Although the other party didn't want the gypsum mine, they still sent more people to guard it, clearly showing how much they valued the silver mine. And who wouldn't value silver?
If I were to go there now to dig for plaster or try to buy it, they definitely wouldn't agree; they would think I was trying to rob a silver mine.
"Andrew, what should we do if I want to take over that place?" Ed was preparing to seize it.
"My lord, there are about thirty guards in the valley, each with a longsword. Our guard team is not yet fully recruited. If we have twenty men, we can launch a surprise attack with arrows from the front, and then rush down to control the guards. It should be easy to take the valley. The only problem is that the miners are difficult to control. If chaos breaks out, many of them will definitely escape."
Yes, none of them can escape. Those who don't surrender will be dealt with on the spot, and those who surrender will become workers on the spot.
Taking it might be easy, but holding it is not so simple. What if the enemy also launches a surprise attack on you? How will you defend?
Mining isn't something that can be done in a day or two; staying there long-term is quite troublesome. There aren't many people in the territory to begin with, so there aren't enough extra people to guard it.
What to do? Ed had wanted to take over that valley before, but now he thought that not only would he need people to guard it, but his own logistics couldn't keep up. Going there by land was definitely not feasible now, as the journey was too long and it would be difficult to transport the ore back.
The only way to transport the ore back is by ship, and the ships need to be quite large. We can't just stay there indefinitely; we have to mine some, transport it back, and then mine more. It's really troublesome, and they might attack again.
Should we give up and search elsewhere? Ed looked at everyone and asked, "This ore is very important. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"My lord, we don't actually need to occupy that place. We can rob the mines they've already dug. Anyway, I heard from Cedar that the lord is a cruel man," Andrew suggested, standing up.
Upon hearing this, Ed suddenly realized he had misunderstood. He didn't have the strength to take over the mining operation, but he could sabotage it! He could rob the mines they had already dug, then ship them back. Besides, Cedar knew one of the miners, so he could see if they could coordinate an inside-outside operation to bring those miners to his side to mine iron ore. The more Ed thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Hahaha, this plan is simply brilliant!
"Yes, Andrew's idea is excellent. Let's do it this way. Go find Roderick tomorrow and have him start building some large ships and repairing the current small ones."
"Fir Tree, would your companion be willing to work in our territory? If he is, he can ask the people who mine with him. I will provide the same food as you."
"My lord, I believe they will be more than happy to work for you. You don't need to worry about that at all. You just need to control the guards, and the others will be happy to come to your territory." Cedar was still worried about how to bring Elm to the territory, but now that the lord had spoken personally, he felt much more at ease. The environment, work, and food in Gray Castle Territory were simply too good to be found anywhere else.
"Well, you can't be careless either. Next time you go, you should communicate with your previous companions in advance." Ed looked at the somewhat excited Shan Shu and reminded him not to be careless.
"Yes, my lord. I will discuss it with him in advance."