Mountain and Forest Kingdom

When the summer was hot, Western merchants came again, and they also came with five large ships.

Lawrence rode Dome down the mountain and met four captains and a knight in the town of Pumexiu.

The old knight Turaka took off his hat first, bowed respectfully and said: "Merciful prophet, I have brought my family, please allow us to build a manor on your land."

Lawrence said: "I have allowed it. When you farm this land, you must also serve me and pay taxes at the same time."

Turaka raised his head and asked: "Yes, this is what should be done, but we don't have much money to pay taxes now."

Lawrence was very talkative, "When you pay the taxes next year, I will provide you with seeds and farm tools so that you can safely set up a camp in Uge Village."

"In the first year, in addition to returning new tools, grain and land tax, you also need to pay a basket of wheat as military expenses."

"And you need to send two barrels of wine to the owner, so that I will allow you to raise pigs in the woods, and you will hand in 100 planks and 50 meters of fence every year."

"Every year before winter comes, you should hand over 3 chicks and 15 eggs, and participate in labor when necessary. In addition, you need to arrange for a woman to work in my manor for two months, in order to obtain temporary employment in the mill. Right to use.”

"It's just your family's tax, and that's all you have to pay until you get more land."

Tukara said happily: "Yes, thank you, kind master, I will pay these taxes on time."

Wood, three chicks and more than a dozen eggs, as well as wheat and some manual labor, are already very light.

As for the land tax, it is a tax that should exist. After all, it is to cultivate the land for the lord.

Lawrence got off the sheep's back and looked at the other three captains.

Hill, the businessman who had been here once before, took the initiative to put down his hat, and the other two businessmen also took off their hats, revealing their somewhat bald heads.

Hill said: "Prophet, we have brought the cattle you need, and they are very good black cattle, both bulls and cows, and black and white cows."

Lawrence was very happy, "Very good!"

Hill smiled and said: "These three are the big businessmen of our chamber of commerce, the wool merchant Selip from the Bartley family, the wool merchant Mileji from the Glen Kingdom, and the wine merchant Buffy from the Durila Coast."

Lawrence took the initiative to say hello and said: "Nice to meet you, merchants from afar. I am the prophet of the Church of the Stars. After I heard that you came with five large ships, I was very happy and willing to exchange with you."

Wine merchant Buffy said: "We are also very happy to see you. This time our five ships come from five different merchants, and one of the captains is Count Garp of the Kingdom of Hesenli in the north of Durila."

Lawrence asked curiously: "Where are the others?"

Buffy smiled and explained: "He's still on the ship. Please forgive him. It's his first time coming so far away."

Lawrence also smiled and said: "This is a normal thing. After all, there are many unfriendly people here besides me. His decision is very correct and I can understand it, so I hope we can conduct friendly trade and establish trust."

Hill explained: "Thank you for your understanding, kind and tolerant prophet, but you will definitely like Count Karp, because he brought the ten cows this time, and I brought grain, flax and slaves."

Lawrence was very satisfied, "Then let's go to the port."

"good!"

The four captains and the old knights all readily agreed. Lawrence also asked the Pumi Xiu people to send their mounts and set off with a few guards.

On the way, the wine merchant Buffy asked: "Prophet, I brought four hundred barrels of wine this time. How many do you need here?"

Lawrence thought for a moment after hearing this, and laughed and said: "Of course I want them all. In addition to Orenzhi powder and egg powder, I also have fine ironware, farm tools, stone mills and copper blocks here."

Copper can be used to mint coins and is relatively easy to process, making it a good thing for lords in the feudal era.

Hill said: "I want to exchange grain, flax and slaves for orun twig powder, crow dung and egg powder. I also need iron tools."

Two wool merchants also need these.

Wool merchant Selip said: "We both need the same things, mainly iron, playing cards, copper ore, beeswax, and wood. This time our two ships brought two thousand pieces of wool, both this year. Freshly sheared clean wool.”

"According to what we say there, it's twenty bags, but it will be a little more."

Lawrence said: "Okay, I want both. I want to see how much wool a piece of wool is. If it is similar to the sheep we have here, I am talking about ordinary sheep that are much smaller than Dom sheep."

"One serving is about the weight of three cans of wheat," Selip said.

After determining the standards of the sheep, Lawrence thought thoughtfully and said: "Then if there is no problem with each bag of wool, I can give you the price of one pound of soy sauce per bag."

"The kilo is our unit of weight here. It weighs about the same as a can of wheat poured out."

"Soy sauce is our seasoning here. It can be stored for more than a year and can make food more delicious. It is a good product for nobles. I eat it all the time."

The two wool merchants discussed with each other, and after discussing in their own languages, they quickly determined the exchange ratio.

"Half of it was exchanged for Orrunchi powder, egg powder, and crow dung, and the rest was exchanged for iron, copper ore, beeswax, and soy sauce."

"Me too."

The two wool merchants did not want to take risks, so they only exchanged a small number of new products for safety, mainly medicinal powders and health products needed by the nobles.

Crow droppings can be used for divination and to ward off evil spirits and pray for good luck.

Because barbarians always like to take crows to the sea, Westerners also find crows useful.

Lawrence could not pay for five ships of iron; after all, he had to use it himself.

Therefore, in order to sell other products as much as possible, Lawrence worked hard to sell fish soy sauce, playing cards, and stone millstones.

But these businessmen don't seem to be interested in these. They either have them or find them too troublesome and refuse to take them.

Lawrence said, "Do you want wood?"

Wine merchant Buffy said: "We need about...well, about five hundred kilograms of wood to repair the boat."

"Yes, I need some too." Hill said: "My boat was inspected last time and there was nothing wrong, so I don't need too much this time, just two hundred kilograms of wooden boards."

Selip said: "My boat needs to go back as soon as possible. During the last inspection, several places were eaten by bugs. Let's repair it this time. Then go back as soon as possible and find a way to change to a bigger boat."

Mileji smiled and said: "My boat has just been repaired. Please allow me to ask, what kind of wood is the wood here?"

Lawrence replied: "Pine, oak, fir and other woods."

Buffy smiled and said: "If you have oak, you don't need other wood. The oak in my hometown belongs to the king's private property. If I can buy some wood from here, I think I can make more money when I go back."

There are acres of oak forests here in Lawrence. "I have a lot of oak trees here. I can sell you oaks under fifteen meters tall. I will sell the taller oaks more expensively."

Buffy said cheerfully: "Yes! I can exchange five barrels of wine for a ten-meter-long oak tree."

Lawrence didn't know the specific price. Although he knew that this businessman must make a lot of money, he didn't know how much the other party made.

"Okay, everything has to be done slowly. We don't have much wood now. It will take a few days to transport and cut it."

Buffy quickly said: "Then let's do it next time. When I get back, I will overhaul the ship and then bring some wine over."

Lawrence nodded and asked: "Are you repairing the ship because it hit a rock, or for other reasons? They all seem to be worried about this."

Buffy sighed, "Our boats are always bitten by some bugs. Some boats will be bitten with many big holes within a few years. Once I see those disgusting maggots, I know that my boat is going to be destroyed." !”

Lawrence soon realized why.

Shipworm, or shipworm.

It is a parasite in the sea that feeds on redwood trees and wood encountered on the seashore.

Once attached to the wood, it will burrow in and reproduce. This kind of thing is hermaphrodite. After burrowing into the wood, it will reproduce and spread while eating the wood. It will not get out until the hull of the ship is eaten clean.

They reproduce as quickly as most parasites, can grow up to half a meter in length, and are a nightmare to most ships.

To Valkyrie and Lawrence, however, this thing is just too cute!

This thing only eats the boats of people from the south. The water in the north is cold, especially in the north and the ice sea. The water can sometimes freeze. If you leave it there for a few days, it will freeze to death.

The existence of shipworms has caused the ships built by southerners to be easily damaged. The larger the ships, the easier it is to be damaged. The money spent when a large ship is damaged and scrapped will make every ship owner heartbroken. This cycle will lead to even fewer people willing to build large ships.

Unless we enter the Iron Age, the ships of the South cannot defeat the ships of the North.

Lawrence remained silent and did not tell everyone the specific reasons and countermeasures.

“My friends, trust me, I don’t just sell you wood.”

Lawrence took the initiative and said: "I will also bless your ship and order those shipworms in the name of Crow Feather Prophet to stay away from your ship."

"Of course, there is a fee." Lawrence's blessing was not free for pagans.

Upon hearing the name Crow Feather Prophet, several businessmen immediately stood in awe!

Buffy sat on Dom Sheep and raised her hands, "Yeah, look I forgot this, damn it, I didn't notice our friend, the Honorable Lawrence Crowfeather Seer!"

Several other people were equally excited, it was Crow Feather Prophet!

Those damn bugs will definitely be eaten by crows!

Lawrence smiled calmly.

Are there crows on the beach?

No.

But there are many birds on the beach!

Because of Mount Talim on the sea, the decaying seaweed nearby killed many small fish and attracted a large number of seabirds to be active nearby.

These birds have strengthened Crowfeather's reputation as a prophet.

But these birds are useless against shipworms.

It's summer now, and the shipworms won't be killed by the cold, but whoever can come over in winter to bring food and warmth is the Crowfeather Prophet's true friend!

When the time comes, Crowfeather Prophet’s true friends will definitely not have to worry about the shipworm problem!