Claude finally understood why the Shiksan nobles were so keen on forming a mining company to explore the inland colonies. The nikancha nation only occupied a third of Shiksan's territory and discovered more than ten gold and silver mines.
One could only imagine how much gold and silver there was in the remaining two-thirds of the territory.
The only thing the Shiksan nobles were interested in was gold and silver or something even more valuable than that.
They weren't interested in anything else, as gold and silver could be refined into ingots and sold for a large sum of money back home.
More importantly, it was easy to transport. A few horses or donkeys could easily transport half a year's worth of gold and silver to the port. There was no need to build roads or anything like that.
Compared to the Shiksan colonies on Nubissia, Aueras' seven colonies were much more difficult to deal with.
Even though they were vast, flat, and easily accessible, Anfiston, which had the most mineral resources, only had three gold and silver mines. The other colonies weren't able to find any. Even though some of the minerals they found were valuable, they required a lot of investment and construction. It wasn't as easy to earn money as gold and silver mines.
With Borkal's help, the theatre of operations and the nikancha nation had already established a boundary between Port Vebator and the colony. The boundary was basically the same as the original colony of Port Vebator.
The theatre even had quite a bit of an advantage in certain areas. They made some small hills on the border part of the colony and made it easy for them to form a defensive line in the future.
Apart from accompanying the nikancha nation's envoy to Tyrrsim, Mormaly and Arturas to move the nikancha tribes to their own nation, Borkal had another reason for looking for Claude.
He looked around and mysteriously took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Claude.
"What's this? It's so sneaky …" Claude opened the paper and saw that it seemed to be a list.
Claude almost jumped when he saw it. He grabbed Borkal by the collar and pulled him in front of him. "Where did you get this from?
Is it all true? "
Claude couldn't be blamed for his surprise. The list clearly stated that there was a set of large hydraulic forging presses, a large refiner, as well as all sorts of hydraulic cutting machines and large hydraulic drilling machines. They were all military machinery that the kingdom forbade the colonies from owning.
The machines on the list that Claude saw could easily be used to build a large military base. In other words, they could allow the theatre to manufacture their own cannons and guns, and they wouldn't be limited to the crude ones.
"Calm down! Calm down!" Borkal pointed at the collar of his shirt that was being grabbed.
Claude let go of his hand, embarrassed. He picked up the wine on the table and took two gulps to calm himself down.
Currently, Angelina's laboratory had made great progress in researching a new rifle, and it had already entered the testing stage.
Continuous firing was used to test the durability, practicality, and safety of the gun.
Generally speaking, three thousand bullets were needed to determine if the new rifle met the requirements of the design.
However, Claude also received a piece of bad news from Boyd. Even if the new rifle was invented, it wouldn't be able to be used on a large scale in the colonies.
The reason was simple: the colonies didn't have a military industry and couldn't mass-produce new rifles.
The most they could do was to use alchemical formations to make them manually or organize blacksmiths to make them on a small scale.
But that way, they wouldn't be able to guarantee the same level of accuracy and quality and would only be considered crude.
The list of military machinery Borkal gave him completely solved the problem Claude had when he was preparing to manufacture the new standard rifles. What puzzled Claude was that, logically speaking, such military machinery should have been the focus of the war theatre's attention, so how did it end up in Borkal's hands without him noticing?
Borkal patted his collar that was wrinkled by Claude and wanted to drink some wine.
But when he saw Claude take two gulps of wine, he pouted in disdain and went to the cabinet to pick a bottle of fruit wine. After opening it, he poured himself a glass and slowly tasted it.
Claude wasn't in a hurry anymore and simply watched him put on a show.
When Borkal finished his drink, he pointed at the list and said, "Do you believe me? I only spent two cases of good wine and one case of fresh beef to get these things."
Claude shook his head in disbelief. Which idiot would trade those things with Borkal for two cases of good wine and one case of fresh beef?
"It's true. I'm not lying to you," Borkal recounted proudly.
As it turned out, all the military machinery on the list were shipped from Shiks to Port Vebator. The reason they were shipped was because Majid III wanted to build a large factory in Nubissia to produce guns, cannons, and ammunition. That way, it would reduce the pressure of shipping and make it easier for the colonial army to replace damaged equipment.
Since this was the brainchild of Mackid III, his subordinates were very responsible for transporting the equipment to Port Vebator. Only then did they realize a big problem. Where should they set up the factory?
It was common knowledge that all countries on Freia had strict geographical requirements for the factories to be built. They had to use water from a waterfall all year round and there wasn't a suitable place in Port Vebator.
That put the official in charge of building the workshop in a difficult spot. Fortunately, he brought some engineers and surveyors with him. Shiks had a huge colony, so he was confident that they would be able to find a suitable place.
Therefore, he sent his engineers and explorers out to find a suitable place to build the large gun-making workshop.
However, the poor official in charge didn't realize that the officials and nobles in Port Vebator didn't care about Majid III's request at all. Instead, they set their sights on the engineers and surveyors under him.
The sky was high and the emperor was far away. The colony here was very short of people. Not those brainless laborers, but these professional talents.
Majid III had only just turned his attention to the Aueran colonies back then. He wanted to build a large gunsmith workshop in the colonies, so he had to prepare before the rain fell.
What he didn't know, however, was that the Shiksan nobles were so desperate for mining inland that they needed professional prospectors to help them find new gold deposits. Even the engineers could design or repair the latest gold mining machinery for their mining industry.
Therefore, the explorers and engineers sent out by the official in charge soon disappeared, and all of them became missing people.
It was only then that the official realized that the colony wasn't the kingdom's mainland. It was a lawless place and he couldn't even guarantee his own safety outside the city.
Many times, he had seen the guards who were transporting the gold and silver ingots fleeing to the city to beg for protection. At the same time, he also knew that if these guards met someone weaker than them in the wild, they might turn into a vicious bandit and slave hunter team ….
The official wanted to seek help from the local officials in the colony, but all he got was a perfunctory delay. Nobody was willing to help him with such a thankless task.
When he wrote back to Aueras, nobody took his letter seriously due to the outbreak of the colonial war. Since the equipment was still there, it didn't matter as long as it wasn't lost. A few people going missing wasn't a big deal. It wouldn't be too late to build the factory after the colonial war was over.
Thus, the only responsibility of the officer in charge was to watch over the equipment. Even the warehouse management at the docks complained that the equipment took up too much space, so they forced the officer to move it to an abandoned warehouse in Port Vebator's west city.
It was a slum area where the Nikancha lived. The official in charge had to bring his own servant to live there as a custodian so that the Nikancha wouldn't steal anything from him.
Just like that, the official took care of the equipment for four years until Port Vebator was besieged by Thundercrash's light cavalry.
Due to the lack of resources in the city, the official and his servant could only eat potatoes.
When Bolonik led the royal guard to Port Vebator, he knew very well that he, a Shiksan official, would definitely end up as a captive once the city was breached.
So, he went to Borkal and exchanged the equipment for two crates of good wine and a crate of fresh beef. He planned to let his servant and himself enjoy the last few days of the siege.
"That's not right. Isn't there supposed to be a citywide search after Port Vebator is taken?
A complete set of military equipment like this would definitely be a huge contribution to the royal guard if they discovered it.
You have to know that seizing a complete set of Shiksan military equipment is even more meritorious than taking the city. How did you manage to hide it from the royal guard? "
"Did you forget?
Didn't I tell you that the equipment was stored in the warehouse west of Port Vebator? That used to be the slum area where the nikancha lived.
After the nikancha were enslaved by the Shiksans, the area became an abandoned wasteland. Apart from rats, wild dogs, and sparrows, no one goes there. "
Borkal said confidently, "Also, after I discovered the machinery, I went to the port district's management office and ship registry and found the records of the machinery being transported here four years ago. I destroyed all the records.
Nobody knows that there's such a complete set of military equipment in Port Vebator.
"Of course, I wanted to hide it from the royal guard. If they found out, they would definitely ship the equipment back to the kingdom as proof of their contributions.
"After the city was breached, the royal guard trusted me because I led the way and guided the attack.
"After that, they searched the entire city and organized a team to sweep through the slum area west of the city in case any remaining enemies were hiding there.
When I found the warehouse, I told them that it was rented by the Wild Bull Trading Company, which I was in charge of. It was mainly used to store pawned items and some large goods. I had camouflaged the wooden boxes of the machinery and equipment, covered them with cloth, and made them look like furniture.
They didn't check it carefully and only took a quick look around before leaving. "
"What about the Shiksan official in charge and his servant?" Claude asked.
Borkal replied as he drank, "I protected them and they didn't reveal their identities. I only told them that they were the guards of the warehouse I hired and that they were Shiksan civilians.
"After we conquered Port Vebator, I returned to HQ because I was worried about them and the equipment. That's why I used the excuse of dealing with the Wild Bull trading company to return to Port Vebator.
"But it seems that I was just being paranoid. No one was interested in the equipment.
The nikancha weren't in the slum area either, so the safety of the warehouse was guaranteed.
"The official in charge also kept a dog to keep watch at night.
"After I confirmed that everything was fine, I decided to go to the nikancha country to look for business opportunities. I didn't think I'd end up staying there for half a year."
The bottle of fruit wine was emptied after three full glasses. After finishing the last bit of wine, he smacked his lips and said, "You've got some good wine here."
Claude stretched his body on the chair to make himself more comfortable. "You know that these aren't my collection. They should've been collected by the previous owner of the manor. They're all mine now.
I don't really like alcohol and black tea is more refreshing for me.
You can pick some for yourself later. Consider it a gift from me. "
"Alright, it's not yours anyway. You don't have to feel bad about it.
I've already had my eyes on quite a few bottles of expensive fruit wine.
I've heard of them in the kingdom but never seen them before. I didn't think I'd get to see them here, so I won't hold back. "
Borkal pointed at the list Claude put on the table. "What are you going to do with the equipment?
I went to Port Vebator to take a look before I came back. They're mostly intact.
Now, they belong to our Wild Bull Trading Company. Are you going to sell them or leave them there? "
Claude tapped his middle finger on the table unhurriedly. After a moment of thought, he said, "Wild Bull Trading Company has shares in the logistics and intelligence department. I'll give you a sum of money to exchange for the equipment. This matter can't have anything to do with Wild Bull Trading Company.
I am now engaged to design and build a new rifle, which, like the revolver you received, fires a brass cartridge.
Things are progressing smoothly and we'll be able to see the prototype soon.
Originally, I was worried about how to mass-produce the new rifle. Now that I had this set of military firearms manufacturing machinery, it was a great help to me.
I'm planning to use this equipment to start a large firearms workshop in the colonies. Of course, I'll leave you a share in the military industry as a reward. I'll also try to rope in the higher-ups of the war theatre and have them become shareholders of the industry. "
Borkal nodded. He took out a thin copper plate from his pocket and placed it on the table. There was a picture of a bull's head engraved on it. "Alright, you can make the decision. I'll leave this batch of machinery to you.
This bronze plate is the proof of being in charge of Wild Bull Trading Company. Bring it to Port Vebator and look for the warehouse in the west. Everything inside will be handled by the bearer of the bronze plate. The same goes for the official in charge and his servant. "
"One more thing, you have to ask the official in charge about the names of the explorers and engineers who came to Port Vebator with him. It'd be best if you have a list.
Send someone to the nikancha country and see if there are any of these engineers and prospectors among the Shiksans who are mining gold and silver as captives.
If there are, think of a way to buy them back. They're all technicians and it'd be a waste to waste them in the mines.
Save them. I should be able to use them when I set up the firearms workshop. "
"No problem, but I have to help the nikancha nation's envoy settle the nikancha settlements in the three colonies first. I reckon I'll have to stay here for a while and won't be leaving right away."
Claude smiled bitterly. "It's fine. I'll have to spend some effort on the nikancha's migration too. I'll help them board the ships and transport them north. I'll take it slow for now.
As for this bronze plate, I'll give it to someone else to go to Port Vebator and have them inspect the equipment. I'll also choose a suitable location for the workshop in the colonies. "