"And what do you have in return?" said the merchant as he sat on the ground and looked at the baron with interest. Lildra smiled bitterly, he didn't seem to have anything to impress the merchant now, those dozens of gold coins on his body, or was it far away in Baanholm's territory? As for the promise of the future, I don't think that this fat man in front of me would unreservedly believe in an illusory and beautiful promise.

"You don't seem to have anything of value, my lord. The merchant stood up in his chair, which made him sick a little, "At least not now." "I have a territory, and in the Pena Valley, I can give you a lot. But you're right, I don't have anything right now. "Lildella had to admit his defeat.

"Bednar Valley?" The merchant who was about to leave seemed to remember something, and he turned back to the other and asked, "Are you the baron who defeated the Earl of Annaba?"

"You know me?" said Lildra, a little surprised, he thought he was the kind of obscure nobleman. Mercury dismissed the idea of leaving, he returned to his room, and sat down in his chair: "Although the Pena Valley has been affected by the war, and the toll tax has been greatly reduced, I think that in time the Baron will be rich. The merchant paints a slightly exaggerated picture of the prospect of the ruined territory. "Forget it. The knight shook his head, "If the Holy Land falls, the next person to be attacked will be Baanholm, and you can't be with the Assuna who don't know this." ”

"The people of Assuna. The merchant's small eyes narrowed, "I have information about the people of Assuna. But I need to confirm your identity first. The baron took off his lord's ring and handed it to Mercury, who smiled and motioned for the baron to leave Fort Mongiza with him.

The fat man's carriage was very shabby, and it didn't look like what an envoy should be. "It's on guard against robbers, and our lovely Duke Clark. Mercury said.

The merchant lived in an annex near the castle. He waved away the servant who wanted to come forward to serve him, went into the room, and took out a document from his backpack, which was impressively stamped with the baron's seal.

"That's the tax cut I decreed. Lildra glanced at the merchant, "Have you been to the Pena Valley?" Mercury compared to the size of the seal, "No, I haven't, I asked my men to collect these and use them to consider my business plans." He put down the ring and paperwork in his hand, "I am impressed with you, Baron, you are the only lord in the vicinity who has reduced taxes. ”

The merchant poured himself a glass of wine and handed it to the baron, his little eyes glint with money: "It's unusual there in the Bena Valley. My men report that you have distributed large quantities of grain to the peasants, and as far as I know, the farmland in the valley has been badly damaged by the war in the last year. Also, many people saw the matter of half-elves, but they were frightened by the threat of the Asuna people and hid at home and slowly strengthened their country castle. ”

The baron did not answer, and the merchant did not need one: "The toll tax of the Pena Valley, which every lord dreams of. If it weren't for the war, it would have been rich a long time ago. One of the three fastest routes for goods from the west of the mainland to the east. It's a pity. Mercury poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all.

"What did the king say?" the baron skimmed over the nonsense about taxes. The merchant smiled: "The king said that the weather is good today. ”

The baron was scorched by this answer. The knight, who was going to pull the fat man by the collar and hit him again, forcibly controlled his fists, and Mercury didn't have to lie to him.

Unless he doesn't want to trade with himself.

"Your King is interesting, Your Excellency. I think the Duke of Luncion will not be able to sleep well tonight. With his character, he will definitely find our beautiful Princess Cecilia to find out the king's tone. The merchant said.

"Why did you lie to Lunicion?" asked the baron.

"Do you think I'll survive?" said the merchant, looking at the baron with an idiotic look.

"And what is the information about the Asuna people you are talking about?"

"Oh, that's a long story. The merchant rubbed his hands, "Let's negotiate an agreement first." ”

"No need to negotiate, if you can tell me the details of the enemy, I will grant you knighthood and fifty percent of the toll tax of the Bednar Valley. ”

The merchant froze, he stopped rubbing his hands, and asked tentatively, "Knighthood? are you sure?" you will be regarded as a disgrace to the nobility------ and you will be given the status of a merchant noble. And, I heard you right, right?

The meeting ended in a pleasant atmosphere, and the merchant with a satisfied smile did not write the knighthood in the contract, and he was already overjoyed by half of the toll tax revenue in the Pena Valley. This is a very decisive nobleman, there is no need to entangle some small details with him, but it is not suitable for negotiation, and there will be opportunities to pit him in the future.

The baron also grinned at the corners of his mouth and clenched tightly with the fat man's greasy hand. If the Assuna were to be defeated, what would the toll tax in the Bena Valley be. Merchants see money, but they see territory.

Mercury cautiously pulled out a pile of papers. He was fond of gathering all kinds of information, from the confidential documents of the noble royal family, to the small decrees of the local barons, to the expensive materials purchased with a lot of money, and the cheap waste paper, which was almost worthless.

He was a man who loved to read information.

The merchant's business grew bigger, selling grain and tea to the Assuna in Izrmi, supplying the wealthy families of Borencia with the wool of Dobes, discussing the greatness of Allah with the followers of Hasam, and transporting priceless silk on the rough seas. Such happy days lasted for a long time, until the man he trusted most betrayed him. Mercury's hand holding the papers clenched unconsciously, but quickly let go, and the baron had already taken the papers.

"It's something I've painstakingly collected. Mercury's voice was a little less oily, something he had collected at great risk. After all, he was a believer in God the Father, and he didn't have much affection for the people of Assuna.

It's just for business.

"What about the number of their troops? There is only the exact number of troops under some of the chiefs. ”

The merchant shook his head: "That's top secret. When I was drinking with one of the generals of Assuna, when I was half drunk and half awake, he told me that the Sultan had an army of 200,000. ”

The baron was stunned.

"Of course not. The merchant glanced at the young nobleman's face amusedly, "It's hard for me to deduce the strength of this holy war, because there are many tribes participating, not just the Asuna Empire. The only exact figure is that there were 50,000 troops on the border. ”

50,000 people, the baron meditated in his heart. And the entire kingdom, the total number of troops is less than 30,000!

"Isn't there a big disparity?" asked the merchant, and before the baron could reply, he shook his head again, "the infidels were more serious than we were. But now Ibrahim Sultan is actively integrating the tribes. Rothdorf is the one he forced the restless tribes to besiege, by the way, to see if you can let you break the peace first and provoke the tribal chiefs to fight. ”

"What shall we do?" asked Mercury earnestly. The latter pointed at himself in surprise: "You, a nobleman, are asking a merchant?"

The baron nodded, "At least you know more than I do, and you're not a mediocre person. The fat man laughed exaggeratedly, and he stood up: "Fighting is the business of your nobles. All I can say is that the disunity of the infidels is much worse than you think. There are various factions in the Hasam religion, and for some people, heretics are more damned than infidels. ”