Chapter 482: Sweet Sugarcane Farm

The sound of the waves was the main tone of the island’s night. The cool bress blow over the fort.

After resting one night in Blackthorn Castle, the next day prince Simon took the map provided by Grey and began officially taking over Split Rock’s main island and Fort Zeelandia.

He ordered Liam to lead two thousand soldiers to be stationed at Fort Zeelandia. Prince Simon and Lancelot took two thousand men to the sugarcane plantation marked on the map. The remaining soldiers stayed behind in Blackthorn Castle to defend it, in case anyone wants to cause trouble.

"My Lord, where are you preparing to go?"

As the army was gathered, Prince Simon and Lancelot prepared to depart then came a voice.

Prince Simon turned to look over seeing Grey and Alonso approaching. He said, "Earl Grey, I was just about to send someone to inform you that we are ready to revitalise Split Rock main island."

"Your Highness, we have come for this matter also," Grey said. After a night of painful inner struggle, he chose to further smooth relations with Prince Simon.

"Is that so? What a coincidence! I was planning to inspect the sugarcane plantation and taste the white sugar here, to see how powerful it’s." Prince Simon said.

At this, Grey’s face twitched painfully.

For over forty years, they had painstakingly run the large sugarcane plantation. Now the nearly ripe sugarcane was going into the hands and pockets of Prince Simon, without any struggle.

Besides the sugarcane plantation, there were vast rice paddies on the island. These paddies yielded three crops per year, providing ample grain. This grain was even sold to the British, Spanish, and French in exchange for money and other resources.

Forcing a faint smile on his face, Grey said, "Then allow me to lead His Royal Highness there so we can formally conduct the handover. The natives here do not recognise Your Highness, and I fear conflicts might arise, which you don’t want."

"That is truly a wise man speaking right now, as you wish. But from now on, they are citizens of the Eldorian Empire, no longer natives," Prince Simon deliberately emphasised the words "natives," as those words carried much discrimination.

Earl Grey was stunned, his expression darkening. To him, this was a dangerous sign. He saw in Simon the beginning of a very dangerous national power awakening.

"Very well." Grey’s smile was awkward. He exchanged a glance with Alonso, and they walked onto the island.

Prince Simon and Lancelot followed the two along a path extending from Blackthorn Castle, heading northeast. After about twenty kilometres covered, a vast sugarcane field appeared in their field of vision.

The sugarcane was dense, about three meters high, blocking the view. From the edge, one could not see the boundary.

"Your Highness, this is our sugarcane field, which we have cultivated. We plant one crop per year here. This place is very suitable for sugarcane. Every stalk is really sweet," Grey introduced to Prince Simon.

He paused, then pointed to a large rice paddy across the sugarcane and said, "This area is for rice, with three harvests per year."

"Three harvests per year!" Lancelot’s mouth opened wide. He said to Prince Simon, "My Lord, this is really a great profit! Three rice crops a year—how much rice is that?"

Thomas Valmont and William Valmont, who followed behind Prince Simon, were equally excited.

"How many people on the island are responsible for planting sugarcane and rice?" Prince Simon asked.

Grey said, "The locals—no, the people—number thirty thousand. Ten thousand are responsible for the sugarcane fields, the remaining twenty thousand for rice cultivation. The sugarcane fields cover about fifty thousand plots, and the rice paddies about one hundred fifty thousand plots."

"That is quite a fortune in hand," Prince Simon said excitedly, his face brightening. Taking over Split Rock was like gaining a new granary.

If he had His Majesty send over fifty to sixty thousand people to clear land on Split Rock, the island’s value would increase even more.

Grey nodded. "Indeed, Your Highness. This proves our sincerity. I hope Your Highness will also show us your sincerity."

"Isn’t my coming here and leading a large army over enough to show my sincerity? Oh, of course, I won’t let you lose out in trade either," Prince Simon said lightly.

After speaking, the group toured the plantations under Grey’s guidance. Most importantly, Grey introduced the supervisors of the plantations and rice fields to Prince Simon.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness, Prince Simon," Barbatos said. A thin, dark-skinned young man bowed, speaking with a strong foreign accent.

Hearing the man speak, Simon knew he was not someone from around Split Rock Island but had migrated from across the sea. He said, "Grey was clear. From now on, this island belongs to me, and the people you govern belong to me as well. Understand?"

Barbatos looked at the soldiers behind Prince Simon carrying muskets, with fear in his eye, and said flatteringly, "Yes, Your Highness. From now on, I obey you and only you. Whatever orders you have, just say the word and it’s done."

Simon nodded lightly. He and Grey continued walking further and found a village housing many villagers. In the middle of the village stood a blackboard with the Dutch language clearly written on it.

The Dutch words roughly said Split Rock Island was Dutch territory, and the island’s residents belonged to the Dutch, serving them till death.

Seeing the blackboard and the empty bench in front of it, Simon realised the Dutch were conducting slavery education on Split Rock.

He snorted softly and walked lightly as he erased all the writing on the blackboard, then carefully wrote his own words "Prince Simon, the new rules maker here" stroke by stroke.

Grey’s eyes showed deep sorrow. Most island residents now spoke Dutch, but this situation would soon change. All traces of the Dutch would be erased.

Prince Simon’s actions further proved how different he was from the rest of the Eldorian Empire princes. Only those who cared about their nation’s honour would be so angry.

If not for considering the bigger picture, he would want to completely wipe out the Dutch, just like other colonisers. These colonisers assimilated the land, and that was the scariest thing.

"To destroy a people, first destroy their heritage!"

When the first generation of people on this land died out, and the second generation was assimilated, they would no longer be identified with their ancestors and would become a completely different nation.

This was the evil of rewriting history. To Prince Simon, it was even more terrifying than a nuclear bomb. That was why he was so furious seeing the Dutch erase all traces of Split Rock’s original rulers.

The villagers watching this had complicated expressions. For the first time, the blackboard displayed strong, bold characters of the Eldorian Empire. Deep memories flooded their minds. Some elders who had migrated from across the sea had tears in their eyes.

Dropping the chalk, Prince Simon wiped the dust from his hands and looked toward three workshops in the village. Some sugarcane was stacked outside, and villagers were moving some brown granules out.

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