The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 243: I Will Start a New Business (1)

The barbarians gathered for negotiations, all lured in by the promise of food, eventually agreed. There was some resistance, but persuasive words from Waroka swayed everyone.

His tribe was the strongest, so there was no benefit in trying to oppose him.

A few days later, at the resumed negotiation table, Waroka spoke with confidence.

“The allied tribes are all in agreement. For the next five years, we will cease attacks and raids on the Rutania Kingdom. I will personally take responsibility for preventing raids from the few tribes that didn’t join our alliance.”

“You’d better keep things under control if you don’t want to see my face here again. And make sure to send horses to the northern fortress every year.”

At Ghislain’s arrogant remark, Waroka’s lips twitched. He felt like smashing this insolent man’s head with his axe right now, but the thought of fighting was troubling.

No, honestly, he didn’t even want to think about the names Ferdium and Fenris.

“To think a day would come when I’d be intimidated by the name of Ferdium,” he thought.

He’d never imagined such a day in his life. Ferdium hadn’t concerned him at all; his focus had solely been on unifying his tribes.

But now, here he was, bowing his head to those he’d once ignored.

Of course, he had no intention of letting things end like this.

“Just wait and see. If I manage to unify the North... I won’t leave either Ferdium or the Rutania Kingdom alone. I’ll never forget the humiliation I faced today.”

Seeing Waroka’s face filled with discomfort, Ghislain smirked. It was obvious what he was thinking.

“Tsk tsk, you’ll never get that chance.”

Running a tribe and ruling a country were entirely different things. In his past life, Waroka had managed to establish a unified nation, but he’d been unable to deal with the issues that kept arising everywhere.

Not only was there a shortage of food, but the infrastructure was also inadequate, making it impossible for the country to run smoothly.

If Ghislain hadn’t started a war, Waroka would’ve eventually lost his patience and attacked the Rutania Kingdom.

"In that case, Duke Delphine would’ve taken his head."

At that time, the Rutania Kingdom, which had subdued all the nobles and exercised absolute royal authority, was swift and powerful enough to execute their decisions fearlessly.

It took someone like Ghislain, one of the Continent’s Seven Strongest, to take on a kingdom like that. Waroka wouldn’t have survived with his abilities.

“If I’d had more time, I’d have wiped him out completely. It’s a bit of a shame.”

It would take more than a few months to sweep away not only Waroka’s allied tribes but also the remaining ones.

Ghislain couldn’t afford to delay here any longer because of Harold. He had to wrap things up and return, albeit reluctantly.

“Well... this isn’t the only opportunity, after all.”

When the civil war ends, Waroka will have to make a clear decision.

He’ll have to choose: total submission or total annihilation.

In any case, the negotiations concluded smoothly. Zwalter was pleased that the exhausting fights with the barbarians had ceased, and Ghislain was glad to have secured the horses he needed in large quantities, thus stabilizing the rear.

And Claude was disappointed because Wendy didn’t give him a piggyback ride.

Ghislain, along with over 10,000 horses, including those he obtained as spoils of war, returned to his territory.

Neigh!

As the line of horses entered the castle, the residents of the domain stared in astonishment. They had never seen so many horses in their lives.

“Wow! That’s incredible!”

“Are there really that many horses? Is this even possible?”

“Lord Ghislain is amazing! Truly amazing!”

The price of a single horse was astronomical, and few territories owned as many as Ghislain now possessed.

The whole domain quickly turned festive. Even though roads were being repaired, there hadn’t been enough horses to support proper transportation.

But now, horses were in abundance. Even if some were set aside for military purposes, there were still thousands that could be used for transport.

Ghislain gathered his retainers to show off his achievements.

“Look at this! I went out there, kept them in line, and now we have a ridiculous number of horses!”

The happiest, of course, was Belinda. She was more thrilled about the beating they’d given the barbarians than the acquisition of the horses.

“As expected from our young master! I wish I could’ve gone and hit them with you!”

As the domain developed, it became harder for Belinda to find time to participate in battles, as she had to manage an increasing number of employees.

So Ghislain decided he’d only bring Belinda into particularly important battles from now on.

The other retainers nodded approvingly, as if this outcome was only to be expected.

“He’s become a complete bandit now.”

“Whatever he needs, he just takes.”

“But no one can say anything since the other party’s barbarians.”

If he needed iron, he took a mine; if he needed horses, he took horses. It was scary to think what he’d set out to obtain next.

But everything was done with a seemingly legitimate reason, so no one could stop him.

A lord who did everything he wanted while still managing to avoid too much criticism—how remarkable.

“Well, now that we have horses, how about we start a transportation revolution?” Ghislain declared confidently.

But Claude interjected, breaking the mood.

“We have a problem.”

“...”

“I’m saying there’s a problem.”

“Do you have some kind of spirit of trouble attached to you? Why is there always a problem? Were you cursed somewhere?”

“It’s because of you! You, you, you! Things are always on a tight schedule because of you!”

Despite saying this countless times, Claude hid his irritation and replied.

“Anyway, there’s a problem.”

“Alright, what’s the problem?”

“I didn’t oppose this campaign because having lots of horses is great. But... there are way too many.”

“The more, the better, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but only to a certain extent. We can’t handle such an enormous number of horses right now. We lack stables and personnel to manage them.”

Claude’s point was valid. It wouldn’t make sense to just leave the horses unattended. Managing over 10,000 horses would require substantial resources.

But Ghislain responded as if it were no issue.

“Build more stables and hire lots of people. Problem solved, right?”

“Do you think money just pops out of the ground? We’re already spending a huge amount on domain development and military projects. Maintaining these horses will require even more funds.”

Though they were making an enormous amount of money from selling food and cosmetics, there were limits. They were spending a great deal on buying resources as well.

Moreover, the quantity of food and cosmetics they could sell was limited.

Food was especially heavily consumed by the wages for laborers and by feeding the residents of the Fenris and Ferdium territories, leading to a high demand.

In short, they needed additional income. So Claude made a new proposal.

“How about selling half of the horses you brought? Even half would be sufficient for transporting materials and training cavalry. Horses fetch a high price, so this would also help fund our resources.”

“No.”

Claude wasn’t surprised by Ghislain’s blunt rejection.

"I knew it. You never listen to anyone!"

However, Claude didn’t give up.

Claude didn’t give up, knowing Ghislain disliked unnecessary spending. He aimed to convince him on that point.

“If we stretch things, we can manage for now. We could sell more food to generate funds, but that won’t help us immediately.”

“Why not?”

“There aren’t enough people to ride the horses. Even if we build roads and have plenty of horses, we don’t have enough skilled riders to put them to use.”

“Hmm...”

“And with all the tasks in our domain, we’re already falling behind on transportation. We’re struggling to keep up with even food and meat deliveries. In the end, most of these horses will end up lazing around in the stables. Damn it! They’d just be sleeping around, unlike us!”

Having horses wasn’t enough; they needed skilled riders. But among the poor residents, there weren’t many who could ride.

Most soldiers were foot soldiers, offering little help.

To manage transportation, they had scraped together anyone who could handle horses, barely getting by.

At times, they even had to deploy knights for transporting materials.

“These two issues make it impossible for us to handle so many horses right now. If we don’t use them immediately, it’s just wasted money. We should sell some now and gradually expand the herd.”

Claude smiled confidently, thinking this time he’d have Ghislain cornered.

More wasn’t always better. Expanding too quickly could lead to losses.

But Ghislain wasn’t one to let circumstances control him.

Can’t use all the horses? He’d create the need.

“We’ll build more stables, hire more staff, and train more riders.”

“But when will we train all these riders?”

To ride well, people needed expert horsemanship, not just basic riding skills but the ability to move swiftly and with precision.

Training seasoned cavalry took time, and even the current plan required only half of the horses they had.

Ignoring Claude’s argument, Ghislain continued.

“This isn’t a problem at all. I already have a plan. I’ll solve everything.”

“What’s this plan?”

“First, we’ll start a new business using the roads.”

“Roads... a new business?”

Claude and the others exchanged nervous glances. Ghislain’s plans rarely followed conventional wisdom.

Ghislain continued undeterred.

“The roads in our domain are almost complete, right?”

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

“Yes, except for some small villages and remote areas, most towns, forts, and villages are connected. We’ve even reached Ferdium.”

“We’ll extend these roads to the capital, allied noble domains, and neutral territories. We’ll skip over suspicious factions and the Duke’s allies.”

It was an enormous project, something only an emperor might attempt. Even with abundant resources, it wasn’t a light endeavor.

“It could take years to connect the royal faction and capital to the other estates.”

“Not necessarily. Road construction is simple. Straightforward work is easier than you think.”

“How so?”

“With enough money and labor, it’ll be finished quickly. You know that well, don’t you?”

“...”

The retainers fell silent. The Fenris estate had indeed developed at an extraordinary pace, fueled by vast funds and manpower.

But there was another issue.

“Even if time isn’t a problem, would other lords allow us to build roads freely?”

“Why wouldn’t they want roads? And if they don’t, then what?”

“What... do you mean?”

“What will they do if the royal family and Marquis Branford tell them to?”

Ghislain was right. If he asked, Marquis Branford wouldn’t refuse. A well-maintained road would benefit military movement as well.

While some lords feared roads could be used against them, connecting all allied territories would make calling reinforcements easier, so they’d likely support it.

Listening to Ghislain’s grand vision, Claude felt a bit dizzy. Just how much money would it take to link all these estates?

“What about funds? Where will we find the money and manpower for this massive project?”

Ghislain smiled confidently.

“We’ll use our money and split shares among Rosaline and Lady Mariel to secure investments. There’s a whole circle of nobles meeting for investments these days. We’ll gather their funds. The Juana Church will help, too; they’ll send priests to speed up the construction.”

The Church would likely provide priests to heal tired laborers if they didn’t want to be accused of heresy and burned at the stake.

“...”

The retainers could hardly believe what they were hearing. Yet with Ghislain’s network, it actually seemed possible.

Seeing their stunned expressions, Ghislain spoke with a serious tone.

“Next, the road tolls are just the beginning. Once the roads are ready, we’ll use the surplus horses for a delivery business.”

“A delivery business?”

“Exactly. I even have a name ready.”