The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 967 The Core of the Lagrang Kingdom!

"Huh? Then how do we make a profit? Aren't both coarse salt and white salt products of alchemy?" Nyx was stunned. How high is the cost of coarse salt? Sell it cheaper than coarse salt? Even in the Imperial era, they probably wouldn't dare to do that, right?
“Hmm, I have a method here. You can forward it to Yunfeng and have him implement it!” Roland wrote down the method of boiling salt and filtering it with charcoal on a piece of paper and handed it to Nyx.

"Will this work? Dissolve it? Boil it with salt? Won't that just boil it away?" Nyx was stunned. Had her husband been possessed? What nonsense was he spouting?

"Let Yunfeng give it a try. We'll know if it works or not after a test!" Roland said calmly. After all, the salt produced in this way was already quite refined. As long as the steps were not done incorrectly, there should be no problem.

Thankfully, the salt mines in Palembang are all of excellent quality, and there have never been any toxic salt veins. Otherwise, filtering and utilizing them would be a nightmare! Although it's coarse salt, at least it's not toxic.

……

"Take a look at His Majesty's plan!" Yun Feng handed the letter from Lagrange City to Marquis Al-Tegran Franz, asking for his opinion.

"Is this okay? It doesn't seem very reliable," Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz asked Yunfeng, pointing to the words on the sign.

"Which ones are you referring to? If it's a method for making salt, that should be feasible: dissolving, filtering, and purifying... Hmm? Why hasn't anyone thought of these things before?" Yun Feng said, resting his chin on his hand in deep thought.

“Your Excellency has gone off-topic…” Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz said helplessly.

“Oh! Right! You should analyze His Majesty’s unique foreign trade policy! See if it’s worthwhile, after all, when it comes to making money, it’s your Franz family who should be in charge!” Yun Feng nodded to him.

“Small profits but quick turnover? That certainly has potential! However, there are three important issues that need to be addressed! If these issues cannot be resolved, then there is no point in discussing them!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz said decisively after careful consideration.

"Tell me about it!" Yun Feng said seriously.

"First! How can cheap salt be supplied? Without a complete supply chain, the so-called low-profit, high-volume strategy is just a castle in the air! Second, the so-called low-profit, high-volume strategy requires trade routes and market support. If trade routes cannot be opened, talking about this is just nonsense! Third, cheap salt will arouse the envy of many vested interests. How can we prevent and respond to the backlash from cutting off their source of income? Without absolute military force, this wealth cannot be protected!" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz calmly laid out three questions.

"Yes, that means we only need to solve the first resource problem!" Yun Feng nodded knowingly, instantly understanding the situation.

“Wait! Your Excellency the Chancellor, I want you to hear me clearly! There are three questions!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz declared.

“I know! But for Lagrange, it’s really just a problem, isn’t it?” Yun Feng smiled “kindly.”

"Problems that can be solved with force are far too simple! His Majesty isn't spending grain and dragon coins to support a ceremonial guard! An army only truly demonstrates its value when the wheels of war are in motion!" A glint of bloodlust flashed in Yun Feng's eyes. "Uh... excuse my bluntness, but what the Kingdom of Lagrange needs right now is to recuperate..." Marquis Al-Tegrange Franz offered his suggestion.

"It's the civilians who need rest, what does it have to do with the army?" Yun Feng said calmly.

"???" Al Tegrand Franz stared at Yun Feng in shock. What kind of nonsense are you spouting? The army doesn't need civilians? Powered by infinite magic crystals?

"The kingdom's situation is rather unique right now. The army's support is separate from that of the common people! King Roland is supporting the army with the royal treasury. Otherwise, do you think the current Kingdom of Lagrand can afford to support these soldiers?" Yun Feng sneered as he casually tossed the roster to Marquis Al-Tegran Franz.

"I see!" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz exclaimed in surprise. This made sense. No wonder the kingdom maintained tens of thousands of elite soldiers. The military and civilians were so formidable that Marquis Al-Tegran Franz was almost scared out of his wits. To call them warmongering was an understatement. However, as loyal dogs of the royal family, the Franz family would not question the king and could only silently do their job. Yun Feng had now cleared up Marquis Al-Tegran Franz's doubts.

"If it's from the royal treasury, then supporting these people isn't really that much!" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz nodded. The exact amount of money and grain in the Lagran Empire's royal treasury was unknown even to the emperors of each generation! It was the accumulation and effort of generations, and the emperor also possessed a bottomless storage artifact that, for millennia, had been like a greedy beast, devouring the entire empire's surplus! This accumulation was also a crucial part of the Empire's Fire Seed Plan!
"So, the plan is feasible?" A hint of interest and excitement flashed in Yun Feng's eyes.

“If that’s the case, then we’re not in a hurry to sell salt!” Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz said with relief.

"Why?" Yunfeng asked in return.

“The fact that the kingdom can support an army with its private treasury means that it doesn’t currently need to bear the financial burden of supporting the army, which gives it time to develop the kingdom!” Al-Tegran Franz analyzed.

"Foolish! Living off our savings is the choice of a fool! The royal treasury's reserves are for emergencies! Don't look at me like that! I know that the accumulated wealth of the royal family over the generations may be enough to support these soldiers for a lifetime! But we cannot develop such a habit! The right thing to do is to create a self-sustaining economic system within the kingdom!" Yun Feng said bluntly.

“But we can’t keep fighting like this…” Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz argued.

"The wheels of war never stop, and if there is any, it is only a temporary truce! The kingdom is in a very good position now. Instead of taking advantage of this opportunity to seize more benefits for the country, you are telling me to stop? Do the orcs and the Ringwraiths deserve it?" Yunfeng said solemnly.

“You’re developing, but others are developing too. The kingdom’s population means our war potential is limited in the short term. You want to become rich and powerful by accumulating strength? What we lack is time! The orcs and Ringwraiths won’t give it to us! Believe me, once the Chariot People catch their breath, they won’t let us go!” Yunfeng smiled.

“Military force is the core of the kingdom, and King Roland and I are well aware of this! We can slow down the pace of development, but we cannot let our horses rest and our weapons go into storage! The army cannot stop, otherwise the cost of recovery when they enter a state of war again will be too high!” Yun Feng waved his hand.

“This…” Al-Tegran Franz wanted to persuade him further.

"Don't worry, neither His Majesty nor I have any intention of sending out all our troops. Even when training soldiers, we will rotate them into shifts!" Yun Feng said.