"I don't want to welcome him. His Majesty is a murderer!" The proud Princess Silvia had passed her thirtieth birthday, but she still maintained her innocent personality. She was still brooding over Queen Sissi's sudden death.
"Alright, then you don't have to go. Fina has been having strong pregnancy reactions these past two days. You should accompany her." Laurist stroked Princess Silvia's hair affectionately.
Laurist had not been idle in the past three months. He had successfully impregnated Fina and fulfilled her wish to become a mother. As for Princess Silvia's wish to have another child and Daisy's wish to become a mother, Laurist still had to work hard.
"Where is His Majesty now?" Laurist asked.
"I don't know," Genolio replied. "This time, His Majesty the King came to Morent City in the name of a messenger. He passed through the city but did not enter. Therefore, the six fortresses in the Mana Hill Plain did not send anyone to report back. If brother Redi had not brought some men out of the city to kill wild dogs, we would not have known that His Majesty had come personally. Brother Redi should be accompanying His Majesty now. "
Three years of bloody battles had turned the Mana Hill Plains into ruins. Packs of corpse-eating wild dogs had formed a serious threat to the people who were preparing to explore Thomas City and Gipsius City. Redi was ordered by Laurist to bring men to exterminate the red-eyed wild dogs that roamed the plains. He had been running around for the past few days.
"Alright, we'll ride down the mountain and follow the road. If we can meet him, then we'll go and welcome him." Laurist said as he led a group of guards down Breen Hill.
When Laurist saw the second prince, he noticed that the second prince was watching the lively trading scene in the trade district with great interest. Redi was standing beside him, and more than twenty royal guards were leading their horses and following them from a distance.
Laurist dismounted his horse and greeted the second prince with a knight's salute, "Your Majesty, why have you come?"
The second prince turned around, "Oh, Loke, my brother. You've come? I didn't expect you to govern Moronte City so well in just half a year. It's completely different from the last time I was here. No wonder you're known as the kingdom's number one master of internal affairs. Why don't you be the first Prime Minister of the Empire? I will entrust the internal affairs of the entire empire to you. I believe that you will not disappoint me. "
Laurist smiled bitterly. "Your Majesty, please don't joke like this. Do you know how much money the Norton Family has invested in Morent City to achieve what we have today? Fourteen million Gold Coins! I've almost emptied out the entire family, and the treasurer scowls at me every time he sees me. He doesn't give me any face … "
The second prince staggered and almost slipped. "How much? Fourteen million Gold Coins! Your Norton family is really rich. Why don't you lend me ten or twenty million to spend … "
Laurist immediately cursed, "Rich my ass. We were forced to do this. This time, the Norton Family was very unlucky. Not only was our family's fleet crippled, we didn't even gain anything from capturing Morent City. We also had to continuously transport all kinds of daily necessities and goods from our family's territory, as well as a large amount of rations, into this bottomless pit called Morent City. Of the fourteen million, four million was seized, as you know. The other ten million was the ransom paid by the Trade Union and the proceeds from selling the seized supplies of our family's armed forces. They were all invested into the development of Morent City and Mana Mound Plain. "
"I don't understand …" The second prince pondered for a moment before asking, "Brother Loke, in the original plan you told me, capturing Morent City was to force the Trade Union to agree to our request for peace talks and sign an armistice agreement to restore peace. But now, why did the Norton Family invest such a huge sum of money into the development of Morent City? Could it be that the Norton Family wants to occupy Morent City and Mana Mound Plain for a long time? "
The second prince had to clarify things first. He could still tolerate the Norton Family dominating the north and several surrounding provinces. After all, no matter how powerful the Norton Family was, they were still part of the Andenac Kingdom's nobility. Even if Laurist became the Sword Sage of the Kingdom, he would still be his subordinate and serve him as his master. But if the Norton Family occupied Mana Mound Plain and Morent City, it would become another family's territory. This meant that the Norton Family and Laurist Family could break away from the Andenac Kingdom and form their own country.
"Your Majesty, you are thinking too much." Laurist was very sensitive to the second prince's unfinished words. He spread his hands and said, "Since when did Your Majesty have the illusion that the people of Morent City are willing to be the subjects of some king or lord? We, the Norton Family, are not willing to make trouble for ourselves. There is only one way to permanently occupy Mana Mound Plain and Morent City. That is to kill more than a million of the city's residents and migrate here to protect this land. We, the Norton Family, will not be such bloody executioners … "
After a pause, Laurist continued, "As for investing 14 million gold coins into the development of Morent City, we have no other choice. But let's talk about this when we get back. I will explain to Your Majesty clearly. This is not the place to talk."
Breen Manor, Laurist's study.
"What? You want to establish a new Chamber Alliance? " The second prince finally understood why Laurist wanted to invest such a huge sum of money in Morent City. This plan was beyond the second prince's imagination.
"To be precise, this is the Freedom Alliance. Unlike the Trade Union, the Freedom Alliance is not controlled by the various Chambers of Commerce. Instead, it is formed by representatives elected by millions of Morent City's residents. It will be the highest authority of the Alliance. Although the Chambers of Commerce also value the development of commerce, they will not allow a single Chamber of Commerce to monopolize a certain industry like the Trade Union. They will promote or encourage three Chambers of Commerce to compete in every industry, so as to maintain the vitality of development and lower the price of goods sold in the market … "Laurist explained.
"But what benefits does this bring to the Norton Family?" the second prince asked in return.
Laurist smiled and shook his head, "Your Majesty, don't forget that there is still the Trade Union eyeing us covetously. They are determined not to compromise with our kingdom and refuse to negotiate. They are determined to be enemies with us to the end. Our good intentions and sincerity to stop the war have instead fueled their greed. They have given us conditions that we cannot accept and have threatened to fight our kingdom to the very end.
Under these circumstances, I have already lost the confidence to negotiate a peace treaty with the Trade Union. That is why I have used the millions of residents of Morent City to form a new Freedom Alliance, making it the new target and enemy of the Trade Union. This huge sum of 14 million gold fords is mainly for the Freedom Alliance to have the ability to independently resist the Trade Union's armed forces. This way, most of the Norton Family's armed forces can leave this battlefield. We only need to send one or two armies to assist the Freedom Alliance to deal a heavy blow to the Trade Union's armed forces.
The free Mana Mound Plains and the free Morent City are the sacred homes of the free people. The Norton Family is an outsider, so we cannot turn the tables and fight to the death with the Trade Union's armed forces. It is the duty of every free Mana Mound Plains and the people of Morent City to protect their sacred homes. The most we can do is to volunteer and help them resist the invasion of the Trade Union's armed forces.
Why did the Trade Union reject our request for peace talks and ignore our sincerity? It's simple. They have money and control the large markets in the southern and central regions of the continent. That is why they think they can drag out this war until we collapse. At that time, they can extend their filthy hands to our kingdom and seize our kingdom's commercial interests. They can control and monopolize the economic markets of various industries in our kingdom and become blood-sucking bugs crawling on our body. The wealth that our kingdom has created will become nourishment for their Chamber of Commerce.
That is why this war is not only a battle of life and death on the battlefield, but also a battle of life and death in the business world. Fortunately, although our family's fleet and the Trade Union's invincible fleet both suffered heavy losses, we have cut off the Trade Union's fastest sea transport route to the southern part of the continent. Although the Trade Union can still transport goods to the southern market by land, they have lost their effectiveness and increased the cost of transportation.
The huge sum of money that our family has invested in Morent City is also to revive the commercial economy of Morent City. We will support it to compete with the Trade Union for the southern and central markets of the continent. As long as we resist the invasion of the Trade Union's armed forces in the Mana Hill Plains and take away the Trade Union's market share, I believe that in two to three years, the Trade Union will be powerless and will no longer be a threat to our kingdom. "
After listening to Lorist's words, the Second Prince pondered for a while and nodded in satisfaction. "Brother Locke, I am very happy that you are so considerate for the kingdom. The Trade Union has indeed become the greatest threat to the kingdom. If we can eliminate the enemy that is the Trade Union according to your plan, it will be a great achievement for the kingdom that will be recorded in the annals of history. You and your family will be engraved in the history of the empire, shining with dazzling light. But when implementing this plan, as the King, what can I do for you? "
The Second Prince wanted to share some of the credit so that he would not become a bystander or a bystander when the great plan was completed. This was a little awkward for the Second Prince, who prided himself on his identity as the Emperor who unified the territory of the former Crimson Empire and revived the empire.
"Of course, we all hope that Your Majesty can lend a helping hand." The reason why Lorist explained so clearly to the Second Prince was because he already had an idea in mind. Now that the Second Prince had come to his door, he naturally would not be polite. "I know that the people of the kingdom have been living in hardship for the past few years because of the war. I do not expect to receive financial and material support. I only need Your Majesty to agree to two conditions. The first condition is that Your Majesty please place a mobile legion in the Marivia Province. This province is the closest to the first fortress city of the Mana Hill Plains, Broovik City. They can provide support to Broovik City the moment the Trade Union's armed forces attack the Mana Hill Plains. "
"I agree to this condition." The Second Prince was very satisfied. This way, he, the King, would not be a bystander after defeating the Trade Union. After all, he would have a legion participating in the war. It could even be said that the war was won under his command. "Then what is the second condition?"
"I want Port Qilin," said Lorist.
"Port Qilin …" The Second Prince was stunned. He immediately reacted and asked warily, "What do you want to do with Port Qilin?"
The Second Prince could not help but be nervous. Port Qilin was not far from the imperial capital. If they rode a horse, they could raid the imperial capital in three days. The Norton Family already had the Ciloas Island as their territory. If they obtained Port Qilin as well, then the sea route from the North to Ciloas Island and then to Port Qilin would become a smooth path for the Norton Family's armed forces. They could attack the city at any time.
"Your Majesty, you are thinking too much." Lorist saw the Second Prince's vigilant look and knew that he was thinking the wrong thing. "We do not want to obtain Port Qilin as our family's territory. We only want to obtain its management rights."
"What is the management rights?" The Second Prince was a little curious.
"It is very simple. Port Qilin is still your territory, but how it is developed will be up to us. For example, you have a shop and you entrust this shop to us to do business. Whether we make a profit or lose money, you will have a fixed income. "
The Second Prince walked to the wall where the map was hung and stared at Port Qilin for a long time. "I don't think Port Qilin looks like a shop. Tell me about your plan, Brother Locke. How do you plan to run Port Qilin?"
"In my opinion, I hope that the Port of Qilin can become the largest distribution market and long-distance transfer station in the kingdom. Its geographical location is very good. It is surrounded by the central province where the imperial capital is located, the northwestern region, and the southwestern provinces. When it is developed, its influence will completely include the dozens of provinces in the southwestern part of the kingdom. The development of Port Qilin will also give the Freedom Alliance an additional sea trade route. The kingdom can also use Port Qilin to trade with the Freedom Alliance. This is a win-win situation for both sides. "
The Second Prince stood in front of the map and pondered for a long time. Finally, he turned to Lorist and said, "I also have two conditions. First, the Norton Family's armed forces are not allowed to land in Port Qilin. I will send a division to guard Port Qilin and order them to help you complete the development of Port Qilin and maintain order. The second condition is that I don't need fixed rent and taxes. I only want you and I to split the profits after the development of Port Qilin. Brother Locke, if you agree to these two conditions, I will entrust Port Qilin to your family. "
Lorist smiled bitterly, but still nodded. "Deal, Your Majesty."
After the deal, the two fell silent. Lorist took out the fruit wine and poured another glass for the Second Prince. "By the way, Your Majesty, two months ago I received news that you were going to inspect all the provinces in the kingdom. Why did you suddenly come here?"
The second prince downed a golden cup of fruit wine in one gulp and motioned for Laurist to pour him another. "Actually, actually, I wanted to explain to you the scandal that happened in the capital. I believe you've heard about it."
Lorist pushed a bottle of fruit wine to the Second Prince. "As a subject, I can't talk about His Majesty's family affairs. His Majesty has been fighting wars all year round and neglected the Queen. But after such a scandal, His Majesty and Duke Fisablon were a little too impatient and ruthless. That Knight Wyksas who is close to the Queen is His Majesty's son, right? No matter what, the Queen is pregnant with a child of the royal bloodline. Why can't they wait for the child to be born before dealing with the Queen's crimes? "
Lorist asked this question on behalf of Princess Silvia. The Queen was guilty of adultery, but the child was innocent. Besides, it was almost eight months old. Two lives were lost.
The Second Prince picked up the wine bottle and poured it into his mouth. After drinking half the bottle, he smiled helplessly. "Brother Locke, we can't let this child be born! Because Queen Sissila has two other lovers besides Wyksas. No one knows who the child belongs to. For the sake of the purity of the royal bloodline, we had to let her and the child return to the Kingdom of the God of War. Perhaps only the gods know who the child in her belly belongs to … "
Well, the information revealed by the Second Prince had directly thrown Lorist to Raymond. This, this Queen Sissila was simply digging her own grave. Lorist was speechless for a long time before he carefully asked, "Then what agreement did you reach with Duke Fisablon?"
"Duke Fisablon apologized to me and personally sent Queen Sissila on her way. I will then inspect the entire empire and arrive at the Fisablon Family's territory in the second half of next year. Duke Fisablon will choose a suitable woman from within the family and adopt her as his daughter. Then, he will marry her to me and make her the new Queen … "The Second Prince said.
"…"
…
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