(Plus, 5,500 words!4,000 words per day.) ）

Desmond arrives at the Magic Mountain Stone House in the Red Keep. The stone house tower leans against the eastern city wall and goes to the White Sword Tower, where the Imperial Forest Iron Guard lives. Diagonally in front is the throne hall.

Magic Mountain eats in the restaurant, in front of a giant bowl, hot bread, various dim sum, bacon soup, thinly sliced black bear meat.

The thinner the meat, the more flavorful it is, which is a civilized embodiment of refined diet. It's not the same as the food culture in this world where large pieces of boiled meat are then scooped up and gnawed.

The Magic Mountain tore the hot bread. Not far from the bread baker is a fat little man named Repai, who is a friend of Arya's.

Bread, meat, snacks, dishes, everything is fresh.

The private chef of Magic Mountain is a family of three who used to be the owners of the Cross Inn.

After the proprietress of the Cross Inn was hanged by Count Rocky, the father, son and daughter were rescued by Julie Cregan in a life-and-death situation, brought back and became the personal chef of the Magic Mountain.

Despite this, there is another woman by the side of the Magic Mountain, Anna, the wife of the dead Norris, who is a taster of the Magic Mountain.

The taster is no longer useful to the Magic Mountain, and after Janie gets the witch queen's witchcraft inheritance, the famous poisons such as the Strangler and Rees's Tears are useless to the Magic Mountain and Janie.

But as a duke, having a taster is a symbol of status and authority, and once an outsider comes here, the taster standing next to him is also for others to see, lowering their vigilance, showing that Magic Mountain and Janine are the same as ordinary people.

Blood Witch Jane, like the Red God Wizard Melisandre, drinking the invisible Tears of Reese has no effect on them.

Anna stood beside the Magic Mountain, and Desmond knew at a glance that she was the taster and maid.

Members of the royal family, dukes, and earls all have tasters. Once the situation is turbulent, the war is chaotic, and the kingdom loses peace, the members of the royal family and the personal attendants of the great nobles are also tasters.

Before Desmond arrived, the Magic Mountain knew that Desmond was coming, and knowing the contents of the letter in Desmond's hand, Anna was temporarily called up to add to the prestige of the Duke of the Magic Mountain.

The attendants, maids, tasters, cooks, sword wipers, armor repairers, horse workers, and ...... All of them are dead soldiers of the Magic Mountain, and they are loyal to the Magic Mountain. Most of them were saved by the Magic Mountain or the people of the Magic Mountain at the moment of life and death, and the Magic Mountain had regenerative kindness to them.

"Your Excellency. Desmond stepped forward, respectfully.

Moshan stared at him, didn't speak, and continued to eat. The food in front of him was enough for Desmond to eat for a day, and the Demon Mountain was concentrating on dealing with them.

The aroma of bread, vegetables, and meat wafts through the air. Whet your appetite.

"Earl Redwyn has written. Desmond had a smile on his face.

The Count agreed to cooperate. The mountain tore open a loaf of bread, and the heat wafted out along with the aroma. He took two bites of a loaf of bread and put it in his mouth.

Desmond smiled and said, "Lord Duke is like a god, Earl Redwin did agree to cooperate, and he ordered me to send all the wine in the future to your lordship's Dragonstone." ”

"All. Magic Mountain picked up the second loaf of bread, and Anna spread golden honey on his bread, and the sweet fragrance wafted out, "Sir Desmond, do you know what it all means?"

This is also Desmond's doubt!

All the wines?

That part of the sale to the nine free-trade city-states across the Narrow Sea?

"That's all...... All. ”

"Yes, all of them, including wines sold across the Narrow Sea. ”

The conditions given by the Magic Mountain are beneficial and harmless, and normal people will not refuse, and Count Redwin has one more powerful ally.

Desmond was taken aback, though he was prepared.

"Don't be surprised. Stuffing something in Moshan's mouth didn't affect his speech.

He ate while talking, which was very rude to the guests, but the Duke didn't care about being rude to an ordinary knight, and the Magic Mountain himself was known for his rudeness, this is the Magic Mountain: "Sir Desmond, I want you to write me all the information about the merchants I work with, and I will arrange someone to contact them and re-establish new rules of the game." “

"Yes, Lord Duke. "What else could Desmond say. Since he was sent by the Redwin family to escort merchant ships, his quick mind and opportunistic actions were his minimum qualities.

"Oh, you go to the next room, where there is pen and paper, write down the names and addresses of all the businesses you know, your personality and hobbies, your family, and write as much detail as you can. Captain Erin, take Sir Desmond with you. ”

Captain Erin was at the door, immediately in.

Desmond followed Erin out of the restaurant, and the Magic Mountain said: "Sir Desmond, don't leak the matter of the cooperation between the Redwin family and the Clegane family, don't let anyone know, and don't mention it when Duke Mestilir asks, business cooperation needs to be kept secret." “

Desmond stood still, his face embarrassed: "My lord, Lord Mace asked, if I don't say it, it will be a deception." The Redwyns are vassals of Lord Duke Metz. ”

"I know, I'll go explain it to Mistress Mace. If Lord Mace asks, you will say that you do not know the details of the cooperation, and you have not read the letter I wrote to Earl Redwin, and that Lord Mays can ask me if he wants to know the details. ”

"Yes, Lord Duke. “

In this world, people do not have a conservative contract spirit for trade secrets.

Pikestredwyne's wife was Mina Tyrell, the daughter of Lady Olenna, the Duke of Mestirrell's sister and Queen of Thorns.

Powerful nobles are more stable in their family's status and power through marriage. The Redwyn family's Qingting Island wine brought great wealth, the naval fleet brought great force, the lord Tyrell family married the Redwin family, and the Earl Redwin married the sister of the Duchess of Metz, both of which satisfied their political needs and increased the stability of the family's position and power. As for the relationship between husband and wife, the nobles first talk about the complementarity of interests, politics, status and power, and feelings are not worth mentioning in the face of power.

Magic Mountain should try not to let others know about the cooperation with the Redwin family, the great nobles in the north and the valley have the custom of drinking Qingting Island wine, the valley flows through the port of Seagull Town, and the north flows in through the White Port, and a mature sales channel and sales network have been formed.

The Magic Mountain hoped that when the people of the King's Territory, the Valley, the Riverland, the Western Realm, and the Northern Realm drank the wine of Qingting Island, they didn't know that the Demon Mountain was offering them wine.

Business, to protect secrets.

Ten days later, the Imperial Ministers meeting.

Prime Minister Kevon presided over the meeting, and the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gales Rosby, stood up to speak, first coughing and then spitting out a mouthful of thick phlegm, which made the royal ministers feel sick.

Gales is in his seventies, and in a world where there are centenarians at every turn, his seventies are not particularly old, but Gales looks very old, and his cough makes everyone worry that he will die at the meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Gales said, and then there was another cough, and the important ministers who agreed with the Prime Minister to ask Gales to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer all regretted it for a while, anyway, they were all puppets, who was not please, but everyone agreed with this sick old man.

Bad luck!

"There is no money in the treasury. Gales said, his face turning sickly red from coughing, "It's like there's no Qingting Island wine in King's Landing, and the situation is getting worse and worse." We need to find a way to make money, and now we collect taxes for one gold dragon, and the state has to spend three gold dragons. The taxes were long since the Treasury's expenses were gone, and if it weren't for Lord Tyrell of Riverlands bringing food to King's Lands, our royal family would be starved of food. “

There was silence among the imperial ministers.

Gales had another unpleasant cough, and everyone had to wait for him to finish coughing and get back to normal.

"The king's lands and the riverlands are still at war, taxes are getting less and less every month, and in many places the villages are empty, and the people are pouring into King's Landing as refugees, and they will not go back to farming to receive black bread relief in the shoemaker's square. As refugees in King's Landing, the people can still save their lives. When you return to the village, you will meet a group of soldiers and you may have been killed. The war was a serious drag on the kingdom's strength. We hoped that Lord Petyr would persuade the Vale to submit and that the rich Vale would bring some income to the royal family and ease it, but Lord Petyr's raven letter was cut off. "My lords, the emptiness of the treasury began when King Robert was in his time, and it was not caused by me Gales Rosby, and I need you to work together to find a way to help the Red Keep get out of trouble." “

"How long will the war be going on in the Riverlands?" asked Mestiril, "General Randolph should be informed to end the War in the Riverlands as soon as possible, and let the people of the Riverlands go back and resume production as soon as possible." Farmers farm, hunters hunt, fishermen fish. The pressure on King's Landing will also be reduced all at once. ”

Duke Metz said, "Randolph Tali has taken all the vassals' castles in the Riverlands, and at present, only Riverrun City cannot be captured. Riverrun was built on a delta, surrounded by water on three sides, and the walls were built in the river, and it was impossible to erect any siege equipment on either side, and Randolph Tali had not come up with a better way than to besiege the city. “

"Surrender and end the war as soon as possible. If you rely on the siege, you won't be able to take the city for a year or two. The riverbed was originally a granary, and the grain stored in the rushing city was enough to last for several years. We can't go down with the blackfish. Magic Mountain said.

Prime Minister Kaivon said: "Lord Gregor, you are the Minister of War, and the matter of Riverrun City's surrender will be handed over to you, I want you to persuade Riverrun to surrender within a month." ”

Everyone looked at the Magic Mountain.

Prime Minister Kai Feng, this is obviously difficult for the magic mountain!

"Prime Minister, a month is a little too short, from King's Landing to Riverrun, thousands of miles, and it takes twenty days to walk, a month, but just from King's Landing to Riverrun. If you give me a month, then I have to give General Randolph Thali fifteen days, and within fifteen days, if Randolph Tarly can't take Riverrun, military law will be engaged. If I appoint a new commander-in-chief and give him another ten days, I won't be able to take down Riverrun, and I will kill the new commander?

Kai Feng's face gradually turned cold: "Lord Gregor, your Red Smoke Beast and cavalry, in ten days, you can rush to Rushing City. If you march in a hurry, it will not take ten days. “

"Okay, I accept. Magic Mountain smiled.

His wine and bank were on his way, and he was about to leave King's Landing for the West.

Calculated from the time calculation, the time for Raven-Eye to attack Lannisport is coming, and he will start with the attack on the Haijiang City in the Riverlands, the coastal cities, up to the northern border of Eddard Stark, and down to the Qingting Island of the Redwin family, all of which will be the target of the attack of a thousand warships of the Raven-Eyed family.

Raveneye's strong naval strength will pose a great threat to maritime trade, and a new round of dynastic crises will erupt. In the heart of a dying kingdom, Croweye is ready to make the final stab. This is an opportunity for the kingdom to reshuffle its cards, and it is also an opportunity to bury the old nobility and rise to the new one. The mountain decides to help Croweye do more.

And whether it is the crow's eye, or the north, the valley, the royal domain, and the nobles, they still have to eat food, and they still have to drink wine. On the other side of the Narrow Sea, like King's Landing, there was no new inflow of Qingting Island wine.

The advantage of monopoly is that it can hoard goods, and then raise prices to redefine the rules of the game. Anyway, Qingting Island wine earns the money of the governor, the king of the island, the duke of the mainland, the earl, the rich merchant, the captain and other big nobles and rich people.

These people are at the top of the world and are the least bad for money!

Qingting Island wine used to be a famous wine, and Magic Mountain is ready to repackage it and create a new luxury.

An army supported by money is not afraid of war! War itself is also a kind of business to make a fortune, as long as you win!

Kaivon said, "The battle in Riverrun City is fought by Lord Gregor himself, and he will definitely take it. Let's talk about the next government affair. ”

"Prime Minister, in about ten days, the manager of the Iron Vault will come to King's Landing to collect debts, and if we don't repay the principal, we must prepare at least 600,000 gold coins for interest. "Earl Garsrosby said weakly," said Earl Grosby, "There are less than thirty thousand gold coins left in the treasury at present. King's Landing Garrison, Royal Navy Fleet. Hundreds of courtiers, military generals, royal courts, and refugees distributed food...... The daily expenses are enormous. Commander Wagner, the Minister of Maritime Affairs, is still desperately building warships, and recruiting naval soldiers across the country can be suspended. ”

After speaking, Count Rosby coughed and spit again.

The captain of the Imperial Guard, the Knight of the Hundred Flowers, has returned to his duties after being treated by the great master Koben, he is a man with a habit of cleanliness, the Earl of Gales is by his side, and the Knight of the Hundred Flowers frowns so deep that he can grow potatoes.

Prime Minister Kevon's gaze swept over everyone, and finally landed on the Demon Mountain.

"Lord Gregor, the Kingdom needs your personal help. ”

"Your Excellency, please speak. ”

"Can you lend 1 million gold dragons to the state, 600,000 gold dragons to repay the interest of the iron treasury, and 400,000 gold dragons to keep for the state treasury expenses. As long as Lord Petyr takes the Vale, and you take Riverrun, the kingdom will be settled and the refugees will return to their homeland, and everything will be relieved. When Lord Petyr returns to King's Landing to take charge of the finances, the port of King's Landing will be prosperous again, and the royal treasury will become rich. ”

"I don't have any money, Prime Minister, the money in the bank treasury belongs to the Baylor Sanctuary, and the Baylor Sanctuary only hired Cregan warriors to guard the bank vault. ”

"I know, but if you come forward, it is possible for the archbishop to borrow another million gold dragons from the royal family. ”

In the conference room, everyone's eyes were on the Magic Mountain.

The country, teetering on the brink of poverty.

Magic Mountain knew it was an opportunity.

Moshan said slowly: "Prime Minister, I can go and ask the archbishop for help, but one million gold dragons is not a small number, if you want me to lend this million gold dragons, you have to give me the right to collect taxes on behalf of the king in the kingdom and the port of the Heishui River to repay it." This is also my only personal guarantee that the archbishop's one million gold dragon will not be lost again. ”

"A million gold dragons, in exchange for the nation's tax power, until the tax is paid off?" asked Kai Feng.

"Yes!"

"But now the kingdom has no taxes to collect. ”

"I'll figure it out myself. ”

"You can't force your people to ruin. Can't break the law. ”

"I'm not going to persecute anyone, Prime Minister. If you force people to death, you can't collect the money, and I will never do this kind of loss-making thing. ”

"Lord Gregor, do you only have a sense of stability in your heart when you hold the national tax power? In this way, there will be no empty feeling of lending a million gold dragons without any collateral. "The great power teacher Koben always assists God at the most critical time. The tacit understanding between him and the Magic Mountain surpassed that of Little Finger.

"Then 3.6 million gold dragons will give you the tax power of the whole country. "You can work with the Archbishop to collect taxes in wealthy places according to the law, and I will send a professional bachelor to cooperate with your tax collection work." One-fifth of the tax revenue has to go into the treasury to ensure that the treasury has living money. ”

Professional bachelor, that is to monitor, you can't let Moshan collect taxes indiscriminately, and you can't let Moshan collect more taxes. The tax records clearly understand that every tax is the repayment of the borrowed money until the bank debt is paid off. Tax powers are automatically withdrawn.

"Three million and six thousand golden dragons?" Demon Mountain looked surprised and overjoyed. Prime Minister Kai Feng is betraying the country in disguise! Selling state power at 3.6 million gold dragons is not expensive.

The royal family's debt to the iron treasury is 3.6 million gold dragons, with interest.

The important ministers of the imperial front were all surprised, and they all thought that Prime Minister Kaifeng was crazy! 3.6 million gold dragons, think about it, but it is too difficult to repay it slowly without any collateral and relying on taxes that cannot be collected at all.

"The kingdom has been at war for many years, and collecting taxes is a chore, and everyone has no money, and it is too difficult and difficult to recover the tax of 3.6 million gold dragons. The great power teacher Koben sighed.

It is indeed too difficult to collect taxes, but the eyes of Magic Mountain are not focused on taxes, and through taxes, many things can be leveraged. The first thing that Magic Mountain took a fancy to was the Baivat family, who had iron ore in the king's territory.

In the Battle of Blackwater in King's Landing, the commander-in-chief of the garrison, Jacelyn Baiwatt, who died in battle, came from this family.

The Baivat family has mountains of iron ore. The Magic Mountain was thinking about how to get close to the Baivat family and pass the taxes, which would be easy.

The aristocracy also wanted to cut their taxes, not increase them. When it comes to taxes, there are no nobles and people who don't want to please the Magic Mountain.

Once the tax power is in hand, increase or decrease, Magic Mountain has the final say.

There are also iron ore mountains in the Crab Claw Peninsula, and the people of the peninsula are basically isolated and self-sufficient, but they are not skilled in smelting iron and crafting weapons.

When the time comes, they will be able to monopolize the iron ore in the king's territory and the iron ore in the Crab Claw Peninsula.

Taxation is very difficult now, everyone is running out of money, and if the tax revenue can be collected, the prime minister will not price 3.6 million gold dragons.

However, after monopolizing iron ore, you can make a lot of money selling iron ore and weapons and armor.

Iron ore resources are only one of many resources.

Once the Riverlands are subdued, there are even more resources at their disposal. The town of Yanchang, which produces sea salt, can even be bought directly for a small amount of money. The small nobles in the town either cooperated or migrated or drove away. Otherwise, he only needs to threaten to collect taxes and ruin his family, and he can only obediently comply.

If you do bad things, there is never a shortage of talents in the hands of Magic Mountain.

Power is a good thing. To change power to use, you need thick black wisdom.

Moshan was very embarrassed: "Prime Minister, I can't just promise you here, I can only promise to go to the archbishop to give it a try, the worst is not good, there is no problem in borrowing 600,000 gold dragons to repay the interest of the iron vault first." I'll do my best!"