Europa Universalis 1867: Start by inheriting an armory

Richard descended the stairs of the Angel Hotel, each step taken with utmost care.

His waist creaked at the corner of the stairs, like a hinge that hadn't been oiled in a long time.

He grabbed the handrail, stretched his limbs, and continued walking down.

Downstairs in the hotel was a restaurant, where Louise was sitting by the window with a white porcelain cup in front of her, steam rising from its rim.

She held the teacup in one hand and gently supported the saucer with the other.

Henry stood behind her with his hands behind his back, his large body blocking half of the window.

From the moment Richard came downstairs, his eyes never left him. If Richard didn't know he was Reginald's informant, he would have thought Richard was going to assassinate him.

Richard walked to the table, put his hands on his hips, and twisted left and right.

"How old are you this year?" Louise asked with a smile, putting down her teacup.

"Next time," Richard said, sitting down opposite her and tugging at the tablecloth, "if I believe Sir Ramsay's 'fast and easy' advice again, you can slap me twice to wake me up."

Louise chuckled softly. "What? Wasn't it going quite smoothly?"

The waiter walked over silently and placed a porcelain cup in front of Richard. The deep amber tea had a refreshing aroma.

Richard picked it up, blew on it, and took a sip.

"It's going smoothly, that's all." He put down the cup and leaned back in his chair, but bounced back as soon as his waist touched the hardwood backrest. "But we're still a long way from success."

"What distance?"

The waiter whispered to Richard, "Sir, your order has arrived."

After speaking, he bowed slightly.

Richard took a shilling out of his pocket and handed it over.

The waiter took it and quietly withdrew.

"What kind of wicked idea do you have now?" Louise squinted at Richard.

"You can't say that," Richard quickly explained, "You're part of this crazy idea too."

Louise pointed incredulously to her chest.

"Me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Richard pulled his chair forward and rested his elbows on the table, reducing the distance between them to just an arm's length.

He kept his voice low, making sure that even if Henry behind him strained his ears, he wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.

"I need you to take these goods to the local pharmacist and donate them," Richard said.

"What are you up to now? It can't be just about donating medicine, can it?" Louise didn't understand. Sometimes Richard's thoughts were too jumpy, and she had a hard time keeping up with them.

“Of course not.” Richard slowed his pace. “As you talk, casually mention that Godfrey Morgan is preparing to open a new mine and has already secured a huge contract, offering the workers fifteen shillings a week!”

Louise frowned and gave a soft snort.

"You haven't even met Godfrey yet," she said, "and you're already spreading the news about something that's barely even started?"

Richard chuckled: "You don't know, the Morgan family has been swamped with something lately. They want to get their youngest son, Frederick, into a parliamentary seat."

Louise's brow unfurrowed.

“Think about it,” Richard continued, “Once the news spreads that Godfrey Morgan is going to open a new mine and pay the workers high wages, what will the local Welsh workers think? Those workers who have the right to vote will feel that the Morgan family is on their side and that they should be the ones to vote for them. At that point, the Morgan family won’t be able to refuse to open the mine even if they want to.”

"You haven't even left the house these past two days," her voice tinged with a hint of resentment at being misled, "How did you know all this?"

"I have my own way of handling this." Richard withdrew his hand and took a leisurely sip of tea.

Suddenly, Louise realized something, her eyes widening as if she had caught Richard's weakness.

"You brought me here on purpose," she said, somewhat angrily, "because you need a nobleman to make the news sound believable."

Richard was taken aback, his lips twitched uncomfortably, and he awkwardly spread his hands: "I don't look like a nobleman at all."

"It's too late to learn from scratch, and..." He looked up and glanced quickly at Henry standing behind Louise, "so Henry will have to follow you, which gives me more room to maneuver."

"You think you and Reginald are partners? Why do you always avoid doing anything with him?"

"Partners are partners," Richard explained patiently. "The most important things at the negotiating table are leverage and information asymmetry. With Henry gone, I have both."

Louise tilted her head, looked at him for a few seconds, and traced a circle on the rim of her teacup with her finger. Then a sly smile appeared on her lips.

"I'm not helping you for nothing."

Richard sat up straight. "Of course, what do you want?"

Louise reached out her hand, held it out to him, and gently poked the tip of his nose with the pad of her index finger.

When she withdrew her finger, a small mark was left on Richard's nose.

"I haven't decided yet," she said, "but if you dare say no..."

Before she could finish speaking, she stood up, straightened her skirt, and addressed Henry, who was standing behind her, in a calm and polite tone.

"Mr. Henry, I need to go out to run some errands. Would you mind coming with me?"

Henry's gaze shifted from Richard to Louise's face.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he looked back at Richard with suspicion.

At this moment, he lowered his head, picked up his teacup, and pretended to drink tea.

"Of course, miss," he said.

Louise walked toward the stairwell, and Henry hurried to catch up with her.

His steps were steady, but his brows remained furrowed, as if someone had tied a knot in them.

Henry paused for a moment at the corner of the stairs, his gaze passing over the handrail.

He saw Richard sitting at the table, waving gently at him with his other hand.

This wasn't a farewell. Henry's facial muscles twitched involuntarily; he knew he'd been tricked by Richard.

But what could he do? After all, Reginald's orders included protecting the princess and keeping an eye on Richard.

But now, unless he has the ability to create clones, he can only let Richard do as he pleases.

Henry pursed his lips, steeled himself, and followed Louise down the stairs. The sound of their footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Richard breathed a sigh of relief when he finally couldn't see Henry. His move had essentially propelled the Morgan family to the forefront of the election. Now, he held not only money and orders, but also the Morgan family's political prestige.

This way, he could take the initiative when meeting Godfrey and at the same time screen high-quality miners in advance, since building cannons couldn't be delayed for even a moment.