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Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Fantasy -> Butterfly in the storm Text Chapter 3 The non-existent fleet (3)
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- (xiii)
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Before noon on the same day
Phase Port West Port "The Pier where the Silver Dragon Lands"
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"How much property does a dragon, or a silver dragon, have?"
Looking at the high-spirited daughter of the Silver Dragon in front of her, Naimen raised this question in her mind and asked the most reliable adviser she could find.
"This is a question with no exact answer. Dragon's treasures are usually accumulated over hundreds or even thousands of years. Medieval farmers and bards generally believed that the dragon's wealth exceeded that of the richest prince. In the Eastern Empire, people Using 'the art of slaying dragons' to refer to the knowledge of using tactics and force to conquer the world implies the assumption that 'the dragon's property can be compared with the entire world'. If you accept this number"
The Voice of the Magic Network spoke a number with a wide range of fluctuations in the voice of Anne Seifer. Even on the lowest side, it is a breathtaking number, enough to form two new free divisions from scratch.
After a long while, the interim governor of Phase Port, Major Nemen Solayton, took a deep breath.
The sound of heavy breathing echoed in his ears through his own skull, as if he could hear the sound of galloping horse hooves in the blood vessels in his brain.
His throat was a little dry due to nervousness. His left eye entered the magical field of vision uncontrollably, and the field of vision was the cause of his nervousness.
In this field of vision, he could see the two graceful ladies beside him - and the huge magic circle surrounding them.
??Looking carefully, the magic group is actually composed of countless magic network force field lines. These lines are intertwined to form an illusory structure that looks like the finest silk and satin, exuding dazzling magic light.
The lady with silver hair hanging down her waist and a proud figure standing opposite him, her true identity is a giant dragon with silver wingspan, one of the two dragons who protect the country at the top of the sacred contract of the Holy Koman Empire.
Her skin was so white that it was almost transparent, exuding silvery scales. It had a breathtaking beauty that made it almost impossible for him to take his eyes away from it. The Silver Dragon Girl's fingers were slender, with some scary dark purple long nails. Naimen knew that these were probably some kind of deformation of the dragon's claws.
Naimen has never seen this daughter of the silver dragon at such a close distance. He had seen her in her silver dragon form on the battlefield of the double battle of Jena-Blenheim, which left an unforgettable memory for him.
Even with millions of tax dollars invested and the "Dragon Slaying Melody" produced by almost all high-level magic industry experts in the south, it could only barely suppress the daughter of the silver dragon.
If the leader of the Protestant divine arts, Archbishop Bonnie Seifer, were not here, she would probably be able to suppress all the high- and low-level spellcasters in the room by herself.
"Just tell me directly. If I plan to invest in your small business, how much return can I get?"
Silver Dragon asked, looking directly at the young female priest who stopped her with the two most powerful compound magics.
Archbishop Bonnie Seifer hesitated, tilted her head slightly, and asked Naimen beside her with her eyes.
Intuition made the young major go past Bonnie and stand up to face the daughter of the Silver Dragon.
"His Excellency, Archbishop Seifer, does not ask about these specific secular issues. If you want to invest, just come to me. We have always welcomed ** investors Well, of course, you are also welcome to invest in His Highness Long."
Naimen¡¯s welcome speech sounded dry, barely concealing his hoarse throat and obvious nervousness. He said the rest of his polite words while thinking hard about the current situation.
There is no doubt that the situation has changed dramatically. Things such as Bonnie's arrival and the formation of reinforcements were all on the original schedule. Whether they were successful or not would only affect the future financial plan of the Hong Kong military regime.
But the appearance of the Silver Dragon made everything completely different. She holds so much wealth and can control so much money and situations. Whether she can be successfully brought into the camp will determine the success or failure of the entire plan.
This was originally just a combat exercise to boost morale, but now it suddenly turned into an important battle that could determine the outcome of the war.
¡°One of the things he learned as a staff officer in the Free Army was that battles cannot be avoided.
A war can be avoided, and so can a battle, but only a battle cannot. A battle breaks out because the armies of both sides are there - and sooner or later there will be a result, regardless of victory or defeat.
In a sense, this Miss Silver Dragon can even be considered an enemy. It was obvious that she was taught by another MianQiang can be regarded as a guest of a friend.
"Oh. So you are that Solayton? What's your full name?"
There was a crack in Silver Dragon's noble and stern expression. She also clearly recognized Nemen - an unusual memory given the general attitude of dragons towards humans.
¡°Major Naymen Solayton. Is the publisher of this little business.¡±
Naimen tried his best to sound funny, but his words came out very dry. In contrast, although the daughter of the Silver Dragon opposite had a straight face, her words were not so serious.
"You can call me Mara. According to your human etiquette, you should shake hands now."
Mara stretched out her flawless and slender right hand forward. The silver dragon did not wear heavy armor, but symbolically wore a tight-fitting silver fine scale armor. When it transformed into a human, its jade arms were all exposed.
Naimen stretched out his hand and couldn't help but think: I don't know how much of this beautiful body and clothing is real, and how much is the effect of magic.
The hand on the opposite side still feels like human skin, but it feels extremely cold to the touch, and you can barely feel the body temperature.
Mara lowered her gaze slightly and looked at the young officer in front of her from head to toe.
"Tsk. I thought he would be a beautiful young man with a beautiful face, or a domineering young hero. Among the male humans I have seen, he seems a little more ordinary, right?"
Yinlong smiled slightly, and that smile made people feel chilled all over. Her fingertips - or rather, the knuckles of the dragon's claws - lightly touched Naimen's palm.
"Of course, the standards of the male humans I know, such as Arthur Coleman, may be a bit high."
Naimen shuddered. He suddenly remembered that the Miss Silver Dragon in front of him was not only a reinforcement of the First Princess Olya Hugh Coleman, but also seemed to be a good friend of his childhood sweetheart Denika.
What does she think about this matter? Naimen couldn't imagine the answer to this question.
"Anyway, it's nice to meet you. According to your etiquette, this is what you should say, right?"
Yinlong said easily. He pressed the nails of his right hand slightly on Naimen's palm, and the two nails as sharp as blades easily pierced his palm.
Indescribable pain rushed into the major's mind, blood flowed from his fingers, and he withdrew his hand reflexively. Naimen pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth to prevent himself from screaming.
There's a reason why dragons don't shake hands as a "no weapons and no hostility" etiquette: dragon claws themselves are extremely sharp and deadly weapons. During the movement when he withdrew his hand, Mara's long nails penetrated the back of his hand, leaving two frightening wounds with bloody flesh. If she had tilted it a little harder, I'm afraid half of his palm would have been cut off.
This is the answer. Silver Dragon not only knows about Denika and Olia
And he seems very angry about this matter!
It¡¯s just likethe eldest sister who came to settle the score in a rage after knowing that both sisters were deceived by the same scumbag man?
"Well!"
Naimen¡¯s teeth collided together, biting tightly to scream. If no one is aware of the abnormality here, there will still be a chance, he thought.
But someone has noticed: someone who has been watching him from the side.
Before the drop of blood fell to the ground, Archbishop Bonnie Seifer's expression changed, she took a small step forward, and flicked her right hand with an imperceptible movement.
The highly concentrated healing light ball was thrown along the throwing line of his right hand and accurately landed between the fingers of Naimen's right hand, instantly closing the wound there - although it could not heal the pain signal on the nerve, it could at least stop the bleeding.
Ma La¡¯s expression became solemn. She understood the horror of this kind of reaction, observation, and fighting ability. The silver dragon quickly withdrew his hand and pressed down the few strands of hair on his head that were slightly standing up due to alertness - the position where the dragon's crown should have been.
"Your Highness Investment Dragon, are your etiquette too intense?"
"Where, I have always been famous in the dragon circle for my proficiency in human etiquette. Even though it is a small circle."
One man and one dragon are at war again, as if war will start again at any time.
Naimen tightly grasped his right hand, which was still in great pain, and hurriedly stepped between the two of them, raising his voice deliberately.
"Now thatthe greetings are over, may I ask, Mr. Investment Dragon, how much money do you plan to invest in this small business?"
Naimen deliberately blocked the attack routes of both sides. Since the silver dragon lady in front of me was invited by Olia??¡It shouldn¡¯t be too much.
With the corner of his eye, he glanced at where the imperial princess was standing. As expected, Olya's lips were opening and closing rapidly, talking to others through magic invisible to the naked eye.
"Okay, okay." Mara shook her head slightly and focused her eyes on the young man in front of her again, "The investment amountwell, let's do that."
Silver Dragon lowered his voice and said a number. Its unit was pounds of gold - not gold pounds.
When she heard that number, even Bonnie Saphire from later generations was stunned for a moment. She rolled her eyes a few times, made quick calculations in her mind, then held her breath and took a step back.
This number also made Naimen open his mouth and he could not close it for a long time.
"Isn't this already more than the upper limit you provided, Anne?"
"I can only search for corresponding research by living historians. Besides, the silver dragons in the empire must be much, much richer than ordinary dragons. If you have any doubts about the statistical results, you can find it in the encyclopedia: statistics entry Find help here. Need a detailed entry on later statistics?"
"Uh no need for now, thank you. If there is an entry for dragon, please add the suffix 'irresponsible' in addition to strong, noble, proud, and trustworthy."
If the number provided by Anne before was enough to arm two Free Divisions, then the number now spoken by Silver Dragon Mara should be able to rearm the entire Free Army and Navy and support their military salary for another year and a half. How long it can last is not something that Naimen's poor verbal arithmetic ability can calculate.
"Metty! Metty! Accept my communication technique!"
Such a large number is not something Naimen dares to agree to casually. He hurriedly contacted Metty, who was stretching her neck to watch the excitement, and threw the amount provided by Mara through the communication magic.
To use a vulgar metaphor, it is like throwing a stone into a pond; to use the metaphor of the staff, it is like throwing a cannonball into a militia queue.
Meti passed the news to her accountant and Zhang Shiyi beside her. Zhang's Qu Shuai quietly consulted the Eastern counselor beside him who was wearing a wide robe and long sleeves and holding a strange feather product. Everyone had this "are you kidding me" look on their face. General Fisher, the treasurer of the Seventh Fleet, also heard this number, but did not join the discussion. He just nodded in the direction of Naimen with a serious expression, making it unclear what his intentions were.
"How about it? Can your small business bring me a reasonable return on my investment? I don't even need a decent return."
Marla smiled meaningfully.
Dragons are too lazy to lie, and they usually don't bother to hide their intentions: "This dragon just wants to use a huge number to embarrass you, you bastard." This sentence is almost written on her face.
"Besides, I also want some basic investor safety clauses. Stop whispering over there and listen together!"
Ma La turned half sideways and pointed with her hand at the crowd closest to the pier. Out of conditioned reflex, everyone except the Imperial people and Zhang Shiyi took half a step back.
"First of all, I will not be an enemy of the empire. The one who signed the contract with me is the Coman royal family. I am afraid that counter-intentional schemes will not have any effect. I hope you will not do this."
Naimen could clearly see that some of the guests looked unhappy. Silver Dragon's speech is almost a demonstration on behalf of the empire - rather than saying that she is here to invest, it is better to say that she is here to cause trouble.
Although the main colonies of the Koman Empire are in North New Zealand and have little influence on the most profitable Eastern Sea Route, this does not mean that the empire does not pose a threat to the waterway. The hundred thousand emperors gathered by Emperor Guang in Lunni are a great threat: only a few thousand people are enough to capture most of the ports in Intre with the help of a powerful navy - just like the current situation.
People can¡¯t help but wonder, will the appearance of the silver dragon symbolize that the empire will continue to try to maintain its presence in the southern seas? Mara sneered and said the second condition, as if to prove their suspicion.
"Of course, if you want to use or transfer this fund, you should obtain my permission in advance. I don't want to let thousands of years of savings go down the drain overnight. I believe that even if you have an army, you can't bear the dragon's attack on you. Personal revenge."
"Of course. We will definitely ensure the safety of your funds."
Naimen responded with formalities and glanced at Olya bitterly, but what he was thinking about was the threat hidden in the Silver Dragon's words. That means, of course, "As long as necessary, I can carry out surprise attacks on your weaknesses."
The princess of the empire seemed to have been staring at him before. Seeing Naimen¡¯s gaze,??, Olia looked up at the sky in a panic, and mouthed the sentence "I'm sorry, I will talk to her again."
¡°Her Royal Highness the Princess represents the official attitude of the empire: do not let the sea power be completely controlled by any one of the main enemies, whether they are the Saint Forest Elves or the Free Rebels. The empire did not invest many resources in the offensive and defensive war in the southern seas. It only supported the separatist forces and royalists to capture several ports around Intre.
Unless this is her plan - this thought flashed through Naimen's mind, making him shudder.
"Using a silver dragon stationed in the Intra Sea to monitor the situation on both sides of the sea - even if this is not the best use of dragons, it is still a very outstanding plan. For those weak port guards and marines, a dragon can really change the entire situation
Although immersed in such consultant-like thinking, Naimen did not ignore the last request made by Yinlong.
"Finally, I want to retain access to the funds at all times. Every dragon should have basic dragon rights, like rolling around on shiny things. What, are these conditions still acceptable?"
This slightly humorous condition made Naimen hesitate for a moment and looked in the direction of the girls. The conclusions drawn by his collaborators were obvious.
Zhang Shiyi nodded slightly, but she didn't look too determined. The brown-faced counselor next to her was anxiously trying to persuade her. Metty shook her head vigorously, seeming to say, "We can't do this amount." Olya was wiping the sweat from her forehead and discussing something with Ionette. The handsome archbishop still had a wry smile on his face.
The opinion of most people is "against". From a staff point of view, there seems to be no benefit in letting a silver dragon who is obviously loyal to the empire stay here.
But the commander¡¯s part of Neimen¡¯s mind was roaring¡ªjust like it was when he was on the battlefields of Fort Verti, Stilburg, Jena, and Rennie.
The most important ability as a staff officer is to guess what the enemy wants and analyze what the enemy can achieve; and to know what our army wants and what our army can achieve. The most important ability as a commander is knowing when to use this knowledge.
If this was a battle, the silver dragon Mara had the absolute advantage before; but when he heard her last request, Naimen felt that he vaguely saw some kind of turning point.
"Could it be said that the goal of the counselor who sent the Silver Dragon, or lured here, is different from the goal of the Silver Dragon Mara?"
He turned his attention to Bonnie Saphire, who was standing almost side by side with him.
"If it were me, I would keep Her Highness Mara and her money."
A message sounded in his ears, carrying the opinion of the young Archbishop.
"Do you think so too, Miss Bonnie?" he wrote back.
¡°Because it looks more interesting this way.¡± There was a rare sense of relaxation in the message sent by the archbishop, who had always been serious. Only then did Naimen realize that this person was indeed the sister of Anne Seifer, who always had a happy atmosphere around her.
This letter strengthened his determination. After pretending to think deeply for a moment, he raised his head and looked into the silver dragon's shining and threatening pupils without flinching.
"These are indeed a few very reasonable requests." Naimen nodded, "It's just that we may still have some difficulties in implementation. I would like to ask you a small question, Your Highness the Investment Dragon, about the way you withdraw returns. ."
Ma La put away her smile: "Tell me."
"Maybe I am ignorant, but I have never heard of dragons buying anything with money. We, the free nations, have tried to contact your kindred many times, but we have been rejected, right?"
"It's not that we don't buy things at all, it's just that there aren't many places where money is needed. Even in human form, as long as we speak to humans, most problems can be solved immediately without spending money."
Yinlong calmly said something similar to a certain emperor in the Eastern Empire allusion: "If there is no food to eat, why not eat meat porridge?" Naimen seemed to hear someone lightly "cut", but he didn't recognize who it was.
"That means that if you are a shareholder, you should not accept returns in the form of goods, negotiable instruments or privileged shares, right?"
"Cash it for me, cash it!" Mara said a little impatiently, "Please exchange it all for shiny currency - gems are also acceptable. I don't really need magic items and rare materials."
Nai Menzhuang frowned in confusion.
"Excuse me for being curious. Since you have no need to spend money, nor do you need magic items, props, materials, etc., then what is the use of collecting money and gems?"
"In our opinion, it is strange for humans to collect gold and gems just to spend money." Mara's tone became high-pitched, "Just like you humans love to collect all kinds of strange things, we dragons love , these are the gold and jewelry themselves! You actually want to spend these beautiful works of art, I really don¡¯t understand! Look at those gold coins and jewelry from different eras! How wonderful it feels to rub the scales with them !¡±
"I'm sorry, I don't have scales." Naimen pretended to smile bitterly and said, "But it's very difficult for us to manage. Our small business needs to actually use this money¡ª¡ª"
"If you really can't meet my requirements, then this dragon will have no choice but to express regret." Mara shrugged.
Seeing that Yinlong was getting impatient, Naimen took a small step forward: "No, no, I have thought of another solution. Make sure for the last time, all you need is these shiny treasures, not to spend them. They are, right?¡±
"Yes." Mara asked slightly alertly, "What do you mean?"
"Then I can provide you with at least three times the return." Naimen replied, "You don't have to worry about returns, shares, these messy things created by humans. As long as you move the treasure house, I guarantee that you can The scales are polished in three times as much gold. And, three times as much is just the beginning, there will only be more and more gold and jewels inside.¡±
The number three times made Marla¡¯s ears twitch, and she couldn¡¯t help but repeat it loudly.
"Three times? Three times the number just now? Are you kidding, young human? That's my two thousand years of savings!"
"At least three times." Naimen nodded decisively, "If you just need these gold coins and treasures."
This figure made the person in charge of the new bank business that was about to be established, Metty Crosso, change her face greatly. She glanced at her accountant, made up her mind and shouted loudly: "No three times, it will be very difficult¡ª¡ª"
She only shouted this before she suddenly retracted her fingers in shock and pressed her right ear in panic to accept a new communication technique.
"The three times refers only to gold and gems, not the actual currency to be issued."
Bonnie Sephiel from the future reminded with a smile. As if to comment on her prompts, Naimen continued to talk about the conditions.
¡°Of course, we will also regularly replace some of the gold and jewelry to ensure that they can bring fresh and pleasant sensory enjoyment to Your Highness.¡±
Yinlong suddenly understood: "Aren't you just going to build a new big treasury? It sounds like it's not the same as what I want."
"But is there a difference? Is there any difference between this treasury and your treasure trove? You can transplant all the treasure trove security systems that dragons are best at. You can decorate this dragon's treasure cave with three times the gold and jewelry."
Mara hesitated for a long time, looked at Naimen¡¯s enthusiastic eyes, and finally nodded reluctantly.
"Yeah, I guess it's no different from my treasure trovewell, at least it's three times bigger. You convinced me."
"Then I can accompany you, the most important investment dragon, to choose a location for the new treasure house now." Naimen bowed deeply, "I happen to have a few guests here from the Imperial Orthodox Church. They can also come along if that makes you feel comfortable.¡±
"Now?" The few strands of tentacle-like hair on Mara's forehead trembled a few times, and her arrogance inevitably lowered, "Is it convenient for you now? There are many important rituals and so on?"
"In front of an important investment leader like you, the schedule can be changed."
Naimen turned to Bonnie and winked at her.
"I believe that, as the Archbishop, you can handle the next matter well for me. Ms. Silver Dragon, please come this way."
Naimen almost dragged Silver Dragon and Olia away from the dock area with a semi-coercive attitude, and Ionette followed them helplessly. The surrounding crowd had surprised expressions and consciously made way for him and his guard platoon.
"This is really sudden, guys."
After the sound of those people¡¯s hoofbeats disappeared, Bonnie Saphire walked up to everyone. She first looked at Metty, then looked at the army and navy officers and lieutenants, and finally stopped looking at Zhang Shiyi's hair.
The archbishop faced the "gold belt" at the other endThe girl with ombre hair smiled slightly, lowered her voice, and said, "It's probably best to leave this matter to you. Ms. Silver Dragon believes that no one in the empire will fall into such despicable counter-intentional schemes. We have to tell her through actions that there are still some territories that are not under the jurisdiction of the empire. "
"I understand. This matter is already being done." Zhang's daughter Qushuai nodded, "The so-called strategy is not only used against the enemy."
Bonnie¡¯s fingers drew a semicircle in the air, covering all the people who were whispering not far away: "Has it started yet?"
"Yes. Within five days at the latest, everyone around the Narrow Sea will know the news."
Hearing Zhang Shiyi¡¯s reply, Bonnie¡¯s eyes flashed with praise.
"Hmm. The people of the Empire will definitely not believe this counterintuitive plan - unfortunately, on the thousands of kilometers of ocean around the Port of Phase, the total number of people in the Empire is probably only ten or twenty thousand at most. Soon, people will know, The Southern Army Headquarters in Phase Port has a silver dragon."
"Sorry to interrupt, I will report what happened here to the Commander-in-Chief right now. Can you borrow one or two bishops from the church? My ship's mage and priest are not here."
The person who interrupted was the representative of the Navy, General Fisher. Bonnie looked him over and nodded in agreement.
"So urgent? The Seventh Fleet is about to take action soon?"
"Yes. We want to test how long Intraeus can retreat with his fleet. I'm afraid it will be within the next two days."
"By the way, let's also send a squadron to my Phatis offshore"
While the people in the inner circle were exchanging information and greetings, the citizens watching in the outer circle had already entered the commotion incited by the gossip.
"Is that really a dragon? Why does it look like a woman?"
"I heard that real dragons can take the form of humans."
"But where did that dragon come from? Why are you chatting and laughing so happily with our temporary governor?"
"The dragonisn't ours anyway."
The Free Nations have never received dragon support. In fact, the southern countries that were founded less than a century ago don't even have many flying monsters such as pterosaurs or pegasus, not to mention dragons, not even enough to form an air force. Compared to the Free Army's powerful firearms and magic forces, the air force is really their biggest weakness.
"I heard that it is one of the two dragons of the empire."
"That beautiful woman?"
"Dragon can transform into human form. Legend has it that in the Eastern Land where the Holy Land Giant Deer is located, even the emperor himself was transformed into a dragon."
"Why are you here? Are you coming to invade? Should we escape?"
"No, it seems quite friendly Could it be that the Empire has decided to support this company?"
"Maybe it's true. Look, those emperor's ambassadors followed him out."
The secret to manipulating public opinion is to spread many plausible inferences based on solid facts. Zhang's counselors in Hengqu obviously knew this well. In the short period of time before the official opening of the exchange, they had spread a lot of news surrounding "The Silver Dragon Landed in Phase Port".
"Socould it be that the Archbishop's prophecy will really come true?! Even the dragons from the opposing side have come to join"
"Shengsen Oriental Company has been arrogant for two hundred years, and their monopoly should end!"
"It seems that today's transaction price and contract auction will increase in price."
"Yes, look, even the Silver Dragon has made a special trip here"
On this day, not only the most prominent dignitaries from the various Protestant churches came to the Port of Phase, but also the dragon descended here.
Regardless of the reason, this fact is enough to give people strong confidence that the day of counterattack in the Narrow Sea is coming. There was only a small group of young women in the corner, and some small businessmen in a similar situation to them frowning.
Everyone can predict that the upcoming bond fair and military supplier auction will be a tough battle; but for these girls, they are not even qualified to give up.
¡°No matter how you calculate it, I feel that we don¡¯t have enough money today.¡±
Bai Ruisi, whose identity is the Taoist consultant of "Huaicui Xing" and is actually a remnant of the banned Phase Port Thieves Guild, pondered for a long time and concluded distressedly.
"Sister, do you think it will rise that much?"
"At least 30%." After hearing Di Meiyi's question, Bai Ruisi replied, "Although everyone knows that today is just a big show, the archbishop and the dragon cannot lie. After such a display of strength, , an increase of 30% is considered small.¡±
She closed her eyes?, pinched the bridge of his nose. This was a relaxation gesture she learned from the Orientals in the Thieves Guild when she was "White Silk", forcing herself to calm down.
"If it's really not enoughthen let's prepare to use that batch of goods. Maybe, there won't be any big problem."
After some time, the crowd started to move again. One could hear the hoarse shouts of the military police and militiamen responsible for guiding, as well as the shouts of ordinary clerks who had been urgently recruited from major commercial banks.
"The bonds of the new chartered company and the Union Bank will be available to subscribe for these warehouses, factories and fleets, and to subscribe for future shares! All military supply orders can be paid off in the form of bonds, and a handsome return will be obtained! We accept in All supplies on the list! Anyone who cooperates with the ** Military Police will receive considerable rewards!"
It was a passionate afternoon. The scene was so fervent and intense that it is difficult to describe it in words. The trading rules alone were temporarily changed four times, and even Archbishop Bonnie Seifer came to the scene in person to mediate disputes for the churches, religious orders, and monasteries that had almost snatched these sacred contracts.
Money was literally in the air, in the shouts and gestures. The banknotes issued by the Union Bank were urgently stamped with a dragon-shaped seal, engraved by Archbishop Bonnie Seifer himself, and the divine power seeping out of it made it shine with silver light. People affectionately refer to this kind of "dragon-guaranteed banknotes" as dragon banknotes, and bonds printed with this seal are called dragon bonds.
When the three people who called themselves "Huai Cui Xing" finally boarded the carriage on their way back with a contract and a stack of bonds, they all felt as if they had escaped from death. It was worse than the night when the thieves' guild was swept away by the military police with thunderous force. Still tired.
¡°Our ¡®Huaicui Bank¡¯ is finally one of the more than 40 recognized military supply companies. At least, the three of us have left our names on the contract, so that we have an identity that can be used in public activities.¡±
After calmly crossing the Phase Bridge, Bai Ruisi sighed and leaned back on the carriage seat. Di Meiyi was still driving the light carriage, while the thin Yin Rujing had long since lost the strength to continue moving and was leaning against Bai Ruisi's thigh.
"But we can't rest today, Meiyi. Although the rental time of this car has passed, we still have to rush to the warehouse in Donggang."
Di Meiyi¡¯s reins shook and she asked the horse to turn onto the road to Donggang.
"Are we going to transfer that batch of goods tonight, sister? Isn't it too sensitive? There were many people in the Thieves Guild who knew about the existence of this batch of supplies."
"That's why we need to move quickly tonight. It takes almost half the night to move the supplies. While all the prominent figures are having a banquet, let's get things done here quickly." Bai Ruisi smiled bitterly, "We can say that we are This batch of supplies was bought cheaply at a trade fair¡ªas long as the goods are moved out, the paperwork and fictitious middlemen are easy to handle.¡±
"But it's already this time, there won't be many hard workers on the dock, right?"
"I copied new magic from the magic network, which can summon several invisible assistants to act as manpower. The spell doesn't seem too difficult, you can also practice it."
The sound of their conversation woke Yin Rujing. The girl reflexively touched the dagger in her boot and asked, "Do I need to prepare other weapons?"
"I hope not."
When the first ray of sunset shone on the top of the warehouses on the pier, their carriage stopped in front of Donggang.
Compared with Westport, today¡¯s Donggang seems particularly deserted. If you cast your sight across the strait, you can see the everlasting banquet lights and magical light over Westport. Even the lighthouses on the west coast appear brighter. There are almost no large ships moored in the port. Only the last few scheduled ships and barges from West Port are still slowly approaching the port.
"We need some porters and two four-horse heavy freight carriages to warehouse No. 16! Night shift wages will be increased by 30%!"
Di Meiyi waved her riding crop and shouted to the foremen who came up to her.
Then, the carriage sped to the warehouse management office, and Yin Rujing, who was nominally the shopkeeper of Huaicuihang, checked the bill of lading and settled the storage fee. As expected, there are also military police on duty here, and Nemen Solayton's minions have accurately penetrated into many key corners of the city.
"The pig iron is from Warehouse No. 16. The advance deposit has expired for three days. Please make up the difference."
They looked at the official and the military policeman with a little worry, fearing that he would see something suspicious about the document that had been stored in Warehouse No. 16 for a month. Fortunately, these bureaucrats seemed to be just in a hurry to change shifts and go to dinner, so they rushed through the delivery procedures and even miscalculated the deposit.
Finally, the phase harbor piratesThe "remnants" of the guild stood outside the warehouse door filled with pig iron ingots. The three women looked at each other and divided the work tacitly: Di Meiyi went to organize the workers, Yin Rujing took charge, and Bai Ruisi went in to inspect the goods.
An ordinary wooden box contains ordinary iron ingots. The person handling it is an ordinary leather bag company. There is no connection with the Thieves Guild. Only by careful inspection can one find something special in each box of iron ingots: the smelter's steel seal in their corner sparkles with a faint magical aura.
Except for the dead guild leaders, she is the only one who still knows the code words to remove these secret marks. The chief mage of the guild who set them up was an old Eastern Taoist priest. He died that night together with "Cui Jie" just a few days after he returned from handling this batch of goods. Bai Ruisi took a deep breath, retrieved the memory of when he was the trade union cadre "Bai Si", pressed his finger on the steel seal, and whispered the code word in a low voice.
"Only death can unlock the answer."
Thinking about it now, this code phrase seems ironic. The side of the iron ingot slowly opened, revealing the goods inside.
Those were the supplies that she and the guild members spent a month getting from the mainland for all kinds of magicians. Refined parchment, induction ink, fine gold powder most of them come from the black market of Lenny and Fortiburg. The Imperial Army and the Free Army have relatively strict management of military supplies; relatively speaking, the management of spoils of war is not so strict, but in the past war, both sides accumulated a lot. Of course, the methods they use are hard to say bright.
The magic materials stored in this warehouse are enough for tens of thousands of new mages and low-level mages, and there is enough to arm two divisions of magic troops. Of course, the Royal Security Department and the Free Army Military Police are probably also tracking this eye-catching bulk cargo. Bai Ruisi even suspected that the liquidation of the Phase Port Thieves Guild was also related to the fact that the batch of goods they obtained was too large and too sensitive.
"But only they can bring enough money. Unlocking the answer means death."
She sighed, recited the code word in reverse, closed the iron ingot, and then ordered the ignorant dockworkers to come in and move this batch of "Phates Pig Iron" onto the freight carriage. The two carriages seemed to be slightly insufficient, but Bai Ruisi did not want to add a third carriage. Instead, he instructed the workers to load the extra iron ingots into the rented light carriage.
Soon, the sun disappeared completely, and the light of stars and torches continued to shine on the people at work instead. The last scheduled ship also entered the East Harbor and extinguished its lights. When the port was almost completely quiet, the three paid off the labor fees, dismissed the porters, and each drove a carriage on their way home.
"Where are we going, eldest sister? I'm afraid this carriage can't even enter your residence, right?" asked Di Meiyi, who had moved to a large cart.
"I also rented a vacant room, which I have never used, just to store this batch of goods" Bai Ruisi frowned, "Why, is there no lighting in Donggang at night? I thought they would use some magic. There¡¯s an ever-burning lamp.¡±
Bai Ruisi didn¡¯t bring an oil lamp, so he found a lighting spell from the magic net and fixed a blue light ball on his right wrist. Under the blue light, she suddenly discovered that in the darkness at the port exit, two roadblocks made of logs had been erected at some point!
"Turn around, like a mirror! Try to rush out from the north¡ª¡ª"
A strong gust of wind passed by Bai Ruisi's ears and hit the carriage guard behind her, making a low and scary sound. She turned around and discovered that what was stuck to her ear was not a crossbow arrow, but a throwing spear!
"Please stop resisting. Although you will never give up this batch of goods, there is no need to lose your life for them, right, Miss Baisi."
Bai Ruisi cast his gaze over and found that there were about twenty or thirty people standing behind the roadblocks, and the leader looked like a woman.
She sighed and said loudly: "Don't run away, Rujing, Meiyi, come to me. We have completely fallen into someone else's trap."
"Your vision for purchasing on the black market is indeed unique, Miss Baisi, and your views are also impressive." This city will definitely become the center of the Magic Network. People will come to Phase Port from all over the world to learn and improve. Paradigm magic related to the Magic Network, preaching new theories, and using new experiments and conclusions to change the world.'"
After hearing what the woman said, Bai Ruisi's expression changed. This was what she said to the chief mage of the guild.
"It was your people who captured the guild."
"We are just collaborators. The military police did not have enough chaplains and doctors, so they handed over the injured to us for rescue, so I am here." The person hesitated and then added,
"That Taoist priest was seriously injured."
"Collaborator are you from the Zhang family in Hengqu?"
"I am Zhang Shiyi, the commander-in-chief of the Zhang family in Hengqu."
The woman beside the roadblock waved her hand, and her followers lit torches one after another, lighting up the area like daylight. She has an eye-catching single ponytail, and her hair is a strange gradient color mixed with black and blonde.
Hearing this, Bai Ruisi let go of the reins.
Her two companions had already jumped off the carriage, but they were too nervous to speak. Strangely enough, even when faced with such a dangerous situation, she didn't feel nervous at all. Perhaps people with only short-term memory have not yet learned what fear is.
"I think you are not just here for this batch of goods."
Zhang Shiyi nodded and said: "I am very interested in that heroic woman who swept away the Thieves Guild's property and secretly burned the Thieves Guild's account books, causing one-fifth of the members to escape from the purge of the Thieves Guild. I heard that there is The news about her came here on the last scheduled ship."
¡°You¡¯re not going to specifically turn down the dinner party, are you? That¡¯s really flattering to me.¡± Bai Ruisi said sarcastically.
"You don't have to be so vigilant. I have no ill intentions and I don't intend to ask for this batch of goods from you." Zhang Shiyi spread his hands, "Whether there really is a Huai Cui Bank or not, it is already a recognized military supplier. My purpose here is"
"Okay, let's join." Bai Ruisi interrupted, "My real name is Bai Ruisi. If you want, you can continue to call me 'Bai Si'."
She doesn¡¯t want this conversation to last too long. If the other party is really just here to poach, she doesn't reject it: two identities are always safer than one. Her reason told her that even if these were enemies, they were enemies of the Thieves Guild, not her own - her own enemies should seem much more dangerous.
"We will support you in rebuilding a new underground force. It won't be as powerful as the thieves guild in the past, but we don't need to be that strong." Zhang Shiyi said, "Also, I don't really want you to be regarded as our peripheral force. ."
Bai Ruisi nodded secretly in his heart, already having some inferences about what happened tonight.
"I want to ask an abrupt question. You need to mobilize your power out of the phase port. Is there going to be a war?"
"It will be soon."
Zhang Shiyi replied readily, "So, I need to find more capable companions to join. You seem to know how to advance and retreat, and you are also very wise. You are exactly the person I am looking for."
"I finally have a personal question. Are you really incapable of rescuing more people from the guild? Rather than letting me, a nobody like me, rebuild the guild, wouldn't it be better to directly absorb the old guild?"
"Sorry, we were still a weak family at that time, and even now we are not very strong."
Zhang Shiyi said something a little lonely, which didn't seem to be the answer.
¡°Compared to greed, compassion is very expensive.¡±
Bai Ruisi did not ask any more questions.
A few days later, Huaicuihang opened a small store outside the business district of Westport and purchased shares in several new ships. In the frenzy of expansion among new military suppliers, this move seems inconspicuous.
Almost at the same time, the Seventh Fleet and the Southern Army began their recovery operations. - Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report
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