Your Majesty, Wonders are Harmful to the Country!

While Mal Cullen led the Idar Navy to dominate the seas, the Idar Territory once again experienced a surge in population!

However, this population boom had little to do with the previous propaganda campaigns of the Idar Territory.

Due to threats from the Odin Empire, the nobles in the northern regions of the empire were constantly conscripting commoners into the army. This led to a mass exodus of northern commoners fleeing towards the empire's other region.

Since early summer, the influx of migrants into the Idar Territory had surged unexpectedly, catching Bruno off guard.

These refugees from the northern part of the empire first traveled southeast, entering the Valence Plains in the empire's eastern regions.

However, an increase in people also meant an increase in mouths to feed. The nobles of the Valence Plains quickly pushed the refugees further south, unwilling to accommodate them due to a lack of food and land.

The territories south of the Valence Plains similarly refused to accept these desperate refugees and continued to drive them away.

Thus, a portion of these unfortunate souls were captured and sent back north as soldiers, while the rest were forced to wander in all directions by various noble lords.

The only goal was to make sure they didn't remain in any noble's land!

From Ed River to Heisenberg, from Heisenberg to Dale Hills, and further south into Soren Territory.

Finally, after being relentlessly driven away by countless nobles, these displaced commoners reached the banks of the Soren River in the height of summer.

Compared to when the Soren River Port first opened, the number of ferries crossing the river had doubled. The Idar Immigration Bureau had also expanded its staff threefold, and Lister finally had over thirty official subordinates.

Even so, the northern bank of the Soren River remained crowded with refugees from the empire's northern frontier, with their numbers growing each day.

Yet Bruno welcomed these migrants with open arms!

Ever since his arrival in this world, population had been the biggest constraint on the development of the Idar Territory.

A large population required a large food supply, but food was the one thing Idar had in abundance.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn were about to be harvested!

This meant that the Idar Territory was on the brink of experiencing its greatest food surplus in history.

Furthermore, due to its borderland location, Bruno controlled far more land than the empire's inland nobles.

So, if the population increased, they could simply cultivate more land there was no need to worry about food shortages.

However, no matter how many refugees gathered at the banks of the Soren River, the Idar Immigration Bureau could not allow them all to enter the territory at once.

Under Bruno's strict orders, every incoming migrant had to undergo detailed registration and thorough inspection before being assigned housing by the Idar Immigration Bureau.

This was a crucial measure to maintain law and order within the Idar Territory.

After all, since the beginning of the year, the number of incoming commoners had already surpassed the original population of the Idar Territory. Nearly 20,000 refugees were now settled in newly established labor communities across the region.

Among them, Grand Town in the Grand Highlands was one of the largest labor communities.

The Grand Highlands were rich in mineral resources, which was the primary reason behind the Grand Highlands War between the Idar Territory and the Soren Territory.

Previously, due to manpower shortages and ongoing construction projects, Bruno had postponed plans to mine the Grand Highlands' iron deposits.

However, delaying large scale mining did not mean Bruno ignored the enormous benefits of iron mining and steel production!

Long ago, Bruno had exchanged detailed steelmaking techniques from the system's marketplace.

He also selected a few trustworthy craftsmen to work with mage apprentices in constructing iron refining and steelmaking facilities in the Grand Highlands.

Speaking of steel production, it was necessary to mention this world's ironworking technology.

Even now, the Norman Empire's most common method of making iron remained the bloomery process.

The bloomery process required minimal technical expertise one simply had to toss rich iron ore and charcoal into a furnace, and iron could be extracted with ease.

This was because rich iron ore contained high levels of iron with very few impurities.

Thus, even without limestone, iron could still be smelted.

After repeated forging, impurities could be gradually removed, producing wrought iron.

Most importantly, the bloomery process had low temperature requirements iron could be extracted at only 800 degrees Celsius, making it highly suitable for the current level of productivity.

After all, in this era, maintaining extremely high temperatures was difficult without magic formations.

However, despite its simplicity, the bloomery process had a major flaw!

The iron produced using this method was softer than copper!

This was why both Idar soldiers and Norman Empire soldiers primarily used short swords.

It wasn't that they didn't want to use longer weapons if they did, their weapons would snap after just a few swings!

Thus, short swords and shields became the standard equipment for Norman Empire soldiers.

In contrast, the ironworking methods Bruno obtained from the system's marketplace completely solved this issue!

With the unique magical support of this world, Bruno could propel Idar's iron industry straight into the early industrial age!

It was no wonder that acquiring these steel-forging techniques had cost Bruno a hefty price 70 Glory Points!

That was half the cost of building a Great Wonder!

However, for such a price, the system's documentation was incredibly comprehensive.

It covered cast iron, wrought iron, and steelmaking techniques, with detailed reference materials included!

When the craftsmen responsible for building the steel facilities saw Bruno's provided documentation, they were stunned beyond belief by the revolutionary techniques described!