Chapter 162: Refining White Sugar
Holding the weapon known as a musket, Edrick felt his thoughts churn.
He understood exactly how formidable it was. If an entire army could be equipped with muskets, its combat strength would become terrifying.
Compared with bows, muskets were lighter and required far less effort to use. A soldier could also carry large quantities of powder and ammunition, something archers could never match.
The most frightening part was that anyone could learn to use a musket in very little time and still unleash astonishing killing power.
For an age of cold weapons, that was brutally unfair.
Flintlock muskets were very different from modern firearms. The weapons Caelum could currently produce were still early muzzle loading smoothbore guns. Both the powder and the shot had to be inserted through the muzzle and pushed down the barrel.
The flint would then strike a spark and ignite the powder.
As a result, their rate of fire was slow.
A skilled user could fire two or three shots per minute. Someone exceptionally proficient might manage five, but that was already the limit. If too little powder was loaded, the shot would also lose much of its power.
The solution was not difficult.
A measured amount of powder and a bullet only needed to be wrapped together in oiled paper. This was known as a prepared paper cartridge.
In simple terms, it was a bullet packaged with a fixed powder charge.
Edrick said with barely contained excitement, "My lord, with these muskets, our fighting strength can increase enormously in a very short time!"
"That is exactly why I called you here."
Caelum continued, "We must organize firearms training and marksmanship drills. However, these weapons are far too dangerous. If even one is secretly taken and hidden away, the consequences could be disastrous."
Edrick understood immediately.
"My lord means that the muskets and powder should be kept under the strict control of me and the personal guard, and no one else may touch them outside of training?"
"Exactly."
Caelum patted Edrick on the shoulder.
"You are the only person I trust with this. Every bullet and every pinch of powder must be accounted for."
"Rest assured, my lord. I will not fail you."
Edrick accepted the order solemnly.
With that, musket training and shooting drills began in secret.
Under the personal guard’s strict supervision, the soldiers in the stronghold started taking part in regular covert training.
Since there were still very few muskets, and supplies of powder and ammunition were limited, the soldiers had to take turns. Each man could fire no more than two shots in a single training session.
Even so, the new recruits had already gained a major increase in combat ability.
Once the supply of firearms caught up, they would quickly become a formidable fighting force.
That day, Caelum summoned Torran again.
"Torran greets you, my lord."
Torran grew uneasy once more.
He wondered whether the Garrison Commander had changed his mind and decided to seize the rest of his goods after all.
Caelum asked, "Torran, does your caravan carry cane sugar?"
Torran flinched.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and admitted honestly, "I do have some cane sugar. If it pleases you, my lord, I can hand it over at once..."
Cane sugar was unquestionably a luxury in this era.
An ordinary household in the Grand Concord Dynasty earned only seven or eight hundred Coppers in an entire year. Even after pinching every coin, most families would not dare buy cane sugar even once.
That alone showed how expensive it was.
If Caelum truly confiscated the shipment, Torran would be devastated.
Caelum cut him off and asked, "What is the price of cane sugar in the Grand Concord Dynasty?"
"Two hundred Coppers per pound."
"And white sugar?"
"One thousand six hundred Coppers per pound."
Torran was a merchant and knew the prices of such luxuries by heart. The answers came instantly.
White sugar cost exactly eight times as much as cane sugar.
The Grand Concord Dynasty lacked the means to refine large quantities of white sugar quickly. As a result, production remained extremely low and prices stayed high.
The listed market price might be one thousand six hundred Coppers per pound, but the supply was so scarce that even those with money could not always find any.
In practice, the true price was often even higher.
Torran had always wanted to trade in white sugar, but it was far too precious. Even when he wished to buy it, he had no access to a reliable source.
As he wondered what Caelum intended, Caelum spoke plainly.
"What if I told you I can refine white sugar? Would you buy it from me?"
Torran froze.
Then delight surged across his face.
"My lord, do you truly mean that? If you can refine white sugar, I will buy as much as you can produce!"
A vast fortune had fallen into his lap without warning.
Torran had never expected to encounter such an opportunity here. He had searched everywhere for a source of white sugar, only for one to appear before him with no effort at all.
He finally had a way into the trade.
"Then it is settled."
Caelum said, "From now on, you will bring me sugarcane. I will refine it into white sugar, and you will purchase the finished product. However, I will only accept part of the payment in goods."
"No problem. Absolutely no problem."
Torran asked eagerly, "What goods do you require, my lord?"
"Saltpeter, sulfur, flint, iron, oiled paper, cotton, and similar materials."
"No problem, my lord. Leave it to me. I will make sure it is done."
With that, the white sugar deal was settled.
Caelum had little trust in Torran.
This was simply a transaction in which both sides gained what they needed.
Torran wanted profit, while Caelum wanted access to resources.
There was no way he could advance the technology tree by relying only on this impoverished mountain stronghold.
Caelum had no intention of returning to Westbarrow either. Doing so would only expose them to more raids from Thalric.
More importantly, if they returned to Westbarrow, the soldiers under Caelum would once again be recognized as garrison troops.
That would place them under the control and restrictions of the Grand Concord court, which would be extremely harmful to his future plans and development.
Because of this, Caelum ordered the stronghold renamed Newhaven to strengthen everyone’s sense of belonging.
Newhaven’s regular defense force was named the Wardens, while his personal guard became the Household Guard.
Calling a few hundred men an army was admittedly a little ambitious.
Still, Caelum estimated that he would soon expand the Wardens to several thousand men.
By then, the name would fit.
Several days later, Torran left Newhaven with his caravan.
Caelum sent soldiers to escort them out and gave one special instruction.
"Thalric has raided the Grand Concord frontier. There will certainly be many displaced people. If you encounter any, bring as many of them back to Newhaven as possible."
"Understood, my lord."
Sure enough, after escorting Torran away, the Wardens returned in a long procession with several hundred civilians.
Many of them were skilled craftsmen.
Most importantly, among the people they brought back was a blacksmith who also knew how to survey for mineral veins.
Under Caelum’s orders, the blacksmith led Newhaven’s existing smiths and apprentices into the surrounding mountains.
If they could locate a mineral deposit, that would naturally be ideal.
While acquiring resources from outside, Caelum was also looking for ways to make Newhaven self sufficient.
Otherwise, once war truly began, few traveling merchants would dare risk delivering supplies to them.
