(Today's Update: Two in One Chapter)
The 142nd chapter "Strange Fleet"
Even though it was only the beginning of summer, the noon sun was already showing a bit of savagery, wantonly shining its rays on the river.
This was the Enke Port, located about 30 miles downstream of the Grand Lan Cang Canal. At the same time, it was also an important auxiliary port near the Imperial Capital.
The Grand Lan Cang Canal traversed the Empire from east to west. It took generations of painstaking efforts of the Empire's Emperors to open up the main rivers from east to west and finally to the sea, forming the Empire's main artery from east to west. It became an important conduit for blood transfusions to the Empire's "Imperial Capital".
However, after hundreds of years of peaceful and prosperous life, the Imperial Capital became the most prosperous city in the continent. Although the original port of the Imperial Capital had been expanded several times over the generations, the capacity was still insufficient to accommodate the increasingly busy ships coming in and out. Therefore, in order to alleviate and share the burden of the Imperial Capital's port, the Enke Port was built about 30 miles downstream of the Imperial Capital several decades ago to share the burden of the Imperial Capital's port.
After decades of development, the Imperial Capital's port taxes were 20% higher than here. Therefore, many small and medium sized caravans were willing to dock their ships here. Although the goods had to be transported from the port to the Imperial Capital via land, the good thing was that the taxes here were slightly cheaper and reduced the cost of transportation by land to some extent.
Surrounding the Enke Port, a small town with a population of more than ten thousand people has sprung up in the past few decades. There were even several cargo transport and carriage companies near the Imperial Capital gathered in this town.
At this moment, a large ship was anchored next to a merchant dock in Enke Port. This was a standard seagoing ship with three masts. When the wind was strong enough, this ship could accelerate at a very fast speed.
The ship had already stabilized. Two guys who looked like merchants had already jumped off the ship. They chatted and laughed with the official tax official of the Norman Empire on the dock for a while. After paying the tax, they took out a gold coin and stuffed it into the hand of the tax official. Immediately, the tax official beamed with joy. He didn't even check it; instead, he directly signed the document.
Behind them, a large group of labourers who were waiting for work at the dock had already surrounded them. For a moment, they clamored loudly, hoping to get some work to do.
"Sir, sir, hire me! Hire me! My strength is great, but my limbs are light! If you have any valuable goods, I will never let them be damaged! "
"Honorable sir, please hire me! I have twenty men under me, and I only want two copper horns each! Two copper horns! "
Amidst the commotion, a wooden plank was lowered from the other side of the ship. Two tall women walked down from the ship side by side. One of them was wearing a light knight's armor. She was as beautiful as a flower, especially her pair of slender and strong legs, which were even more admirable. The other one was even more surprising. She was wearing a white magician's robe, but what was supposed to be a simple magician's robe had been altered by her. One of the robes had been changed into a long gown, and she was wearing a light leather armor. Judging from the texture, it was unknown what kind of magical beast's skin it was made of. There was also a bright red cloak on her back. What was even more eye-catching was that this female magician had a head of dazzling silver hair that shone brightly under the sun. However, her face that should have been charming and lovely was cold and indifferent. Especially her pair of eyes, which made people unable to help but feel a chill in their hearts when they looked at her!
Such a rare combination of a female Knight and a female magician walking down from the ship immediately attracted the attention of others. However, as the female magician snorted coldly, the people nearby couldn't help but shudder and quickly withdrew their gazes, not daring to look again.
"Joanna, you see, it seems that everyone is afraid of you." Ruo Lin smiled slightly. She looked at the busy scene below and sighed. She called one of her men on the ship, "Find someone to take a look and quickly unload the goods. There are new goods to be loaded on the ship tonight. If you are so slow, if you can't load the goods in time, be careful of your legs!"
These two people were the first female Knight under Du Wei, Ruo Lin, and the violent female magician, Joanna. Du Wei sent the fake Captain Jack Sparrow and his new confidant, George Bush, to the north to find the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group. The two of them didn't disappoint. They quickly found the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group and handed in Du Wei's handwritten letter. When the leader of the mercenary group, Beinrich, received the letter, he was worried. He had just hunted a batch of goods from the frozen forest, but the smugglers who were willing to take over were too evil. They actually lowered the price by 20%! Beinrich was worried about this matter, and he just happened to receive Du Wei's letter. He couldn't help but be overjoyed when he read the contents of the letter. He immediately decided to sell all the goods to Du Wei.
At the same time, Beinrich also contacted a few of his friends who had a good relationship with small to medium sized mercenary groups. After a discussion, they decided that as long as Du Wei's price could maintain the same level in the future, then they would be willing to sell all the prey to Du Wei in the future.
The pirate captain returned with a full load. Anyway, there was a port in the north, so he contacted Ruo Lin and sent three ships to the north to pick up the goods. After receiving the three ships of goods, Ruo Lin was a little anxious. This kind of Magic Beast trafficking was illegal after all. She still had to wait for the little master, Du Wei, to find a way to get the legal approval. But Du Wei had already left the Rollin Plains and came to the Kingdom, so Ruo Lin had no choice but to come to the Kingdom to find Du Wei to discuss.
After all, this woman was someone who once led a small mercenary group to travel around the world. She naturally had a plan in mind. She thought: With the name of Du Wei's Rowling family, this kind of legal approval wouldn't be hard to get. Since this was the case, why not just take a ship of goods directly to the Kingdom! After reaching the Kingdom and getting the approval, in the Kingdom, the price of this kind of Magic Beast's magic core, fur, and bones was higher than in other places. At that time, she could also make a lot of money. Wasn't that a good thing?
Therefore, a total of three ships of goods were bought from the north. Two of them went south, and one entered the Lancang Grand Canal from the estuary of the East Sea, and then went west to the Kingdom.
It was just that the Magic Beast's fur and other things were illegal. Unless there was an official document from the Kingdom, these things were explicitly prohibited. In order to deceive people, the ship also deliberately trafficked a batch of ordinary fur goods on the ship. It was the goods of the fur merchant who had a good relationship with Du Wei on the Rollin Plains. They also took this ship to transport the goods to the Kingdom and saved a lot of freight. After the ship arrived at the Kingdom and unloaded the goods, it was an empty ship on the way back. It also happened to pass by Kote Town where the Rollin Plains was located. Ruo Lin promised that when the empty ship returned, she could lend the ship to the fur merchant to transport the goods. It just so happened that he also wanted to buy a lot of things in the Kingdom. In this way, a lot of freight was saved. It was just that the details of clearing the customs along the way were taken care of by the people sent by the fur merchant.
Half of the goods on this ship were the fur and bones of the Magic Beasts from the Frozen Forest. There was also a small bag of magic nuclei which was carried by Ruo Lin.
The two beauties got off the ship. The matter of unloading the goods on the side had already been taken care of by the men sent by the fur merchant. It was just that the sailors on the ship were originally pirates. How could they have been to the Kingdom? Although it was still more than thirty miles away from the Kingdom, the prosperity of the Enke Port town was already too much for the eyes to take in. Not far from the port, there were hotels and inns. There were also gorgeously dressed prostitutes soliciting customers. The group of pirates were itching to immediately jump down and indulge in wine and women.
Ruo Lin had been leading this group of pirates for some time. She knew that these guys were vulgar by nature. Although they were usually strict in their management, they also knew that there must be tension and relaxation in order to control their subordinates. Seeing this, she couldn't help but laugh and scold them. She ordered the people on the ship to disembark in batches and rest at the port, but she strictly ordered that they were not to cause trouble.
When the group of pirates heard this, their eyes lit up. They thanked Ruo Lin profusely. Then, they took the money and changed their clothes. In a short moment, half of them had left. Only those unlucky guys who happened to be on duty could not help but curse when they saw their happy companions leave.
"Hmph!" Looking at the group of pirates in high spirits, Joanna naturally knew that these guys had disembarked from the ship and went to the port town to seek pleasure. She was afraid that they would drink and visit prostitutes and the like. Thinking of this, she felt a burst of anger in her heart. If it wasn't for the fact that she had been with this group of pirates these past few days and was already used to their vulgarity, she was afraid that she would have already blasted a "Hail Storm" magic at them. Even so, she couldn't help but feel cold. She whispered angrily in a low voice, "A group of vulgar men!"
Ruo Lin was already used to it. In the past, when she had traveled extensively, most of the rough men in the mercenary group were also like this. She looked at Joanna's expression and smiled, "Miss Joanna, now that we have arrived, let's go to the Kingdom to see Master Du Wei after the carriage is prepared."
"Pei!" Joanna's face showed a trace of a strange expression, but her mouth was full of disdain as she said, "Why would I go see that little bastard! Hmph, you can go by yourself! I came to the Kingdom with you, first, to help you guard the ship. Second, I also have some matters to attend to in the Kingdom. En, that's right … Help me pass a message to that little bastard. Just say that the matter that I, Joanna, promised him, I have already completed it! From now on, we don't owe each other anything! The next time I meet him, I will definitely make him suffer a bit! "
Speaking up to here, Joanna looked at Ruo Lin and couldn't help but say, "Ruo Lin, we have been together for these past few days. Although your talent in magic isn't good, your talent in martial arts isn't bad. It's a pity that you haven't met a good teacher since you were young. Although I have taught you a few things these past few days, I know that I'm not a teacher material, so I can't help you much. Why would a person like you want to follow that little bastard Du Wei? Why don't you come with me? My teacher is a first-class expert in this world. He is proficient in both martial arts and magic. If you come with me, I will ask him to accept you as his disciple … "
Before she finished speaking, she saw Ruo Lin looking at her with a smile. She couldn't help but sigh, "Alright, I know you are going to refuse. Since that's the case, let's meet again! "
After saying that, Joanna looked deeply at Ruo Lin and said in a low voice, "Although I have a younger sister, our temperaments have never been the same. Every time I see her, I get angry. On the other hand, I like you very much. If I could have a sister like you, it would definitely be very good."
Giving Ruo Lin a strong hug, Joanna bid farewell and left. She was a magician and had always been arrogant. She did what she wanted to do. She didn't care that there were so many people looking at her. She leaped up and flew towards the direction of the Kingdom. Her body turned into a light wind and disappeared in a moment.
This time, the surrounding crowd immediately boiled over. The people of the Roland Continent revered magicians the most. Seeing a magician suddenly soar into the sky and cast magic, they couldn't help but make a big fuss.
Ruo Lin frowned as she looked at the direction where Joanna left. She sighed softly. When she looked up, she shouted at the several stunned sailors behind her, "Haven't you seen magician Joanna cast magic? What are you doing? Hurry up and get to work! "
Then Ruo Lin said a few words to the men sent by the fur merchant. It seemed that the fur merchant from the Rollin Plains was determined to hug Du Wei's big tree. This time, the person in charge of the delivery was his younger brother, a middle-aged man in his forties.
This man's name was Herbon. He had traveled extensively for half of his life. He was a very smart and capable guy. Along the way, he did everything in front of Ruo Lin. He was very considerate. Just now, without waiting for Ruo Lin's instructions, he had already found a cheap warehouse in the Enke Harbor. (Because the harbor was next to the Kingdom, there were many low-priced warehouses around the harbor town.) He arranged for people to unload the goods and transport them into the warehouse. Then, without stopping to rest, he found a carriage company and negotiated the price.
Ruo Lin was very grateful to him, but Herbon smiled and said, "When we came, my brother had already told me that Miss Ruo Lin is a Knight. How honorable can you be? How can you do these mundane things yourself? Naturally, I will do it for you."
Ruo Lin thanked him. Herbon asked again, "The goods on the ship have been unloaded. Miss Ruo Lin, are you going to the Kingdom today? It just so happens that I also need to go to the Kingdom to purchase some goods. I have already sent people to rent a carriage. Let's go. "
"Just in time. I also need to go see my family's young master. When he gives the order, the goods here can be transported out. Otherwise, we can't just leave them in the warehouse."
The two of them were walking on the pier when they suddenly heard a loud bugle call from the canal.
Ruo Lin turned around to look. On the wide river, the main channel was occupied by a fleet of more than ten merchant ships. This majestic fleet was clearly different from the scattered merchant ships that came and went on the river. This fleet had a flag embroidered with green oak leaves hanging on the bow. It occupied the main channel as if there was no one around. Even the merchant ships in the vicinity recognized this flag and avoided it from afar.
On this fleet, there were even soldiers wearing uniforms of the Kingdom's army. Looking at their style, it was actually the Kingdom's Imperial Guard!
"This is clearly a merchant ship. It doesn't have an official flag. How can it be escorted by the Kingdom's Imperial Guard? The river is so wide, yet they want to occupy it alone. They don't even allow people to walk alongside them. What an overbearing aura! "Ruo Lin frowned.
"Is this Miss Ruo Lin's first time in the Kingdom?" Herbon glanced at it and whispered, "Don't say too much! The origin of this fleet isn't simple! "
"Oh?"
Herbon secretly pointed at the oak leaf flag on the bow of the ship and whispered, "Do you see it? That's the flag of the Solomon Family. This is the Solomon Family's merchant ship. They have the backing of the Royal Family. His Majesty the Emperor has a share in their family business. Every year, they earn a large amount of gold for the Royal Family. They also help manage many of the Royal Family's businesses! This kind of background isn't something that others can compare to! "
Herbon stared at it for a while and said, "The ship's waterline is very deep. It seems that there are a lot of heavy goods on it. The Summer Festival is coming soon. It's probably the Solomon Family's offerings to the Royal Family."
But Rolynn shook her head: "It shouldn't be an offering. The Summer Festival is about to arrive. If it was an offering, then I'm afraid it would've been prepared a month ago. It's too late to send it now …"
Herbon laughed, "Who cares what they send. It has nothing to do with us."
Ruo Lin nodded. She couldn't help but look at the fleet a few more times. She was a warrior. With a glance, she could see that in the distant fleet, apart from the Imperial Guard, the sailors were all strong and full of spirit. They looked tough and fierce. Ruo Lin couldn't help but feel a little strange in her heart …
•
It was already afternoon when they arrived at the Imperial Capital in a rented carriage. The rented carriage was naturally far less luxurious and comfortable than Rollin's carriage. The bumpy journey was fine, but they didn't know what kind of seafood this carriage had been transporting. There was a salty and fishy smell in the carriage. Ruo Lin was used to going out to sea these days, so she didn't mind. Herbon, on the other hand, couldn't stand it. He was the boss's brother. He had a distinguished status in the family business. Usually, he was served by people. After being in the carriage for a while, he almost vomited.
When they arrived at the Imperial Capital's East Gate, Ruo Lin saw the majestic line of people entering and leaving the Imperial Capital. She sighed, "We're here. But there are so many people. How long do we have to wait?"
"This is already considered good." Herbon covered his nose and smiled bitterly, "I heard that the Imperial Capital's gate tax has increased again … Alas, we are doing business. We can't directly ship our goods to the Imperial Capital's port. We can only disembark at the Enke Port. We still have to use a carriage to transport them to the Imperial Capital. We already have an extra transportation fee. If the gate tax increases again, we will lose a lot of money … This business is getting harder and harder to do."
When they arrived at the Imperial Capital, it was already evening. Ruo Lin really didn't want to sit in a carriage. She was a Knight. How could she always sit in a carriage? Before arriving at the Earl's Mansion, she first brought some people to the city's horse market to buy a few horses. After tidying up her appearance, she brought two of her old subordinates, who were also recruited by Du Wei. They were the two subordinates of Ruo Lin. One of them was an archer, and the other was a bull warrior. The three of them asked around and arrived at the Earl's Mansion.
When the servants outside the Earl's Mansion saw that Ruo Lin and the other two were wearing the armor of the Rowling family's private army, they couldn't help but feel strange.
Ruo Lin strode forward and revealed her identity. She was Master Du Wei's direct subordinate. After the servant inside reported, Mard ran out and immediately brought Ruo Lin and the other two inside.
•
Du Wei was hiding in his room alone, studying a pile of magic beast bones.
Since the day before, Du Wei had closed his door and fiddled with his things in his room.
He obtained a lot of good things from that old madman Alley. At home, he wrote down the formula that was said to be able to replace "Mithril". Counting the goods in his inventory, he found that he already had more than twenty things. But there were still seven or eight things that he didn't have. He guessed that Alley didn't have any more in stock. If he wanted to get more, he would have to find another way.
Du Wei wasn't worried about anything else. As long as he could get his hands on a seed, he would be able to successfully cultivate it with the help of the magical "Time Lapse".
While he was carefully studying the mystery of the formula, Mard came in with Ruo Lin.
Du Wei put away his things and closed the door. Outside, he met with Ruo Lin in the reception room.
After not seeing her for a few months, Rolynn's face seemed to have shed off the initial look of fear and trepidation. Instead, she has become more mature. Her tall and slender figure accentuated the exquisite curves of her body, and her full bosom became even rounder. Especially that pair of long legs that even Du Wei couldn't help but praise, showing off a youthful and unrestrained aura.
Her life at sea had tanned her skin into a sexy wheat color. Although her face was slightly thinner, she looked more energetic.
"Sit down." Du Wei leaned lazily on the chair with one hand holding his chin. Looking at Ruo Lin, he smiled: "You've worked hard. I'll remember your contribution. Tell me, why did you come all the way to the capital to find me? "
Ruo Lin sat on the chair next to Du Wei. She looked calm and reported everything. When she said that the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group and a few other mercenary groups were willing to sell their goods to him and hoped for a long-term cooperation, Du Wei immediately said: "Accept it! Why not? There's nothing to hesitate about. We have ships and people now. What we lack is the goods. Leader Beinrich is a good friend who has been through life and death with me. He is also someone I respect. Plus, I saved more than a hundred of their lives. He is someone I can trust. "
"Yes." Ruo Lin nodded: "I think so too. Before I came, I had already drafted an agreement. Please take a look. If there's no problem, I will send someone to send it to the north. There's one more thing … "
After Ruo Lin finished saying that she brought a ship of goods to the capital, Du Wei slightly frowned and thought for a while: "This is a problem, but it shouldn't be difficult to solve. Wait for two days, I will think of a way to solve this problem."
"There's also the problem of money." Ruo Lin smiled bitterly: "You didn't give Jack Sparrow a lot of money to bring to the north. This time we bought so many goods, we didn't have any cash. But Beinrich of the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group trusted you. With his help, we only left a deposit of ten thousand gold coins and shipped the goods back. So, I came to ask you for money this time. "
Du Wei immediately called in Mard and asked Ruo Lin to follow Mard to get the money. After thinking for a while, Du Wei said: "For all the goods this time, pay 10% more to Leader Beinrich. He is my good friend. I have to thank him for his help this time. I have to repay this favor! "
Ruo Lin immediately nodded. After thinking for a while, the female Knight suddenly said: "Master Du Wei, when I was at Enke Port, I saw the Solomon family's fleet on the canal … But that fleet seemed a little strange …"
— — —
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