Realm of Power

Salon came out of the weapons shop and wandered several streets again. This time his target was not weapons, but another important thing, various expensive luxuries.

He asked a few passers-by and finally found this place. His eyes wandered between the expensive and gorgeous jewelry stores, the precious fur stores with shiny and moist hair, and the crystal clear white rhinestone stores. This is the most prosperous area in Gangfei, with many luxury goods. You can constantly see carriages inlaid with various noble emblems stopping in front of these shops, and nobles or elegant ladies in palace clothes stepping down from them.

"Sir, what are we doing here?"

One of the guards asked curiously. In the minds of the guards, the neurotic Captain Salon had never been interested in luxury jewelry. It is said that a big businessman once personally gave a gift to Salon in order to win over him. A pearl necklace worth tens of thousands of gold coins was strung up, but Salon was so drunk that he quickly slashed his hand with a sharp knife.

The pearl necklace flew into the air, the sword light flashed, and in the cold light bursting out of Salon's hand, the beads scattered all over the sky like a heavy rain.

The frightened businessman, who turned pale with big and small blows, was hit in the face, and he immediately collapsed to the ground in piss. From then on, no one dared to give gifts to the rumored bad-tempered Salon.

"Let's find an answer!" Salon, who looked relaxed just now, now has piercing eyes, looking at the dazzling array of products on the street, and said with a solemn expression.

"Answer?" The guard looked confused, not knowing what Governor Salon meant by his words.

"An answer that has puzzled me for a long time!" Salon looked at the bustling street, and a smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth. "I see, this may be the reason why His Majesty gave this important land in the southwest to his confidant!

Because the southwest is the current bottleneck of the empire’s trade development, and the breakthrough point of this bottleneck is in Gangfei!

Salon looked at the bustling streets with people coming and going, and the dazzling array of gorgeous shops, and a realization flashed through his heart unconsciously. His Majesty did not hand over the southwest to others, but to himself, probably because when he was in the northwest, he had personally witnessed how His Majesty Falcon used the magical method of trade expansion to transform the barren northwest into In just two years it became a bustling place with a population of millions.

Merchant ships are like clouds, and horse teams are constantly shuttling back and forth on the road. As the first transit point for caravans arriving from the mainland, the Southwest is just the right place to take advantage of such an opportunity. Southwest already has a certain solid foundation. The Gallic Empire has been operating in the southwest for many years and has always served as the empire's barrier against the Confederation. It has a dense population, numerous towns, rich minerals, and a complete forging industry.

Although it experienced a big turmoil. But except for the southwest capital in the core area, other regions have suffered little fluctuation. The demobilization of hundreds of thousands of southwest troops and the influx of a large number of labor forces into various industries in the southwest have put the development of the southwest suddenly in a subtle stage about to explode. The importance of the southwest to the empire in Oparo is self-evident, not just military. What’s more, it lies in its status as an economic hub.

His Majesty Falcon did not hesitate to take risks to start a war with Gangfei this time. In addition to completely dispelling the people of Gangfei's peeps towards the southwest, he also changed his past style of pursuing and fighting fiercely when starting a war. He chose to fight with Gangfei before the war fully expanded. People negotiated, and hundreds of thousands of imperial troops stopped at the border and continued to penetrate deeper, like a war horse about to gallop. He suddenly reined in the reins. His Majesty deliberately left a little leeway for the gangsters.

The military front has stopped, but it does not mean that the pace of empire expansion has also stopped. War is just an extension of politics. At this time, standing in Kyoto, a strange country, Salon understood this very clearly. According to His Majesty Falcon's previous strategic policy, since he has knocked on the door of the country, he will naturally not miss the opportunity to deepen the trade line. One thing is that even a warrior like Salon can clearly grasp the next step of the empire.

The southwest is about to become a breakthrough point for commerce throughout the empire, and this opportunity is now in front of me! The reason why Salon suddenly had such an idea was because a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

If the original Southwest was mainly aimed at the trade route of Barro in Northern Europe, then the current Southwest has undoubtedly become the intersection of Barro in Northern Europe and Barro in Central Europe. Such a southwest will truly become a region in Barro, together with Barro in Central Europe. The business gathering center from north to south and east to west,

"This must be your Majesty's plan!" After thinking about this, Salon felt a little trembling in his heart, and his blood even boiled. As a military general, he has become the commander of the Imperial Army, which is considered the pinnacle of unilateral promotion of military generals. Joining the Falcon Army In five years, he killed hundreds of thousands of enemies, and his brilliant achievements could only stop at being a martial artist.

And this time as the Governor of the Southwest of the Empire, if this can achieve such a grand strategic plan of His Majesty's, it will be a glorious war for his life, and this huge war with no smoke will begin from the moment he enters Kyoto. , this is the beginning of the end

In the end, Salon's eyes became sharp, and he decided to give it a try. He took off a huge red gemstone ring on the middle finger of his left hand with his right hand, and held it heavily in his hand. The best way to understand the market in Gangfei Just by touching its bottom line first, Hu Keqili can write a report on the Gauls, and he can also write a report on Congo-Africa trade.

That's it. Salon's eyes finally focused on a jewelry store in the center of the street.

Among luxury goods transactions, jewelry is the most frequent. During the Unification War of Ikadiva, countless jewelry belonging to nobles and royal families of various countries were scattered among the people. This was the largest collection of jewelry since the collapse of the Akadiva dynasty five hundred years ago. , the centuries-old collections of royal families in various countries, the reshuffling of noble families, and the large number of aristocrats engaging in business are undoubtedly the biggest driving forces for bringing countless gorgeous aristocratic treasures that have been collected for hundreds of years into the market.

As the commander of the empire's army, Salon has no taste for luxury goods, but it does not mean that he has no chance to get into contact with them. An imperial general like him with a heavy army has great regional jurisdiction and is the leader of countless The object that big businessmen strive to curry favor with,

Salon looks rough on the outside but knows very well in his heart that although His Majesty Falcon is known as the God of Commerce and uses merchants to gather national power to promote the war to unify Ikadiva, he will never like a confidant general who is befriended by a merchant. , so he always keeps a certain distance from businessmen, but he is not completely able to refuse. After all, at his level, many relationships cannot be rejected.

For example, the large ruby ​​ring in his hand was given as a gift by one of the twelve deacons of the Business Alliance. Salon did not know the value of luxury goods, but he also knew that such a large ruby ​​ring was definitely worth two hundred thousand. On top of the gold coins, it was His Majesty Falcon who personally led the army southward with all his strength and broke into Luode. Because the Saron Army had just experienced the extremely brutal Staros death battle, half of its soldiers died in the battle, dragging down Ruidian's 200,000-strong army to death.

In that deadly battle, Salon's own army was completely crippled, so much so that he missed the subsequent battle of Lod's destruction.

In addition to feeling regretful, Salon also urgently needed a sum of money to resettle the dead and injured soldiers. However, the imperial treasury was fully supporting the Battle of Lod and was temporarily unable to pay such a huge amount of funds. In the end, a deacon from the Business Alliance sent him to He accepted this gift and half a million gold coins as funding, and also promised to sponsor the army for free with rations to compensate the fallen soldiers. This is not the first time Salon has received a gift, but it is definitely the largest one he has ever received, adding up to more than 1.5 million gold coins.

Even Salon, a bold fellow, felt a little uneasy about speculation. It was not until he later heard that the most mysterious deacon of the Business Alliance had an unusual relationship with His Majesty that he slowly came back to his senses.

The money and the food. It was simply a private gift from His Majesty Falcon, and the reason was obvious, in order to avoid causing dissatisfaction with the other generals who participated in the Battle of Staros at that time. After all, in that battle, Salon's own army suffered heavy losses. The Central Army, the Western Army, and the Northern Army all suffered casualties. Just being so biased towards the Saron Army will undoubtedly cause rifts within the Falcon Army and cause disadvantages in the war against Lod.

This store is the largest store on the street and the most gorgeously decorated. Not only is there a row of beautiful girls in neat palace dresses standing at the door, but everyone who enters the store will be guided by a beautiful woman in a blue dress. This store is very large. , even in Kyoto of the Falcon Empire, "Zhivadin", known as the capital of luxury goods, is very rare to have a store with a length of fifty meters.

In Rivadin, a commercial street where every inch of land is at a premium, a shop that is 50 meters tall is worth at least one million gold coins. By analogy, in Kyoto, which was just outside the empire, this huge shop in the center of the entire street should be Gangfei is the largest store of luxury goods.

"This is the most famous jewelry crown in Kyoto. It is only open to nobles with viscount status and above. The entry fee is a deposit of 10,000 gold coins. If the Governor is just curious to see it, it is best not to go."

Just when Salon was about to walk towards the store, Pfeiraphael, who had just met at the weapons shop, appeared hauntingly. Behind the Grand Duke Pfeiffer, only the four followers were left. Three people got off, an old man and two young men. The old man with the golden mark on his cuff just now disappeared.

"A deposit of 10,000 gold coins? This is quite interesting!" Salon paused slightly, and then prepared to continue walking. His goal was to meet the person in charge of this store, and it would be best to establish a luxury business first. He didn't care much about the mere 10,000 gold coins deposit for the product's trade line. After all, the always stingy His Majesty Falcon allocated 300,000 gold coins in one go for this mission to Gangfei.

"Listen to me, Governor Salon, if you are really interested in jewelry, we can talk about it!" Grand Duke Pfei did not expect Salon to behave like this, and quickly stopped in front of Salon again and said in a serious voice.

"The reason why I came here is to negotiate a very urgent jewelry sale."

"Jewelry trading?" Salon looked at the somewhat eager face of Archduke Pfei who was standing in front of him, and a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

"Haha, to be precise, they are here to sell jewelry!" Archduke Pfei put down his blocking hand and turned slightly red. If the principality's finances had not been extremely tight, he would not have thought of selling the treasures that the principality had collected for many years. He saw Salon walked towards the most prosperous jewelry store in Kyoto. He obviously misunderstood the meaning and thought that Salon was the governor of the Falcon Empire. I am planning to buy some jewelry from the Gangfei Empire to take back home.

The jewelry industry of the Gangfei Empire is very famous in Barro, Central Europe. It is famous for its exquisite craftsmanship, gorgeous texture and rare materials. It is a symbol of luxury status for many ladies and ladies. Many nobles from other places will buy it here. Take some back and it is very useful whether as a gift to a lover or to please a woman.

"Your Excellency should be able to understand. Such a large store not only sells jewelry, but also serves as a transfer station for jewelry from all over the world!" Seeing that Salon did not make a sound, Archduke Pfei said with an embarrassed look.

"I think you misunderstood, I'm also selling jewelry!" Salon smiled slightly, loosened his five fingers holding the ruby, and revealed the huge ruby ​​inside, which was as red as flames.

"This is......"

Grand Duke Pfei looked at the ruby ​​​​in Salon's hand, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes almost bulged out. Although he was a grand duke of a country, he had never seen such a huge ruby, but it was still so pure. There are almost no impurities visible, and the surface is covered with a layer of soft light flowing like water, like blood, with the chill of a treasure. How could Grand Duke Pfey fail to see that this is definitely the highest quality ruby?

Archduke Pfeiffer would never have imagined it. In fact, the name of this ruby ​​​​is very famous in Icadiva, "Light of the Knight"

The main gem of the crown of the first king of Rui Erdian, Fatty spent 5 million to acquire all the collections of the Rui Erdian royal family, including this "Light of Knight". Fatty gave this one that was of great significance to Rui Erdian. Knight's Light "Dark" It was given to Salon as a reward, which was not without the implication of praising him for dragging down the last trace of Ruidian's national destiny in the Battle of Staros. Unfortunately, in the eyes of Salon, a warrior, this was just a pretty big one. Just rubies.

"I'm going to sell it for 300,000 gold coins. If the Duke is willing to buy it, I can lower it even lower..."

Salon threw away the ruby ​​in his hand and looked at the Grand Duke Pfei whose face turned green with a half-smile. Three hundred thousand, Grand Duke Pfei felt that not only did he have to sell the iron, but even selling all the rats in the palace was not enough. If the taxes from the previous principality are still there. It is estimated that it will take a year to afford it.

"I see, I was so rude!" Archduke Pfei got out of the way with an embarrassed expression. In order to express his apology, he put his right hand on his chest very respectfully. He bent down and gave Salon a noble salute.

"I'm not a noble, so I don't have to be like this!"

Salon waved his hands with a smile on his lips. Although he had not gotten along with Grand Duke Pfei for a short time, he felt that he was a relatively sincere person.

"This is it!" His eyes glanced at the other person's fingers unintentionally, and Salon's smile suddenly solidified on his face. His kind eyes suddenly became sharp, and even flashed with strong murderous intent. At this time, his eyes were like a sword. The light shines on the place where Archduke Pfeiffer placed On the fingers of the right hand on the chest, only the five fingers of Grand Duke Pfei can be seen. A dark green precious gemstone ring is worn on the most prominent middle finger, and a heraldic ring shaped like two leaves is worn on the index finger. It should be Coat of arms of the Archduke Pfeiffer family,

But Salon's eyes focused on the most inconspicuous little finger of Archduke Pfe, a simple black ring with a shape like a flying falcon. Salon had seen such a ring countless times.

But that's on His Majesty the Falcon's finger!

"Come here, surround them!"

Salon suddenly took a step back and shouted loudly to the guards behind him. More than a dozen guards behind him rushed forward quickly, hoo! There was a metallic sound of sharp blades being unsheathed, and a dozen sharp and cold swords were pulled out from the waist by the guards, forming a circle, surrounding the four stunned Archduke Pfei in the middle.

"Governor Salon, what are you doing?"

Duke Pfei pretended to be calm, but in fact he was already twisted in his heart. These soldiers who looked like guards had not taken him to heart at first, but at this moment they suddenly attacked, and the murderous aura of the guards who had been killed for a long time quickly spread from their bodies.

That bursting and bone-piercing feeling made Duke Pfei groan secretly. These soldiers were definitely ruthless characters who killed without blinking an eye. The most frightening thing was that more than a dozen people had hardly any rehearsal in advance. They just stood at random, and the position where they stood at this time was , but with an extremely tacit understanding, they blocked all possible breakout directions without any blind spots. This is the tacit understanding that only true soldiers have.

The Gangfei people who saw this scene on the street immediately dispersed in fright.

"It's so scary, it seems like a barbarian from outside!"

"Yes, the one trapped in the middle seems to be a big noble from out of town!" Gangfei people were talking about it outside.

The noise here also attracted the attention of the jewelry store. They saw a dozen tall and strong barbarians pulling out weapons on the street. The reception girl at the door of the store suddenly screamed in fright. The scene became a mess.

"Where did the heraldic ring on your little finger come from? If you can't answer, don't blame me, Salon, for being rude! Even if you can't go back, I, Salon, will execute you on the spot!" Salon's face was as heavy as water. He said slowly to Duke Pfey, whose face turned slightly pale.

"This...this..."

There were beads of sweat on Duke Pfei's forehead. The other party turned against him too quickly. In the blink of an eye, the other party's attitude seemed like he wanted to eat him alive. When he heard the other party ask about the unknown ring on his little finger, he also immediately I was speechless for a while. I didn't know how to explain it. I couldn't help cursing in my heart, "Sure enough, something happened. I already knew that women from the Burrows family should never be listened to."

"What's going on here? When will barbarians be allowed to run rampant on the streets of Kyoto!" A lazy voice came from not far away, and a young nobleman wearing brocade satin came from Walking in the direction of the store, he glanced arrogantly at Salon and a dozen guards standing in the center of the street, and then looked at Duke Pfey who was trapped in the middle. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if he had thought of something. .

"tread"

At the entrance of the street in the distance, a group of Gang Fei light cavalry galloped over. The leader was none other than Count Remchart, who had negotiated earlier. When he saw the tense situation here, he immediately grabbed the horse more than ten meters away and quickly jumped from above. jumped down and shouted with a serious face

"Governor Salon, this is my new capital. If you act so rashly, you will cause trouble!"

"Trouble?" Salon glanced at him, his face was cold, and he sneered at the corner of his mouth, "It is indeed trouble, but it will not be mine. Since Putao Principality is a vassal state of your country, if your country cannot give us a clear explanation, My Majesty will definitely send his troops south again, and then it will not be so easy to talk about!"

"Your Excellency, what do you mean?"

Count Remshat was stunned for a moment. He came in a hurry after hearing that the governor of the Falcon Empire was wielding a sword on the street and seemed to have trapped someone. He had not yet understood the situation, but the other party's behavior One sentence made his heart suddenly freeze.

Seeing the angry killing intent on Saron's face, Count Remshat could sense the soaring fighting spirit contained in it. This time there was really trouble! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)