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Moreover, if there were alchemical equipment that could automatically cultivate, sow, and harvest, what would the poor need to do? This is probably just a dream...
……
In the evening, in a village not far from the capital of Hadrata, an invisible airship landed silently in a manor.
This is one of the bases William established outside the royal capital to facilitate the storage and transportation of goods.
After settling Lord and others and telling them not to run around, Cody took only a few trusted people and rode into the city alone in a carriage, where he was soon received.
William, a short and fat man, was sitting on a large chair in the secret room. His face, covered with fat, looked a little distorted, and his eyes were squinted.
"What happened, Cody? You better not tell me something went wrong with this year's trade..."
William was very clear about the time of leaving and returning to the port each time. Normally, it would take at least forty days to complete a sea trade. But now, only half a month had passed and Cody was back, which made him have some bad guesses.
"Reporting to the lord, the trade this year is very smooth. We have brought a batch of new goods from Yieta, something called glass and paper." Cody said excitedly, and then as if he remembered something, he hurriedly added.
"By the way, my lord, the one currently in charge of the Yieta Harbor is a very young male wizard. It is said that Master Hellram has unfortunately died while dealing with a civil strife."
"What did you say? Helram is dead..." William's expression changed, and he stood up from his seat. The fat around his body shook continuously, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression.
Chapter 219: Is it possible that the Magic Council can no longer send any other personnel?
Under William's pressure, Cody shuddered with fear. He didn't expect the adults to be so excited.
"Are you sure this news is true and reliable?" William asked again.
Cody nodded quickly. During the few days he was stranded in the port city, he asked many people to inquire about the news.
A few months ago, a tragedy occurred in Yieta, with thousands of casualties. Herram also died in that incident. It was said that it was related to a guy called the Evil Wizard.
Listening to Cody's narration, William supported his fat body and paced in the secret room. After a moment, he opened his mouth and uttered a few words tentatively. Seeing no response, he confirmed the death of Hellram.
William's expression changed again and again, and finally he sat back in his seat, his expression calm again. "Tell me, who is in charge of Yieta now?"
"He's a wizard named Lynn. He's not very old, maybe less than 20 years old." Cody replied hesitantly.
"That is to say, now there is a little kid in charge of Yieta. Can't the Magic Council send any other people?" William said with a sneer.
"Lord William, I think Lord Lin is probably not that simple. It is said that he is also from the Secas Empire. It has only been a year since he crossed the sea to the land of wizards, but he has revealed many tricks..." Cody reminded carefully, and recounted everything he saw and heard during the journey.
An airship that is hundreds of meters long and larger than a house, a four-wheeled vehicle that runs faster than the wind, an alchemical machine that can automatically weave cloth...
William couldn't help but frown, because what Cody said was so fantastic that he began to wonder if his trusted subordinates had been bewitched by some kind of magic...
However, Cody quickly provided evidence that the airship was now docked in a manor outside the royal capital. It was with the help of this thing that they were able to cross the two places within one day.
In addition, he brought samples of paper and glass, which were quickly presented to him, and he also told about the situation of other people who were left in Yieta.
"So now our people are stranded in Yieta and become hostages?" William's tone seemed a little depressed. After glancing at the samples presented to him, he paused involuntarily. He immediately fell in love with an exquisitely crafted glass goblet, picked it up and held it in front of his eyes to look at it.
The cup is crystal clear and sparkles under the candlelight, looking very dazzling.
William looked at it for a long time before putting the goblet down, then looked at the other glassware and the pure white paper. He certainly saw the value of these two things.
"I don't think Lord Lin has any intention of stopping them from coming back, but the airship's carrying capacity is limited, so they need to come back in batches." Cody explained.
As they had been stranded in Yieta for a few days, they had missed their return date, and now the Sea of Misty Sea had become dangerous again, so they could only rely on airships to travel.
William, however, did not believe this so-called coincidence, grinning and showing his yellow teeth. "It seems that this successor of Master He Ran Ram does have some skills, and even you are starting to make excuses for him."
"Lord William, I never meant that..." Cody said in fear and trepidation.
William naturally knew that Cody would not betray him, so after a brief discussion, he continued to ask, "What about the division of interests? Has the other party redetermined it?"
"Mr. Lin En said that the previous agreement remains the same, with a 30:70 split..." Cody said hurriedly.
"Hmph." William snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.
Although these glass products can earn a lot of money, they are things that have never appeared before. Once they are taken out, they will definitely attract the interest of many people. This means that he needs to spend energy and money to establish connections...
"Next time when we transfer the goods, please remember to tell that person that the Vatican has been investigating very strictly recently. I need to bear more risks and the profit sharing needs to be changed. I think half and half is appropriate..." William ordered in a cold voice.
Now that he no longer has to be controlled by others, William naturally can no longer tolerate himself being like a puppet, taking huge risks and having to give up most of the benefits to others.
After more than ten years of hard work, he is now a true viscount and owns his own territory. He is no longer the miner who needs to read other people's eyes and be ordered around.
Cody hesitated for a moment. In his opinion, Lord Lynn was not an easy person to talk to, but he did not have the courage to reject William's proposal.
After questioning for a while, William waved Cody away, opened the oak barrel next to the seat, poured the bloody liquid inside into a goblet, and shook it gently. A pungent smell of blood immediately wafted out.
William, however, drank it all in one gulp without a care, intoxicated in the trembling and pleasure of his body. Thoughts kept running through his mind, and suddenly he remembered what Cody had said before, that when he was crossing the foggy sea, he found that the fog on the sea seemed to have some new changes.
Combined with the fact that the new Yieta controller had seized his cargo ships in the wizard land and was using airships to transport cargo instead, and even took back the compass that could locate the wizard land, this made him suspicious that this matter might not be that simple.
William pondered for a while, called a servant, and whispered, "Send me another ship to the Misty Sea to take a look!"
……
A week passed in a flash. Recently, the Kingdom of Hadhrata has been in turmoil, and the dispute between the two princes has almost become known to everyone.
Just two days ago, on the king's birthday, the eldest prince presented a smooth and flawless round mirror that could clearly reflect a person's figure, and a complete set of crystal clear tableware and wine glasses, which attracted the attention of a number of nobles and priests, and won the praise of the king and queen.
It is rumored that the material of this round mirror is a very rare mineral from overseas. It was made by the most outstanding craftsmen in Hadhrata. It is expensive and there are very few perfect finished products. There are only two in the world.
The other side was presented to Cardinal Losak.
Although this magical round mirror disappeared, related glass products soon appeared on the market, attracting aristocrats, wealthy businessmen and priests. In a very short time, it became a new fashion. Due to the limited quantity, the price was raised by more than ten times...
A finished goblet could even be sold for ten gold coins of the kingdom. Even a defective product with flaws was sold for two or three gold coins. Even so, it was still in short supply and sold out in just two days...
Chapter 220: The spirit and faith belong to God, the secular world and the flesh belong to the King!
[Hadratha] In a luxurious council hall in the royal capital, the handsome second prince, after listening to the report from his subordinates, suddenly angrily swept all the flower pots and oak wine glasses on the table to the ground and cursed in anger.
"Damn it... Damn it! Damn Harold, damn William!"
All the servants present lowered their heads in fear, not daring to answer. Only an old man with white hair and beard remained calm. He looked at the glass in his hand, waiting for the prince's anger to be vented, and then he spoke indifferently.
"Don't worry so much, Hattar, things are not as bad as you think."
"But, Master Anthony, Harold won the favor of almost all the nobles at that banquet, and of course, my good father, King Basil..."
At this point, Hattar's expression twisted.
In order to outdo his brother Harold at the birthday party, he went to great lengths to find a very rare crystal stone and asked a master sculptor to engrave his father's most glorious achievements in conquering enemy countries into a lifelike picture of a person.
However, just when he thought he could shine at the banquet, that damn Harold actually presented a rare treasure called a glass mirror, which attracted everyone's attention almost instantly.
So much so that throughout the entire banquet, he was like a funny clown, being left aside and no one paid any attention to him.
How could he not feel humiliated!
"Hattare, you need to remember why those who support you are doing so. They will not betray their own interests just for a so-called rare treasure." Anthony said, gently placing the glass in his hand on the table.
"As for your father, King Basil, I think Harold's offering of that round mirror will only have the opposite effect..."
Hattar looked at Anthony in confusion.
"Because Harold did a very stupid thing. Long before the banquet, he couldn't wait to give the other round mirror to the cardinal of the kingdom. What do you think your good father would think?" Anthony reminded calmly.
Hattar paused for a moment, then quickly understood what Anthony meant. His father, King Basil, had devoted his life to consolidating the royal power.
Harold's act of presenting the round mirror to Cardinal Losak first undoubtedly touched the thorn in King Basil's heart again.
There are also those nobles who are nominally the controllers of various territories, but in reality a word from the bishops is far more effective than their decrees. This makes many nobles extremely uncomfortable, but they dare not speak out.
But his elder brother Harold made sure to please the cardinal to the utmost in order to seize the throne. Anyone could see that if Harold became king, the power of the Holy See would be even greater than before.
The nobles who supported him simply hoped that after he became king, he would be able to restrict the privileges of the clergy to a certain extent.
Thinking of this, Hattar calmed down again, but still looked a little worried. "Master Anthony, what if the cardinal really supports Harold?"
This is also the problem he is most worried about. Although they are born with extraordinary power relying on the royal blood, even his father, King Bazel, cannot compete with a cardinal.
The only person in the entire capital who could truly rival the cardinal was the great wizard Anthony, but he obviously couldn't do it easily, otherwise he would only attract the encirclement and suppression of the Church...
"This is the worst case scenario." Anthony's expression became more serious.
Although there has always been a saying in the Vatican that the spirit and faith belong to God, and the secular and flesh belong to the king, these are just empty words to comfort the nobles.
"So what should we do now?" Hattar asked in annoyance.
"I heard that the two round mirrors and the glass products that have recently appeared on the market are all the work of Viscount William. Perhaps we can start from here and find out where he got this rare mineral from." Anthony said thoughtfully.
He was also very interested in this kind of glass product. During the research process, he accidentally discovered that these things could enlarge or reduce an object under a specific curved surface structure, and could be used to make many useful alchemical instruments.
"Okay, I'll send someone to investigate immediately." Hattar nodded in response.
Although William was only a viscount, he controlled a large fleet. He was also a famous wealthy businessman in the kingdom and one of the most staunch supporters of Prince Harold.
If he could be eliminated, Harold would naturally lose an important helper.
……
At the same time, in the dean's office of Yieta College, after listening to the report from the boatman sent by Lord, Lin En tapped the table with his index finger and spoke slowly.
"In other words, William has been restless recently and even wants to redistribute the profits?"
"Yes, William said that these novel glass products may easily attract the covetousness of others. He needs to spend a lot of time and energy to deal with the nobles of the Church and the Kingdom. The benefits we give him are far from enough. He hopes to split it in half..." the laborer reported truthfully.
Lynn sneered. William was asking for too much and had no idea of the situation.
Although the other party needs to face some additional pressure, relatively speaking, the most dangerous shipping work is now completely carried out by them, and William does not need to intervene. All the other party has to do is to use their own power to provide cover, bribe their superiors, and give them 30% of the benefits, which is already extremely generous.
According to the investigation of Lord and others, William perfectly implemented his hunger marketing and product grading system, and sold those glass products at a sky-high price. In just two or three days, he earned thousands of imperial gold coins, which was enough to catch up with the trade volume of the previous entire year!
However, human greed obviously has no limits. It seems that after learning of Helram's death, William has become a little inflated.
"Let Laud drag him first and talk slowly. My bottom line is that each of us should give up a level of interests to appease those priests and nobles." Lin En thought for a while and then made a decision.
William is now the Viscount of the Kingdom of Hadratha, and Lord has just arrived in the capital a week ago. The news has not been ascertained yet. It is difficult to take on all of the other party's forces in a short period of time. It is better to drag it out first and settle the accounts slowly.
What he needs now are various mineral resources and scarce alchemical materials. Pure gold coins are of little significance to Lin En...
Chapter 221: One of the four fundamental forces - electromagnetic force!