Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 373 Carlo Ed

  [Monta Republic, Steel Castle]

  [Two days until the blacksmith guild election ceremony]

   In the afternoon, two carriages painted with the coat of arms of the white eagle drove into the lakeside hotel one after the other, and stopped outside the single-family building owned by Baron Granach.

  A well-dressed old man got off the carriage and walked into the small building without looking sideways.

   The head waiter recognized the old man from a distance as the partner of the Navarre firm [Carlo Ed], and greeted him attentively. But the foreman could not see Mr. Eddard, and the baron's guard dismissed him.

  Mr. Ed made a special trip to pick up Winters and Anna.

  Although the gathering of the White Eagle family only started in the evening, the hospitable host was worried that the baron who came to Steel Castle for the first time would get lost, so he specially asked Mr.

   "Am I going too?" Anna asked anxiously.

   "The White Eagle especially wants to invite you, my lady." Mr. Ed explained unsmilingly: "This is a private party, and other guests will also bring their families there."

  Ana looked at Winters.

   Winters was inexplicably nervous, he pretended to be calm: "Mr. Esther invited you, you can decide whether to go or not."

  Anna leaned out and looked at Winters' expression up close like a tease.

  Winters was seen as uncomfortable, and turned his head to look out the window pretending to be nonchalant.

  Anna returned to her dignified sitting position with satisfaction, with a naughty smile on her face: "Okay, then I'll go too."

   As soon as the voice fell, Anna looked embarrassed again: "But I didn't bring suitable clothes."

   "White Eagle has already thought of this." Mr. Ed tapped the floor tile with his cane: "He asked me to bring you a dress."

   "But how does he know my..." Anna asked embarrassedly, "My..."

   "Size?" Winters interjected.

   "He doesn't know." Mr. Ed explained lightly: "So he has prepared a total of twenty-four sets, you can choose at will."

  The door of the room was opened, and two maids in black walked into the living room with a pulley hanger. Twenty-four sets of ladies' long dresses of the same style, material, and color were hung on the hangers, as well as matching skirt supports.

  Rao is that Anna was also shocked by Bai Ying's generosity, and Winters' expression became even more subtle.

   Father Kaman still had a straight face, but the corners of his mouth and cheeks were twitching slightly.

   Winters stood up and said politely to Carlo Ed: "Please thank Mr. Esther for me."

   "I am also entrusted by White Eagle." Mr. Ed's eyes showed a hint of helplessness: "After all, you still need his help, so it's better for you to thank him in person."

  Mr. Ed also stood up: "I'll wait in the side hall. I won't disturb the lady to choose clothes. The carriage has been prepared outside the courtyard and can be set off at any time."

   "Let's go now?" Winters asked, puzzled. "It should be a few hours before it gets dark."

  Mr. Ed explained: "Right now, we can only travel by land. To get to Esther's mansion, we need to go around half of the city, so we have to leave as soon as possible."

   After saying that, Carlo Ed stooped slightly to salute Winters and Anna, turned and walked out of the living room.

  Kaman also planned to leave, he coughed lightly: "Then I will also avoid it."

   "Priest Karman." Wentesla stayed in Karman and said solemnly, "Please be sure to come with me."

   "I'm going too?" Kaman said inexplicably: "Monta Ling was the base camp for swearing to swear 20 years ago, and it is even more so now. I'm afraid it's not good for me to show up in public in this kind of place."

   "I'm not even worried, what are you worried about?"

  Kaman looked back and laughed angrily: "Why is your revenge so strong?"

   "What revenge?" Winters looked innocent: "You said to yourself, who else can serve as my translator besides you?"

  Kaman walked away angrily.

  Anna motioned for the maids of the Esther family to go out to avoid them, so for the time being, only the "Baron couple" were left in the living room.

   Winters asked jokingly, "Am I going to avoid it too?"

  With no one else present, Anna no longer deliberately maintained a dignified and calm image.

   She looked around Winters, suddenly wrapped around Winters' neck, and dragged her long voice coquettishly: "So you are jealous too! Mr. M."

   Such an intimate and bold move, the sea blue Lady Navarre was determined not to make it. To a certain extent, the journey to the wasteland has greatly expanded Anna's painting themes, and at the same time it has also imparted a bit of wild beauty to Anna.

   Winters couldn't resist for a while, and his cheeks suddenly became red and hot from the base of his ears. I wanted to say a few punchlines to resolve the embarrassment, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.

   As soon as he gritted his teeth, he didn't say anything at all, hugged Anna and kissed it. It surprised Anna, and suddenly became at a loss.

   "It's not so much jealousy...it should be more of apology..." Winters hugged Anna and said guiltily: "I... owe you too much..."

"Don't say that." Anna patted Winters on the back, as if coaxing a child: "This time is the freest and happiest time for me, if it wasn't for you, I might never walk out of Victoria in my life. Netta, there won't be so many precious memories. So don't apologize in a heavy tone."

"it is good."

   "But you also have to remember." Anna pressed against Winters' ear, sighing like a blue: "You will be jealous, and I will be jealous. The sword you gave me, I can always take it with me..."

"…it is good."

  …

  …

  Steel Castle was originally just a small village at the mouth of the Rose River. Most of the land now belonging to the city of Steelcastle used to be the property of [Elin Abbey].

  The discovery of iron ore made the once small village flourish. External populations continue to move in, local residents multiply from generation to generation, villages develop into small towns, and small towns develop into cities.

  Montar Territory has no large plains, only small arable land divided by mountains. As the population increases, the steel castle becomes more and more crowded.

  The land on both sides of the estuary was running out, so the settlements naturally expanded outwards, eventually occupying all the flat land along the Rose Lake.

   Today's so-called "Steel Castle" is actually a ring-shaped human settlement surrounding the Rose Lake.

   Among them, various handicraft workshops are concentrated along the Rose River, the original land of Steel Castle, because they need to use water power.

   Therefore, the urban area along the Rose River is usually called [Blacksmith District] or [Old Town].

  The old city is not only the handicraft center of Steel Castle, but also the administrative and religious center of Steel Castle.

   Most of the citizens and the poor without citizenship live in the labyrinthine streets and alleys of the old city.

   From a distance, the three high-rise stone buildings of [City Palace], [Parish Headquarters] and [Elin Cathedral] are surrounded by rows of low wooden houses, which are very eye-catching as if they stand out from the crowd.

   The hydro workshop is very noisy, and the maintenance of the forge also produces a lot of smoke. The steel castle is surrounded by mountains, and the smoke is difficult to dissipate. In the worst case, the entire Rose Lake will be shrouded in thick smoke.

   Therefore, the wealthy upper-class citizens of Steel Castle have built houses on the north bank of Rose Lake.

  Although the space on the north bank is small and the land is expensive, the scenery is beautiful and it is in the upper air.

   It can avoid annoying noises and don’t have to be disturbed by the thick fog from the workshop chimney.

   As for those who want to improve their living conditions but do not have enough money to buy land and build a house on the North Shore, most of them will move to the new suburbs on the South Shore.

The hotel where   Winters stayed is located on the south bank of Rose Lake.

   But whether it is South Bank residents or North Shore residents, their industries and workplaces are still in the old city.

   Therefore, the most commonly used means of transportation in Steel Castle is actually a ship. After the Rose Lake freezes in winter, you can walk directly on the lake.

   But now it is approaching the end of winter, the ice is too thin, and it is too dangerous to walk on the lake.

   So Winters wanted to go to Esther's mansion, but he had to go overland and circle the lake most of the way.

   That's why Carlo Ed said "start early".

  …

  …

  [Steel Castle, Old Town]

   A carriage painted with a coat of arms of a white eagle drove across the street, and the men who gathered around the fire to keep warm all ducked, waited for the carriage to leave and walked back to the fire numbly.

"I thought the famous Steel Castle would be a city full of wealth." Winters lowered the curtains of the carriage and said to Mr. Ed: "But what I saw was a lower and more dirty slum than Gervodin, And the poor who live harder than the poor in Gervodin."

Mr. Ed replied: "What you said is not contradictory. Steel Castle is indeed a city full of wealth, and the people at the bottom of the city are indeed not as good as serfs. There is not much arable land in the Monta Republic, even if they want to be serfs. No. That's why there are so many Monta laborers at Hailan Pier, and that's why the emperor recruits troops at Monta."

   Winters sighed.

   "What are they doing?" Anna couldn't bear to look at the ragged people on both sides of the road: "Why are you standing on the side of the road?"

   "What are you doing?" Mr. Eide glanced out the window and replied lightly, "Waiting for work."

   Winters puzzled: "Wait for work?"

"If they are hired, they can do some manual work in the workshop to earn bread; if they are not hired, they can only wait by the roadside." Mr. Ed squinted slightly and asked Winters: "Your Excellency, Did you hear that?"

   "Hear what?"

   "The sound of the hammer."

  Winters searched and heard no metal tapping, so he answered truthfully: "I didn't hear anything."

"Yes, it's strange that you can't hear anything!" Mr. Ed opened the curtains and pointed to the row upon row of wooden houses in the old town: "This is the blacksmith's district, and the sound of hammers should be endless day and night. But now you listen, what? Can't hear it."

   Winters immediately understood what Mr. Ed meant and asked, "The workshops in Steelcastle are all shut down?"

"Most of the forges are out," said Mr. Ed lightly. "That's why these hired hands came out into the streets, hoping that a workshop owner would hire them away; they were not apprentices, not blacksmiths, just some Coolies. For a day in the workshop, they have bread for the whole family for a day; for a day when the forge is out, they starve for a day."

   Carlo Ed's condescending tone made Winters a little uncomfortable. He frowned and asked, "Is there no decree for the poor in Steel Castle?"

   "Relief for the poor? The church will probably give out some gruel." Mr. Ed replied, of course: "Those people don't have citizenship, why should the council help them?"

   Winters frowned even more: "Isn't the Steel Castle Council afraid of trouble?"

   "The situation is not that serious." Mr. Ed replied calmly: "If it really reaches that point, the Steel Castle Council should provide some relief. In any case, it is the matter of the Steel Castle people, you don't have to worry too much."

   Winters didn't say anything else, and focused on another thing that Mr. Ed revealed: "The workshop in Steelcastle has stopped?"

"Yes."

"why?"

   "Why do you think?"

   Winters' mind raced: "...trade ban."

   "Yes." Carlo Ed nodded approvingly.

   However, the more he thought about it, the more puzzled Winters became: "The ban only prohibits the export of weapons to Palatu. Why should the furnace of the Steel Castle be turned off and the forging hammer be silent? Can the Steel Castle not operate without selling weapons?"

  Mr. Ed smiled and looked at Anna.

Anna took Winters' hand and explained softly: "It's not what you think. Merchants are not gears, they produce as much as they can't sell. If wool production decreases, woolen spinners will hoard wool; if neighboring countries go to war, blacksmiths will meeting…"

   Winters said the answer: "Step up to build weapons."

"That's it." Mr. Ed said with a hint of mockery: "From the day the news of [Blood Night in the Kings Castle] reached the Steel Castle, the masters of the steel forge, large and small, were working day and night to make weapons and armor. They are gearing up to make a fortune, and each warehouse has stockpiled a lot of stock.

   And as soon as the embargo was promulgated, the stockpiles instantly turned into a backlog—a backlog that could crush them to death. Not only that, Gangbao ironware is mainly sold to the south and the north. The embargo on the route to the south will not only make it impossible to make money from the war, but even the normal iron exits have to be stopped, so... they are in a hurry. "

  Winters listened carefully. After thinking about it, he asked humbly: "Do you suggest that I should not be too urgent when negotiating the price, but can be more aggressive and try to lower the price?"

"I just talked about some well-known current affairs in Steel Castle, and I didn't suggest anything." Mr. Ed's eyelids drooped, and his eyes were like dark pools: "Lord Granache, you must remember that whether it is me Or Bai Ying, a third party that has nothing to do with you."

[“I will sleep for a while, and then I will write when I wake up” is the most shameful self-deception in the world!! (Patting the table)] [Thank you book lovers for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation ticket, monthly ticket, reward and comment ,thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)