Sword of Dawn

Maggie also seemed to find this topic a bit weird, and shifted it back quite bluntly: "So generally speaking, when it comes to these 'trivial offenses', the dragon's attitude is far more free and easy than you imagine. Of course, I also just It is based on my own perception. As for what the "orthodox" dragons in Tarrond will think after seeing the "Dragon Cavalry"... I am afraid that only the "senior agent" who is familiar with you can give you an answer. Answer."

The figure of My little pony appeared in Gao Wen's mind.

I don't know what the blue dragon from the dragon kingdom will think after knowing that humans imitated the principle of dragon wings to create an aircraft called "Dragon Cavalry".

I don't even know how she would respond if she asked Melita whether the Dragon Clan would be ridden by people—would she be furious, or would she make a lot of sense?

Gao Wen thought about it carefully for a long time, and suddenly felt that the answer might not be "[-] yuan for the start, [-] yuan for the whole day, a toll for crossing the bridge, and extra money for night trains"...

Chapter 0722 New things, new business routes

In the bleak and cold late autumn, the cold wind blows across the fields and fields, and there are no birds flying in the clear sky of autumn.

Farmer Kahn bent over, picked up the heavy basket, raised his hand and poured it down towards the wooden trough beside him. The golden beans made a satisfying clattering sound, flowing into the trough like a stream of golden water, rolling into the trough buried in the The gradually overflowing sound of the underground granary made the wrinkled man laugh, his eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up.

"Maple carob" is one of the last grains that can be harvested in autumn in the southern region. With this batch of thoroughly dried beans entering the warehouse, all the hard work of the year has paid off.

It’s another winter where people won’t starve to death—if they’re lucky enough to catch up with the additional recruitment of workers in nearby factories, then not only will people not starve to death this winter, but the family may even have meat to eat several times a week.

Kahn straightened his waist and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. Not far away, a magical cart pulling wood passed by on the newly built street. Someone said hello, and there were lights and shadows flickering on the square at the end of the road. It was a holographic projection projected by the magic net terminal.

Magic vehicles and magic network terminals are incredible new gadgets. It is said that they have not been popularized in some remote places, but this is a town close to Cecil City after all. Advanced "magic technology" is always necessary. more.

Kahn doesn't understand the secrets behind these magical technologies, but at least now he won't scream out in fright after seeing the magical vehicles. He knows that these incredible things are lords—now they should be called His Majesty -brought, and there will be more and more of these things in the future, and most of them will come in handy.

As useful as a water pump by a river and a mechanical mill at a farm machinery management station.

In the words of the scholar who often comes to the town to teach, "It's all a good thing."

Kahn shook his head, shook his slightly sore arms, and walked towards the door of the house.He could already smell the aroma of well-cooked oatmeal and freshly baked bread, which made his stomach, which had become shriveled after labor, squirm.

But his movements were interrupted by a strange sound that suddenly came from the sky.

It was some sort of low humming, with whistling air or something else in it.

He had heard birdsong and wind and rain, but nothing like it.

The wrinkled farmer couldn't help but raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound.

In the clear autumn sky, no birds flew by, but there was a machine made of steel, with a low humming sound across the sky.

"Three Gods of Abundance..." The farmer widened his eyes in astonishment, and stared at the "iron beast" flying across the sky with an expression that he didn't know whether it was fear or awe, or both. His lips moved, His knees couldn't help shaking, but in the end he didn't kneel down in front of the strange thing - he guessed that the thing should be a "new thing" made by the smart people in the city. It is necessary to kneel down when seeing the "creation of the mage", because it is not certain that it is a terrible golem or a synthetic monster, but today's Cecil civilians do not need to kneel to such things.

"What is that?!"

Kahn muttered to himself, watching the unimaginable machine gradually disappear into the sky. He heard exclamations from the nearby houses, and the sound of things falling on the ground came from the direction of his own kitchen. These sounds Remind him that what he just saw was not a hallucination.

It seems that in the next few days, the men in the town will have a topic in the tavern.

……

In the government affairs hall, in Gawain's exclusive office, Hetty was looking at the holographic screen projected on the magic net terminal, and Gawain's voice behind the desk came from his ear: "'Dragoon I' will take a certain amount of time before it can be put into practical use." time, but we can already start preparing for a new type of air force."

New technology will always be used in the military field first. This is true on Earth, and it is the same in this different world. On the one hand, it is to strengthen the strength of the army. On the other hand, well-trained soldiers are always the best new technology testers.

Hetty turned around and nodded: "The selection of personnel has started in the middle of the year. Byron and Philip each selected fifty outstanding soldiers with rich experience, boldness and carefulness from their Griffin Knights. A reserve team of a hundred people has been formed. These people don't know the reason why they were selected, but the basic training on mechanical control has been going on for half a month. If the training machine is in place in time, these people will soon be able to transfer into the training phase."

"Very good. Rebecca will complete the data collation and blueprint adjustment as soon as possible. Once the blueprint is adjusted in place, Nicholas will quickly create a practical training mechanism."

"It's really hard to believe... We actually made it," Hetty still couldn't help sighing until now, "Free flight... the power of a middle-level mage has now been handed over to ordinary people through machines Come on. Rebecca has really done more than I could have imagined."

"I've said from the very beginning that she is a very smart child with talents that others don't have," Gawain smiled and shook his head, not mentioning Rebecca's insults on the proving ground ——Anyway, sooner or later, she will get angry with Heidi on other occasions, "It's just that the old-fashioned professional system and noble rules have restricted her ability, but now... let's let her do it."

"Your vision is far sharper than mine," Hetty laughed, smiling brightly like a big butler of an empire who forgot how much money Rebecca's laboratory can burn in a month, then she sorted out her expression slightly, rather Wei asked earnestly, "There is one more thing, ancestor, the letter from Rosetta Augustus has been delivered for almost a week... Have you decided when to reply?"

Gawain narrowed his eyes slightly, with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned: "...Rosetta's personal letter..."

There is indeed such a letter, from the neighboring Typhon Empire, written by the talented and generous Emperor Rosetta, sent to the border fort by a special envoy, and then sent to the city of Cecil by the fort's messenger, the letter It is still lying in Gawain's desk drawer, and the contents on it...

One third was warm official courtesies, one third was a tactful response to last month's border confrontation, and one third was a rosy outlook on the future of trade between the two countries.

Affable, friendly, and oozing with genuine candor, it is undoubtedly the work of a master wordmaster, and carefully polished.

Just as Gao Wen expected at the beginning, Rosetta Augustus was a difficult character to deal with. He was not only brave and resourceful, but also able to bend and stretch. When the border contest was at a disadvantage, the emperor did not hesitate. He chose to lower his stance, but he still protected Typhon's interests without any compromise.

Not only that, Gawain also learned another thing from Daniel: Rosetta Augustus summoned the nobles of the imperial capital who held military power on the second day of the Changfeng-Winter Wolf Fort contest, a closed-door meeting Afterwards, all the military nobles remained silent——

The negative impact of that border contest did not spread outside the Obsidian Palace at all, and Aldernan's noble circle was peaceful, and this tranquility has been maintained until today, so quiet that people dare not make any waves.

Gao Wen once imagined whether he could take advantage of this border contest to attack Typhon's Wendell family, at least create some domestic pressure on the young wolf general guarding the border, and loosen Typhon's huge military group a little. , but it turns out that Rosetta covered all the details that could create a crack in advance before any of this happened.

In terms of control over the upper nobles, Gao Wen could only admire Emperor Typhon's performance.

"I lowered the import price of textiles by [-]% before." After a short silence, Gao Wen shook his head with a smile, "Of course this is unrealistic. We are just showing our attitude. Tazhen agreed, but if he replied...he should wait. It's only been less than a week, and I believe that with Rosetta's patience, he can wait even a month or two."

Hetty looked at Gawain curiously: "Are you waiting for something?"

"That's right," Gawain nodded, "I'm waiting for news from Duke Baldwin."

……

A week ago, Baldwin Franklin returned to the West.

Now that the situation in Saint-Sunil has stabilized, and all the functions of the capital of the original kingdom are being transferred to the south, he no longer needs to stay there for a long time. In addition, the western border is the most damaged of the four borders of the empire except the southern border. The minor region was about to bear the heavy burden of "blood transfusion" to other regions, and there were a lot of affairs that he needed to handle personally, so he returned to Shilin City, the land ruled by the family for generations.

Today, there are special visitors visiting this border city known as the "Trade Capital", and Baldwin Franklin, one of the grand consuls of the empire, will personally receive them.

In the ancient and majestic family castle, Baldwin, wearing a duke's cloak, walked through the long corridor accompanied by his attendants. The howling north wind raged outside the castle, as if it could soak the slightest bit of cold air into the castle. , Duke Baldwin heard the howling wind from outside the window, and couldn't help muttering softly: "I've been with Victoria for a long time, and I feel cold when I hear this kind of wind."

The close attendant next to him responded immediately: "Please don't worry, my lord, the constant temperature magic circle of the castle will keep out all the cold."

Constant temperature array...

Hearing what the attendant said, Baldwin couldn't help but lose his mind.

I don't know if Shilin City will be able to install a "heating system" like the one in the southern region next winter. The technical data are available, but it may not be easy to adapt to the specific conditions in the western region.

If it could be used, fewer people would freeze to death in winter.

He shook his head, calmed down his slightly divergent thoughts, and the door of the living room had opened before his eyes.

In the loud notification from the attendants, Patwin stepped into the living room, and his eyes were already on the figures seated by the tea table.

There are two short but extremely strong dwarves, one looks quite shrewd, a gentle human being who looks like a clerk or a consultant scholar, and one red valley man with an expressionless face and dark red complexion, Baldwin His eyes swept over these people, until finally they fell on a petite figure who was not seated and stood not far away.

The latter is seriously studying the crystal magic pendulum that is used to decorate the room on the shelf.

The figure was wearing a dark blue cloak, and his figure looked quite small. His long gray hair hung behind him, and a pair of pointed ears were exposed between the hair strands. Since he was from the back, he couldn't see his appearance. It can only be judged from a little profile and figure that this should be a lady.

She seemed to be completely intoxicated by that ingenious magic pendulum, so that she didn't respond to the Duke of the West who entered the room, until Baldwin couldn't help asking: "Ms. Wenna, are you interested in that magic pendulum?"

Only then did the cloaked figure turn around, and a rather delicate face appeared in front of Baldwin.

Gray complexion, extremely light-colored pupils, and elf-like ears—this is a gray elf, a gray elf from the Ogulei tribal country.

"Human handicrafts are not as exquisite as the silver elves, but they are incomparable to the creativity of silver elf craftsmen. No matter how many times I see them, I appreciate your creativity in the field of art," said the gray elf called "Ms. Wenna" He opened his mouth, but his voice was elegant and mature that did not match his small body, "Duke Baldwin, I am glad to see that you are still healthy--there is nothing better for gray elves than seeing your business partner is still healthy Happy."

"Me too," Baldwin Franklin showed a sincere smile, "A healthy body can maintain a healthy business relationship, isn't it?"

"Frankly, I was really worried for a long time after hearing the rumors about civil war and natural disasters in Ansu."

"It should be called Cecil Empire now, Ms. Wenna."

"Ah, Cecil Empire... This legendary surname, I really want to meet that pioneer when I have the opportunity. I was still a child when he was active." Wenna, the gray elf, shook her head. Discuss it later, my friend, we are here today to have a look at the 'new business' you mentioned."

"Of course." Baldwin smiled and clapped his hands, and immediately an attendant carried several boxes into the room, "I've already prepared the samples and sincerity."

"We are looking forward to it - the alchemy potion you showed us last time was impressive, what will it be this time?"

"Some of the more essential necessities of life," Baldwin's smile and words were full of affinity, "come from the distant Typhon Empire——for the western part of the continent, that is a real exotic style."

Chapter 0723 Business and Progress

The silently operating constant temperature magic circle shielded the bleak wind outside the castle, the decorative shields on the wall were polished shiny, the gorgeous classical tapestry depicts symbols about heroes, monsters and gods, and the precious smoke from the hands of fairies The incense quietly exudes a pleasant and elegant fragrance in the copper incense box. The light of the magic spar lamp is sprinkled from the roof and sprinkled into the gold-rimmed teacup. The bright red liquid has a warm layer inside. Floating.

Wenna, the gray elf, held up the teacup in front of her, gently shaking the liquid with a distinct texture, her light-colored eyes reflected tiny specks of light: "Goods from the Typhon Empire? This... is indeed a novelty, specifically what?"

"Textiles, mainly textiles, as well as dyes and white crystals," Baldwin said with a smile, "the quality is high, and the supply is sufficient - friends from the Western Plains tribes should like it."

"Not to mention, I'm really interested in textiles," Wen Na raised her eyes, "Can I have a look at the samples?"

Baldwin smiled and stood up, nodding to the attendant next to him: "Of course, here is—open."

The attendants opened the wooden box containing the samples, and the guests from the Ogure Tribal Country cast their eyes curiously. Duke Baldwin stepped forward, took out a piece of white cloth from the wooden box, and handed it to the gray elves. In front of Wen Na: "Ma'am, please take a look."

Wen Na reached out to take the fabric, and looked at it carefully with anticipation and curiosity, but within a few seconds her expectant expression became a little stunned and disappointed. After a short silence, the gray elf clan chief frowned and shook his head. Shaking his head: "My friend, I was praising the creativity of human craftsmen in the field of art just now... but now I am a little confused."

As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at Duke Baldwin curiously: "With all due respect - isn't that distant Typhon Empire not good at craftsmanship? You should also be able to see that although the fabric is strong, it is difficult to weave. There is no taste at all in the pattern and pattern, an apprentice who has just learned how to weave can weave such a thing, it..."

"Sixteen silver shield coins." Baldwin said suddenly.

"What?" Wen Na didn't respond for a while.

"Sixteen silver shield coins," Baldwin smiled, and patted the wooden box by his hand, "a total of 160 rulers."

Gray Elf Wenna's ears couldn't help shaking: "...are you joking?"

"You had the same expression and words when I reported the price of the alchemy potion to you last time." Baldwin shook his head, sat back on the high-back chair, and the expression on his face became serious, "This is the real one. Price--As you can see, these fabrics are really tasteless in weave and pattern, and this is because they are woven by machines, which, with present machine technology, can only weave such fabrics that they It's true that it won't catch the eyes of the upper-class nobles, but from the price...it will definitely be popular among middle-class citizens and commoners."

"Machine... It's not the first time I've heard this word," Wen Na's expression of astonishment and disappointment had disappeared, replaced by thinking, "If it's made by a machine, then I can understand its price, But I have a question - even if it is machine-made, you have to transport these cloths from far away Typhon to the western frontier, after such a long journey, is the price of these things still so cheap? In my understanding Among them, even if a stone is transported from the east to the west of your country, the toll alone is a huge figure."

"We are building new roads, and brand-new transportation technology can realize the rapid transportation of bulk goods-of course, even so, transportation costs still exist, and the profits of these cloths are very, very thin, but the Franklin family has always been looking for long-term business partners, Small profits but quick turnover is our code of conduct, which you should know."

Duke Baldwin said frankly, with a sincere and gentle smile on his face.

Wenna, the gray elf, looked at the smile on Baldwin's face, and after a slight silence for two seconds, she said, "You are really sincere when you are talking about business... So, you just shipped the cheap fabrics that Typhon sold to you. Westside and then sold it to us... This is different from the previous alchemy potion."

"The essence of trade is to convert the distance into profit, and transportation also costs money," Bai Dewen nodded, "but no matter what, these fabrics must still be of great value in your hands, after all... Regardless of bad taste Let’s face it, they’re still of good quality and totally worth the price.”

The gray elf's eyes narrowed slightly, which was her habit when she was thinking.

"Elves love art, and delicacy and taste are the elements that we value very much." After a few seconds of thinking, she slowly opened her eyes, with a shimmer in the light-colored pupils, "My friend, there is no doubt —Gold coins are the most tasteful things in this world.”

"It's very much in line with your personal style—and it's also in line with mine," Baldwin's smile bloomed, "Then if everything goes well, we will be able to officially start accepting textile orders in the spring of next year, and the specific amount will be discussed later. According to the previously agreed delivery time, it will not be affected by the textile order. As for the settlement..."

"Half gold coins, half food and medicinal materials," Wenna said proactively, "Our king has agreed to your request, and we know the troubles that An... Cecil Empire is in. As old friends, we are happy to help — the first order of food will arrive at the border before winter begins.”

"Thank you to the Gray Elf King for me," Baldwin stood up and said sincerely, "We will never forget every help from our friends."

Wen Na got up to return the salute, and then looked at the other box: "So, these should be other samples?"

"Yes, let me show you..."

……

The brilliance of the huge sun gradually sank to the west, and the more brilliant rays of light began to cover the earth along the clouds. Nameless birds sang in the background of the clouds and the sky, and hurriedly returned to their nests. Wenna, who had left the castle, raised her With his hand, he pushed back the hair on his forehead, and looked back at the classical and gorgeous castle of the Franklin family.

"It's really a lot of business..." the gray elf said softly to himself.

The Honggu people walking beside couldn't help frowning: "They must earn more."

Wen Na shook her head: "When doing business, don't focus on how much other people earn. No one comes to do business with you just to lose money."

The human being with a gentle temperament said: "But anyway, the price of those cloths is still surprising. After a long transportation, their price is still so low... It's really hard to imagine that the Typhon Empire is putting How cheap are these things when they are exported to Cecil."

"Yeah...it's really hard to imagine..." Wen Na turned her head again, her eyes swept over the castle with a history of hundreds of years.

A craftsman is busy on the platform on the side of the castle, installing a strange magic device with no apparent use on the platform. The magic device has a base made of metal and a huge crystal.

What an old castle, it feels almost as old as the grounds.

But she had a faint feeling that something young was growing in this land.

Goods from the far east, on the other side of the continent... that's a long way.

……

Baldwin Franklin stood in front of the window of the living room, watching the guests from the Ogure tribal country board their own carriages and gradually disappear at the corner of the road in the distance, and then looked away.

A young man wearing a royal blue coat and a gold brooch on his chest entered the room, stood behind Patwin, and called out respectfully, "Father."

"Eleven," Duke Baldwin turned around, showing a gentle smile to his eldest son, "You should be able to hear clearly in the next room—from the look on your face, you seem to be very suspicious."

The young man named Eleven stood up straight. As a young adult, he was still accustomed to obeying every word of his father's teachings, but he already had many thoughts and questions of his own: "Yes, father—why did you want to be the first one?" How about confessing for a moment that those cloths are from Typhon?"

Baldwin looked at his eldest son quietly: "Why don't you confess?"

"...You have taught me that in the case of being able to monopolize the supply of goods, confidential supply channels are one of the important means to maintain the monopoly and ensure profits. We import textiles from Typhon and sell them to the Ogure tribal country, which is essentially just Reselling, but if we don't say it, the Ogure Tribal Kingdom won't know about it, and we can raise the price a bit more-but now, the gray elves already know the source of those textiles, and sooner or later they will confirm Typhon The approximate price of textiles exported by the empire, cost transparency is the biggest taboo in doing business..."

Baldwin waited patiently for the young man to finish speaking, then shook his head: "You can think of these, which means that you are really learning what I taught you seriously, but you can only think of these, which means that what you have learned is only superficial.

"The first point is that what we want to do is a long-term business, and it is a country-to-country business. This kind of business needs stability, not temporary profits. The gray elves are not a closed group, and they will one day know about those textiles. Although from a commercial point of view, our behavior of keeping our supply channels secret is not deceitful, but if we use this to manipulate the price too much, then sooner or later we will hurt the feelings of our trading partners, and it will also hurt the future business.

"Second point, even if I disclose the source of the goods, we don't have to worry about this business being left behind, because Cecil is the only channel for maintaining east-west trade in the northern part of the mainland. To the south is the wasteland of Gondor, and to the north is the wasteland, mountains and In the cold winter, if the trade goods of the Typhon Empire are to be transported to the Ogulei Tribal Country, we can only take our route—unless the Gray Elves or the Eldar find a way to break through the ocean blockade and restart the northern ring continent route.