When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 932 Fur and Clockwork Gun
"Come on, please."

In the summer palace of Fran, when Charles VIII announced the attack on the windmill land, at the same time in the gravel field, Andre and Valentel were sitting at a small table drinking with a fat man.

The stout man picked up the oak cup and poured Andre a large glass of malt mead.

Andrei was not used to the taste, so he mixed some autumn pear paste and mountain pine liqueur into it.

As for Valen Taylor, he didn't talk or drink, but just leaned aside, asking questions and taking notes from time to time.

The person sitting opposite Andre was not a Stonebreaker, but a Norn.

To be precise, he was a peace envoy sent by the Norns.

The news of the Battle of Grey Robe Valley had already spread to Gravel Plains. After being shocked, their second action was to negotiate peace.

If they wait for the army of Hotam County to withdraw, all of them will be killed.

The envoy sent out was Duke Gloyev of Xiongbao Territory.

Although the Kingdom of Norn is a kingdom on par with Faran and Leia, the combined size of Faran and Leia is only about the same size as the Kingdom of Norn.

Although there are only three territories, each of them is larger than the two provinces combined.

Unlike the Burning Hammer Territory and the Stone Sword Territory, the Bear Castle Territory is closest to Leiafran and is more culturally similar to it.

After the previous reforms, the Xiongbao Territory has now begun to use the titles of Duke and Earl instead of the general title of Grand Lord.

The conditions for the peace talks were naturally very clear. Lord Xiongbao had to give up the prisoners and spoils and withdraw from the Gravel Plain.

Next, Andre's Iron Fist Army will take over the entire Gravel Plain.

But after the negotiations, Duke Gloyev pulled Andrei aside to talk business.

"Fur? What fur?" Andre asked as he picked up a piece of ham with a knife and ate his wine.

Prince Groyev patted his chest generously and said, "Whatever fur you want, we can get it. Beaver fur, fox fur, mink fur... we have it all."

Since ancient times, fur has been a very rare luxury in the world of Misera.

Before the advent of efficient heating technology and cold-proof fabrics, fur was always one of the most cold-proof clothing.

In the past, a large source of income for the El Empire's colonies in the Eastern Continent was fur.

After the founding of the empire, the nobles and clergy became fanatical about fur.

In the cold winter, even if he was a duke, he would always be ridiculed by an earl or even a baron if he failed to wear a fur coat that matched his status.

In today's France, many nobles who failed to buy furs even borrowed money from merchants, and finally had to marry their daughters to merchants to relieve the debt.

For one winter dress, Genegis used hundreds of sable skins and dozens of beaver skins.

But as the imperial people continued to reclaim wasteland in the "civilized world" west of the Dragon Sleep Mountains, fur resources, especially high-quality fur resources, became increasingly scarce.

For example, the beaver, the mascot that helped Xiaochi City, was a silhouette of the abundant fur resources in the eastern continent at that time.

The Fox Fur District in Rapid City was formerly the Fox Fur Exchange, which was formed because there were so many foxes nearby.

Unfortunately, the former was skinned and stripped of its tendons by the nobles of the Thousand River Valley at that time and used to make hats and coats, while the latter disappeared into the mountains due to logging and land reclamation.

According to Andre's own knowledge, a piece of high-quality beaver fur can easily be sold for 90 solas (royal court gold coins, 1 sola ≈ 10 dinars).

The Norns prefer to use the Sora gold coin rather than the gold pound commonly used in the Empire.

The emerging middle class imitated the nobility in every way and would also buy furs in large quantities to show off.

This created a considerable fur gap within the empire.

"... and the furs we get from Bear Castle, let me say, will not be less than 15,000 beaver skins every year, and each one will only cost this much?"

Prince Gloev held out five thick red carrot-like fingers.

"50 Sora?"

"Wrong, it's 5 solas, of course, the minimum purchase amount is one thousand, and it's raw hides." He proudly hammered the table, shaking the wine glass up, and Prince Gloev caught it in mid-air and took a big gulp.

Putting down his glass, Gloev did not see the surprised expression on Andrei's face as he thought it would be.

Andre picked up a piece of candied fruit and threw it into his mouth: "Then let me ask, you have such a huge profit, why don't you go to your relatives and friends, but go to me, your enemy?"

"There are friends among enemies, and enemies among friends." Duke Gloyev showed him his emblem ring, which was a clear bear claw emblem. "What does it mean?"

Gloev closed the window and brought the candle next to him closer: "I am from the Blumlind family in Xiongbao."

Andre was not familiar with the messy noble families of Norn, but he knew the Blumlind family quite well.

As for the reason, their former head, the Lord of Beefburg, Petrov Blumlind, was the first commander of the Franco-Marseille Legion.

Apparently, Corps Commander Petrov was deeply influenced by Fran's autocratic monarchy and was quite dissatisfied with Norn's loose internal organization.

After he returned to his country and inherited the territory, it happened that the Bear Castle was repeatedly plundered by Centaurs, and even invaded and plundered by border knights and even dwarves.

So under the leadership of Petrov, Lord Schomburg imitated Franz and started a reform movement.

This included the Grand Prince dividing dukes and counts according to land output to assume corresponding military obligations, dividing military districts and implementing a military guarantee system, with Petrov appointing military district generals from among the dukes.

After that, Duke Petrov fought wars in the south and the north, defeated a large number of noble rebels and centaur war gangs, and recovered the lost land from the dwarves.

Therefore, he also became the first Grand Duke of Xiongbao Territory since the second millennium.

Andrei looked Gloev up and down before he slowly said, "After Grand Duke Petrov fell into the water and died, I thought the Blumlind family was sidelined."

“It’s not a fabrication. We are all supporters of the Blumlind family in the White Bear Military District, which is the area from Smoky Castle, Beef Castle to Blue Stripe Castle.

In other military districts, there are also dukes and earls of all sizes who are loyal to the Grand Duke, who even has the support of local bishops and nominal grand ducal authority.

It’s just that our young bear master is too young, only nine years old, and the national affairs are controlled by the generals’ meeting and the family elders, which makes it seem like he is being sidelined.”

Andre was speechless. After saying so much, wasn't he still sidelined?

"Are you kidding me? Do you have the ability to get so many beaver skins?" Andre stood up and was about to leave.

But Gloev grabbed his arm and put his arm around Andrei's shoulders, laughing: "Don't be impatient, just listen to me."

"If you don't get to the point, I'm really leaving."

Gloev quickly replied: "Didn't you ask me before why I didn't hand over the beaver skin business to someone else?
The first is that the border knights have a monopoly on our trade with Leia, and we can only sell furs through them.

The second was that there were war gangs of Centaurs plundering trade routes, and a large number of barbarian clans occupied the fur producing areas.

The third is that the military district will collect heavy taxes and even rob caravans to sell the goods themselves.

Fourth, the Burning Hammer Territory monopolizes our fur exports and seaport trade to the Stone Sword Territory.
So, you have to understand that we, the Blumlind family, are not the same kind of people as those generals in other military districts.

As long as we can clear these four obstacles and sell the furs to Faran, Leia, and Stone Sword Territory, why should we worry about not making money? "

Andre narrowed his eyes, suddenly chuckled, sat down slowly, and crossed his legs: "You mean, I help you eliminate these military generals, and then you sell furs to me?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't I just invade? The furs are mine too."

"Will they recognize you as the ruler? You are a Frank, and can the Holy Alliance rule such a faraway place? Will His Majesty the Holy Grandson agree?
If you insist on doing this, you will actually help us. Then the generals will definitely raise the Grand Duke's banner and recognize the young bear as the Grand Duke."

Gloev grinned, revealing his yellow and black teeth, and carefully poured a glass of wine for Andrei: "Look, you have defeated the border knights, the centaurs, and the army of the military district general.

If you can win once, you can win twice or three times. It will not be a problem to defeat them... Not only that, we also welcome you, the Holy Word, to come and preach.

If you can help our Xiongbao Territory become the Xiongbao Kingdom, then the Holy Way Sect will be the state religion of the Xiongbao Kingdom. "

After staring at the clear acorn wine for a long time, Andre took it in his hand but did not drink it: "What do you want?"

"Clockwork guns, clockwork cannons, infantry and artillery instructors, and strong liquor." After hesitating for half a second, Gloev said, "I also hope that our young bear master can come to the Holy Mechanical Court to study abroad."

"Did you know that a clockwork gun needs an alchemist to drive it?" Andre asked back.

Gloev nodded slyly: "Please rest assured about this. We have the means to gather one or two thousand alchemists, enough to form four lance phalanx legions.

Of course, if the Holy Alliance is willing to sell a potion that can transform a person into an alchemist, we would be happy to buy it."

"Then forget it. There are so many good guys waiting in the Holy League. It's not your turn." Andre stood up and thought for a moment. "I think the clockwork gun can be sold, and the instructor can be sent, but the clockwork cannon... I will introduce you to His Majesty. Whether you can convince His Majesty depends on you."

"Thank you very much." Gloev picked up the wine glass and drank it all. As if he had made up his mind, he suddenly pulled out a black and red sun flag from his arms.

In front of Valentyl's dumbfounded gaze, he grabbed Andre's hand and said, "To be honest, I have converted to the Holy Way a long time ago!"

(End of this chapter)