Silent thermostatic circles shielded the chilly wind outside the castle, walls were decorated with shields polished to a shiny glow, ornate classical tapestries depicted with symbols of heroes, monsters, and gods, precious incense from the hands of goblins quietly emanated a pleasantly delicate fragrance in copper incense boxes, and the glow of magic crystal lamps poured from the rooftops into gold-rimmed teacups, a warm glow of bright red liquid inside.

The gray elf Wenna picked up the teacup in front of her, gently shaking the textured liquid, and the light eyes reflected the tiny dots of light: "Goods from the Typhon Empire?" This...... It's a novelty, but what is it? ”

"Textiles, mainly textiles, but also dyes and white crystals," said Barven with a smile, "are of high quality and in good supply—my friends from the tribes of the Western Plains will love it." ”

"If nothing else, I'm really interested in textiles," Wenna raised her eyes, "Can I take a look at the sample?" ”

Bai Dewen stood up with a smile and nodded to the attendant next to him: "Of course, this is - open." ”

The attendant opened the wooden box containing the samples, and the guests from the Oguray tribal country immediately cast their eyes with curiosity, and Duke Bodwin himself stepped forward, took out a piece of white cloth from the wooden box, and handed it to the gray elf Wenna: "Madam, please take a look. ”

Wenna reached out to take the fabric and looked at it with anticipation and curiosity, but in a few seconds her expectant expression became a little stunned and disappointed, and after a short silence, the gray elf patriarch frowned and shook his head: "My friend, I was still praising the creativity of human craftsmen in the field of art...... Now I'm a little confused. ”

As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at Duke Bardwin curiously, "With all due respect—isn't that distant Typhon Empire good at craft?" You can also see that the cloth, though strong, has no taste in the weave and pattern, and that an apprentice who has just learned how to weave can weave such a thing, it ......"

"Sixteen silver shield coins." Bai Dewen said suddenly.

"What?" Wenna didn't react for a while.

"Sixteen silver shield coins," Bai Dewen smiled and patted the wooden box beside him, "a total of one hundred and sixty rulers." ”

Gray Elf Wenna's ears couldn't help but tremble: "...... Are you kidding? ”

"You had the same expression and words last time I quoted you the price of the alchemy potion," Bai Dewen shook his head and sat back in the high-backed chair, the expression on his face became serious, "This is the real price - as you can see, these fabrics are indeed tasteless in weaving and patterning, this is because they are woven by machines, and with the current machine technology, only such fabrics can be woven, and they really can't get into the eyes of the upper nobles, but in terms of price...... It will certainly be a hit among medium citizens and civilians. ”

"Machine...... It's not the first time I've heard the word," the look of astonishment and disappointment on Wenna's face had vanished, replaced by thought, "If it's machine-made, then I can understand the price, but I have a question—even if it's machine-made, you have to transport the cloth from faraway Typhon to the western frontier, and after such a long journey, the price of these things is still so low?" In my understanding, even if you transport a stone from the east to the west of your country, the cost of the journey alone is a large amount. ”

"We're building new roads, new transport technologies that allow for the rapid movement of large quantities of goods – of course, even then there are transport costs, and the margins on these fabrics are very, very thin, but the Franklin family is always looking for long-term business partners, and we should know that small profits are the way we do business."

Duke Bardwin said with a frank expression on his face, with a sincere and gentle smile on his face.

The gray elf Wenna looked at the smile on Bai Dewen's face, and was slightly silent for two seconds before saying, "You are really sincere when you talk about business...... So, you just shipped the cheap cloth that Typhon sold you to the west and sold it to us...... This is different from the previous alchemy potion. ”

"The essence of trade is to convert travel into profits, and transportation is also costly," Bardwin nodded, "but no matter what, these fabrics will still be of great value to your hands, after all...... Taste aside, they are of excellent quality and totally worthy of the price. ”

The gray elf's eyes narrowed slightly, a habitual movement she used to do as she thought.

"Elves love art, and beauty and taste are elements that we value very much," after a few seconds of thought, she slowly opened her eyes, and there was a glimmer in her pale eyes, "My friend, there is no doubt - gold coins are the most tasteful thing in the world." ”

"It's very much in line with your personal style – and mine," said Bertwin's smile, "and if all goes well, we will be able to begin accepting orders for textiles in earnest next spring, with the exact amount being negotiated, and the alchemy potions will be delivered according to the agreed delivery time, unaffected by the textile orders." As for the settlement......"

"Half the gold coins, half the grain and medicinal herbs," Wen Na took the initiative to say, "Our king has agreed to your request, and we know that Ann ...... As old friends, we are happy to help in the troubles of the Cecil Empire - the first order of grain will arrive at the border before the onset of winter. ”

"Thank you to the Grey Elf King on my behalf," Badwin stood up and said sincerely, "We will not forget every help from our friends. ”

Wenna got up to salute back, and then looked at the other box: "So, these should be other samples?" ”

"Yes, let me show you ......"

……

The light of the great sun gradually sank to the west, and the more brilliant glow began to cover the land along the clouds, and the nameless birds chirped in the background of the clouds and the sky, hurrying home, Wenna, who had left the castle, raised her hand, brushed the hair in front of her forehead, and glanced back at the classical and gorgeous castle of the Franklin family.

"That's a lot of business...... Grey Elf whispered to himself.

The Honggu people who were walking next to him couldn't help but frown: "They definitely earn more." ”

Wenna shook her head: "Don't look at how much others make in business, no one comes to do business with you just to lose money." ”

The human, with a gentle temperament, spoke, "But the price of those fabrics is surprising, and after a long period of shipping, they are still so cheap...... It's really hard to imagine how cheap Typhon's empire was when it came to exporting these things to Cecil. ”

"yes...... It's hard to imagine...... "Wenna looked back again, her gaze sweeping over the centuries-old castle.

Craftsmen were busy on the platform on one side of the castle, installing a strange magical device with a metal base and a large crystal on the platform.

It's an old castle, almost as old as the land.

But she had a faint feeling that something young was growing in the land.

Goods from the far east, on the other side of the continent...... It's been a long journey.

……

Patrickin Franklin stood in front of the window of the parlor and watched the guests of the Clan of Oguray get into their own carriages and fade away from the corner of the road in the distance.

A young man in a royal blue coat and a gold brooch on his chest walked into the room, stood behind Badwin, and called out respectfully, "Father." ”

"Eleven," Duke Baldwin turned and gave a gentle smile to his eldest son, "you should have heard it very well in the next room—judging by your expression, you seemed suspicious. ”

The young man named Elivan stood up straight, and he was accustomed to listening to his father's every word he had to teach, but he already had many thoughts and questions of his own: "Yes, father—why did you confess that the cloth came from Typhon in the first place?" ”

Bai Dewen looked at his eldest son quietly: "Why don't you confess?" ”

“…… You have taught me that in the case of being able to monopolize the supply of goods, secrecy of supply channels is one of the important means to maintain a monopoly and ensure profits, and we import textiles from Typhon and sell them to the Oguray tribe, which is essentially just reselling, but if we don't say it, the Oguray tribe will not know about this, and we can raise the price a little more - but now, the gray elves already know the origin of those textiles, and sooner or later they will confirm the approximate price of the textiles exported by the Typhon Empire, and cost transparency is the biggest taboo in doing business...... ”

Bai Dewen patiently waited for the young man to finish speaking, and shook his head: "You can think of this, which means that you are indeed seriously learning what I taught you, but you can only think of this, which means that you have only learned the surface."

"The first point is that we want to do long-term business, and it is a country-to-country business, and this kind of business needs stability, not temporary profiteering. The Grey Elves are not a closed race, they will one day know where the textiles come from, and while it is not a deception from a commercial point of view, if we use this to make too much use of the price, sooner or later we will hurt the feelings of our trading partners, and we will also hurt our future business.

"Second, even if I disclose the source of goods, we don't have to worry about the business going down, because Cecil is the only way to maintain east-west trade in the northern part of the continent, we are bordered by the Gondor wasteland to the south, the wastelands, mountains, and cold winters to the north, and the trade goods of the Typhon Empire can only be transported to the Oguray tribal state by our route - unless the gray elves or the elves find a way to break through the sea blockade and restart the northern route around the continent.

"The third and most important point: do you think that our Emperor asked me to sell those things to the Oguray tribe at a near-zero profit, really just to sell textiles?"

The young duke's son was dazed for a moment, and then he looked thoughtful.

Bodwin Franklin laughed and shook his head: "What we really want to sell is the railroad. ”

Eleven's eyes widened.

Patrickin's gaze turned away from his eldest son and landed on a shelf not far away, where a gift from Gawain Cecil the Great had been given to him before he left the city of Saint-Sunil.

A model of the first freight magic train.

Delicate and ingenious, it is vividly ill and comes from the "hand" of St. Nicholas Egg, the chief master craftsman of the Empire.

However, the model was so peculiar that it could not be used or "artistically valued", so that the attention of the gray elf Vinna was so drawn to the flashy magic pendulum that she did not notice that it was a true symbol of the imperial era.

But he believed that it would not be long before the kings of the Oguray tribe would notice it.

"Eleven, perhaps I'm too obsessed with grooming you to be like me, and I've neglected your true expertise and interests."

"Father?" The young duke's son was a little surprised, and then a little panicked, "Father, I'm not ......"

"Don't be nervous, child," Bodwin shook his head, "you still make me proud, but now you need to be more sophisticated to keep up with the era Your Majesty has created." Magic Guided Technology, Trains, Magic Network Broadcasting, Alchemy Industry...... There are too many new things in the new era, and these things, the teachers in the castle and the scholars in the territory themselves do not understand, let alone teach you.

"The Westside is too far from the center of the empire, far from new technology and knowledge, and far from true 'civilized society'.

"We can't just sit at home and wait for a civilized society to come, we have to take the initiative to reach out.

"Your Majesty is building more educational facilities in the imperial capital of Cecil City and building a new Imperial Academy. I have ordered five hundred bright young men from all over the West to study, regardless of their origins, and you should go as well—as the leader of the group, and go to the South together. The old aristocratic era is over, and the Franklins are no longer the direct rulers of the land, but you still have the responsibility to fight for the interests of the land and the people who live in it.

"I'm sure the Duchess of Ice in the North is doing the same thing—we're never lagging behind."

Elivan quietly met the Duke of the West's gaze, and only after a long time did he bow his head deeply: "Yes, father." ”

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