Chapter 238 The Daughter of Odysseus
"I'm very happy to be praised by such a beautiful lady." Yang Qiu smiled and nodded slightly, "If I could hear such words two hundred years ago, I would be very happy."
Phoenix's perfect smile is a little stiff...
Soon, the politician in disguise of a beauty adjusted herself, stood up apologetically, lifted her skirt and bowed slightly: "Please forgive my impoliteness, Mr. Yang."
"You are not being rude, Phoenix. I am very happy to hear such compliments." Yang Qiu raised his hand and made a gesture of inviting someone to sit down, saying with a smile, "Because the winter celebration in Naderi is not as grand as that in the bustling big places, I hope that the guests who come from afar will not be disappointed."
Phoenix came in a gorgeous outfit, not necessarily intending to use the beauty trap, but more like trying to control the rhythm of the conversation between the two parties - when a man faces a lady who can make his heart beat a little and has a noble enough status, he will always instinctively restrain his aggressiveness and show his most friendly and gentlemanly side.
If a man intends to attract women by being aggressive, it only proves that he is either from a low-born family, has not received a decent education, or does not respect the other person. A gentleman in social occasions will not make such a stupid mistake, and this is what Phoenix hopes to take advantage of.
Yang Qiu's reaction was to use age to make his position clear - your great-great-great...grandfather and I are from the same generation, so there's no need to get fancy.
Taking the winter celebration as a topic and specifically pointing out Phoenix's identity as a guest is sending out friendly signals and easing the atmosphere.
Phoenix readily followed the ladder handed to her by Yang Qiu and stepped down. All her shyness was gone and her sitting posture was more upright than before. She praised Inna Deli for everything that could be praised, like a proper standard lady.
Rex watched helplessly as this woman changed three different attitudes in just two minutes, without showing any sign of shyness or embarrassment. He felt completely numb.
Phoenix exchanged some idle pleasantries with Yang Qiu. When Yang Qiu turned his eyes to the cup on the coffee table and seemed to lose interest in such boring courtesies, Phoenix quickly got to the point: "I heard Bishop Gene mention the story of poor Joey Rachel. I feel deeply sympathetic for his experience. I am also very shocked that the descendant of the Leo family was impersonated by a vampire."
"I really don't know how many vampires the Leo family... No, I really don't know how many vampires are lurking in the dark in Moses Port. It's really scary. I heard that your undead, Mr. Yang, is very good at dealing with vampires. I wonder if you can ask your undead to work tirelessly to eliminate the hidden dangers for Moses Port? The Odysseus family will remember your kindness." Phoenix said earnestly.
Rex felt something was wrong. Wait, didn't you come here to cooperate with Innadri? Why are you talking about vampires again?
Yang Qiu retracted his gaze towards the teacup and smiled cordially: "This is not a problem for me and our undead friends, Phoenix. Our undead friends are very enthusiastic about helping the people of the Rhine Kingdom to eliminate the enemies in the dark. This is the right thing to do. All the Innadri people can testify to this."
"It's just..." Yang Qiu looked embarrassed and deliberately stopped talking.
Phoenix knew that the other party was going to make conditions, so he said, "I wonder if you have any other concerns? If it is something I can do, I will definitely do my best."
Rex looked at her silently. This place only mentioned her and not Leo's family or Odysseus's family. Was it leaving room for bargaining?
"Yes, Phoenix." Yang Qiu said frankly, "After all, our undead friends are not ordinary creatures. To set foot in areas outside of Innadri, they need the recognition and supervision of the Gold Coin Church."
Phoenix was a little confused at first. When did Nightmare Butcher care so much about the attitude of the church? Didn’t you even rush into the holy land of the Church of the Fiery Sun?
Then, she realized the true meaning of Yang Qiu's words...
"Of course the church will agree." Phoenix said firmly, "Vampires are the enemy of all living things. If the undead can help us, then the Gold Coin Church will definitely not refuse the help from the undead."
After a pause, Phoenix pressed his chest again and said in a very formal manner: "It was the Odysseus family who requested Mr. Yang's spirit to help Moses Port eliminate vampires. The Odysseus family will take the responsibility of persuading the church. Please believe in my sincerity, Mr. Yang."
Yang Qiu nodded approvingly: "That's the best. As long as the church agrees, our undead friends will show their utmost enthusiasm to help the people of Moses Port."
"Thank you so much." Phoenix stood up with a smile, lifted her skirt and bowed slightly, then sat down again and talked with Yang Qiuxian about the ships on the Barcelo River, shipping routes, cargo volume, and other topics that left Rex, who was listening, confused.
What made Rex even more puzzled was that Yang Qiu, who had never shown any interest in the shipping on the Barcelo River before, actually started chatting with Phoenix and they were having a great time...
Phoenix left happily, and Rex stared at Yang Qiu with a numb face.
"How much did you understand?" Yang Qiu took a sip of the warm milk tea in the thermos and said slowly.
Rex looked conflicted. He felt that he would be laughed at if he asked Yang directly why they were only discussing the vampires in Moses Port.
"Okay... Let me remind you that Phoenix's formal visit is certainly not just for the vampires in Port Moses." Yang Qiu knew that this was a bit difficult for him, so he patiently explained, "Of course, the vampires in Port Moses are also an urgent matter that needs to be resolved. With this lady's initiative, I believe that everything we just discussed will proceed step by step."
Rex could only repeat in his mind what Phoenix had said while he was sitting here...
After all, he had been informed by Yang Qiu that the Odysseus family was preparing for war. After thinking about it, he finally came to his senses: "What she said about vampires just now, was she actually talking about the hope that the undead of Innadri could be used by the Odysseus family? She wanted to hire the undead as mercenaries?"
"Of course, exterminating vampires can be done by spending more money and hiring a few more mercenary groups. It's just that it's not as clean and neat as the undead, and the cost is higher . Is it worth it for the Odysseus family to remember 'my favor'?" Yang Qiu said, "Didn't I tell you that Phoenix will never easily admit to the outside world that the Odysseus family is preparing for a war. She will only achieve her goal in her own way."
"If I am a bastard who only cares about money and cannot interpret her hints." Yang Qiu raised his hand and pointed at his nose, "then she can just pay a smaller price and take our undead away on the pretext of exterminating vampires, and then send them to the battlefield. Everyone knows that our undead are aggressive, and she can find out their personalities by asking a few locals. She doesn't need to owe me, a black magician, a favor at all."
Three thousand undead who cannot be resurrected repeatedly will not be an advantage in frontal assault, but if they are broken up into small groups and sent to the enemy's homeland, then with the amazing mobility and destructive power of the undead that can be investigated, the war cycle that the Odysseus family has to face will be much shorter - when fighting a money-making monster like a war, of course, the shorter the time, the safer it is.
Rex couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat off his forehead...
He felt that if Ms. Zhao and Yang hadn't stood in front of him, Phoenix would have easily made him neat and tidy, covered him with a piece of cloth and put him in the coffin...
"So... when you said that sending the undead to war requires the approval of the church, you were actually asking her whether the war launched by the Odysseus family could be recognized by the upper echelons of the kingdom?" Rex said with cold sweat.
Yang Qiu chuckled: "Which black magician would put the 'supervision' power of his own undead army in the hands of the church? Is there something wrong with his brain?"
Rex wiped his sweat again... Well, he really didn't hear anything wrong at that time. Yang's polite, reasonable and rule-abiding attitude towards the Gold Coin Church fooled him, a fellow resident.
Yang is talking about some ridiculous principles and following some bullshit rules!
He is only willing to be reasonable and follow the rules when necessary!
"The enemies of the Odysseus family are not the great nobles in the country." Rex said dryly.
"It's probably the Norsk Federation." Yang Qiu said calmly, "The Odysseus family's territory borders Norsk, and they have been doing business with the Norsk Federation for many years. They are very familiar with the situation there. They want to find a soft persimmon in the Norsk Federation to squeeze and expand their territory and influence. They should be very confident. Once Phoenix has dealt with the Gold Coin Church, they should come to report to us."
The Nosk Federation is an alliance of several eastern countries and tribes. These countries and tribes are strong and weak, and they are not a monolithic entity. The Storm Church is an orthodox sect that is not much inferior to the Northern Sun Church in strength, but its influence has not extended beyond the eastern part of the Barron continent for thousands of years. A large part of the reason is that it has used all its strength to suppress internal repression.
After Phoenix almost explicitly stated that their family was going to target the Nosk Federation, Yang Qiu responded more positively and enthusiastically. It was also for this reason - he was also very interested in the Nosk Federation, and it was not a bad thing to have a channel to deepen his understanding in advance.
Rex silently poured himself a glass of water and drank it, then said quietly, "So, you guys suddenly talked about shipping... you mean..."
Yang Qiu smiled and said, "This Phoenix is a smart girl. She knows very well what you, a hollow lord who has failed to win the hearts of the local nobles, need most at the moment."
Rex: “…”
What Charlie Rex needs most at the moment, no, it should be said that what the current Innadelli regime needs most is to break the traffic monopoly.
The only railway in Innadri was built with funds from local nobles who owned businesses in the northern part of the city, and it was also monopolized by them.
The "Factory Owners' Alliance" composed of nobles has the final say on what goods to ship out.
Less than a week after Phoenix led the delegation to visit, he accurately saw through the biggest weakness of the current Innadri regime - it was difficult for City Hall to successfully use rail transportation.
If you want to give up the fastest and most convenient railways and choose shipping...the shipping companies are also private properties of local nobles.
To put it bluntly, if the city hall wants to increase revenue and develop the economy, it cannot avoid these nobles - private caravans can travel slowly overland, and people can set up stalls to do business in any settlement; it is nonsense for the city hall to rely on land transportation to ship goods.
The local nobles do not look at Rex, a illegitimate child, with favor, but they have their reasons.
"Leo Ships provided a whole fleet of ships, including crew members and sailors, in exchange for Innadri sending troops to assist the Odysseus family in achieving their strategic goals. This girl is very generous." Yang Qiu said with a smile, "Rex, why don't you try to pursue the daughter of the Odysseus family? If you succeed, you will get a great deal."
You can also buy river transport ships on Earth, but the problem is that these large items are quite expensive, and maintenance is still a big problem... If players are given an expedition mission, they can get a free fleet that is easy to repair. Yang Qiu will definitely be happy to see this happen.
Rex pursed his lips and refused to speak.
