At the foot of the snow-capped Jura Mountains, the red-tiled and white-walled city of Yver is embedded on the west shore of Lake Neuchâtel.
The Duke of Savoy built the first military fortress here more than a hundred years ago. After a century of development, although the color of the military fortress has faded, it has gradually expanded and become more prosperous. In particular, the majestic city tower and four towering towers are particularly eye-catching. There are not many such buildings in the mountains.
But when you get closer, it is obvious that Ivel is not as glamorous as it looks.
Last year, the Mountain Federation suffered from drought for four months, and then suffered a pest disaster in the autumn. The few crops that were originally there were eaten away by pests.
Most of the land in the mountainous areas is barren. The mountain people who are half farmers and half herders can neither harvest food nor feed their cattle and sheep. In the early autumn of last year, people began to die of hunger. In the cold winter that just passed, starvation was everywhere.
· The tribes in the mountainous areas can still rely on the wild grass, vegetables and wild animals in the mountains to satisfy their hunger, but those in the flat areas without water sources are in dire straits.
Hence, many starving people with pale faces and thin muscles began to flee to the fertile land by the lake. At least there might be a glimmer of hope here.
The lord of Yver is Manuel Martinet. When he learned that the Earl of Wells from the Burgundian kingdom was visiting, he led a group of officials and gentlemen in the city out of the city early to welcome him.
I heard that Manuel was the head of the business guild in Yver City, but when I first saw him, he did not have the image of a merchant with a fat head and big ears. On the contrary, he was quite young, estimated to be less than thirty years old, tall but thin, with a white face and a head of black hair.
Manuel is wearing a velvet robe and a white belt inlaid with gems around his waist. This outfit is cool enough in the mountains in April.
The gentry next to Manuel fit Art's impression of the city's guild leaders. They were all pot-bellied, wearing expensive clothes, jeweled belts of various colors around their waists, and bright rings on their fingers. These attires were in sharp contrast to the dull-eyed and skinny refugees around the city gate.
But what attracts At is not these gentry, but the mountain troops behind them wearing black ring armor and holding halberds and spears.
The mountain people are brave and courageous, a phenomenon that has existed since ancient times.
But the soldiers standing at the gate of Yver City were not just brave. Art saw the aura of death in these people's eyes, an aura of fearlessness of death. This kind of thing cannot be brought by a sophisticated armor.
"Dear guest, you seem to be very interested in these soldiers." Manuel noticed that Art's eyes were always staring at the soldiers behind him.
Art came back to his senses and felt a little rude, "I'm sorry, Lord Manuel, I made my fortune in war, and I have a special interest in warriors."
"My lord, please call me Manuel, I am not a lord." Manuel is the city lord, but there is really no concept of a lord in the mountain autonomous city.
"These are the Iron Guards I bought from the east. They are all warriors who have fought a hundred battles and guarded my homeland for me. You know, the world has been dangerous in the past two years, so I have to take more precautions."
"Are there many such Iron Guards in the Mountain Confederation?"
"Not too many, but not many. Most of them are tribesmen in the mountains. Many of them have joined the army since childhood. Only in the army can they have enough food."
"Alright, please move to the city, Lord Earl. I have prepared a banquet for the distinguished guests." Manuel glanced at the camel team behind Art inadvertently. He cared more about the goods on the pack horses than Art, a great nobleman.
Enter the city and came to Manuel's mansion in the city, leaving behind the hungry people all over the corners of the city. This place was indeed luxurious enough.
The stone castle was painted white with mortar, and the red bricks glowed under the scorching sun. After passing through the gate guarded by layers of guards, the courtyard was filled with pavilions, pavilions, fountains and statues, and servants wearing gray and white fine linen shuttled between them.
A touch of luxury.
Being there, it is hard for you to imagine that outside the mansion, groups of civilians die of hunger and cold every day.
"The evil oligarch." Art couldn't help but cursed in his heart.
Yvel’s enthusiasm far exceeded Art’s imagination.
Att really didn’t know how Manuel prepared such a sumptuous meal in just one or two days. Food that Att had seen and unseen, heard of and unheard of all appeared in the banquet hall of the Lord of Iver City’s house.
盛大的宴会当然少不了歌舞升平，游吟诗人、舞女、杂耍艺人、魔术师轮番上阵，曼努尔甚至亲自上场与舞女们一同跳舞，宴会氛围一次次推向高潮......
............
亚特并不喜欢这样的宴会，事实上整个威尔斯省都没有这样的传统和喜好。
After the banquet, Art returned to the mansion specially prepared for him to rest. He was a little disappointed with this young city lord with a clear appearance. Such a luxurious life was incompatible with the bitter cold mountains.
However, Art may have made a mistake.
The next morning, just after finishing washing up under Ron's care, he received a report from the guard that Manuel came to pay a visit in person.
As soon as he sat down, before any greetings could be exchanged, Manuel stood up and bowed deeply to Art.
Yat doesn’t know what to do.
"Distinguished guest, I think yesterday's dinner may not have achieved its purpose. You didn't seem to be as happy as I expected."
"My family has been in business for generations and has interacted with dignitaries a lot, so I thought that all nobles were. I like this kind of luxurious banquet. "
"To be honest, for last night's banquet, I spent half of last year's income in Iver. Obviously, that is not what we should be at this age."
Manuel was completely different from last night.
Manuel sat down gently, his eyes a little gloomy, "I have to admit that your arrival is a life-saving straw for Iver. No matter what, I have won your favor and made you like this place."
Ate picked up the wine glass and looked at the stern-faced young city lord with eyes that continued.
"The Mountain Confederacy is about to lose its hold," Manuel said.
“Four years ago, our Bern state joined the Permanent Alliance to jointly resist the tyrannical rule of the Habsburgs and strive for the independence and freedom of the Mountain Confederation. However, it is obvious that the Holy Lord is on the side of the enemy. First, the Habsburgs ordered Swabia to cut off our main channel to the east, and then there were famines year after year. Last year’s drought was superimposed on insect pests. Except for a small amount of farmland and pastures in the lake area, most places have no food harvests and no livestock. The hungry people you saw when you entered the city are not considered. They were lucky, at least they still had wild vegetables in their stomachs before they died of starvation, and they could be carried on carts outside the city for burial. In other parts of the Mountain Confederation, cannibalism is a common occurrence."
"The Mountain Confederation has never had much interaction with the Burgundians because the mountains blocked us. But in the autumn of last year, I had a premonition that things were going to be bad, so I sent people north early to establish trade relations with Lord Antayas."
“But as you said, the current Mountain Confederacy can no longer produce decent things to trade with the outside world, and we are in urgent need of support and rescue.”
Manuel was a little excited, “Lord Ater, I learned about today’s European traders from the caravans going north. The bank has become the largest commercial force in the southern continent, and the bloodline in the east has been blocked by the Habsburgs. We hope that the European trading bank can lend a helping hand to us. "
Manuel waited quietly for Art's response, his eyes full of expectation.
According to his plan after last night's banquet, Art was originally going to use businessman's words to bargain with the young city lord.
He was quite surprised at this time.
After a moment of silence, Art put down his wine glass. "The Province of Wells is willing to help the Mountain Confederation, and the Continental Commercial Bank is also willing to lend a hand. I will also try my best to persuade the Burgundy Kingdom to support you." I will transport food supplies to the mountain confederations within to help you tide over the difficulties. You can exchange for these food supplies at the lowest price, and I won’t even ask you for the high transportation costs that are higher than the food supplies themselves.”
Manuel’s eyes began to glow.
Yate said bluntly: "You are the head of the Chamber of Commerce, and you are from a family of merchants. You know the eternal business laws."
"I don't want to make money from you, but I need to borrow two things from your mountain confederation - population and army..."
Our Earl of Wales is a restless man after all. I am afraid that he hopes to use the Mountain Confederation to contain the Swabians so that he can plan to go south to Lombardy. But this is not good for the Burgundian Kingdom It’s not a bad thing. Now that we have lost the support of the Principality of Burgundy, it is also a good way out to find new allies. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
In the palace hall of Besançon, the capital of the Burgundy Kingdom, Flanders convened a meeting with his ministers.
One of the contents of the court meeting was a submission from the Wells Province in southern Xinjiang. The submission was written in the name of Atwood Wells, Earl of Wales. In the text, the Earl of Wales petitioned the court to agree to the establishment of an alliance between the Burgundian Kingdom and the Mountain Confederation to jointly fight against the Swabians.
Of course, Art also roughly explained the tragic situation of the Mountain Confederation, hoping that the palace could provide support.
"The Earl of Wales is willing to support the Mountain Confederation at the expense of the profits of the Continental Commercial Bank. Of course, he also hopes that the palace can raise part of the food and supplies for the Continental Commercial Bank." The speaker was the new Prime Minister of the Palace of Burgundy and the former Grand Steward of the Earl of Longchard. He was a standard bald old fat man. He rubbed his big beard to completely cover his neck that was about to disappear.
This person has a relatively weak character, but his ability to do things is still good. After Baldwin was demoted, he was promoted from the Lord Seal of Flanders to the new Prime Minister, becoming the head of the important ministers.
If based on seniority and merit, he might have been promoted to the position of deputy prime minister, but Flanders chose him as prime minister because he was loyal enough and easier to control.
"Uncle, Art is your son-in-law, and you are also the palace treasurer. What do you think of his request for the palace to raise food supplies?" Flanders looked at the palace earl Galvin who was sitting behind the prime minister and military minister.
In the more than a year since he became Chancellor of Finance, Galvin has become thinner and thinner, and his cheekbones have begun to protrude from the round face he had when he was Baron Sapp.
It is conceivable that in order to make a new country increasingly prosperous and powerful, this "merchant noble" had to endure a lot of hardships.
The same question, if it had been anyone else, Galvin might have refused on the grounds that the treasury was temporarily insufficient, but it was his son-in-law who made the request.
"My Lord Marquis, the treasury is not yet sufficient." Galvin stood up to speak.
"But the Earl of Wales's move is indeed beneficial to the Burgundian kingdom. Just imagine if the Mountain Confederation can really contain the Swabians, then the pressure on our eastern border will be reduced. Giving some food supplies to the Mountain Confederation can also save the eastern border's high military expenditures for war preparations."
Galvin glanced at Flanders on the iron throne, and immediately added, "But since this matter is led by the Earl of Wales, then he should do it for us. He is responsible for this matter, so the palace can only allocate him half of the food and supplies. As for the remaining half and the high transportation costs, he should be responsible for it."
Flanders pondered for a moment, thought about the pros and cons, raised his head and said to the ministers in the hall: "Give the earl of Wales permission to form an alliance with the Mountain Confederation on behalf of the Burgundy Kingdom. The palace will raise half of the food and supplies for him, and he will be responsible for the rest."
“Okay, let’s discuss another matter. Yesterday, the King of Paris sent a secret order from the French King, asking us to arrest the remaining members of the Holy Order throughout the country...”