The King - Chapter 350

Chapter 350 Guessing off track

Back to the southeastern province, Hudson did not return to the territory, but went directly to the Berkshire shipyard.

seeing is believing.

Although the royal family has a good reputation, it is still necessary to check the quality of the shipyard bought at a high price.

After simple makeup, Hudson assumed the alias “Bedden” and pretended to be an ordinary merchant. After demonstrating his economic power, he successfully obtained the qualification to visit the shipyard.

Hudson doesn’t understand the specific technical things, but from the pile of “iron oak”, we can see the background of the shipyard.

There are many woods that can be used to build ships, but there are very few woods that are suitable for drawing magic circles.

“Iron Oak” is one of them, and because of its wide distribution in the Alpha Kingdom, it has become the main raw material for shipbuilding.

Of course, this “wider distribution” is also compared to other types of wood, and it is far from the point of bad streets.

At least the Salam Mountains where Hudson is located, there is no shadow of “iron oak”. Even one hundred and fifty years ago, the entire southeastern province could not see the shadow of “iron oak”.

This situation lasted until the rise of the Dalton family before it was introduced into its own territory for planting.

There is no doubt that trees are not grown in a day. It is said that the elves have life magic that can ripen vegetation, but that stuff is their core secret, and it is far away from Hudson.

Even if the planting is introduced immediately, in the next few decades, he will still have to spend money to buy “iron oak” from the royal family.

Obviously, this is Caesar III’s calculation again. Using a shipyard on the verge of bankruptcy to bind a great nobleman for decades is not a loss in any way.

But everything has two sides. If the royal family wants to hold the Koslow family, it has to support their development of maritime trade.

Only when the interests obtained by the Koslow family from the sea are large enough, the “short boards” they hold in their hands have sufficient value.

Knowing that there was a pitfall, Hudson jumped into it decisively. The main reason was that it was too risky to get involved in maritime trade in a daze.

If you want to shorten this tuition payment cycle, the best way is to find a master to take you with you. You don’t expect to make much money in a short period of time, as long as you can train your team, it is considered a strategic success.

Listening to the sales staff’s enthusiastic and continuous introduction, Hudson knew that Berkshire Shipyard’s life was difficult, otherwise the staff of such a monopoly enterprise would not be able to restrain their arrogance.

“Mr. Baden, look at those giant buildings, they are all the shipyards of our Berkshire Shipyard, and the largest shipyard can even build 10,000-ton giant ships.

Of course, this is only in theory. Under normal circumstances, no one would be foolish to build such a big toy.

If it is engaged in inland river transportation, then a cargo ship of 500 to 1,000 tons is almost enough, and if it is larger, navigation will be restricted.

If you are engaged in ocean-going trade, choosing a large ship of two to three thousand tons is enough. No matter how big it is, the cost is high, and such a large space is simply not used in normal times.

Of course, this is just my personal suggestion, and the specific choice is still up to you.

In short, we can build all the mainstream ships on the mainland, including warships for the navy.

In this list, the parameters of the ship types that can be selected are recorded.

If you are not satisfied, you can also ask our designers to design individually according to your requirements, but the cost will be slightly increased. ”

“Can warships be sold?”

Hudson asked tentatively.

As a landlubber lord, he is a pure layman when it comes to matters at sea. However, as a part-time arms dealer, he knows very well that arms trade is far more profitable than normal trade.

The only problem is that the arms trade is often linked to politics. Selling ordinary swords, guns, swords and halberds is fine.

Weapons of mass destruction such as magic crystal cannons and magic crossbows cannot be bought simply with money. They must have a certain status to be eligible for trading.

“In principle, it is not allowed, but if Mr. Baden is really interested, it is not impossible to be flexible. It mainly depends on how you trade.

If you follow the right path, you will be contacted by higher-level managers after I report, but the threshold is a bit high and there are many restrictions.

If you take the dark path, it will be much simpler. As long as you are willing to add money, all follow-up work will be handed over to us.

The only problem is that the magic crystal cannon is a bit troublesome. The Kingdom controls these items too strictly, so there is no guarantee that they will be available at any time.

Even if you can get the goods, the price is skyrocketing. However, we can use ballista instead. It is definitely not as powerful as the magic crystal cannon, but it is cheaper. ”

The words of the sales staff gave Hudson a new understanding of the situation at Berkshire Shipyard. If it weren’t for being poor and crazy, he would never be able to privately sell warships.

Although I don’t know what level of warship it is, but from the tone of the salesperson, I reckon that as long as the money is enough, I can sell anything.

You must know that before the orcs invaded, Hudson had to work hard to get a magic crystal cannon, but now someone dares to sell it.

I have to admit that the royal family’s property is different. When it comes to business, it is more courageous than ordinary people.

Perhaps Berkshire Shipyard can persist until now, not by scattered shipbuilding orders from outside, but by warships ordered privately by pirates.

After figuring out the situation at the Berkshire Shipyard, Hudson was not only not annoyed, but secretly delighted.

Being able to secretly sell warships to pirates means that the technical level of the shipyard to build warships is at least above the level of building pirate ships.

“Ha ha…

Mr. Barnes, I’ll just ask by the way. As a serious businessman, how could I buy a warship?

We are mainly engaged in ocean trade and deal with pirates every day. We must also have certain weapons to protect ourselves! ”

Hudson explained with a smile.

is just the end result, something backfired. The more Hudson insisted that he was a serious businessman, the more Barnes thought he was a pirate’s wayfinder.

Based on Barnes’ many years of sales experience, the more the visitor hides his identity and the more mysterious he is, the more likely he is a big client.

It just so happens that Hudson possesses all of them. With his clumsy camouflage skills and the domineering hidden between his brows, he is not a serious maritime merchant at first glance.

“Mr. Baden, don’t worry. We also sell armed merchant ships here, but they look a bit like warships, and their performance is similar to warships, but they are definitely not warships.

The merchant shipping approval issued by the kingdom is the best evidence! With these approval documents, you can definitely drive the ship away.

…”

Facing Barnes’ eloquent explanations, Hudson decisively chose to escape. He couldn’t stay here any longer, otherwise he would almost believe that he was a pirate.

With confidence in mind, the follow-up transaction will naturally go smoothly. However, the shipyard is still in the hands of the royal family and continues to operate, and the relocation work must wait until the next year.

In order to prevent external interference from destroying this transaction, the transaction will be kept strictly confidential before the relocation work is fully started.

The difference is that there is a group of strangers in the mountains. They crossed the endless swamp and ran to the seaside to start exploration.

Ports and shipyards need to be carefully selected. If you just choose a piece of land for construction, you can’t build a large dock.

Leaving aside the 10,000-ton large dock, Hudson does not have such a big appetite, but there must be a 1,000-ton conventional dock, otherwise it will become an inland shipyard.

…

In Beda City, after some fierce quarrels, the share of the “repayment tax” was forcibly distributed.

It can be seen that everyone’s interest is not very high, as if they have become selfless saints, even if the allocation is slightly more, they don’t bother to argue.

It was Hudson and Earl Pierce who were the most active. In order to repay the tax share, the two almost had a “duel” in the conference room.

Obviously, this is Governor Pierce’s private promise to everyone. Otherwise, the county guards whose interests have been damaged will definitely be the main force besieging the governor at this moment.

Throughout the meeting, Hudson’s situation was just two words-embarrassing!

All the sheriffs at the meeting were either members of the Dalton family, or were promised benefits by Earl Pierce, and Hudson was completely alone.

The only representative of the Holliser family who can be regarded as an ally, after the shift of strategic focus, became a dumb to make up the numbers!

The days of “lonely family and widows” will naturally not be easy. Fortunately, all the sheriffs present were only doing things with money and did not completely fall for the Dalton family, otherwise life would be even more difficult.

There was no 1v14, but Hudson still achieved 1v7. It’s scary to think about it. Among the 15 counties in the southeastern province, there are seven counties whose sheriff positions are controlled by the Dalton family.

Nearly 30% of the land was planted with the Dalton family’s flag, and the area under the control of the younger brother will be even larger.

If it weren’t for his strong rise, it would only be a matter of time before the Dalton family annexed the southeastern province if this situation continued.

Similar scenes are also happening in other provinces of the kingdom. And this kind of land annexation, along with the continuous growth of the great nobles’ own strength, will accelerate even more.

Whether you want to believe it or not, the kingdom’s political system, which relies on small and medium nobles to check and balance the big ones, is gradually collapsing.

No wonder Caesar III wants to create conflicts among the great nobles and play with political balance. If no action is taken and the land annexation is allowed to continue, there is a high probability that there will only be double-digit players left in the future Alpha Kingdom.

When that situation really comes to that, there will be no relaxation between each other, and only the last step is left to turn the country into a family.

Of course, this is only a theoretical state. Under normal circumstances, if a country cannot support the most extreme state of land annexation, it will collapse early.

This kind of collapse may be caused by the invasion of foreign enemies, or it may be caused by internal struggles.

After all, no matter whether it is a great aristocrat or a royal family, it is impossible to guarantee that every generation of heirs will have an online IQ.

As long as there are two or three generations of prodigal sons in a row, or a big prodigal son is born, the family business accumulated by the ancestors can be wiped out.

When a whale falls, all things are born.

Every time a big noble falls, many new small and medium nobles will be born, and then a new round of land annexation will start, as if it is a cyclical cycle.

Watching Hudson leave with a dark face, Earl Pierce showed a meaningful smile.

“I can’t compare to you in fighting with soldiers. Could it be that playing politics can’t handle you as a stupefied young man!”

It’s a pity that this kind of joy cannot be shared with others, otherwise it will easily ruin his stalwart image.

“Master, something seems to be wrong!

In the meeting just now, although Earl Hudson was trying his best to fight for it, he was too calm to find a trace of panic.

According to previous speculation, he should bring a group of minor nobles to the meeting to make trouble. We have all made plans and are ready to take the opportunity to label him as disregarding the overall situation.

It’s a pity that throughout the meeting, he suppressed his anger and didn’t leave us any chance, as if he knew our plan in advance! ”

The old butler’s reminder startled Earl Pierce.

There are only a handful of people in the family who know about this plan. If someone leaks the secret, it will be in big trouble.

“Let the dark guards check it out, the people in the family who are closely related to the Koslow family, and arrange people to watch their every move.

This is just a preparation, and this matter should not be a secret they leaked. If a little personal friendship was enough to betray the family, betrayal seemed cheap.

The rise of Hudson is too short, and it is impossible to insert the hidden son so quickly. If the news could be received in advance, there must be other forces involved.

The biggest suspects are the royal family and the Holliser family.

The possibility of the Hollisle family is unlikely. Although they and the Koslow family are allies, it does not mean that they are willing to give unconditionally.

In order to support our allies, it is not a good choice to offend us at this juncture.

On the contrary, the probability of the royal family should be higher. Not long ago, Hudson helped the royal family, and it was only right to take the opportunity to return him a favor.

Of course, there is another possibility, that is, all our guesses are wrong, there is no leak at all, and Hudson guessed our plan by himself. ”

While speaking, Earl Pierce frowned. It would be terrible if Hudson could gain insights into their plans all by his own analysis.

In contrast, he is more willing to believe that this is just a coincidence.

“My lord, the royal family probably helped him with this matter. According to the information from the spies in the mountains, Hudson has already organized people to conduct exploration by the sea.

According to the insider, the artificial river excavated in the mountainous area will be completed by the end of the year. Hudson’s move is likely to be preparing to build a pier by the sea.

In order to further verify the authenticity, we sent people to check the identity information of the prospectors, and found that these people are all working for the royal family.

Facts have proved that the Earl of Hudson has further connections with the royal family secretly, otherwise he would not have received such strong support. ”

The old butler’s words made Earl Pierce’s face even more gloomy.

The upstart Koslow family alone is difficult enough, but if the royal family is involved, it will be even more difficult to solve.

Deep in his heart, he already believed in the speculation that the two families colluded. After all, these are the routines of Caesar III.

Use some small means that are beneficial and cost-effective to provoke conflicts among the great nobles, so that everyone can be tied together to ensure the supremacy of the royal power.

Even if you can see it, it’s useless to tell the other party. The Dalton family and the Koslow family are competitors. It is impossible for Earl Pierce to stop here, and it is impossible for Hudson to back down indefinitely.

(end of this chapter)