The Blue Goose Fort stands on the shores of Lake Seymour, with a 20-metre-wide moat connected to the lake, and from a distance, this majestic fortress resembles an island in the middle of a lake.

As the sun sets, the blue-black city walls are reflected in the lake, and a dozen blue swans sweep across the golden waves, shattering the reflection in the lake. When these elegant waterfowl fly away, the lake recondenses the castle under the blue sky and white clouds. Under the reflection of the slanting sun, the real and the imaginary, the majestic and the soft are intertwined into a beautiful landscape.

Victor had no intention of admiring the beautiful scenery in front of him, and he stood on a high guard tower and looked west, which was in the direction of Randall.

From March of last year's Water Season to January of this year's Fire Season, Victor lasted 7 months and traveled thousands of kilometers, passing through the Black Castle, the western kingdom, the royal capital of Gambis, the Wellington family in the south-central region, the edge of the dark forest and the Solim family in the south, and finally arrived at the last stop of the journey, the Blue Goose Castle in the Chebman Territory.

In addition, he successfully stepped into the circle of the great nobles, realized the shortcomings and potential of X-3, obtained the sword master's combat skill scroll, harvested the high-yield crop prickly kidney beans, and a steady stream of cheap charcoal, and the newly awakened bloodline talent was an unexpected surprise.

More than 50 kilometers west of Blue Goose Castle is Randall's territory, and Victor knows that he will be busy with all fours after returning to the family, but he still can't wait to put on his wings and fly back immediately, see the situation of the territory, and then quickly digest these harvests.

"The Blue Goose Fort was built 189 years ago and covers an area of 4 square kilometers. In order to build this fortress, our Chebman family exhausted all their savings and still struggled to complete it, and it was only with the full support of the Solim family that the fortress was built. "Count Chebman stood beside Victor and told him about the history of the Blue Goose Castle.

The leader of the Chebman family, who is 74 years old this year, looks to be 30 years old, and if nothing else, he will remain young for another 50 years.

It is precisely because of this transcendent life form that high-ranking knights never regard ordinary people as their own kind, and even ordinary nobles with knightly blood are not qualified to walk side by side with them. But Victor's strength and bloodline are enough to win the respect of Count Chebman.

Although the Chipman family was one of the first to become entangled with Victor, it was the first time that Victor and Count Chipman met.

Originally, Victor was hostile to both the Chebman and the Yorks because of the Mithril Mine and the Purple Cane Wine, but now they have deep interests. This ironic transformation is not based on the will of the individual, but on the basis of a change in reality.

When Victor was weak, he saw that everyone was an enemy, but those enemies never regarded him as an opponent, and when Victor became strong, he and his former enemies had an equal basis for dialogue. At this time, if you still have to hold on to the original grievances, and turn potential allies into mortal enemies to be defeated, it must be Erha, who has gone crazy.

Only irreconcilable contradictions between lords can lead to endless struggles, Victor deeply understands this truth, and the Chipman family is also facing the threat of Ant-Man, they are Victor's natural allies and reinforcements, Chipman Territory can become the strategic depth of Randall's Lord, and Victor alone must also show goodwill to Count Chipman.

"Lord Earl, it seems that the Solim family has your back. Victor chuckled.

"I want to say that the Solim family is not reliable. Chebman shook his head and said, "The Solim family occupies the most fertile land, pastures, and the best veins in the south, but they are always threatened by the foresters. We, the Chebmans, are their shield against the foresters. ”

"The size of the Chebman Territory is 18,000 square kilometers, and there are only two water systems, one is the Yeliu River in the east, the Marquis of Solim on the east bank of the river, and the west bank is the territory of our Chebman family, and we have cultivated 700,000 acres of arable land on the west bank of the river. Another river system is Lake Seymour, where we have cultivated 2.1 million acres of arable land nearby, but these farmlands have always been exposed to the iron hooves of the foresters. ”

"Our farms and ranches are right next to the Centaur Hills, so the Blue Goose Fortress can't protect our hinterland, and the Solim family is the real beneficiary. When we used up all our savings, they took over the construction of Blue Goose Castle. ”

"For a long time, our Chebman family, as a vassal of the Solim family, has never received substantial support, but has been exploited by them, and the property of the territory is sold through the Marquis of Solim, and 30% of it will always be extracted. Thankfully, the Foresters have invaded human territory since then, and our Chebman family has survived the most difficult time. ”

It dawned on Victor that before the migration of the Centaurs, the Chebman Territory had only two neighbors, one was the Solim family in the east and the other was the Buryat Territory in the north, but they were separated from the Buryat Territory by a mountain range, and large quantities of goods could only be transferred through the Solim family, and high taxes were charged in the process.

No wonder the Chebman family was known for being stingy, and it turned out to be poor and afraid.

Count Chebman continued: "We, the Chebman family, the Buryat family, and the two baronial families in the east are all part of the Solim family, and although we belong to the same southern lord bloodline, we have no sense of identity with the Solim family. ”

Victor had recently left the Solim family's domain, and the Marquis of Solim welcomed him warmly and gave him many valuable gifts, including a variety of gems and works of art of excellent quality. Overall, the Solim family made a good impression on Victor, but there were no special surprises.

The Marquis of Solim is very rich in mineral deposits, mainly copper and iron, as well as two pure gold mines, their animal husbandry is very developed, and the scrolls made of lambskin are one of the two pillar industries of the Solimm family, of course, whether it is mineral deposits or cattle and sheep, they cannot sell them at a low price.

After Victor had a good time, he left the Marquis of Solim. As soon as he arrives at Blue Goose Castle, Count Chebman begins to speak ill of the Marquis of Solim, making it clear to Victor that the Solims are not ideal partners to work with.

Of course, Count Chebman's purpose was not to complain, in fact, since the Buryat Territory fell into the hands of Victor, the Chebman family has clearly felt the pressure. From a trade point of view alone, the Chebman family is no longer an indispensable trade partner for Victor, and they still need Mithril and potions.

Mithril is important to the knights, but it is a danger to Victor, and the Chebmans will play an important role in Victor's plan, but they are not yet aware of it. Victor was about to use Mithril to introduce Count Chebman into the urn when he deliberately asked, "Why would the Solim family be so unwise?"

"It's not because of ambition. Earl Chebman scoffed, "The Solim family has the best pastures and incredible reserves of minerals, but they sell cattle and sheep to the outside, but they rarely sell minerals, and they have a mountain range to the north and a dark forest to the east, which are natural barriers, and then make us their vassals." In the eyes of the royal family, the Solim family wants to build an independent kingdom. ”

"The royal family sold a large number of refining potions and energy potions to the Solimm family at a low price, and the Marquis of Solim was still complacent, and as a result, they created many knights and trainee knights, and these knights who lacked potential squeezed out a lot of resources, causing the Solimm family's bloodlines to become mixed, and now there are only two great knights supporting the situation, one of whom is a vassal lord. ”

While the Earl of Chebman sneered, he also secretly rejoiced. The Earl of Chebman of that generation also wanted to buy some refining potions, but they didn't have the money to buy them, and it wasn't until the Solim family completely declined that everyone realized that this was a trap set by the royal family. Since then, most lords have shunned the Elixir of Purification, and this is how the Augustians have told their lords that no one can challenge the limits of the royal family.

"There are four great knights in the Chebman family, and your strength and potential far surpass the current Solim family. Victor said lightly: "Lord Earl, are you ready to replace the Solim family and become the leader of the Southern Lords?"

The blunt words made Count Chebman pause, and he said slowly: "This is unlikely. ”

"That's right!" Victor said: "Your territory is remote, there is not much arable land, and self-sufficiency is okay, but if you want to expand your influence, you can't rely on high-end force alone, unless you can be promoted to the Golden Knight, however, the Marquis of Solim has already stood at the peak of the Silver Rank......" Victor shook his head, "Actually, whether there will be a Royal Highness among the Southern Lords will not have much impact on me, whether the Solim family rises or falls has nothing to do with me, as long as I can buy all kinds of materials." ”

"Lord Earl, most of the cattle, sheep and livestock you sold me are the products of the Solim family, and these goods are not cheap after your markup. I can buy cheaper goods through Wild Willow City now, can't I?"

The form had been reversed, but Count Chebman asked confidently, "Your Excellency, what do you want from me?"

"Copper mines!" Victor said with a smile, "Lord Earl, you have very rich copper ore resources here, and you can only sell copper ore.

"Your copper ore is transferred from the Solim family, it is better to sell it to me directly, of course, I don't want too much copper ore, you can also transport the copper ore to Yeliu City through my territory to sell, I only charge a small transit tax, which is better than being exploited by the Solim family. ”

"Nice advice. The Earl of Chebman sighed: "The transfer of my copper mines from the Centaur Hills is no less than a sign to everyone that our Chebman family has taken refuge in the House of York. This goes against my position and leaves me with no way back. ”

"Victor, the Mithril Mine is our common secret!" Chebman shook his head and smiled, "At first, I thought it was the York family trading with us, but then I realized that Lady Rose didn't even sell fine iron, how could she sell Mithril? This is your private behavior, and the York family doesn't know about it at all!"

Victor's pupils shrank, and he said coldly, "If you think this can threaten me, then you are very wrong!"

"How could I be so stupid!" Earl Chebman shrugged his shoulders and said, "With your current status, even if the York family knew the truth, they would not do anything to you. But the Mithril Mine is definitely going to be rowed away, and this is a situation you don't want to see. ”

"What's the situation?"

Count Chebman stared at Victor's eyes and said, "We are all the same, we don't want to be sent to the fence and be at the mercy of others!"

Victor sneered: "I don't want to be coerced!"

"I didn't mean that!" Count Chebman waved his hand and said, "Ant-Man is our common threat, and my strength has grown, and I will definitely support you at a critical moment." And the Solim family won't!"

Victor said disdainfully: "You are not even willing to transfer copper mines from my territory, how can I trust your sincerity?"

Count Chebman was silent for a long time, and then asked, "Victor, what are you going to do because copper is of limited use and low value?"

The kingdom and the Church strictly controlled the trade in gold and silver, and the control of copper was relatively loose, but it was still taboo to privately cast copper sols, so copper ore was also a sensitive material. If it is not used to mint copper coins, the price of copper is lower than that of iron. Currently, the largest buyer of copper ore is Sophia, who can make a huge profit by selling copper to the Sassan Empire. The Earl of Chebman was very worried that Victor had struck copper coins privately, and if the royal family knew about it, he would be implicated.

"To make money, of course!"

Victor explained: "I have excellent craftsmen on my hands, Baron Schultz has high-quality mahogany, you have rich copper mines, and I plan to open a workshop in Yeliu City to make mahogany copper carriages, which will definitely make a lot of money!"

"Baron Schultz has no problem transporting the mahogany to Yehliu City, if you don't sell me copper, then I can only buy the copper ore of the Solim family. Anyway, there is a profit, but you can't make it. ”

The Earl of Chebman was immediately entangled, he wanted a piece of the pie, then he could not transfer copper from the Solim family, if it was transferred from the Centaur hills, the political signal would probably cause the royal family to be dissatisfied, and he had no intention of joining the York family at all.

"Earl, think slowly. I promise that the Mithril trade will not be affected, but I'm going back to my room for now. Victor saluted gracefully and turned away from the tower.

Count Chebman opened his mouth and watched Victor's back disappear around the corner of the staircase, as if watching countless Kinsol leave him.

Swallowing with difficulty, Count Chebman muttered to himself, "Gillian, whether you can seize the opportunity to make a fortune this time depends on your ability!"