"Help me? Thank you so much for your kindness. Hearing Ronan's words, Viscount Jonson laughed helplessly twice.

Obviously, he just regarded this sentence as an angry word under the other party's emotion, and it was not worth caring.

"Now that the independence of the Dantuma Alliance is a foregone conclusion, the situation in the Empire is getting worse and worse, and Count Draco, who is held back by the war, has no time to take care of these commercial cities."

Worried that the royal earl in front of him did not understand the situation, Viscount Johnson explained.

"As far as I know, for the needs of the war, Count Draco not only does not intend to deal with independent cities such as the Emerald City, but has even signed a charter to give the city the right to self-government, allowing it to be governed by the local council itself."

He couldn't help but pour wine into his mouth again, sighing.

Ronan wasn't surprised.

The autonomy of the cities did not mean that they did not have to pay taxes, on the contrary, these cities still paid a large tax to the local lords every year.

In addition, the city's trade operations would also provide the nobles with all kinds of necessary materials.

The only difference was that the merchant aristocracy within these cities was no longer under the control of the big nobles, and had the right to freedom of commerce, land, and property.

This will further promote the prosperity of the city's commerce.

With the current situation, it is almost impossible to change the autonomy of the Emerald City and turn it back into the rule of the lord.

It's not a question of whether you have that strength or not, but it will offend a large group of people.

That is tantamount to a direct provocation of the Dantuma Alliance behind it, and even Count Draco will come forward to stop it.

Earl Drake is now at war, and it is all up to these commercial cities to provide funds and material transportation behind the scenes.

Compared with the nobility of the Great Plains, the freedom rights of the merchant aristocracy fought for were insignificant, and they were to give them that.

"Can you tell me about the council that now runs the Emerald City?"

Faced with Viscount Johnson's dissuasion, Ronan asked unconcernedly.

"The Lodge family of Finlay now runs the council, and the Finley family, who are mainly involved in the mineral industry, now sell muskets and gunpowder with their knowledge of gunpowder by blacksmiths and miners."

"This is why he stands out from the council and has the support of the other merchant nobles." ”

The Finley family, Ronan remembered that the notice from the Emerald City side to detain his goods was sent by the other party.

"As for the Valen family, who was originally in charge of running the jade jewelry business, their influence in the Emerald City has been squeezed less and less." Viscount Johnson sighed.

At the beginning, the Valen family was the most powerful council member in the Emerald City, and for this reason, he also married his daughter to the son of the other patriarch.

Unfortunately, under the blow of the Black Death and the war, the business of the Valen family was frustrated and its power continued to shrink.

He couldn't compete with the Finley family, who were running a musket business, or he wouldn't have been kicked out.

If the Valen family were to dominate the council, Viscount Jonson would lose control of the city, but at least retain the title of lord in name.

"If the Valen family also has access to muskets and gunpowder, will they be able to regain the dominance of the Emerald City Council?" Ronan spoke.

"Of course!" Viscount Jonsson's emotions instantly stirred.

"The Finley family is just a merchant family that has risen by virtue of good fortune, and more than twenty years ago it was just a gangster bastard, and if it hadn't happened to collide with the Empire's current demand for muskets, they wouldn't have deserved to enter the council!"

"On the contrary, the Valen family has been operating in the Emerald City for more than fifty years, and as long as they find an opportunity, they can regain the dominance at any time!"

Ronan nodded at his sworn words, got up and walked out of the tavern, motioning for him to follow.

Outside the town of Baiguoling, next to a team of carriages, Ronan asked his knights to bring four wooden boxes.

"There were two hundred muskets and two hundred pounds of gunpowder in there."

Hearing his words, Viscount Jonsson's originally puzzled eyes instantly lit up, and he excitedly leaned up to open one of the wooden boxes.

Inside was a neatly arranged brand new flintlock pistol, the wooden body still exuding a shiny sheen.

"Can I give it a try?" Viscount Jonson caressed the musket as if he were his wife.

With Ronan's permission, he removed the gunpowder from another wooden box and began to prepare for the reloading.

It seemed that the musket business was even more popular than he had imagined, and Ronan watched him in action.

The production of muskets is not difficult for the craftsmen of the Coldwind Collar today, and the manufacture of muskets and gunpowder is now a lucrative business.

Driven by muskets, a pound of gunpowder could be sold for 40 silver coins, mainly in the material value of saltpeter and sulfur.

One pound of gunpowder could support a total of ninety muskets to fire a single shot.

In addition to the consumption of muskets, don't forget about artillery.

Small guns start with at least 20 pounds of gunpowder per shot, and heavy guns require 80 pounds of gunpowder.

Money is secondary, and the point is that muskets and gunpowder are consumables and are in demand for all powers in the empire.

This allowed Ronan to harvest a lot of gold, which would not allow merchants to settle their accounts with gold.

Bang!

With a screech, Viscount Jonson looked at the trunk of the tree that had been hit, confirming that there was nothing wrong with the musket.

"How much can you offer?" He couldn't hold back his excitement and asked in a hoarse voice.

"It depends on how much gold you can get your hands on." Ronan motioned for him to relax, "These are just a greeting gifts, I think we'll have to talk to the Valen family." ”

"You're right, I'll inform them!"

Viscount Jonson hurriedly ran back to the village and sent his men to the Emerald City to contact the Valen family.

At noon the next day, a team of people rushed to Baiguoling.

Viscount Jonsson, who had been waiting at the intersection of the Baiguo Territory, saw him and waved his hand to welcome them.

The man who led the way talked to Viscount Johnson for a while, and then he eagerly entered the town and came to Ronan.

"Lord Earl, on behalf of the Valen family, I am extremely honored to have you here." The other party was a man wearing aristocratic tights and a bulging round belly.

He stopped running, panting and bowing to Ronan.

He is the younger brother of the patriarch of the Valen family, Kino Valen, and is also an important figure in charge of the family's foreign trade.

"My brother, Councilor Danya, has prepared a great feast in the city and is waiting for you."

After exchanging pleasantries, he led the way ahead and returned to the Emerald City with Ronan and Viscount Jonsson.

Despite its shrinking power, the Valen family is still the big family that has the right to speak in the Emerald City.

This allowed Ronan to avoid the inspection of the soldiers at the city gate under the relationship of Kino, and the convoy under his command was able to pass smoothly.

(End of chapter)