"This is Border Town... no, Neverwinter?"
Edith walked down the gangway and looked at the busy and orderly scene in front of her. She could not help but be dumbfounded. Although she had made all kinds of speculations before arriving, she found that she had underestimated this city. The area of the dock area was more than three times larger than that of King's City. On one side, it was crowded with sailboats and cement boats, and the ore and coal on the yard were piled up into a small hill.
On the other side, a dozen paddle steamers were slowly leaving the pier in a column, and there were many people standing by the embankment to see them off. All the people on the boats wore uniforms and stood straight on both sides of the ship. Even Edith could feel their fighting spirit. In the past, this kind of expression would only appear on the faces of the victorious Knight, and undoubtedly, these people were not nobles.
The center of the dock was a gathering place for merchants, refugees, and migrants, mainly with various kinds of sailboats. After people got off the boats, they were separated by a group of men in black, who asked them to line up and pass the inspection. In the entire dock area, there were no less than a thousand people, and such a bustling scene even dwarfed King's City.
"The dock has actually grown longer again," Victor said in amazement. "Does His Majesty intend to turn the entire riverside into a dock area?"
"Again?" Edith noticed his choice of words.
"At least last autumn, the dock here wasn't so wide." He spread out his hands. "Of course, there weren't so many people either."
"What are those checkpoints for? Are they collecting taxes?"
"There's no such thing as entering the city. You only have to pay taxes when you sell things," Victor explained enthusiastically. "And no stalls can be set up in the city. All sales have to be done in the Convenience Market in the square. Those men in black are equivalent to the patrols of other cities. They set up the checkpoints to register people's identity and clear the demonic plague. "
"Not extortion and blackmail?" Edith winked at her brother, who nodded and took out his wallet to prepare the money.
"No, no, Miss Conrad, I mean" equivalent "to the patrols," the gem merchant said with a smile and waved his hand. "In fact, they never charge extra fees. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I was as surprised as you when I passed the inspection for the first time. Come with me, the merchant channel is much faster. "
Just as he said, after the black-clothed man verified Victor's identity, he let everyone pass through the checkpoint without asking for a single copper royal.
"Then I must look for a clean and comfortable hotel, and go round to the Convenience Market." He turned his head. "What are you going to do, Miss Conrad? If you're not familiar with this place, I can help you. "
"Thank you." Edith pretended to be grateful. She pinched the corner of her skirt and bent her knees slightly. "You've helped me a lot along the way. That's enough... I'll go to the City Hall to ask for help. I should be able to find some news about my family there."
"It's nothing … It's my honor to be able to meet such an outstanding noble lady like you. Please don't stand on ceremony."
After a while, Edith finally got rid of Victor's pestering. When the merchant said goodbye to her, he kept waving at her and said that if she encountered any trouble, she could always find him at the Holy Mountain Inn.
"Sis, you're really popular," Cole said, smacking his lips.
"Hmm?" Edith glanced at him. "What should you call me?"
"Uh... ahem, Miss Edith." The duke's second son could not help but tremble. "Shall we also find a hotel to stay in?"
"No, let's go to the castle to submit the documents first," she said without hesitation. "Then we'll get in touch with His Majesty as soon as possible."
"But we don't have heads..." Cole reminded her in a low voice.
"Then we'll do it as if we don't have heads." Edith shrugged. "Do you still remember what I told you? Show your sincerity. The Kant family's loyalty can't be represented by just two heads. "
And even if there were, it would probably be stinky long ago. It was also not a good idea to present two deformed heads to His Majesty. She thought that everything had deviated from the predetermined course since he left the king's city.
What to do would depend on the specific situation. In the end, the ability of the negotiator was the key factor that determined the outcome of the negotiation.
"Your Majesty, an emissary delegation from the Northern Region is waiting outside the castle, hoping to receive you." The guard Sean walked into the office and reported. "The leader claims to be Cole Kant, the second son of the current Duke of the Northern Region, Carr Wen Kant. Sir Barov has already checked the documents and family insignia. They shouldn't be forged. "
"The Northern Region?" Roland put down the blueprint in his hand in surprise. "Isn't that Timothy's territory? Did they say why they're here?"
"Yes." The guard looked excited. "Sir Cole said that the Duke is willing to pledge allegiance to you."
"Pledge allegiance?" Roland frowned. "This is really troublesome." Actually, he did not need the allegiance of a feudal lord, which would not only not help the development of the kingdom, but would also have an impact on the current centralized system. Roland hoped that the other side would hide in his territory and wait for him to sweep over. Only by completely crushing the old forces could he successfully establish a centralized state power.
However, he could not refuse to meet them. If the other side deliberately ignored the emissary delegation they sent out to negotiate, the other nobles might lose hope and decide to unite to fight. This was not a problem militarily, but he was mainly worried that it would affect the people of the Eastern Region and the Northern Region. Roland had already regarded the people of the kingdom as his wealth, so he naturally wanted to keep as many people as possible.
After thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded and said, "Take them to the reception hall and call Barov."
"Yes," Sean replied excitedly.
"Judging from the guard's expression, he probably thinks that only the eastern part of the kingdom is not under my control …" Roland thought to himself. However, sometimes things were not as simple as they seemed.
At the same time, he also made a decision.
No matter what, taking back the rights of the feudal nobles was an unshakable principle. This must be accurately expressed to all the nobles to show his determination to reform the new policy. If the rebellious nobles dared to attack the people, they would pay a heavy price.
…
Entering the reception hall, there were only two emissaries sitting at one end of the long table. One of them should be the Duke's second son, Cole Kant. The other person made Roland's eyes slightly brighten. It was a beautiful woman who seemed to be Sir Cole's assistant, but her aura was more eye-catching than that of Sir Cole.
Of course, in terms of appearance, witches were the most dazzling pearls, so Roland did not pay too much attention to them. After all, assistants in this era were likely to play the role of lovers or maids.
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