In the Garson family's fief, a huge manor, Galen sat in the reception hall, waiting for the arrival of the manor's owner.
The architectural style of the manor was the same as that of Stromgarde, inheriting the architectural style of the Arathor Empire from thousands of years ago. It was simple on the outside and bright, open, and comfortable on the inside. Most of the building materials used were simply processed and carved century-old logs and rocks into squares.
Behind Galen stood Gandalf, Omar, and Kimir Garson. Varokal, Fardel, and Flair led their troops to camp outside the manor.
Kimir was ordering the servants of the manor to entertain His Royal Highness the Prince.
Galen and his group left Stromgarde and arrived at Garson Manor in the afternoon. The manor was busy preparing the banquet hall, waiting to hold a banquet to welcome Galen in the evening. Seeing that it was still early and some of the nobles were still on their way, Galen invited the heads of the three families, Dabyrie, Newo , and Garson, to discuss matters in the reception hall first.
After a while, Earl Dabyre, Viscount Newo , and Viscount Garson entered the reception hall together. The three of them passed through Earl Dabyrie's portal and arrived at the manor shortly after Galen's ceremony, and then Baron Garson began to arrange the preparations for the banquet.
The nobles of the Kingdom of Stromgarde could be roughly divided into two categories.
The first category was the first generation of nobles, including the ancestors of the Trollbane family. They were lords of the Arathi Highlands granted by Emperor Thoradin during the era of the Arathi Empire a thousand years ago. They were powerful nobles with territories and common soldiers.
After Trollbane became a royal family, the most powerful noble among this type was the Marquis of Northford, who possessed the precious land of Northford Farm.
The second category was the nobles to whom the Trollbane royal family granted fiefs. After the division of the Arathor Empire, most of the lords went to the wealthy north, while the last descendants of Thoradin went to the south of the continent and established a kingdom in Elwynn Forest.
Almost nine out of ten houses in the Arathi Highlands were empty, and not many citizens remained in Stromgarde. The commander of the Stromgarde Guard at that time, Duke Trollbane, a general of the Arathi Empire, was unwilling to give up Stromgarde and vowed to protect it. The warriors under his command were also willing to follow the Trollbane family.
After Stromgarde was renamed Fort Stromgarde, a new kingdom was born. In order to reclaim uninhabited land and consolidate the rule of the Trollbane family, a new round of enfeoffment began. Newly enfeoffed large agricultural lords, such as Earl Dabyrie and Viscount Newo , gathered under the banner of Trollbane and became the backbone of the Stromgarde Kingdom's government.
It could be said that the families, including Earl Dabyrie, who would discuss matters with Galen later, were all members of the royal group, so Galen chose them to cooperate in the development of the mine.
If Galen had chosen the Marquis of Northford, not only would his father Thoras be upset, but also the coffins of all the ancestors of the Trollbane family would not be able to contain it, and they would resurrect and strangle Galen, the unfilial descendant, at any moment.
To put it bluntly, the king in this era was the most powerful among the nobles, the head of the nobility respected by all noble lords, so he had an additional title: king.
Nowadays, the Trollbane family was the only powerful family in the Kingdom of Stromgarde, and their suppression of Northfold, which was also the first generation of nobles, was the result of the efforts of generations of Trollbanes.
In Thora´s generation, the kingdom's population and military strength increased significantly, almost reaching the Kingdom of Gilneas, which ranked third. Galen also wanted to develop Stromgarde, so he would not feel uncomfortable giving Northford a chance to increase its strength.
Galen didn't have to wait too long. Earl Dabyrie and Viscount Newo entered the reception hall led by Viscount Garson.
A new round of transactions was about to begin. Galen had the mining rights but lacked time. He wanted some money to recharge the base instead of slowly collecting ore. Several nobles were willing to contract the mining area with gold coins. They had the time and channels to transform the ore into gold coins, and the profits were huge.
The two sides got along well from the start.
"Your Highness, the three of us have discussed it and decided to jointly invest in restoring the mine's production, recruiting miners, and purchasing mining tools and equipment. We will also be responsible for protecting the mine. Your Highness only needs to send your Scarlet Flame to help us repel the trolls when they harass us."
"We will give you 50,000 gold coins at once, and you will receive 30% of the mine's annual income."
The person who spoke was Viscount Garson, the owner of the manor and Kimir's father. His family owned a mine, and he had more say in the mining matter than the other two, so he spoke first.
Whether it was out of loyalty to the royal family or out of trust in the prince after seeing the military parade, the conditions they offered were already full of sincerity.
But Galen felt that the upfront cash was too little, so even if the annual share was smaller, he would still get more gold coins.
"Well, if you can gather 100,000 gold coins for me, I can take 10% less of the annual share. You know that Scarlet Flame has just been established, and I still have to develop the southern mining area. I don't have extra money to cover these expenses."
After obtaining permission from Thoras, Galen investigated the output of the southeastern mining area in previous years, so Galen proposed the condition of 100,000 gold coins.
The three nobles reopened the northern mining area. The initial investment in personnel, equipment, and guards, plus the 100,000 gold coins to contract the mine, could recover the costs in the first year, making it a very profitable business.
The three nobles looked at each other, and finally Earl Dabyrie agreed to Galen's request, "Deal, Your Highness, you can wait in the manor for a few days. We need time to collect the gold coins."
"I will wait here for a few days, Viscount Garson. Please help me prepare provisions for a thousand men for half a month. Everything needed can be deducted from the 100,000 gold coins."
"It's a minor matter, Your Highness. The banquet is already prepared. Your Highness, please come to dinner later."
"Please prepare a room for me. I will go after changing my clothes."
"Alright, Your Highness, please follow me."
A large-scale transaction was negotiated in the reception hall. Both parties were sincere and willing to give up part of their interests. It was more of a political transaction than a commercial one.
If the 100,000 gold coins were recharged into the base, 200,000 units of gold could be obtained. Of course, it was impossible for Galen to recharge them all at once, which was inconsistent with Galen's concept of comprehensive development. However, the base was the main productive force, and most of it was still used for base construction.
The banquet that night was boring for Galen, but he had just finished discussing business and had to give the Garson family face. The young ladies from various noble families were young and beautiful, but they didn't have much appeal to Galen.
Although his body was twelve years old, he had already reached an age of capability. After all, his soul was also quite old. He could control himself and not become a beast chasing hormones and shaking the lower half of his body.
After dinner, Galen returned to the room prepared by Viscount Garson. The troops would rest here for a few days and wait for the gold coins to be collected.