Volume 6: Helping the World Chapter 179 Good Teacher and Good Student
After picking up this great treasure from the snake tribe, Xiao Yun no longer had any interest in the following "trade fair"...
The capacity of Balk's space ring was not large, and the money for the journey was from the porcelain "exclusively supplied" to the elves in the tribe. The white porcelain tableware set, which was sold to suit the elves' tastes, obviously also tickled the sore spot of the human nobles. With the help of Prince Carlisle's promotion and advertising, the porcelain, which was limited to a hundred sets (mainly because he couldn't carry more), was sold at a good price, which was loaned to the snake tribe as payment for renting a boat after the spring.
Well, this money is not borrowed for free, it must be repaid. The snake tribe will repay it by drying salt after moving to the west coast... The interest rate is also 5%, calculated annually... It just so happens that the tribe is going to carry out reforms, so lending money to the snake tribe can be regarded as opening a business.
Harris was excited and left that night to contact the snake warriors; as for Xiao Yun... as Carlisle's teacher, he needed to meet the royal envoys of the four southern countries.
The absence of the Kingdom of Holmes cast a shadow over the alliance of the six nations. Fortunately, King Valentine hired a ranger from the Bards Guild to deliver a letter from the Kingdom of Holmes stating that it would not violate the alliance, which greatly boosted the confidence of the other four nations. The day after the court banquet, envoys from the royal families of the four nations came together to formally discuss the alliance with Carlisle.
In the meeting hall of the main hall of the royal palace, Prince Carlisle, Princess Rose and Princess Betty received the royal families of the four countries with royal etiquette. After the guests and hosts were seated, Carlisle invited out his teacher, Ayun, a sage of the Snow Wolf Clan who was closely related to the economic lifeline of the Six-Nation Alliance.
That’s right - for the six southern countries, the military pressure is far less terrible than the economic pressure~!
There are no demigods in the human world, just like there are no nuclear weapons in modern wars, which means that anything can happen on the battlefield.
It is not very practical to say how much the six nations that have banded together fear the Federation's expeditionary forces. The home advantage is not just talk (in the history of wars on Earth, there have been blitzkriegs and winter wars that made the Soviet Union look bad). The combined forces of the six nations are no weaker than the Federation's expeditionary forces. The only thing to be afraid of is that if the Federation spends ten years of its finances on a war of attrition with the six nations, then the national strength of the six nations will inevitably be unable to outlast this behemoth of the Federation.
This possibility is neither high nor low. The Federation was established to resist the Vatican's use of doctrine to erode politics and interfere with the royal power of various countries. However, the Vatican's holy land and the Pope are not in Bloomfield, but in Bradrick on the other side of the distant sea. The "external" pressure is not great enough, and naturally there is not much unity within the Federation. So far, the Federation has not yet had a commander-in-chief with sufficient authority and the final say. The most powerful King Kronen can only have the final say in his own little piece of land.
If they really fight for ten years to defeat the six southern countries, it is more likely that the federation countries will have fires in their backyards before the six countries collapse...
Of course, such a major event concerning the survival of the country cannot be solved by relying solely on the enemy's weakness. The country's own crisis plan must be in place - regardless of whether the Federation has the courage to use national strength to fight a consumption war, the six countries must be prepared to fight a long-term war.
"Southern Country Chamber of Commerce?" Princess Yagalan covered her mouth with her hands, slightly surprised.
Yagalan, one of the six kingdoms, was the only one in the south whose royal power was implicated by the Church. When Carlisle proposed the Six Kingdoms Alliance, the Yagalan royal family first sent a great nobleman to St. Bridges as an envoy... that is, Earl Russell, who was once rejected by Carlisle as a brother-in-law.
Yakalan, which hopes to separate church and state and abolish church property, can be said to be the most cooperative of the five countries. After Carlisle expressed the hope of negotiating directly with the royal family, he immediately arranged for the princess to come. In order to fight against religious forces in the country, Yakalan was the first to adopt the system of Grand Duchess. The eldest princess could be named Grand Duchess when she got married (after the princess' death, her descendants would not inherit to avoid endangering the royal power). This woman with light freckles on her face is the future Duchess.
"Yes." Carlisle smiled.
The predecessor of the Southland Chamber of Commerce was the St. Bridget Maritime Chamber of Commerce, which Carlisle himself took the lead in. He knew very well that it was the maritime trade routes in his hands that could tightly maintain the Six-Nation Alliance. When the Six-Nation Alliance was established, he naturally would not be stingy in bringing out the Chamber of Commerce that he had built a framework for to play a role.
"Last year, we reached an agreement with the forest elves, and the forest elves sold our spices to the underground city through the entrance to the Elf Forest Underground World. This is why I have the confidence to ask you to mobilize the country to send spices to our country before the spring sea opens. Everyone knows it." After a pause, Carlisle shook his head slightly, "But this is not enough. Relying on only the three markets of forest elves, dark elves and northern grasslands is not enough to support our six countries in the long-term war against the Federation in the future."
Wars, after all, are fought for money! Only by maintaining to replenish the six countries can they avoid being dragged down by a war of attrition.
The princess of the Principality of Llanelli's eyes lit up: "So, Your Highness intends to open up trade routes again?"
The Principality of Llanelli is the smallest of the six kingdoms, with a total population of about eight million. The lack of a coastline puts the principality at a great disadvantage in the development of maritime trade. After Saint Bridges called for the Six Kingdoms Alliance, the Principality of Llanelli responded very actively.
Carlisle smiled slightly. It was inevitable that the two princesses would lose their composure when Taiga was around, but they could still talk after calming down... A princess on a diplomatic mission who could gain the trust of the king (Grand Duke) and be entrusted with an important task could not be a mere vase.
"Due to the limitations of existing shipbuilding technology, we cannot build large ships that can cross the open sea, but... by crossing the inland sea, our fleet can land in the southern part of the western continent of the Dwarf Kingdom; following the coastline eastward, our fleet can reach the Orc Empire in the Far East." Carlisle said in a deep voice, "If our spices can reach the western and eastern continents directly, we can truly give the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, no, the Federation a heavy blow!"
The inland of the southern continent is still the world of the Federation. The land transportation capacity of the six countries is not enough to compete with the Lamia Chamber of Commerce for the market; the distant sea trade is the golden lifeline of the Lamia Chamber of Commerce, but the six countries cannot build large ships that can withstand the winds and waves of the distant seas. Since these two ends are out of reach, Carlisle must turn his attention to places that are within reach.
The royal families of the four countries looked at each other and smiled. All those who could sit here were outstanding talents of the time. Carlisle's words were very clear - Saint Bridge was going to share the Southland Chamber of Commerce with the royal families of the six countries!
The prince of the Kingdom of Smoley said with a smile, "Your Highness Carlisle, we all admire your vision and courage. If we can seize the spice market in the Western Continent and the Far East, we will surely teach the Lamia Chamber of Commerce a lesson."
The prince of the Sara Kingdom thought for a moment and said, "Western Continent only needs to cross the inland sea to reach Rossetti Harbor. If we go to the Far East, the round trip will take at least four months. The number of ships and crew members required is not small, right?"
"Your Highness is right. This is exactly what I want to discuss with you." Carlisle nodded and smiled. "The South Country Chamber of Commerce currently has only more than 60 ships, which can no longer keep up with the needs of future development. So... I hope that the Chamber of Commerce can expand its ships to 300."
The royal families of the four countries had different expressions, but generally they remained reserved - Carlisle's meaning was obvious: the remaining ships would have to be provided by each country.
As long as you can afford the ships, you can take up as much shipping capacity as you can afford. This is not the time to be polite. The royal families of the four countries immediately spoke up one after another. Even the princess of the Principality of Lanelli, who did not own a seaport, asked to take up thirty ships...
Xiao Yun said nothing, but smiled as he watched his outstanding disciples take charge of the situation, bargaining elegantly and reservedly with the royal families of the four major countries, haggling over every penny - no matter where the South Country Chamber of Commerce's fleet went, it would inevitably stop at the elven port for resupply, and the Snow Wolf Clan would definitely benefit from the newly opened route.
Carlisle, who was the regent of the country as a prince, took advantage of this. The other five countries could only send the young and middle-aged royals to deal with Carlisle. Unless these young royals who had received elite education but lacked experience were gifted, they were unlikely to be opponents of Carlisle, who first dealt with the domestic nobles and then forced his father to "honor" them... For example, Carlisle did not mention at all whether it was controversial to use the port of St. Bridget as the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, which made these royals subconsciously accept St. Bridget's qualification to occupy absolute dominance.
Limiting the number of ships of the Chamber of Commerce to 300 is also a good idea. Would a Chamber of Commerce that aims to increase trading volume complain about having too many ships? Of course not... Drawing a circle and letting others dance within the specified range, letting others compete while standing on the sidelines as a referee, look at how good Carlisle is at this method~
Well, it turns out that I taught you well!
He used a trick to lead a prince, a prince and two princesses to follow his pace. After the meeting and sending off the four royal families who were eager to contact the country, Carlisle looked at Xiao Yun in high spirits, with a face full of praise and praise...
At times like this, Xiao Yun never undermined others' confidence and always gave them a thumbs up generously.
"Teacher!" Carlisle stretched out his arms excitedly.
Xiao Yun casually picked up the little princess Betty who was dozing in the armchair and handed her over: "The little princess has fallen asleep, hurry up and coax her."
Carlisle: “…” Hug your little sister.
Looking down at little Betty snoring sweetly, Carlisle was confused... What was he trying to comfort?
"Princess Rose, are you free this afternoon? Would you like to take my people to visit the magnificent scenery of the royal city? We have also invited Darren, so it would be a good opportunity for us to go together." Xiao Yun pretended not to see it and turned around and said with a smile.
The eldest princess' eyes lit up. She had never left the palace in her life!
Then the little girl looked worried again and looked at the king nervously.
"Your Highness, I think Princess Yajialan is very good. She is passionate, unrestrained and full of energy. A young girl of this age should be carefree like this." Xiao Yun advised uprightly.
"..." Carlisle thought it was safe to be with the Snow Wolf Man, so he said reluctantly, "Go, Rose, change into casual clothes. Wear long-sleeved and high-necked clothes, and remember to wear a hat."
"Thank you, my brother!" Princess Rose quickly lifted her skirt and saluted, took a few steps back, turned around, and ran out of the conference hall like a bird.
"What a nice little girl, you manage her like an old lady." After the eldest princess ran out of the corridor, Xiao Yun said disapprovingly, "The princesses of Yajialan and Lanelli are well educated. I think you should let Rose interact with them more."
Carlisle recalled the performance of the two princesses at the banquet and expressed his opinion with a deadpan expression.
Summoning the court lady to carry little Betty down, Carlisle sat down and relaxed his collar: "Teacher, when you go back, I don't know when I can see you again... When the grassland is more stable, why don't you stay in St. Bridget for a while?"
Xiao Yun nodded slightly to the maid who brought the tea and said, "It's still too early. You are not the only one who has the pressure from Lamia. We have it too."
After mentioning the incident of Valentine detaining workers, Xiao Yun continued, "After all, the Lamia Chamber of Commerce has been developing for hundreds of years, and has also monopolized the majority of the Bloomfield Salt Industry for hundreds of years. Although there will inevitably be some decay within the company due to the long period of comfort, after all, a centipede will not die without stiffening its body, and the head of a branch has a fairly high level of ability."
Carlisle frowned and thought for a moment: "The grassland... is indeed too close to Lamia's base camp. Teacher, your tribe must pay attention to safety."
Xiao Yun laughed: "If Lamia wants to come to the grassland to cause trouble for us, she must first get past the forest elves. The blood I have donated to the forest elves in the past few years is not in vain. If we earn one gold coin, the forest elves can earn at least two."
Carlisle felt sad for no reason after hearing this... Saint Bridges at least had a fighting chance and could put the money he earned into his pocket, but the teacher's tribe had to make concessions to ensure peace.
"Oh, right." Xiao Yun sat up straight and said seriously, "You exiled Prince Hillbottom, two earls and a duchess. Even if you have a good excuse, it has aroused the fear of others. At the banquet last night, Hockley took the initiative to approach Collins. This is not a good sign. These nobles are worried that you will attack them, and they may form camps out of self-preservation instinct. You have to pay attention to this."
"I understand." Carlisle nodded, "I will let go of the military power of the National Defense Army as much as possible."
The Home Guard is a new army that Carlisle reorganized from the army he "inherited" from the king. He released some military power to show goodwill. At least smart people at the level of Hockley and Collins would know what they can and cannot do - the logistics of the army are in Carlisle's hands, so he is not afraid of anyone turning the tables.
"It seems that you have already figured it out in your mind, so I won't say any more." Xiao Yun said with a smile, "Come to think of it, you are thirty years old, right? According to the age of the human race, you should have started a family. Do you plan to use your marriage as a tool to win over the nobles in the country, or marry a royal family, or just wait for true love?"
Carlisle: “…”
It’s not strange for the teacher to care about my lifelong affairs, but it’s very strange for the teacher to say such things as he is several years younger than me... and he doesn’t even hesitate to mention that he is a matchmaking tool. Is it really good to be so straightforward?
"Well... I haven't thought about this yet." Carlisle wiped the sweat off his forehead silently.
"I should consider it. The princess of Yajialan is really good."
"Teacher, how much do you miss the Princess of Yakalan..." Carlisle really didn't want to talk about this, so he forcibly changed the subject, "Aren't you going to go shopping in the city with the others? I heard that you also invited the young master of the Collins family?"
Xiao Yun leaned back and relaxed in the armchair: "If I have a choice, I don't like to go out. The wind and sun, the crowds, how can it be better than staying in the house and doing nothing?"
Carlisle said expressionlessly: "...So you actually don't want to come to St. Bridget's?"
"Well……"
During the half month spent in St. Bridge, except for Xiao Yun who had a rare chance to enjoy a stay-at-home life, everyone else's schedule was very busy - walking through every street, understanding the urban layout of the royal city, the functional facilities of each block, the scope of authority and responsibility of each official department on paper and the manifestation of their functions in actual operations; which types of positions in St. Bridge are seriously derelict in their duties, which types of positions are just for show, which types of positions have few people but much work but low pay and people try to avoid them... and so on.
Having learned from experiences of being attacked in the street or being given the cold shoulder by a certain department, Xiao Yun would get a few local dignitaries from the Snow Wolf tribe to serve as "passes" when he was "on field duty"... One was to avoid trouble, and the other was to be able to enter many places that he couldn't go to.
Candidates for passes include the eldest princess Rose, the grandson of the Earl of Collins, Carlisle's friend Darren, the eldest son of the Earl of Hockley... and so on.
During the day, they would run around everywhere with the pass they had tricked into their pockets. At night, during class, Xiao Yun would ask everyone to explain and summarize the functions of the official departments they had "visited", find their shortcomings and advantages, and analyze their necessity or redundancy, which made everyone very excited...
When the Snow Wolf tribe finished the "Urban Construction Management Observation and Learning" course and packed up to go home, the people who came to see them off included Prince Carlisle who held Xiao Yun tightly and Princess Rose who were reluctant to let go, and Darren and the noble young masters who had been passes were crazy in their hearts saying: Don't come again! !
Earl Collins looked at his grandson strangely. What's wrong with this kid? Why is he so excited that his eyes are filled with tears?
Master Collins didn't have time to respond to his grandfather. He stared with deep hatred at the group of snow wolves that had been dragging him around for many days. His calves had become thinner from running so much!
The Grassroots Chief seemed to sense his "enthusiastic" gaze, and immediately strode over, stretched out his long arms, scooped up Master Collins, and hugged him tightly: "Goodbye, my friend Jerome of the Snow Wolf Clan, we will miss you!"
Master Collins: “……!!”
Lord Collins' eyelids twitched.
"When spring comes and the flowers bloom on the grassland, you are welcome to visit our tribe." The Grassroots Chief patted the young master on the back, let him go, and patted his shoulder heavily, "Come on!"
Master Collins' legs went limp and he almost collapsed on the spot. He resisted the urge to vomit blood, his face turning purple...
Mumu, Ashan, and Chief Li also walked towards the other young masters with passes, and in the face of their horrified eyes, they attacked with lightning speed and hugged them tightly...
Noble bureaucrats: "..."
Xiao Yun got rid of Carlisle with a dark face. The Snow Wolves walked away while waving their hands vigorously: "Goodbye, goodbye 辣ヾ(￣▽￣)～!!"
Master Collins took a deep breath and shouted in unison with his dandy companions: "No need to say goodbye!!"
Prince Carlisle turned back expressionlessly, and the nobles of each family hurriedly gagged their useless juniors and dragged them back...
Princess Rose, who was wearing a veil, laughed so hard that her shoulders shook. After she finished laughing, she said reluctantly, "Brother... I really can't bear to leave them."
"If the teacher was a human, I would really like to marry you to him." Carlisle sighed.
Princess Rose: “???”
The next day, during the meeting in the meeting hall, Princess Rose knew where her brother's emotion came from...
"This is a gift from my teacher." The prince said expressionlessly, patting a thick stack of notebooks on the table that were handwritten by a palace lady, "Please take them down and have a good look at them."
Princess Rose, as the princess councilor, was also given a copy. After reading only two pages, she looked at the ministers in the hall with a strange expression.
The old-school aristocrat, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Earl Collins, who was always tough, had a stiff face, the Home Secretary, Earl Hockley, had sweat on his forehead, the Civil Service Minister was pale, and the Minister of State was shaky...
"The Snow Wolf Tribe has summarized the chronic diseases in half a month, but we have ignored them for countless years." Carlisle said expressionlessly, "I understand that many problems are not unnoticed, but the cost of removing the rot is too high and the consequences are too wide, so it is better to continue. After all, the chronic diseases will not kill people in a short time... But is this reasonable? Is this really unchangeable? Please think about it carefully and give me an answer during the meeting tomorrow."
His Royal Highness the Prince stood up and left, and the two princesses also stood up, bowed, and left the hall.
The ministers looked at each other in silence… The Snow Wolf Tribe that was running around the streets without any respect, and the wise man Ayun who was hiding in the palace without going out, really taught them a good lesson - when they were alive and well in the royal city, who would have thought that this group of people would leave such a good knife for killing for His Royal Highness the Prince?
The only one among the ministers present who was relatively clean, Earl Collins stared at the notebook copied by the female official with drooping eyelids; as experienced as he was, he knew that the sage Ayun had left Carlisle with more than just this...
"It's not easy to be an official of St. Bridget's." Earl Collins said to himself.
Unlike other ministers who looked dejected, this pillar of the Collins family quickly adjusted his mindset and accepted the facts, with a gleam of light in his eyes.
If positions can be conferred according to ability, the old earl does not think that the Collins family will lose!
One and a half months later.
The long winter finally passed. General Crest, who had returned to the forest for the winter, returned to the Elf Port with his subordinates and vassal races. They cleaned the houses and buildings that had been closed for more than a hundred days, cleared out the stagnant water, debris, and animal feces in the streets, and prepared to receive guests coming from across the sea.
"Hey, you guys are here!"
Hailin and her good friend Kai dragged the cleared garbage to the outside of the port and burned it. When it was halfway burned, they saw several snow werewolves emerging from the jungle.
"Ayue?" Hailin stood up in surprise. "Are you guys here to open the store so early? Where is Shu?"
"Ashu is still in the tribe." Ayue said with a smile, "We came here to build a house. We built it over there, near our canal. When we saw the smoke coming out from here, we thought there was a fire, so we came over to take a look."
"Build a house?" Hailin was excited. "Your tribe is moving to the west coast?"
"No, it was built for the snake tribe to live in." A Yue waved her hand.
Hailin gasped: "Snake tribe——?!"
