What kind of country is the Kingdom of Saxony in the eyes of the top giants in the Free City
If you look at it according to Yalin's thinking, it is quite similar to the tycoon and oil-producing countries in the Middle East in the original world. They were poor and war-torn, but had countless treasures buried under the earth. However, it is a bit more tragic than the Saxony Kingdom, the major oil-producing countries in the original world. At least the oil-producing countries in the Yalin original world are willing to listen to the orders of the big powers and lose some national dignity and diplomatic independence. They can rely on oil revenue to My little life was going well. Of course, there are a few thorns in the side, and under the interference of a certain lighthouse country that is written as a policeman and read as a gangster, explosions continue to occur in the country every day!
However, the Kingdom of Saxony could not even live the life of these wealthy oil-producing countries, because it was held back by the Og barbarians. It has been trapped in a vicious cycle, and even the kings of successive generations have never shown improvement in how they strive to strengthen their country.
At least in Lawrence's eyes, this country in the far north is too weak. If it weren't for the fact that they were blocking the Og barbarians, the wealth possessed by this country would have long been in the hands of the three giants in the free city. It’s lunch, and what I have to do now is to cut off the largest piece of cake and make it my own.
However, ideals are always full, and reality is always backbone. During this meeting, Lawrence was rejected by the Kingdom of Saxony┉┉
In the large conference room in the palace, the main members of the Saxon royal family, including the king, are gathered here to conduct cooperation negotiations with the most powerful chamber of commerce president in the free city that will determine the future of the country. In order to keep it secret, the entire conference room has been It is completely isolated by the barrier, and no one except Ran and the participants can get any information from here.
"I don't understand what you mean, Your Majesty the King, do you feel that the material support provided by the Free City and other countries to your country every year is less?" Lawrence asked in a rather surprised tone as he faced the King with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
"Mr. Lawrence, you got me wrong. After our country reached a transportation agreement with the Kingdom of Belrama, the material reserves are no longer as tight as before. What our country needs now is to try to revive the national economy and restore national strength as soon as possible."
The old King of Rodland was sitting at the top of the long conference table and said with a tepid expression. However, Lawrence frowned and kept thinking about what His Majesty the King meant. Lawrence had tentatively proposed more than once just now that he hoped to obtain the mineral mining rights of the Kingdom of Saxony, but the old king played the delaying card to Lawrence, turned a deaf ear to Lawrence's hints, and even asked Lawrence to increase support for the Kingdom of Saxony and The Kingdom of Saxony seems to have no interest in opening up more advanced weapons for export.
Lawrence didn't think that the old man in front of him didn't understand what he meant. It is obvious that the other party does not want to sell mineral mining rights, and is not even interested in knowing its asking price. This is really strange. Do these barbarians living in the snow intend to continue to starve while holding a golden mountain
The old king cleared his throat and watched Lawrence's expression change several times. Soon the king said in a solemn tone: "Do you know? Mr. Lawrence! Sometimes as a king, I can't just look at the interests in front of me. I must put aside The long-term vision leaves enough survival resources for the future generations of our Saxons. We need 'fish' but we need 'fishing' even more! Incompetence will be exhausted even if we have too much support. We don't care about our future generations just because we are satisfied. Descendants, so Mr. Lawrence, I cannot agree to your conditions!”
Lawrence's eyes became sharp in an instant. The chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in the Free City had already heard the hidden meaning of the king's words┉┉
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In the residence where the mission was staying. Lawrence, who was at an impasse in today's negotiations, sat quietly and rested with a bad look on his face. The maid standing in the room under the strange aura did not dare to express her anger. Everyone was trying to shrink their bodies and try to avoid being caught by Lawrence. see. Obviously the maids knew very well that Mr. Lawrence was in a very bad mood today!
After a while, Lawrence ordered the female assistant Kaiman Susanna on the side: "Let someone check which chambers of commerce and countries have recently had large-scale transactions with the Kingdom of Saxony!"
"I understand sir┉┉You think the Kingdom of Saxony already has another candidate for ore mining?"
"I'm sure!" Lawrence nodded and called a maid to pour himself a glass of wine: "Someone must have taken over the mineral mining rights of the Kingdom of Saxony before us. I need to know who did it!"
The middle-aged mage standing behind Lawrence thought for a while. Although the mage was not a businessman, he still knew some things in the business circle: "Black Stone Ring Chamber of Commerce! Croside recently purchased a lot of slaves and sent them to the Kingdom of Saxony. They are very good. It may be that he reached a cooperation agreement with the Kingdom of Saxony."
"I know!"
Lawrence nodded and drank the wine in his glass. Now, apart from the Black Stone Ring, Lawrence could not think of any outsiders who would openly oppose him, but there was still one thing that Lawrence needed to figure out.
"In addition to the Black Ring Chamber of Commerce, there are other chambers of commerce or organizations conducting large-scale transactions with the Kingdom of Saxony!"
food! The Kingdom of Saxony is located in the far north. Food shortage has been plaguing this country. Although the Kingdom of Saxony receives food from neighboring Belrama every year, it can only meet part of the demand. The remaining food gap requires material assistance or material assistance from mainland countries every year. Purchase from Free Cities. Food has also become a heavy bargaining chip for merchants in the free city when negotiating deals with the Kingdom of Saxony, but something unusual happened this year. The reason is that the unending snowstorm saved the Kingdom of Saxony from two wars, and the recent large-scale acquisition of slaves has also caused the country's population to surge a lot recently!
The population increased but the amount of food purchased by the Kingdom of Saxony in the free city did not increase. It was obvious that the Kingdom of Saxony had found a new food supply channel. And every possible channel for supplying food to Saxony that Lawrence could think of was impossible if he thought about it carefully. Since he has been eager to obtain the mineral mining rights of the Kingdom of Saxony worth nearly one trillion liens, Lawrence has been using food as a bargaining chip to gradually put pressure on the Kingdom of Saxony. At the same time, he has also strictly monitored the inflow of food into this country. Avoid spoiling your own plans. Although the Kingdom of Saxony imports a portion of its grain to Belrama every year, the total grain output of the Kingdom of Belrama cannot meet the needs of the entire Kingdom of Saxony, and several large merchants in the free city who are capable of supplying grain cannot privately Additional supplies of grain to the Kingdom of Saxony. This will not bring much benefit and will offend myself as the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.
It is true that Croside used the small and empty chambers of commerce under the Blackstone Ring Chamber of Commerce to purchase a large number of slaves, but there was no large-scale purchase of food. The Holy Capital and the Holy See are also subjects of serious suspicion, especially the Western Continent, which is governed by the Holy Capital. Recently, countries in the Western Continent have been preparing to build new trade cities, clearly intending to oppose the Free City, and are now wooing the Kingdom of Saxony as a bridgehead into the east. It's also possible. It’s just that the cost of transporting food from the west of the continent is too high, and ground transportation also carries huge risks. Lawrence doesn’t think that the Holy Capital and the countries in the Western Continent can be so generous!
Holy See! Lawrence thought about it for a long time but finally rejected it. The Holy See wanted to expand its faith in the Kingdom of Saxony and squeeze out the Holy Capital. The recent transportation cooperation agreement with Saxony and Belrama was also completed with the help of the Holy See. But if the Holy See wants to further use food to win over the Kingdom of Saxony, and as long as the Holy See shows its own brand in the purchase of food, not to mention other businessmen, even Lawrence himself will have to weigh the gains and losses of dealing with this behemoth. However, although it is impossible to prevent the Holy See from purchasing food, it should at least be able to obtain information on the Holy See's large-scale purchase of food. The problem is that Lawrence did not get any relevant information at all!
Moreover, food is not used for other commodities. Both humans and elves need food as long as they are living creatures. The amount of food has always been regarded as a measuring instrument to measure whether the situation on the continent is stable. Lawrence pays special attention to the fluctuations in grain prices caused by the quality of the harvest every year. This year's market prices have not changed significantly.
"I really can't figure out who else can supply food to the Saxony Palace in such a secretive and large-scale manner. You must know that supplying a city and supplying food for an entire country are two different concepts. This is definitely not something that any small country or small businessman can do. It can be done." Lawrence held his forehead and thought for a long time, but he couldn't find any valuable clues, and all the channels he could think of were rejected.
"Mr. Lawrence, perhaps we can investigate the transportation situation in recent years. Such a large amount of grain should be transported to some extent with the help of the Chamber of Commerce's transportation team, and perhaps we can find some clues."
Kaiman Susanna made a suggestion, and Lawrence nodded in agreement. His chamber of commerce mainly monopolizes the transportation industry in the Eastern Continent. With so much food transported, the other party will leave some clues in the intertwined network of relationships. . But the speed must be fast, and the kingdom of Saxony must dare to deal with it before it solves its food problem. Otherwise, he will lose a huge bargaining chip to put pressure on Saxony. More than ten years of hard work may be in vain. This is definitely not what Lawrence wants to see. to the ending.
What if you can't find the origin of the problem
A hint of gloom flashed in Lawrence's eyes. It may be too late to support the opposition. The Kingdom of Saxony has been at war with the Og barbarians all year round. Under the threat of war and survival, this country has maintained a high degree of unity, both among its nobles and civilians. Even if The ministers in the palace are extremely loyal to the royal family. It would be impossible to support the opposition for more than ten years!
If there was another way, even Lawrence, the chairman of the Free City Chamber of Commerce, could not think of a better way. (To be continued...)