Iron Powder and Spellcaster

On the first day of the "reverse auction", nothing happened.

None of the forge owners made an offer to the Baron and his wife. Anna also did not take the initiative to negotiate with various workshops, and even rejected the incoming social invitations - openly.

Privately, she asked Carlo Aide to find more "account books"

Buyers and sellers face off silently, and both sides understand that winning or losing depends on who can keep calm.

At dinner time, Bellian cooked the uncut meat stick bones, then removed the meat and tendons attached to the bones, and poured the sauce on them to make a tender and delicious main dish.

The bones that were supposed to be broken open to suck out the marrow were saved by two wolfhounds.

At the dinner table, Anna told Winters about her new discovery with great interest: "...It is precisely because the Steel Castle workshop has a fine division of labor that their operating conditions are very interesting.

Take the Schmid family's sword workshop as an example. The Schmid family neither smelt iron nor burn charcoal. Even the hardening and sharpening are left to other workshops. They are only responsible for turning iron into sword blades. , Knife strips..."

"Hmm." Winters responded subconsciously, stirring the vegetable soup absentmindedly.

Anna looked at Winters carefully for a moment and asked softly: "What's wrong? The hiring of the craftsman is not going well?"

Winters was not upset about hiring a blacksmith, but it was indeed not going well for him to go out to look for and invite the Steel Castle blacksmith during the day.

He came back to his senses and shook Anna's hand apologetically: "It's nothing."

"You can tell me." Anna drawled slightly.

Winters sighed: "It's not going well. No blacksmith is willing to go to new land. It's useless no matter how high the salary is."

But what really bothered Winters was another matter, one for which he could do nothing but count on Colonel Berne.

"Don't be discouraged." Anna's voice has the magic of making people feel peaceful: "You will find someone willing to work for you."

Winters felt much more relaxed. He nodded and asked with a smile: "Let's talk about the Schmid family. What's wrong with them? You can't make swords directly from a bar of iron, but they can smelt steel?"

"Mr. Schmid's eldest son runs a steel-making workshop with two forges." Anna has memorized all the details of the Schmid family in her mind and can give the answer without consulting the records.

She continued: "Because many processes are handed over to other workshops, old Mr. Schmid can focus all his energy on forging swords, which makes them extremely efficient. The Schmid family only has one sword workshop. The forge is able to produce so many knife blades and sword blades, which is precisely due to the fine division of labor of the Steel Castle Blacksmith Guild."

"Isn't this an advantage?"

"I haven't finished speaking yet." Anna blinked her beautiful eyes and took out a piece of bread from the basket: "Although the Schmid family's workshop is very efficient, because they only do one business, they are resistant to risks. The ability is very bad. Just like this loaf of bread, even if it is very long, the thickness does not change, so it does not require a lot of force to break it."

After saying that, Anna broke the bread into two pieces and gave half of it to Winters without any explanation.

"Then how can it be broken?" Winters asked puzzledly.

Hearing this, Kaman, who was sipping his soup, glanced at Winters casually.

"Breaking is just a metaphor." Anna's tone was like coaxing a child: "The key point is still funds. Mr. Schmid's purchase of raw materials does not mean paying and delivering. 'Deferred payment' is a common practice among the workshops of Steel Castle. A very common situation is credit. Other workshops advance raw materials and services to Mr. Schmid, and Mr. Schmid can wait until the goods are sold and the funds are returned before paying the money..."

Winters listened to the end in silence, digested it for a while, and then tried to repeat it in his own words: "What you mean is that old Mr. Schmid is actually borrowing money for production. If the ordnance cannot be sold, he will not pay it back. Pay a debt?"

"To be precise, it's not a loan." Anna tilted her head and thought for a while: "But it's almost the same."

"He owes some money, but what happens next?"

Anna put away her naughty and brisk tone and said seriously: "It's more than just owing some money. If old Mr. Schmid becomes insolvent, his chair will be smashed."

"Smash the chair?" Winters heard the word for the first time.

"That's right." Anna hesitated for a moment and whispered another word: "Bankruptcy."

The table fell silent, and Winters and Carman stopped moving.

Because bankruptcy is no small matter. Under current law, bankruptcy not only means liquidation of property and loss of goodwill, but also severe criminal penalties, including but not limited to imprisonment, hard labor, and corporal punishment.

"Bankruptcy?" Kaman asked suspiciously: "Old Mr. Schmid has worked hard all his life and can always save some savings. He won't go bankrupt after one failure, right?"

"Old Mr. Schmid has indeed saved a lot of savings, so he has seven forges." Anna explained to Carman: "Except for wood, lake water, iron ore and a little grain, Steel Castle produces almost nothing. It also costs money to maintain this city, especially in Monta. Old Mr. Schmid does not seem to be a person who pursues enjoyment, and may have saved some emergency funds. But those workshop owners who live as luxuriously as the Flora people , I doubt they have enough funds to deal with this crisis."

Anna looked at Winters: "So we should change our thinking. In the past, you always wanted to cooperate with large workshops, because large workshops have a large backlog and can meet the demand in one transaction. But in the future, we must target those small workshops first.

Although large workshops have a large backlog, they are large in size and have sufficient negotiation capital. And small workshops are like sampans, which are more likely to capsize in the face of waves. When the small workshops sink one after another, the large workshops will also be dragged into the seabed. "

"Hmm. It's like a battle between two armies. If the weak flank troops are defeated, no matter how powerful the central army is, it will be outflanked?" Winters held his chin and begged Anna: "I like to hear you say 'we' so much. Can you say it a few more times?”

"I've finished eating, and I have to say evening prayers. Please excuse me." Carman stood up abruptly, bowed and saluted Winters and Anna: "Mr. Montagne, Ms. Navarre, good night."

Kaman thanked Chef Balian again, then walked out of the restaurant without looking back, and went upstairs to his bedroom with a "dong dong dong dong".

"What happened to him?" Winters asked knowingly.

Anna kicked Winters hard under the table.

Winters screamed lowly and fell on the dining table in pain.

Anna was immediately at a loss. She turned to Winters and asked distressedly: "Did I touch your old injury?"

"Um...it's okay..." Winters requested angrily: "I want to hear you talk about us again."

"you!"

"Just say it once."

"We, we." Anna's voice became smaller and smaller as she spoke: "We..."

"Okay, I'm fine." Winters sat up smoothly and squeezed Anna's hand: "Eat quickly, the soup will be cold in a while."

Before she finished speaking, Anna kicked Winters again, this time aiming at the right leg.

"You kicked me badly." Winters rubbed the sore spot and warned sternly: "You will be the one who will suffer in the future!"

Anna was completely defeated. She didn't know what to say, so she sat back down with a red face and angrily.

In terms of business acumen, even ten Winters tied up can't compare to one Anna. But when it comes to bickering, how could Anna be the opponent of Winters, who has been having friendly discussions with Kaman all year round.

Winters knew that Ms. Navarre was thin-skinned and quickly changed the subject: "What if the Steel Castle Blacksmith Guild comes forward to maintain the price alliance?"

The sudden change of topic made Anna a little stunned. She thought for a while and said: "The castle is always easiest to break from the inside. I already have some ideas on how to do it, and I need to understand Monta's current business law before making a decision."

"No matter what you want to do, I support you."

"Sometimes, I can't help but think about what Father Carman said." Anna whispered: "Is this really the right thing to do? What Father Carman said makes sense... I am indeed taking advantage of other people's disasters, and even taking advantage of them. Pushed off the cliff..."

Winters did not interrupt Anna, but listened seriously.

He held Anna's hand and said seriously: "Don't care what Father Carman said. You are doing this for me, on my behalf. Regardless of right or wrong, if anyone needs to bear moral condemnation, then It should be me too.”

"It's not 'I'." Anna corrected equally seriously: "It's 'we'."

…

On the second day of the "reverse auction", nothing happened.

Both sides continued to stand still, and Steel Castle spent another day in subtle tranquility.

At dinner time, Bellion removed the fat from the pig's belly that was close to the skin, cut it into equal-sized slices, and fried it over low heat to draw out the fat.

When both sides of the fat slices are golden and the lard has boiled out of the pot, pick out the fat slices, heat the lard until green smoke comes out, and fry again.

Finally, a strange plate of "lard fat" was placed on the table.

Winters had never eaten this dish before and blurted out: "Isn't this oil residue?"

After tasting it himself, he regretted that he was too reckless in his evaluation - the fried fat was not only not greasy, but also crispy and meaty.

Bellion also made a clear soup as a side dish for the "oil residue". After soaking the oil residue in the soup, the surface of the oil residue was soaked in some soup, but the inside was still crispy, making it even more delicious.

Even Anna, who easily gets "bored" from food, was full of praise for Balian's cooking skills. The Dussac boys brought by Winters even cleared the plates in just a few strokes.

At the dinner table, Anna asked Winters with a smile: "How is it? Did you find a blacksmith who is willing to go to the new land today?"

Winters, who had been running around outside for another day, shook his head.

Charles, who was sitting next to Winters, complained loudly. He said angrily: "Brother Montagne has given you enough face and money, but these Montagniers! Ha! Each one is more stubborn than the other, just like the stones in the toilet. ——It’s smelly and hard. I really want to pull out the saber and put it on their necks! Let’s see if their heads can still be that hard!”

"The deal should be between you and me." Winters smiled instead, and patted Ciel on the back: "There's nothing we can do if they don't want to."

Ciel said "hmm" and continued to deal with the bread glumly.

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot." Anna whispered a few words to her personal nanny, who nodded, turned and left, and came back shortly with an invitation.

"People from John H. Sherlock's Trading Company made a special trip to visit today. I said you were ill and it was difficult to see visitors, so I declined." Anna handed the post to Winters and said in confusion: "Then they left this invitation. Post.”

Winters opened the invitation. There was no signature or letterhead inside, only a short line of text:

"I beg you to honor me and come to John H. Sherlock's."

Winters asked: "Just keep this invitation?"

"right."

"Nothing else to say?"

"No."

Winters sniffed the invitation and smelled nothing.

He held the invitation in his hand, thought about it, and said: "Tomorrow I will go and find out the origins of this John H. Sherlock firm. If they send people again, try to keep them, and wait. I come back."

"OK."

"How's the bidding going?" Winters asked Anna, "Is it going well?"

Ana smiled happily: "Of course."

…

On the third day of the "reverse auction", nothing happened.

At dinner time, Balian served a rich stew. He mysteriously refused to say what it was, but asked Winters and Anna to taste it first.

Winters observed that the lumps on the plate should be translucent, with soup pouring on the outside. It looked a bit like a cooked radish, but smelled like some kind of meat.

He tasted a piece, and it felt soft and chewy when he first took it into his mouth. As he continued to bite it, it became chewy. The soup coating the meat is rich and fragrant, with a slight sweetness in the mouth.

It’s hard to imagine such a stunning dish coming from a blacksmith who spends most of his time shoeing horses.

Anna was also particularly fond of this dish and could rarely clear her plate faster than Winters. After thanking Balian repeatedly, she asked curiously: "What on earth is this? Some kind of sugar or ointment?"

"Madam." Balian replied with some pride: "It's beef cheek."

Anna's expression became a little unnatural, because beef cheek is a "weird offcut" and is generally not placed on a formal dining table, but she had to admit that she liked the dish that Bellion presented.

Anna quickly regained her composure, and she praised Balian with a smile: "I heard that the best chefs know how to serve a plate of farm food that the guests would even dismiss on ordinary days as a special delicacy at the last moment of the banquet. Thank you, Mr. Sawyer, your special dish was delicious.”

Balian bowed deeply and expressed his heartfelt gratitude for Anna's compliment. He prepared to return to the kitchen, but was left behind by Winters.

Winters pushed Balian down on the seat and asked helplessly and seriously: "What exactly is the guild oath of the Steel Castle blacksmiths? Where does it get its binding force? Why do all the blacksmiths keep silent about it but are extremely loyal to it? .”

"What?" Anna asked, "Didn't you gain anything today?

Winters shook his head, then looked at Balian.

Balian lowered his eyes and looked at the tips of his boots: "Your Excellency, I can assure you - I have not sworn the secrecy oath of the Steel Castle blacksmith. So I don't know the specific content of the oath."

"Don't worry, you can just say what you know." Winters patted Balian on the shoulder: "Just say what you want to say."

Balian was silent for a moment and asked with difficulty: "What about?"

Winters tried his best to use a tone that did not put pressure on Balian: "For example, where does the Steel Castle blacksmith's oath of confidentiality come from? Isn't it just a sentence? Why does everyone value it so much?"

"Dear." Anna glanced at Winters reproachfully: "A vow is more than just a sentence."

Winters made an apologetic gesture.

Balian's mood returned to calmness: "Your Excellency, instead of worrying about the validity of the oath, have you ever considered 'what kind of person can become a steel castle blacksmith'?"

"What kind of man?" Winters asked.

Balian rarely spoke eloquently: "First of all, the blacksmith must be a local resident of Steel Castle, with a family and a clean background; secondly, becoming an apprentice requires a guarantor, usually guaranteed by a number of relatives and friends; finally, the apprentice They also have to endure a long apprenticeship period. During the apprenticeship period, there is no salary, they are often beaten by the master, they do not work hard, and they may be fired. After several years of training, a child can become an officially registered steel castle blacksmith.

Sounds cruel, right? But compared to the "mule workers" who have no special skills and can only do the lowest level of physical labor in mines and workshops, the treatment of blacksmiths is already surprisingly generous. They have better salaries, higher status, a decent life, civil rights, and the possibility of becoming forge masters. Best of all - they learn real craft. Many people will never be able to enter this door just because they are not from Solingen. "

Winters concluded: "What you are trying to say is that blacksmiths who have mastered their skills are not as good as those above and are more than those below, so they don't want to change and are afraid of change."

"Not only that, Your Excellency." Balian said in a deep voice: "If any registered steel castle blacksmith chooses to serve you, his family, relatives, and even the guarantor when he entered the industry will all suffer. When I say disaster, I mean his life. As for the blacksmith himself, he cannot escape death. The blacksmith guild of Steel Castle will kill the betrayers at all costs - they have the ability and the determination."

Winters and Anna looked at each other. Assuming that it is true as Balian said, then the steel castle blacksmiths are not monolithic, at least the relationship is much stronger than that of the alliance republics.

They are a group tightly bound together by interests and violence, so recruiting blacksmiths privately may not work.

Winters stared at Balian's face with sharp eyes: "So, has the Blacksmith of Steel Castle had any cases of 'betrayal' in the past?"

Balian could not face Winters' gaze. He lowered his head and swallowed: "I'm not sure, Your Excellency."

Winters sighed secretly, Balian obviously didn't want to talk more. Since the other party is unwilling to talk, it is not easy for him to exert pressure.

Balian followed Winters all the way from the Great Wasteland, and Winters knew the character of this old subordinate very well. Balian doesn't want to say that there is nothing you can do against him. Even if he was forced to speak, Winters was reluctant to give up.

Winters patted Balian on the shoulder and said nothing more.

Balian stared down at the tips of his boots, silent.

"It's no big deal." Winters tapped the table lightly and said in a relaxed manner: "If the blacksmith can't handle it, can't we still handle the people who can handle the blacksmith?"

If one road is dead, sometimes if you change the direction, your thoughts will become more open.

Winters slammed the table hard: "If we can't hire anyone, we'll buy the forging hammer and drilling machine! Let him move the furnace back to Iron Peak exactly as it is!"

"The furnace? I'm afraid not. How can I find such a big carriage?" Anna replied with a slight smile.

Winters laughed loudly: "Then make ten or a hundred of them exactly the same."

Winters' positive mood seemed to be transmitted to Balian, whose tense cheeks relaxed a little. He stood up, saluted, and went back to the kitchen.

Only Winters and Anna were left at the table, and Father Carman no longer ate with them.

"Dear Madam, how are you going with what you are busy with?" Winters asked deliberately formal.

"The dominoes have been laid out." Anna replied with a smile: "All it takes is a slight push."

…

On day four, the “nudge” came.

News came back from the Horn Castle that the appeal and defense against the trade ban... failed miserably.

[Although it is a big chapter, it is late and not enough 6,000 words, and one chapter is missing OrZ]

[About Guild Oath/Oath of Secrecy]

[In ancient times, it was a natural decision to master a unique skill and keep it secret. It should not be difficult for Chinese people today to understand. Everyone is familiar with the saying "pass from generation to generation but not from daughter to daughter\