“…… I get it. ”

Ivas took a deep breath and held the little crow in his arms with both hands.

He lowered his head and held out his index finger to tease the crow's head, while casually saying, "You gave the Star Antimony people a large number of orders. And the alchemists have never seen such a battle...... Thinking that big business was coming, they continued to increase the scale of apprenticeship and production.

"And the king of the Star Antimony generation, 'Valentine VII', was not aware of the problem at first. He blindly increased the state's patronage of alchemists, training a large number of transcendents to become alchemists.

"—Soon, the alchemist was overloaded. Because the market is quickly saturated...... Or rather, the orders you give them are saturated.

"There is also a steady stream of alchemists graduating from the academy, and the state will continue to send a large amount of sponsorship money to these young alchemists. An alchemist of the third level can get an allocation of two hundred gold coins a month. However, the market has become saturated, which has led to a surplus of alchemical products inside Star Antimony.

"The experimentation and development of alchemy products requires a lot of investment, but if there are enough peers with similar research progress, it is likely that the research will be completed halfway through. As a result, their research is either scrapped or forced to be pushed to the market if it is not perfect...... I guess right? ”

"—you are indeed, Minister."

Grandet gently admitted, and even took the initiative to add: "There are too many supplies and the quality is declining, and we must reduce the purchase price." You should also understand that it is not our fault. It was the fault of His Majesty the King who was too impatient, but it is not our turn to make amends. ”

"Yes, so you're scaling down your orders."

Ivus touched the crow and whispered, "And that's the fuse of everything."

"In the alchemist industry, as long as you can't be the head of the market, you will basically lose money. More and more young alchemists took a fancy to the profiteering of this industry, actively or passively investing in it, which soon put pressure on Star Antimony's finances.

And the Wang Li Alchemy Association has greatly enhanced its status and influence in the windfall profits of the previous decades. The Star Antimony King, on the other hand, does not have the power of an authoritarian path, so he cannot forcibly control the situation. This makes it difficult for Star Antimony to cancel the sponsorship system or reduce the allocation...... So they chose to increase the types of taxes, which directly led to an increase in taxes.

"But even so, too many alchemists keep the cost of materials up and running; A large number of low-level alchemists squeezed each other's market, causing everyone's income to decline. Closed alchemists, unemployed alchemists...... They gradually become irritable. And their way of trying to reduce the pressure within the industry is to rely on their power to pass the pressure on to the botanists who provide the materials. ”

Therefore, the "king" side will continue to be forcibly lowered by the Alchemy Association. It has even been pressed to the point that it can't make money at all, and even sells materials at a loss.

They can only sell to other than their designated suppliers...... The "king" who chose to bring goods from the promotion ceremony must not be alone, and he is not the only one who tries to smuggle them overseas. There will be many more like that. This will further increase the cost price of alchemy products.

It is precisely because of this that the Star Antimony side will continue to smuggle a large amount of alchemy products into Avalon through the relationship between Lloyd's and Minister Drost.

- because they've hoarded their goods to the point of going crazy.

The Goblin Chamber of Commerce basically monopolizes the trade ports, and even if it can seize the shipping routes, it will be difficult to reopen the market in other countries. And they basically don't know anything about those unfamiliar markets, and they are afraid that they will only lose money if they rush into the industry.

Even in this case, StarTy still decided to start from Avalon's side and open the western route.

This shows that they have been pushed to the limit.

Star Antimony may seem immensely powerful, but they are already on the verge of disintegration.

They could not afford even the slightest defeat, so they never dared to fight the Irises, but instead attacked and captured Avalon with all their might. After getting Avalon, they didn't care about the land at all......

One of the main reasons is to get the "claim" of the silver dragon's dependents.

With this name, and with the guarantee of the pillar gods, they were able to contact other countries and conduct trade.

After all, it is difficult to circulate the news of crossing the ocean in time, but the apostles can transmit it at will within the temple.

The apostles had to be protected and approved before the Star Antimony people could take the initiative to trade; And they chose to take the protection of the pillar god, probably in order not to be targeted and disturbed by the elves. In addition, it is probably because they are aware of the Crown's dissatisfaction with Avalon and realize that this is a good enough time for NTR.

Another reason is that all they want is the western port of Avalon.

It wasn't the Glass Island—the Glass Island was in the southeast corner of Avalon.

That's why the glass island was abandoned and became so desolate...... At first, Aihuas thought it was because of the influence of Shadow Tensi. But that doesn't seem to be the case today.

Because the eyes of the Star Antimony people are not glass islands at all!

Its fundamental purpose is to solve the pressure at home.

They can work with Avalon, just like Emma suggests.

In this world line, Avalon is now looming and thriving. Evas's influence is extremely strong, and the Grand Arbiter Meg was not killed by the Red Phase. The Star Antimony did not dare to wage war directly against Avalon, so they chose to cooperate.

And in the original world line, they could have been like this - Star Antimony provided the supply, and Avalon was responsible for digesting it; Relying on his good relationship with the elves, Avalon can also take the initiative to form a route to the west, and even open up a trade route with the Church for the Star Antimony.

- But in order not to be backstabbed by Avalon in the future, Star Antimony chose to bulldoze Avalon directly.

Of course, there is a direct reason why Avalon is weak enough to make the Star Antimony people feel confident in a quick victory, but the root cause is that the pressure inside Star Antimony is about to explode. That's why they had to take the risk of offending the Lord and choose this dangerous path.

Because if you don't do it, you will also die.

"The griffon countermeasures they've prepared," Ivus said suddenly, "it's the gargoyle army." ”

Hearing this, Grandet showed a surprised expression for the first time: "You are ...... Do you know all about this? ”

In his deep thoughts, it might have been a deliberate expression—after all, he could have kept his surprise hidden. And he chose to show it, which is also a form of flattery.

Flattery against arrogance.

Naturally, Eivas could see all of this. But he chose to follow Grandet, and showed an arrogant chuckle: "I know everything.

"For example, I know you're in trouble. Your three plantations in the southern continent have all encountered resistance from local armed groups, and you must have suffered a lot of losses recently. ”

Hearing Evas's words, Grandet was really shocked.

Because he hadn't told anyone about it, he even asked his employees to keep it a secret - that is, Ivus's eyeliner could even reach the southern continent.

Actually, this is the prestige opening mission of Grande.

A group of relatively intelligent trolls, supposedly "civilized by escaping from the lab", are trying to save their ignorant compatriots from the plantation. In fact, these trolls, who seem to be seeking freedom, are sponsored by the "good lords" of the ancient kingdom of rest.

However, Eivus would certainly not give this information to Grandet.

He just smiled slightly, and raised the crow in his hand slightly.

The crow's ruby pupils stared at Grandet, giving him a sudden creep.

Gray-Green was too weak to even be aware of the crow's anomaly.

But when the path of wisdom reached the fifth level, Grande could realize that the "crow" was as deep and dark as an abyss, like a whirlpool.

"—I've said it all, I know everything."

The corners of Ivus's mouth rose slightly, and he whispered Grande's real name: "Grandet, Dead Eyes...... Or rather, 'the one who hides in the belly of a horse'. ”

Hearing this, Grande's pupils shrank suddenly.

He looked up in amazement, looking at Ivus casting shadows, and the faint reddish purple glimmer that flowed in Ivus's pupils. He looked at the "crow" that he couldn't see through at all, and only felt fear.

- Grandet felt fear for the first time in a long time. A fine cold sweat broke down his spine.

Did the "crow" tell him?

…… But to be honest, Ivas pretty much knows that.

Although I have vaguely heard some background stories from the forum, such as the fragment of what he hid in the belly of a horse when he was a child, and cured the plague by the way, but made him extremely ugly. But Iwass wasn't sure the details were correct, and he didn't know what was going on. In order not to be debunked, he chose not to say it at all, and only said those fragments that he knew and were absolutely accurate.

Needless to say. Too much to say and more to be wrong.

The rest of the part, smart people will make up for it by themselves.

"Now, let's get back to the conversation."

Ivus leaned back, smiled as if he didn't exist, and said calmly, "Straight to the point...... What are your appeals? ”

Exactly the same issue as before.

But this time, Grandet gave an honest answer.

“…… I was originally going to convince you to establish a Goblin Chamber of Commerce in Avalon. ”

Grandet let out a low voice, and took out a handkerchief that he knew was inexpensive, and wiped his sweat: "But now it seems that you must have an idea of your own.

"I still hope that Avalon will be able to open a treaty port. The 'Midsummer County' on the west side of Avalon has a good harbor and is suitable for conversion into a commercial city.

"As long as you want, as long as the port of Midsummer is expanded...... I can bring in three merchant groups to provide at least 8 million tonnes of goods import and export per year. Of course, if it is not convenient for you, I can also send someone to repair this port. ”

"What about the cost?"

Ivas asked with a smile, looking worried, "Avalon's finances haven't been very good lately. The Star Antimony has promised to help us build a port and a railroad. ”

"What you said - since we use it, then naturally we are out."

Grandet wiped his sweat again, and said with a polite and elegant smile: "As long as the project documents on your side are signed, I can send someone to start the construction." In addition to the ports in Midsummer, we can also help expand Lloyd's Port and Queen's Port. I'll send my engineering team, half of them will be extraordinary, and they will be completed in two months at most. ”

"But it's still quite long for us to get from east to west in Avalon...... Is the cargo in the middle going to occupy the old railway? ”

Ivus asked casually.

Hearing Ivas ask this, Grandet was finally able to determine that Ivas also wanted to open the country.

- As long as you want!

Lose some money or something...... That's not a problem. As long as Avalon's side can negotiate it, the lost money will have to be spit back.

"Three new railways," Grandet held out three fingers, "from west to east, through all the major cities." As long as there are more than three bishops, all the cities are connected. I'll fund it, I'll find someone to fix it. It will be completed next summer – we can also supply StarTek's state-of-the-art locomotives and sell them to Avalon for ten locomotives at cost price. ”

"Twenty," Ivas persuaded, "or twenty-five—our steam locomotives are too slow to carry goods." ”

"There can only be ten, and there are only ten."

Grandet shook his head, his attitude was very firm: "Minister, you can also find an alchemist to analyze the technique." ”

"Is it okay to pay in installments?"

Ivus said with a smile, "As you know, Avalon's finances are not very good...... If I allocate too much money in one go, I may not be able to talk about it. Our resolutions in Avalon are all to be made through the Round Table Room, and they are not the same words I have with Your Majesty. ”

"That's a good idea, you can find someone to talk to me later. Just come to the Grey-Green Lady. ”

Grandet smiled and put the topic aside, "After all, I don't dare to get too close to Countess Emma. Maybe when you close your eyes and open them, those cute little gold coins will be gone.

"But to let our construction team in...... You'll also have to pass a law that allows foreigners to enter Avalon. There are still a lot of trolls in my construction team. ”

"Ah, of course."

Ivas nodded, knowing that this would happen sooner or later.

But he still said reservedly: "But I have to talk to Your Majesty about this in person...... This is against the tradition of Avalon, after all. ”

"Oh, by the way, Chancellor - I've heard that the Moriarty family has been in business for generations," Grandet smiled respectfully and politely, "and the economy of Avalon is not very good these days...... Presumably the economy will be tight, right? ”

"Hmm...... I don't know. After all, I don't really care about the family business. ”

Ivus smiled.

This is a rare truth.

But Grandet is hard to believe.

He lowered his voice and made a gesture of "six": "I can personally provide an interest-free loan of six million antimony gold coins for twenty years to the Moriarty Consortium in my own name......"

- How much?

Ivus was startled.

That's almost half of Avalon's annual military spending!

And looking at Grande's meaning, it seems to be a personal kickback for Eivers.

It was only then that Ivas finally realized what his status meant.

He really wasn't very interested in money...... However, this money will not be collected in vain, but it can also help Isabel replenish the treasury.

So Ivas nodded and promised, "Before Queen Sophia's funeral is over, I will give you an answer." ”

Hearing this, Grandet got up from his seat.

This fifth-level powerhouse, who is very well-known in the world, is extremely polite and respectful to Aihuas, who is only the third-level of energy, and makes an extremely standard knightly salute, which is why it is extremely funny:

"—Yes, Chancellor."

It's not a salute to strength.

It's a salute to power.

More than 7,000 words of update, update complete!

(End of chapter)