British hegemon

Chapter 74 Revitalizing Industry and Commerce

In the study on the first floor of the Baron's castle, Baron John received Roger with a serious expression.

"If you delay for another two days, I'll go to Glasgow myself. The cargo on the Baron has been waiting for you for almost half a month." Baron John had already learned about Roger's various exploits on his southward voyage from the old sailor.

Baron John was genuinely embarrassed for his reckless nephew, but at the same time, he felt a little regretful. He thought he should have entrusted the Baron's ship to Roger to take with him on the Irish trade, as he could have made far more money that way than by selling it directly to Glasgow and Islay.

After a moment, Baron John finally showed a slightly warmer expression. "I tried the healing method you mentioned last time. Although it was all rather ingenious and quack techniques, it worked quite well. The arrow wound in my chest has stopped festering."

It turns out that Baron John was also a man who valued his life. Seeing that the "barber's" treatment was making the wound worse, he tried the treatment method that Roger had mentioned, and it really worked.

Roger thought to himself, if you keep letting that barber torment you, Arun Island will really have to change owners.

Thinking this to himself, he just mumbled a few words to brush it off.

"I heard you wiped out a group of pirates and even stole one of their Noor ships?" Baron John hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

He knew that Roger now owned a Noor ship and was interested in buying the Seawolf at a low price, but it was really difficult to say such things outright.

Roger also knew that Baron John coveted the Seawolf, which he had seized from Ulf. In their previous, less-than-pleasant conversations, Baron John had intentionally or unintentionally mentioned his willingness to buy the Seawolf.

But Roger couldn't possibly sell his cash cow. He replied, "Yes, I robbed a Noor ship. An Irish merchant offered to buy it for eighty pounds, but I refused."

"If you need it, Uncle, I'm willing to sell it to you for fifty pounds less."

Who would pay eighty pounds for a wrecked fishing boat? Roger's lie was both false and convincing, but it somehow shut Baron John up.

Baron John's expression stiffened for a moment, and the warmth he had just managed to muster gradually disappeared.

"Among those goods was a wooden crate containing wine, spices, and cloth. My aunt gave it to me before I left, asking me to bring it back for you," Roger changed the subject.

When the topic turned to family, Baron John's expression brightened, and the atmosphere eased a bit.

Taking advantage of the improved atmosphere, Roger presented his idea of ​​inviting Baron John to jointly invest in reopening the wool processing workshop on the Isle of Arun.

According to Roger's findings during his southward exploration, wool is currently the most important economic pillar for the northern countries, but the north usually only provides raw wool, while the actual wool processing is controlled by countries on the continent such as France.

Roger had inquired and found that the price of a bag of coarse wool, which was collected from various places and had not undergone simple sorting and processing, ranged from one pound and sixteen shillings to two pounds and ten shillings.

Selling it to my uncle Jeffrey only yielded three pounds and twelve shillings. This was under the condition that there were no tariffs on smuggling trade, so the profit was less than double, and the quantity of Northland wool was also limited.

However, wool that costs two pounds to buy is spun into cloth and then sold for ten pounds, a five-fold difference.

Bed sheets, curtains, tents, or clothing made from the same amount of fabric would cost three to five times more than the raw materials...

The profit margin between raw materials and finished products is simply too large.

The abandoned wool processing workshops around the large pond on the outskirts of Brodick town have not completely collapsed. With some investment of manpower and resources for repairs and the recruitment of workers, they can be put into production again, thus extending the industrial chain and increasing the added value of products.

With maritime trade on Aran Island currently in a slump, Roger hopes to gradually restore the island's former prosperity by revitalizing the wool processing industry.

Roger described his ideas to Baron John in a tone of earnest pleading, and said that he would not make any big mistakes, but would try to get a few abandoned workshops up and running first.

Baron John listened patiently to Roger's beautiful vision, feeling somewhat relieved. At least his nephew was still thinking about the revival of Aran Island, and that alone was enough to make him happy.

But as comforting as I was, I still had to throw cold water on my enthusiasm: "You think I didn't think about that? Not to mention the huge investment required to reopen the workshop, where will your processed wool products be sold? Ireland? England? Or France? They only need raw wool, not finished wool products."

"Even if you produce wool products, can you compete with those textile merchants in the south?"

"Perhaps you can sell it to Scotsmen or Norwegians, but who will help you sell it?"

"Not to mention that English wool products have swept across the North, almost monopolizing the supply of cloth."

"Those local lords alone are enough to give you trouble. They're starving. Aren't you just handing them over as lambs to the slaughter? They'll rip you off with their taxes." Baron John wasn't entirely without business acumen; he was telling the truth.

"Moreover, even Wallace is dead, and the English are about to take over Scotland, making trade with the North even more difficult in the future." Baron John had just learned of the tragic death of the hero Wallace.

Back when Wallace ambushed his enemy Fenwick at Mount Rhodes, Baron John was just Knight John. He had once passionately wanted to lead a few of his squires to join Wallace's forces, but was slapped back by Roger's grandfather.

As a staunch anti-British figure, Baron John also funded a batch of weapons and armor for Wallace's guerrilla forces.

Now that the Scottish nobles have surrendered one after another, and even the hero Wallace has been beheaded, Baron John cannot help but feel a pang of sadness and loss.

Baron John, who had already foreseen the impending demise of the Kingdom of Scotland, naturally had no interest in revitalizing the economy of the Isle of Arron.

This place will eventually be ruled by some great English nobleman, and all I can do is try to delay that day as much as possible.

Therefore, Baron John now places even greater emphasis on strengthening the army in preparation for the final fate.

But he was unaware that with Wallace's tragic death, an anti-British wave was about to sweep through Scotland, and English wool products would be driven out of Scotland along with English lords and merchants.

This will create a vacuum in the Scottish wool products market.

Even with a population of only 500,000, Scotland is still a lucrative market, enough to support the textile industry of several Isles of Arran, since cloth is a necessity.

Moreover, there are overseas markets such as Ireland, Norway, and Sweden, with a population of nearly two million, which also need wool products.

Roger had a general idea of ​​these historical events, but he couldn't reveal this to Baron John.

No matter how much they tried to persuade him, Baron John refused to reopen the workshop.

However, he eventually reluctantly agreed to rent out all seven or eight abandoned workshops around the large pond outside the town to Roger for the incredibly low price of three pounds a year.

Roger used whichever ones he liked, since they were just sitting there useless anyway.

Roger originally intended to buy the two abandoned workshops for twenty or thirty pounds, but Baron John couldn't bear to see his whimsical nephew get stuck in the mud, so he only rented them and didn't buy them. The rent would be calculated when Roger officially reopened the workshops.

This is consistent with Roger's current financial situation. The money he borrowed from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce is neither a small amount nor a large amount. Combined with his recent earnings and the currency taxes of Milk House Manor, Milk House Manor's treasury holds only a little over one hundred and thirty pounds.

With winter approaching, he needed to set aside at least fifty pounds to build a reliable armed force.

The remaining money should be prioritized for the salt production business, which has a short investment cycle, mature sales channels, and fast capital return.

Therefore, the wool processing industry really needs to be put on the back burner, at least until the salt production business has broken even and become profitable before large-scale investment can be made.

After finalizing the workshop matter, Roger consulted John about expanding the salt-making workshop on the salt flats, as that would be a big business, and at least the approval of the ruler of Arran Island was needed.

Holly Island is part of Milk House Estates, and Baron John did not intend to interfere too much. After agreeing on the tax amount, he once again advised Roger not to put too much energy into these purely mundane affairs, lest he lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small things, and that a lord cannot replace a steward.

Roger looked like he had learned something.

At the end of the conversation, Baron John reminded Roger again to intensify his training, as a grand tournament would be held on Arran Island in mid-October, and the news had already spread, attracting knights and warriors from all over to participate.

Roger had no interest in the jousting tournament, but he remembered that Baron John had mentioned that the rules for the tournament on Arlen Island had been changed, allowing many warriors in addition to knights to participate.

The so-called warriors ranged from high-end to mid-range, including the sons of nobles and gentry, to mid-range, mercenaries and retainers with some martial arts skills, and low-end, including bandits, ruthless thugs, or daring and strong local ruffians.

Baron John's open-minded approach to recruiting talent piqued Roger's interest, and he too considered using the martial arts tournament to recruit a reliable group of men...