Chapter 46

In the evening, inside the lord's mansion, a small celebration party was being held.

Elsa sat in a corner, sipping juice in small sips, while Illya kept looking for delicious treats to take back for her mother. Brian and Edgar were flushed from drinking, and Fiona was less angry than before.

At this moment, Tang En brought up another piece of news.

"What? You want to build a charcoal factory?"

Fiona was stunned: "Are you crazy?"

"Of course not, what's the problem?"

"You're asking me what's the problem?"

Fiona counted on her fingers: "The subsidies for farmers cost about a thousand gold coins, the salaries and bonuses for the guards cost more than two thousand gold coins, and we still need to establish a chamber of commerce and a mint factory, which will conservatively cost ten thousand gold coins—My lord, even if there are still plenty of gold coins left from Hogg, we can't afford your spending like this. Don't forget we have no income yet! This month's total tax revenue is less than a thousand gold coins! At this rate, we'll only make a little over ten thousand gold coins a year, and you've already spent so much in just a few days!"

Tang En smiled faintly: "Once the chamber of commerce is established, we'll have income."

Fiona sighed: "That's only if we have enough goods, and our goods must be attractive enough."

"Do you lack confidence in mint candies and soap?"

"I have confidence, but relying on these two products to support a chamber of commerce and a territory is not enough."

Fiona stared at Tang En: "We need more products, more valuable ones... like magic scrolls?"

Fiona certainly didn't forget that Tang En was a powerful mage. If he could casually make powerful magic scrolls—like the fourth-level magic scroll he used to scare off Buck—selling a few could earn a lot of money!

"Magic scrolls are out of the question for now—at least for selling."

Tang En shook his head. He didn't know what rules the mages in this world followed. If he rashly entered the magic scroll market, he might face resistance from other mages, which would be detrimental to his development.

"Alright, you're the lord, you decide."

Fiona pouted and turned her head away.

Tang En chuckled. Fiona looked like a cute little girl when she was angry, always making him want to tease her.

Fiona waited for a long time but didn't get any comfort from Tang En, so she glared at him angrily. What an insensitive fool!

"Tell me, why do you want to build a charcoal factory? Summer is coming, and charcoal won't be useful at all, it will just be a waste of gold!"

"Because I want to smelt steel."

Tang En's answer was simple.

"Steel?"

Fiona was unfamiliar with this obscure term and a bit puzzled.

"Yes, a material harder than iron and with a wider range of uses. It can be used to forge armor and produce other tools, like... tableware? Kitchenware? Or other things. In short, this material has a very wide range of uses."

Tang En explained briefly, but unexpectedly, Fiona didn't react much. However, Brian and Edgar, who were drinking, perked up when they heard about a new material.

"Brother! You want to smelt a new material!?"

Brian's eyes sparkled: "What do you need me to do!? Just tell me!"

"Lord! What does this new material have to do with charcoal!?"

Edgar was more focused on the core issue.

"Right," Fiona frowned, "Steel... what does it have to do with charcoal?"

"Of course, iron ore, charcoal, and limestone are all essential."

Tang En smiled. Although he hadn't studied steel smelting, he had heard about the traditional methods and knew the principles.

Steel, more accurately, an iron-carbon alloy, differs from iron in its carbon content. Blowing charcoal into a furnace uses the charcoal to remove excess carbon from the iron, then adding quicklime to form slag to remove impurities, leaving the steel. Of course, Tang En wasn't considering special steels, which require rare metals like chromium, manganese, and molybdenum, which he had never seen, let alone extract.

For now, he only needed basic steel.

Tang En didn't explain too much to Fiona. He just said, "The charcoal factory must be built, and the steel mill is crucial for Ellington's future development. It must be prioritized—also, these factories should be built as far away from the town as possible because they will produce a lot of pollution."

"…I understand."

Fiona had to concede to Tang En.

Tang En knew he was pushing himself, but he couldn't avoid smelting steel.

Plandar certainly had superior magical metals, but they were too rare and expensive, and their production was strictly controlled and monopolized, making them hard to popularize.

Steel was different. Steel made from iron could be used to produce armor and weapons in the early stages, and later, when they had powerful magical metal mines, steel could still be used in civilian applications.

This had been proven on Earth, where steel is the material foundation of modern society, with important uses in every field. Steel production was even used to measure a country's strength, so Tang En had no doubt about this.

"Um, that, smelting steel is a good thing, but I want to tell the lord something..."

Edgar raised his hand hesitantly.

"Go ahead."

Edgar looked embarrassed: "Lord, we... have no iron ore left."

"Spit!"

Tang En was stunned: "How is that possible!?"

"Lord!"

Edgar was very aggrieved: "Have you calculated how much iron ore we've used recently? First, we made a large batch of iron farming tools, then we built a huge water wheel, and you took some iron ingots—ah, Lord, I've already given the bill for those iron ingots to Miss Fiona—I've been in Ellington for many years, and this is the largest batch of iron ore I've used in a short time!"

Edgar smiled awkwardly: "If the lord wants to use iron ore to smelt steel, it will take at least a month for me to buy a new batch of iron ore."

"Are you kidding me!?"

Tang En widened his eyes: "Not to mention Ellington, I remember there's an iron mine not far from the west of Ellington! There's an iron mine, and you ran out of iron ore!?"

"Ah? Lord, you know about that mine?"

Edgar was surprised: "But didn't someone else tell you?"

"Tell me what? Fiona?"

Fiona looked puzzled: "I don't know... what about that mine?"

Edgar said with a strange expression: "That iron mine... was taken over by Baron Duvay from Caspami Castle in the north."

Tang En looked at him with a "Are you kidding me?" expression: "The lord of Caspami Castle reached here, and Hogg didn't react at all!?"

At this point, Elsa interjected: "When Hogg was in charge, the mine was occupied by a group of monsters, so he abandoned it. Later, a group of mercenaries from Caspami Castle cleared the mine, and Baron Duvay took over and started mining. By the time Hogg got the news, it was too late. Baron Duvay's soldiers and slaves had already taken over the entire mine. Hogg attacked a few times and lost dozens of people, so he eventually gave up."

After hearing Elsa's explanation, Tang En was frustrated. He had never asked about the mine before, assuming it was still operating and supplying iron ore to Ellington.

Who would have thought that the damned Hogg, even in death, would leave him such a mess!

Tang En was angry. That mine belonged to Ellington, which meant it belonged to him!

Now, Baron Duvay dared to openly plunder his wealth. How could he tolerate this!

Although iron ore and copper ore were basic minerals, they were very important, especially since the iron mine was crucial for his steel smelting plan. The mine must be reclaimed!

"Elsa, cancel the training plan for tomorrow."

"Ah?"

Elsa was surprised but quickly understood: "Lord, you want to..."

"Exactly, what's mine, no one can take. Whoever dares to touch my things will pay tenfold, a hundredfold."

Tang En said calmly: "Moreover, according to the empire's laws, that iron mine is my property. Baron Duvay ignored the empire's laws and openly plundered my wealth. Fiona, what can I do according to the empire's laws?"

Fiona looked at Tang En's side face and smiled: "Of course, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, take it back."

"Exactly, the empire's laws are very clear. When a noble's private property is violated, they can use force to defend their rights and reclaim their wealth."

Tang En smiled, a cold smile: "I'm sure Baron Duvay must have anticipated this result when he acted."

Brian laughed: "Brother, it seems he's not afraid of you, otherwise, he would have been more restrained after hearing about your appointment."

"Then we'll show him how terrifying the lord of Ellington's anger can be."

Tang En patted Brian: "Dwarves are very interested in mines, right? Are you interested in going with me to take a look? Relax a bit?"

"Of course!"

Brian gulped down the ale in his cup and slammed it on the table: "My warhammer is itching for action!"

"Elsa, gather the guards tomorrow, I want to see everyone there."

Tang En swirled his wine glass and drank it in one gulp, shattering the glass in his hand.

Tang En said calmly: "We're going to reclaim the iron mine."

"Wow!"

Illya exclaimed, her eyes sparkling, and clapped her hands: "Lord big brother is so cool! Do it again! Do it again!"

Tang En, Elsa, Fiona, Brian, Edgar, and Tina: "..."

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