As the core castle of York family, black castle integrates military, political and economic functions. Here, countless attendants shuttle back and forth with various documents to convey the will of York family to all corners of the territory.

    Walter walked along the long corridor behind the clerk Max and couldn''t help admiring them when he saw these well-trained attendants working nervously and orderly.

    "Lord Walter, the count''s time is precious. You only have an hourglass. Now you can go in." Max pushed open a thick oak door and said politely.

    Walter smiled at the clerk, straightened his collar, took a deep breath and walked into the room.

    Walter saw the count in the room. The white and fat count of York was sitting behind a huge desk and writing hard. Whenever beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, a beautiful maid would immediately wipe the count clean with a white scarf.

    Fat people always have a special affinity. When they get along with others, they always feel relaxed or despised. Walter would never despise the count of York. As a vassal of marquis Leopold, he knew the gap between his family and the York family.

    Although the Leopold family is a marquis family, they were born into a court aristocrat. The territory of the family is pitifully small, only as big as a sub marquis. Marquis Leopold is a loyal supporter of Archduke Williams. He has always hoped to become the top commercial aristocrat in Gambis kingdom with the help of Archduke.

    Walter was the head of the family caravan. Therefore, Walter knew that the fat man in front of him was the decision-maker of York family''s foreign trade, and he had always managed the York family''s business in good order.

    The count of York wrote his hand in Chinese and looked up at Walter and asked arrogantly, "come on, you want to see me. What can I do for you?"

    As soon as the voice fell, the maid next to him put a delicate crystal hourglass on the table, and the fine white sand kept sliding down.

    In the face of this contemptuous attitude, Walter did not express any dissatisfaction. He respectfully saluted the count of York, gently put a black wooden box on the table and said humbly, "good day, count. I have brought the Marquis Leopold''s question. This is a gift from the Marquis to you."

    The wooden box is dark and inconspicuous, but the fiery red spar inside is eye-catching. The spar looks smooth and transparent, and the interior is flawless pure red. Count York stroked the surface of the spar with his fingers and obviously felt a burst of warmth.

    The count of York asked in surprise, "flame crystal?"

    "Yes, sir, this is the flame crystal." Walter said respectfully, with a trace of complacency in his eyes.

    Flame crystal is a very rare element crystal. In addition to beauty, the most important feature of this element crystal is element aggregation. It is an important material for building top knight equipment. Secret silver equipment can let extraordinary Knights give full play to their elemental power, and secret silver equipment inlaid with elemental crystal can amplify this power.

    However, for knights, the stronger the power, the better. Knights pay more attention to the balance of element circulation. Out of control power will only become a burden. Therefore, only the top Silver Knight and gold knight can control the elemental crystal. It is for this reason that elemental crystal can not become an important strategic material like secret silver. After all, top knights are rarer than elemental crystal. Gradually, the elemental crystal became a gift given to each other by nobles.

    In terms of value, the element crystal of the earth water system has the highest value. Most knights are earth water friendly, followed by wind element crystal, and finally fire element crystal, because there are few knights with fire element affinity. Even so, the flame crystal is also irreplaceable for the consistent knight.

    Facing this piece of high-quality flame crystal, the count of York''s small eyes smiled into a crack. While taking down the hourglass without trace, he kindly said to Walter: "Marquis Leopold is so polite! Oh, look, I''m in a remote place, and I don''t have any gifts to give back. You must say hello to the Marquis for me."

    Walter: "......"

    "Sir, I heard that there is a kind of purple cane wine in your territory, which is said to be comparable to gin. I hope to buy some from you." Walter pleaded sincerely.

    The count of York blinked, spread his hand, and said innocently, "Purple cane wine? Why haven''t I heard of it?"

    Walter didn''t care about the count of York''s attitude. He wouldn''t naively think that a piece of flame crystal could let the count of York sell purple cane wine, but as long as it was business.

    "Your Excellency, I am willing to buy this purple cane wine from you at the price of 45 copper rope per liter." Walter offered a high price.

    The Earl of York smiled and shook his head. Although the family has controlled the purple cane wine, the more the material is saved, the more valuable it is. It is not time to sell it to the outside world.

    "55 copper cords per liter."

    Walter saw that the count of York was unmoved, considered it, and offered a higher price. He did not forget the Marquis''s order, and the purple cane wine family was determined to get it.

    The count of York put away his smile, his expression became serious, his small eyes glittered, but he remained silent.

    "Sir, our two families are allies. This is the most sincere price. Please look at..."

    Walter was a little anxious when he saw that the count of York was noncommittal. He had just spoken, but York raised his hand to stop him.

    "30 copper sols a liter." York said with a smile.

    Count York offered to reduce the price. Walter didn''t feel any joy. His heart sank,

    "Let me guess, which trade route did you open up? The Sassanian empire is impossible. Dodo has always been closely related to the Marquis Sophia. The kingdom of Neville is also deeply connected with the Marquis Sophia. It is said that she has a secret trade route through the Sassanian Empire, which transports a large amount of grain from the north every year. Is Neville still the one?" The count of York smiled kindly.

    "Yes, it''s Neville! Neville has a close relationship with the kingdom of Al, and our Archduke Williams happens to have a close personal relationship with several cardinals, so the Archduke opened the joint for you." The count of York got up, patted his fat hand and smiled.

    York came to Walter, patted him on the shoulder gently and warmly, and said politely, "Walter, our two families are allies. How can I make your money? We should make the money of neville people together! You see, you have business routes, we have purple cane wine, Neville''s iron, we share it in half, so it''s settled!"

    "It''s impossible! You don''t know what price we pay for this trade route!" Walter angrily rejected the count of York''s offer.

    "It''s really not easy to get through the trade route. It''s also right for the caravan to take a big head." The count of York nodded his approval, and when his voice turned, he added: "What will your caravan sell when it arrives in Neville? Or what can you impress the neville people? Wool, linen, livestock, grain? These goods can only be broken with the Wimbledon family. You can''t do it! The Marquis can lose all your money as long as she presses down the price."

    "By the way! Gin is a commodity Sophia hasn''t been involved in. However, I heard that Sophia and Andre of Borui kingdom are in a hot fight. Maybe she will get the right to manage gin soon. If you don''t hurry up, even if you have that trade route, you can''t change the current situation."

    Walter looked pale and shook his head. He said, "Sir, this is impossible! Since you guessed that it was the thread led by your highness, you should understand that your proposal is against the will of the Archduke."

    The York family is a fearsome military aristocrat. It is almost impossible for them to open up their own business. It is hard to imagine that crocodiles will allow another giant crocodile to crawl around. Only harmless families can achieve business success, just like the relationship between toothpick birds and crocodiles. The count of York proposed half of the share, which is actually no different from his own caravan, Wei Archduke LIMUS will not allow this to happen.

    "Then I''ll store the purple sugarcane wine for 30 years. We don''t have any loss." The count of York spread his hand and said indifferently.

    There was silence in the room. Both sides were thinking about how to break the deadlock. After half a ring, Walter said to count York, "Sir, it is impossible to have 50% of the share of iron! 40 copper rope and a liter of purple cane wine. We sell you 30% of the share of iron, but the price is 80% of the king''s price."

    "Deal!" Without bargaining, the Earl of York immediately agreed.

    Walter was stunned by the count''s decisiveness. He didn''t know whether he had been calculated by the fat man, but he had no choice. As the count of York said, it was useless to have no goods on the road.

    Now that the matter was settled, Walter got up and said goodbye: "Sir, I''ll leave first."

    "Wait! You still have a tax to pay."

    The count of York stopped Walter, took a sheepskin instrument from under the table and handed it to him.

    Walter was surprised by the contents of the document. He said, "Sir, is your tax official wrong? Our purchase price for this kind of goods called ''coffee'' is only 6 silver Suo a pound, and we only received 20 pounds in total, but we have to pay 100 gold sol tax?"

    "Coffee only charges you 50 gold sols tax, and the other 50 gold sols is sugar tax." Said the count of York with a smile.

    "But sugar is sent!" Walter argued.

    "Walter, I know it''s customary for caravans to jointly lower the price, but I also know that when coffee is transported to Wangdu, it can sell at least 50 gold sols per pound. It''s not expensive to charge you a total of 100 gold sols! If there is no sucrose, the value of coffee will be greatly reduced. Anyway, coffee with honey doesn''t taste very good." York smacked his mouth. He had tried coffee with honey.

    "As you wish, my Lord."

    Walter didn''t tangle, but happily made up the tax, but he was secretly proud: "I transported the coffee to Wangdu and could sell at least 100 gold sols per pound."

    When Walter was leaving, the count of York said to him, "remember to tell your Marquis that coffee, sucrose and purple cane wine are all Baron Victor Wimbledon''s masterpieces, but Baron Victor didn''t give these goods to his wife."

    Walter held back his surprise and hurried away.

    "Sir, are we really going to sell purple cane wine to Leopold''s house now?"

    Max looked at count York with some worry. It was the consensus of the family to hoard purple cane wine. Everyone believed that the best time to sell purple cane wine would be ten years later. And the conditions that Earl York and Walter talked about were not very favorable.

    "Of course! Purple cane wine is a good thing. But good things also need to be known. You say, if the neville people are used to purple cane wine and I break up the goods, will they open a trade route by themselves?"

    "Your Excellency is wise!"

    Max was convinced of the Earl of York''s keen business intuition. It is very difficult for the York family to open up a trade route, but now the family has purple cane wine, which means that there are many free trade routes. These caravans will flock with all kinds of materials needed by the family, and the family can make a lot of money as long as they collect taxes. The premise is that we need to know the reputation of purple sugarcane wine.

    "By the way, did the victors really destroy all the sugar?" York asked his confidant.

    "It''s true. Our people saw with their own eyes that they poured all the sugar into the smelly ditch." Max nodded.

    "Only give but not sell! Destroy all the good sucrose! This boy is really a willful black sheep!" York said sadly.

    Fat York likes sucrose very much. Now he can only wait for Victor''s team next time except for a little sample cut from Walter''s hand.

    ——————————————

    In the temporary camp of Victor leading the free people, several children devour the roast pork chops. Although they are very thin, their eyes are fierce and vigilant, just like little wolves.

    "My Lord, this is the orphan brought back according to your requirements. The oldest is 11 years old, the youngest is 8 years old, 5 men and 3 women, without disability." Nelson introduced victor.

    "When they are full, ask someone to take them to take a bath and give them four shacks. I will arrange someone to pick them up in a few days." Victor nodded.

    "My Lord, are these orphans of any use to us?" Nelson asked curiously. In his opinion, there is no need for the family to take in orphans.

    "Education should start with dolls." Victor joked, but Nelson couldn''t understand this stem at all.

    In fact, Victor is going to set up a training camp to train spies loyal to himself. The instructor is Barol. Family training spies is harsh, but it''s better than these children dying in the gutter.

    Nelson doesn''t care about raising more orphans for nothing in the camp. He has more doubts and wants to ask Victor for confirmation.

    "My Lord, this time we only sold 40 silver sols of coffee, and all the sucrose was destroyed according to your instructions. Therefore, I didn''t buy equipment, but I''ve bought all the cows and nags."

    "Are you surprised why I destroyed the sucrose?" Victor smiled genially.

    "Yes. Sir, even if these caravans drive down the price, we can set up our own caravans. There is no need to destroy such good things." Nelson said with some pain.

    When the glittering sucrose poured into the smelly ditch, countless onlookers exclaimed, and the boss Weiqi stamped his feet.

    "We can''t set up the caravan for the time being, but we can let the caravan come to us." Victor shook his head and continued, "I ordered the destruction of sucrose in order to sell sucrose and coffee at a higher price."

    In the past ten days, through the descriptions of spies, mercenaries, Lingmin and mountain people, Victor has basically understood the reasons why sucrose and coffee are cold.

    Victor always thought that he had a monopoly position when he mastered the unique purple sugarcane resources and sucrose technology, but this is not the case. Only caravans have a monopoly position here. It''s no wonder that in the middle ages, the black pepper from the East flowed to the west through the hands of Arab businessmen, which could immediately exchange for equal weight gold, so Arab businessmen were monopolists.

    Victor thought about it carefully. Sylvia gave up coffee. I''m afraid it''s because coffee is good but not necessary, and sucrose is the same, so they will be pushed down by the caravan. But why is honey so expensive?

    Victor believes that honey here is like a luxury, which is used to show identity. Aristocrats don''t eat honey, that is, poor aristocrats, who will be despised by other aristocrats. To make sucrose a luxury, Victor still needs some time for the aristocracy to recognize the noble status of sucrose.

    Victor asked Nelson to destroy sucrose in Heibao town to tell people that sucrose would rather be destroyed than eaten by ordinary people. Through coffee, these sucrose will also spread in the aristocratic circle. Then Victor only sold crude sugar to ordinary people, and the nobles would slowly recognize the dignity of sucrose. When the nobles want to buy sugar, I''m sorry, don''t sell it! And victor will gradually reduce the proportion of coffee giving sucrose, so those caravans naturally have to take the initiative to come to the door. By that time, Victor regained his monopoly.

    When Victor explained his strategy to Nelson in detail, Nelson was stunned.

    "Sir, will those caravans unite to resist US?"

    Nelson was not only impressed, but also worried. He found more than one caravan in Heibao Town, and none of them was willing to pay a high price.

    "Nelson, can you hold the air?" Asked victor.

    Nelson clenched his fist violently, and the great power immediately made the air in his hand burst. Then he shook his head and said, "I can''t hold it!"

    What a pervert! Victor secretly make complaints about it, and envy him.

    "Good things are like air. They can''t be stopped. It just takes a little time." Said Victor lightly.