Section XVI Chamber of Commerce

The walls of this section of the city are a bit rough. It was not like the other sections of the city walls around it, and it did not have the grandeur of a commercial city at all. It resembles the walls of a makeshift barracks, unremarkable, and not at all like a part of a bustling commercial city.

A group of riders walked into the city along the rough wall. The guards at the gate charged a fee to enter the city, and the leading rider did not even get off his horse, but threw them a few silver coins.

If you change the team, this casual and even contemptuous attitude will cause the guards to be unhappy and even invite retaliation. But sharp-eyed people have already seen some clues from the imprint on the horse's body. These people are from the "Silverfish" Chamber of Commerce.

The Silverfish Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce that has only been established in West Vania in the last two years. In the past two years, taking advantage of the absence of other forces, this chamber of commerce has grown and expanded rapidly in the southern region of Ryan. There is a lot of news that it has monopolized several of the most lucrative and lucrative trade routes and trades. Its capital and wealth have reached the level of a large regional chamber of commerce.

But what makes it truly intimidating is that legend has it that it is the vampire who occupies West Vania in the background.

Few lords ventured into commerce, because in the eyes of ordinary nobles, commerce was a relatively lowly profession, and merchants were synonymous with greed and shamelessness. Usually a lord is satisfied with the fact that he receives sufficient taxes from the Chamber of Commerce and assures them that they have not engaged in any fraudulent transactions, and is reluctant to continue dealing with them.

But the vampire seems to be a ruler who doesn't play by the cards. As soon as he consolidated his power, he immediately set about forming this silverfish chamber of commerce. Of course, this is just hearsay, and there is no evidence. At least no one has ever seen a dark mage or undead appear in the Chamber of Commerce. But there are some things that don't need proof, and the mere fact that this chamber of commerce was established in West Vania has allowed this rumor to spread.

But whether this legend is true or not, at least the silverfish will choose a good time. It is well known that from the beginning of the vampire rebellion in Sivania, the shrewd merchants withdrew from the war zone. They are not to blame, businessmen are naturally risk-averse. What could be more risky than doing business in a war-torn area? In times of war, rebels, bandits, and so on are deadly threats, and they will directly destroy a business transaction in an instant. The regular army is even more dangerous, you must know that in order to prevent future troubles, they will kill people after robbery/robbery. The continuation of the war led to the stagnation of commercial activities, and at this time, the silverfish chamber of commerce suddenly appeared. With its good operation, it actually occupied the vacuum created by the war in one fell swoop.

Of course, the Ryan people weren't happy to see a chamber of commerce from West Vania rise, the problem was that they had no choice. At least this chamber of commerce can effectively help them solve the problem of material shortage. Besides, what threat can a chamber of commerce pose? Merchants are not dark magicians, and they can't conjure up an undead legion. Out of this mentality, they eventually acquiesced to the existence of this chamber of commerce.

Now that the war situation has become clear, the shrewd merchants who had once left because of the war have once again quietly returned to Ryan's land. In the case of Mill City, for example, the commercial establishments that had been closed have quietly returned to the city. However, they have lost the opportunity to stifle the new force in its infancy. Those familiar with business know that in the heat of competition, the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce relied on the monopoly they had achieved in West Vania to gain an advantage. They had a monopoly on the source of Sivania's specialties (which was also the source of the wealth of the city of Mill), so that all other merchants had to obtain goods from them. The more businessmen who try to get a piece of the pie, the more profitable they are.

Today, the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most powerful chamber of commerce in Mill City. And because of the legendary background, the officials of Mill City did not dare to find fault easily.

The small group entered the city, headed towards the main street, and in an instant entered the rich ghetto of the city. At this moment, the city has long forgotten about the flames of war and the smoke of gunfire, and the streets are full of busy people. Richly dressed aristocrats, tacky and ostentatious merchants, and ladies dressed in a variety of costumes.

This is not surprising, although the city was briefly captured by vampires, but at that time the city was "temporarily loaned" to the Bin, and most of the city's inhabitants had already moved. So as soon as the war ended, the people who had left returned. Coupled with the fact that the city was not really badly damaged, it was able to recover as quickly as possible. The only vestiges of the war are the makeshift section of the city wall.

It could even be said that Mill City is now more important than ever. This is due to the civil war in Ryan's homeland, and the country's funds are very tight. And this commercial city, which was able to provide a steady stream of taxes for the king, became an extremely important place. Rumor has it that the taxes provided by Mill cover one-tenth of the Ryan military expenses, and that the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce provides one-third of Mill's. Now, even the Governor of Mill City has to be polite to the higher-ups of the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce.

The procession stopped in front of a building in the affluent area. There were two guards standing at the entrance of this building, as well as a bunch of errand boys and attendants, and the gate was very lively. For those with a little experience, you can tell that this is the office space of a commercial organization.

This group of centaurs was obviously an acquaintance here, because a few followers immediately came up and tacitly led the horses away.

"Uncle Roger. Someone shouted hello to the bearded man in the lead. "How's it going over there?"

"Good. The middle-aged man, known as Uncle Roger, replied. "We signed the agreement and everything went well. Is there anything new here?"

"Nothing special, except that there are a lot more orders for breadfruit than expected, and we are opening up new picking areas. It seems like everyone likes something new. ”

"I've long said that selling breadfruit is going to be a good deal. Uncle Roger said loudly as he walked inside. The whole team dispersed as soon as they entered, and it was clear that they had their own place here. Only Uncle Roger made it up to the fourth floor—according to a deep-rooted custom, it must have been the upper echelons of the Chamber of Commerce on this floor. Usually the top floor of the building, the fifth floor, is not actually used for offices, but as a conference room or a storage room for confidential information.

"Roger, are you back?" he had just gone up to the fifth floor when he met a companion, a man in his fifties and sixties. "Everyone said that if you don't come back this time, something might happen. ”

"No, everything went well. At the cost of a low-interest loan, we were easily granted tax exemption and right of way for 30 years. Roger took off his coat as he walked into his room and hung it on a hanger. "It went a lot better than we expected. Sure enough, there are many people who ignore the Da'an area. If we could build a bridge over the river, we would open up a new trade route. From then on, we will be able to make direct contact with the dwarves of the mountains, and eventually establish a trade route that is completely under our control...... No, it should be said that it is a golden road!"

"That bridge...... I'm afraid it will take a lot of investment. In addition, the technical difficulties are also very high. This is a difficult problem. ”

"Ha, don't worry about this. Diplomats have been sent to the dwarves, and they plan to use commercial concessions to get the dwarves to build the bridge...... It's a no-brainer. ”

As he said this, a young man ran up from downstairs with a letter in his hand. "Uncle Roger, I was asked to pass this letter on to you. Private letters. ”

"On the table, I'm dying of thirst. I don't know which idiot prepared a water bag for me with a lid that I couldn't tighten. Yesterday I ran out of water, and I haven't had a sip of water since this morning. Roger replied casually. He tugged at a rope from the side of the window, then stuck his head out of the window. "Get me something to drink!" he shouted downward.

"By the way, the report on this mission must be prepared as soon as possible. If you don't want to write it yourself, then I'll ask an essayer to write it. ”

"Thank you, I read books for a few years before I joined the army, and this little thing is still fine. Roger replied. By this time, the boy had already run away, so he picked up the letter on the table and opened it casually.

"What's wrong?" his colleague noticed that Roger seemed stunned for a moment.

"It's fine. Roger put down the letter. "An old friend came looking for me. He stuck his head out the window again. "Hurry up, I'm dying of thirst!"

By the time he retracted his head, the colleague had already left. He was now the only one left in the room. Roger quickly returned to the table, picked up the half-read letter again, and read it carefully.

By the time he had read the letter thoroughly, he stood still for several seconds, as if struggling. A messenger walked in from outside. "My lord, you want a drink. He placed a large glass of yellowish liquid on the table. If a nobleman had been present, he would have immediately recognized the drink as lemonade – it was considered the coolest thirst-quenching drink.

The errand was gone, and Roger was still standing there, still struggling in his heart. But in the end, he still made a decision. "I'll leave for a moment. He said loudly to the outside, and then he put on his coat, closed the door with his backhand, and hurried downstairs.

After a short while, Uncle Roger arrived at a place not very far from the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce. There was a small tavern. Unlike the vulgar and humble taverns in the ghetto, everything here is arranged according to the taste of the aristocracy, small and sophisticated, with elegant surroundings and small private rooms for intimate conversations. Those who are not dressed properly will even be stopped by the waiters at the entrance.

Uncle Roger walked through a whole row of small rooms for secret conversation provided by the tavern. In several of the rooms, there is a clear leak of women's moans, which shows that the ladies of the city know how to make the most of these boxes. He pushed open the door to the last room.

There were already two people in the small box, one standing and one sitting. Watching Roger enter the door, a smile immediately appeared on the face of the person who was seated. "Roger, it's great to see each other again. He motioned for his men to close the door. "To be honest, I thought you were dead. ”

"Should I call you sir?" was not much in Roger's voice.

"No, just call me Pierrot. The man in the room let out a long sigh. "After the Purple Stone War, our troops have been completely removed. Now I'm no longer a captain, and you're no longer my subordinate. The world has changed, and the vicissitudes of life have changed. Come, have a drink. He gestured and picked up the wine that had been prepared on the table.

"I heard you're now working for vampires. He whispered. "And it mixes well. ”

"I work for the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce. Roger cautiously put down the glass, even though he didn't even touch his lips.

"The Silverfish Chamber of Commerce is the tentacles of vampires, we all know that. ”