After a moment of silence and an exchange of glances, De Perrot was the first to speak: "First of all, we want to apologize for what happened yesterday. It's been a long time since Beddington had an outsider, so yesterday your sudden arrival caused some panic among the residents, and I beg your pardon if you were offended. ”

Raymond secretly began to say in his heart, obviously apologetic Yunyun was just an opening statement. He waved his hand: "Where, we also have something wrong, just be considerate of each other." ”

Sure enough, I heard Depero say: "Thank you for your understanding." But I'm curious, why did you leave the continent of Mordina and travel so far to Veronica?"

Knowing that the other party would definitely have such questions, Raymond was prepared: "We originally did business in Mojina, but because most of the trade routes were monopolized by the four major chambers of commerce, and we were unwilling to join them, it was difficult to make any money. Later, I heard that the continent of Veronica was a place full of opportunities, so I came to try my luck. ”

Although his words were lies, they were not pure nonsense, the four major chambers of commerce in the continent of Mordina were quite famous even in the continent of Veronica. With Haydington's current situation, it is impossible for the other party to verify the truth, so just make the lie sound "reasonable".

Sure enough, after hearing this, Depero was skeptical, but he did not ask any further. At this time, Fanning said again, "Are you familiar with Mr. Reed?"

Raymond shook his head: "No, we just happened to do him a big favor, and he learned that we didn't have a foothold in Veronica yet, so in return, he introduced us here." ”

"Is that so?" Fanning gasped softly, exchanging disappointed glances with the others.

Charlotte on the side also showed an anxious look, everyone knew that if they wanted to convince the three of them, they should try to hide unfavorable information at this time. How do you know that Raymond answered very honestly, could it be that he looked away, this person is a fool who doesn't know how to be flexible?

Sure enough, Lambert said in a trembling voice, "So, can you contact Mr. Reed and ask him to save us Headington no matter what." ”

Just when Charlotte was in a bad mood, she saw that Raymond, who had always been polite, suddenly looked downcast: "With all due respect, you still seem to be pinning your senseless hopes on Reed." But alas, if he could really help you, he wouldn't have let us here. ”

Raymond's sudden change of attitude made the three of them stunned. Without waiting for the other party to react, Raymond continued: "I know very well that the problem that plagues Beddington must be very tricky. But if you're still like this, suspicious and won't say anything, then even if Reed does come, I'm afraid it won't help. ”

As he spoke, he stood up suddenly: "I've had enough of your nonsense. Whether you want to continue to put your hope in someone who will not come, or do something more practical, think for yourself. ”

Unexpectedly, this person looked very good at talking, but he began to turn his face after a few words, and he had a non-negotiable posture. The three Deperrot, who had prepared many "tests" to embarrass Raymond, immediately panicked. Oh my God, why doesn't this guy play by the rules at all?

This time, the tricks under them naturally can't go on anymore.

Only Freddie on the side, secretly showed a smile. Although Raymond's words were bitter and mean, at such a time, they were far more effective than kind persuasion, that is, his current performance was nothing more than a strategy of retreating into advance.

Singing blackface was originally what Freddie was good at, but this time it was taught and used by Raymond.

I saw that the faces of Depero and the others were red and white, obviously being said by Raymond to be in the sore spot.

At this time, Charlotte also saw the clue, and she wasted no time in saying: "Everyone, since they were introduced by Mr. Reed, I think they can be trusted." Now that the matter has come to this, let's make the situation clear. ”

Under Raymond's small means, the momentum of Depero and the others at the beginning disappeared, and the three of them looked at each other, and finally nodded helplessly. Raymond naturally got off the donkey down the slope, pretended to be his faux parody and apologized a few words, and sat back calmly.

At this time, Morini spoke: "I believe you already know that Headington is a town that survives on commerce. But now, our business activities have been almost completely banned, which is why the town is what it is today. ”

Raymond had noticed this when he entered the city yesterday, and this was also the biggest doubt in his heart. He couldn't help but say: "As far as I can see, the geographical location here is quite good, how can such a situation occur?"

"That's because, since more than half a year ago, several bandit groups have suddenly appeared outside the town. They robbed travelers and caravans, sparing almost no one, and over time, no caravan dared to come to Headington. Charlotte replied, "Since we don't have enough money to support our fleet, Hydington lives almost exclusively by overland trade. ”

"When the trade routes were taken over by robbers, we could not sell our products, and no other goods could be circulated, and slowly the shops in the town closed down, and the inhabitants lost their jobs in large numbers, and Headington fell into decay. ”

Unexpectedly, for such a reason, Raymond and the three of them were surprised. Luz couldn't help but say, "If it's just bandits, why don't you want to find a way to get rid of them?" ”

Morini shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Why not? We have hired several mercenary groups to try to repel the bandits. But the opponent's whereabouts are uncertain, and the fighting power is strong, almost every mercenary group has been wiped out, and gradually we run out of money, and we can no longer hire people. ”

Freddy said in a deep voice, "Why mercenaries, doesn't your king care?"

Morini glanced at each other, and Depero explained: "Headington is a union town belonging to the Lawitt Commonwealth of Commerce, and strictly speaking, our relationship is not as close as that between a king and his subjects. ”

At this time, Charlotte sighed: "When I first joined the Federation, the Federal Assembly promised to protect the security of every town under its control. However, since Headington is located on the very edge of the Union, not in the main trade area, and has not always been taken seriously, although we have appealed to the Federal Assembly through various channels, we have never received any response. In desperation, we turned to Mr. Reid for help, hoping to get support from the sea. ”

It turned out that this was the case in the dark passage, and Raymond somewhat understood why Reed was reluctant to intervene. Because nominally this is an internal affair of the LaWitt Federation, if Reed responds to Beddington's pleas, his struggle with the LaWitt Federation will change from a purely commercial act to a political one.

A shrewd businessman like Reed would naturally not put himself at a disadvantage because of a small town.

I said how could he be so kind, it seems that Freddie was right, businessmen are people who don't want to lose...

When Raymond was so emotional, he heard Luz say, "Did those robbers attack the town?"

Morini shook his head: "That's not true, Headington is also a town of nearly 10,000 people, and those robbers shouldn't dare to do such a blatant thing." ”

Hearing this, Luz looked slightly strange, but didn't say much.

Charlotte bowed her head and said, "Please forgive us for hiding it at the beginning. There have been times when a mercenary group failed to clean up the bandits, and the remaining people stayed in the town and demanded compensation, causing us a lot of trouble. So before we think about it, we have to..."

She didn't say the rest of the story, but Raymond understood their plight.

This is not the brave man in the story who entered the village, and immediately a group of people ran up and shouted for help. Headington has been threatened by robbers for a long time, and the residents have been on the lookout, and there are lessons from the past, and suddenly one day a group of people came running and offered to help, and no one would immediately accept it happily, right?

But now that they're willing to tell the truth, it's at least a good start.

Sure enough, I listened to Morini: "Since you are the people recommended by Mr. Reed, and are willing to help us. I hereby earnestly ask that you drive out the robbers and save Headington. ”

"In exchange, Headington willing," Charlotte followed.

Before she could finish speaking, the eldest Lambert hurriedly said, "As long as we can drive away those robbers, we will be grateful, and you can stay here in the future when you do business." ”

"At this point, do you still want to play word games with us?" Suddenly, Freddie sneered.

"You... What do you say?" Lambert's face flushed.

Freddie shot a piercing gaze from under the brim of his broad hat. He stared at Lambert and said slowly, "For your own good, I advise you not to play this kind of trick in front of me." ”

"Nonsense, how dare you—" Lambert exclaimed in a snarky voice.

Raymond thought about it for a moment, and understood what Freddie was referring to, and Lambert was really changing the concept. You must know that he said "stationed", which seems to be similar to Raymond's request, but in fact, the two are far apart.

As a trading town, as long as there is a caravan to do business, they can be stationed in the city, and the building in Headington is used for this. However, this is very different from using the town as its own trading base, where the caravan will be more closely related to the town.

If a caravan can use a certain town as a stronghold, it means that it will be able to carry out activities in the name of this town in the future, such as "xx caravan of such and such a city". This is like having a home, and his identity is immediately a lot higher than that of a "wild child" like a helpless traveling merchant.

Because being able to have a stronghold means that the caravan has considerable strength, and it also means that it has a more stable rear and security. This has incomparable benefits for a caravan's credit rating or for participating in some bulk commodity trading.

Many famous caravans had their own strongholds, towns, and some large chambers of commerce even owned several cities, intertwined with each other to form a trade network. Merchant groups such as the Rawitt Trade Federation have united dozens of large and small cities, and are almost becoming a country.

From this, you can see how important it is for a caravan to have its own stronghold.

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