On the third day after the fall, the Margery Chamber of Commerce arrived at the border town wharf as scheduled.
This time, the caravan returned to its former size, and ten sailboats lined up in a row, docked firmly beside the trestle.
"His Royal Highness, we meet again," Crescent Moon Bay merchant Gamore bowed and said, "Listen to Ms. Margery, has the first steamship been remodeled?"
"Indeed," Roland smiled, "but in order to ensure the quality of the product, it still needs three or four days of sea trials to test the reliability of the power system."
"It's really exciting," Marland clapped his hands. "It takes almost so many days for the fleet to unload the cargo. We can wait here. Excuse me, Your Highness, can I board the steamship to visit during the trial?"
"Of course, it's a brand new ship after all, and it's completely different from the previous sailboats. I have to show you how to operate it. But according to the plan, these are the contents of tomorrow." Roland gestured to come with me. , "The most important thing now is to relax your tired body. Haven't you eaten lunch yet? I have prepared a sumptuous banquet in the castle parlor."
"Every time I come here, I will have a delicious meal to enjoy," Margery said, covering her mouth with a smile, "I am indeed so hungry right now that the wheat biscuits and the jerky are as hard as rocks and hard to swallow. "
There is no reliable preservation technology in this era, so most dry food is really dry and hard, which reminds Roland of canned food. After the development of light industry, the manufacture of various delicious and convenient food cans is definitely the best choice for long-distance travel and seafaring merchants.
…
When the banquet was over, Hogg patted his belly contentedly, "This bowl of mushroom soup almost made me swallow my tongue. I seem to taste the taste of Haizhen, stewed chicken and pork bones at the same time. A court cook is really skilled."
"I prefer the dessert after the meal, it's called ice cream... right?" Margaery said. "I guess it's made with milk and honey, and then frozen with saltpeter to form ice crystals."
"I have to add some butter and egg whites, otherwise I won't be able to make it so glutinous and soft," Roland added. "I wonder how much saltpeter is in this time?"
"There is still only one ship," the businesswoman shook her head. "The Alchemist Association is still buying saltpeter, and the former Prime Minister even sent patrols to help them scavenge for the goods from the saltpeter field. A group of guys with the name of sages bought it and followed suit. There is no difference between robbers, this ship of saltpeter is still brought from Chishui City."
"Then most of the goods shipped this month are washing stones?"
"That's right," Hogg drank the white wine in the glass and filled himself up again, "although the amount may be a bit large, but you said last time, try to get as much as possible, but I remember it in my heart. In addition to washing stones, there are also fine iron ingots and lead ingots. Except for your place, few towns need these things recently," he sighed. "The mining business is getting worse and worse."
This is the impact of the civil war. Roland thought to himself that the purchasing power of various places is gradually declining. If it continues for two or three years, it will basically be the rhythm of rising food prices and starvation everywhere.
"By the way, what happened to the West Territory recently?" Margery asked suddenly.
"What's wrong?"
"On the way to the town, the fleet encountered a lot of... um," she paused for a moment, as if thinking about the words, "a lot of floating corpses. They were in rags, and they just floated on both sides of the river. In addition to the bodies, there are some broken boards and ropes on the water, like a ship has hit a rock and sank. But there is no rock in the river, so I think... "
"Hmph, that's the fleet that Tifeko invaded the Western Region," Roland pretended to be indignant and briefly recounted the battle a week ago, "They have already received their due punishment."
In order to avoid blocking the waterway and spreading the disease, after cleaning the battlefield, he transferred Anna and Lily from the town, one responsible for burning the damaged ships and the other responsible for purifying the river water. And the floating corpse that Margery saw should be the war dead who had drifted down the river before the battle was over.
"I see," the businesswoman smiled. "It seems that both sides of Tifeko are going to hit a wall."
"Both sides?"
"And the latest news I got from Garcia in Clear Water Port is that the unknown looters who attacked the city in the east were Garcia's men. Instead, it went all the way north along the coastline, and no one knows where she ended up."
"Go north..." Roland said in surprise, "She left Greycastle?"
"It looks like this at the moment, Tifeko's men have fled in the clear water port, which is now an empty city." Margery stated, "Because he brought a lot of mice among the people, so this It's not a secret in the black street. In any case, you are the only thorn in his eyes now, and the attacks on the western border may become more and more frequent in the future."
"If you also want to leave Greycastle, Crescent Moon Bay welcomes you at any time," Marlan said.
"That's right," Gamore patted his chest, "the small island there is enough to hold ten border towns, and we are willing to provide it to you and your people for free."
But hand over the technology of the steam engine and the paddle steamer, right? Roland rolled his eyes in his heart, even if Graycastle couldn't stay any longer, Tilly Wimbledon should be the one who first chose to defect. But on the surface he just smiled, "Yes, if there is such a day, I will consider it."
"By the way," he then looked at Margery, "I have successfully made two of the reconnaissance balloons you ordered last time."
"So soon?" The latter said in surprise, "Can you take me to see it?"
"Of course, come with me." Roland got up and said.
…
In the expanded backyard of the castle, there is a fully inflated hydrogen balloon.
Its airbag is in the shape of a droplet, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a diameter of five meters at the top. The airbags and ropes are painted with sky camouflage, matched with the observer's camouflage clothing, which can minimize the recognition.
"It doesn't seem like the balloon we took last time?" Margery looked at the new product carefully.
"Because it can be used without a witch," Roland cleared his throat and began to introduce how to use the reconnaissance balloon. "The airbag has a movable valve at the end, which can fill and release gas precisely because this alchemical gas is filled in it. Only then can it fly. The method of inflation is very simple, just connect the matching hose to the air tank, and then unscrew the valves at both ends." After speaking, he demonstrated the operation process of deflation and inflation in public.
"How many tanks does it take to fill a reconnaissance balloon?" Margery quickly grasped the point.
"Five bottles or six bottles..." This question made Roland a little embarrassed. "No more than seven bottles at most." Dilution with water is too wasteful of precious labor in the laboratory, so it has to be dropped.
"This alchemical gas is very expensive, isn't it?"
"It's true. It's hard to keep, and it's dangerous... I mean, with careless manipulation," Roland coughed, "so the gas tank can only be stored for one year, and it must not be knocked, dismantled, or burned, or it could be Unpredictable and serious consequences will occur." He paused, "Although the price is a bit expensive, don't worry, when you first buy a reconnaissance balloon, the first batch of gas storage tanks will be provided by Border Town for free, and you can get an extra piece as a gift. Sky camouflage scout suit.".
(.)