Struggle in the Steam Age

The Cruz Islands allocated to Lawrence this time is one of the closest islands to New Sauer Island. Its main island, Cruz Island, has an area of ​​about 180 square kilometers. The rest are more than fifty small islands that add up to about 100 square kilometers, distributed on a piece of the sea about 55 nautical miles long and 30 nautical miles wide.

According to the results of Lawrence’s last visit to the island, that island was just a few sugarcane plantations developed on the main island and some simple offshore fisheries developed.

It's just that after Lawrence went there to chat with the baron last time, he used a sum of money to buy out the leader status of the fishermen on the island and made them employees of his own fishing company. So there should be no fishermen on the islands now.

Although the island is able to grow sugar cane and produce some sugar because of the abundant rainfall, it can only produce cheap brown sugar through some handicraft workshops because of its small scale. Therefore, there is also a relatively lack of competitiveness in the market, mainly to bring it back to the local area for consumption by ordinary people.

Although the Carlos Island used by Lawrence for exchange is mainly for planting sugarcane and producing sugar, because it is an entire island with a larger area and a larger area of ​​sugarcane planting, plus it is close to the mainland to obtain enough fuel, so that island There is a sugar factory that can produce more and better sugar.

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Although Lawrence is a bit disadvantaged in this way, a piece of land that is too far from New Sauer Island is not conducive to the overall plan for him. Not to mention that all that was allocated to Lawrence was land, not the people above. Lawrence couldn't get the manpower needed to grow sugar cane and squeeze sugar.

So after comprehensive consideration, Lawrence finally made this seemingly disadvantaged decision. After all, it is a matter of how much wealth or the size of the territory is relative to a purely new territory. The overall interest of the entire territory is what the Lord Lawrence should consider.

According to the diplomat, the Empire will send a small mission to Lawrence to hold Baron Cruise's canonization ceremony in more than a week. In Lawrence's opinion, this should be a very obvious manifestation of the Empire's jurisdiction over the Earl of Sauer.

A week later, a small embassy headed by an official from the imperial family hurriedly arrived from the empire by a fast boat, and then held a very simple canonization ceremony for Lawrence on the island. When they finished these tasks, they boarded the Clippers and drove towards the Cruise Islands.

At the beginning, Lawrence thought that the baron might be a little bit sad or attached to his own territory, but in fact he didn't. After discovering that Lawrence and the others had arrived, the baron immediately signed the last territory exchange document accompanied and witnessed by two imperial officials.

When the last document is signed, the territory exchange is theoretically over. However, according to tradition, the formal territory exchange should be carried out after the crops of this season are harvested. So after a chat with the baron, Lawrence boarded the Clippers again to go to Carlos Island to receive the population that belonged to him.

"I didn't expect that fat man would want to change the land so impatiently." After the ship left the port, no one around Nora noticed that they started to complain about the baron before. "If we hadn't had the overall planning needs this time, we wouldn't have allowed that guy to pick up such a bargain as it is now."

"There is no way, the party who proposes to exchange territory will always suffer, otherwise, why should others exchange territory with you." Lawrence shrugged.

"Furthermore, the Elysian Empire obviously also knows that they have taken a lot of advantage in this deal, so they also negotiated with the surrounding countries of several underwater intelligent races, so that we have a large area of ​​territorial waters. And a larger area of ​​special interest."

Like human nations, those civilized underwater nations also have territorial consciousness. For example, in some places that they have classified as their own land, human ships must notify them in advance and follow the designated waterways if they want to pass the sea, and they must obtain permission to mine or fish in those places. Otherwise, you may be warned, fined, or even attacked.

Fortunately, the civilized countries owned by the underwater intelligent creatures are still small relative to the ocean, so they can live in harmony with most terrestrial creatures. Even the owners of ocean-going vessels on the routes connecting the oceans spend a sum of money as tolls each year, so that their ships can pass through these safe seas.

There are not many sea countries like the Star Sea area. After all, the climate and water depth here are very conducive to the growth of various underwater creatures. However, such a country does not exist in the waters around Neuschauer Island. Therefore, after the Elsion Empire came forward to negotiate, the maritime nations expressed that they would respect the territorial rights of the marine vassals of the land people.

"Yeah, thanks to the group of Roka murlocs we accepted." After hearing what Nora said, Lawrence nodded and said that he picked up the group of Roka murlocs out of hope. The development of the marine economy, on the other hand, is motivated by the kind of inner compassion after being able.

After all, at that time, if he was only profitable, he could completely treat the radical Roka murlocs as slaves, instead of sheltering this group of young and strong, who were all lost, and were like refugees.

What he didn't expect was that this kindness could bring him so many benefits in the future.

Because it was not until the end of the negotiations that Lawrence learned that the gods of those civilized races had signed a contract. That is, the territory of each race must be based on the environment in which the race can survive for a long time.

In other words, if Lawrence had only land creatures under his command, then he would not be able to obtain more marine territory except for a small piece of territorial sea.

The reason why Lawrence did not know such a regulation is also very simple, because this regulation itself is a very partial regulation. Only the upper echelons of each country and some lords and officials who lean on the sea know this. It is very normal for a nobleman like him to become a monk halfway through not knowing.

After Lawrence took in the Loka murlocs and gave them the same status as non-human creatures because of him, and some autonomy. Those maritime countries naturally think that these Loka murlocs belong to the traditional sense of Lawrence, the landlord's landlord ~ ​​www.ltnovel.com~ so they deserve a piece of ocean territory.

As for the size of the territorial waters, it may be because the area of ​​this world itself is larger than that of Lawrence's last world, plus the consideration that aquatic intelligent creatures themselves need a larger territory than terrestrial intelligent creatures to feed themselves.

Therefore, in addition to the 30 nautical miles of the coastline extended to Lawrence’s territorial sea instead of the traditional 20 nautical miles, several scattered sea areas are also classified as territorial waters.

Moreover, Lawrence won more than territorial waters in this land transaction. It also includes a part of the territorial extension and the huge ocean between the two islands, which is directly designated as a special interest zone owned by Lawrence, which is similar to the exclusive economic zone of the previous life. And this sea area just covered the fishing ground Lawrence had been developing before.

In short, Lawrence’s territorial exchange may be slightly flat or even a loss for those who will only grow things on the island all his life. But for Lawrence, who has gained knowledge of the two worlds, he knows the ocean. With the development potential, he naturally knows how rich this ocean is for him.

So Lawrence was always in a good mood on the way to the Carlos Island where he was swapped out to receive the leader. It was not until two days later that the Clippers reached the dock of Carlos Island.