My Pokémon Player

"I still know something about your previous business alliance, but this is the first time I've heard of this business mutual aid association. Can Director Locke explain to me what this business mutual aid association is about?"

Ryan asked.

"No problem. In fact, there is essentially no difference between the Chamber of Commerce and the Merchant Alliance. They are all meant to help each other and concentrate scattered forces."

"I don't need to say much about the achievements of the Merchant Alliance. It is no exaggeration to say that the influence of our Merchant Alliance in the southeast region is greater than that of Poseidon. Lord Ryan must agree with this."

Locke's tone was full of confidence.

Ryan did not refute. Locke was indeed telling the truth. Not to mention Poseidon Temple, the Merchant Alliance's influence in the southeast region was greater than that of their nobles.

But Locke was very smart. When facing Baron Lane, he did not compare the merchant alliance with the noble class. Instead, he found another force, the Poseidon Temple, to avoid causing Lane's displeasure.

After seeing Ryan nod, Locke continued:

"Of course, I don't say these things to boast or show off. On the contrary, we are very self-aware of ourselves."

"After so many years of development, we have realized a truth. The alliance will never be able to get out of this southeast corner only by relying on the power of businessmen. Only by uniting the power of more people can we break through this cage."

"The Merchant Alliance is just an alliance between businessmen, and the results are so remarkable. If we add nobles like you, our alliance will undoubtedly be stronger!"

Locke's voice became louder and louder, and his expression became more and more excited.

"So we will change the Merchant Alliance into a Business Mutual Aid Association. In addition to you nobles, we will also contact the Poseidon Temple to gather everyone's strength, and then..."

"And then, like thirteen years ago, the Earl led his army to beat him outside Guanhai City?"

Ryan directly interrupted Locke's speech-like speech.

"Forehead"

Locke's voice suddenly got stuck, and he didn't know what to say for a moment, with an embarrassed expression on his face.

How could this Baron Lane not save any face and directly expose their shortcomings?

Being beaten out of the city by the count and his army was something they, the members of the merchant alliance, had always avoided talking about, but these nobles, on the other hand, kept talking about it and mocking them all day long.

The key is that they can't refute it yet, because it's the truth.

Thirteen years ago, their merchant alliance thought that their development was very good. They were not satisfied with occupying only Guanhai City. Seeing other territories fighting each other, they were unwilling to be left alone and started to develop surrounding territories.

They first promised a lot of benefits to the surrounding lords, took a financial offensive, and wanted to occupy the surrounding towns by evading the lords of Guanhai City.

But he was rejected directly by the lords. The fate of the lords of Guanhai City was clearly visible in his mind. How could other lords be fooled?

Seeing that they were weak, the merchant alliance was ready to take tough measures. They spent money to hire a large number of Warcraft envoys, and then led them to launch an attack on the surrounding territories.

Since Yinghuo Town was relatively close to them, it naturally became their target.

While preparing for war, Ryan's father sent people to find the earl for help, as did other lords.

The Merchant Alliance didn't know whether they were overconfident in their own strength, or they really didn't have commanding talents. They actually divided their forces to attack various territories, hoping to swallow up all the surrounding towns in one go.

Originally, the strength of those mercenaries was not as good as that of the knights in the territory. With their large numbers, they still had the strength to fight. As a result, the merchant alliance directly cut off an arm of itself.

This made Ryan's father very happy. He led the knights to attack and beat the mercenaries so that they were stunned and unable to fight back. This battle also established Ryan's father's reputation.

The people in the Merchant Alliance were not stupid either. They quickly realized their mistake and quickly gathered all the mercenaries. They also spent money to find some Warcraft users, preparing to gather all their strength to take down Yinghuo Town first. .

Faced with a large number of Warcraft users, Ryan's father could only retreat to Firefly Town, and at the same time he was prepared for a deadly battle.

Fortunately, Count Cross from the Southeast Province arrived in time with his army, and reinforcements from other territories also arrived one after another.

The mercenaries of the Merchant Alliance were naturally no match for the knights. They were defeated as soon as they met. Count Cross led his army directly to the outside of Guanhai City.

This frightened the merchant alliance and made them feel aggrieved at the same time.

Why are you nobles fighting so fiercely and no one cares about it? We didn't even capture a small town, but you just invaded the territory with a large army. This is unfair!

The nobles said that no matter how hard we fight, it is still an internal matter of the nobles. When will it be the turn of despicable businessmen like you to intervene? Just pay the taxes honestly and that's it. Do you really take yourself seriously?

If the lord of Guanhai City hadn't surrendered and publicly recognized the legitimacy of your merchant alliance in Guanhai City, we would have fought here long ago.

After being beaten violently by the nobles, the merchant alliance finally recognized its own strength, apologized obediently, paid a large amount of compensation to the nobles, and made a promise that it would never use force to invade other territories again.

For the sake of gold coins, the nobles didn't bother them. After all, they had to rely on these businessmen to pay taxes, so they couldn't kill them all with one blow.

So after receiving compensation, the nobles withdrew their troops one after another, and the merchant alliance also escaped and became particularly honest from then on.

Even if the kingdom promulgates laws that are not conducive to businessmen, they will accept them silently, not even daring to say a few words of complaint.

However, this humiliating war was not without benefits. At least it made businessmen realize the importance of cultivating their own armed forces. Mercenaries are really unreliable.

Not only were their combat power very weak, but they were also just grassroots. Seeing that the merchant alliance lost power, they immediately turned around and plundered them. They smashed, looted and burned the shops, which was quite similar to the style of black people from a certain country in their previous life.

Therefore, they have recruited many Warcraft users in the past few years and established a so-called escort team. In name, it is to protect their safety when they go out to buy and sell goods. In fact, it is their private armed force.

After having its own armed force, the Merchant Alliance has also become more rigid. Although they still dare not show shame to the nobles, they are not polite to civilians and Warcraft envoys.

A few years ago, because there were several Warcraft envoys who failed to pay their tolls, they launched all their might to hunt them down. Their purpose was to show off their strength and regain their lost face.

But in the eyes of the nobles, the behavior of these merchants was as funny as the long-tailed monsters in the circus, and they would laugh at them from time to time by mentioning the fact that the merchant alliance was beaten to the city gate.

Until the royal family's power declined in recent years, and the nobles were busy fighting each other, this matter was not mentioned much.

Unexpectedly, Baron Lane was so young but knew so much about this matter, which made Locke very embarrassed.

In fact, Ryan didn't know much about this matter, but some people knew about it. White personally participated in the war against the Merchant Alliance and followed Ryan's father and Count Cross all the way to Guanhai City. He knew this matter very well. But that's it.

A few days ago, White saw Ryan searching for information on various forces, so he told Ryan the glorious history of him and Ryan's father in a vivid and vivid way.

It was only through White's description that Ryan understood this matter so clearly.

And this can also explain why White, who has always been steady and mature, became so angry when he heard Andy's provocation that he almost took action directly.

Originally, he had no good impression of the Merchant Alliance because of the war more than ten years ago, but he was provoked by his defeated general again. White could not bear this anger. He didn't draw his sword directly, so he had a good temper.

"Don't worry, Director Locke. I'm just joking. But I don't understand. Why do you still want to taint the power of aristocrats when you have clearly learned a painful lesson?"

"Has it been more than ten years that have erased your memories? Or do you think that our nobles are busy fighting among themselves and will no longer be as united as before?"

Ryan's tone was very calm, but his words were very aggressive.

"No, no, no, you may have misunderstood. Our Chamber of Commerce has absolutely no intention of tainting the power of the aristocracy. We just want to have some business cooperation with you."

Locke quickly waved his hands and denied that the blame thrown by Ryan was too big, and he did not dare to bear it.

"Business cooperation? What are the specific contents?"

Ryan asked with interest. In fact, he knew that these businessmen did not dare to taint the power in the hands of the nobles unscrupulously. He only said those words to scare Locke and take the initiative in the conversation.

Locke was indeed frightened by Ryan's words. He stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point:

"After you join the Chamber of Commerce, you will receive our full support. Whether it is funds, materials or Warcraft, we can provide it."

"In addition, as our partner, we are naturally obliged to ensure your safety. You also know that we have an elite escort team in Guanhai City, and they can be used by you when necessary."

After hearing Locke's words, Ryan was indeed a little moved. He is currently short of money. With the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce, the school and Pokémon center he planned can be built.

As for the escort at the back, Ryan wasn't very interested.

Although Locke's expression was very cryptic, Ryan knew what he meant. Didn't he just want to use the escort to conquer other territories?

However, the future player army is no weaker than these escorts, not to mention that if other nobles find out that he borrowed the power of businessmen, they will definitely regard him as a traitor and exclude him from the noble circle.

"It sounds good, but don't just talk about the benefits, you have to mention the costs as well."

Ryan knew very well that from ancient times to the present, businessmen have always been willing to pay so much profit because they must want to get something from Ryan.

"You are serious in your words. There is no price to talk about. I just need you to bear some small obligations."

"For example, when Guanhai City is attacked, you have to send knights to protect us. Also, members who have joined the Chamber of Commerce cannot attack each other. Of course, you can still attack territories that have not joined the Chamber of Commerce. We We will fully support you.”

"In addition, since we are already partners, it is natural to exchange what we have and reduce some commercial obstacles. When we buy and sell goods in your territory in the future, I hope you can exempt us from taxes, and there is something else."

"Okay, shut up first."

Ryan interrupted Locke angrily.

Good guy, this is just a small obligation. At the very beginning, it deprived him of his two most important powers: war power and taxation power, and they even talked about cooperation. These businessmen are just trying to make excuses. He's here.

It seems that these guys have learned a lot and know not to blatantly occupy the territory of the nobles, so they have begun to use the form of mutual aid associations to evade them step by step.

"Do you think our nobles are fools? With your request, it is impossible for any nobles to agree to join any mutual aid association."

"You are a bit arbitrary. In fact, there is already a baron who wants to join our trade association."

Ryan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this. Is there really a fool who would agree to such a request?

"Who joined? Could it be Baron Lancaster from Rose Town in the north?"

Ryan immediately thought of the famous "Baron Rose". He was a loyal follower of the Merchant Alliance. If he hadn't been afraid of losing the protection of the noble circle, he would have completely surrendered to Guanhai City.

"No, it's Baron Bach of Ironthorn Town." Locke replied.

"Baron Bach? How is this possible?"

Ryan was a little unbelievable. In his memory and impression, Baron Bach had always been a hardliner. He would fight against Yinghuo Town for some mineral resources. How could he hand over the power of war and taxation.

"Nothing is impossible, and it was Baron Bach who took the initiative to request us for cooperation. It was only after we received his request that we came up with the idea of ​​establishing the Chamber of Commerce."

Locke explained.

The initiator of this trade association is Baron Bach, but it makes no sense. Why should he rush to hand over the power in his hands, unless there is a greater interest that prompts him to do so.

Thinking of this, Ryan asked:

"In addition to him and me, Director Locke's target for this trip is also Baron Lancaster of Rose Town?"

"Sir Ryan, there is no need to test me. I will tell the truth. Baron Bach only proposed cooperation to us in order to occupy Rose Town, and we will fully support him."

As expected, only territory has such a powerful temptation that Baron Bach is willing to give up the power in his hands.

It’s just that Ryan originally thought Bach’s target would be Firefly Town, but he didn’t expect that what he really wanted to capture was Rose Town.

"You actually gave up on Rose Town? Baron Lancaster has always followed your lead."

"That adult is indeed very supportive of us, but his potential is too low and he will not provide us with much benefit in the future. It is better to use it in exchange for a more powerful partner."

"Besides, Rose Town has just changed its owner, and our interests have not been harmed."

Locke replied in a cold tone.

"Not only has there been no damage, but it will probably increase. After all, you still have to pay taxes when you go to Rose Town to buy and sell goods, but after Bach takes over Rose Town, you won't have to pay taxes."

Ryan sneered.

"It's just mutual benefit."

"You win together, and the sacrifice is for Baron Lancaster's interests. Having said that, aren't you afraid of Baron Bach's breach of contract? Do you really believe that he will listen to you honestly?"

"We have always trusted our partners, but in order to avoid some unexpected situations, we have to sign an agreement before cooperation. If something bad happens, we will make this agreement public."

Locke took out a pre-written agreement from his backpack and handed it to Ryan.

Ryan took it and threw it on the table without looking at it.

"This is a good move. After the agreement is announced, the aristocratic circle will naturally no longer agree with him, and you can justifiably attack him."

"But have you ever thought about how strong he will become after occupying other territories? With those guards who are essentially mercenaries, are you really sure that you can defeat him?"

"Even if we are sure to defeat him, what if he refuses to admit his debt in the end? Your merchants have a bad reputation here. If he is willing to cede some of his interests, I believe there will still be many nobles who will help him. "

After hearing Ryan's analysis, Locke was secretly surprised. He didn't expect Ryan to see the problem so thoroughly. No wonder he managed the territory in an orderly manner at such a young age.

It seems that this negotiation will not be so easy.

Locke still maintained a calm look and said:

"Of course we know this. Not everyone can be as honest as us, so..."

"That's why you came to me. As long as I also join the Chamber of Commerce, Bach and I will be able to contain each other. You must have investigated the relationship between Yinghuo Town and Tiethorn Town and know that we are inseparable. It is impossible to Let’s gang up on you.”

Ryan replied quickly.

"Yes, this is also an important reason why we are looking for you to cooperate. According to our latest evaluation, your potential is no worse than that of Baron Bach. In my personal opinion, you are even a little better than him, so we are sincerely Want to cooperate with you.”

Locke still maintained a faint smile on his face.

"In that case, I have to thank you for the last beast tide. I guess you also learned that we successfully resisted the last beast tide. Only then did you think that we have the potential to compete with Ironthorn Town."

"Otherwise, our Firefly Town will be treated like a gift to Baron Bach, just like Rose Town."

Locke did not speak when he heard this, but just smiled, which was equivalent to acquiescing to Ryan's assumption.

"Then here's the problem. In order to win over Baron Bach, you gave Rose Town to him in disguise."

"And I am quite important to you, right? What price are you prepared to pay to win over me?"

Ryan picked up the agreement and said.

"Let me make it clear first that we did not give Rose Town to Baron Bach. Rose Town needs Baron Bach to lead his own troops to occupy Rose Town. At most, we will provide him with some material support."

"And this is not without cost. He will sell the minerals in Iron Stone Mountain to us at a relatively low price."

After emphasizing this point, Locke continued:

"Of course, I have said before that in my opinion, your potential is greater than that of Baron Bach, so we will increase our investment in you."

"In addition to the funds and materials promised before, we will also train Warcraft users for you to enhance the combat power of your territory. If you have any objections to taxes, we can also pay taxes. These can be discussed."

"In addition, if Baron Bach really violates the agreement as you said, we will attack him together with you. After defeating him, the territory will be divided equally between our two families. What do you think?"

After Locke finished speaking, he looked at Ryan confidently. He believed that no one would refuse such a generous offer.

"Your terms are indeed very tempting."

Ryan spoke.

Locke was overjoyed when he heard this, and the smile on his face became even brighter. It seemed that this cooperation was going to be successful.

Before he could be happy for long, he heard Ryan continue to say:

"But sorry, I refuse!"

"What if you agree? You refuse?"

Locke's smile suddenly froze on his face.

No, why would you refuse? !

Let me go, why didn't it succeed on time? Fortunately, I looked at the Writer's Assistant before going to the toilet. I might as well publish it manually. The update of 10,000 words was successfully completed, and there will be today's 4,000 words in the evening.