"This place is still so broken," when Peiro, the ambassador of the fortress, stepped out of the cabin, a smell of rotten wood came to his face. The air around was damp and dull, making people feel uncomfortable all over. He sniffed and raised his head, the sky was overcast with gray, as if a heavy rain was brewing.
"The last time you came here was a year ago," the assistant graciously put on the ambassador's wool coat. "There is nothing here except stones."
"It was a year and a half ago," Pei Luo corrected, "the Duke will draw different people every season. The last time I went to Border Town was summer. Besides stones, there are all kinds of fine furs, and... "
"What?" The assistant looked blank.
Peyro shook his head and did not answer. He stepped over the side of the boat and stepped onto the moss-covered pier, the planks creaking under his feet. In a few more years, the pier will fall apart, he thought. Border Town not only has stones, furs, but even... land. But these words are meaningless. The assistant is just a little-known clerk in the city hall, and he can't see it at all.
Between Border Town and Changge Fortress is a large piece of uncultivated land, with the Desperate Mountains on one side and the Chishui River on the other, like a long and narrow corridor. As the outpost of the fortress, if it assumes the responsibility of the defense line, a large area in the middle will be brought into the hands of the fortress. They are uncultivated, they can be planted many times without fallow, and with the natural barriers on both sides, they don't take much effort to eat. This can just alleviate a series of problems caused by the increasing population of the fortress, and Border Town will also become one fortress, instead of being separated into two separate territories as it is now.
The only disadvantage is that it requires three to five years of operation and a large amount of up-front investment.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the predictability of investment, most nobles are not as good as a crappy businessman.
"Hey, why is the yard empty?" The assistant pointed to an empty tunnel in the distance, "Shouldn't they have all the ore ready?"
Peiro sighed softly, "Let's go to the castle to meet His Highness."
"Wait... Mr. Ambassador, aren't you waiting for their reception team?"
I don't know if there are any, but he thought so but didn't say it, "Let's go, the stables are in front."
Now, the trouble of splitting into two separate territories is obviously coming. The king is arguing for the king and throws the fourth prince into this desolate place. What would a normal noble or royal disciple do? Of course, everything in this place is appropriated. Exchange ore and jewels for food and bread? I am afraid that only the golden dragon can be seen in the eyes of the prince.
If it were him, he would do the same. Seeing that the output in his territory is exchanged at such a low price, I am afraid no one is willing to accept it. And the prince doesn't have to go to the fortress. Most of the people in the family have forgotten the fact that the Chishui River does not only pass through the Changge fortress. He can sell the ore to Liuye Town, Zhelongling, and Chishui City at the market price, and then take the people to these places to take refuge - it's just a longer journey.
And what can Longsong Stronghold do? Block the river and cut off the prince and his party? That was a blatant confrontation with the Royal Family of Greycastle! Everyone knows that the fourth prince is not liked by the king, but no matter how bad it is, he is also the blood of the king, there is no doubt about that.
The two rode their rented horses and walked slowly along the stone road by the river. The stables were filled with old horses, with mixed coats and thin bones. Even if they walked slowly, their whole body trembled. And for these two idiots, he had to pay two golden dragons as a deposit.
"Look, sir, is that Willow Leaf Township's boat?"
Hearing the assistant shouting, he looked in the direction pointed by the other party, and saw a single-pole sailboat with a flag of green leaves and a machete slowly sailing along the river. The waterline of the hull is high, indicating that it is full of cargo.
Pei Luo nodded expressionlessly, but his heart sank, and the other party moved faster than expected. If the prince has already started to contact those towns in the lower reaches of the Chishui River, he will have one less chip in his hand. He originally planned to persuade his father to agree to buy the ore at a price 30% lower than the normal price, so that he could still make a profit, not to mention the luxury of jewelry, which can be worth several times after polishing. It is a pity that this monopoly business is not his or the honeysuckle family. There are six noble families participating in the mining industry in Frontier Town. Without the approval of the majority, a decision cannot be formed.
But they were slow to react, thinking that the situation was still the same as before... Or, the output of the mining area was not worthy of their attention. Anyway, the other five families were indifferent, and my father rejected him confidently. In fact, they are very wrong. The main reason for the low output in the mining area is this barter model. If it becomes normal trade, the more you make, the more you earn, and the ore output is likely to rise to a higher level next year.
According to the previous monopoly plan, nine times out of ten, no, it is definitely impossible to achieve. Pei Luo thought, from the empty dock yard, it can be seen that the prince does not intend to exchange these stones for inferior wheat, and he is already contacting other buyers.
If he still wants to hold on to this trade line, the 30% discount is his last bargaining chip. The distance between Liuye Town and Border Town increases the cost of ore transportation, and Liuye Town has more than one source of ore, and the price they offer is likely to be half the market price. As for Falling Dragon Ridge and Chishui Castle, they will only be driven lower, so that the fourth prince may agree that the Longsong Fortress will still be monopolized - especially the gem trade.
But the question is, will my father agree with him if he makes his own claim to sign the contract? As for the other five, would they feel that their move was simply surrendering to Border Town and handing over their family interests
After all, in their eyes, Border Town is still the pasture that is controlled by the fortress' own people, who asks for anything.
The two slowly crossed to the castle in the southeast corner of the town. It was not the first time Pelor came here, but this time, the owner has changed.
When the guard saw the ambassador's certificate, he immediately went in and informed the lord.
The fourth prince, Roland Wimbledon, quickly summoned Peiro. When the two were introduced into the living room, the prince was already waiting in the main seat.
"Mr. Ambassador, please take a seat."
Roland clapped his hands and let the maid serve a sumptuous meal. There's roasted whole chicken, braised wild boar legs with mushrooms, buttered bread and a big pot of vegetable soup. Obviously, in this frontier place, the personal enjoyment of the royal children has not been compromised in the slightest.
Pei Luo was naturally not polite. It would take two days to walk from the fortress to Frontier Town, even if the wind was downwind; if it was a multi-masted and gluten cargo ship, it would be even slower, taking three to five days. There is no galley on the boat, and you usually eat your own jerky or wheat cakes. Seeing the steaming dishes, he felt his saliva surging in his throat.
However, many years of noble cultivation have allowed him to maintain perfect dining etiquette. On the contrary, His Highness's eating style is much different - especially the use of knives and forks. Peiro noticed that, except that the Fourth Prince used a knife when cutting the meat, all other movements were done with a pair of small wooden sticks. And it seems... two sticks are much more convenient than a fork.
"What do you think?" Roland asked suddenly at the end of the meal.
"Uh, what?" The ambassador didn't come back to his senses for a while.
"This," the other party shook the wooden stick in his hand, and before Peiro could answer, he said, "an iron dining fork is a luxury for most people, let alone a silver fork. If you grab it and eat it directly, it’s easy to eat the dirty things into your stomach. Diseases come from your mouth, you know?”
The ambassador didn't know how to answer. He didn't quite understand the meaning of the disease coming from the mouth, but according to the understanding of the previous sentence, it probably means that the dirty things stick to the food and eat it easily. But everyone came here like this, and no one died because of it.
"A pair of oak sticks, as many as you want in the Hidden Forest. It's clean and easy to get. I'm going to promote this in the town," the prince took a sip of his wine, "of course, my subjects now have almost no meat to eat. Eat it, you will get better slowly."
Pei Luo breathed a sigh of relief, he still understood how to answer this sentence. After routinely expressing his approval and blessing, he didn't think so in his heart. Let the people have meat to eat? It was simply whimsical, even Graycastle couldn’t do that, let alone the desolate place in Border Town.