Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 324

   A venerable Mrs. Veneta was disturbed in the middle of the night to learn that her daughter had disappeared, and it was two, so how would she react?

   I can't imagine it.

   In the past, the Veneta used to deal with such situations by using daggers coated with poison.

   In recent years, the method has become more civilized, and the poisoned dagger has been replaced by a reed gun hidden under a cloak.

   Thinking in a different position, Winters asked himself, what if a **** dared to kidnap Ella?

The result of    thinking is: After repeatedly confirming to Anna that she has no brother, Winters' mood became extraordinarily relaxed.

   All in all, he didn't want to meet Mr. Leo at all.

   But considering that Mr. Leo came to Iron Peak with his adoptive father, Winters vaguely felt that Mrs. Navarre's attitude might have softened.

   Winters and Mrs. Navarre have met only a few times, and I can't even remember Mrs. Navarre's face, but I remember that she was a very gentle, kind, and kind lady.

  The situation...perhaps not bad?

   Extending the head is a knife, and retracting the head is also a knife, Winters dragged his head until he couldn't drag it any longer, and finally met Mr. Leo with a bit of a head.

   The meeting was private, in a small living room around a fireplace, with only Winters, Antonio, and Leo present, because Winters thought Leo was talking about "family matters."

   But soon, the atmosphere became serious and formal.

  The reason is very simple - Leo didn't come to find a daughter for Mrs. Navarre at all, and he didn't mention anything about Anna.

   "Your Excellency the Tribunal." Mr. Leo's tone was formal and straight to the point, and he directly set the tone of the whole conversation: "Can you provide me with the tariff collection standards of Tiefeng County?"

   In the face of sudden questions, especially irrelevant topics, people usually cannot respond immediately.

   To keep the conversation going, most people subconsciously utter a monosyllable word:

"what?"

   or "Huh?"

   or "what?"

   This is a normal human reaction, and it is also the reason why many people ask the other person to repeat the question even though they have heard the question clearly.

   However, this performance also means falling into a weak position in negotiations.

  Although Winters has absolutely no idea what Mr. Leo is talking about, he has a unique way of coping with such situations.

   He didn't say a word, stared calmly into the other's eyes, waiting for Leo to take the initiative to explain.

  Leo didn't intend to continue confrontation. He happily explained his intention: "We have a batch of wool that we want to transport back to Veneta via Iron Peak County."

  …

   Wool, walking white gold mines, Parato’s biggest export.

  Compared with the wool trade, horse trading has become a tasteless small business.

  Many, many years ago, merchants from the Piedmont (Note: present-day United Province) first started the wool trade.

  The merchants from the front of the mountain traveled thousands of miles and traveled hard to come to Palatu, where they first bought wool from the herdsmen, and then bought wood from the nobles to make boats. In the end, they drove a large boat full of wool along the Jinliu River all the way to the east, to the inland sea, and back to the front of the mountain.

   wool will be sent to the weaving workshop. Ships are dismantled and sold as lumber.

  The merchants calculated their profits and paid off their debts, so they went to Palatu again with their capital to start a new year's journey.

   This kind of circular trade is called "buying a boat and going down to the east". I don't know how many businessmen are rushing between the [Mountain Piedmont-Palatu] day after day and year after year.

  A steady stream of wool feeds the wool textile industry in the piedmont, and the prosperity of the wool textile industry generates more demand for wool.

  In the era when Veneta commercial city-states such as Hailan and Baihuacheng monopolized inland trade, the cities in the Piedmont region made their first pot of gold through the wool textile industry, and continued to accumulate wealth in the following days.

  It is interesting to say, because the re-export trade is firmly controlled by the Veneta people, and the merchants in the piedmont have to find another way to become bigger and stronger.

  In desperation, the merchants in the mountain front opened up a development route of "combining workshops with handicrafts and commerce".

   They are often both workshop owners and traders. And because they have a common enemy, the merchants of the Piedmont are far more united than the merchants of the Veneta city-states.

   However, there is a huge difference in size. If there is no accident, the front of the mountain will continue to be suppressed by the city-states of Veneta, and it will not be in the same position as the second child of Wannian.

   However, the goddess of fate gave a chance to the front of the mountain. The city-states of Veneta who entered the golden age seemed to admit that they were omnipotent, and then the city-states started a decision-to compete for hegemony.

  The city-states of Veneta were fighting endlessly, and the fortress attack and defense technology also developed in great strides during this period, and the piedmont land ushered in a beautiful spring.

   When the city-state war ended, the victor—the noble Sea Blue Republic—was shocked to discover that the merchants in the piedmont area who had been submissive had already become giant sharks, tearing most of the inland sea trade that was originally monopolized by Veneta merchants.

  The Veneta city-states declined, and the Piedmont land officially entered its golden age.

  At that time—that is, half a century ago, the Duchy of Piedmont was the richest land in the whole empire, the most dazzling diamond on the emperor's scepter.

   In terms of area, the Duchy of Piedmont is simply insignificant. But it is this small delta that provides one-third to one-half of the empire's annual tax revenue.

   However, the following story is familiar to everyone.

The    Sovereignty War broke out, and this time it was the turn of the Piedmont - the Republic of the Provinces - to be beaten to the ground.

  Hundreds of years of accumulation of people in the mountains have turned into fuel for war.

   At the same time, what are the Veneta city-states doing?

  A: The Veneta people were watching and made a fortune by the way.

   A large number of commoners and nobles from the provinces fled to Veneta with their families to escape the war - with wealth, technology and manpower.

  While Ned Smith and the Duke of the Butcher were **** tugs in the Commonwealth, Veneta's woollen industry flourished.

   The so-called "every war in the province, Veneta gets rich once" refers to this history.

   All in all, after the end of the Sovereign War, the wool textile industry is no longer an industry monopolized by the United Provinces, and the new Veneta Republic can already be on an equal footing with the United Provinces.

  Vinetta and the province, the rivalry between comrades and enemies has continued to this day.

  …

What does    have to do with Winters?

   Actually, it really does matter.

   In addition to sales and looms, another major bottleneck restricting the wool textile industry is the raw material - wool.

   Without wool, the loom would stop; without wool, the weaver would starve to death.

The development of   buying a boat to the east is no longer the original form of "the hawker collects wool from the hands of the herdsmen".

  Competition drives the development of business models, and wool merchants with deep pockets are no longer limited to buying wool, but simply buy shares in sheep flocks and even pastures.

   Even so, the Veneta and the Union Provinces still fight for wool every year.

  Wool is continuously transported from the plateau to the inland sea, and turned into cloth and sold to the whole continent.

  Wine, precious metals, steel, and handicrafts flowed continuously into Palatu against the route of wool.

  If the Senus Alliance is a giant, then the [Jinliu River/River River] that carries the wool trade is the artery and vein of the giant at the same time.

   But here is the problem: the main artery of the Alliance, was cut off.

After the **** night of    Kings Castle, Arpad's military government occupied the "Jiangbei Province" in the northwest of Palatu, and the land south and northeast of the remaining Embers River was controlled by the Second Republic.

   After several rounds of offense and defense, neither side was able to break through the Jhin Liu River.

   Proverbs say: If the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat will suffer.

   The Second Republic and the Third Republic confronted each other across the river, but the Veneta woolen merchants grieved everywhere.

   The wool trade is not like any other business. When crops fall, planters can change or not plant them; bottles and cans are not easy to sell, and workshops can stop producing them.

   But not wool.

  The sheep don't care who wins or loses, the sheep just graze, grow hair, and blew. As long as they don't die, sheep will grow wool.

   Last year's wool, some of which were not shipped back to China. Because the Jinliujiang shipping was completely strangled, this year's wool was all blocked in Palatu.

   When the new wool season arrives next summer, there will be no place to store wool.

  No, more likely - Veneta Woollens won't last until next year at all.

   "Since you can't walk by water." Winters heard this and asked Mr. Leo for the first time: "Can you walk by land?"

   "You asked about the most interesting place." Leo opened his eyes slightly, paused for a moment, and turned his head to look at Antonio: "Your Excellency General, please help me explain."

  Antonio sighed: "The territories of Palatu bordering the United Provinces and Veneta are all controlled by the Second Republic, and the Second Republic has a strong tendency to be pro-United Provinces."

   "This is also the most infuriating." Mr. Leo said a wit: "It was the Palato who fought, but only the Veneta were wounded."

"You mean..." Winters clarified his thoughts: "The Second Republic enforced some kind of trade embargo, and wool destined for Veneta was intercepted in Palatu, while wool destined for the provinces could travel by land. , unobstructed?"

   "Exactly." Mr. Leo nodded.

   "Why not just check your wool?" Winters frowned slightly.

   "You have to do enough things for face." Mr. Leo smiled self-deprecatingly: "In my opinion, my colleagues in the United Province are waiting."

   "Wait for what?"

   "When we surrender." Mr. Leo said lightly: "When we beg to sell them shares of the flock."

Seeing that Winters did not understand, Leo explained patiently: "The wool business is very risky. It costs money to shave, to transport, and to raise sheep. The land can still be listed for sale. If the sheep dies, Then you can only sell a piece of meat. Therefore, it is said that "the family wealth is tens of millions, and the hairy ones are not counted".

   Instead of keeping the sheep in the face of a major epidemic, it is better to directly sell the shares of the sheep to get back the funds. The gentlemen of the United Provinces are not in a hurry, the time is on their side, and they can wait slowly. "

   Winters' eyebrows deepened: "But what help can be provided by the location of Iron Peak County? This is the southwest end of Palatu, and the entire Palatu is separated from Veneta."

   "The caravan carrying wool needs to enter the buffer zone, please allow it. As for the next part, you don't have to worry about it." Mr. Leo smiled politely: "It's all done."

   are all connected? Winters was surprised.

   From Tiefeng County, to the east is Baishan County, then Bianjiang County, and then to the east is Xilin Province, and then you have to pass through Donglin Province to reach Veneta.

  This route spans three whole provinces, can you get through?

   Yet another word in Leo's words suddenly woke Winters up - "buffer zone".

  The buffer zone refers to the no-man’s land of 100 kilometers west of the Palatu border, and further west, it is the territory of the Heard tribes.

  The chilly hairs on Winters' back suddenly stood up. He wanted to stand up suddenly, but in the end he sat firmly: "You want to enter the buffer zone? Where did your wool... come from?"

  From Mr. Leo's fat face, Winters saw many emotions: curiosity, admiration, worry...

  Leo met Winters' eyes, and his smile grew brighter: "It's from where you want."

  If any company commander dared to say such a thing, Winters would have kicked over with a boot. He wanted to grab Leo by the collar and force Leo to make it clear,

   Well, for many, many reasons, his body movements were limited to leaning back slightly, leaning on the back of the chair, squinting slightly and staring at Leo.

   "You still smuggle wool from the Hurds?" Winters pierced the window paper directly.

"Besides the Platoons, who else in the world is better at raising sheep?" Mr. Leo put down his smile, and his attitude became respectful and restrained: "Besides, Veneta did not impose a trade embargo on the Hurd tribes, and What about smuggling? The wool from last year is currently stored in the warehouses of the kings' castles. It is not cost-effective to transport it directly, and it will alarm the gentlemen of the United States."

   "Buy wool from the Hurds." Winters asked back, "Is it easy to carry?"

   "Please listen to me - this year's wool, a considerable part is still on the sheep." Leo finally spit out the tip of the iceberg of his plan: "If you can, it is more cost-effective to move the sheep."

   Winters blinked: "You may not know that I have burned all the meadows within a hundred miles west of Tiefeng County."

  Mr. Leo didn't change his face: "It doesn't matter, the shearing should be in summer, and the grass will grow back at that time."

   Winters thought for a moment, since Leo claimed to have opened up the joints, he didn't need to do much, just let the wool in.

  He helped the Veneta, and by the way to please Madame Navarre, he had no reason to refuse.

   "Is it only wool?" Winters waved his hand and smiled for the first time: "Forget about customs duties and transit taxes and the like. After agreeing on a time and place, I will send people to set up a pontoon bridge to connect the caravan across the river."

   Mr. Leo showed a strange smile: "No, you'd better provide the tariff collection standard. Because...you will understand when the time comes."

  …

  …

   Winters neither saw nor sheared wool. Mr. Leo just came to the front and the mouse pulled the wedge - the big head was behind.

   But the fat Mr. Leo really helped Winters solve a problem.

   The question of the old man, wolf, sheep and turnip.

   [One chapter, one chapter owed]

   [Thanks to book lovers for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)