As the heavy iron gate slowly rose under the power of the winch, the majestic Royal City of Ansu opened its door to the guardians of the kingdom. Under the lead-grey clouds, it was manned by more than a dozen carriages and a large number of knights. , a team of guards entered the city.
The wheels of the carriage rolled over the ancient stone road that was hundreds of years old. The slightly loose stone slabs vibrated slightly, and the small stones kept making creaking sounds between the wheels and the stone slabs, but this The creaking sound did not last long before it was covered up by the sudden sound of flutes and drums played by the musicians in the team.
Victoria slightly opened the cover on one side of the carriage, and through the narrow gap, she saw the empty streets outside - a heavy snowfall had just visited Saint-Sunil not long ago, and the snow was Covering the entire city, on this freezing day, even the residents of the royal capital would not walk around casually, not to mention that this was a common alley near the outer city: all the duchess could see was white. On the streets and snow-covered roofs, the snow has been shoveled away in some areas, but in many places it still looks like it has just stopped snowing.
There is a collapsed house in the corner of the sight, which seems to have been crushed by snow. Naturally, there are no residents in the ruins of the house, and it is not known where the people who once lived here have moved - Or died somewhere.
The sound of flutes and drums is still playing, echoing alone in this empty street, as if a team of clowns are telling jokes hard on a stage without any audience, funny and weird, but the musicians They didn't care about this: the music they played was not to attract nearby residents to come out to welcome the nobles, but to allow the soldiers at the back of the team to quickly organize themselves after entering the city, and to remind passers-by in front. (If there is one), ask the other party to give way quickly.
So it’s not a big deal if anyone responds.
The cover of the carriage was closed.
The convoy passed through the slums of South City, passed through the middle city where citizens lived, and continued to drive towards Silver Castle. After crossing Iron Cross Street, the monotonous drumbeat sound coming from outside finally stopped. , more and more voices came from all directions.
The convoy entered the inner city where upper-class citizens and minor nobles lived - after crossing the street, the place finally showed a hint of prosperity as the capital of the kingdom.
On the wide streets, the snow has been cleared away. Wealthy citizens and small nobles wearing colorful and thick winter clothes have already heard the sounds coming from the middle city, and they ran out of their homes to greet the people entering the city. convoy. Neither the cold north wind nor the snowflakes blown by the wind could extinguish the enthusiasm of these people. They stretched their necks on the roadside and watched the cars with the emblems of the Wilder family, the royal family, and the Holy Light Church hanging on the road. Passing by, everyone cheered and admired, and the winter flowers and colorful silk ribbons catalyzed by magic were thrown into the air, falling like a rain of colorful flowers, and those who threw fresh flowers were thrown into the air.People in Flowers and Silk all look forward to the carriage in front of the team opening its windows and the people sitting in the car to show up and say hello - in the past, the Duchess of the North and the Saint Princess lived in castles and cathedrals Here, ordinary wealthy citizens and small nobles would not have the opportunity to see their faces with their own eyes, but at this moment when the convoy passed through the wealthy area, this was a rare opportunity.
However, today’s situation is obviously different from the past. Amid the eager anticipation of the crowd, no carriage opened its cover. The entire team just continued to maintain its speed, passing through the crowd without stopping. They drove through the entire block outside Silver Castle and drove into the distant castle...
Duke Victoria, dressed in a white dress, led her maids and attendants through the atrium and main hall of Silver Castle. Entering the corridor of the castle, we arrived at the study room on the upper floor of the castle. The Grand Duke of the West, Baldwin Franklin, was wearing a warm and comfortable silk robe, sitting on a lounge chair next to the fireplace, concentrating on reading a large book. When he saw the Duchess Suddenly appearing, the Grand Duke of the West was startled for a moment, and then quickly stood up to greet you: "Ah, Duchess Wilder - please forgive me for not going to the long hall to greet you, this book has too much appeal to me. ”
Victoria’s eyes glanced at the cover of the book in Duke Baldwin’s hand, and saw a long list of words gilded on it: “History of Currency Evolution and Changes in Trade Lines in the Northern Continent”.
The Franklin family is known as the "Anzu Moneybags". Because it is located next to the Augurei Tribal Nation, which is a multi-racial and prosperous trade country, all the Western Dukes are good at business. Baldwin? Franklin is one of the best, and his favorite books are naturally in this field.
But at this moment, Victoria couldn't help but sigh after reading this book: "Perhaps you should be allowed to go on this trip to the south."
"Oh?" Baldwin Franklin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "It seems that this trip did not go well? Did our founding hero make things difficult for you?"
"No, everything went well. Grand Duke Gawain Cecil is kind and friendly, and we have done a big business - that's why I said you should go."
The duchess's tone seemed calm, but she has known her for a long time. However, Baldwin saw an imperceptible hint of annoyance in the eyes of the "Snow Queen". He put the book aside and his expression became serious: "What did you see in the South?"
"...A better place than Saint-Sunil," Victoria considered her words and took a long time to say this. Then she shook her head, "I will tell you in detail later. Let’s talk about the situation in the south. Now let’s talk about the results of this trip.”
Badwin Franklin listened carefully to Victoria’s story, his brows sometimes frowned and sometimes relaxed, and his fingers unconsciously moved. Fingering a ruby ring on her left hand, although the duchess only briefly described the negotiation results of the trip to the south, he could still understand the "Queen of the North" in front of him from the words and phrases of the other party. "existHow deeply touched that mysterious southern land was.
This surprised and surprised him - it turns out that there is something in the world that can make this frozen lady shake like this.
"So, Duke Cecil at least acquiesces to the coronation of His Highness Wales and will not openly support the Eastern Territory... Moreover, he also stated that he will not use the emergency inheritance rights from seven hundred years ago," When Victoria's story came to an end, Duke Baldwin said slowly, "This is better than we expected."
"Indeed," Victoria nodded, "other than that In addition, he also agreed to provide paid military assistance to Wang ** - if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that extraordinary weapons could really be mass-produced."
Bardwin. He became very interested: "What kind of equipment are they? Is there any sample I can take a look at?"
"He gave me a sword, as well as several sets of armor and weapons as samples. "Victoria said, and turned to the attendant standing at the door, "Bring the things in."
A heavy box was moved into the room, containing samples of magic armor, melting swords, crystal grenades, and searing heat. The ray emitter was presented to Duke Baldwin.
"...They are indeed exquisite weapons." Baldwin Franklin looked at the weapons and equipment made by machines with a hint of admiration, and picked up a melting sword and looked at it carefully. Then, he activated the magic mechanism of the sword according to Victoria's instructions. With a low buzzing sound, the blade with a thin layer of purple steel coating was immediately covered with a layer of scorching magic force field.
"Oh, incredible..." Duke Baldwin opened his eyes slightly, but soon frowned, "Its internal magic operation is defective."
Victoria nodded: "Indeed, as I said, its magic mechanism is very fragile - according to Duke Cecil, this is to save costs."
Duke Wilder closed it The magic mechanism, as the blade gradually cooled, his mind also cooled down from the curiosity of seeing new things. After a brief thought, he looked at the duchess: "You just said that each time a magic mechanism is replaced, it takes A gold coin?"
"That's right."
"...In addition to this weapon called the Melting Sword, the magic core of other equipment basically needs to be replaced frequently. "
"Indeed," Victoria nodded and said before Baldwin spoke, "You don't need to remind me - I know it will cost a lot, although the magic core alone is very expensive. It's cheap, but it consumes a lot of money."
Bardwin glanced at Victoria quietly, then slowly shook his head: "No, Duchess Wilder, you don't know—— You have underestimated how expensive this is. In fact, the cost of replacing the magic core is the real price of this transaction. Compared with it, the prices of these swords and armors are not worth mentioning at all."
"So serious?" Victoria's eyes finally showed a hint of surprise.
"Don't question my business acumen," Baldwin Franklin said, sighing deeply, "but don't be discouraged by the facts I'm telling you - we're facing It is a conspiracy, we have no choice, Duke Cecil has calculated this point, and then puts forward these conditions - even if I am here, I have to accept it all, and even with such a high price, These weapons and equipment...are still worth the money."
"Is it worth the money..." Victoria looked at Duke Baldwin's helpless expression, and her expression calmed down again, "In short, First, gather mages and scholars to start trying to imitate these weapons, dismantle their magic mechanisms, and figure out how these things work."
"Of course, we must understand these things," Baldwin said in a deep voice, with emotion in his tone, "What a lesson... I learned that this can still be done in business?"
"I'm afraid we will have to learn more lessons this time. More," Victoria glanced at the sighing Duke of the West, with a hint of complexity in her tone. "After seeing the way the Cecil people lived, I realized one thing: In these seven hundred years of peace, Here, I'm afraid Ansu has not made any progress at all - compared with our ancestors, we are far behind."
"Oh?" Bai Dewen's tone rose, showing a curious look, "Tell me the details. Let’s talk about it..."
Victoria pondered for a moment and organized her words: "Then let’s start with their Government Affairs Office..."
...
"The business of the Cecil people is very advanced, and what we saw in Cod Trading Company is only a small part of their business wisdom," Belk Loren stood in the long hall of Solinburg, Speaking to his father and Prince Edmund about the situation he investigated in the southern border, "I tried to contact a large number of businessmen there, and also contacted their 'Government Affairs Office' as a businessman, and contacted a large number of their people. Approval and management processes, I found that they have very strict business monitoring - the level of strictness is shocking, which is completely different from the impression we had when we first heard about the various new business opening policies of the Principality of Cecil. ”
Silas Lauren listened to his son's report, and at the same time, his eyes occasionally fell on Prince Edmund sitting at the top - this young prince had long lost all his childishness, and he was dressed in black. Wearing light steel armor and a wolfskin cape draped over his shoulders, his face was less youthful and more weathered. He sat on the main seat of the castle and seemed attentive when listening to Belk's report, and looked like he was thinking from time to time.
Under the steps of the seats, Belk Loren was still talking: "Their business is indeed open, but it is an openness under precise control, which can explain why their business is open. Chambers of Commerce and emerging 'companies' can operate with such high efficiency and rarely make mistakes...
"In the 'work'Under the operation of the factory, Cecil's material output was astonishingly high, and a large number of things could be sold as commodities. This gave rise to many merchants who specialized in the wholesale and transportation of bulk goods. These merchants transported goods to distant places in large quantities... …
“Duke Cecil built a large number of roads, which connected all major cities and raw material producing areas, and cooperated with canals. They have a new magic device called the Magic Car, which is a A self-operating mechanical vehicle...
"In order to manage such a large and complex system, their Government Affairs Department is divided into multiple departments, each with clear responsibilities and corresponding regulatory measures. , everyone is being supervised, everyone is responsible for supervising others, and everyone has clear work and assessment standards - although it cannot be ruled out that there are still loopholes, their government affairs department has reached a level of efficiency and management capabilities. To an incredible extent, I copied their department list and all the rules and regulations that I could see..."
"It seems that the five-year mining rights of White Sand Hills were not wasted," said the chairperson, Edmund The prince suddenly said, "We finally saw something useful. "
"Your Highness," Silas Loren stood up and said, "Your previous ideas on the New Deal don't seem to be wrong - Duke Cecil just took a step further in this direction. The experience we gained was of great significance to us. "
"Yes," Prince Edmund nodded, his expression extremely serious, "These experiences will make us stronger, and we must become stronger as soon as possible. Our time... does not many. ”
Yes, time is running out.
Everyone in the main hall of the castle understood the meaning of Prince Edmund’s words.
The covetous Typhon Empire...has not much time left for the Ansu people.
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