It was only after ten o'clock the next morning that Lawrence summoned the southern merchant Dulu.

I talked to Heidi's team last night, plus there was Sophia's matter, so I subconsciously didn't care about Dulu's affairs when I was busy.

Fortunately, this is not the case, and merchants do not leave in anger because of a day of waiting.

Sincerity and enthusiasm are often not as reliable as strength.

Lawrence sat in his office and looked at Heidi's design report, the materials and time used to build the steam boiler.

After a while, Dulu and his entourage came to the door.

"Sincere greetings to you, Great Prophet!"

Du Lu bowed and saluted, because it was to meet the big people, and when they first met, they always had to say something, and they couldn't always be perfunctory.

Most people don't know how to start talking, so they gradually converge and imitate the manners of the local people or those who think they are powerful.

Lawrence sat behind his desk, paper reports in one hand and quill in the other, calculating something.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Dulu." Lawrence raised his head, as if he had only met yesterday, and said naturally: "There is a chair over there, sit down and say, what goods did you bring this time?" ”

Dulu was pointed by the office guards to the row of chairs against the wall.

This time Dulu understood what he meant, and quickly thanked: "Yes, thank you, merciful prophet. ”

Compared with the attitude he had when he arrived a few years ago, Dulu, who is now much more developed than before, has become more polite and has not become arrogant and arrogant because of a little money and thugs.

Lawrence casually asked, "Is this going well?" ”

Hearing this question, Du Lu's heart tightened, and he blurted out directly without thinking: "When we arrived in Pig's Trotter City, our goods were inspected for several days, no matter what I said, those people just refused to let us go, and they had to seize our goods, and finally I had to pay a bribe to the local nobles, so that the goods were successfully protected through Pig's Trotter City." ”

"If I had known that Pig's Trotter City was so difficult to walk in the first place, I wouldn't have taken that road."

Du Lu talked about regretting it, because he felt that the Pig's Trotter City and Lawrence were the same barbarian kingdoms, so he subconsciously used the opinion of a few years ago.

In fact, Dulu himself is a merchant in the Kingdom of Loven, and like Lawrence, he is from Pig's Trotter City, but after leaving his hometown to seek a living in the south, he somehow thinks that his hometown will be better.

Except for the change of ruler, Pig's Trotter City has not changed much in other aspects, especially at the bottom.

After saying that, Du Lu obviously felt a little quiet, and immediately regretted it even more, he might have said the wrong thing.

While Dulu was nervous, Lawrence, who was sitting there, was surprisingly calm.

Lawrence put down the paper in his hand, still holding the useless quill in one hand, frowning and thinking about something.

His gaze didn't look at Dulu, he frowned, just squinted, not wanting to be disturbed by what he saw.

When people think, their ability to grasp will be significantly weakened, and they will also get out of the blindness of some things.

"That's my problem." Lawrence raised his head to look at Dulu, and said to Dulu with a calm face: "Pig's Trotter City is not under my jurisdiction, and I and Pig's Trotter City are non-interference allies. ”

Lawrence noted: "I will discuss the matter of merchants with the Duke and come up with a law that will bind him." ”

Lawrence said: "It is impossible for a merchant to pass by in the territory to do business without paying taxes, but I will work out the accurate standard, as long as you pay this fee, there will be no messy fees, and I don't want you to bribe anyone, I will let you pay this money to solve all problems." ”

Dulu breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Lawrence gratefully, "Yes, Your Majesty the Merciful Prophet, I hope that day will come soon. ”

Lawrence jotted down the issue of commercial taxes, and soon talked about the changes in the other countries, as well as the changes in Pigtrot City.

Dulu lowered his guard and said lightly: "Pig's Trotter City doesn't like us at all, the slaves there are very cheap and can't be sold for a good price, but they don't want to sell them to us. ”

Lawrence felt that it was normal that not everyone was qualified to buy slaves, and that some aristocratic merchants would rather starve lowly slaves to death than sell them to foreigners.

The aristocracy of this era actually did not like merchants, and even less did they like the peasants in their own domains to become merchants.

In addition to businessmen, there is also the issue of demographics, which is gradually becoming a problem.

A large number of people from the outside frantically poured into the frozen lands as if they were fleeing, and Lawrence now had to prevent outsiders from entering, rather than continuing to pull people in from the outside.

This kind of thing was foreshadowed, Lawrence had been depopulating the town of Pomesius and Oak City since a few years ago, and the early manor camp had been optimized to be a place to work in the past.

Even if a few people stop at the manor, they will quickly be divided into various places so that the overpopulation does not cause problems.

Before, it was because of the war that a lot of captive slaves were taken in, but later this part of the people was also divided into a part of Vakiri and Nanzhen, because most of them were in the army and land ranks, so the digestion went smoothly.

Now it is relatively peaceful, and because of the rich land and the legends of the merchants and soldiers who have passed over the years, more and more people have a place of hope in their hearts.

The serfs who had escaped from the various aristocratic territories dragged their families and swarmed towards this place like locusts, destroying crops and land along the way, and often doing some stealing and touching dogs when they met people, believing that no matter what they had committed before, as long as they reached the land of ice, they would be able to wash away all their sins.

The devastation caused by these low-level refugees is extremely destructive and uncontrollable.

With the slightest slogan to take them to God-given land, it is easy to gather hundreds or thousands of people, and those who stand in the way will be killed by this group of people as enemies.

In a way, refugees in the West are more terrifying than the barbarian pirates of a decade ago.

The pirates are aiming for robbery, and these refugees already have a goal!

The countries were also very ruthless in dealing with these defecting serfs, and some of them were killed directly.

However, killing cannot stop some people's yearning for a better life, and in various rumors, whether it is a slave or a robber or pirate, as long as they reach the land of God, they can be redeemed and live a good life of honey and milk.

The rapid increase in population in recent years, the collapse of several military powers, and the siege of wizards by the people have led to a decline in the binding power of the aristocracy, while the itinerant peasants who have no money have quickly turned into bandits, causing serious security problems.

After learning about some real-life problems from his businessman friend in Dulu, Lawrence pondered the problems of trade routes and law and order.

The surest way to solve the migration problem is to let countries tighten their constraints, and at the same time raise the threshold for admission on their own side.

It is impossible to accept it without limits, the population is indeed wealth, but too much population can cause a series of problems.

It used to be acceptable, it was before, everyone used to be poor, and they were worried about the invasion from outside all day long, of course, more people were welcome to come and fight together.

Now that the city and the country are gradually estranged, welcoming people from all over the world to come over at this time will only lead to brutal large-scale bloody incidents.

Over the years, the country of stars has also received nobles, craftsmen and scholars from all over the world, except for prisoners and warriors who are disabled in battle, and the rest are not sick or congenitally disabled.

Lawrence soon decided to discuss with the nobles of various countries to build churches of the Church of the Stars in various countries, and use the churches to relieve those who gathered and planned to escape.

With the churches of the Star Church in major cities in various countries, and regular trips to the countryside, then those who are able will have a channel to rise, and will not be coerced by people who have ideas but are not capable of doing things together.

At the same time, it can also solve the problem of deception and maintain the unity problem within the Star Alliance.

After the surrounding kingdoms were stabilized, both the war on the front line and the internal production problems were resolved.

The Frozen Lands produce very little food, and most of it depends on a few outside countries for supplementation.

Rather than accepting the hundreds of thousands of poor refugees outside, Lawrence is more willing to wait for his group of children who have been waiting for ten years to grow up and develop step by step.

Lawrence is not short of people now, and those people outside are not here to suffer, the devil knows what those people want in their heads, and whether they will come to be like Heidi, who regards this place as their home, and doesn't think about returning to the country all day long, just thinking about being in the position in themselves.

Because of the difference in thinking, Lawrence always thought that Heidi's target was Sariel's position, and he didn't realize that Heidi's target was Sophia.

Dulu and Lawrence talked for an hour or two, and quickly realized their problem.

The merchant said happily: "I have patronized and told you about my difficulties, in fact, I have also made my business a lot bigger over the years, and this time our southern chamber of commerce is willing to provide you with a donation, hoping to get your protection in the future." ”

Lawrence was curious: "Chamber of Commerce, is it your Chamber of Commerce?" ”

"I can't afford it, but I don't have that ability." Dulu only made a fortune and became a merchant, but did not have the ability to gain the approval of the rest of the local merchants and nobles.

Du Lu replied: "Our current chamber of commerce is called the White Yang Chamber of Commerce, which means the sun during the day, and our chamber of commerce will only do business during the day. ”

"There are a lot of big merchants from the Southern Kingdom in this chamber of commerce, as well as a few merchants who have done business with the Gurushi family before, and there are also merchants who know Lord Jade."

Lawrence nodded, his gaze becoming dangerous, "So, that means that the nobles and merchants of the south want to negotiate with me through you and me?" ”

"No," said Dulu, "we want your blessing to be a business partner with you, or we will pay you in exchange for your protection and acquiescence to several trade routes." ”

"Sounds like it's going to be a nuisance." Lawrence looked down at the things on the table, uninterested in working with Southern merchants.

Even though those people gave money to cooperate, it was still a problem for Lawrence.

The main problem with the trouble is not profit, it is that Lawrence simply does not want to mind things.

The occupation of the southern lands was not a matter of urgency, Lawrence had not planned it at all, and the country of stars did not have the extra power to control more land.

Lawrence didn't think he had figured out where his backyard was, and there was no need to go outside and eat more land.

Seeing that Lawrence's attitude was not good, Du Lu stood up cautiously and said, "We all think that the Star Church is more merciful than the Holy Light Church. ”

"That's right." Lawrence smiled, "The premise is that you obey the law and don't do anything that provokes me." ”

"Of course not, we certainly won't do that. ”

Lawrence did not believe in the words of the merchants, and this behavior had nothing to do with a certain businessman, but was inevitable for the group of merchants.

The merchants outside are not the merchants of later generations, nor are they the merchants of goods in most imaginary imaginations.

There was no great voyage in this world, and there was no Renaissance.

There is no literature and art, and naturally there is no revival.

During this period, the attitude of all countries towards merchants was suppression, and the emphasis on agriculture and the suppression of commerce did not distinguish between East and West, which was the best choice for the birth of the land population period.

There was no need for any embellishment, and before Lawrence, most merchants were just a group of people who knelt to ask for food, and some of them could cure these people.

Lawrence has not only supported a group of merchants on his own territory over the years, but also driven away the nobles who have pressed on some of the merchants because of foreign wars.

During the battle with Pig's Trotter City, many southern nobles were killed, and during the War of Religion, the Holy Light Church purged several southern countries and killed many great nobles.

The recovery rate of these aristocratic populations is extremely slow, and the system itself is unwilling to replenish new blood, or unable to replenish fresh blood due to the distinction of blood.

Especially in the church where magic (witchcraft) is the power of the system, the death of a priest who knows magic is worse than the death of ten knights.

The rudimentary system leads to the fact that there is no transcendent leader, and the knights and soldiers below are unwilling to fight hard, so many times they obviously have strong combat effectiveness, but they have too many concerns.

Lawrence was good at analysing intelligence, and although Dulu only talked about some of the things he had seen and heard about his travels and the small things about his business, Lawrence had already gotten some general information.

Wandering Merchant (Bandit)

Chamber of Commerce (Bandits' Den)

Municipalities (nobility)

Dulu did not belong to the Chamber of Commerce, but to a member of the nobility of an autonomous city, or a probationary member.

Doing business requires strength, and in the south, because of the church's misdeeds, the law and order are chaotic, and the merchants must have a group of subordinates or backers to continue to do business.

In this era, there were no large number of handicraft vendors and factory workshops, and the materials of the chamber of commerce (bandits) were the same as those of the traveling merchants (bandits).

The times are different, which leads to the fact that the merchants of this era are not so easy to make a fortune.

Dulu was not a transcendent in his own right, and the only place of value was that he had visited the town of Bhumisius and had been received by the Prophet.

Lawrence gradually sorted out his logical guesses from the clues, although many things in this era are not logical, but they are not too much worse.

"You said you brought me the best slave girl?" Lawrence guessed what the forces behind Dulu were trying to do, and he also talked about the gift again.

Seeing that Lawrence was finally interested in the beauty, Dulu quickly smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty the Handsome Prophet. ”

"Bring it on." Lawrence commanded calmly and casually.

"Yes, Great Prophet!" Dulu quickly let his men make arrangements.

Lawrence lowered his head and continued to look at Heidi's report, while also thinking about the Southern Chamber of Commerce.

The master behind the Chamber of Commerce must be a nobleman, and a powerful nobleman.

The world is inconvenient to transmit information, and the calculation time is about the same time as those people learn that their side has defeated the Western Church and react.

Although this incident was already a year ago, the other party's reaction was quick and decisive, which was already very good.

Lawrence has a general basic impression, as for cooperation with the other party, it depends on what cooperation the other party wants, and whether it is troublesome or not.

Forget about trouble, Lawrence is not afraid of trouble, but he doesn't want to get into trouble either.

After more than ten minutes, Dulu brought five beautiful women.

The five beauties were all dressed in beautiful dresses with elaborate necklaces and earrings, and there were also obvious signs of makeup on their eyes and faces.

Pure, charming, sexy, mature, steady, five different styles of beautiful beauties.

Lawrence lost interest at a glance, and the women around him were actually very good.

Especially in recent years, countries have been subdued, and countries have not failed to send beautiful women as gifts, and the holy women's colleges and monasteries alone have gathered outstanding beauties selected from millions of people.

Lawrence downgraded the evaluation of this Baiyang Chamber of Commerce from the quality of the beauties presented by the Chamber of Commerce.

There is no background, no strength, the territory will not be too big, and there are not too many transcendentals.

"What kind of protection does the Baiyang Chamber of Commerce want? I'm not going to send troops to the south to protect them, and I'm not going to allow them to set up random trading points on my territory and do business that I don't know or are not allowed. ”

Lawrence's attitude deteriorated.

Du Lu was a little disappointed, and hurriedly said: "We hope to let some people enter the land of God to practice, if we can enter the monastery, we are willing to pay a gift of 200,000 copper coins!" ”

Lawrence frowned and said, "I'm not omniscient, at least I don't know about the currency you use there. ”

Du Lu quickly explained: "It's the copper coins here, we have spices, cloth, cattle, sheep, livestock and grain, as well as ore and slaves, we can exchange more things for money." ”

Lawrence nodded, "Yes, although I am much stronger and richer today than I was many years ago, my heart is still like the stars in the sky, eternal and unchanging. ”

"From beginning to end, I have welcomed those who bring goodwill."

"The convent will give two places to the Southern Chamber of Commerce, and the requirement must be that it must be a woman and be willing to obey the laws I have made."

Du Lu continued: "So can some of our Chamber of Commerce be allowed to live here? We'll follow the rules you set. ”

Lawrence thought for a moment, then said, "I only allow thirty people to live in Southtown, and for every one that is exceeded, one must leave, and one more can come in if one dies." ”

Lawrence decided to set up a comprehensive population defense line, otherwise there would be too many foreign forces coming in, and he didn't know which day something would go wrong. (End of chapter)