Chapter 216: Visit

It was the end of the month when Lorist received the news that Princess Celivia, accompanied by the Earl of Kenmeth, had been at the Castle of Rock for about a month. Now the shipyard has not only begun construction of three training ships, a survey ship, but also is working on the concept of a fast cruiser proposed by Lorist.

The countries and regions that now have naval fleets on the Gelinthia continent still have a traditional mode of engagement at sea, just like the powerful naval fleet of the Fort Commercial Alliance that Lorist saw when he was still studying in the city of Moldon, their warships are like a square-frame wall buckled to the hull, and when the warships of the two sides are separated by two or three hundred meters, they use crossbows and longbows to launch rockets for long-range attacks, and then slowly get closer to each other for broadside battles, so as to destroy the opponent's counterattack force and capture the enemy ships and end the battle.

It's a pity that Lorlist's black powder experiment ended in failure, otherwise he would have at least been able to build a bronze cannon and start the era of large-sail battleships. In his previous life, as a factory director who manufactured arts and crafts, he was no stranger to the famous sail battleships of the Age of Discovery, and he made more than a dozen models alone, but without artillery, these battleships could only be used as merchant ships in this other world.

However, Lorist still designed a three-masted sail battleship with long-range attack as the main means based on the experience of making those sail battleship models in his previous life, emphasizing speed and flexibility. As for the long-range attack method, the chariot steel crossbow and trebuchet can be mounted on the battleship, try to avoid broadside combat, and the best way to destroy the enemy by flying a kite or walking monkey is the best way to fight naval warfare.

"Alright, let's build one according to my design first. In terms of long-range attacks, if we consider ourselves the Norton family to be second, I believe that no country or family dares to claim the first, and you must have this self-confidence. After building this battleship, we can go to sea for exercises. At that time, it became clear whether such a fast cruiser was suitable or not. Lorist said to the shipbuilders gathered around him.

"Yes, my lord......"

After leaving the shipyard, Lorist returned to Maple Grove and stayed with Irina for three days, teasing his silly stinky boy, and then returned to Rock Castle unhurriedly.

Before he could take a bath and wash away the dust of the journey, Schward came in to report that Princess Celivia had come to visit. Lorist had no choice but to wash his face and change his clothes and come out to meet the guests.

Princess Celivia brought a maid with her. looked angry, and as soon as he saw Lorist, he was busy complaining. Lorist listened for a long time, and quickly figured out the reason for the matter, mainly because the negotiation between Princess Celivia and Shi Fatzi was deadlocked, and Princess Celevia thought that the ransom offered by Shi Fatzi for a soldier of the Frontier Legion was three cows, which was simply a lion's mouth.

Lorist smiled gently: "No matter how you say that Her Royal Highness the princess is coming, as a lord, you have to give face to the beautiful princess." So let's do it, the ransom for one border soldier is one cow, and the squad leader is ten. The squadron leader is 100 heads, and the group leader is 1,000 heads. As for Viscount Christopher, you look at it. Is that okay?"

This face is really big enough, almost two-thirds less than the price. Princess Celivia looked at Lorist and suddenly blushed, lowered her head and said shyly, "Thank you, Brother Locke......"

Lorist didn't think there was anything polite about it, anyway, this was something he and Shi Fatzi had already discussed, one sang with a white face and the other with a red face. In the end, he gave Archduke Fisabrun a face, and made him owe the Norton family a favor. Now it would be better if Princess Celivia came in person. This favor is sold big enough. As for Princess Celivia calling him Big Brother Locke, it was not surprising that she had been called that when she was escorted back, she had been called that way.

This will make Lorist anxious to send Princess Celivia away, go back to take a bath, and go to Miss Theresti's to see her daughter, who has been gone for more than a month, and has some worries in her heart. Lorist didn't mean to delve into Princess Celevia's children's feelings. Although Princess Celivia was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, she was also the goddess of Count Kenmeth's mind. But Lorist is a human being, not to mention his mental age, his current identity alone is eight years older than Princess Celevia, and in his heart, he just regards Princess Celevia as a very cute and lively girl next door.

However, Princess Celivia negotiated the price of the ransom and did not leave, but talked about it for a long time. Lorist was a little impatient. He smiled and asked, "Your Royal Highness, do you have anything else to do?" ”

Princess Celivia breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Locke, in fact, I didn't come here this time just for ransom, I also want to ask if you can sell a batch of weapons and equipment to the border guards?"

"Hmm?" Lorist was stunned, Princess Celevia's request was something he hadn't expected beforehand. He pondered for a moment and looked up at Princess Celevia: "As a friend, I hope you can tell me why you came to our family to buy weapons and equipment......"

Princess Celivia's face looked very aggrieved: "Originally, all the weapons and equipment needed by the border army were provided free of charge by the Iberian Kingdom, and my grandfather signed an agreement with His Majesty the King that one-third of the output of the two iron mines owned by the Iberian Kingdom would be forged into iron-armored weapons by the ordnance factory controlled by His Majesty the King and then replenished to the border guards.

But what I didn't expect was that His Majesty returned to the royal capital after being defeated by your Norton family in the Northland last time, and actually leased these two iron mines related to the lifeblood of the country in the Iberian Kingdom to the Vicia Chamber of Commerce for thirty years......

And when I came to your family, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce had just sent us a notice saying that it would take two years to replace all the mining equipment, so they were willing to compensate us with Kingford. But what we need is not gold, but weapons.

The main enemy of the soldiers of the frontier regiment is the grass barbarian cavalry in the northeast steppe, although the weapons and equipment provided by the kingdom's ordnance manufacturing in the past are of poor quality and serious loss, but after all, the replenishment can still be connected. But now that there is no iron ore and no replenishment of these weapons and equipment, after a few skirmishes, the soldiers of the border guard regiment will face those fierce grass barbarians with broken blades in their hands.

So Big Brother Locke. Please see that the Border Guards, like your Norton family, are in the protection of the frontier for the former Empire, lend a helping hand and sell weapons and equipment produced by your family to the border guards, and the soldiers of the Fisabrun family and the border guards will remember this friendship of the Norton family......"

"The Vicia Chamber of Commerce?" Lorist did not answer the question of whether Princess Celivia sold weapons and equipment, but instead focused on what she said about the Vicia Chamber of Commerce: "Strange. How did the Vesia Chamber of Commerce extend its hand to the Iberian Kingdom?"

"Brother Locke, do you know the Vicia Chamber of Commerce? By the way, you said that you studied in Moldant City when you were young, so you should know this Vicia Chamber of Commerce very well?" Princess Celivia's ears were pointed, and she heard Lorlist's self-talk.

Loris nodded, "Yes, I've heard of the Vesia Chamber of Commerce, but I don't know much about it. Although I have been in Morente City for ten years, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce is one of the seven chambers of commerce of the Forde Business Alliance, ranking in the top three. Such a chamber of commerce giant stands tall. It didn't have much to do with the mercenaries we were eating in Moldant at the time. However, the Vicia Chamber of Commerce is the most famous producer of high-quality weapons and equipment.

Do you know the Michel steel chain mail, known as the world's first defense power, produced in the Temanda Kingdom, but the sale of more than 20 sets of Michel steel chain mail produced every year is in the hands of the Vicia Chamber of Commerce. It can be said that the Vician Chamber of Commerce is the largest manufacturer of weapons and equipment on the continent of Gelintia......"

"No wonder......" Princess Celivia suddenly realized: "After receiving the notice that the Vesia Chamber of Commerce was going to replace the mining equipment, our family knights were very angry, thinking that the Vesia Chamber of Commerce was deceiving us and asked to send troops to teach them a lesson. But my grandfather shook his head with a wry smile and refused their request, only saying that the Visia Chamber of Commerce was one of the seven giants of the Fort Business Alliance. It's not easy to mess with, once you turn around, I'm afraid that the trade between the two provinces of Donghuang Province and Makinohara Province will be cut off, which will have a great impact on people's livelihood......"

Lorist smiled silently, don't look at the Grand Duke of Fisabrun sitting in two provinces and a large army of more than 70,000 border guards under his command, but the real strength may not even be as good as the Kenmas family. The territory of the two provinces does not even have a single mineral except for grasslands and grasslands. Even if you want to grow food, you have to invest a lot of money in water conservancy construction, and even a clay pot needs to be brought in by outside traders, and its production is cattle and sheep, fur and dairy products.

Now, the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce, presided over by Count Kenmax, does not only sell snow salt. They also wholesaled large quantities of daily necessities from the Norton family, and dumped them in the provinces of Eastern Wilderness and Makinohara, which were controlled by the Grand Duke of Fisabrun. Don't look at these daily groceries are trivial and complicated, but they are more than enough, and even the Norton family's only ten percent profit share in the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce can earn an additional two or three thousand gold fords in a year.

If it weren't for the fact that Grand Duke Fisaburun was a third-level great sword master, his strength was strong, and he had an elite frontier army under his command that was obedient to his commands, it would have been impossible for the Iberian Kingdom to be established. In Lorist's opinion, dealing with the Grand Duke of Fisabrun was actually the simplest, as long as the borders of the two provinces within the territory of the Iberian Kingdom were blocked, and commercial activities were strictly prohibited, then within two or three years, the frontier legions would collapse without a fight.

"Brother Locke, you haven't said whether you can sell weapons and equipment to our family or not......" Princess Celivia urged.

"You can sell it, but I'm afraid your family can't afford it......," Lorist smiled bitterly.

"Our family has money, and hundreds of thousands of goldfords can still be scraped together. Princess Celivia was not convinced.

Lorist shook his head: "It's not that I look down on these hundreds of thousands of gold fords, the problem is that this little gold coin may not even be fully equipped with a corps......"

"Ah, is it so expensive?" Princess Celivia was in a daze.

"It's not a question of whether it's expensive or not, it's whether it's worth the price. Your Highness the Princess, you don't know much about weaponry. Well, tomorrow at noon I will hold a banquet to welcome Her Royal Highness to the Rock Castle. After the feast, I'll put out all the equipment for sale for your family to choose from. With Viscount Christopher present, you don't have to worry about us deliberately inflating the price, he's a connoisseur. Lorist said.

"I'm sorry, Big Brother Locke, I really don't have much research on weapons and equipment. I forgive me for being an unintentional offense just now. Then I'll take my leave, and I'll see you tomorrow. Princess Celivia bowed her head.

"It's okay, don't put this at ease, I'll see you tomorrow. Lorist waved his hand generously.

Princess Celivia took a few steps and turned around after saluting: "Thank you, Brother Locke, you are a good person......"

"Huh?" Lorist was inexplicable. Why did you suddenly give yourself a good person card?

The next day, after a grand welcome banquet, Lorist welcomed Princess Celivia and her party to the second-floor hall where the walls were lined with various armor and weapons.

"Princess Celevia, Cindy Archswordsman, Viscount Christopher, the styles of armor and weapons that our family can sell are listed here, you can choose. However, the prices listed below these weapons are all our internal prices, and they are sold to our allies. If you buy from our family, the price will go up by 20 percent. That's already a great deal. Lorist was blunt.

"Ahh At that time, she only thought it looked good, but she didn't expect a set of equipment to be so expensive.

Count Kenmeth nodded: "Yes, my Royal Highness Princess, this is indeed the standard equipment of our family's armament. I also bought it from Locke at this price. ”

"Uncle Kerry, you said that the iron armor provided to us by His Majesty was only worth about ten gold fords. Why are these weapons and equipment sold by the Norton family so expensive?" Princess Celivia was depressed, and it seemed that it was really like what Lorist said. The hundreds of thousands of Kingford in the family are not even equipped with a corps.

Viscount Christopher smiled bitterly, he was a clear-eyed person, and he could naturally distinguish the quality of these weapons and equipment: "Your Royal Highness, every set of armor here from Earl Norton is a fine product, with excellent quality and very strong defense. The iron armor that His Majesty provided to the border guards in the past is rubbish compared to these. Let's put it this way. The defensive power of that kind of iron armor is a little better than the leather armor made by our family, and a soldier is easy to wear out one piece a year. And the armor here is far superior to that kind of iron armor in every way. If you take good care of it, you can even pass it on to your children and grandchildren, and it is enough to be an heirloom. ”

The Elder Swordsman of Cindy also nodded, agreeing with Viscount Christopher's words.

"But our family doesn't have that much gold......" Princess Celivia hesitated.

"Please take a look at this set of equipment. Lorist lured everyone to a simple set of standard armor at the right time: "This armor was originally intended for scout hussars, and there are matching throwing weapons. Swords and spears are perfect for the Ranger equipment of your family's border legion. The price is only sixty-five goldfords, don't look at the lowest price of the armor here, in fact, its defense ability is also very good, compared with the standard armor of the famous White Lion Legion of the former empire next to it, it is only twenty percent less defense. I think this should be enough for the soldiers of the border regiment to deal with the grass barbarians. If you don't have enough gold, I have a suggestion that you can use cattle and sheep to compensate. What do you think, Your Highness the Princess?"

"Very good, let's use cattle and sheep to compensate, if the number is not enough, I can lead the troops to the Northeast Prairie to rob some and come back. Viscount Christopher was so excited that he agreed without waiting for Princess Celevia to speak.

Three days later, Princess Celivia, who had reached an agreement, set out on her return journey, escorted by the Archswordsman of Cindy and Viscount Christopher, as well as the three thousand Frontier Legionnaires who had been released first. The remaining 12,000 prisoners of war will be equipped with the standard equipment purchased from the Norton family when the cattle and sheep arrive, and then return in batches.

"My day, Locke, are you crazy?" Shi Fatzi said in a rare outburst: "The Fisabrun family is crazy, and you are also crazy, they even asked for 100,000 sets of standard equipment, and you agreed to it, and even the ransom of the captives added up to a total of nearly two million cattle and sheep, is this possible? There are not so many cattle and sheep in their two provinces combined......

"Viscount Christopher said to take the troops to the northeast steppes to find those barbarian tribes to grab cattle and sheep and come back. Lorist said lazily.

"Uh......" Shi Fatzi was stunned, he didn't expect that the Fisab family would have this trick: "Even if we snatch it back, how can we have so much manpower to graze so many cattle and sheep!"

"Well, it's okay, the agreement stipulates that it will be five years, and there will be more than 400,000 heads a year. Every year, tens of thousands of good heads are kept, and the rest is slaughtered half for jerky, and half is sold in the family territory, which should be consumed soon, after all, our family now has a population of nearly 800,000, and the demand for fresh beef and mutton is very large. As for the herding population, I have also discussed with them, and they will provide us with 1,000 herdsmen with nearly 5,000 people, and one household is worth 10 cows. At that time, a town in the western part of the Northland will be set up to arrange for these herdsmen to live, and it should be enough for them to graze four or five hundred thousand cattle and sheep. ”

What Lorist said made a lot of sense, and Shi Fatzi had nothing to say and turned around and left.

"Go out and close the door, I'll squint first, I'm exhausted. Lorist rested his feet on his desk, ready to lean back in his chair and take a nap.

"Bang !!" ......

...... (To be continued.) )