Chapter 485 Berenberg

Although Odaye was promoted to a hereditary noble, he actually relied on his own strong financial resources. He himself had no military merits and no prestige among his soldiers.

Due to the tradition of conferring titles for military merits in the Kingdom of Harland, hereditary nobles like Odaye were actually discriminated against by the aristocracy. Although he was also a veteran of the First Squadron, it was difficult for him to get the respect he deserved in the social life of the nobles.

At every large-scale noble banquet, he would encounter people who insulted and ridiculed him. This feeling of being discriminated against made Odaye humiliated.

However, in order to protect his family wealth, Odaye needed a noble identity very much. The family foundation he created was frivolous, and he needed to maintain relationships in all aspects to hold on.

Over the years of being conferred titles, the only people who could bring him comfort were Immorton, who was also a capitalist noble, and his old comrades in the First Squadron.

When Odaye encountered some difficulties, it was usually the people of the First Squadron who resolved the conflicts for him. With Jennings, Sura and others coming forward to protect him, he would not be bullied.

The First Squadron was the core of the Harland infantry and had a very glorious war history. There are six hereditary nobles from this squadron: Martin, Jennings, Lost, Sura, Levin, and Odaye.

The six hereditary nobles come from the same squadron, which shows the strong record and long history of this squadron.

The army is different from government units. There are special rules inside, and they are very protective of the outside world, especially old comrades with the same experience, and the relationship is extremely deep.

For example, Odaye and Sura are true friends of life and death.

It was with the support of Sura, Jennings and others that Odaye's business became bigger and bigger, and he became a big capitalist. Then he used his strong financial resources to recruit mercenaries, fight against the undead to obtain soul crystals, and successfully became a knight in the north of Prilan.

However, because Odaye did not fight on the front line, he actually had no prestige among the recruited mercenaries. Talented and ambitious mercenaries also left the mercenary group created by Odaye, unwilling to work for him. Odaye's subordinates were basically mediocre people.

After thirty years of development, the Harland family naturally cannot be united among the vassal nobles. Because of interests, origins, and native places, they are divided into different small groups.

The most numerous and powerful one is Count Romen. Count Romen's supporters are mainly traditional nobles of the Black River Province, and there are more than thirty of them in total.

Then there is Viscount Belani of the Province of Prilan. Most of his nobles come from gangs and mercenaries on the East Coast. Up to now, there are more than a dozen hereditary nobles who have a close relationship with Viscount Belani.

The nobles who like to exclude and humiliate Odaye are mainly the above two groups.

The six nobles of the first squadron are also a small group. Because of the relationship between comrades, they are more closely united. Their relationship with the royal family is also deeper than that of the Black River nobles and Prilan nobles.

With such a background, Odaye has developed faster than his old friend Imhotun.

Imhotun's background is relatively simple. He was originally a famous businessman in Black River Castle and had some friendship with Lady Ola and Rand.

Imhotun's biggest background is his uncle Kane, who once served as the captain of the Northern Army. His status is similar to Richard's uncle Rand, and he is Kane's money bag.

When William was promoted to hereditary nobles, Imhotun once lent Richard a sum of money.

Because of business dealings, Imhotun began to act as an agent for the goods of Harland Territory, and gradually made very lucrative profits. As the Northern Army moved to the south, Imhotun began to separate from his uncle and immigrated to Harland Territory. In the following years, Imhotun caught up with the opening of the industry and opened a flour mill with Odaye, making excess profits.

Although Imhotun became a hereditary noble, he was severely excluded by the upper class. The flour mill he opened not only could not enter the territory of hereditary nobles, but also could not get the respect of officials with noble status in the territory directly under the Harland royal family. Competing with Imhotun for the market often costs more.

If the state-owned flour mills were not very slow and could not compete with private capital, Imhotun's flour mills would hardly be so prosperous.

With the establishment of the Kingdom of Harland, the local flour manufacturing industry has become saturated, and the profit of the flour mill has fallen to 20%.

For this reason, Odaye decided to enter the Rex Province to investigate the market and see if a factory could be relocated to Rex Province.

Unexpectedly, he met his old comrades on the steamship, which undoubtedly made Odaye very happy.

When people get old, they often miss the past and cherish the feelings of their youth.

Odaye and Behrens are not from the same batch of soldiers. Odaye joined Harland in the spring of 3253 in the Dawn Calendar and was the earliest batch of soldiers in Harland. He was a soldier of the same year as Sura, Jennings, Perrin, and Darcy, and Martin was their first squadron leader. At that time, even Richard participated in training with Odaye and others, and sometimes lived in the same military tent.

Behrens joined Harland in the winter of 3254 in the Dawn Calendar and was considered the third batch of soldiers in Harland. Although the two were from the same squadron at the time, they did not actually have a deep friendship.

Their encounter was when they participated in the Orc invasion war in 3255. In that brutal war, both Odaye and Berens were lucky enough to save their lives.

In the following twenty years, the two had different experiences.

Odaye was not very talented. He was seriously injured while practicing breathing techniques. He retired from active service and went to the military uniform factory to recuperate. However, Berens stood out in the army and was promoted to a professional officer. In the following ten years, Berens developed very well in the army. He was successfully promoted to a third-level professional, served as a deputy captain, and entered Richard's sight.

If the previous ten years were used as a standard, Berens was far more successful than Odaye.

Unfortunately, fate is unpredictable. Odaye met the noble man in his life when he was at his lowest. His old comrade Sura was righteous and lent Odaye a huge sum of money to let him open a restaurant and hotel. With the economic boom and population growth in Fort William, Odaye earned the first pot of gold in his life.

After that, Odaye raised a huge amount of money and entered the flour processing industry. He soon raised his net worth to 100,000 gold coins and became a big capitalist in Harland.

Berens had very bad luck. He was seriously injured in the Orc War in 3264 of the Dawn Calendar. He retired from the military and returned to the countryside.

Berens earned a salary of about 300 gold coins in the military for many years, which was considered a rare rich man in the countryside. After retiring, he also had a very generous pension and a special background of the First Squadron. Although he was also considered a middle-level person in Harland Territory, he was no longer comparable to Odaye who made a fortune in business.

With Odaye's success in being ennobled, the status of the two people changed fundamentally and they were no longer in the same class.

Odaye grew from a small business to become a successful businessman. His approachable personality and high affinity were also very important reasons. When he met his old comrade, Odaye was very excited to talk. The two recalled the past and were extremely excited. Their thoughts seemed to have returned to the terrible war they experienced as recruits 27 years ago.

"Please forgive me, dear Baron. I am too excited." Berens wiped his wet eyes, held Odaye's hands tightly and said, "My hometown is on the East Coast. I was originally a free man. More than 30 years ago, because I couldn't pay back the usury, my father sold me to a slave trader. From then on, I became a slave and lost my freedom.

At that time, my life was a mess, there was no hope in life, and I couldn't see a way out. It was the great King Richard who rescued me from the slave market, taught me breathing techniques, helped me find the direction in life, and had an ideal to fight for.

Now 28 years have passed, I have already After retiring from the army, my eldest son inherited my career and became a squadron leader in the army. His career level caught up with my footsteps. He made up for my regrets. My second son also went to school and became a skilled worker with a relatively high salary. My youngest son is the smartest and has good grades. He has been admitted as a civil servant. My only daughter also married the son of an old comrade-in-arms and lives a very happy life. The children have grown up and no longer need me to worry about them.

Now I am old and my wife has passed away. I am ready to return to my hometown and retire on this land. I didn’t expect to meet my old comrades on the ship. How happy it is. "

Odaye listened carefully to Berens's chattering and consoled him: "We are only in our fifties, and we still have 20 to 30 years of life, so we are not too old. Compared with the life when we were young, we should be satisfied.

Berens, you immigrated here, and your children are all in the native land. If something happens, who can take care of you?"

"In fact, I still have many relatives from my hometown living in Rex Province, such as my younger brother. He is still alive, but his whole family are indentured servants, and my sister also married to Vidora. They all live in poverty. My return to my hometown will be a great help to their lives."

Hearing this, Odaye He nodded and said, "Berens, it seems that you often communicate with your relatives here. How is the economic development here? If I open a flour mill here, will there be a market and sales?"

"The serfs here live in poverty. Although His Majesty the King has issued a decree to liberate serfs, at least in the next five years, the vast majority of the population in this province will not have the ability to consume. In the entire Rex Province, only hundreds of thousands of free people and a small number of nobles have the ability to consume. If you want to open a flour mill, the market is far less than that of the local area."

Since Odaye decided to move a flour mill to Rex Province, he had already done research.

Rex Province is a populous province. Even if it only serves nobles and free people, there are still hundreds of thousands of consumers. Moreover, the Kingdom of Harland and the Kingdom of Sis have signed a peace agreement. There is no shortage of markets and sales for doing business in the Kingdom of Sis.

In a short period of time, the markets of Rex Province and the Kingdom of Sis are sufficient to absorb a large amount of production capacity.

Opening a factory in Rex Province first will make it easier to take root in this land and occupy the market. Opening a factory in the province of Rex is a crucial step for Odaye to expand his capital.

Once Odaye monopolizes this market, he will be able to surpass Immorton in the market.

Although Odaye disagreed with what Berens said, he nodded on the surface. Although he became a hereditary noble, he still behaved like a businessman. As a businessman, being eloquent and smooth-talking almost became his instinct, and his aggressiveness was far less than that of a military noble.

After meeting his old friend, Odaye and Berens talked with interest all the way. They reluctantly parted until they got off the ship.

Odaye planned to open a flour mill in Berensburg.

Berlenburg is a very important castle in the Rex Province, located on the north bank of the Maya River, with a total population of about 60,000.

Berlenburg was originally the capital of the Duke of Beren, with two legions of soldiers stationed all year round, and a population of more than 200,000 near the castle. With the entry of the Harland army, the garrison of Berlenburg was disbanded. Without the garrison and the garrison's family, and the loss of part of the population due to the escape of the Duke of Beren's family, Berlenburg now has only 60,000 people.

With a population of 60,000, Berlenburg is already the third largest city in the Rex Province. The key reason why Odaye is going to open a factory in Berlenburg is that it is close to the main wheat producing area in the Rex Province. Of course, the densely populated area of ​​​​Berlenburg and the very low labor price are also very important factors.

After arriving in Berlenburg, Odaye went directly to the local county magistrate Idar.

The administrative system of Harland Territory is divided into five levels: province, county, county, township, and village. The county magistrate is already a middle- and high-level cadre.

There are only nine provinces and dozens of counties in a land of more than 1.5 million square kilometers. To be able to climb to the position of county governor, both ability and background are desirable.

Idar has a special relationship with Odaye and Behrens. His father is also an old comrade of Odaye and others, but he was unlucky and died at the hands of orcs in 3255 of the Dawn Calendar.

At that time, Idar was less than ten years old, and the economy of Harland Territory had not yet developed. The amount of pensions was relatively small, and life was still very difficult.

Martin, the captain of the first squadron, mobilized his comrades in the first squadron to raise funds and took out part of the money to help these orphans and widows.

After Odaye became rich, he also maintained this relationship, donating a considerable amount of money every year to help take care of the orphans of the first squadron who died and were disabled. Although Odaye and Idar are not familiar with each other, they can still build a relationship with the golden signboard of the first squadron.

Besides, Odaye came to Behrens County to invest, which is a win-win for both parties. The factory plan was successful, Idar achieved political success, and Odaye also received local care. He chose to locate the factory near Belém Castle, and Idar's background was also a key factor.

Before investing, Odaye had had many conversations with Idar and roughly agreed on the terms.

The signing of the contract this time was actually just a matter of going through the procedures, and the process was very simple.