It was already the end of September when Lorist received the news that Princess Sylvia, accompanied by Earl Kenmes, had visited the Rock Castle, and he had stayed at the Oxhorn Bay Shipyard for about a month. Now the shipyard has not only started construction of three training ships and one survey ship, but is also studying the concept of a fast cruiser proposed by Lorist.
The countries and regions in the Galintia continent that now have sea fleets still use the traditional ship-to-board battle mode, just like the powerful maritime forces of the Ford Business Alliance that Lorist saw when he was still studying in Morente City. Fleet, their warships are like a square-shaped city wall buckled on the hull. When the battleships of the two sides are two to three hundred meters apart, they use crossbows and longbows to launch rockets for long-range attacks, and then slowly move closer to meet. In the side battle, the battle is ended by destroying the opponent's counterattack force and capturing the enemy ship.
It's a pity that Lorist's black powder experiment ended in failure, otherwise he could at least create bronze cannons and usher in the era of large sailing battleships. In his previous life, as a factory director who manufactured arts and crafts, he was no stranger to the famous sailing battleships of the age of great voyages. He made more than a dozen of them just as models, but without artillery, these battleships could only be used as merchant ships in this different world.
However, Lorist still designed a three-masted sailing battleship based on the experience of making those sailing battleship models in his previous life, with long-range attack as the main means, emphasizing speed and flexibility. As for the method of long-range attack, both the chariot steel crossbow and the trebuchet can be installed on the battleship. Try to avoid the side-to-side battle. The best way to destroy the enemy is by flying a kite or sliding a monkey.
"Okay, let's build one according to my design and try the effect first. In terms of long-range attack, if our Norton family considers itself second, I believe that no country or family dares to be the first. You must have this confidence After building this battleship, we can go to sea for drills, and then we will know whether this fast cruiser is suitable or not." Lorist said to the shipbuilders around him.
"Yes, my lord..."
After leaving the shipyard, Lorist went back to Maplewood Villa to spend three days with Elina, teasing his silly brat, and then returned to Rock Castle without haste.
Before taking a bath to wash off the dust along the way, Schwader came in to report that Princess Sylvia was coming to visit. Lorist had no choice but to wash his face and change his clothes before going out to meet the guests.
Princess Sylvia took a maid with her, and she looked very angry, and she hurriedly complained when she saw Lorist. Lorist listened for a long time, and quickly figured out the cause of the matter. The main reason was that the negotiations between Princess Sylvia and Fatty Shi had stalled. The price of the three cows is so ridiculous that it is simply a lion's mouth.
Lorist smiled gently: "No matter how much Her Royal Highness is here, as a lord, I have to give face to the beautiful Princess. Let's say, the ransom for a frontier soldier is one cow, and for the squad leader is ten. The squadron leader has a hundred heads, and the battalion leader has a thousand heads. As for Viscount Christopher, you can do what you want. Can this work?"
This face is really big enough, almost two-thirds of the price is reduced. Princess Sylvia looked at Lorist who suddenly blushed, lowered her head and said shyly, "Thank you, Brother Locke..."
Lorist didn't think there was anything to be polite about. Anyway, this was what he and Fatty Shi had discussed a long time ago. One would sing a bad face and the other would sing a bad face. In the end, he would give the Grand Duke Fessabrun a face and make him owe the Norton family one. Favor. It would be even better if Princess Sylvia came here in person now, this favor is big enough. As for Princess Sylvia calling him Big Brother Locke, it's not surprising that they called him that way when they got acquainted with each other on the way when they escorted her back.
At this time, Lorist was anxious to send Princess Sylvia away, and went back to take a bath before going to see his daughter at Miss Teresty's. After going there for more than a month, he was really worried. Lorist didn't really care much about Princess Sylvia's young children. Although Princess Sylvia is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen, and she is still the goddess in the eyes of Earl Kenmax, Lorist II is a human being, not to mention his psychological age, and his current status alone is better than Princess Sylvia. Eight years older, in his heart, he only regards Princess Sylvia as a very cute and lively girl next door.
However, Princess Sylvia negotiated the price of the ransom and did not leave. Instead, she talked about it for a long time. Lorist became a little impatient, and asked with a smile: "Your Highness, is there anything else you can do? Just tell me, I will do my best to help if I can."
Princess Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Locke, in fact, I'm not just here for the ransom, I also want to ask you to sell a batch of weapons and equipment to the border guards?"
"Huh?" Lorist was taken aback for a moment, he hadn't expected Princess Sylvia's request in advance. He pondered for a moment, then looked up at Princess Sylvia: "As a friend, I hope you can tell me why you came to our family to buy weapons and equipment..."
Princess Sylvia's face looked aggrieved: "Originally all the weapons and equipment needed by the border guards were provided by the Kingdom of Iberia for free. My grandfather signed an agreement with His Majesty the King. The two iron mines owned by the Kingdom of Iberia One-third of the output will be forged into armored weapons by the ordnance factory controlled by His Majesty the King, and then supplemented to the border guards.
But what I didn't expect was that His Majesty the King returned to the capital after being defeated by your Norton family in the Northland last time, and actually leased these two iron mines in the Kingdom of Iberia, which are related to the lifeblood of the country, to the Vicia Chamber of Commerce for 30 years. For one thing, although the Vicia Chamber of Commerce acknowledged the agreement signed by my grandfather and His Majesty the King, what they are willing to provide is only one-third of the iron ore production, not forged weapons and equipment, because this is not clearly stated in the agreement …
And when I came to your family, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce just sent us a notice saying that it would take two years to replace all the mining equipment, so they were willing to use Jinford to compensate us for our losses. But what we need is not gold coins, but weapons and equipment.
The main enemy of the soldiers of the border guards is the barbarian cavalry on the northeast prairie. Although the weapons and equipment provided by the kingdom's ordnance manufacturing in the past were of poor quality and suffered serious wear and tear, after all, they could still be replenished. But now that there is no iron ore and no supplement of these weapons and equipment, after a few small-scale battles, the soldiers of the frontier defense corps will face those ferocious grass barbarians with broken blades in their hands.
So Brother Locke, please see that the Frontier Corps, like your Norton family, is protecting the frontiers of the former empire, lend a helping hand, and sell the weapons and equipment produced by your family to the Frontier Corps, the Feisabrun family and the Frontier Corps Our soldiers will remember the friendship of the Norton family..."
"Vicia Chamber of Commerce?" Lorist did not answer Princess Sylvia's question of whether to sell weapons and equipment, but instead focused on the Vicia Chamber of Commerce she said: "Strange, how does the Vicia Chamber of Commerce extend its hand?" To the Kingdom of Iberia?"
"Brother Locke, do you know the Vicia Chamber of Commerce? By the way, you said that you studied in Morente City when you were young, so you should know the Vicia Chamber of Commerce very well?" Princess Sylvia had sharp ears and heard Loris Special soliloquy.
Lorist nodded: "Yes, I have heard of the Vicia Chamber of Commerce, but I don't know much about it. Although I have stayed in Morente City for ten years, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce is the seventh member of the Ford Business Alliance. One of the largest chambers of commerce, ranked among the top three. Such a giant of a chamber of commerce is aloof, and has nothing to do with the mercenaries we used to make a living in Morente City. However, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce is the most famous producer of high-quality weapons and equipment.
You know the Michelk fine steel mail armor, which claims to be the best in the world in terms of defense. It is produced in the Kingdom of Temanda, but the right to sell the 20 or so sets of Michelk fine steel mail armor produced every year is all controlled by the Vicia Chamber of Commerce. hands. It can be said that the Vicia Chamber of Commerce is the largest manufacturer of weapons and equipment in the Galintia continent... "
"No wonder..." Princess Sylvia suddenly realized: "Our family knights were very angry when they received the notice that the Vicia Chamber of Commerce was going to replace the mining equipment, thinking that the Vicia Chamber of Commerce was deceiving us and asked to send troops to teach them a lesson, but my grandfather But he smiled wryly and shook his head to reject their request. He only said that the Vicia Chamber of Commerce is one of the seven giants of the Ford Business Alliance and is not easy to mess with. Cutting off will have a great impact on people's livelihood... "
Lorist smiled and said nothing. Even though the Grand Duke of Feisabrun has two provinces and a border army of more than 70,000 people, his real strength may not be as good as that of the Kenmes family. Grassland is still grassland, not even a share of minerals. Even if you want to grow food, you need to invest a lot of money in water conservancy construction. To put it bluntly, even a pottery pot needs to be brought in by a merchant from outside, and the products it produces are cattle, sheep, fur and dairy products.
Now the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce chaired by Earl Kenmes is not only selling snow salt, they have also wholesaled a large number of daily groceries from the Norton family, and the dumping place is the Eastern Wilderness Province controlled by the Grand Duke of Feisabrun and Makinohara Province. Regardless of the trivial and complicated daily necessities, the quantity is superior. Even the Norton family, which only has a 10% profit share in the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce, can earn an extra two to three thousand gold dollars in a year.
If it weren't for the fact that the Grand Duke Feisabrun was a third-level great swordsman, powerful, and had an elite frontier army that obeyed his orders and was well-known, then the Kingdom of Iberia would have been impossible to establish. In Lorist's opinion, it is actually the easiest to deal with the Grand Duke of Fesabrun. As long as the borders of these two provinces in the Kingdom of Iberia are sealed off and commercial activities are strictly prohibited, then within two or three years, the border guards will not fight Self-defeating.
"Brother Locke, you haven't said whether you will sell weapons and equipment to our family..." Princess Sylvia urged.
"It can be sold, but I'm worried that your family won't be able to afford it..." Lorist smiled wryly.
"Our family is rich, and we can still scrape together hundreds of thousands of gold dollars." Princess Sylvia was very unconvinced.
Lorist shook his head: "It's not that I look down on these hundreds of thousands of gold dollars, the problem is that this few gold coins may not even be fully equipped for a corps..."
"Ah? Is it so expensive?" Princess Sylvia was a little dazed.
"It's not a question of whether it's expensive or not, but whether it's worth the price. Your Royal Highness, you don't know much about weapons and equipment. How about this, I will hold a banquet at noon tomorrow to express my welcome to the Rock Castle After the banquet, I will display all the styles of equipment for sale for your family to choose. With Viscount Christopher present, you don't have to worry about us deliberately raising the price, he is an expert." Lorist said.
"I'm sorry, Brother Locke, I really don't have much research on weapons and equipment. I didn't mean to offend you just now, please forgive me. Then I will take my leave and see you tomorrow." Princess Sylvia lowered her head.
"It's okay, don't worry about it, see you tomorrow." Lorist waved his hand generously.
Princess Sylvia saluted and said goodbye, walked a few steps and then turned around: "Thank you, Brother Locke, you are a good person..."
"En?" Lorist was puzzled, why did he suddenly send him a good person card
The next day, after the grand welcome banquet, Lorist welcomed Princess Sylvia and her party to the second-floor hall with walls lined with various armor and weaponry.
"Princess Sylvia, Great Swordsman Sandy, Viscount Christopher, the styles of armor and weapons that our family can sell are all listed here, and you can choose. However, the prices below these weapons and equipment are all our internal sell it to our allies. If you purchase from our family, the price will be increased by 20%, which is already very favorable." Lorist said bluntly.
"Ah! A set of one hundred goldfords. Isn't this the standard equipment for the Earl of Kenmes family?" Princess Sylvia was very surprised. The shiny standard armor is very impressive. At that time, she only thought it looked good, but she didn't expect a set of equipment to be so expensive.
Earl Kenmes nodded: "Yes, Your Royal Highness, this is indeed the standard equipment of our family's armed forces. I also bought it from Locke at this price."
"Uncle Kerry, you said before that the armor provided by His Majesty the King was only worth about ten goldfords. Why are these weapons and equipment sold by the Norton family so expensive?" Princess Sylvia was very depressed, so she looked like Loris. As Te said, the family's hundreds of thousands of Jinfords are not even fully equipped for a regiment.
Viscount Christopher smiled wryly. He is a discerning person, so he can naturally distinguish the quality of these weapons and equipment: "Your Royal Highness, each set of armor from Earl Norton is high-quality, with excellent quality and very strong defense. In the past, His Majesty the King provided Compared with these, the iron armor for the Border Guard Corps is like rubbish. Let’s put it this way, the defensive power of that iron armor is only slightly better than the leather armor made by our family, and a soldier can easily wear out one piece in a year. And here No matter what aspects of armor, it is far superior to that kind of iron armor. If you take good care of it, you can even pass it on to your descendants, and it is enough to be a family heirloom.”
Great Swordsman Sandy also nodded, expressing his agreement with Viscount Christopher.
"But our family doesn't have so many gold coins..." Princess Sylvia hesitated.
"Please take a look at this set of standard equipment." Lorist led everyone to a set of simple standard armor at the right time: "This set of armor was originally prepared for scout light cavalry, and there are matching throwing weapons , long swords and spears, very suitable for the ranger equipment of your family's border guards. The price is only 65 gold fords, although it is the cheapest armor here, in fact its defensive ability is also very good, and the next Compared with the standard armor of the famous White Lion Legion of the former empire, its defensive power is only 20%. I think this should be enough for the soldiers of the border guards to deal with the barbarians. If you don’t have enough gold coins, I will There is another suggestion, you can use cattle and sheep to pay for it. Your Highness, what do you think?"
"Very well, let's pay with cattle and sheep. If the quantity is not enough, I can lead my troops to the northeast prairie to rob some." Viscount Christopher was very excited, and he agreed without waiting for Princess Sylvia to speak. down.
Three days later, Princess Sylvia, who reached an agreement, embarked on the journey back under the escort of Sandy Great Swordsman, Viscount Christopher, and the 3,000 soldiers of the Frontier Legion who were released first. The remaining 12,000 prisoners of war will be equipped with standard equipment purchased from the Norton family when the cattle and sheep are delivered, and then go back in batches.
"Damn, Locke, are you crazy?" Fatty Shi swears in a rare way: "If the Feisabrun family is crazy, you will also go crazy. They even want 100,000 sets of standard equipment, and you agree to it, even the ransom for the captives." Together, there are nearly two million cattle and sheep. Is this possible? There are not so many cattle and sheep in the two provinces combined... "
"Viscount Christopher said to lead troops to the northeast prairie to look for those savage tribes to grab cattle and sheep back." Lorist said lazily.
"Uh..." Fatty Shi was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect the Feisablun family to have this trick: "Even if we snatch it back, we don't have the manpower to graze so many cattle and sheep!"
"Well, it's okay. The agreement stipulates that it is five years, and there are more than 400,000 heads a year. Keep tens of thousands of good ones every year, and half of the rest will be slaughtered for jerky, and the other half will be sold in the family territory. It should be soon. It can be consumed. After all, our family now has a population of nearly 800,000, and there is a great demand for fresh beef and mutton. As for the population of grazing, I have also discussed with them. They will provide us with nearly five There are more than a thousand herdsmen, and one family is equivalent to ten cows. When a town is established in the west of the Northland, these shepherds will be arranged to live, and it should be enough for them to graze 400,000 to 500,000 cattle and sheep."
What Lorist said made sense, Fatty Shi turned his head and left without saying anything.
"Go out and close the door, I'll squint first, I'm exhausted." Lorist put his feet on the desk, and was about to lean back on the chair and take a nap.
"boom!!!"…
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