After receiving the news, the Qianshou Chamber of Commerce led by Bede immediately submitted a joining application to the Conqueror Chamber of Commerce, but what puzzled Bede was that they were rejected.
The Conqueror Chamber of Commerce couldn't get in touch with them. Now that they have caught the financial backers behind them, Bede will not let go. He rubbed his generous hands, licked his face and asked, "Lord, can you ask me a question?"
Gavin withdrew his gaze from the huge Cormyr fleet and the grain loading convoy, and asked with a smile, "Uncle Bede, I have already said that you don't need to be so reserved in private. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
They are now located at the port of Susar, the capital of King Cormyr, and are loading the first batch of military supplies.
Gavin had already begun planning the purchase of weapons, equipment, food and other military supplies from the valley before reaching an agreement with King Asan.
Naturally, he didn't need to take action personally, not even the Conqueror Chamber of Commerce. Veron, the president of the Thousand Heads Chamber of Commerce and Gavin's initial partner in Rockland, could do it for him.
After all, food is in short supply, but not hard to buy. The key depends on whether you have money and the overall environment.
In the case of life singing and dancing, as long as you have money, it is not difficult to eat on a large scale. This was the case in the previous valley.
But if it were changed now, when the entire Faerûn continent would be shrouded in the flames of war, everyone would be reluctant to sell. Even with a lot of money, it would be difficult to buy.
Gavin and the others bought enough in advance, even before King Asan, so they naturally ate the cheapest and the quantity was large enough.
When it comes to eating meat, Gavin has always been generous to those who are willing to follow him and do things for him.
With just a hint, the businessmen of the Qianshou Chamber of Commerce headed by Veron naturally followed up wildly and exchanged all their spare money for food.
The price Gavin offered them was the same as the equipment of the Iron Clan. The benefits were divided into four. The Kingdom of Cormyr got two shares, these merchants got one share, and the last share was naturally provided by Gavin. of hard-earned money.
No one complained about Gavin's greed. Instead, they were grateful to him. After all, without him, they would not have had the chance to make this money. It was only natural that they would give up the bulk of it.
"Can I ask why the Conqueror Chamber of Commerce rejected our application to join? We really want to join it." Bede chuckled, he had learned to automatically ignore Gavin's humility.
No matter whether the other party is sincere or polite.
His identity is no longer what it used to be.
If he still dares to pat the other party on the shoulder and affectionately call him "little friend", even if the other party doesn't care, the other party's vicious subordinates will still be emotional.
There has always been a difference between superiority and inferiority. If he, Bede, couldn't even grasp this point of propriety, all his years of business would have been in vain, and he wouldn't be able to follow the opponent to become bigger and stronger.
From the beginning, what bound the two parties together was not the so-called feelings, it was just a dispensable seasoning. What really worked was interests.
But as the situation develops, this interest appeal is also changing.
When the other party was only in the rocky area, he needed them. In exchange for them helping him transport the goods there on time and on demand, the other party had to make a lot of concessions.
When the opponent reached the valley, the two sides began to be on an equal footing. Bede and the others even had to start playing the emotional card to gain some benefits from the opponent.
When the other party blazes a path of conqueror in the wilderness, he becomes a being that they can only look up to. He can remember and be willing to support them because he is thinking of old feelings.
But things like feelings will be exhausted sooner or later. If you want to hold on to this thick thigh, you have to make yourself useful to him. At the very least, he is comfortable and comfortable, otherwise he will have more and better things. choice, casually throwing them away.
"This matter." The Conqueror Chamber of Commerce's franchise policy was formulated by Gavin, so he knew it clearly and explained with a smile, "Uncle Bede, don't worry too much, this is not just for you, but for all people with We will refuse to join any chamber of commerce of a certain size.
Because our franchise policy has been targeting local small and medium-sized chambers of commerce or shops from the beginning.
First, they are relatively malleable and can shape and change according to our will without raising too many objections.
The second is to make full use of their influence in the local area and let our chamber of commerce drive a nail there. They are using our resources to make money. Why aren’t we using them to integrate into the local area and use their resources to do what we want? This is a typical win-win cooperation.
Those large chambers of commerce are different. Most of them have their own industrial layout and mature operating models.
If you join the Conqueror Chamber of Commerce, there will be a lot of contradictions and conflicts, many of which are difficult to reconcile. Rather than doing this, it is better to avoid them in the first place.
This does not mean that there are no opportunities for cooperation between the two of you. It is not that the products of the Conqueror Chamber of Commerce are not sold to you, but there is not much advantage in price. But if you set your sights further and avoid competition with those local franchisees, You are still profitable. "
Gavin spoke openly about the current development model of the Conqueror Chamber of Commerce, without any worry that Bede and the others would plagiarize.
Because this model is based on unique monopoly products, if they want to follow suit, they must first come up with enough unique products and be willing to share benefits with those underlying businessmen.
In addition, there is a crucial point, they have large enough production capacity.
No matter how big your stall is, if there are not enough products to supply these franchisees, they will leave you before long.
Although this development model will give away a large amount of profits, it can open up the situation in the shortest time, and time is what Gavin lacks the most.
"So that's it." Bede has been in business for many years and knows everything. He said in awe, "The lord is really all-round and versatile. With your way of doing things that is willing to share profits with others, it is difficult for anyone to refuse to cooperate with you."
"It's easy to become a loner if you are alone." Gavin waved, and a figure wearing a black leather coat and a black ghost cloak walked forward with light steps.
This man exuded a cold aura, like a shadow hidden in the shadows. If Gavin hadn't called him, Bede would not have noticed his existence. He only knew that he was a man and could not see his face clearly. Because he covered his chin with a bandanna commonly used by thieves, and wore a shadow eyeband on his eyes.
Gavin pointed at him and said: "He will board the ship as uncle's guard. He is only responsible for co-supervision and will not be responsible for other work. He has the ability to contact me directly. If anything is discovered during the transportation, If something goes wrong, you can ask me for help through him.”
This is naturally a Shadow Wing carrying a ghost messenger.
Another benefit of bringing in third parties like Beide and others is to obtain a large amount of free labor for themselves.
With such a large amount of military supplies, Gavin certainly could not safely hand them over to outsiders, and would definitely send his own supervisors.
But no matter how dedicated the supervisors are to their duties, it is impossible for direct participants like Bede to take more notice of it, because this is their entire net worth, and they will definitely keep a close eye on the whole process without daring to relax at all.
"Okay." Of course Bede would not refuse. This is equivalent to carrying an amulet with him, which can save his life at critical moments.
"The destination of this first batch of military supplies is Uthmer in the Great Valley, not Teflam in Sesk. Make sure there is no mistake." Gavin emphasized again.
Bede asked with some confusion: "If it wasn't for Sesk to ask for help, wouldn't the Faerun coalition be landing in Sesk? Why did we run to the giant valley? The two are hundreds of kilometers apart, and there is a mountain in the middle. The Sir Forest is across the way, so it will be extremely inconvenient to supply supplies at that time."
"It will take time to assemble the main force of the Faerun coalition. It won't be done in a month or two. Before that, it can only be supported by the support of the Leatherman Kingdom and the surrounding kingdoms.
It can be seen from the main direction of the retreat of the residents of the Kingdom of Leatherman that their focus is on the line of the Giant Valley. Once Tukan's army successfully crosses the lake, they will prioritize defending the Grand Road of the Giant Valley instead of Sesk's Golden Road. .
After all, their troops are limited and can only resist danger and defend, not the open and unobstructed plains. What's more, Serge's red-robed mage is on the south side. If they defend Sesk, they will be easily attacked by the two armies, and they will be defeated faster. .
In this case, where should our military supplies be stored? "
Gavin patiently analyzed the war situation thousands of kilometers away for Bede.
"Needless to say, of course we put it in a safer place." Bede replied without hesitation, "I know what to do. Don't worry, Lord, I will keep my eyes on our supplies all the time. , won’t let them make any mistakes.”
"Uncle Bede, it's time for you to board the ship. I'll see you off not far away."
"Lord, please stay."
"See you soon, Cesc."
"Maybe we don't have to wait so long."
Woohoo!
There was a rapid sound of cattle horns coming from the dock. The large temporary decks for loading were being retracted. Several three-masted armed transport ships were slowly leaving the dock to join the fleet not far away.
The Kingdom of Cormyr was able to field all its elites this time, assembling two fleets in total, with twelve three-masted warships and forty-eight three-masted armed transport ships.
The military supplies collected by Gavin and the others only accounted for a part of it, and the majority belonged to the Kingdom of Cormyr itself.
The soldiers and horses move forward before the food and grass are moved.
Even the Kingdom of Cormyr does not have the ability to transport large quantities of men, horses, and grain.
We can only take food and grass first, with a small number of elites responsible for protection, and then we can transport large-scale troops on the second trip.
As for whether they will be targeted by the coalition forces of Tukan's army and the Kingdom of Ser, and steal their homes first.
Gavin and the others were not worried, because grain and grass were too bulky and could only be transported on a large scale through conventional means. Before they arrived at their destination, a vanguard army would go there first, establish corresponding outposts and granaries, and be ready. .
This huge fleet will have to sail in the Falling Star Sea for at least half a month, and Gavin and the others still have enough time to prepare for this matter.
Before that, Gavin still needs to clean up the army of conquerors.
After ten days of arduous march, the army of conquerors finally crossed the entire rocky land and left this rugged plateau and mountainous area. The whole process was uneventful, except for boredom and physical exhaustion. The whole rocky land and The only thing that troubles them is the unchanging natural environment.
The monsters have completely disappeared, as if the rocky land is a peaceful and peaceful place, but everyone knows that after the conqueror army passes, they will come out from the mountains, deserts, and dark caves again and fill this place. of mountains and ravines.
Along the way, the soldiers and civilians of the Kingdom of Cormyr had a very friendly attitude towards the Conqueror's Army, not only because of the latest order from the Cormyr Royal Family, but also because the Conqueror's Army could bring them tangible benefits.
The army of conquerors still adheres to the original concept of marching and doing business in parallel. It carries a large number of their unique products and uses discounted and practical products to clear the way. It is really difficult for the soldiers and civilians here to dislike them.
Moreover, the size of the conqueror's army is displayed here. While the march is slow, it also allows the elites accompanying the team to have a lot of time to do other things, such as helping the villages and towns along the way solve some problems that are difficult for them to solve. Those who escaped were only the tribe of intelligent monsters. Those low-intelligent beasts and monsters that were causing trouble did not have such good information.
As one can imagine, they were all tracked by the elites of the conqueror's army, and even their lair was found.
Those with unique abilities and values can still save their lives and be controlled by the fairy charm bracelet, becoming the controlling beast in the army of conquerors.
Those who can only kill and have no other abilities can only contribute their final value and enter the stew pot of the conqueror's army, allowing the hard-working immigrants to have a good meal and have more physical strength to fight against the rocky ground.
Under Gavin's influence, the conquerors' army adhered to the concept of eradicating all evil and eradicating its roots. They did not even spare the nests of monsters.
They will help the villagers occupy and develop those valuable places and use them as granaries and wine cellars.
If it is worthless, after searching it, let the kobolds use flutter bombs to directly blast it and bury it.
Another reason why there are so many monsters in the rocky ground is that there are so many caves here, many of which are not simply dug by monsters, but are connected to the Dark Area.
For such a place, the conqueror army will leave a secret guard post to closely monitor the place and collect as much intelligence and information as possible to prepare for the next step of development.
Taking a closer look, it is not that nothing has been done when the conqueror's army crossed the rocky land, but most of it was preparation work, and no substantial gains could be seen in a short period of time.
After leaving the rocky land and entering the relatively gentle Hongquan Reclamation Area, the conqueror's army immediately became more energetic and vigorous. They showed off the energy of the previous rush and march, marching and paving as little as 60 kilometers and as much as 80 kilometers every day.
The pace is indeed a bit slower than the peak on the Ivanso side, but don't forget that it's winter now, and they have been heading north, so the days have become much shorter.
The road they paved this time was different from the previous one.
Previously, they were making a road in the wilderness at best, with only a rough outline, which didn't hinder walking, but the image was very ordinary.
After passing the rocky land, there is a complete trade road. The ones paving the road are no longer the original road-opening team, but the kobold road-building team Gavin has accumulated during this period with paving skills.
"My Gods? What kind of magic is this? It turns a dirt road directly into a brick road? Even those brick roads are not so tight, nor are they such a smooth and regular road. I am still the first See you once.”
"Is this a five-ring spell that turns mud into stone?"
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be more terrifying? Doesn't it mean that all the kobolds who are casting spells are extraordinary spellcasters?"
"No, it shouldn't be about turning mud into stone. Even the mud into stone cast by a legendary caster shouldn't have such a range of light. It's more like a specialized spell, a spell specifically used to pave the way."
"I heard before that the War Mage is studying a road spell that can make newly paved and repaired roads as smooth as brick roads. Isn't it a similar spell?"
"Isn't this how this migration came all the way? If so, wouldn't the entire road of conquerors be like this, and the road to Tethyr would be extremely smooth?"
"Even if it wasn't originally, it will probably be in the future. Look at how fast they are building the road. The speed of the army behind them can't keep up with their speed of building the road."
"I also heard that they have erected a large number of magical statues of conquerors along the way. If you pray to them and offer sacrifices, you can obtain special magical blessings and your movement speed will be greatly improved."
"Praying and offering sacrifices? Isn't that a special treat enjoyed by the gods? That conqueror is so bold, isn't he afraid of provoking the wrath of the gods?"
"Which god is angry? There is no one among the gods who specializes in the priesthood of roads. Isn't this great achievement of building thousands of kilometers of roads by oneself worthy of erecting monuments and statues to commemorate it?"
"It seems to make sense."
"Since he dares to do this, he must not be afraid of provoking the blame of the gods. Don't forget that he is Ms. Strategy's chosen one and is protected by someone."
"We no longer need to worry about this matter. For us, it is a great thing. We no longer have to worry about the carriage getting stuck in the mud after the rain."
“It’s true that we don’t need to worry about rain, but we need to worry about snow. Once such smooth roads are covered with heavy snow, especially those that have been trampled hard and started to melt, I’m afraid it will be a disaster and it will be easy to connect The man and the horse were thrown out together."
"Haha... You are just talking nonsense. Who would rush on the road in such weather? Just find a hotel or camp directly, warm up around the stove, wait until the snow completely melts, and then rush on the road again is the most correct choice. "
"Ha, it's true that I worried too much. Overall, this is a great thing that benefits everyone."
"I heard that the conqueror signed a gambling agreement with our regent lady and the leader of the Red Crow mercenary group, and at the same time developed the rocky land. This area already belongs to the territory that the regent lady is responsible for. He is repairing roads on a large scale here. Aren't you helping the regent lady in disguise?"
"With your question, you are making yourself look smaller, aren't you? In order to hinder the development of others, you have to give up even self-interested projects? Let's not talk about how convenient it is to let their army move. Let's just talk about this The connection effect is extraordinary, don’t forget that the conqueror’s territory is not limited to this one, he needs these roads to connect his territory.”
"Yes, I guess the high road is just the beginning. Next, they will build the Moon Sea Highway along the way and the east road that crosses our Cormyr according to this method."
"If you tell me, I'm looking forward to riding horses on these smooth roads."
I need another update recently. Since the second Yang, my waist has been wrong. I checked and found that the lumbar disc is a bit herniated. I recently went to physical therapy, which was a bit time-consuming. Alas... I haven’t written any results in the book, but I have an occupational disease first. !
(End of chapter)
