Chapter 81: Mining

Back in the territory, Gwynnis immediately spread the word. Targas Territory is hiring, offering food and accommodation, two meals a day.

Soon, the news spread among the nearby famine-stricken population. Houses and food stores burned, fields destroyed, the displaced villagers, with their families in tow, limped their way to Targas. Any job would do; they just sought a daily meal.

Watching the continuous influx of famine-stricken people into the territory, Gwynnis smiled. As a civilized and respected noble, one can't simply go and snatch what's needed. Stealing is uncouth, and it tarnishes one's reputation. But borrowing is fine.

Everyone faces difficulties at times; borrowing a little something is not shameful. As long as there's a plan to return it, all is well. With this mindset, the construction of Gwynnis's mine officially began.

Initially, Gwynnis selected experienced craftsmen from the slaves from Wendemir. After discussions with them, a preliminary plan for the mine construction was formulated. The number of famine-stricken people coming from various places reached about 2000, far exceeding Gwynnis's expectations. However, among them, only about two-thirds were physically capable of working.

This was just the first batch; as the news spread, more people were expected to arrive. Along with the 1000 people exchanged from Harrod by Gwynnis, under the supervision of Cedus, they were taken to the iron mine in the forest, where they started working.

Some chopped wood, others used wood frames and straw to build hundreds of crude huts, providing shelter. Under the guidance of experienced workers, they worked cooperatively.

As it was a shallow iron vein on the surface, the miners didn't need to dig holes with shovels; they just had to pick up the ore scattered on the ground. Various-sized reddish-brown stones were scattered on the ground. People either pushed small carts or carried woven baskets, collecting the ore, completing their task.

Despite the simplicity of obtaining these ores, they were of high quality, with an average iron content reaching sixty to seventy percent—excellent quality hematite.

Next, the workers built a rectangular furnace on flat ground, pouring pre-burned charcoal into the bottom and placing the ore on top. Igniting the charcoal, they used bellows to inject air and added fuel. The reduction process of the ore began.

After a whole day and night of refining, when the furnace fire gradually extinguished, workers would break the furnace wall, scrape away the surface charcoal residue, and pull out the melted sponge iron at the bottom.

This marked the entire iron-smelting cycle. The process was complex, requiring constant attention to furnace temperature, air, and fuel supply. Each smelting required the construction of a disposable earthen furnace. Nevertheless, no matter how complicated it was, the first batch of sponge iron was successfully refined in Targas.

The porous sponge iron needed further heating and forging by blacksmiths to be transformed into weapons. However, this was not the concern of the miners. Gwynnis would arrange for craftsmen to set up a temporary blacksmith workshop nearby to process the sponge iron into weapons or tools before shipping them out.

As the entire mining site busied itself, the neighboring noble neighbors, having heard the wind, came knocking. Their appearance caused a momentary panic among the workers. Some thought of running away, some tried to hide, while others desperately pretended to continue working as if nothing had happened.

Of course, Gwynnis was prepared for this. With his people, he went forward to welcome them.

So, several noble families joined forces and brought over three hundred castle guards to confront Gwynnis's two hundred people on the scene. The noble coalition appeared serious, seemingly ready to resort to force at the slightest provocation. On Gwynnis's side, however, a faint smile played on his face.

"Gwynnis Ventalin, what are you doing?!" The leading baron shouted from atop his horse.

These nobles had suffered heavily from the Havdan raids. Villages and fields were destroyed, and the castle's food supplies were nearly depleted. Helpless, they had to drive their subjects away, letting them fend for themselves. However, even so, these subjects were still considered their property, and they couldn't allow outsiders to take them away for personal use.

"Long time no see, my dear neighbors," Gwynnis greeted.

"As you can see, I am coordinating your subjects to work, mining ore to earn a meager profit. Of course, I regret not informing you in advance; it was my negligence."

Gwynnis admitted openly. He confessed to recruiting subjects from other nobles for work without any intention of hiding it. In fact, the whole process of spreading the news and arranging for the famine-stricken people to work was done openly in broad daylight, without any attempt at secrecy.

The noble accusers were momentarily dumbfounded. He admitted it so readily?

To be honest, these nobles were well aware of the current situation. They couldn't afford to sustain their subjects, and with homes and food supplies burnt or looted during the Havdan incursions, leaving the subjects in the territory would mean their certain demise. Foraging for wild vegetables and fruits wouldn't sustain everyone. Even if they endured until the end, a large number of subjects would likely starve.

In this situation, they had no solution other than seeking food locally. But in the current circumstances, almost no noble in the western part of the Earl's domain had enough surplus to help others. They were short of food themselves. Trying to travel further, whether borrowing or buying, wasn't feasible within the limited time.

It's essential to note that, in this era, travel was extremely inconvenient. When Count Osborn tried to march his army from the eastern demesne to the western Wendemir City to join the noble coalition, it took nearly a month, and transporting a large amount of food faced similar challenges. Moreover, during this period of widespread famine, there was a considerable risk associated with large convoys transporting food.

Hence, any attempt to secure food supplies had to be localized. The subjects of each noble were essentially at a dead end.

At this critical juncture, the nobles received news that Baron Targas suddenly started recruiting people for work, offering food and shelter. Famine-stricken people from various territories rushed there, and some territories even emptied out. This naturally made the nobles anxious.

As a result, some nobles with relatively good relationships united and came to demand an explanation.

However, everyone assumed that Gwynnis Ventalin would engage in some verbal wrangling, claiming that these people originally belonged to his territory and were not outsiders, spinning tales to avoid responsibility.

Little did they expect that he would readily admit it. What was he up to? Was he intending to start a direct confrontation?