Chapter 291 Huge Profits
"Don't dare to go back? What happened?"
Le Ang was shocked. This girl was so brave. She was able to formulate such a big gladiator rebellion plan. She was not afraid when she contacted the rebels alone, and she was not afraid when she ran to the Kingdom of Fierce Lions for help.
Moreover, Leon could see that she had killed people, and not just one or two - she had always remained calm when facing all kinds of blood on the battlefield outside Boshi City, like a veteran soldier who had been on many battlefields. She was not even afraid when Castro rushed towards her.
Although Leon didn't know that Alina had led a team to kill countless nobles in Siyuan City, some of her temperaments could be identified at a glance.
There is actually something a girl like this is afraid of?
"My family is urging me to get married... Someone came to propose marriage, and my father has already decided to accept it. It is said that the betrothal gifts are very large, so much that my father has no reason to refuse... "
Alina curled her lips: "The point is, it's hard for me to refuse this time...it's very troublesome."
"It's hard to refuse with your status ? Who is it?"
Li Ang was a little curious.
"Malbert, the cupbearer of the King of Sarleon, the commander of the Royal Guard, the adopted son of King Ulric, the heir of Duke Brunus, the legitimate ruler of Cliff Bay, and the Lord of Sava River Castle."
Alina helplessly recited a long list of titles, which were obviously memorized from documents such as letters.
"Huo... so many people, your house definitely can't accommodate them..."
Li Ang blurted out a complaint.
But he also immediately understood why Alina said it was difficult to refuse - this kind of marriage was not a family matter.
This is a national affair.
Given the identities of Malbert and Alina, this marriage proposal is actually equivalent to the two countries trying to repair their relationship.
In addition, Malbert is now the lord of Sava River Castle. At a time when the Bacchus Empire needs recuperation the most, Alina must consider the safety of the country, and it is really difficult for her to refuse.
"Don't talk nonsense. You know him, don't you? What kind of person is he?"
Alina asked seriously.
"Well... to be honest, that guy is handsome, smart, and talented. He is also rich and powerful. He has a bright future..."
Li Ang's words were full of praise.
"No flaws at all? Is there such a perfect person?"
Alina rolled her eyes and asked unhappily.
"There are some shortcomings..."
Li Ang twirled his chin and thought for a moment: "I know of only one shortcoming - he may die young."
"Does he have a grudge against you?"
Alina looked at Leon in surprise.
"Not really...but he will probably be at odds with King Ulric soon."
Li Ang looked like a prophet, like a charlatan: "But if nothing unexpected happens, he must have robbed my tribute caravan to Sarleon City. He knew that this would offend King Ulric, so in order to protect himself, he immediately asked for marriage with your family..."
"ah?"
Alina tilted her head and looked at Li Ang: "Why do I feel like this is a frame-up..."
"No, no, no... I'm a decent person."
Li Ang acted like a gentleman: "You may not know that Malbert was originally King Ulric's designated son-in-law, but the little princess is only ten years old now, so they have never been engaged before... If he hadn't offended the king, he would definitely not have gone to Bacchus to ask for marriage."
"...I see...It seems I really need to hide to avoid getting into trouble..."
Alina bit her lip and thought for a while, then suddenly said, "Master Li Ang, how about... you kidnap me and take me to Changhe Town?"
"ah?"
Li Ang was dumbfounded: "Why would I kidnap you?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it's probably not Malbert's own will to rob the caravan that you brought to the king as tribute... You are deliberately looking for an excuse so that you, the king, and the princess have a reason to attack him, right?"
Alina reacted quickly to these plots. "He asked my father for marriage at this time, probably to take advantage of the fact that Sarleon City hasn't reacted yet, and to use the marriage contract to guarantee his own safety, so that the Sarleon King wouldn't dare to touch him. The betrothal gift that my father had no reason to refuse must have come from your caravan... But I don't want to be the victim."
"Then you just need to tell Lord Justus about this... Once he knows the situation, he will most likely give up this marriage."
Li Ang was still a little confused: "Why do you want me to kidnap you?"
"Lord Leon, my father is the governor of the Bacchus Empire after all..."
Alina sighed. "For him, this marriage will give the empire a chance to recuperate, a sum of money to rebuild Siyuan City, and a chance for my father to get involved in the dispute over the throne of the Sarleon Kingdom. It can even lay the foundation for taking back Sava River Castle in the future... This will indeed bring many benefits to the Bacchus Empire. My father will never give up this marriage, and he will probably urge us to get married even more..."
Leon probably understood a little bit. Justus was indeed a selfless person. This could be seen from the fact that he was willing to leave the City of Knowledge to give General Cleon room to display his talents.
A selfless person is certainly a good quality for the country, but the biggest problem with such a person is that he is too selfless - this good quality is often very bad if it is placed in the family, because he will think that his wife, children and the elderly should also be like him and sacrifice everything for the country.
"But given Emperor Marius's character, he probably won't agree ..."
Leon thought about Emperor Marius's appearance and said, "He would probably rather lead his troops to attack the Sava River Castle and snatch the money from Malbert."
"Yes, but His Majesty can't do anything about my father in this matter... That's why I asked you to kidnap me - if you do that, His Majesty will definitely declare war on the Sarleon Kingdom, and then this engagement will naturally be cancelled!"
Alina smiled at Leon and said, "I think you also hope that the Bacchus Empire will declare war on the Sarleon Kingdom now, don't you?"
…
At the same time, in Sarlion City.
"Your Majesty, I am Eric, a sworn knight loyal to Count Leon. On behalf of Lord Leon, I brought you the spoils we got from Desha..."
In the throne room, Eric, covered in wounds, was meeting the king.
"I have received Leon's letter and I have seen the spoils. You have worked hard... But what happened to your injury? Did you get injured in Desha? Leon actually let a wounded soldier like you travel thousands of miles. He really doesn't know how to sympathize with his subordinates..."
Ulrich saw a large pile of jewels and silks, and was obviously in a very good mood. He was also concerned about Eric's injury.
Eric does look a bit miserable now.
All his equipment was damaged, and it was obvious that he had just been through a tough battle;
There was bloody gauze wrapped around his head, and blood was faintly seeping out;
The left side of his face was red and swollen, and his lips were broken, and it was obvious that he had been hit hard in the face;
Only half of the arm armor on his right hand was left, and the other half was dented;
There was also gauze wrapped around his legs, and he walked with a limp...
Just by looking at this, we can tell that he must have fought a fierce battle with a powerful enemy not long ago, and he was definitely not the victor...
"No, Your Majesty! The spoils I brought back should have been five times as much as this! Your Majesty, I want to sue Lord Malbert of Sava River Castle! He robbed the convoy that was carrying the spoils to you!"
Eric was very excited. "I thought that since the area of Sava River Castle was under the rule of the Lord of Sarleon Kingdom, it should be safe for us to pass through...but I didn't expect that the people who robbed us would be the knights of Sarleon Kingdom!"
"What?! Are you sure you read it right? How much was robbed?"
Ulrik stood up from the Silver Throne, his face becoming grim.
"I managed to escape after a fierce battle... but I could only take away 20% of the loot. The other 80% was taken away by Malbert! There was a team of Lion Knights patrolling next to us at the time, but they seemed to be blind and turned a blind eye - because the robbers were all flying Malbert's flag!"
Eric became more and more angry as he spoke, and was about to cry: "Your Majesty, those were originally intended to be given to you by Lord Leon. They are your spoils of war!"
If a marshal of the kingdom leads his troops into enemy territory with the goal of capturing a town, the conquered territory will be distributed by the king, and the marshal will be able to share the spoils.
But if the purpose is not to capture a city, then the spoils must be shared by the king.
This has been the practice for hundreds of years, and Duke Brunus did the same before.
Before returning to the city, Leon sent a large amount of spoils to Sarleon, which originally made Ulrik quite pleased.
But now, knowing that more of the spoils that should have belonged to him were robbed, and it was actually Malbert who did it, Ulrich was indeed angry...
Because he knew that Eric would never tell such a lie in the throne room - such a thing could be easily verified, and lying would not only lead to death, but would also implicate Leon.
And, it is very likely that Malbert would do so...
After all, Brennus often did this - Brennus even often led the Lion Knights to rob merchants from other countries!
But the problem is that Brunus always gives Ulrich half of the proceeds from the robbery, and he certainly won't steal the spoils that are sent to the king!
But that bastard Malbert actually stole the money that Leon gave him?
"Someone! Tell Malbert to come back and see me!"
King Ulric was basically shouting.
…
In April of the year 356 of the Pendor calendar, the Bacchus Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Sarleon.
The reason for the declaration of war was that Lady Alina, the adopted daughter of the Emperor of the Bacchus Empire, was kidnapped by Earl Leon, the Marshal of the Kingdom of Sarleon...
Count Leon, who was returning to the Fierce Lion Territory, also sent back a military report and gave an explanation for the matter - when Leon's army was heading towards Toba City, the Bacchus Empire sent General Agathon to lead a fleet to launch a surprise attack on Eshkoman, which was originally occupied by Leon, so Leon "captured" Miss Alina in an attempt to exchange for the city.
But General Agathon refused to change the city, so Leon could only take Alina away...
Moreover, in order to avoid having his retreat route cut off by the Bacchus Empire, Leon had no choice but to withdraw his troops immediately and have the kingdom's army guard against the attack of the Bacchus Empire.
For King Ulrich, there was nothing wrong with Leon's approach - since the Bacchus Empire had taken away Ashcoman, it was right for Leon to take a hostage and seek justice from the Bacchus; after the Bacchus Empire declared war, Leon's retreat could easily be cut off, so it was right for him to withdraw his troops quickly.
But Emperor Marius was different. He didn't care about the specific reason at all. He was planning to recover the lost territory. For him, any excuse would do...
As a result, the Bacchus Empire and the Sarleon Kingdom became hostile again.
But neither country has sent troops to the other side for the time being, because neither side is ready for war...
King Ulric has no money, so he cannot afford a big war for the time being;
Emperor Marius has no troops and cannot fight for the time being...
We can only engage in a verbal battle for now.
At the same time, Leon's army also returned to the Kingdom of the Fierce Lion.
The army officially disbanded north of Sava River Fort, allowing the small lords to return to their homes, and Le Ang's own troops also returned to Changhe Town.
Only after ensuring that all merchants returned safely to the territory did Li Ang begin to calculate the profits from this expedition.
Leon will get half of the proceeds from the auction of Ashcombe, a total of one million dinars. Ramon will send this money to Changhe Town in one or two months, because the Bacchus Empire was auctioned with the land deed, and it takes some time to cash in the land deed;
Precisely because the money has not yet been converted into cash, Bahaman will not act recklessly in the short term - he has to wait to get his share of the money first.
Four million dinars of supplies were obtained from Emir Xerxes.
This included four hundred thousand in cash;
An iron mine worth six hundred thousand;
Gold, silver and other hard currencies worth 1.2 million;
Dozens of carts of blood-stained jewelry and cloth worth about 800,000 yuan;
The final payment was several hundred horses and gold and silver utensils worth 600,000 dinars.
Ramon subcontracted the iron ore to several slave owners for mining, and he could get some income from the subcontracting. But Ramon would smelt it on site and send the pig iron ingots to Changhe Town once a month after the initial smelting, which would allow Li Ang to reduce transportation costs. It was really not cost-effective to transport ore over long distances.
According to Ramon's estimate, the output of iron ingots is about 50,000 pounds per month - not iron ore, but the output of iron ingots.
The production capacity is limited in this era, but fortunately this is a long-term business and Li Ang does not have to invest any time or manpower.
In fact, iron was very valuable in that era. Fifty thousand pounds of pig iron was worth about ten thousand dinars.
In other words, this was a long-term business with an annual income of about 120,000 dinars, but Emile Xerxes only paid for it with 600,000 dinars. Obviously, Ramon and Leon got a great deal.
Generally speaking, industries that can bring stable returns, such as mines, are priced based on the expected output over ten or even twenty years.
Of course, the Emir sold it at a low price mainly because he couldn't mine it himself - the iron ore was in Yaxing, very close to Singal, but too far from the city of Toba.
After Emile obtained Toba City, he would definitely not be able to manage the iron mine, and it might even be snatched away by Bir Cardan. It would be normal to transfer it at half price.
As for the blood-stained jewelry and cloth, a small portion of them was sent to the king, which was probably worth hundreds of thousands of dinars.
Most of the rest was looted by Malbert - these looted materials were worth at least more than 600,000 dinars.
Those hundreds of horses have been given to Alina, as promised. Leon always keeps his word and never breaks his promise.
What actually fell into Leon's hands at the moment was cash and various gold, silver and copper products - that is, hard currency that could be used as currency, totaling about 2.2 million dinars.
In addition, there are also "ownerless war horses" "sheltered" at the foot of Mount Gazi...
The total number was over 2,300 - this was actually the spoils divided with Agathon. Gazishan actually had nearly 5,000 horses, and Leon and Agathon didn't even take the old, weak, sick and disabled ones.
That's why Leon was so generous to give hundreds of horses to Alina - he already had too many horses and too little pasture to feed them.
