Struggle in the Steam Age

The Cruise Islands assigned to Lawrence this time are one of the closest islands to Nova Sauer Island, and its main island, Cruise Island, has an area of ​​about 180 square kilometers. The rest are more than 50 small islands that add up to about 100 square kilometers, distributed in a sea that is 55 nautical miles long and 30 nautical miles wide.

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

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

Although the island is able to grow sugarcane and produce some sugar because of the abundant rainfall, it can only produce cheap brown sugar through some handicraft workshops because of the small scale. Therefore, it lacks competitiveness in the market, and it is mainly brought back to the mainland for ordinary people to eat.

Although Carlos Island, which Lawrence used for exchange, also mainly grows sugar cane and produces sugar, but because it is a larger island with a larger sugar cane planting area, and because it is close to the mainland to obtain enough fuel, that island There is a sugar factory that produces more and better sugar.

Although Lawrence is at a disadvantage in this way, for him, a piece of land that is too far away from New Sauer Island is not conducive to the overall planning. Not to mention that what was allocated to Lawrence was only the land, not the people on it. And the large amount of manpower needed to grow sugar cane and squeeze sugar was simply not available to Lawrence.

So after comprehensive consideration, Lawrence finally made this seemingly disadvantageous decision. After all, it is a question of how much wealth or the size of the territory compared to the pure new territory. The overall interests of the entire territory are what the lord Lawrence should consider.

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

A week later, a small-scale mission headed by a member of the royal family rushed over from the mainland of the empire by speedboat, and then held a very simple canonization ceremony for Lawrence on the island. When they finished these tasks, everyone boarded the fast boat and rushed towards the Cruz Islands.

At the beginning, Lawrence thought that the baron might be a little bit reluctant or nostalgic for his 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 was signed, the territorial exchange was theoretically over. However, according to tradition, the formal exchange of territories should be carried out after this season's crops are harvested. So after exchanging pleasantries with the baron, Lawrence boarded the Clippers again and went to Carlos Island to receive the population assigned to him.

"I didn't expect that fat man to be so eager to change his territory." After the ship left the port, no one around Nora noticed that they started complaining about the previous baron again. "If it weren't for our overall planning needs this time, we wouldn't let that guy take such a cheap price like now."

"No way, the party who proposes the exchange of territories will always suffer a loss, otherwise why should others exchange territories with you." Lawrence shrugged.

"Besides, the Elysian Empire obviously knew that they took advantage of his deal, so they also specially negotiated with several countries around the underwater intelligent race, allowing us to own a large territorial waters and a larger area of ​​special interest.”

Like human nations, those underwater civilized nations also have a sense of territory. For example, in some places they classified as their own land, human ships must notify in advance and follow the designated waterway if they want to pass through 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 those underwater intelligent creatures are still small compared to the area of ​​the ocean, so they can maintain harmonious coexistence with most land creatures. Even the owners of those ocean-going vessels on the routes connecting the oceans spend a sum of money every year as tolls, so that their own ships can pass through the seas of these safe sea countries.

There are not many sea nations like this in the Xingchenhai area. After all, the climate and water depth here are very conducive to the growth of various underwater creatures. However, there is no such country in the waters around the island of Nova Sauer. Therefore, after the Elysian Empire came forward to negotiate, those sea nations expressed that they would respect the territorial waters rights of the sea vassals of the land people.

"Yeah, it's also thanks to the group of loca murlocs we accepted." After hearing what Nora said, Lawrence nodded and said that he took the group of loca murlocs out of hope on the one hand. The development of marine economy, on the other hand, is out of the kind of inner compassion after being capable.

After all, if he was only looking for profit at that time, he could have treated those radical locathians as slaves instead of taking in this group of moderate locathans who were all young and lost, like refugees.

It's just that what he didn't expect was that this kindness would bring him so many benefits in the future.

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

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

As for why Lawrence didn't know about such a regulation, the reason was very simple, because this regulation itself was a very partial regulation. Only the upper echelons of various countries and some lords and officials near the sea know this. It is very normal for a nobleman like him who has become a monk halfway to not know.

After Lawrence took in those loca murlocs and gave them the same status as non-human creatures because of him and some autonomy. Those maritime countries naturally believed that these locathermen belonged to the land lord Lawrence in the traditional sense, so they should be granted a piece of ocean territory as a matter of course.

As for the size of the territorial sea, it may be because this world itself is larger than Lawrence's last world, and considering that aquatic intelligent creatures themselves need a larger territory than terrestrial intelligent creatures to support themselves.

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

Moreover, what Lawrence obtained in this land transaction was not only territorial waters. It also includes a part of the territorial extension and the huge ocean between the two islands 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 that Lawrence had been developing before.

In short, Lawrence's territory exchange may be slightly flat or even a bit disadvantageous to those soil turtle island owners who can only grow things on the island all their lives, but to Lawrence who has received the knowledge of the two worlds, knowing the ocean With his development potential, he naturally knows how rich this ocean is for him.

Therefore, Lawrence was always in a good mood on the way to the replaced Carlos Island to receive the citizens. It wasn't until two days later that the Clippers docked at the pier at Carlos Island.