Bridgehead Fortress, neither crossing the Anya River.

Town residents with relatives on the other side tried to apply for a pass to use the Floating Bridge, and the response they got was “anyone can use the Floating Bridge as long as they do not carry weapons.”

The panic slowly subsided, and the severed communication between the two counties, which had been cut off since Winters Montagne’s conquest of Revodan, was finally restored.

Traffic between the two counties, severed since Winters’s conquest of Revodan, was finally restored.

Using the fortresses on both ends of the Floating Bridge as the exchange sites, grain and salt went westward, while horses, tobacco, and hemp oil went eastward.