Early the next morning, after breakfast, Wang Yong, Kevin, and Amy left the mansion of Prince Xihami.

Everyone has already discussed it last night, and today everyone will go out separately for a walk, so that they can learn more about the imperial capital in a limited time.

The three of them walked around for a whole morning, bought a lot of things, and got a general idea of the types and prices of goods sold in several nearby markets.

In the afternoon, Wang Yong found a shop that sold all kinds of books, found a few books related to the seaside province, and flipped through them by himself, regardless of the disgruntled eyes of his fellow men.

Wang Yong learned from the book that the coastal province was the smallest and poorest province in the empire. The Coastal Province faces the sea to the north and the Monster Forest to the west, but it is separated by the towering Bia Mountains, so there are no wild beasts in the Coastal Province, so it is impossible for the people there to make a living from hunting.

To the east of the Seaside Province is the Barron Province of the Eternal Empire, so the Seaside Province is also a border province of the Empire, but for various reasons, there is no army stationed there.

There are only a few larger villages in the province of Haihai, with a combined population of more than 1,000, not because there is no place to build a city, but because the population is sparse and there is no one to manage it, so there is still no city.

In the coastal province, there is a freshwater river in the northwest, formed by the convergence of mountain springs and snow water on Mount Bia. Because the temperature in the coastal province is high, the river does not freeze all year round, so many locals rely on fishing in the river or the sea for a living.

However, because of backward technology and poor tools, it is difficult to maintain basic food and clothing, and people starve to death or freeze to death every year.

Looking at the introduction of the coastal province, Wang Yong was unmoved, thinking to himself: "There are many resources in the sea, and just fish, shrimp and some other seafood can make a province rich." However, the coastal province is so miserable, it seems that the people of this world do not pay attention to the development of the sea, so when I go to the coastal province, I will see it with my own eyes, and strive to develop the resources of the sea. ”

After returning in the evening, everyone sat together and exchanged their views on the imperial capital.

Among them, Lei and found that the gold training materials in the imperial capital are very complete, but the price is almost one layer higher than that of other small cities.

Vani found that the weapons and equipment sold here were of good quality, but the price was ridiculously high.

Karl and they brazenly said that the brothels in the imperial capital were too expensive, but there were many beautiful women.

The servants found a slave market, because of the war some time ago, there were small slaves for sale, and the prices were much lower than usual.

Based on the information that everyone said, everyone also has a general understanding of the imperial capital, if you use one word to describe it, it is 'expensive'.

Early the next morning, Prince Xihami sent someone to inform Wang Yong and Lei to go to see the emperor together.

After Wang Yong and Reagan joined Prince Xihami, they walked for nearly an hour to reach the palace, surrounded by dozens of guards.

Wang Yong looked at it from a distance, what kind of palace is this, it is clearly a big castle, a very big castle.

The stone wall outside the castle is about ten meters high, surrounding the castle and guarding it firmly inside.

The castle in the middle is hexagonal in shape, more than 20 meters high, and looks extremely majestic and magnificent.

Wang Yong touched his chin and looked at the castle, always feeling a little familiar, and finally remembered that this castle looked like an enlarged version of the turret.

Entering the gate of the city wall, I saw that there were many soldiers lining up in a neat queue between the square and the various buildings, patrolling and looking back and forth.

The armor and equipment worn by these soldiers shone brightly in the sunlight, and at a glance they knew that they were the best equipment in the Empire.

Wang Yong and Reagan followed Prince Xihami into the castle, where the corridors were unusually wide, the floors were paved with smooth, smooth marble, and the walls were lit up with magic lamps every few meters.

Unlike the small castle where Ray followed, it was only lit by torches, which looked a little gloomy and dim.

At the end of the corridor is a hall, follow Prince Xihami into the hall, only to see that most of the decoration inside is mainly gold, showing the luxury and wealth of the royal family.

On the golden throne in the innermost part of the hall sat a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a crown made of unknown metal, symbolizing the power and glory of the emperor.

The ruby inlaid in the middle of the crown was the size of an egg, which made Wang Yong look at it astonishingly, and he thought in his heart: "How much is such a big gem worth!"

The middle-aged man has a full forehead, and his eyebrows are raised like a knife's edge, straight into his sideburns. A pair of azure eyes radiated with sensitivity and wisdom. The bridge of his nose is high, and his lips are angular, giving people a very calm and down-to-earth feeling. The beard on the chin is trimmed in style, similar to Becky's. His body has a large skeleton and solid muscles, and he appears to be very healthy, strong and powerful. He wore a gorgeous black robe wrapped in gold trim, which showed his steadiness and heroism.

He was the idler emperor of the Empire, Bhasin Olfgang the Great.

On both sides of the hall, there were many nobles dressed in gorgeous aristocratic costumes, some old and some young, and they looked strange, all kinds of things.

When Wang Yong and Reagan came in, these people seemed to be discussing with the emperor, and when they saw Prince Xihami coming in with two strangers, they all stopped talking and looked at Wang Yong and Regan.

When the emperor saw Wang Yong and Lei He behind Prince Xihami, he smiled and said to Prince Xihami: "Xihami, it should be Lei and Ivan behind you, right? Come and let me have a look." ”

Prince Sihami came to the emperor with the two of them, pointed to Lei and introduced, "This is Baron Lei and Hayara. ”

Lei followed with a noble salute and said respectfully, "I have seen Your Majesty." ”

Prince Xihami pointed to Wang Yong and said, "This is Prince Ivan Yong from the Silk Continent." ”

Wang Yong also saluted and said respectfully: "I have seen Your Majesty." ”

The emperor nodded slightly, then carefully looked at Wang Yong and Regan, and sighed after a while: "You two are the most outstanding representatives of the younger generation of the empire, and I am very much looking forward to your future for the future of you who have made such meritorious contributions to the empire at such a young age." ”

The emperor's words changed: "The purpose of recruiting you this time is probably clear to you, that's right, it is to reward you." ”

The Emperor stood up and announced loudly: "In the right of the Emperor of the Aier Empire, I canonize Lei and Hayara as the third earl of the Aier Empire, and Ivan Yong Wang as the second earl of the Aier Empire." As for your fiefdoms"

The Emperor turned around and took a map and placed it on the table, pointed to the top area, which was neither large nor small, and said to Wang Yong and Regan, "After consulting with the officials of the Empire, I have decided to give you the entire coastal province in the northernmost part of the Empire as a territory. ”

The imperial capital said to Lei He, "Sihami has already relayed your request to me, and if you still insist, then this territory will be handed over to Count Ivan." ”

The Emperor explained: "Because I heard that you are good friends, I decided to give the Coastal Province to the two of you, and half of this territory, if it is given to other people, it will be detrimental to the future development of the entire province, so if you give up, then the Coastal Province will only be given to Ivan alone." But the emperor didn't say what was wrong, and those nobles also hated to know, but none of them dared to ask.

Lei He had already made a decision, so he said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I still insist, I hope Your Majesty will understand and be fulfilled." ”

The emperor nodded regretfully, and then said to Wang Yong: "Haibin Province will be your fief in the future, and you are the lord with the most extensive territory among the younger generation of the empire." ”

Wang Yong said with some excitement: "Your Majesty, I will work hard to develop the collar and contribute to the empire." Although he had already known that he would get a fief and turn over to become a landlord, when it came time to become a real landlord, Wang Yong couldn't help but be excited.

The Emperor nodded with satisfaction and said, "It's good to be determined, but the situation in the Seaside Province is not optimistic, so let Marquis Martin introduce you to the current situation of the Seaside Province." ”

Marquis Martin was a tall, thin, and obscene-looking middle-aged man, and as soon as the emperor's words fell, he said with a wicked smile: "The coastal province is about 12,000 square kilometers, with the coast to the north and the border with the Eternal Empire to the west. Because we have a good relationship with the Eternal Empire, and there has been no fighting for many years, there is only a symbolic garrison of a large group of soldiers there. Once you reach the Seaside Province, that force will be withdrawn, and the province's defense will depend on your own efforts. In addition, there is a small copper mine and a small iron mine in the coastal province, which have been abandoned because no one has mined them. Because of the high altitude of Mount Bia in the east, the rain clouds are too high above the ground when they pass through the coastal provinces, so there is almost no rainfall, resulting in an arid land that cannot be used for farming. According to the data, the registered population of the coastal province is less than 1,000, and there are some bandits and robbers who often go to the Eternal Empire to rob, so the Eternal Empire has lodged many protests, hoping that Count Ivan will eliminate these tumors for the Empire after he arrives in the territory. After saying this, Marquis Martin smiled at Wang Yong with some schadenfreude.

Wang Yong didn't bird him, just tilted his neck to look at him, Marquis Martin didn't care, and said with a sneer: "The current situation of the coastal province that we know is basically that, and the specific situation has to be discovered by Count Ivan himself after he arrives." Now, I will tell you what you are due to the Empire, which is to pay 20% of the Empire's taxes every year from this day onwards, with a minimum of 2,000 gold coins, a population of not less than 20,000 in the territory within two years, and a private army of no more than one battalion to maintain local order and guard the territorial integrity of the Empire. Well, that's pretty much it, if you can't do it, the Empire will take back your territory. ”

Wang Yong frowned and thought for a while, then turned his head and asked the emperor: "Your Majesty, if you find new mineral deposits, will you also belong to me?"

The emperor nodded and said, "Everything in the territory is under your management, and the empire only collects taxes and does not participate in anything else." ”

The Emperor hesitated for a moment, then said, "Well, because your territory is barren, I have decided to give you tax exemption for three years, increase the period of population development to three years, and you can form a regular army of one legion and a private army of one legion." ”

The emperor walked up to Wang Yong's side and whispered, "Our empire often has wars with the Luosen Empire, and the Eternal Empire is also watching, you should pay more attention to the movements of the Eternal Empire." Gives you the right to form legions, so that in the event of a war with the Eternal Empire, you can contain the forces of the northern part of the Eternal Empire. After speaking, the emperor also glanced at Marquis Martin in front of Wang Yong, as if to convey some kind of information to Wang Yong.

At this time, a short and fat nobleman stood up and said, "Your Majesty, our empire is no longer able to come up with gold coins to form a legion. ”

The emperor frowned and thought for a while, and said to Wang Yong: "In this way, the legion is considered the private army of the nobles in your territory, and you can find a way to solve the military expenses and equipment yourself." ”

Wang Yong glanced at the nobleman who had just spoken, and then said respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty." ”

Wang Yong had already seen that the person who spoke just now was as hostile to him as Marquis Martin, and it was estimated that he was also from Lei and his father's faction.

Seeing that Wang Yong could still maintain his peace of mind, the emperor greatly admired Wang Yong in his heart, so he asked Wang Yong: "Ivan, if you still have any requirements and do not understand, you can say it now." ”

Wang Yong thought for a while and said, "Population development is difficult, but I heard that there are other races in this continent besides humans, I don't know if other races are counted as the population of the empire?"

After hearing this, the short and fat nobleman just now said sarcastically: "If Count Ivan has the ability to let those foreigners join our empire, then they will be counted as the subjects of our empire, and even more so the population of yours, but I'm afraid you won't find it." ”

Wang Yong stared at the short and fat nobleman with a smile and asked, "I don't know what I should call you?"

The short and fat nobleman said proudly, "I am the Duke of Sanchez, the Imperial Minister of Finance. ”

Wang Yong was stunned for a moment when he heard this name, and glanced at Lei He beside him, but found that Lei He was expressionless, looking ahead without squinting, and did not look at this person at all.

Wang Yong muttered in his heart: "It turns out that this person is Lei He's father, and I don't know how their father and son got like this, like enemies." ”

Wang Yong shrugged helplessly, nodded to Regan's father, and then turned his head and asked Marquis Martin: "Is the coastal waters of the coastal province my territory, and how are the sea boundaries with other countries divided?"

Marquis Martin glanced at Wang Yong with some surprise, he didn't expect Wang Yong to understand the division of the sea area.

Marquis Martin replied: "The sea area one hundred kilometers from the coastline is your territory, and the same is true of the Eternal Empire in the east, and the boundary of the sea is based on the boundary line. And the sea area on the west side of the Warcraft Forest has no country, so if you can occupy and develop, it is also your territory, but occupying those sea areas is not considered to open up territory for the empire, and there will be no merit. ”

Marquis Martin thought disdainfully: "There are only a few wrecked boats in a fishing village, and how far do you want to run, and you will sink before you can leave your own territory." ”

Wang Yong nodded abruptly and said, "Oh, I probably know everything." ”

Seeing that Wang Yong already had a general understanding of his territory, the emperor added: "It's good that you understand, the empire will give you some gold coins at one time as funds for the construction of your territory." Add the ransom of the second prince of the Lawson Empire that you caught, and I will give you a total of 100,000 gold coins. ”

Before Wang Yong could react to how much 100,000 gold coins were, Duke Sánchez opened his mouth to stop him and said, "Your Majesty, after years of war, the empire really can't come up with so many gold coins. ”

The emperor frowned and asked, "How much can you take out?"

Duke Sánchez replied: "You can take out up to 40,000 gold, and after adding the ransom, you can take out up to 50,000 gold coins." ”

The emperor glanced at him, turned to Wang Yong and said, "Then give you 50,000, and before you go, go to Duke Sánchez to collect it." ”

Wang Yong replied calmly, "Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Yong had already scolded Duke Sanchez in his heart.

Seeing that Wang Yong had nothing else to ask, the emperor said, "You will complete your noble badge in the next two days and hand it over to the Minister of Ceremonies for the record, and he will forward to you the proof of identity and the official documents for taking over the territory." If you don't have anything to do, go back first, remember, you must leave in ten days at the latest, and arrive in the territory within two months. After Wang Yong and Lei followed Shi Li, they turned around and left.