I'm not a lord

Chapter 35 I only want your loyalty

After listening to Lynn's explanation, Leon's eyes suddenly became clear.

"My lord, I understand. If the old king passes away, the Duke of Swamp, who has long coveted the throne, will lead his army to attack the crown territory to compete for the title of King in the North, and the other two dukes will never miss this opportunity.

Not only that, the forces in the south will inevitably get involved. The old king's eldest daughter is married to the king of the south. How could his ambitious son-in-law give up this ownerless crown?
This is bound to be a protracted war, and the entire political landscape of the North might be restructured. Who would care about a little salt smuggling?"

Leon's shrewd eyes became lively again, and he seemed to see countless kings of the North waving and winking at him.

Money can help.

There is a proverb in the North: The crisp sound of gold coins colliding will make even the devils in hell look sideways.

Only a huge amount of gold coins can allow Leon to achieve his personal ambitions.

Don't be fooled by his well-dressed appearance, but he is actually just a dog of the Sanhe City Hall, who specializes in doing shady business for several bigwigs in the city hall.

He had to hand over most of the money he earned each year in exchange for the city hall's protection.

Who asked the bigwigs in the city hall to have connections with the Duke of the Swamp?
Leon's fate is actually in the hands of these big guys. They can let him live, and naturally they can also let him die.

In the coming troubled times, only money can bring Leon a sense of security.

Money can buy an army in the North, and every large city has its own mercenaries who are greedy for money.

If there is enough money, it may even be possible to bribe the Sanhe City defense militia.

In addition to his ambition to become the master of his own destiny, Leon actually has even greater ambitions buried deep in his heart.

At this time, commodity trade was subject to severe geographical restrictions.

Leon and Lynn both knew that the white demon bear fur could be easily sold for two hundred gold coins if it was transported to the southern border.

With a little packaging, it might even be sold for three hundred or even more.

But in White Bear Territory, the maximum purchase price for this thing is only one hundred.

The main reason lies in the tax checkpoints spread across trade routes and the trade protection policies of cities across the country.

Suppose Leon successfully purchased the fur from Lynn and successfully transported the fur back to Sanhe City.

But he was forced to sell the fur in Sanhe City, and the maximum profit he could make was twenty or thirty gold coins.

He cannot get involved in the trade routes east of Sanhe City, and even the bigwigs in the city hall behind him cannot do so.

A seemingly invisible but actually tangible "wall" lies across the Jing River, telling them that they can only go so far and cannot cross it.

Commodities are actually circulated between cities, and merchants in each city can only earn profits from one link.

This is why the purchase price of rye is shockingly low in White Bear Territory, while the selling price of salt is shockingly high.

They have to pass through the hands of several merchants before reaching the final consumers.

Merchants who handle goods want to make money, and the nobles behind the merchants want to collect high tariffs and protection fees from them.

Leon has a big dream.

He dreamed of one day being able to break down this "wall" a little. If he could sell the grain and furs from the White River Basin directly to the southern border, how much profit could he make?

But this was just his dream after all.

Trade barriers are the underlying logic of the entire Diewas continent.

Even the salt field families that monopolized the salt trade in the North were forced to distribute the salt profits to the nobles and merchants throughout the North.

Lynn has been observing the changes in Leon's expression, and is also using the panel to examine the changes in his loyalty.

As expected, Leon's loyalty increased.

[Loyalty: 1→42 (Cannot be taken as a follower)] The skyrocketing loyalty proves that Leon is already attracted by Lynn's proposal.

As long as you put in a little more effort and raise its loyalty to 50 points, you can recruit it as a follower.

"Leon, you have the ability. With the connections you have accumulated over the years, I believe you can quietly sell the salt from the White Bear Territory to various territories in the North. You are also aware of the current situation in the North. The Duke of the Swamp is about to be mired in the quagmire of war.

You've seen my sincerity. I took a huge risk to show you this precious salt ore. The only thing you lack now is courage. Do you want to be a coward for the rest of your life, living in the shadow of others? This stone is your only chance to control your own destiny! I don't ask for much, just your loyalty!

Lynn directly resorted to provocation, he wanted to completely draw out the ambition that Leon had carefully hidden in his heart.

Leon stood in front of Lin En, staring at the salt ore in his hand and thinking for a long time. Finally, he looked up and asked, "Sir, can I see the salt mine in person?"

"Of course, wait until you bring your sister here."

A smile appeared on Lin En's lips. He knew that the matter was almost done.

The loyalty on Leon's panel began to jump again.

Loyalty: 42 → 51 (already accepted as a follower)

When Lynn and Leon walked out of the warehouse where the magic bear skeleton and fur were stored, the sun had quietly set.

The afterglow poured down freely, paving the road in front of the two people with a layer of dazzling golden light.

"It's getting late today. Why don't you go to my castle and rest for a night and then return to Sanhe City tomorrow."

Lynn had already ordered the servants in the castle to prepare dinner and clean the guest rooms.

"I want to know how far the salt mine is from the dock?" Since Leon had decided to join, he naturally thought about the mining of the salt mine.

He has a very keen business sense and is well aware of the biggest obstacle to commodity trade these days - poor transportation conditions.

Isn’t the reason why the salt field family was able to make a fortune from sea salt because sea salt is easy to transport?

If the transportation to the salt mine in Bai Xiong Territory is very inconvenient, then the price of private salt will have no advantage.

Leon knew that he couldn't visit the salt mine in person this time, so he wanted to find out about the mining environment and transportation conditions of the salt mine first.

"My friend, I suggest you leave this question until your next visit. You only need to know that there are salt mines in my territory, that's enough." Lynn directly gave Leon a cold shoulder.

When the two men mounted their horses and prepared to return to the riverside castle, Leon suddenly asked, "Sir, do you have a wife?"

Lin En asked back, "Which answer do you want to hear?"

"I hope so."

"Unfortunately, I'm not married yet."

"Then why don't you just marry my sister? Our alliance will be stronger than steel, and my loyalty to you will reach the heavens."

Leon just didn't understand. What made his sister unworthy of Lin En?

If Lynn is really a baron, then his sister is indeed a little short of that.

But after all, isn't Lin En just a bandit? Does he really think of himself as the second son of the noble Hanfeng family?
But one of the reasons why Leon was willing to believe Lin was that Lin asked him for her sister.

For a noble to marry a businessman, there really has to be a blood connection.

A businessman would feel uneasy if he didn't give a woman to a nobleman.

Lynn just smiled and didn't answer.

Leon is not the first person to ask this question, and he certainly won't be the last.

Maybe he and Yagna will have a lot in common?

(End of this chapter)