Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 379 Vortex (5)

  [White Eagle's Reception Night Late Night]

  [Nancheng·Rose Hotel]

   Old Mr. Ed had a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose. He was holding the Uzi steel dagger given to Winters by Schmid, and he could not help but praise the peculiar texture of the blade at close range.

The door was pushed open silently, and Winters crept back into the small living room with the pot and cup in his arms.

"When Rhodes Island was not occupied, the Knights were able to seize a lot of Saracen's Uzi steel machetes every year." Ed put the dagger back into the wooden box, and his eyes contained the brilliance of memories: "But the patterns are so gorgeous and delicate... I First time seeing you."

  Kaman moved his **** uneasily: "The Knights?"

   "The Knights of Divine Grace." Carlo Ed's tone became cold, obviously not wanting to talk more.

  Ana went straight back to the hotel from Este Mansion and had already fallen asleep. There were only Winters, Father Carman, and old Mr. Carlo Ed in the small living room at the moment.

   "I'll send it to you if you like, and I can only cut paper when I stay here." Winters said in a low voice.

  He first put a cup for Mr. Ed, filled it with hot milk, and poured a little more for Kaman. As for himself...directly use a clay pot.

   Drinking hot milk was a habit that Winters brought back from the wasteland. When Charles was not here, he had to bring the wine and milk by himself.

   Winters has no servants, and even Anna's current personal maid was sent by Mr. Edd, because he was disgusted to treat his subordinates as servants. But he hasn't acted to the point where he has to be self-reliant. He's got an orderly too, he's lazy too, but he doesn't feel embarrassed when he's needed for daily chores.

   Carlo Ed looked at everything and shook his head with a smile: "I am a businessman, blood is bad for business, [gold will hide from blood]."

   Winters sat back in the soft chair, holding the warm milk jug, and mused, "Perhaps [blood makes gold go] more accurate."

   "Then..." Ed took off his glasses and returned to his usual unsmiling appearance. He continued the previous conversation and asked, "Did the Schmidt and his son agree to your bid?"

   "Old Mr. Schmid said it would take some time to think about it."

   "That's disagreement."

"right."

   "It is unclear whether the embargo will be implemented. The Schmidts want to wait and see."

   "If it were me, I would also choose to wait and see." Winters paused: "So I gave them another offer."

   "A quote for what?"

   "Work for me for three years or sell the workshop to me."

   "Oh?" Ed was noncommittal: "Did they agree?"

   Winters sighed and looked rather depressed: "Rejected."

   "Accurately, he almost turned his face on the spot. When we left, Mr. Schmid's face had changed from black to purple." Kaman added details mercilessly.

   "How can it be so exaggerated?" Winters protested discontentedly.

  Kaman half-smiled: "My description has been quite conservative."

   "Of course that stubborn old man Schmid won't agree." Carlo Ed showed a helpless smile that he had known for a long time: "He has experienced this kind of thing a lot."

Eddard explained to Winters patiently: "Every blacksmith in Steelcastle must take an oath to keep the 'secret between the forge and the anvil' when they enter the business. If their forge and their craftsmanship are to be sold, they are not sold to us. Such outsiders will only be sold to other Steelcastle blacksmiths."

   "I know the guild oath of the Blacksmiths of Steel Castle." Winters still felt a pity: "So I gave them a particularly high price."

   Carlo Ed said lightly: "Whoever can betray your oath for your bid today will betray you for a higher bid sooner or later."

   Winters understands that Mr. Eddard is enlightening himself, but he is not going to give up on the [secret between the forge and the anvil] of the Steelcastle blacksmith.

   "Has a blacksmith ever run away or betrayed in the history of Steel Castle?" Winters asked slowly, picking off the milk skin and sipping the hot milk.

   Ed's expression gradually became serious: "When making a decision, you'd better think about the consequences in advance."

"I'm just curious, has anyone broken the guild oath in the past?" Winters was actually thinking of another person, and he smiled and assured: "Don't worry, I don't plan to break the rules, and I won't use kidnapping or coercion. and other violent means to damage the reputation of the Veneta Chamber of Commerce."

   "How do I feel like you've gone through these plans in your mind..." Kaman murmured softly.

   Carlo Ed rested his forehead and recalled for a long time, frowning and muttering to himself, "It never happened in my memory."

   "What happened before you came to Steel Castle?"

   "I can help you find out."

"Mr. Ed, if you need anything in the future, please speak up." Winters swept away his heart and was as high as a hunter who found a hoof print: "Please also help me check the Schmid family. Recent financial situation. Are they in debt? Are they mortgaged? Are there any uncollectible payments?"

   "This may take a while." Carlo Ed nodded slightly: "However, it's not difficult."

  Kaman couldn't help frowning and looked at Winters condemningly: "Can't you let Mr. Schmidt's family go?"

   "What is letting go?" Winters puzzled: "I want to help them."

"help?"

   "I want to purchase their backlog of goods, why not help?"

   "Forcibly buy a gun at the price of the barrel, also called a gang?"

   "I'm not asking for a price they can't accept." Winters asked confidently: "How can they give me a price that I can accept?"

   "Then you shouldn't let people lose money." Kaman was sad and helpless, so he had to quote the classic: "[The greedy in the heart will provoke disputes]."

   Winters rolled up his sleeves—not to fight, but to pull out graphite strips and white paper.

   He drew the map of Rose Lake and Steel Castle quickly and well, and made a cross in the Wupper Canal: "In winter, the canal is frozen, and the freight of Steel Castle can't go out, right?"

  Kaman nodded slightly.

   Winters asked old Mr. Ed: "So even in normal years, Steelcastle blacksmiths often undercut each other in the spring, right?"

"You know Steel Castle better than I thought." A gleam of surprise flashed in Carlo Ed's eyes: "Yes, the workshop can't be completely shut down in winter, and a season's worth of goods are in hand, and it is normal to lower prices against each other. . But the reality is that some years are high and some are low, it fluctuates.”

Winters assuredly said: "It may have been high in previous years, this year it will only be low, and it will be much lower. Because all winter, the workshops of Steel Castle are desperately producing weapons. Why are there so many hired hands on the street now? It is Because in previous winters, the employees were dismissed. This winter, they are all staying at Steel Castle."

Winters sketched out the outlines of Monta, Shady Mountains, Vine, Empire, and Wasteland in a few more strokes: "As things stand, to the south, as long as the embargo is in place, the trade route will not work. To the north, to the East, west... Whether there are buyers or not, these three directions have to travel through mountains and rivers, and the freight will increase exponentially."

   "Do you think the embargo will be lifted?" Winters asked Mr. Ed.

   "I don't know." Carlo Ed's expression was calm: "But I know one thing - the United Provinces will not watch weapons flow into Palatu."

"That is to say, the goods that the Steel Castle prepared for the Palatine Civil War are now all in the hands." Winters drew a sealed circle in the Steel Castle, and threw the graphite bar: "So with the real Baron Granache, who came to Steel Castle with gold and silver, is the savior."

  Kaman shook his head tangled: "You still can't convince me, because you are always taking advantage of people's danger."

   Winters retorted: "The barrel of the sword can't be eaten or used. It's better to sell it at a loss than to rust in a warehouse."

  Kaman wanted to say something, Carlo Ed coughed.

   "Father Kaman, we are businessmen." Mr. Ed reminded: "Buying low and selling high is a matter of course for us."

   "And this gold was bought by many people with their lives, not my personal property, you know it, you witnessed it with your own eyes." Winters sighed: "I have no power to waste."

  Kaman was speechless.

  The door of the small living room was pushed open with a creak. Anna was wearing a long robe and holding a candlestick.

   "It didn't take long for me to come back." Winters got up and stoked the fire in the fireplace, and gave Anna a seat by the way: "Did you wake you up?"

  Anna sat down in Winters' chair, took a sip of the cold milk from the jar rather valiantly, and only remembered that there were other people present when she wiped her mouth.

  Ana blushed instantly and bowed apologetically to Mr. Ed and Carman.

   "Good evening, my lady." Carlo Ed greeted him without changing his face. Kaman also made a solemn salute.

   When Anna entered the door, she felt the atmosphere in the living room was very tense: "I dreamed that someone was arguing..."

   "It's not a quarrel." Winters waved the tongs in the air: "It's shock education."

  Kaman almost ran away on the spot.

   "By the way, I have one more thing I want to ask you." Winters stood in the middle of the living room with tongs and looked at Mr. Ed with bright eyes: "Please tell me the truth."

  Mr. Ed nodded: "Please speak."

   Winters squinted his eyes slightly and asked word by word, "Does Paul Wupper have a very threatening opponent in the general election of the Blacksmiths' Guild?"

   "Yes." Carlo Ed replied without hesitation.

   Winters doesn't waste time asking "why didn't you tell me before?" White Eagle has White Eagle interests, and Mr. Eddard has Mr. Eddard's interests—he has accepted that.

   Winters' second question: "What's it called?"

   "John Servette, member of the Blacksmiths' Guild, current state legislator."

   Winters' third question: "Can you help me hook up with him?"

   Carlo Ed showed a little hesitation for the first time, the old gentleman frowned slightly and reminded kindly: "Mr. Servetus has a very deep friendship with our dear allies."

   "I guessed it." Winters said with a smile: "Vinetta can support a mayor, why can't the province?"

   "Then you want to get on the line with him?" Carlo Ed asked.

"Yes."

"why?"

   Winters answered lightly: "I'm going to do business with him."

   Carlo Ed's expression became solemn, with a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.

   Winters broke the secret in one sentence: "The White Eagle helped Paul Wupper to bribe elections and used my money as bribes. The brokers did it too easily!"

   "If it weren't for Colonel Bern, I would still be grateful for the alms of the White Eagle." Winters meditated: "But since the chess piece knows what the chess player thinks, the chess player should not want to arbitrarily manipulate the pieces."

"The blacksmiths of Steel Castle want to wait until the dust settles before buying and selling, but I can't wait. Once the canal can pass, Monta's border blockade will definitely be more severe every day, and by then, even if it is cheap to buy ordnance. It can't be shipped out." Winters bluntly stated his core interests: "I don't care who buys weapons from, but I must use the gold before the canal is unblocked."

  Kaman couldn't understand what Winters was saying, Anna frowned slightly, and Carlo Ed was thoughtful.

   "Since old Schmidt and the other forge masters are watching, put a fire under their ass."

  “You want to…”

   "Introduce competition."

   [Steel Castle-style hilts (fish skin, spiral pattern, silver thread) appear in Volumes 1, 2, and 4, which are a dagger, a saber, a Damascus knife…]

   [It seems that no one has noticed this, but if I say it, it seems to be broken (covering my face)]

   [Thank you for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation ticket, monthly ticket, reward and comment, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)