"Your Majesty, I have never disclosed to others that you and Lord Thunder..." She hurriedly defended.
"I know," Roland waved his hand and looked at Gamore with interest, "where did you hear the news?"
Although he did not regard this as a secret, the steel ship has just built a bottom hull, and there are at least several months before the outfitting, and the whole process is built in a fully enclosed dock in the shoal. The workers are all the most skilled local residents, it is almost impossible for outsiders to know the news.
If anyone among the locals is secretly connecting with the fjords, it would be worth noting.
"Lord Thunder is recruiting a new expedition team, the scale of which is larger than ever before. This is a major event in the fjord. Crescent Moon Bay also has many outstanding captains, and it is not unusual to join his team." Moore smiled and said, "The news about this magical iron ship also came from Thunder. After all, to dispel other people's concerns about going deep into the waters west of the Shadow Islands, he must show some hard tactics."
"How many people know about this?"
"Not much, Your Majesty, the prestige of Lord Lei Ting is much higher than that of us businessmen. If the captain hadn't received the huge favor of the Crescent Moon Merchant Guild, he would not have revealed a single word to us."
"I see," Roland nodded, "but this kind of ship is extremely difficult to build, and it's impossible to build a second one for a while, so I can't meet your request."
"We can understand, Your Majesty," Marlan said, "We only hope to sell the second steel ship to us after you have completed the transaction with Lord Thunder. For this reason, the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce is willing to pay first. 10% of the deposit will be made up for the remaining 40% as soon as construction starts.”
Without even asking the price, he started talking about the deposit. Roland once again realized the adventurous spirit of the people in the fjords, or the sensitivity to ships, they were far higher than the rulers of the four kingdoms. At least he had never seen a great noble who would spend a fortune on something he had never seen before.
"Neverwinter City also needs steel ships, and it's not just one. When the dock can be freed, it may have to wait two or three years." He replied calmly, "You have never considered dispatching. Craftsmen come to participate in the construction and sign a new ten-year or five-year contract? That may speed up the construction progress a lot, and you can also get the corresponding technology afterwards. "
"You're joking," Garmore said a little embarrassedly, "we definitely don't have any intention of coveting it. If the steel ship can really be as Lord Thunder said, you can use it to become the most popular partner in the Fjord Islands. How dare we speak to you about technology."
"I'm not kidding." Roland took a sip and shrugged lightly.
"..." This time it was the two people's turn to be stunned.
After a while, Gamore asked incredulously, "You mean... are you willing to disclose the technology to the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce?"
"As long as you can provide enough craftsmen, not only blacksmiths and carpenters, but also apprentices," Roland replied without hesitation, "If 2,000 people are not enough, you can use literate civilians to make up, and make them all within five years, how about it? So you can start construction on your ship next year. Of course, you still have to pay for the shipbuilding costs."
"I really can't figure out what you're thinking, Your Majesty," Gamore smiled bitterly, "Isn't this your technique of pressing the bottom of the box?"
Roland shook his head, "The steel ship I built for Thunder is already the latest technology that Neverwinter can come up with."
It's not that he was deliberately fooling around. "So far" is definitely not an exaggeration... As for five or six years later, who knows
"Then why..." Gamore was stunned for a while, then waved his hands helplessly, "No, I'm not going to ask. Crescent Moon Bay is willing to make this deal."
Why? Because technology cannot be realized without the foundation, let alone shipbuilding technology, even if mines, machine tools, and converters are all packaged and thrown into the fjords, they will not have enough manpower to maintain this huge industrial system. When the first steam engine came out, manufacturing was no longer an industry that could be imitated by a pair of skilled hands and a hammer.
Roland couldn't help but think of what the captain of the Black Sea said when he answered what was needed to build Varyag, "To complete it requires the Party Central Committee, the State Planning Commission, the Military Industry Commission and the nine Ministry of Defense Industry." Although the current steel ships are far from meeting such high requirements, But it is also the result of the joint production of the entire Neverwinter City. Except for the welding of the core power part and the hull that Anna is responsible for, the rest of the parts have been distributed to the assembly plant in batches and processed by ordinary people.
It can be said that this is an inevitable trend of industrial development.
Therefore, rather than holding on to the technology, he needs more people to turn his vision into a result. The population of Neverwinter is already rising rapidly, but he still feels that it is not fast enough. It's just that he doesn't need to explain this to a businessman. After five years, the other party will naturally understand.
"Choice wisely, the steel ship won't let you down," Roland raised his glass, "Cheers."
"Do... what?"
"It's just to drink the wine in one breath, to express the meaning of celebration," he explained calmly, "the new etiquette of the royal capital."
"Uh, is that so? Then... Cheers." The two Crescent Moon Bay merchants bit their heads and poured a glass of white wine into their mouths.
It didn't take long for Nibelon and Etier to return to the parlour and agreed to sign the contract.
As a result, Neverwinter City ushered in an unprecedented huge order for the transformation deposit of 4,000 golden dragons (the remaining 4,000 will be paid after the transformation is completed), as well as the construction advance payment of 5,000 golden dragons. These are all payments that can be received during the year. , not to mention the total price depending on the subsequent construction progress. He could already imagine Barov smiling from ear to ear. The city hall had a lot of income, and he had more confidence in arranging a job for every territorial citizen.
Seeing that the negotiation was agreed, Nibelung changed the subject again, "Your Majesty, in addition to the ship, we also heard that you will have a lot of perfume for sale here, I don't know..."
"Ms. Margery signed a perfume agency contract with me half a year ago. After the opening of the shoal port, she will be responsible for the perfume sold to the fjord islands. So if you want to buy perfume, you should negotiate with her. instead of me."
Seeing the other party's expression of regret, Roland continued, "But Neverwinter is also planning to promote a brand new product, maybe you will be interested."
Having said that, he clapped his hands, and the personal guard on duty outside the hall quickly walked in with three glass bottles.
The strange-colored clear liquid contained in the bottle immediately attracted the attention of the merchants.