I, Altria, only want to rule China.

As the rumbling of cannons continued, the envoys even had the will to die. Not only was their empire unable to compete with the flintlock rifles they had spent time and money developing, but even their cannons were far inferior. How could they compete with the Wu Kingdom in the future?

Of course, Leah didn't care about what these envoys thought. This time she wanted to show them the skills of their Wu Kingdom and let them know that Wu Kingdom was an existence they could not afford to provoke at the moment.

Don't think about secretly making trouble when doing business with the Wu State. You can't afford to provoke the anger of the Wu State.

So everything from artillery salvos for fire suppression, artillery soldiers marching in formation with the support of artillery, and the way of warfare in the flintlock era were basically demonstrated by Leah.

When Pinov and his men were already numb from watching, Leah weighed the rifle in her hand, pointed at a cannon and asked, "Messengers, are our Wu country's rifles sharp? Are our Wu country's cannons rough?"

The envoys of various countries secretly hated Wu Guo's shamelessness, but they had to admit: "Wu Guo's rifles are the best in the world, and Wu Guo's cannons are really thick and long. We can never compare with them."

Liya laughed happily when she heard this: "They are just some muskets and cannons. If you are interested, my Wu country can sell them to you. But you know the price."

This was exactly the effect she wanted, to defeat these foreigners completely and make them think that instead of developing weapons themselves in the future, it would be better to buy them directly from the Wu Kingdom.

............

The two envoys, who were shocked to the point of being dazed, had just returned to their residence when the ministers of the Wu State came to the embassy and went straight to the Roman Empire.

"My name is Merlin. What do you think of the muskets and artillery you saw today?" Merlin looked at the people of the Roman Empire with a smile and felt a little emotional.

Back then, Britain was just a province of the Roman Empire. Later, the Western Roman Empire was severely damaged by the Hun Empire, and it was no longer able to control Britain. As a result, several provinces of the Western Roman Empire became independent, including Britain.

Now, as the original princess of Britain, Leah has come to China and directly founded the current super empire, the Wu Kingdom.

The result was that the Roman Empire, which Britain had to look up to, had to act according to the wishes of the Wu Kingdom. It really made people feel that the situation was changing.

Chapter 154: When has our great Rome ever suffered such an injustice?

The people of the Roman Empire were stunned, thinking that this Wu Guota mother didn't look like she was here to discuss business, so why would she come up and ask others what they thought about arms?

After coming to his senses, Pinov said carefully: "The muskets and artillery developed by your country are indeed powerful. If your country is willing to sell them, I wonder how much it would cost?"

Merlin did not directly answer Pinov's question. Instead, he laughed and said, "I wonder what your country thinks of the Sassanid Empire?"

Pinov was stunned again and said, "Didn't this gentleman want to discuss the trade of muskets and cannons? Why did he suddenly bring up the barbarians of Sassanid Persia?"

Merlin smiled and said, "I know a little about the hundreds of years of war between your country and Sassanid Persia, so I asked you what you think of Sassanid Persia?"

After hearing this, Pinov basically understood what was going on.

Is this a deliberate attempt to hit the heart of the Roman Empire? However, thinking more deeply, Pinov came up with an even more terrifying possibility.

Pinov's face darkened, and he said, "Merlin, you are telling me about the Hundred Years' War between the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia. I am afraid that someone next door will also tell the envoys of Sassanid Persia about the Hundred Years' War, and even say that my Roman Empire will definitely buy your Wu Kingdom's muskets and cannons, right?"

Merlin laughed and said, "Mr. Pinov's guess is correct. It is indeed true. Of course, you can choose not to buy it. I just wonder if Sassanid Persia will buy it?"

Merlin's smug expression looked like he deserved a beating.

Hearing Merlin's words, Pinov's face became even uglier, and he couldn't help but snorted coldly, "Merlin, you are alienating the relationship between us and Sassanid Persia. Aren't you worried that we and Sassanid Persia will unite to attack you?"

Merlin laughed and retorted, "Mr. Pinov, you should know how far it is from the Roman Empire to our Wu Kingdom. Do you have the confidence to deploy troops across such a long distance at sea?"

"Even if you don't care about the logistical pressure of deploying troops over long distances, how can you guarantee that you can win? Rely on the flintlock rifles that we imitated ten years ago? Or cannons that have no accuracy and power?"

"Or will the Sassanid Empire really let you take the land route? Also, how can you guarantee that the Sassanid Empire will unite with you? Instead of killing you first?"

Pinov was even angrier, and he looked at Merlin and shouted, "You are blackmailing me! This is pure blackmail! You will only cause a war by doing this, and you will not get any benefit at all!"

Merlin just shrugged and said indifferently: "Yes, Mr. Pinov, you are right. This is blackmail, naked blackmail. You can choose not to accept it, or you can choose war."

It can be said that Merlin directly showed what a despicable person he was, as if to say: I know you are very angry, but if you have the guts, come and hit me?

Pinov felt particularly depressed.

In fact, even if Merlin had not come to blackmail him, Pinov had originally planned to purchase a batch of Wu State's equipment, so that he could bring it back to the Roman Empire and hand it over to the General Armory for reverse imitation.

But Merlin took the initiative to come to the door to blackmail him, and the nature of the matter changed completely.

When has our great Roman Empire ever suffered such an injustice?

Of course, Pinov knew in his heart that he had no other choice but to accept Wu State's blackmail.

Because no one can guarantee whether those barbarians of Sassanid Persia will buy firearms from Wu State.

Even if the barbarians of the Sassanid Empire came to him and offered to unite with the Roman Empire to attack the Wu Kingdom, Pinov did not dare to believe the lies of the Sassanid Empire.

No one can afford to gamble on this kind of thing.

Besides Sassanid Persia, the small countries in Western Europe might learn about the superpower Wu Kingdom in the near future. So if they want to maintain their leading position in Western Europe, they must purchase Wu Kingdom’s firearms.

So in the end, Pinov could only pinch his nose, resist the urge to kill, and forced a smile that was uglier than crying, and said, "Lord Merlin, now we can talk about the price of those rifles and artillery."

When it comes to the word price, Pinov's heart bleeds.

Pinov knew very well that since Merlin, a noble minister of the Wu people, had taken the initiative to come to his door to blackmail him, it meant that the price of these rifles and artillery must be very expensive.

I don't know how many cannons I can buy with the silver in my hand?

Sure enough, when Pinov asked about the price, Merlin smiled and said, "A rifle costs 500 silver pieces, a bullet costs one silver piece, a cannon costs 30,000 silver pieces, and a shell costs one thousand silver pieces."

When Pinov heard the price, he immediately got angry like a cat whose tail was stepped on: "This is impossible, my dear friend, this price is impossible, it's too unreasonable."

You have to know that the rifles they developed and sold to other countries cost ten pieces of silver for a flintlock rifle, and no more than fifteen pieces of silver at most.

As for artillery, it is only about three thousand pieces of silver. If it is mass-produced, the price can be lowered even further. The price of a cannonball will not exceed thirty pieces of silver.

Now, Merlin is asking for an exorbitant price. Even if it's just blackmail, this price is too ridiculous.

However, Merlin smiled and said, "Mr. Pinov, today you have witnessed the power of our Wu country's rifles and artillery. Believe me, the rifles and artillery produced by our Wu country are definitely worth the price."

Pinov said: "Yes, I have seen the power of your Wu country's rifles and artillery. No matter which one, it is more advanced than ours. However, this is not a reason for you to sell it at such a high price, even for profit. If the profit exceeds 300%, even God will not tolerate it."

Merlin smiled indifferently and said, "Whether God can bear it or not seems to have nothing to do with me. As I said, you can refuse it, but I don't know whether the Sassanid Persians will accept this price."

After hearing what Merlin said, Pinov was immediately silent again.

Yes, the Roman Empire could not accept this offer, but who knows whether those barbarians of Sassanid Persia would accept this offer? What if they did?

Chapter 155: Digging a pit for you to jump into

If the Sassanid barbarians did not accept the offer, but the Roman Empire did, then only one hundred troops would be needed to equip the army with this gun.

With just 20,000 of these rifles equipped by the Wu army, and enough bullets and artillery shells, the Roman Empire could wipe out all the humiliation it had suffered since the Hundred Years' War.

The same is true in reverse. If the Roman Empire could not accept the offer, but the barbarians of Sassanid Persia accepted it, the consequences would be obvious.

After a long silence, Pinov finally slumped down in his chair, tugged at the knot on his collar, and said, "Okay, you win."

"Now we have to talk about the number of artillery and rifles. And, of course, the time of delivery."

Compared to Pinov, Rolin could accept the price, but the only problem facing Rolin now was that the Sassanid Empire had no money.

Of course, it cannot be said that the entire Sassanid Empire was penniless, because it was the Sassanid Empire’s finances that were penniless.

At this time in Sassanid Persia, court ministers were fighting for power, social contradictions were acute, the treasury was empty, and the country was heavily in debt.

Therefore, even if Rollin wanted to purchase a large number of firearms immediately, the Sassanid Persian treasury could not come up with so much money.

So after listening to Rowling's concerns, Alice slapped her thigh and said, "I was wondering why, it turns out it's all about money?"

When Rowling heard Alice say this, he was stunned.

No, can money be considered a trivial matter? You know, although money is not omnipotent, but in this world, without money, you cannot do anything.

If the treasury of Sassanid Persia had enough money, would I, Luo Lin, still have to worry about this?

However, Alice smiled and said, "It's just some yellow and white stuff. It's easy to handle."

After growing up for so many years, Alice has grown into a well-groomed girl, and she looks a bit like Merlin in her white hooded outfit.

In order to train Alice more, Leah gave Alice the responsibility of leading the transaction with the Persians, wanting to see how she could do.

Just when Luo Lin was confused, Alice asked again inexplicably: "I heard that your Sassanid Persia is also quite turbulent, and the civilians seem to be quite dissatisfied?"

Luo Lin replied in confusion: "What's so strange about this? If your Highness Princess spent half or more of your family's total income on bread, you would probably be dissatisfied."

Alice laughed when she heard this, and then asked, "I heard that Mr. Rowling is a relative of the Emperor of Sassanid Persia?"

Luo Lin nodded and hummed, "According to what you Wu people say, His Majesty the King of Sassanid Persia and I should be considered cousins. However, I don't have any official title, nor do I have any fiefdom to inherit."

After hearing what Rowling said, Alice felt relieved.

What do you mean there is no official title and no fiefdom to inherit? That means he is the illegitimate son of a noble, and illegitimate children have no right of inheritance.

Alice laughed and said, "In our Chinese history, there is a saying: A real man does not ask where he came from."

"It means that one's background cannot determine how high a person can reach. What matters most is one's hard work."

"Although Mr. Luo Lin does not have an official title or fiefdom yet, I believe that as long as Mr. Luo Lin can contribute to Sassanid Persia and your Majesty, then the fiefdom and title will be easily obtained for Mr. Luo Lin."

Rowling continued to be confused, and even suspected that Alice's brain was broken.

As long as you make contributions to Sassanid Persia and His Majesty Sassanid Persia, you can get fiefdom and title. How great is this contribution?

But there's nothing wrong with just listening, and he doesn't lose anything anyway.

However, just as Luo Lin continued to be confused, Alice smiled and said, "It is actually very simple to make a contribution to His Majesty the Sassanid Persian Emperor."

Luo Lin asked in bewilderment: "What contribution? How can it be so simple?"

Alice laughed and said, "If you can fill the deficit in the Sassanid Persian treasury and make the people of Sassanid Persia settle down, will this merit be enough for Mr. Luo Lin to be awarded a title and fiefdom?"

"How to do it?" Luo Lin asked curiously.

Alice smiled and said, "In my opinion, the deficit in your country's treasury and the unrest among your people are actually two problems in one. If the people have no money, how can the treasury have money?"

"As long as the problem of the treasury deficit can be solved, the problem of the people's unrest will naturally be solved. If the problem of the people's unrest can be solved, then the problem of the treasury deficit will naturally not be a big problem."

Luo Lin thought, isn't this nonsense? Everyone knows that solving the problem of people's unrest can solve the problem of the treasury deficit? The key is, what are you going to use to solve the problem of people's unrest?

Or think from another angle?

If I could find a solution from a different perspective, would I have to go to the Far East to do business?

Just as Luo Lin was secretly complaining, Alice smiled and said, "Mr. Luo Lin, in the beginning, do you know how our Wu country solved the problems of the people?"

After hearing what Alice said, Rowling couldn't help but become curious.

He came all the way to Wu State. Not to mention the poor, even beggars were hard to see. He had no idea how the Wu State solved the problem of food and clothing for the people.

"Please let me know." Luo Lin said directly.

Alice smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course, there is nothing to hide about this. So, Mr. Rowling, do you know what is the biggest reason why the people of Sassanid Persia could not survive?"

After hearing Alice's question, Luo Lin thought about it carefully and asked tentatively: "Is it because our Majesty always spends too much silver on building a garden for the princess and holding banquets, so the financial problems of Sassanid Persia have arisen? It is also because of the financial problems of Sassanid Persia that the people of Sassanid Persia have arisen.

Will he not be able to survive?"

Alice shook her head when she heard this: "It's just a garden renovation, it won't cost much at all."

After hearing what Alice said, Luo Lin couldn't help but become curious: "Since there is no problem with building the garden, why is there still a problem with our finances?"

After chatting with Rowling for such a long time, Alice was finally sure that it was not that what she said was too complicated, but that Rowling, this barbarian from Sassanid Persia, was really too stupid, which made her want to hold her forehead.

Chapter 156: Alice also learns bad things

These barbarians have so little knowledge that she feels like she is deceiving children. This is a victory in knowledge.

Thinking of this, Alice simply smiled and shook her head, saying, "If there is a problem with the finances of Sassanid Persia, the main problem, in the final analysis, lies in two words, nobility."

"Nobles? What happened to those noble old men?" Luo Lin was a little confused.

Alice said seriously:

"Take the taxation issue for example. Our Wu State taxes the people at one-tenth. It seems a lot, right? But it's actually very little, because we really only collect one-tenth, and there is no other tax."

"But your Sassanid Persia is different. In addition to the taxes collected by the state from the common people, the nobles also collect taxes, and the nobles collect taxes very harshly, at least more than half of the taxes. Normally, it's not a big deal, but once the harvest is bad that year, the people will naturally have problems."

"And your nobles are too greedy. As long as your Sassanid Majesty is willing to catch a few wealthy corrupt nobles, chop off their heads, confiscate their property, put the money they use to support mistresses and raise illegitimate children into the national treasury, and then allocate a small portion to buy some food for the people."

"This will not only make up for part of the deficit in the Sassanid treasury, but will also help the Sassanid court establish a good impression in the minds of the Sassanid people."

"And once he has the money, won't Mr. Rowling be able to take a large number of firearms back with him?"

"As long as you Sassanids can control the army, cooperate with the firearms developed by our Wu Kingdom, and add enough shells and bullets, even if the people of Sassanids really want to rebel, it will not be a big deal."

"If they dare to rebel, we will suppress them harshly, kill a bunch of them, and confiscate their homes."

"With fewer people, we will need less food, and we can get more money from the confiscation of property. Isn't this a solution to the problem?"

"The problem has been solved. Are there any other problems with Mr. Luo Lin's fiefdom and title?"