"License?" Antioch asked, pretendingly, "I don't quite understand." ”

Seeing that Baron Antioch was still pretending to be stupid, Du Wei didn't care, smiled, and said straight to the point, "Naturally, it is a permit for cotton and cotton textiles to enter the port." Recently, the Shuttle Chamber of Commerce has been exploring this market, and I am personally very optimistic about the location of the Rhône Port, and I wonder if Baron Antioch can provide some convenience. ”

"The Shuttle Chamber of Commerce is still planning to get involved in the textile industry? Are you going to plant flax or cotton in the Thorny Wasteland? Baron Antioch quipped casually, but the thought in his mind was spinning rapidly.

When he arrived in Boulder City with the caravan, he heard rumors from the community that the wizard was planning to open a textile factory.

Although he didn't know what the textile mill was, he had a bad feeling in his heart when he thought of the steel mill next to it.

Now that Du Wei actually asked him about the permit, it was obvious that the Shuttle was not going to make a small profit, but was going to use the port of Rhône, which was controlled by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, as a starting point, to compete with those old chambers of commerce in the cloth business.

Although the Antioch Chamber of Commerce does not do cloth business and does not have a textile workshop under its umbrella, he has to be wary of the ambitions of the Shuttle Chamber of Commerce.

"I would like to plant, but I can't plant the land of the Thorn Wasteland," Du Wei said with a smile, "At the latest next spring, the textile mill in Boulder City will start working, and I am also looking for food for the workers in the factory, and I hope that the Baron can be accommodating, and we will just borrow your port." ”

After listening to what Du Wei said, Antioch's mood gradually sank.

A cargo entry permit, this thing is not an ordinary thing on the south coast of Aditya. Holding a port entry permit for a particular cargo allows the goods to circulate between ports without entering the local market.

The most immediate benefit is that certain goods can be exempted from customs duties.

This kind of license is generally only issued by chambers of commerce within the city-state alliance, and is mainly aimed at some chambers of commerce whose industries are more dispersed and have greater influence in a particular city-state. A chamber of commerce like the Shuttle has no hope at all.

"Give it up, the port of the Rhone will not allow your cotton and cotton cloth to enter the port, even if you are only 'passing through'." Baron Antioch raised his chin slightly, "Take ten thousand steps back, even if the Rhône Port agrees, it is impossible for the South Coast City-States Alliance to agree." ”

The textile industry is one of the pillar industries of the Southern City-State Alliance, which involves the survival of hundreds of thousands of flax growers and tens of thousands of textile workshops throughout the South Coast city-states.

At least half of the friction between the Duchy of Wilton and the Kingdom of Rick over sea power is due to the cotton of Crocodile Island, which has impacted the textile industry of the entire South Coast city-state. As a model for the industry, the Duchy of Wilton, which accounted for 70 percent of the output of linen and 45 percent of the entire South Coast, was just the one that was pushed to the front and had the most intense conflict with the Kingdom of Rick.

The cotton and cotton cloth of the Rick Kingdom enjoyed a high tariff of 80% in the southern city-states, and with such high tariffs, it was impossible for the cotton fabrics produced in Boulder City to enter any of the ports belonging to the city-state alliance.

However, if the Shuttle Chamber of Commerce does not choose to cooperate with the southern city-states, the only way is through the ports owned by the Rick Kingdom on the west coast, but this will undoubtedly stretch the land trade route very long.

"We don't need the consent of the city-states on the south coast, all we need is the port of the Rhône," Du Wei's index finger tapped on the table, "Trust me, it's also of great benefit to you." ”

"I don't see the benefits for the time being, but once I help you in this matter, the good life of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce will be over." Baron Antioch said uncompromisingly.

"Could it be that Lord Baron would be more willing to offend a wizard than some city-state alliance?" Du Wei raised his eyebrows.

"You want to use the name of a wizard to crush me?" The corners of Baron Antioch's mouth moved, a trace of displeasure flashed on his face, and his eyes began to become a little unkind when he looked at Du Wei, "I advise you to think about it again, this is not a good idea." ”

In this world, a sorcerer means supreme power, and worldly power is like a weak feather in the face of mysterious spells. Even so, however, this power is not without constraints. After all, this is not a wizard continent, and the strongest existence among wizards is only three stars, such as those powerful witchers, there is still a certain threat to wizards.

Not only that, but many chambers of commerce will also be inextricably linked to the wizard tower, after all, maintaining a wizard tower requires a lot of money, and wizards don't have the energy to run their own industry...... Except for certain wizards with "special hobbies".

Baron Antioch may not have that ability to get in touch with wizards, but the entire South Coast city-state alliance is different.

There's nothing to say about competition within the rules, and a proper compromise can be a matter of necessity, but once the price is beyond what they can tolerate, even the power of wizards is not so good.

What's more, as long as the price is right, so many businessmen get together, and it may not be impossible to ask a wizard to help.

"Don't get me wrong, I was just joking," Du Wei coughed softly and said with an innocent expression.

Antioch glanced at him, and said in his heart that your tone didn't look like a joke at all.

"As I said earlier, this is also good for your Chamber of Commerce, don't you plan to listen to me?" Du Wei said with a smile.

Antiochus smiled noncommittally, unimpressed by the alleged benefits. Even he couldn't figure out what kind of benefits he could have that was worth betraying the interests of the entire city-state alliance.

At this moment, Du Wei continued to speak.

"We intend to build a road across the Thorny Wasteland, from Boulder City to the port of Rhone."

"Highway?" Antioch frowned slightly.

"That's right, to put it more concretely, it's like the brick road from Romania to St. John's Port."

"It can't be!"

Antiochus stood up abruptly and looked at him in shock.

"Nothing is impossible, especially for Lord Wizard," Du Wei smiled faintly, "Of course, whether this road will eventually lead to Port Rhône or other ports is still being studied by the town hall of Boulder City. As you know, there are four city-states on the map that border the southern part of the Thorn Wastes, and it doesn't really make a big difference who you want to work with. ”

Antioch didn't believe it at first, but when he thought of the monster that devoured iron ore outside Boulder City, he was suspicious of it.

Let's put aside whether this so-called highway can be built.

If successful, the caravan will more than double the time it takes to travel from Rhône to Boulder, and Rhône will be fully connected to the trade network of the Rick Kingdom, gaining access to a large part of the inland market. As the de facto controller of the Rhône, the family behind Antioch will undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary.

It's just that it's also quite expensive.

They could offend the entire city-state alliance and all the merchants in the alliance who ran flax plantations and textile workshops.

Antioch's thoughts raced quickly, weighing the pros and cons.

"Think about it, although the output of the Iron and Steel Plant in Boulder City is high, but there are only tens of thousands of pieces of iron in a month, do you think that an iron sword from Boulder City to the Norren Continent is a few hundred silver coins, I don't know? Why did we choose to cooperate with you? Du Wei smiled, "Think about it again." ”

"I need to think about it." Baron Antioch's eyes flickered.

"I'm waiting for your good news." Du Wei smiled, "But I hope you can do it soon, because there is another meeting waiting for me in the afternoon." ”

Baron Antioch's face did not change in any way, and without saying a word, he got up and walked out the door.