"Huh!" Rhodes stood up excitedly, he never expected Hodge to dare to say such a sensational remark, "If you really do what you say, there is no doubt that it will anger many chambers of commerce, and what will be the final result?

Young people are so whimsical. Rhodes' chest heaved, and he was already annoyed by Hodge's reckless words and actions.

He was an excellent and qualified treasurer, and having been in Blackstone for so long, he spoke to the merchants of the Chamber of Commerce almost every day, and knew very well what the miners meant to Blackstone.

That means...... All!

The reason why Blackstone has become the golden cradle of the North is because of the abundant underground ore veins, and although the ore veins belong to the Marquis of Raymond, the mines need to be mined by human hands.

The nobles did not have the energy to acquire strong slaves to carry out the excavation work, let alone arrange the scope of work of the miners and the entire mining task, all of which could only be carried out smoothly with the help of experienced miners.

Yes, they may be greedy and think about how to make more money for themselves, but what merchant doesn't love gold?

Moreover, the occasional reduction in mining taxes was nothing compared to the enormous value they could bring to Blackstone on the veins.

As long as they can be appeased, as long as their Monkey King's stable operation of the veins brings considerable revenue, the price of this loss is not worth mentioning at all.

But what did Hodge say? He wanted to deal with the merchant in a very savage way.

As a result, the merchants were enraged, and the operation of the veins would be seriously affected.

This would ruin Blackstone at its root!

"Lord Rhodes, I think you are being too cautious, the merchants are used to being strong, and perhaps rejecting them this time will teach them a lesson, and then obediently obey the mayor's orders. ”

"No way. Rhodes flatly vetoed, "I have dealt with them for so long, and I know too well what these merchants do, and they will never give up easily in the face of such rude and rough treatment." ”

"You care too much about the attitude of the merchants. ”

Rhodes roared angrily, "Can I not care?"

"The key? I thought the key to Blackstone was the mayor, and the Pollit who was really in power!"

Hodge roared back in no less volume, turned to Pollitt, bowed respectfully, and said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, you are the master of Blackstone Town!"

Pollitt's brain was instantly flooded with these words, constantly colliding and echoing in his mind, and it didn't stop for a long time.

His fat fingers, full of fat, kept rubbing against the rough wooden armrests, feeling the heat from his fingertips, and exhaling a long, long breath.

Perhaps it was because of the fact that compromise had become a habit over the years, and he had rarely thought about it anymore, that the merchants were not on an equal footing with him.

After all, they are just tenants, subordinates who make money for him.

And the real lord of Blackstone Town is Marquis Raymond, who is also ...... Myself.

He's the master of the mining town.

Rhodes saw that Pollitt's heart was greatly shaken, and his heart was not good, if Hodge really convinced him, the impact on the economy of Blackstone Town was immeasurable.

"Your Excellency, you need to think about the seriousness of this matter. Rhodes only felt his mouth dry, "Even if you don't consider the impact, it is quite difficult to execute, and you know that those merchants have more or less their own armed attendants, and the patrol guards in our town are all so small, and if there is a violent conflict, it will be extremely unfavorable for us." ”

"That's right, our guards really can't get out of the way to get involved in this matter. Hodge nodded approvingly.

Rhodes looked at him suspiciously, just a moment ago he was encouraging Pollit, why did he suddenly follow his own words again?

But he quickly realized that something was wrong!

It is true that the guards can't pull away, but in the past few days, in addition to the guards, there are also a few people in the town who are not part of the guards but have great power......

Pollitt rarely turned his fat head, and almost at the same time reflected the meaning of Hodge's words.

"Hodge. He looked over, "I remember you said that in exchange for being a commoner, the witch would work for me unconditionally?"

Hodge smiled and nodded, "That's right, please let the witch help you out." ”

"Your Excellency!"

Rhodes hurriedly tried to stop, but was interrupted by Pollitt waving his hand: "Then do it." ”

"Rhodes, you send someone to tell the presidents of the two chambers of commerce that we need to discuss specific matters with them. ”

"Hodge, you come with Hodge to this discussion. ”

"And......" Pollitt's eyes turned cold.

"Take the witch with you. ”

......

"You said how much relief we got this time. Kenan played with the clay pot in his hand and looked playfully at his friend.

"It's not going to be too little. Simmons thought about it and said, "Treasury Director Rhodes is a smart man, and what smart wants is stability. ”

"That's a good point!" Kennan laughed.

It was at this moment that the door was pushed open, and Rhodes walked in the front, and Kenan stood up and beckoned, "Lord Steward." ”

However, he was not the only one who came, and then a strange young man entered, and finally a man wrapped in a thick black coat with a hood covering his face entered.

Kenan looked at the man in black and saw the outline of her body wrapped in thick clothes, which was not easy to identify, but barely recognized as a woman, as evidenced by the few strands of long fiery red hair that slipped through the gap in the hood.

Kenan snorted: "Lord Steward, don't you introduce us to why there are women on such an occasion." ”

Rhodes said helplessly: "This is the intelligence director just appointed by the mayor, Lord Hodge Granfin. ”

"And this ......," he said, pointing to Daphne, remembering Hodge's name for him, "she's Hodge's squire." ”

Hodge smiled and nodded to the two guild leaders, indifferent to the fact that Devany was twisting her flesh her back.

"Haha, what did I hear, using a woman as an attendant, it's the funniest joke I've ever heard this year. Kenan wiped the water from the corner of his eye and said, "So the Steward—no, it seems more reasonable to call us Lord Rhodes now, has the Mayor considered how to compensate us for the fright we have been given?"

"This ...... Ay. ”

Rhodes sighed helplessly, and finally gave the answer he was unwilling to say: "Lord Pollit means that there will be no compensation. ”

"What!" both Kenan and Simmons looked different.

"Didn't you hear me? Lord Rhodes means that we will not give any compensation, not even half of the ore reduction. Hodge added "thoughtfully".

Kennan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "The damage we have suffered is incalculable, and the town chief has not said anything at all?

"Reason?" the young voice sneered, and before anyone could react, Hodge approached one of the attendants and pulled out the long face from his waist and held it in his hand.

The other attendants saw this situation clearly and pulled out their long faces in unison.

"Relax, I'm not stupid enough to take this sword at this point in your president, I'm just trying to explain one thing. ”

He lightly placed the sword in Daphne's hand, and in an instant, the bright blade had turned red, faintly burning with faint flames, as if there was a red and yellow light about to break through the blade.

Immediately afterwards, the long face suddenly slumped, turned into flowing molten steel, poured on the ground, and the solid gray stone floor was instantly poured out of a hole by the hot molten iron.

The two presidents were stunned.

The squires were staring at Daphne warily, this woman was terrible, what kind of temperature did it take to melt steel?

But he knew very well that the molten iron, which even the gray stone slab could not resist, would only make the human being suffer even more.

Kenan's face turned purple: "What do you mean by that." ”

Hodge smiled: "I just want to tell you that only with strength can you be reasonable." ”

"And now. ”

"Because my squire is the most powerful. ”

"So today - no reason. ”