Lord Dayton, lord of Pinewood, leads Victor into the castle's study, where he meets Gillian's father, Earl Chebman.

Lord Dayton bowed to his lord, turned to leave the study, and closed the door for the two adults to talk privately.

Victor and Count Chebman exchanged greetings and sat down. He looked at the simple furnishings of the study and the three green candles with dim flames, and said with a smile: "Lord Dayton is really frugal, he only lights three candles for his lord. ”

"Hmm...... Frugality is a valuable virtue. Earl Chebman nodded with a serious expression, and added, "These three candles were prepared by Dayton for Your Excellency, and if I were to visit Pinewood alone, he would not light a single candle for me." ”

"......" Victor was silent and said straight to the point: "This is a private meeting, there is no record of the meeting, there are no witnesses, we can speak freely, there is no need to hide it." ”

"I agree. ”

Victor no longer dwelled on the question that he was only worth three candles, and asked Count Chebman, "You asked Gillian to inform me about Wildwillow City." What do the Chebmans want from me?"

Count Chebman seemed to be prepared, and said with a bow: "On the first day of January of this year's earthly season, the old Marquis of Solim left the Bronze City with two attendants. He has given too much for the Solim family and thought too little about himself to never have a chance to come back. Of course, according to the tradition of knights holding trials of life and death, the church and the king would have to wait another five years before announcing the death of Bern Solim, the high knight of the kingdom and the marquis of the House of Solim. ”

"Copper City will have a new owner. Leaning on the back of the hard pine chair, Count Chebman smiled and said, "The bloodline of the Southern Lord family goes back to Solim. According to the Radiant Codex's bloodline inheritance, every Solim can legally own the Bronze City, and as for his surname, it doesn't matter...... It can be Solim, it can be Buryatia, it can be Chebman. ”

"Your Excellency should be able to see that since the decline of Solim's bloodline, the lord families of the south have wanted to cultivate their own bloodline. Our Chebman family is one of the most successful. ”

The Chebman family had four great knights, possibly five...... The eldest daughter of the Earls of Chebman is the Silver Knight, and their youngest son also has the opportunity to step into the Silver Ranks.

Victor agreed, saying, "The strength of the Chipman family is also the strongest. ”

The Count of Chebman bowed his head in a reserved manner and said with a slight meaning: "In addition to luck, Chebman can not have today, but also the virtue of frugality. ”

"......" Victor looked left and right, spread his hands, and asked, "Do you have any plans?"

"We want to go straight to the Copper City. Count Chebman paused and said, "The senator families of the Kite Castle and Gambis, and the church have all expressed goodwill to Chebman, but Chebman needs the approval of the southern lord's family. From the standpoint of the Southern Lords, Chebman must have something to say about the issue of Wild Willow. ”

"Kiteburg, York, Wellington, Joshua, and Nimes redivided the share of shops in Wild Willow City, why should Chebman be excluded? Even if Chebman is not the leader of the Southern Lord Family now, it should not deprive Copper City of the right to speak in the market of Wild Willow City. ”

"The Wild Willow City Market was built by Your Excellency, and Madame Judy is Your spokesperson. Now that the Randall family is also excluded, can we join forces to make a sound?" Count Chebman waved his hand and smiled, "This is my original intention for Gillian to test Your Excellency...... Of course, my daughter, she didn't know. ”

"I know she doesn't know. Victor muttered in his heart, shook his head and laughed, "What can I do as a little viscount?

Count Chebman looked at Victor quietly for a few seconds, and said in an indifferent tone: "The matter of the casting of copper sol is generally entrusted to the king by the church. The Solim family took over the casting of copper sols, of course, to win the support of the church, but the main reason was that there was a lot of copper in the south. Otherwise, how could the Kite Castle agree to let the Solrim family mint the bronze thor?"

Victor's eyes flashed, and he asked in a deep voice, "You entrusted the Randall family to cast the bronze thor is also the meaning of the kite?"

Count Chebman nodded: "5 million copper soles are minted in a year, and the loss is only 1 million copper soles, which is worth 772 gold soles." This money was paid by the Chebman family. What's more, the price of copper continues to rise, and the value of copper sol is also increasing. The loss of minted copper sol will only be smaller. The Kite Castle supported the Chebman family in the Copper City, but did not want us to get too close to the church. However, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has asked me to entrust the Randall family with the right to mint the bronze sol. ”

"Your Excellency wants to forge a bronze sol, and the Kite Castle satisfies you, but His Royal Highness Williams wants to satisfy your Excellency through the Chebman family. You should be aware of the reasons for this. ”

The reason for this is, of course, the bribery and clamping of Victor by the Kite Castle. If Williams had handed over the coinage rights directly to the Randall family, Victor would only recognize Sylvia's favor. Now, Victor owes Count Chebman. In this way, the Kite Castle declares a fact that is not true - the Randalls are independent lords of Gambis, and their allegiance is to the king. The truth is that the independent lords of Gambis all have their own camps, and the Randall family is clearly an important member of the Centaur Hills line.

However, since it is a commissioned coinage, the kite castle can take back the commission and form a clamp. For example, by increasing the annual minting quota of 5 million to 20 million, the Randall family could not afford the loss of minting copper sols, so they had to give up coinage.

Victor has the technology of the Fire Crystal Furnace, which can add an additional 1.7 million copper soles for every 10 million gold soles minted, which is equivalent to 1,311 gold soles, plus the minting income from the appreciation of the currency, the direct profit of minting 10 million copper soles is at least 2,000 gold soles.

The more you mint, the more you earn.

The question is, how could the Kite Castle know the true mystery of Victor's casting of the bronze sol?

Victor raised his eyebrows and said indifferently: "Casting copper sol is a loss-making business, and I don't have to. ”

"This is not a 'speak up' attitude. ”

Count Chebman shook his head, his long narrow eyes with a sly smile, "Your Excellency Randall is known for his wisdom, and your every move is noticed, whether you understand your deep meaning now or not, it is always not wrong to make a layout in advance." Speaking of this, the Count of Chipman shook his head: "I could not understand at first the reason why Your Excellency forged the bronze pennies and copper soles...... Randall has a population of 100,000, and how much money does you receive each year by collecting a transaction tax on the families ......of homeless workers? It wasn't until you explicitly proposed the tenant system that you could see your layout clearly. ”

Count Chebman slapped the table and exclaimed, "What a brilliant idea for the tenant system! Tenants are not vassals, nor are they outcasts, and your Excellency perfectly solves the problem of tenant offerings with copper pennies and transaction taxes. With the tenant system, the hills were able to accommodate more displaced people and make up for the shortage of hired workers. If Randall had 300,000 tenants, the transaction tax they would have paid would have been considerable. ”

Count Chebman made no secret of his amazement and envy. Victor was secretly proud, shook his head and smiled: "The two major functions of the tenant system are to transform the displaced people, and the other is to take back the power of the lord's vassals. The prerequisites for the introduction of the tenant system were land and a displaced population. Unfortunately, you don't have those qualifications. Of course, the Centaur Hills are also a last resort...... If there are enough people, who would want to train the outcasts?"

"There will be land, but there will only be more displaced people. ”

Count Chebman nodded, and then said: "Through these things, I can see two problems, Your Excellency's influence on the Kite Castle is not trivial, and Your Excellency is very short of money. If you speak out against Willows' shop allocation, Chebman will be the first family to stand up for you. ”

Victor gave Chebman a deep look, shook his head, and said, "Impossible...... Your Excellency did not tell me the truth. ”

"I just got back from Wild Willows...... Now Yeliucheng is more prosperous, and the market area of Yeliucheng can be called every inch of land. It's because of the Fish-Man Wars!"

"The soldiers and supplies of the Kite Castle, Joshua, Wellington, and the Nîmes need a foothold to move south. The soldiers also need a place to relax in rotation, and that is Yehliu City. But Chebman and Randall didn't have that need. I stood up against the distribution plan of the shops in Yeliucheng Market, which lacked a reasonable basis. Compared to the interests of Yeliu City, you and I can't accept other families' armies to be stationed in the Chebman Territory or Randall Territory. In the same way, the lords of the south were more afraid that the knights and armies of other powers would rely on their territory for a long time. ”

"The Fish-Man War and the Crossing of the River to the South are the general trend of the kingdom, and the Buryatia Territory is easily accessible, and Yeliu City is close to two ports at the same time. It is the best trade hub and a transit point for people and goods. The layout of the Yehliu market by the major families was to ensure the neutrality of the Buryatia family. Victor shook his head and said, "Anyone who opposes this plan is doomed to futility." But if Chebman wants to be the leader of the Southern family, he has to show himself in front of the bloodline...... Regardless of the outcome, it is better to do than to do nothing. ”

"I'm not a Southern Blood Lord, and no one dares to lead a garrison in Randall. Victor said with a smirk, "What does Lord Chebman mean by encouraging me to come forward against the distribution plan of the shops in the Wild Willow Market?"

Count Chebman pondered for a moment, then said, "I confess that I would like to use your power to convey to the Kite Castle the attitude of the Southern Family—not to take what we want. ”

This...... Is it a sign of loyalty? The southern leader is mainly following me?

Victor was startled, and said tentatively: "What power can I have? Are you sure it's not the power of the York family?"

"The York family was also involved...... There's no way they're going to support me. Count Chebman shook his head and looked at Victor meaningfully, "As for what will happen in the future, who knows?" and then shrugged his shoulders again, and said, "Anyway, there is no loss in following your Excellency twice." ”

What an old fox...... Victor couldn't help but laugh, cursed secretly, and said, "It's better to get things done with two meaningless calls." ”

"Chebman doesn't have enough shop shares in the Yeliucheng market, so why don't you build a market yourself?"

Count Chebman raised his head and said in surprise, "Pinewood Town?"

"Yes!" Victor said, "The royal family finally gnawed off the hard bone of Solim, how could it be possible to let Chebman sit on the throne? However, step by step, step by step, retreat to the end, a plate of scattered sand. If I'm not mistaken, the Kite Castle is extracting the wealth that the Copper City has accumulated for hundreds of years. ”

Count Chebman said with a blank face, "Many of Solim's apprentice knights have moved to the royal capital...... Their property was also taken away. ”

The Solim family has at least 600 apprentice knights who have refined their bloodlines. The royal family now has a golden potion formula, so naturally they can't let go of this potential power. Sylvia showed enough sanity, what the York family needs most at the moment is to lay a solid foundation, and would rather develop slowly than expand too quickly. The Randall family can't control Solim's apprentice knights, these guys will hold together. But for Count Chebman, the kiteburg poaching the apprentice knights of the Copper City was like digging up his flesh, which made him feel miserable.

Victor nodded in sympathy and said, "If they don't give it to you, you build one yourself, there's no better response than this." When Primo turns 12, the situation in Wildwillow will change. There are still more than three years to go, and I am fully sure of the development of the market in Songlin Town......"

Count Chebman chuckled, waved his hand to interrupt Victor's words, and said, "If this is the purpose of your invitation...... Then I agreed. ”

"Don't be surprised. ”

Count Chebman stood up and said, "We have common interests, and each has a handle in the other's hands. I can see the ambition of Your Excellency...... But I still have to advise you, the population of Randall is getting bigger and bigger, and the Mithril Mine is still closed. If Her Highness Sylvia knows, you and I will be in big trouble. ”

"One day, we, the Southern Lords, may pledge allegiance to Lord Randall. He gave Victor a knightly salute and said politely, "I hope your Excellency will sleep well in Pinewood, and I take my leave." ”

Seeing Count Chebman push open the wooden door, Victor couldn't help but shout: "Lord Chebman, I don't care to whom the southern lord will be loyal in the future...... I just want to remind you that Gillian is mine...... Don't force her to do what she doesn't want, I will only respect her own will!"

Count Chebman was stunned, laughed and pushed the door out, "Victor, I don't care about you and Gillian's affairs. ”

In the study of Pine Grove Castle, night moths flutter around the candle flame. Victor sat alone for a long time, popping out a cloud of air to extinguish the three annoying candles, leaning back in his chair, and sighing, "I'm not ready yet...... Anything is coming......"

"There isn't a single fuel-efficient lamp!"