At Hereford Integrated, the top floor of a temporary office building. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 While impatiently fiddling with the pencil in his hand, William looked at the sweaty clerk in front of him and asked, "In other words, failed?"

"Yes, Count—"

"—Here, call me President. William corrected the clerk's words.

"Yes, yes, President. The clerk immediately changed his words and said, "President, today I am negotiating with the owners of the ship that I have agreed on. I didn't expect them all to change their tunes. No one answered the question as to what the exact reason was. I threatened them with a default fee, and they didn't hesitate to pay. They are not afraid of us at all. ”

Hearing the clerk say this, William looked pensive—what the clerk didn't know was that several other clerks with the same task as him had brought back the same news.

They either go to the shipowner, or go to the dock to recruit boatmen, sailors, shipbuilders, or go to the dock, the port, and contact the seller. The sellers who originally talked about it were all changed, even if they paid a huge amount of default fees, they didn't think so.

“...... There is the power to step in. But who is it, who is it? Who is stopping me, and what is his purpose?" As soon as he got the news, he sent out the Cheka members to gather information. But no news has come back at this moment. This made William feel very uncomfortable - this kind of being secretly put on the table, but he didn't even know who the other party was, what the reason was, and what the purpose was. It felt like a loss.

“...... No way!"

Thinking about it, William felt that it was not okay to just sit here and wait for the news to come to the door. He needs to do it himself-

"Forget about the rest, but the Riga Steam Shipyard is a complete set of 5,000-ton steam dry docks, as well as a large shipyard that can make wooden-hulled steamships. Both the technology and the scientific and technological strength are first-class. I'm bound to get this shipyard! There must be no mistakes!"

Thinking of this, William made up his mind: "Prepare the carriage and go to the Riga shipyard!"

At this time, the number of people brought from Mystia and those recruited from Polotsk itself combined exceeded hundreds. They are all elites with excellent work ability. William gave the order, and soon the carriage was ready, and after that, William led a group of clerks under his command to rush towards the Riga shipyard as fast as possible.

"Don't be fine. William thought to himself, urging the driver to speed up.

However, "that's already the fastest speed, President." It couldn't be faster. The coachman replied helplessly.

"Yes...... Since it was useless to be anxious, William quieted down. Close your eyes and refresh yourself. It's just that no matter how much he relaxes, his mood can't be calmed down. A very bad feeling always lingered in his heart, lingering.

And then, that feeling became a reality.

After coming to the Riga shipyard and getting out of the carriage, William had just taken a few steps in the direction of the shipyard when he saw someone coming out of it.

It was a young woman with long bright blonde hair, creamy white skin, and blue eyes...... No, it should be said, it's girls. She wore a pleated silk skirt with gold thread, beautiful pink high heels, and a gold crown inlaid with various gemstones. Each piece is priceless. Complements her physiognomy and posture. Beside her, the rich and successful owner of the Riga shipyard followed her like the humblest of slaves, nodding and bowing his head to her side. And so she was put into her carriage.

William noticed that her carriage had a three-lion coat of arms on a red background and a yellow face. It was the family crest of the royal family of Britton.

“...... Damn it. Although no one told him, it was clear that William was likely to say goodbye to the leading modern shipyard in the Polotsk region.

"Britonians...... Have their tentacles reached out to the border?and, who is that girl?" William stopped, forced himself back, and tried his best to keep his face calm. In any case, he didn't want anyone to see his jokes.

And after this, the girl seemed to feel William's reluctant gaze. Then he turned around and looked at William face to face.

The girl frowned a little confusedly, but soon her brow widened and she smiled calmly, as if she already knew William's identity. Then she walked over to William.

Unconsciously, William took a half-step back. At the same time, he subconsciously reached out and held his saber.

The pressure this girl brought to him was very high.

"I didn't expect to be able to meet you here. ”

The girl stopped in front of William, then lifted her skirt and saluted William.

After this, she began to scrutinize William. His eyes burned and William felt very uncomfortable.

Generally speaking, it is very rude to stare at a person all the time like this. And looking at this girl's appearance, she is by no means a wild girl without a tutor. This made William feel a little strange.

She was supposed to be meeting herself for the first time, but it seemed as if she was familiar with her. And I somehow felt a little bit in her...... Well...... Cordial?

It's not a lot, but, indeed, yes, kind. The girl's temperament makes people feel like a spring breeze, and the girl's appearance makes people can't take their eyes off, but William feels that this intimacy does not come from her appearance and temperament, but has a deeper and deeper reason.

However, this intimacy was fleeting. It was soon replaced by intense jealousy and anger.

"Pathetic, really pitiful. After the initial excitement, the girl looked into William's gaze full of pity: "Although you have enough talents, there is no stage where you can display your talents. In that kind of rural place, no matter how good the qualifications are, they can't raise first-class talents. It's a shame. ”

"Are you provocative, girl?" asked William, frowning.

"It's not, it's just stating the facts. The girl smiled as she said this: "So be it." Goodbye, Earl William. ”

After saying these words without a clue, she turned and walked in the direction of her carriage. I left without looking back.

"Arrogant bastards. William put that label on the girl's body. Then he looked at the shipyard owner who stayed where he was, extremely embarrassed. Under William's pressure, the shipyard owner, or the former shipyard owner, immediately told him everything he knew, like a bamboo tube pouring beans.

Victoria de la Normandy...... Executive Director of a large Briton company...... Member of the Normandy family. Transnational aristocracy spanning the kingdoms of Briton and Visigothic...... "William muttered:

The Bretons also saw an opportunity in Polotsk and wanted to get a piece of the pie, or worse, they wanted to meddle in Polotsk and use it as a base to spread their influence throughout the Great Border Region?

No, no, no, they can't do it, and the kingdom of Rytjod will never allow them to cross the North Sea and come to the Polotsk Sea. But......

William thought about it for a moment, but couldn't think of a reason. And he stopped thinking about it—there was more important things to do than this one at the moment.

"You sold your shipyard?" asked William, looking at the shipyard owner, or rather the "former" shipyard owner.

"Yes, yes. ”

"It's terrible. William sighed, "Perhaps." Maybe my knowledge, financial resources, and comprehensive strength are not as high as those of the other party. But that doesn't mean I can insult casually. You know what?"

"Me. The former shipyard owner was about to say something soft and begging for mercy, but before he could say it, he was thrown in the face by William's white gloves.

"Insulting a nobleman, I could have killed you at will. But, as if it were my magnanimity, I would give you a chance to duel me, defeat me, and you will survive, or you will die. ”

At William's signal, the guards beside him unsheathed their swords and threw them in front of the shipyard owner.

“...... You, you can't do this—" the shipyard owner was sweating profusely - he was almost fifty years old, and he was usually pampered, how could he be a match for a young knight like William?

But William didn't give him a chance: "If you give up, it's considered an automatic abstention." As he said this, he slowly drew his sword: "Then ......"

"No—wait a minute. "The shipyard owner decided to give up after struggling for a while. Then he said to William as fast as he could: "Don't you want to buy shipyard equipment? I can promise you!"

"Didn't you sell your shipyard?" asked William, "Or do you want to trick me again?"

"No—not at all. "In addition to the machinery and equipment of the Riga shipyard," said the shipyard owner, "I have a batch of equipment in other warehouses -- which was ordered from Britton before the economic crisis, and has the best steam engines, the best lathes and forging press......es of our time!"

In the end, the shipyard owner's voice turned to pleading, and he looked at William with a blank eye. However, William did not disappoint him:

"Smart people. He withdrew his sword. Then he turned and walked in the direction of his carriage. As he walked, he commanded, "Take him with you." Then he ...... "He had wanted to tell the Cheka to interrogate him." But I immediately thought that it was still on the street, so I immediately shut my mouth. Instead, the rhetoric is as follows:

"Go check on the woman. I want all the information about her. After saying this, William got into the carriage, and immediately a retinue took care of the door for him. After making sure that William was seated, the coachman raised his whip and urged the horse forward quickly and steadily.