"Your Majesty, I've never told anyone about you and Lord Thunder..." She hurriedly defended herself.
"I know." Roland waved his hand and looked at Gammon with great interest. "Where did you hear the news?"
Although he did not treat it as a secret, the steel ship had just been built, and there were still several months before it could be put into the water and outfitting. Moreover, it was built in a fully enclosed dock at the shoal, and the selected workers were all the most skilled local residents. It was almost impossible for outsiders to know this news.
If any of the locals were secretly contacting the Fjords, it was worth paying attention.
"Lord Thunder is recruiting a new expedition team, and the scale is larger than any previous one. This is already a big event in the Fjords. There are many outstanding captains in Crescent Moon Bay, so it's not unusual for them to join his team. " Gammon smiled and said, "The news about this mysterious iron ship also came from Thunder. After all, in order to dispel other people's apprehensions about entering the waters to the west of the Shadow Islands, he has to show some hard methods."
"How many people know about this?"
"Not much, Your Majesty. Sir Thunder's prestige is much higher than us merchants. If it wasn't for the fact that the captain had received a great favor from the Crescent Moon Chamber of Commerce, he wouldn't have revealed even half a word to us.
"I see." Roland nodded. "But this kind of ship is extremely difficult to build, and it's impossible to build a second one in a short time, so I can't meet your requirements."
"We understand, Your Majesty," Marlan said. "We only hope that after you complete the deal with Lord Thunder, you can sell us the second steel ship. For this, the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce is willing to pay a 10% deposit first, and the remaining 40% immediately after the construction starts. "
Without even asking about the price, they began to talk about the deposit. Roland once again experienced the adventurous spirit of the Fjords people, or in other words, they were far more sensitive to ships than the rulers of the Four Kingdoms. At least he had never seen any nobleman who would pay a high price for something he had never seen before.
"Neverwinter also needs steel ships, and more than one. It may take two or three years for the dockyard to be free." "Have you ever considered sending craftsmen to participate in the construction and sign a new ten-year or five-year contract? That way, we might be able to speed up the construction process by quite a bit, and you guys will also be able to obtain the corresponding technology afterwards. "
"You must be joking," Gammon said a little awkwardly, "We absolutely have no intention of coveting it. If the steel ship is really as Sir Thunder said, you can totally rely on it to become the most popular partner of the Fjords Islands. How would we dare to ask you for such a technology?"
"I'm not joking." Roland took a sip of his drink and shrugged.
"…" This time, it was the two of them who were stunned.
After a while, Gammon asked in disbelief, "You mean … you're willing to disclose the technology to the Crescent Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce?"
"As long as you can provide enough craftsmen, not only blacksmiths and carpenters, but also apprentices," Roland replied without hesitation, "2,000 people — if that's not enough, you can use literate civilians to make up for it in five years. What do you think? In this way, your ship can start construction next year. Of course, the shipbuilding costs will still be paid by you. "
"I really can't guess what you're thinking, Your Majesty," Gammon said with a wry smile, "Isn't this your trump card?"
Roland shook his head, "The steel ship I'm building for Thunder is already the latest cutting-edge technology that Neverwinter can provide at present."
He was not deliberately bluffing. "At present" was absolutely not an exaggeration … As for five or six years later, who knew?
"Then why did you …" Gammon was stunned and then waved his hand helplessly, "No, I'd better not ask. Crescent Moon Bay is willing to make this deal. "
Why? Because technology could not be realized without the foundation. Not to mention shipbuilding technology, even if they packed up the mines, machine tools, and converters and threw them all to Fjords, they did not have enough manpower to maintain this huge industrial system. When the first steam engine was invented, the manufacturing industry was no longer an industry that could be imitated by a pair of skilled hands and a hammer.
Roland could not help but think of the Captain of the Black Sea's reply to the construction of Varyag: "To complete it, we need the Central Committee of the Party, the State Planning Commission, the Military Industry Commission, and nine ministries of defense industry." Although the current steel ship was far from meeting such high requirements, it was also the result of the joint production of the whole Neverwinter. Except for the core power part and the hull welding which Anna was responsible for, the rest of the parts had been sent to the assembly plant in batches and were processed by ordinary people.
It could be said that this was the inevitable trend of industrial development.
Therefore, rather than hiding the technology, he needed more manpower to turn his idea into results. The population of Neverwinter had been rising rapidly, but he still felt that it was not fast enough. However, he did not need to explain this to a businessman. After five years, the businessman would naturally understand.
"Wise choice, the steel ship won't let you down." Roland raised his glass, "Cheers."
"What...?"
"It means to drink up the wine in one gulp to show celebration," he explained calmly, "It's the king's city's new etiquette."
"Uh, really? Then... cheers. "The two businessmen from Crescent Moon Bay bit the bullet and poured the whole glass of white wine into their mouths.
Not long after, Nibelung and Atiyer also returned to the reception hall and expressed their agreement to sign the contract.
As a result, Neverwinter received an unprecedented huge order — 4,000 gold coins as a deposit for the transformation of the Golden Dragon (the remaining 4,000 gold coins would be paid after the transformation) and 5,000 gold coins as an advance payment for the construction of the Golden Dragon. These were all payments that could be received within the year, not to mention the total price that would depend on the subsequent construction progress. He could already imagine Barov's smile from ear to ear. With a rich income, City hall had more confidence to arrange a job for every subject.
Seeing that they had reached an agreement, Nibelung changed the topic, "Your Majesty, in addition to ships, we also heard that you will sell a lot of perfume here, I wonder..."
"Ms. Margaery has signed a perfume agency contract with me six months ago. After the opening of the Shoal Port, she will be responsible for the sale of perfume to the Fjord Islands. So if you want to buy perfume, you should talk to her, not me. "
Seeing the regretful look on Nibelung's face, Roland continued, "But Neverwinter is also preparing to promote a new product, maybe you'll be interested."
Speaking of this, he clapped his hands, and the guard on duty outside the hall quickly came in with three glass bottles.
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