Sunrise and sunset, a short day, as inconspicuous as a grit in the whole river of time, the Emperor of the Locke Empire held a party for his guests in the Lion Castle, which lasted until ten o'clock in the evening.

Although the emperor told everyone that they could drink all night, no one would take the emperor's words seriously.

'The Emperor's words are the least credible!'

It's not just a casual statement...

At six o'clock in the morning of May 11, the rainstorm in the imperial capital gradually stopped an hour ago, and the ordinary citizens of the outer city had already gotten up at this time to be busy for the new day.

And the nobles and lords of the inner city, except for the young ones who had to be trained as knights, most of the others were still lying in soft quilts, and the occasional passers on the street were only low-level officials on night duty in various departments.

On the silent streets of Patved, a few patrolling bands of soldiers of the city guards, throwing their heavy weapons and shields aside, leaned against the fence on the side of the street and chatted.

But the two groups of people are also limited to a battle of words.

"Crunch... Crunch..."

The sudden sound of the wheels of the carriage breaking the calm on the street, and the patrol soldiers chatting followed the voice, and suddenly there was no sleep, everyone skillfully and quickly found their weapons and equipment to put on, and then raised their heads and patrolled the street in style.

In the carriage, the Imperial Prime Minister, Duke Nick, was lazily lying on a large sofa made of wolf skin, he had not slept all night the previous night, and after the banquet, Emperor Laubert took the initiative to summon him and talk to him about two o'clock in the evening.

And when he returned to the Prime Minister's residence, the four Dukes and the Earl of Ron had been waiting in his drawing room for two hours, and the six of them had been talking until five o'clock in the morning, during which the Duke of Chester had left for some time in anger, but had returned soon after.

...

Lion Castle, in the private parlor of Emperor Laubert, the morning glow shines into the hall through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and falls on the court ladies who shuttle back and forth...

At this moment, in this small meeting room, there were at least twenty female officials busy, although it looked a little crowded, but under the command of Bailly, the head of the court, everything seemed so orderly.

They have been busy in this living room for more than an hour.

In the middle of the living room, a large circular conference table sits quietly, with seven crimson wooden chairs anchored around it.

Today, the Imperial Land Exchange and the Council of the Six Dukes will be held here.

The female officers probably knew the purpose of the hall they had arranged, so everyone seemed cautious, and even subconsciously lowered their posture when walking.

"Aren't you alright?" Baron Kemp, the commander of the Guards, suddenly appeared in the doorway, wearing a crimson armor with a lion of the royal family on his arms and robes.

"It's going to be done soon, don't worry. "Bailly personally commanded the busy maids.

Baron Kemp frowned, "His Majesty the Emperor's guests have arrived at Victory Square, and you still have two minutes." ”

Bailly, the steward, glanced around and replied, "I only need a minute!"

...

Bailly was always so strict in his words and deeds, and when the five dukes and the Earl of Ron entered the hall a few minutes later, it was still a pretty good meeting room.

The crowd of ladies of the court was long gone, but the court governor, Bailly, and the chief of the guard, Baron Campo, personally served the seven, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Earl Stu, presided over the meeting today.

When they were all seated, Count Stu held a cup of black tea and said, "Now, everyone, let's talk about business." ”

"Serious business?" Duke Gna stroked his long silk sleeves, "Bullshit!"

"Well, how much does it cost this time?" said Duke Eric bluntly.

"Three million gold coins!" said Count Stu, holding a ledger, a look of embarrassment flashing across his face.

"Then 500,000 gold coins per person!" Duke Eric's indifferent voice sounded, "but you must pay it off in five years!"

"No problem!" replied Count Sturt, confidently as he looked at the others.

"Exempt our territorial caravans from customs duties to the imperial capital for two years!" said Duke Enxi.

"This can't be!" Count Stu subconsciously refused, "we can pay twice the interest on the loan from the Imperial Bank, but the customs duties are absolutely not exempt." ”

"To hell with your interest, if you give my 500,000 gold coins to my Chamber of Commerce, you can make at least 200,000 profits in five years, so let's talk a little bit about it, Count Stu!" remembered Duke Gner's dull voice, and his eyes stared at Count Stu like a beast staring at its prey.

"Tariffs are certainly not exempt, and the tax revenue of 20% of their respective territories cannot be less. "Duke Nick's words are completely in the position of the Prime Minister of the Empire.

Duke Nick's words made everyone's eyes fall on him, and he gently played with the ruby ring on his finger under everyone's gaze, and said slowly: "500,000 gold coins, we will pay it all at once, and the Imperial Cabinet will give a five-year free trade agreement." ”

"Free trade agreement?" the Duke of Chester had a question on his face.

"Within five years, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed free trade in the six Dominions, that is, the sale of all prohibited items, including weapons and equipment, war supplies, magical materials, and so on. Duke Nick explained.

"Oh?" Duke Enxi's eyes lit up, his trade with the goblins was mainly iron ore and weapons and equipment, but due to the explicit provisions of the imperial law, even if he had the strongest trading fleet in the Alan continent, he could not trade on a large scale.

When the others heard this, they all nodded in agreement.

"I agree. Duke Enxi was the first to speak.

"It's worth considering. Duke Gerner followed.

"I also agree, my lords will cheer for this 'free trade agreement'!" "The Duke of Chester's Cullen Territory is full of workshops making weapons and equipment.

"I need the Cabinet to grant my tie the privilege of trading independently with the elves. Duke Eric spoke his mind.

"This pact is of no use to our Clan. Count Ron frowned, because of the particularity of the Crane Territory, the limited laws of the empire's trade do not include the Crane Territory, on the contrary, all localities must also provide free assistance when the orcs invade the Crane Territory: "And we are at war, and we can't take out 500,000 gold coins." ”

"Then the five of us will have an extra hundred thousand gold coins!" the Duke of Chester knew the current situation of the Crane Territory best, and he spoke after Earl Ron's voice landed.

"By the way, what is going on with this orc invasion war?What about the opinion of the military department and His Majesty?" Duke Enxi's gaze lingered on Count Stu's mountain for a second, then looked at Duke Nick.

Duke Nick secretly smiled bitterly and said: "The Imperial Cabinet and His Majesty the Emperor will not sit idly by, but at present, there is a small problem with the Imperial Military Department and the four legions of the Empire, and it will take a little time..."

"Put away your high-sounding reasons, my brother. Duke Gna's sarcastic tone interrupted Duke Nick's words, "None of us are stupid, if it's just a little problem, we need to travel all the way to the imperial capital to listen to your grievances at such a critical time?"

"It's really a problem, and every one of us here has a right to know about the war in the Clan. Duke Enshi tapped his fingers lightly on the table, "Let's put it this way, last night my steward told me that our fleet's goblin trading partners told us that the orcs have a big plan this time, and my goblin partner is very serious to warn us to take this orc invasion war seriously." ”

"My father has officially submitted a letter of request for help to the territory. Earl Ron looked at the Duke of Chester, "Perhaps, my father's messenger has arrived in Cullen. ”

"The Cliff family is willing to give everything to drive out the orcs!" the Duke of Chester immediately stated.

"I agree to an extra 100,000 gold coins, and that the Felder Territory will continue to be shipped to the Clan Territory until the end of this war. Duke Eric also took a stand.

"The 500,000 yuan in the Klan Collar came from our other five families. Duke Nick finally concluded, "What do you think?"

"I don't have any opinions!"

"What about the 'free trade agreement'?" asked Duke Nick again.

Earl Stu looked at Duke Nick thoughtfully, and then, quietly, looked at the others, and then said, "Sorry, please wait!"

Obviously, he can't do this thing, but he thinks it's feasible, so he needs to ask the emperor for instructions.