What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

Seven million three hundred thousand one hundred coins???

This number obviously far exceeds Wallenstein's carrying capacity! Even if the palace is sold now and Vienna's tax revenue is collected ten years later, it may not be possible to collect 7.3 million magic crystal coins.

Fran smiled and said, "So, Your Majesty, please do what you can and don't force yourself."

"Ahahaha." Wallenstein smiled awkwardly.

However, after the embarrassment, her heart was filled with shock.

And fear!

Fran had already lent Wallenstein 1,600 muskets. How could she pull out so many muskets from the void in such a short time?

What kind of magical power does Fran possess that she can expand production capacity to such a terrifying level! This is no longer on the same scale.

"Mr. Earl? Mr. Earl?"

Fran gave him a few reminders, which finally woke Wallenstein up from his dream.

“Sorry, sorry…” Wallenstein took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She said, “It seems that we overestimated our own wallets.”

"It's okay, it's okay!" Fran said, "Doing business? As long as it can be done, everything is fine. So how many muskets does the Earl plan to bring?"

"Um...I need to think about this matter for a while." Wallenstein said.

"I suggest that the Earl should attend the trade fair." Fran said, "At this trade fair, we will grandly launch several new muskets that are suitable for different usage scenarios, such as murder, arson, robbery... I mean, maintaining law and order, and defending the homeland. They are all very useful! There will also be a lottery on site, as well as discounts for full purchases.

The more you buy, the more you get. "

Is there such a thing? What kind of weird marketing methods are these? Wallenstein was completely confused. However, what Fran said next shocked Wallenstein.

"By the way, this exhibition will not accept magic crystal coins, Roll coins, or any other currencies. Instead, we will use paper money issued by our Aurora City. If the Earl wants to buy, he can go to the Aurora Bank to exchange it first to avoid transactions being blocked."

Paper money? What is that?

Paper money?

Chapter 136 Weapons Exhibition

With curiosity and doubts about banknotes, I came to the Orila Bank next to the workshop.

"How can I help you?"

At the counter of the bank, the Furui women in uniform bowed respectfully to Wallenstein. This bank looked very formal, unlike those places that were pronounced as money houses but written as usury.

"I want to exchange for some paper currency," said Wallenstein.

"You mean the Orila currency? Wait a minute..." Then the Furui woman placed several beautifully bound banknotes in front of Wallenstein, with numbers one, two, ten, fifty, and one hundred on them. At the end there were one thousand and ten thousand.

"How do I exchange it?" Wallenstein asked curiously.

"You can exchange it for the same amount of magic crystal coins as the number above." The Furui woman said, "After that, if you want, you can go to any Orila bank at any time to exchange it for the same amount of magic crystal coins."

"These? They look like ordinary pieces of paper." Wallenstein checked them and said, "If I forged them and you didn't notice, wouldn't it be easy for me to cheat you out of a large amount of magic crystal coins?"

“Please wait a moment.

The woman went behind the counter and then took out a few more banknotes.

"This is?"

"Those few notes just now were just samples. These are real banknotes." The woman said, "Each banknote has energy fluctuations. These are infused by the clergy of the Shinra Church! They have their own characteristic values."

"Using energy fluctuations to prevent counterfeiting is very interesting." Wallenstein nodded. However, this reminded her of the flower cards in Tulip Storm a year ago, which seemed to use this method to prevent counterfeiting.

I don’t know if this matter has anything to do with Fran.

Everyone's energy fluctuations are different, just like the lines on a person's palm. Such fluctuations are too small, and if you want to completely forge them, you need very precise control. Perhaps only the Holy Land can make the fake look real.

But the Sanctuary obviously didn't need to do that for such a small amount of money. And as the denomination of the currency increased, the number of energy fluctuations on it also increased, which meant that more time was needed to imitate.

As for infusing energy fluctuations, any Shinra clergyman can do it.

The Holy Roll Empire has suppressed the Shinra Church for so many years, which has made most of the Shinra Church's clergy very poor. As long as Fran pays them a little salary, they can work for her wholeheartedly.

Wallenstein felt a strange feeling when he thought that the clergy who used to pray and practice every day now sat in the bank every day to pour and identify banknotes.

However, there is also a huge problem with this type of banknote: how to identify it.

To this end, counterfeit banknote appraisers must be familiar with more than a dozen clergy who infuse energy into banknotes and be familiar with their energy fluctuations. As new and old clergy continue to replace each other, the amount of information they remember will increase.

Energy fluctuations are not permanent; they will gradually weaken over time, seriously increasing the difficulty of identification.

Moreover, the energy fluctuations on the banknote can be erased. If someone wants to frame an enemy, they can destroy the energy fluctuations on the banknote and destroy his property unexpectedly.

Of course, the most important thing is that ordinary people and vendors cannot distinguish the authenticity of banknotes, which also creates a huge obstacle to the circulation of banknotes.

However, this kind of banknote is only a stopgap measure for Fran. In the future, she will definitely not be able to simply use energy fluctuations to distinguish the authenticity. She will also have to work hard on printing and anti-counterfeiting techniques. However, time is limited now, and Fran does not want to miss this good opportunity to promote banknotes.

After Wallenstein understood the general situation of paper money, he immediately exchanged the heavy magic crystal coins in his hand for a large amount of paper money and waited for the exhibition to begin.

The trade fair was held in a brand new building facade outside the bank.

The building was square and looked as ugly as a large coffin, but the area it was located on was extremely large, enough to accommodate a large number of visitors.

On this day, messengers from various forces swarmed in and entered the big coffin.

Wallenstein also disguised himself as a messenger and walked in with the crowd.

The building was filled with stalls displaying firearms.

Most of the firearms were no different from the current muskets, they were just sold in different stalls to avoid crowding. However, among them, Wallenstein also saw some different models.

The first is a particularly large musket. According to the lady at the counter, this musket is far superior to ordinary muskets in terms of range and accuracy, but the loading speed is very slow and requires a lot of maintenance.

The second type goes in the completely opposite direction. It has fast loading, simple structure, small size, and even no rifling! The only problem is that the range is very short, the accuracy is touching, and it can basically only be shot at the face.

These two extremely purified muskets were sought after by many people. As for artillery, the derived models were even more numerous, which dazzled Wallenstein. By the time she reacted, two-thirds of the banknotes in her hand had disappeared.

The trade fair was extremely popular and was sold out after just one day.

Although the technology of muskets has been spread, as Fran said before, imitation is one thing, and mass production is another. With their production, it is already very difficult to meet the consumption of their own army, let alone sell it to others like Fran did.

Therefore, there is still a huge gap in the firearms market.

Every force wants to get a piece of the pie, but unfortunately, so far only Fran can produce it in large quantities.

After that, Fran also sold something called a firearm voucher at a higher price than the current price. At the next trade fair, you can use the firearm voucher to directly receive the corresponding model.

There is no doubt that the firearm coupons were sought after by everyone. Some forces were eager to obtain firearms, so they were willing to directly pay high prices to buy other people's firearm coupons. For a time, the price of firearm coupons rose sharply.

Wallenstein saw all this, and this method seemed familiar to him!

As one of the few beneficiaries of the tulip storm, Wallenstein began to think about how to use the benefits of firearm coupons to fill Margaret's increasingly tight finances.

The exhibition was over. Although Wallenstein bought many firearms and secretly hoarded a lot of firearm coupons, her most important task was still unfinished.

The supply of firearms on our side is one thing, but the most important thing is to reduce the supply of firearms on the enemy side. With Fran selling so freely, I believe that many weapons must have flowed to the side of Grand Duke Hastings.

But what could Wallenstein do? She didn't have the ability to buy all of Fran's firearms, nor could she use force to prohibit Fran from selling firearms.

Regardless of whether she could beat Fran or not, if she pushed Fran into a corner and she surrendered to the enemy, Margaret would be trapped from both sides and would have no chance of winning.

In the end, Wallenstein reported to Margaret without reservation what he saw at the exhibition and the production capacity demonstrated by Fran.

After hearing the news, Margaret sat in her chair for a long time without saying anything.

Such a huge output of firearms indeed shocked everyone present.

Originally, Margaret scoffed at Fran's large-scale construction and factory building, thinking that it was the work of profit-seeking businessmen and was not worth mentioning in front of the military. However, when productivity developed to such an extent, Margaret instinctively felt the danger.

She found that she had underestimated Fran!

It has only been half a year since Fran defeated the Yellow Four Wolfs and gained power in Orila City, but it has already developed to this point!

If Margaret can finally take care of the entire Holy Roel Empire, what kind of giant will Fran become by then? With her own abilities, is there still a way to defeat the city of Aurora?

The most important thing is... now I am still deeply mired in the quagmire of war, spending astronomical amounts of military pay every day, while Fran has made a fortune by selling firearms in this war.

Can I really win till the end?

Even the battlefield where he was most confident was becoming increasingly unfamiliar.

For the first time, confusion appeared in Margaret's eyes.

Chapter 137 You Just Fight, I'll Take Care of the Logistics

As if he had seen Margaret's look, Wallenstein immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think we can try a new strategy instead of the previous fierce attack."

"Tell me about it," said Margaret.

"As we have invested in firearms on a large scale, the pressure on logistics has been rising and has even become unbearable," said Wallenstein.

"Your Majesty asked you to come up with strategies, not to complain," said Earl Tilly.

"Let her finish!" said Margaret.

Wallenstein continued, "The location of the current war is close to us and far from the enemy. The transportation in the Vienna area is also much better than that of the enemy. At present, Archduke Hastings's troops are several times larger than ours, and they are equipped with more firearms than us. I think the enemy's logistical supply will be more difficult than ours."

"You mean! Use logistics to wear them down?" Margaret said.

"Yes!" Wallenstein said, "Since we are weaker than them, fighting on the plains is very disadvantageous to us. We can just pretend to fail and retreat to the vicinity of Vienna, and then fight with the enemy with the defense line we set up before! We can stretch the enemy's supply line and wait until the enemy is overwhelmed before attacking!"

"But in this case, wouldn't all the territories we conquered before be given away for nothing?" Earl Tilly said unwillingly, "And your Majesty wants to end the war quickly, so the time of the end of the war becomes unknown. Doesn't this mean that Fran will have more time to develop?"

Margaret frowned, and after a long while she spoke slowly, "Do as Wallenstein says!"

A few days later, an exciting piece of news spread throughout the Beiluol Empire!

Margaret retreats!

Not only did she retreat, but she also retreated in a hurry. Many abandoned muskets and flags could be seen along the way, which gave the army of the Northern Roll Empire a glimpse of victory. So they excitedly advanced forward, and in less than half a month, they recovered the three principalities occupied by Margaret, and pointed their spears directly at the capital Vienna.

However, just when they wanted to take Vienna in one go, they encountered a tough opponent more than 200 kilometers away from Vienna.

Those were two solid fortresses! Unlike the previous fortresses, the walls of these two fortresses were not high, but extremely thick. The artillery could not break the walls at all, and could only rely on the elevation angle to bombard the city. However, the enemy's artillery relied on the height advantage to easily bombard the artillery positions.

With these two fortresses as the core, Margaret immediately formed a battle line and held off the attack of Grand Duke Hastings.

This one took several months.

During this period, Grand Duke Hastings' troops launched continuous attacks, and muskets and artillery fired madly at the two fortresses as if they were risking their lives, but they could not pull out these two nails, and naturally they could not break through the entire line of defense.

The war seemed to have once again entered a stalemate.

However, this time, the consumption of both sides was completely reversed. With Vienna behind her, Margaret's supply pressure was suddenly much lighter, but Archduke Hastings was in a terrible situation. Not only was the supply line long, but it also passed through so many duchies.

How could these small principalities have the energy to maintain the infrastructure within their fiefdoms on weekdays? It just so happened that the warm trade winds from the south blew to the north recently, bringing a lot of rain, so the entire Northern Roll Empire had a lot of rain!

This fall directly turned the ground into a hellish muddy mess, and the supply speed dropped sharply, especially the supply of gunpowder was stretched to the limit.

At this time, Count Tilly's cavalry once again demonstrated their expertise. Relying on their flexible mobility, they continued to plunder supplies from behind the enemy, destroy firearms, and even use them directly on the spot. Since everyone's firearms were copied from Fran, the specifications of the muskets and even the size of the bullets were roughly similar.

, basically you can use it directly.

After several twists and turns, the Beiluol Empire was already overwhelmed, but they were reluctant to give up the money they had already invested.

Vienna is within reach. Should we give up the victory that is within our grasp just because of the rain?

So they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue buying weapons (it was obvious where to buy them) and ammunition.

This war was like a wound in the body of the Beiluol Empire. Although it was not fatal, it caused it to bleed continuously.

I just don't know when all the blood will stop flowing.

While Margaret and Grand Duke Hastings were fighting bloody battles, Fran was expanding her territory on another battlefield.

After signing a trade agreement with the Orc Empire, a steady stream of ships were sent to the Orc Empire. The outgoing ships were loaded with various iron products, firearms, and clothes, while the returning ships were loaded with various foods, wool, and full of magic crystal coins.

Originally, it would take more than 30 days for a ship to travel from Biesund Port to the Orc Empire. Now with the steam-powered ships, the journey has been shortened by 10 days, which greatly shortens the time for trade!

Of course, steam-powered ships were used to transport goods with a shelf life, such as food. As for other goods, such as wool, they were still transported by traditional ships. In order to increase the cargo capacity in a short period of time, she bought a lot of ships at once, and sometimes even bought the entire trading company!

Judging from the tonnage of ships alone, the Jingxi Chamber of Commerce undoubtedly already owns the largest fleet in the entire Holy Roll Empire.

At this time, Fran only hated that her production capacity was still too low.

Although she could use steam engines to manufacture various iron products, the production capacity of the steam engines themselves was still very weak.

After all, steam engines require precision, and currently can only be made by hand by a group of skilled craftsmen such as the gray dwarves. One day when the manufacturing technology and materials are further improved, we will be able to make machines that produce machines! That will be the time to promote the steam engine on a large scale.

Now, we still have to rely on the dwarves to operate the machine manually.

The raw materials produced by the Orc Empire, whether wool or food, are what Fran needs most!