The city of Verno, an important border town in the south of Provence, is the largest fortress city in the southeast of Provence.
Thanks to the national war that lasted for more than two years, today's Wilno neighborhood has still not regained its former prosperity. Except for a few road choke points, most of the military fortresses and village manors around the city are in ruins. Destroying a castle only requires an offensive and defensive battle of less than a month, but building a castle may require the hard work and sweat of several generations.
Except for Wilno, the people who crossed the border had no better place to stay. The tax collector at the border post repeatedly warned everyone that bandits and rebels were rampant in the border area recently, so they had no intention of taking the risk and sleeping in the wild.
So they didn’t care about the horse power, so everyone could only rush their horses and rush to the city of Wilno before the sky was dark and the city gates were closed. Naturally, entering Wilno required a hefty city entry tax, but the price was more than half cheaper.
It was getting dark and the city was about to have a curfew, so when everyone entered the city, there were not many pedestrians and business travelers in the city, and even those shops had closed their doors and closed down.
When arriving in Wilno, Art naturally does not need to go to a hotel. Continental Trading Company just established a shop in Wilno last September. The name of the shop is Continental Trading Company. All points under Continental Trading Company, whether they are transit stations or shops, have the function of providing food and accommodation for their own caravans.
The group of people walked on horseback on the north-south main road in the center of Wilno City, and soon came to a two-story shop with three rows of shops and an attic. An iron frame protruded from the top of the attic, and a long and wide signboard hung under the iron frame. The signboard read "European Trading Company" in bright and eye-catching general characters, and a wolf heraldry was painted on the top of the sign.
In front of the shop, there is also a striking signboard on the door beam. In addition to the words "European Trading Company", there are several rows of slightly smaller words - buy southern goods at high prices and sell northern goods at low prices.
Beside the three rows of gated shops is an alleyway, which is large enough for carriages to pass. Inside the alleyway is a side-opening gate, which is probably the backyard of the shop.
Two people who looked like store clerks were locking the door of the last store, Ron jumped off the horse and stepped forward to stop them.
A shop clerk wearing a coarse linen gown and covered with freckles was first startled by the terrifying scar on Ron's face. Then he made sure that the man was not a robber who knocked down the door and robbed the door. He said impatiently: "Dear guest, it's closed today. Please come back tomorrow morning to buy and sell goods. ！」
罗恩没有机会伙计，一把推开大门走了进去，「告诉赛尔乔，亚特大人亲自来了，让他迎接。」
「您是？」另一个商铺伙计忍不住问了一句。
"My name is Ron. Come down quickly to find Sergio. Your Excellency is still waiting outside the door." Ron's tone left no room for negotiation. The freckled guy agreed and walked quickly into the shop.
After a while, a middle-aged man wearing a pointed soft hat, a short woolen shawl, and a woven cotton gown with a surprised look on his face hurriedly ran out. Along with the middle-aged man came out an old man who looked like a clerical clerk.
The middle-aged man used the candles in the shop to calm down and quickly took off the soft hat on his head, "Sir Ron, it's really you!"
Sergio was born in the south of Provence. Lombardy invaded Provence four years ago. This small grocery store owner took his wife and daughter to flee north to Burgundy. He was recruited by Art, the then patrol officer, while passing through the wilderness of southern Tyniec. Because he had worked as a grocery store owner and had some knowledge of business, he was transferred to the caravan as an official.
With the formal establishment of the Continental Trading Company, the earliest caravan officials were also promoted step by step. In September last year, the south of Provence was basically stable. Sergio was also sent by Sart, the general commercial officer of the Continental Trading Company, to the south of Provence, which he was familiar with, to establish the Verno branch of the Continental Trading Company.
Sergio is also considered a senior primitive citizen in the valley, so he is familiar with Ron.
Ron stepped forward and nodded in greeting, "Sergio is in charge, your Excellency is waiting outside the door."
Sergio didn't have time to greet Ron, so he quickly straightened his clothes and ran towards the outside of the store...
............
"Sir, the shop in front was originally the largest tavern in the city of Wilno. After the war, the tavern went bankrupt and closed. We rented the shop from the Lord's Hall last September. Lord Balian gave us support. The shop only needs to pay a rent of five thousand pfennigs per year."
Sergio pointed to the place where everyone was standing, "The courtyard at the back was originally a goods store. The original owner now lives in the North. We bought it from him for 50,000 pfennigs and connected the wall to the shop in front to serve as a warehouse for the European trading house."
This square courtyard is not very large in area, but it is complete with carports, stables, wells and warehouses. There are also a few low houses on the inner side of the courtyard, which can not only park horses, collect and store goods, but also provide temporary residence for the entourage of traveling caravans. It is quite good.
"The house in the courtyard can accommodate the entourage, and the caravan stewards who come and go can stay in the guest room on the second floor of the shop in front."
"Where are the guards? How many guards are there here?"
"Sir, there are three guards in total. During the day, there are two guards with daggers guarding the store in front. At night, after closing, there is a guard patrolling the store and warehouse. The three guards take turns guarding, and with the care of Lord Balion, there has been no abnormal movement so far."
"Is there a secret room underground in the store?" Art is more concerned about whether there is a secret room, because spices such as black pepper are more expensive than gold, and people with evil intentions are definitely not safe from prying eyes.
"Yes, yes, the entrance and exit of the secret room is in the middle of the shop. The raw silk, satin, spices and other valuable southern goods we have purchased in the past few months are all stored in the secret room. Only the clerk and I carry the key to the secret room; currently, due to the lack of sales channels in the North, Chang, Manager Salt will only purchase spices for the time being, and will not purchase other southern goods for the time being. "
Yat nodded. The specific operations of Continental Commercial Bank are solely handled by Salt and other senior executives of the trading company. He is only responsible for setting the direction and will not interfere too much in the specific details.
However, his regular business with the local guild in Lavati, Lombardy was still planned to be handed over to Sergio. "In the name of Salt, I negotiated a deal with the local southern goods company in Lavati. Starting next month, they will ship a batch of low-priced spices and other southern goods to Bogdan every month. You will go and handle it in person." Art handed the contract to Sergio.
"Currently, the tariff in Lombardy is very low, but the entry tax in Provence is very heavy. As for how to avoid the tariff, I still need to go to Viscount Balian to discuss it in person."
Sergio finally agreed to the contract.
Accompanied by Sergio, Art toured the shops and warehouses. He was very satisfied. He praised several people from the Wilno Continental Trading Company and rewarded Sergio and the clerk with copper coins worth fifty pfennigs on the spot. The rest of the guards also gave rewards ranging from ten to fifty pfennigs.
Everyone is very grateful.
Yat rejected Sergio's request to check the account books, saying, "I can rest assured that you will do the work." This made Sergio burst into tears and was moved.
That night, Art and his entourage were placed in the guest room of the Continental Trading Company to rest, and there was no conversation all night.
Early the next morning, Art sent Ron to personally invite Viscount Balian to a banquet at Lord Verno's Hall in the city's most luxurious tavern. Ron came back soon.
"Viscount Balian went hunting? Where to hunt?"
Ron wiped the sweat from his forehead, "In the hilly area at the foot of Mount Lamel in the southeast of Wilno, Viscount Balian sent two hundred troops into the mountains to pursue them for half a month before driving the remnants of the rebels down the mountain. Now he has mobilized another three hundred troops near Wilno. The soldiers surrounded the rebels in a hilly area. Just last night, Lord Balian personally went out of the city to direct the siege. "
"The city of Verno is now guarded by Nadaud, the inner knight of Viscount Balian. This information was also told to me by Sir Nadaud." After speaking, Ron picked up the wine glass on the wooden table and took a sip.
Matt touched his chin, "I just happened to miss it~ This eradication of the remaining bandits will not be completed in a day or two. We can't wait forever~"
Att must meet Balian, which is one of his main purposes for going south. Balian is now not only an upstart in the court of Provence, but also Art's support in Provence. More importantly, he has become the lord and army commander of Verno City on the southeastern border of Provence. The next development of the European Trading Company must rely on Viscount Balian's full assistance.
Sart has visited Balian many times, and the European trading companies in Provence rely on Balian to manage their various operations. However, after all, Salt is only a subordinate of Art, and this kind of thing must be done by Art personally.
"Ron, take Matthew and the others to Sir Nadaud and ask him to send us a soldier who is familiar with the road, and then lend us five horses and armor." Art decided to take the risk and go outside the city to find Balian himself.
“Master, is it too dangerous?” Although Ron said “dangerous”, his tone was full of expectation. For him, the greatest pleasure now is to fight in battle.
"Are you someone who is afraid of danger? Don't worry, I will not take risks easily. My main purpose is to find Viscount Balian, and if I have the chance, chop off a few heads of the remaining bandits as a meeting gift." Art said and began to take off the weapons hanging on the wooden rack.
“Go, remember to lend me a stiff bow.”
…
Balian and Art have a very good relationship, and Nadood also has a close personal relationship with Ron. After learning that Art was going out of the city to look for Balian, the commander Nadoud who stayed behind specially deployed two elite cavalry to guide Art, and personally took Ron and others to the arsenal stables to select five sets of weapons and armor and five young horses.
At noon, after being invited to have a sumptuous lunch in the lord's hall, the five men of Art and two leading cavalry left Wilno and ran towards the southeastern hills and mountains...