Imperial Crown

It's winter in the North, and the sky is covered with thick quilt-like clouds, without any sunlight.

The biting cold wind blew the snowflakes down in layers, almost confusing the difference between the sky and the ground.

This weather where water turns to ice is not suitable for travel.

But at this moment, hundreds of carriages were passing through the streets of Eagle Town, crossing the bridge over the Jinsha River, and embarking on the trail leading to Eagle Castle.

The lanterns hanging on both sides of the trail emit a soft light, illuminating the snow and making the Eagle Castle at the end of the light look as warm as home.

Excluding Raven, there are thirteen nobles in Xuefeng County, and with the move of Viscount John, there are now twelve.

The nobles brought their spouses, family members, and a large number of servants. Each family brought at least six or seven carriages.

Broca Horta Leon is one of them.

His father was Viscount Fisher. During the war with the Order of the Hand of Death, Fisher not only killed himself, but also killed six barons in order to compete with Viscount John.

If not, Broca would have taken over the position of Sheriff after Viscount John left.

Now that the position of Sheriff fell to Raven, Broca was quite dissatisfied, so he had some bad thoughts. This time he pulled fifteen carriages, just to compete with Raven.

But when the carriage arrived at Eagle Town, his mentality began to change.

Although he had heard about the prosperity of Eagle Town, when he actually saw it, his feelings were completely different. What surprised him the most was the arena.

The scale of the building is large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people, but his family's duel venue is only one acre of land, which is incomparable.

In addition, there is an oil painting of Raven hanging above the gate, which depicts the moment when Raven defeated Wessazin!

Broca even sneaked out quietly in the middle and walked around the arena several times, becoming more and more enthusiastic as he went around.

How happy would it be to be able to have a knightly duel in such a venue under the spotlight, and then hang your image at the door for everyone to admire?

In comparison, the enjoyment of flying eagles and running dogs, eating, drinking and having fun on weekdays is simply not worth mentioning!

However, after silently calculating the cost in his mind, Broca sighed and completely retracted his intention to compete with Raven.

His carriage was the first to arrive.

At this time, Lei Wen was standing at the door to greet guests, his face showed no trace of arrogance as he suddenly ascended to a high position, and was so calm that it simply did not match his age.

Broca is already thirty-seven years old. At Raven's age, he is still looking at people with his nose and eyes.

Walking up to Raven, the two of them saluted each other. Broca smiled and said: "Baron Raven, congratulations on becoming the county commissioner."

According to the news that Raven received, Broca had always criticized his position as county commissioner, so he had long been prepared for tit-for-tat. Unexpectedly, Broca's attitude would be so mild, and he had already prepared various responses. It became a scrapped case.

But Raven was not stuck: "We still need more help from Viscount Broca. The entire Xuefeng County cannot do without the Leon family!"

The so-called sedan chair was carried by everyone. Even Viscount Broca was polite to Raven, and the other nobles, not to mention the other nobles, stepped forward one by one to say congratulations.

Even Vesazin and Sereva, who had had conflicts with Raven, had smiles on their faces.

Mrs. Doreen had changed out of her mourning clothes and was wearing a bright green dress. She walked to Raven's side and said, "The lighting objects on both sides of the road are really unique. Baron Raven always surprises people."

Raven smiled slightly: "Those are called 'lanterns', just a little thought. If you like, you can take some with you when you leave."

"I'm afraid I can't take my favorite thing with me." Doreen gave Raven a meaningful look, then covered her giggling lips and walked into the door.

Next came Baron Hugh Ota Vernon, who was born as a commoner and was lucky enough to inherit the title. He was the lord of the Holo Territory. His territory was just south of the Eagle Territory and he had a close relationship with the Fox family.

As soon as they met, Xiufu showed great enthusiasm: "Baron Raven, it's really better to meet him than to be famous!"

"I've wanted to come and visit for a long time, but I've never had the right opportunity. I finally met today. We need to have a good exchange!"

"After all, we are all working for the Governor of Montreal."

As he said this, he winked at Raven.

Raven was quite repulsed by the attitude of asking him to be a dog for the Fox family. Before he could speak, another baron came up.

Moss Ota Tanbek, the lord of the Ek Territory, his territory is adjacent to the southeast of the Eagle Territory.

He came over and saluted generously, and then said: "Although it is a pity that I can't fight side by side with you, Viscount Hyde told me about your heroic appearance. I was still guessing what kind of person you were. I didn't expect this. Young and promising!”

If you care about it, it would be a bit rude for two nobles to have a conversation and a third person suddenly intervene.

The reason why Moss did this was also hidden in his words - he was a close confidant of the Slater family, and of course he didn't want to see Xiu Fu, who had a background in the Fox family, chatting too eagerly with Raven.

Raven didn't want to show any inclination, so he said a few words to send the two people through the door and continued to welcome the guests. Although Viscount John did not arrive, Baron Kate, who had dealt with the Hand of Death together at the time, did.

The two talked about the situation at that time and were both quite happy.

The last one to arrive was Jude, who was closest to him. As he gained weight, he looked more and more like Angel.

When he met Raven, Jude took off his hat and saluted, said a few polite words, and then walked into the hall.

To be honest, Jude felt a little sour. As early as two years ago, Eagle Town was still a dilapidated scene, but now it has undergone earth-shaking changes. His Iron Furnace Town cannot be compared with this place at all.

And Raven himself has also become the most dazzling star in Xuefeng County from a baron who has not established a firm foothold.

But what's so great about this? From the beginning to now, which success of Raven was not piled up with human lives?

When the horse thieves attacked Eagle Castle, Raven watched the people being ravaged by the horse thieves, and dared to fight at the foot of the castle; after that, he attacked the bloody highlands, which was certainly famous, but more than 30 people came back out of more than 120 people!

Thinking of this, Jude felt much better, but immediately felt something was wrong.

In terms of wasting more lives than Raven, but he did not have the achievements of Raven!

Blushing with embarrassment, Judra immediately found a seat when she entered the hall.

Behind him, as soon as Raven appeared, he attracted the attention of all the nobles.

Raven enjoyed this feeling.

At Donald's funeral, Raven also received attention from the nobles, but at that time everyone treated him as a clown and an object of fun.

Now, they have to face themselves.

Walking to the high platform at the end of the hall, Raven swept his eyes across the audience and saw a pair of focused eyes. He whispered: "Thank you all for coming to Eagle Castle to attend my inauguration reception."

"It is the beginning of a new year. Today we will only talk about private matters, not business."

"You all came from afar, so I won't say much. I hope you can enjoy this reception!"

These words were concise, but they made the nobles present breathe a sigh of relief.

What the nobles fear most is change. Raven does not intend to issue any new decrees, which is the best thing in itself.

Before the reception officially begins, there is a hand-cleansing session, and of course the Angel's Embrace is used.

Now, after the iteration and upgrading of technology, the wax in the soap can be separated and made into candles, which makes the Angel's Embrace feel smoother, bringing a little surprise to the nobles present, and making them look forward to the content later.

The cocktail party officially began, and the servants brought plates to serve wine and food to everyone.

Originally, in a normal cocktail party, not many people would focus on eating and drinking. Most of the time, they would still communicate and laugh with each other, and it was often noisy.

But now, in addition to the music, the hall only has the sound of knives and forks hitting the plates. Even if someone communicates with each other, they keep their voices down.

Because today's dishes and drinks are really exquisite.

Angel's Tears itself is within their expectations-it would be strange if any noble in the Nord Province has not drunk Angel's Tears now.

But this time, in addition to the classic style, there are other newly developed styles that have never been sold to the public. Each dish has a unique style of Angel's Tears to complement it, giving them a completely different dining experience than before.

The lavender flavor is slightly astringent, refreshing and refreshing, which goes well with the appetizers; the classic version has a smooth taste, sweet and dense, which can perfectly dissolve the greasiness of the meat in the main meal; the citrus flavor is slightly sour, which makes people salivate, and it is a perfect match with the seafood!

The happiest person among them is Baron Xiufu, who is also a commoner, and unlike Raven, he was not taught etiquette in the orphanage. All etiquette was learned after inheriting the title, and he had to remind himself to pay attention to it all the time.

Now that he was happy, he immediately threw etiquette behind his mind and ate and drank with big mouthfuls!

Especially the two seafood dishes, sea cucumber and abalone. If it weren't for the waiter's introduction, he didn't know what they were, but the deliciousness of them was really unforgettable for him. He didn't even want to let go of the soup on the plate and licked it clean.

After doing all this, he felt a little embarrassed. He quickly wiped his mouth and looked around. The result made him feel very relieved - not only his own, but also the plates of other nobles were clean. However, they did not lick them, but dipped them with bread.

"Otherwise, they are called real nobles." Xiufu said in his heart: "I learned another trick today."

When the last dessert disappeared in the plate, the nobles took a short break and the music changed.

The nobles stood up one after another, and the servants came forward to remove the tables, chairs and plates. The hall became a dance hall. Several long tables were placed on both sides, with cold food and drinks for people to take at will.

Amid the melodious music, the nobles started to talk freely.

Judra, Versacine and Sereva gathered together, each holding a glass of Angel's Tears.

Seleva looked unhappy: "Baron Vesasi, it seems that we two have to continue to endure for a while."

"It won't be too long." Vesasi looked at the Angel's Tears in his hand and took a sip: "I thought Raven was capable, but now it seems that he is just so-so."

"He is so extravagant and wasteful right after taking office. He is simply corrupt, decadent and degenerate!"

Judra nodded: "Yes, even the cocktail parties of Viscount Fisher and Viscount John were not so grand before!"

Vesasi and Seleva both knew about Judra's dissatisfaction.

With the Thousand Needles Jungle taken back by Raven, Judra's Ironforge Territory lacked fuel, resulting in a significant reduction in production capacity. Although the prices of weapons and equipment on the market were high, he could not get a piece of meat, but instead had to pay a large sum of money for breach of contract!

Judra continued to complain: "And recently I heard that the Principality of Eivor among the Feydon city-states was ready to move. It is very likely that it was instigated by the northern barbarians and wanted to harm us. As a result, he was obsessed with such trivial matters. He really has no ambition!"

Wesacim and Seliwa looked at each other and felt that Judra was a little extreme.

Snow Maple County is located in the northwest of Nord Province, while the Principality of Eivor is in the northeast of Nord Province. Not to mention that this news itself is groundless and unreliable, even if a fight really breaks out, Snow Maple County has nothing to do with it!

Not wanting to continue listening to Judra's complaints, Wesacim and Seliwa found excuses to leave, and Judra continued to drink his wine.

After a while, Judra suddenly heard a commotion. She turned around and saw that Raven was talking about something. The nobles gathered around him.

Even Vesasi and Seliwa, who had previously scolded Raven, were no exception, and they were smiling!

"Spineless things!" Judra spat.

But seeing that it was getting more and more lively over there, Judra still walked up with a wine glass.

Seeing him coming, Vesasi and Seliwa looked a little embarrassed, and so was Judra herself, but nobles were nobles after all, and the three of them quickly adjusted and focused on what Raven was saying.

"... Actually, this is just a concept for the time being." Raven was holding a wine glass and talking: "Since everyone is interested, I will talk about it in detail."

"Next, I want to unite the nobles of our Xuefeng County to form a business alliance."

Judra now knows why the nobles are all around.

At present, Raven is the most successful noble in Xuefeng County. The alliance he took the lead in proposing is undoubtedly very attractive.

But Raven is so kind that he would help everyone make money for free?

Raven's next words answered his question: "Our Xuefeng County is located in a remote area, the profits from the goods sold are low, and the prices of the goods bought are high. The bulk of the money is actually spent on shipping."

"The first thing about the commercial alliance is to cancel our internal tariffs. Foreign goods will be taxed once when they enter Xuefeng County, and no other taxes will be levied."

"Of course, my territory is the one that benefits the most, but I don't intend to take advantage of it. Everyone should know that my aunt, Lady Denise, is now the president of the Chamber of Commerce in the lower city of Mon'en City."

"The goods of our commercial alliance can be directly transported to Mon'en City through this relationship, where they can be sold in batches; the various materials needed can also be purchased directly from the Mon'en City Chamber of Commerce."

Judra was immediately shocked by Raven's generosity. He was willing to share this channel.

He didn't know much about it before, but now that he has completely taken over the Iron Furnace Territory, he has realized the importance of purchasing and sales channels.

The dispute between Lady Doreen and Baron Wessacine is an example. Wessacine sent soldiers to pretend to be horse thieves, and Doreen asked Raven for help.

The reason why the two families had such a big conflict was not just for a low-cost channel to transport goods outward?

Even Judela himself was very tempted. If he joined this business alliance and had a stable fuel supply channel, his Iron Furnace County would be able to recover and move to a higher level!

But the price made Judela hesitate.

The so-called person in power is the one who distributes benefits.

Once the business alliance is successfully formed, Raven must be the leader. In this way, Raven will hold the power to distribute the benefits of Snow Maple County and truly be above every noble.

Not to mention that he still has the convenience of the title of county governor. Even if he resigns in the future, as long as this alliance lasts for one day, Raven will be able to firmly hold Snow Maple County in his hands and tie the entire Snow Maple County to his chariot!

Mrs. Doreen smiled lightly: "Baron Raven's idea is really comprehensive. On behalf of the Simpson family, I would like to express my willingness to join your alliance."

"As early as when we fought side by side, I knew that Baron Raven had a great vision." Baron Kate said: "I am also willing to join your alliance."

Viscount Broca also expressed his opinion: "Baron Raven can manage the impoverished Eagle Town to what it is today, and he will definitely make this alliance glorious. I will join too."

Now that the only viscount in Xuefeng County is like this, others will naturally follow suit, first Shufu and Moss, and finally even Wesassin and Seleva gave in.

Everyone's eyes fell on Judra, who hadn't spoken.

Judra sighed in her heart when she saw this, and forced a smile: "I am willing to join too!"

Raven clapped his hands: "Okay, in that case, everyone will stay a few more days."

"Let's work out a charter together."

...