Chapter 230: Promoted to the fifth level warrior.
In recent years, relying on his hard training, Richard's breathing technique finally improved to the eighth level and he was promoted to the fifth level warrior.
The warrior level has been upgraded to the fifth level, and the physical fitness has been improved again, and the strength has reached 18 points. When the warrior level reaches the sixth level, the strength attribute will exceed 20 points, and then a talent in physical attributes will be awakened.
When William's strength exceeded 20 points, he awakened a very excellent talent, Furious Heart. Whenever he was angry, his physical fitness would be greatly improved.
Although this talent is not as abnormal as the Hulk, it can improve physical fitness without limit.
When this talent is turned on, William's strength will be increased by about half, and his destructive power will become astonishing.
Although the heart of rage is activated for a short time, it has no side effects.
In addition to combat skills and combat experience, the warrior profession also determines the strength of a warrior by his own talent. After awakening excellent talents, you can surpass the level and defeat the enemy in battle.
I don’t know what kind of talent Richard will awaken when his strength exceeds twenty points?
There is no pattern at all in the opening of talents, and it is almost impossible to inherit them.
At this point, Richard could only leave it to fate.
A few days before the goddess's birthday, Richard finally had a few days of free time to spend time with Margaret.
The father and daughter were walking on the street, looking at the street scenes everywhere.
There is already some commercial atmosphere on the streets of Fort William. Richard discovered taverns, barber shops, gold and silver jewelry stores, grocery stores, grain stores, etc.
Half of them are official stores, such as grain stores, grocery stores, taverns, etc.
Richard entered the grocery store and found that the store already had a relatively rich range of products. In addition to brown sugar, woolen cloth, iron farm tools, and bulk liquor, the grocery store also had slightly more luxurious products such as honey, canned fruits, and high-end wines. .
As soon as Richard entered the grocery store, he alerted the clerks and customers in the store.
Most of the residents in Fort William have seen Richard.
In addition to military families, those who settled here were the earliest batch of indentured slaves. Many people have participated in the construction of Fort William and have personally contacted Richard.
He and Margaret appeared on the street and immediately caused a sensation.
"Is it Mr. Richard?"
"Yes, I have seen Mr. Richard with my own eyes. You can't be wrong."
"I participated in labor with Mr. Richard. We lived in adjacent tents. Nine years have passed. I wonder if Mr. Richard will remember me?"
The clerk whispered to the customer, looking at Richard and his daughter with eager eyes.
They wanted to step forward and say a few words to Richard, but the clear hierarchy between nobles and ordinary people in the Dawn Plane made them very hesitant and did not dare to show their enthusiasm.
"Is it Peter? We haven't seen each other for almost ten years. The young boy Peter is now middle-aged."
Richard glanced around and suddenly found an acquaintance.
Peter was one of the first indentured slaves in the territory. He was bought by Richard because he suffered from the plague, and he followed Richard to the Harland territory.
He was one of the earliest stonemasons in the territory. In the early days of the construction of Fort William, he commanded more than a dozen workers. At that time, the tent he lived in was very close to Richard.
Richard's role at that time was equivalent to the boss, project manager and part-time chief engineer of the Fort William construction project.
At that time, he was with the workers every day, had frequent contact with the grassroots, and had a lot of communication every day.
Peter was only in his twenties at the time and looked very young.
Now nine years have passed, and the working people are aging much faster than the nobles. Peter has changed a lot and has become a middle-aged man with rough skin.
Because of his strong mental power, Richard's memory far exceeds that of ordinary people. Even if he had contact with him ten years ago, he would recognize an old acquaintance at a glance.
"Yes, Master Richard, I am Peter, the stonemason. I didn't expect that you would still remember me after so many years."
Peter has average abilities. He is one of the earliest craftsmen in the territory. Although he became a free citizen very early, his class has not risen. .
To this day, Peter is still a farmer. In his spare time, he comes to Fort William to do odd jobs to support his family.
"How has your life been in the past few years?"
"Life is very good. Now I am the father of four children. My wife and children can have enough food and clothing. They are free people when they are born, and they can only get their destiny Only with the blessing of the goddess can one be born in the Harland territory."
According to official statistics, the free people in the Harland territory have solved the problem of food and clothing.
Because there is more arable land per capita, the territory also has coal and other mineral resources, and the production of woolen cloth, the first generation of freedmen who have just been divided into land should not be too poor.
But after the second and third generations, there is not that much arable land in the Harland territory. As the per capita land resources decline, farmers will fall back into poverty.
With five acres of land per capita and one acres of land per capita, the living conditions are completely different.
People with five acres of land per capita can live relatively prosperously, but people with one acres of land per capita will inevitably fall into a state of poverty and hunger.
To improve this situation, the first is to expand the territory and open up farmland, and the second is to control the growth of the population.
Harland's territory is vast and sparsely populated. In the past hundred years, it should still be an environment with fewer people and more land.
As for what will happen when the population increases in the future? It can only be left to the next generation.
Richard came over, shook hands with Peter, and asked, "Has your child gone to school?" "
No, Master Richard."
"Why not let the children receive education? Only when children receive education can they change their destiny. "
"The tuition fee of six silver coins a year is too expensive. It is difficult for a family like ours to afford it. When the children grow up, if they are in good health, I want them to join the army. If they are in ordinary health, they can follow me and become a mason. Learn how to I can also support my family with my craft."
Richard chatted with Peter for a few words, and finally shook hands and said: "I'm going back, Peter, happy birthday to the goddess, and wish you good luck!" Richard saw people outside the shop
. more and more. In order to avoid a stampede, Richard picked up Margaret, said hello to the people in the shop, and then returned to the mansion.
Richard has a high prestige in the Harland territory, and ordinary people in the territory want to meet the lord. It will be bragging rights after returning.
"My status has been improved, and it's troublesome to go out."
Richard and Sophia complained a few times, and then began to read the reports sent by the territorial officials.
With the graduation of the first class of students from Riverside Elementary School, there are more than a hundred people in Harland Territory who are proficient in writing and basic mathematics.
These people became staff officers, teachers, and grassroots bureaucrats. With their participation, the written reports requested by Richard could finally be implemented. Through this piece of written material, Richard can have some grasp of the basic situation of Harland's territory. However, you cannot completely trust what is written in the report, and beware of irresponsible writing by bureaucrats.
It is very likely that bureaucrats will be irresponsible. To see the real situation from the reports, Richard needs to strengthen supervision, make constant inspections, and frequently contact the grassroots.
Now that more people are literate, the demand for paper will increase.
Parchment paper was very expensive and not suitable for the spread of knowledge at all.
Richard asked craftsmen to study papermaking many years ago, and now the technology of papermaking using plant fibers has been successfully researched.
By making paper from various plant fibers, craftsmen in the Harland territory discovered that paper made from bark and bark was of better quality.
Nowadays, paper has begun to circulate on a small scale in Haaland's territory.
Not only did the city hall, Riverside Primary School, and Harland's army distribute paper, but also the government-run grocery stores in Fort William, Fort Sophia, and Fort Depot all sold paper. In order to facilitate the spread of knowledge, Richard had no intention of using paper to earn money. profit.
Today, the paper market in Harland's territory has exceeded the size of more than one hundred gold coins.
In order to avoid irritating the nerves of nearby nobles, Richard did not sell paper on a large scale. However, the circulation of low-priced paper still promoted the spread of knowledge.
As knowledge spreads, the literacy rate will increase and the quality of the population will improve. In the long run, it will greatly promote the development of the Harland territory.
Because of the land allocation and light tax policy formulated by Richard, the free people in the Harland territory were relatively wealthy and had high spending power, almost as much as the families of the city defense army.
The brown sugar, liquor, steel products, and woolen clothes produced in the Harland Territory have become popular among the free people because their prices in the place of origin are not very high.
According to the statistics that Richard saw, the free people consumed an average of one kilogram of brown sugar a year.
In Haaland territory, the price of brown sugar has dropped to twelve copper coins per kilogram. When brown sugar was first produced, the price was almost the same as honey, almost one silver coin per kilogram.
In just a few years, the price of brown sugar dropped by 60 percent in Harland territory.
As brown sugar production increases, Richard believes there is still room for decline.
Due to the impact of brown sugar in the Harland Territory, the price of honey in the northern region has also dropped a lot. Brown sugar is already replacing honey in the northern region.
This year, the territory's brown sugar production exceeded one hundred tons, and hundreds of tons of brown sugar entered the market. Such a powerful impact made brown sugar no longer a luxury product.
There are three provinces and four duchies in the northern part of Grant Kingdom, with a combined population of tens of millions.
But the vast majority of the population were serfs without any spending power.
The population with real spending power includes nobility, religious figures, professional officers, and main legionnaires, plus a small number of businessmen, high-level technicians, opera singers, Warcraft hunters, and high-level mercenaries.
Adding up all the consumer groups, the total in the northern region does not exceed 300,000.
The average brown sugar produced in Haaland Territory is close to one kilogram per person.
Based on the annual consumption of one kilogram per freeman in the Harland Territory, when the territory produces three hundred tons of brown sugar per year, the market will be saturated.
At that time, in addition to expanding the market outside, we can only continue to lower prices and let the market sink.
To expand the market to the south, we must face competition from honey.
The southern provinces of Seldorf, Iliano, the Duke of Guise, and the Duke of Duran all have large populations raising bees.
Brown sugar, a specialty of northern Xinjiang, is difficult to sell in the southern sphere of influence through formal channels.
There is no free trade in the Grant Kingdom, and every lord hates the outflow of gold coins. Only by fighting a war and overthrowing other people's rule can brown sugar enter other people's spheres of influence to sell and make profits.
Even if some brown sugar is sold through smuggling, under the brutal attack of official power, the high cost may not bring much profit.
Moreover, in the production areas of honey farming, the retail price of honey is only fifteen copper coins per kilogram.
Even if the brown sugar from Haaland territory is transported to the south, it may not be able to compete with the honey from the south at today's prices.
On the contrary, Nolan’s market can be competed for in the future. There are no lords who breed bees in large numbers near Nolan, and there is no self-interest involved, so the resistance is not particularly great.
But if you want to enter the Nolan market, you must have the status of a big noble, and you must also deal with some influential people in Nolan.
Otherwise, your business will soon be swallowed up by others.
The influence of the Haaland family is only somewhat useful in northern Xinjiang, and even very effective only in the province of Gedda. The deterrent effect in the provinces of Gascoigne and Lach is somewhat less. When he went to the territories of several other dukes, Richard had to keep his head down.
In Jonathan, Fox and other duchies, Richard is engaged in wholesale business. This year's brown sugar price, the wholesale price has dropped to twelve copper coins per kilogram.
The wholesale price has been reduced, and Richard does not need to bear the transportation responsibility. After the brown sugar is pressed, it is sent directly to the Black River Fort market, and then sold at wholesale prices to several chambers of commerce controlled by the Duke.
The only markets directly operated by the Haaland Territory are the three northern provinces.
The retail price of brown sugar in the three northern provinces and stores controlled by the Haaland family has also dropped to fifteen copper coins per kilogram, almost half of what it was a few years ago.
Because of the serious price reduction this year, despite the competition for the market, the revenue from brown sugar did not increase much, only bringing a profit of 4,000 gold coins.
On the contrary, the price of liquor has been very stable.
The lords have divided the market, and the market that the Harland family can control now is only Heihe County.
If you want to increase the revenue from liquor, you can only expand the consumer base.
The selling price of steel products also fell by 60% due to the continuous increase in steel production in the Harland territory.
Today, the Harland territory controls two iron mines, with a monthly production of more than 70 tons of steel.
At the current rate, steel production next year may exceed 1,000 tons.
The output of one thousand tons of steel, based on a population of 200,000, is only five kilograms per person on average.
Moreover, Richard still has to sell half of the steel to external parties. The wholesale price of the steel sold by Richard is already twenty-eight gold coins per ton, which averages out to ten copper coins per kilogram.
It can be said that in the area near Harland's territory, the selling prices of steel products have dropped by 60 to 70 percent. The current market retail price of iron materials of average quality has dropped to twelve copper coins per kilogram.
Prices continue to fall, and the income of free people is increasing. As living standards improve, spiritual needs are also increasing.
Nowadays, there are drama and opera singers in Fort William, and there are often music performances.
(End of chapter)