"His Royal Highness, I wanted to ask you when I entered the door," Hogg looked as if he was finally relieved, and he drank all the ice water in the barrel, "This painting in the hall... I'm afraid it can't be drawn by ordinary people, right? Whether it is the level of realism or the perspective of overlooking the earth from the air." He paused and said in a low voice, "This is... the work of a witch?"
Roland looked at Margery, who nodded, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, Hogg is an old friend I have known for many years, and he has no ill will towards witches either."
"You guessed it right, it was indeed drawn by a witch." After taking a hot air balloon sightseeing near the beach two days ago, Roland wanted to preserve this magnificent scene. In addition, the castle's parlor was simply decorated and looked like a There were no paintings, so he simply asked Soraya to turn the stone wall behind the main seat into a huge mural. With the art background wall, the style of the hall is instantly improved by several grades.
"I knew it," Hogg sighed, "although they're advertised as the devil's minions, but those strange abilities are really enviable. Ordinary people can't fly into the air like them, and then paint a picture like this. Gorgeous frescoes."
"You're only right in the first half of the sentence," Roland shook his head. "Ordinary people can fly even if they don't rely on magic, even higher than an eagle and faster than a swift."
"How humorous you are," laughed Hogg, "unless we get an extra pair of wings and become lighter than a bird."
Margery was stunned, "Really?"
"Of course," smiled the prince, "I can prove it to you."
Showing businessmen a glimpse of their various inventions is also an effective way to enhance relationships and expand trade routes, from mugs to liquor, but whether they can be sold or not is another matter. Anyway, the caravan will stay in the town for a few days, and the normal business negotiation process should be to eat, drink, and play, and then sign at the end. In addition, Anna is also very interested in traveling by hot air balloon, which just allows her to take a break from her busy work, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.
The Yuanwang was quickly inflated. On this voyage, Roland simply called on the witch who couldn't get on the hot air balloon last time. Lucia timidly asked if she could take her sister to take a look, and he agreed.
When the balloon lifted slowly with the crowd, Margery covered her mouth in surprise, while Hogg clutched the edge of the basket, not knowing whether she was excited or scared. Ling was too short to see the scenery outside the basket, so Lucia had to pick her up, ride her on her shoulders, approach the basket carefully, and told her not to move. Lightning, the navigator and rescuer, has been circling the balloon, grimacing at Ling from time to time.
In this way, the hot air balloon swayed along the southern coastline again, completing the aerial sightseeing tour.
…
After returning to the castle, Hogg's legs were still shaking, and he stammered, "I never thought that looking down in the sky would be so scary, I felt like I would fall at any moment."
"Just fly a few more times," Roland said with a smile. "People who have their feet off the ground for the first time will have such an illusion, just like people who have never been to sea before vomiting on a bumpy ship."
"You're right," Margery said in admiration. "The scenery I saw today is incredible. Looking at the edge of the sea from the sky, it looks like a blue arc."
"But Your Highness, I don't seem to be wrong," Hogg took a sip of ice-cold liquor. "Ordinary people did fly to the sky, but this is still the work of witches. Without them, this big guy should not be able to fly. of."
"No, my old friend," Margaery said before Roland could speak, "Didn't you find out? Miss Anna was just releasing flames. I also asked about Lightning specifically, and she told me to just put it in the airbag. Pour in the heat, and the Yuanwang will rise to the sky on its own. Flames are not the prerogative of witches, Your Highness, am I right?"
As expected of a fjord merchant who has established a firm foothold in the capital, both his observation and thinking abilities are outstanding. Roland smiled and nodded, "Hot air rises and cold air sinks, which is why it is called a hot air balloon. "
"Is it really enough to just light a brazier?" Hogg wondered.
"That can't be done, because if you want it to float in the air, you must continue to heat it, and the wood itself is very heavy, and you can't carry much, and you must use a special method to solve this problem."
"Can you do it?" Margery asked impatiently.
"Well... it should be possible," Roland thought for a moment, "it's just a little troublesome."
"That's great," she replied immediately, "I hope I can buy four or five hot air balloons from you, not too big, just carry one person."
"You want to use it on a boat?" Hogg asked.
"Well, the mast can't be stretched infinitely, but hot air balloons can, as long as a rope is tied under the basket to keep it from drifting away in the wind. With hot air balloons, lookouts can spot nearby pirate ships earlier. In business terms, apart from unpredictable storms and tsunamis, the most dangerous is the hordes of pirates."
"But its cost probably won't be too low," Roland estimated in his heart, "I expect it will require more than a thousand golden dragons."
Without witch heating, hot air balloons would have to be fueled by gas, the most readily available being gas. It is a pity that the coal mine in Graycastle is located in the Cold Wind Ridge area, which is too far away from Border Town. According to the current traffic conditions, it is almost impossible to transport it. It is easier to implement if it is replaced by a hydrogen balloon, but it also needs to solve the problem of the gas storage tank. If it cannot be charged and discharged freely, it will have no practical value.
"How about a thousand golden dragons per balloon?" Margery countered. "If you really make something like this, I can guarantee that all the caravans traveling to and from the fjord will want to buy one or two."
"This time, the Crescent Moon Bay caravan didn't come along, or they would definitely place a large order," Hogg drank the liquor in his hand, "I don't have to. Although the hot air balloon looks amazing, No use for the mines in Silver Light City. I just hope I can get my steam engine as soon as possible."
Roland was overjoyed by the price offered by the other party. One thousand golden dragons was a premium after he increased the estimated price by five times. He did not expect that the other party would gladly accept the price of twice the steam engine. But if you think about it carefully, the goods carried by a sea ship are likely to be more than this price, not to mention the entire trading fleet and sailors. Said it's still a good deal.
In addition, a thousand gold dragons are not a one-shot deal. Whether it is hydrogen or gas, they are all consumables. When they are used up, they must be taken back to the town to refill. Discount or give away inflatables. At this point, 4s shop and two barrels of oil are his role models to learn and imitate.
Roland pretended to hesitate for a while, and finally nodded, "Then make a deal." (.., Your support is my biggest motivation.)