Volume 2: Empire Chapter 81 Consumption
The eldest princess and Governor Meteorite left the Sun Manor together, and their whereabouts were immediately reported to Count Urd by the servants of the manor.
Earl Urd walked to the closed window, pushed open a crack and looked towards the central island. There were two empty wine glasses on the balcony of Agatha's bedroom. Then a maid took the wine glasses away and waved her hand to release a magic barrier to block the prying eyes outside.
Behind the Earl, the Barbarian Envoy Erguya stepped forward to see the situation on the central island. Earl Urd immediately closed the window and warned Erguya, "Inform the people you brought with you not to cause trouble for me. Before the nobles of the Western Territory make a decision together, the Princess must not let anything happen to me."
Erguya said, "My Lord Earl, you have seen the Western Territory Legion that the Empire is reorganizing, and you should have a sense of crisis. Don't be blinded by the gold and gems sent by Augustine. When he occupies the Western Territory, these riches and everything you have will be his."
Facing a barbarian who was taller and stronger than himself, Earl Urd said with unyielding aura: "I know what you want to do! Assassinate Agatha and force the nobles of the Western Territory to break with the Empire. But don't think you are too smart. Before the nobles of the Western Territory unite, if Agatha gets into trouble in Sun City... those greedy and cowardly nobles will only think of pushing me out to bear all the blame and then divide up the wealth of the Sun Oasis.
The Celtic Duke will not get the army of Western nobles, but will only see that you are the one who caused the division of the Western Territory."
Assassinating Agatha was indeed one of Erguya's plans, but the uncontrollable outcome made him dare not order it to be implemented. Seeing Earl Urd's resolute attitude, it was even more impossible to kill Agatha with one strike under the protection of the Blade Brotherhood.
Erguya smiled and replied: "Please rest assured, Lord Earl! I am very confident that the nobles of the Western Territory will support Tedega Hills, and there is no need to do anything extra.
Let's leave Agatha to the nobles of the West.
But I must remind you... be careful of Meteorite. I saw that you and Meteorite were talking very harmoniously, so you'd better not believe a word he said to you."
“I have my own judgment. As the Count of Sand Fox in the West, I am not so easily fooled.
You and your people will live here during the Harvest Festival, and keep out of the sight of Imperial spies."
"I will restrain my men."
After receiving Erguya's promise, Earl Urd left quickly. Agatha and Meteorite had just moved into the Sunny Manor, but they were so impatient to leave. There must be something hidden.
Now in Sun City there are forces of Western nobles, imperial forces, Celtic dukes, and Western barbarians, forcing Earl Urd to deal with them carefully.
He had a hunch...a great opportunity had arrived!
If they can catch it, the Urd family will enter another period of rise.
If something goes wrong, the family that has been protecting this oasis will be completely buried in the blood-stained sand.
…
Agatha and Luke left the Sunday Manor and came to the largest market in Sunday City under the protection of the guards. They were accompanied by the orc general and several orc soldiers they had met outside the city.
The orc general's name is Andre, and he is the commander-in-chief of the Sun City Army. He was adopted by Earl Urd along with some barbarian orphans when he was young, and learned knowledge and combat skills. When he grew up, he became the backbone of the Sun City Army.
Barbarians are not uncommon in the private armies of nobles in the Western Territory, but the Sun Oasis of Count Urd is unique in that barbarians account for more than half of the army, and there are even noble leaders who serve as the commander-in-chief of the army.
The proportion of barbarians in Sun City is also very high. Judging from their attire, some are permanent residents of the city, and some are merchants from barbarian tribes. They live together with humans in the big market, holding their own goods and coins, and bargaining fiercely in different accents.
In between, there are also the calls of camels, horses, beasts of burden, antelopes... various animals.
There was an extremely bustling scene inside the big market. Compared with the Raging Waves City, this nomadic farming business had a different sense of prosperity.
Agatha stopped at a wine stand.
The wine stall was very simple, with a wine truck parked in an open space, and four large wine barrels one and a half meters high piled on the truck. A sunshade was propped up above the truck, and the camel pulling the truck was tied to a wooden stake nearby, chewing on dry cactus. A ragged halfling was squatting on the ground holding a water bag and pouring water into the camel's basin.
The tall shadow covered the halfling's short body. When he noticed someone visiting his wine stall, he immediately put away his water bag, stood up and turned around.
"Dear customers..." When the halfling saw so many people standing in front of him, he was stunned. And judging from the clothes of these people, it was obvious that they were not just ordinary nobles. The halfling stammered nervously: "Yes, I'm sorry! If I have offended you, I apologize to you; if I have blocked your way, I will move my car away immediately; if...
I have paid the market tax, please do not take my wine, all the wine produced in our village this season is here..."
The halfling couldn't help but cry as he spoke.
"Since you have paid the market tax, Sun City will protect your safety." The orc general Andre loudly comforted the halfling, and then explained to Agatha and Luke: "Your Highness, sir... Halflings are good at planting, and the wine they brew is also very mellow. If you two want to taste it, I will ask him to pour you a glass."
The news of the imperial delegation entering the city had not yet spread throughout the city, but the halfling recognized Andre. Seeing that the commander-in-chief of Sun City was so respectful to the two young men and women, he could easily guess that they were definitely important figures.
The halfling immediately took out two vine fruit wood cups from a cloth bag in the car, and then opened the valve of a wooden barrel to get the wine.
At this time, Luke stopped him and said, "Wait a minute... Your Highness is so noble, can you use such a cheap cup?
Come here, bring up the pure gold cups with icy magic patterns and inlaid with five-colored gemstones... two!"
A servant came forward with a beautifully carved wooden box. The lid of the box opened, revealing a set of four beautiful golden cups. Another servant took out two cups and handed them to the halfling.
The confused halfling took the cup subconsciously, and was almost knocked to the ground by the heavy golden cup.
The golden cup was so gorgeous and dazzling that even the always serious orc Andre couldn't help but take a deep look at it.
The halfling trembled as he filled the golden cup with red wine and then tremblingly handed it to the servant. He didn't know what he was going through, but he always felt that something bad was about to happen.
Agatha took the golden cup and looked at the red wine in it. The wine was turbid, with a lot of grape residue in it. She smelled it and it tasted much better than she had expected.
Looking at Luke again, he had already taken a sip and was slowly savoring the taste of the wine.
"Very good! What do you think of this wine, Your Highness?"
Agatha took a sip and said in surprise, "It tastes better than many palace red wines. It's hard to imagine that you can drink red wine of this grade in a place like this.
How much does a barrel of this wine cost?"
The halfling held up a finger and said carefully, "One...one gold coin."
"Do you know who you are talking to?" Luke suddenly shouted angrily, "This is Agatha Augustine, the eldest princess of the empire and the dearest daughter of the emperor of the empire!"
Hearing that the beautiful woman in front of him was actually the eldest princess of the empire, the halfling knelt down immediately in fear. He knew that this was not the time to feel bad about the four barrels of red wine. Even if the eldest princess of the empire wanted to raze his village, Earl Urd would not say anything.
"Your Highness, these wines..."
Just as the halfling was about to give away all four barrels of wine for free, Luke continued angrily, "One gold coin! Is the princess's compliment only worth one gold coin? This is a humiliation to the royal family and he will be sent to the gallows!"
Halfling, I'll give you one more chance and make a new offer immediately!"
The halfling was confused. What was going on?
Is this gentleman so angry because my offer was too low?
right!
The wine served in such a precious golden cup only cost one gold coin per barrel. This was too blasphemous to the royal family.
The halfling trembled and held up two fingers: "Two gold coins. No, one and a half is also fine!"
Just as Luke was about to continue to scold the halfling, Agatha said, "Governor Meteor, please stop making things difficult for this poor halfling. You are in charge of the richest city in the empire, and your ability to judge the value of a commodity is unmatched by anyone here.
Tell me, what do you think the halfling wine is really worth?"
"Thank you, Princess Royal, for your praise!" Luke cooperated and saluted Agatha, then shook his wine glass and observed it carefully like a wine taster.
The clothes worn by this group of people were already very eye-catching. When the news that the eldest princess of the empire was here spread, more and more people gathered around.
Luke felt that the crowd had gathered, so he said, "The halfling red wine lacks filtration, which greatly reduces the wine's ornamental value. However... as Her Royal Highness the Princess said, the taste and aroma of this red wine are very unique, not inferior to some palace red wines.
If the quality can continue to be improved, and then some more detailed optimizations can be made in the fermentation process and post-processing, it has the potential to become a top-level red wine.
Taking all factors into consideration, the price I can offer now is... one gold ticket per barrel."
When Luke said the price he judged, it immediately caused an uproar among the people around him.
Halflings are a very common weak race in the West. They are gentle and do not like fighting. They usually build villages in powerful tribes and territories. Halflings are good at farming and pay tribute to food in exchange for their own safety.
Halflings are also good at growing grapes in the sand, and then brewing wine for their own use, tribute, and sale. Due to the high quality of Halfling wine, it is loved by all the tribes in the West, and Halfling wine can be circulated as currency in the West.
A standard barrel of halfling wine is equivalent to one gold coin, and there has been no major fluctuation in about a hundred years.
The man immediately said that a barrel of halfling wine was worth one gold ticket.
One gold voucher is worth five gold coins!
Who is this Governor called Meteorite? What qualifications does he have to raise the price of Halfling wine so high!
The Western Territory, which is isolated from information, still doesn't know who Meteorite is, but the Crescent Oasis merchants who followed the delegation to Sun City know Meteorite's current status.
The identity and status of Meteorite spread in whispers as the Oasis merchants processed and leaked the information.
What is Nutao City? It is not only the richest city in the empire, but also the richest city in the entire world. The streets of Nutao City are paved with gold, the street lamps are all made of crystal, the buildings are thousands of meters high, and the commercial airships traveling between the worlds cover the sky.
Do you know what the most dangerous thing about living in Raging Waves City is?
When you walk on the street, you may be hit to death by gold bars falling from the sky at any time!
And this young man is the current governor of Raging Waves City, who manages the golden city for the empire.
Wow!
If the governor from a land full of gold says that Halfling wine is worth one gold note, then it is worth one gold note.
The halfling selling wine was the happiest one.
The price of wine increased from one gold coin to one gold voucher, which is five times the price. When I sell all the wine, I must hire a powerful mercenary to protect me when I return to the village.
But before the halfling could calculate how many gold coins he could get for his wine, Luke said, "Halfling, your wine has won the praise of Her Royal Highness the Princess. I will give you a barrel and a gold voucher. I want all your wine!"
This time the halfling was really stupid.
He stayed there, watching a group of strong soldiers carry away the four barrels of wine from the cart. Two servants brought a heavy money box with gold coins, silver certificates, and gold certificates. One of the servants took out eight gold certificates and stuffed them directly into his hands.
Luke walked up to the halfling, touched his messy head, and took out a gold ticket from his hand. He said, "Use this money to buy halfling wine of the same quality. One gold ticket or five gold coins per barrel. I will take as much as you can.
After receiving the wine, I gave it to General Andre, who then delivered it to my residence.”
Luke gave the gold ticket to Andre, and then he and the eldest princess continued shopping with the group.
During this time, he quietly asked the eldest princess: "Have you learned it?"
Agatha smiled and said, "You can learn it easily."
"Cover me for a while, I have something to do."
Agatha looked at the merchants gathered around and said confidently, "Leave it to me. No one will notice you."
The orc general held a gold voucher in his hand, facing the halfling who was only as tall as his knees, and looked at the seven gold vouchers in his hand.
Andre resisted the urge to snatch all the money, put away the gold voucher, and said to the halfling, "Did you hear what Governor Meteorite said? My soldiers will protect you as you return to the village. Give me the wine you bought, and I will pass it on to Governor Meteorite."
The halfling looked up at the orc soldiers who surrounded him, pointed out three gold tickets and raised them above his head.
Andre smiled, took the three gold coupons in his hand, and said, "I am personally responsible for the safety of you and your village."
At this time, an orc soldier ran over in a panic: "Commander-in-chief, the Governor of Meteorite is missing!"
What!
Andre looked at the eldest princess's team not far away, and saw merchants holding their goods and constantly squeezing forward, and some people were shouting and squeezing out with gold and silver certificates in their hands.
The scene was chaotic.
broken!
