Chapter 661 The merchant's counterattack
At this time, it was less than an hour before the banquet started. In the wide hall, representatives from various autonomous city-states were not idle, but were discussing in low voices with the people around them some of the major events that had happened in the city-states in recent days... "Mr. Bell, you know, this thing is simply unbelievable~ The soldiers sent by Duke Witot rushed directly into the mansion of the guild leader, and in less than an hour, they slaughtered all the guild leader's family, including the two-year-old child. Ouch,
How miserable! "
"Who says otherwise, Duke Witott is simply a devil!" The businessman named Bell said angrily, "Our city-state is not much better. Almost all the famous merchants in the city were killed, and those bastards took away hundreds of carts of gold and silver from the city. If I hadn't left the city at that time, I probably wouldn't have escaped death -"
"Yes, I am just like you," at this time , a man sitting aside and listening to the conversation between the two interrupted their conversation, "Fortunately, I received the news in advance and left the city with the goods, so I escaped the disaster! At that time, that group of bastards entered the city under the leadership of a baron and started looting, killing more than a dozen businessmen and raping several girls~"
In this way, everyone's words were full of accusations against the Duke of Lombardy.
In fact, it is not that these autonomous city-states have not thought about resisting, but compared to the well-trained palace army, the soldiers recruited by the autonomous city-states to defend the city are mostly young men or guards, and their combat power is far inferior to that group of soldiers who kill people on the battlefield.
The thought of being massacred and plundered by soldiers sent by the Lombard court on their own territory made these merchants and nobles very angry, and threatened to make the Duke of Lombardy pay with blood and pay a high price for everything he had done.
Before coming to Lavati, this group of merchants from the autonomous city-state had already heard about the deeds of the Earl of the North, and were very curious about this guy who claimed to be a Lombard~
".—--"You know, I heard that this count is the only son of Baron Wood Wells, the former owner of Sauronburg. His expedition south this time is to avenge his father and restore the honor of the family."
—Hahahaha, man, you heard it from those wandering poets, right? As long as someone is willing to spend money, they can even spread the news throughout the Southern Continent that a certain big shot in Lombardy is a sodomite! "
"Yes, those guys are a group of liars and conspiracy spreaders. You can't believe everything they say, but you can't disbelieve it either!"
One of them gave a more pertinent answer.
..—It seems that Wadbury was defeated by the Earl of Northland. Because he lost the Northland, Witote has confiscated all his territory and property, and imprisoned him in a dungeon. He has not come out yet~"
"You are right! Not only that, even Count von Bilen was defeated by his army. Count von Bilen was seriously injured and captured. Not long ago, his family was raising ransom from everywhere to get him back." A fat man with black hair agreed.
h "I really can't believe that von Bilen, who has experienced many battles, was defeated by this young earl -""
h
I heard that the Earl of Northland was the cousin of Flanders, the king of Burgundy. Together with Flanders, he defeated Thorne's army and helped Flanders ascend to the position of marquis. Moreover, this count is not only good at fighting, but also very good at management. In just a few years, the European trading firm under his name had already owned many important trade routes in Burgundy, and had close ties with the Principality of Provence, the court of Paris, and the Hanseatic League in the north. "
"Khansa League? Paris Court?"
One of them opened his eyes wide and couldn't believe it was true,
"Yes, this is what my friend at the Paris Court wrote to tell me personally~" the man said with confidence.
"Oh God, it's unbelievable that this humble Earl of Northland can be so capable!"
At this time, another businessman with a thin face but a tall body poured cold water on the envious guy.
"Don't be too happy too early. At present, we don't know the real purpose of the Earl of the Northland in summoning us to Lavati this time. Or is it wise to wait until he comes to explain his intention before making a decision——"
..-Guardian of the southern border of the Kingdom of Burgundy, Welsh Army The commander of the regiment and the commander of the Guards of the Marquis of Burgundy, Earl Art, arrived~
At this time, the hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone stood up and looked out the door "...-Lord Angus, look, what these Lombard merchants are wearing is enough to cover the expenses of the families of ordinary people in the valley for a year~
Ron, who was walking behind Art in the middle of the hall, glanced at the business representatives of the autonomous city-states of Lombardy who were standing in the room, and looked at the outfits of these Lombards, his eyes full of envy.
"Otherwise, why do you think the adults would bother to try so hard to win these guys over to our side."
"Ahem~"
Art, who was walking in front, turned around and coughed twice, signaling the two of them to shut up.
Angus and Ron smiled at each other, straightened their backs and followed Art to the top of the hall.
"Earl Art, you are finally here, please sit down!"
Mario, the leader of Lavati Commercial Guild, who had been waiting for him for a long time, quickly came forward and placed Art in the chief seat. Angus sat at the table next to Art, Ron stood behind Art, and the other guards all held swords to guard the surroundings.
After a few people sat down, Mario slowly walked to the center of the hall with a smile on his face.
"Everyone!" Mario said: "Sitting in front of you is the guardian of the southern border of the Burgundy Kingdom, the Earl of Wells, the commander of the Wells Army, the commander of the Palace Guards of the Burgundy Kingdom, and the successor of the southern city of Lavati originally named Wellsburg, Count Arter!"
As soon as Mario finished speaking, everyone in the hall stood up and applauded Arter warmly.
Seeing this, Art stood up and nodded to everyone in the hall, his behavior showing aristocratic temperament.
"Sirs, please sit down!"
After a burst of applause, Mario continued, "A few days ago, in the name of the Lavati Commercial Guild, I sent an invitation to the autonomous city-states in Lombardy. I hope that all the adults will go to Lavati to discuss issues related to the life and death of each autonomous city-state."
“Today, I saw here Lord Bell of Sabalenka, Lord Nader and Lord Connor of Dikosh, Lord Baron Alle of Mathildine and Lady Anna, the wife of Lord Rambo. I saw those from various autonomous city-states in Lombardy who came to defend our faith. Grain shop merchants, leather shop owners, former blacksmiths, hotel stewards, fearless captains and sailors who sailed on the sea, who have made great efforts in life!"
"Yes!"
From time to time, the crowd in the hall began to respond to Mario's speech.
「We come from different industries, have different starting points, different statuses, and different identities. But we are diligent, hard-working, pragmatic, efficient,
Shrewd. We share a common belief, which is to build a free and prosperous city-state, completely free from the oppression and exploitation of those palace nobles who have received palace salaries for generations, have hereditary titles, and sit on a large amount of Lombardy territory! "
"Yes!"
More and more people in the hall began to support Mario.
"Now, those arrogant bastards in the court want to rob us of the wealth accumulated over generations, deprive us of our freedom, and destroy our city-state. Will you allow it?
"No!"
No!"
After some exciting instigation by Mario, the merchants and nobles from various city-states became excited and slapped the table angrily to show their resistance to the tyranny of the Lombard court.
Yat, who was sitting at the top, secretly sighed that the leader of the Lavati Commercial Guild was really good at inciting people. Although this man seems submissive, naive, and respectful to Art, in front of other businessmen, Mario has a leadership temperament. The reason why he has been able to sit firmly at the head of the Lavati Commercial Guild for many years is not simply because of his huge wealth. His insight into people's hearts is definitely what makes him better than others.
Just because Mario has grown from an unknown wine merchant in Lavati to a businessman who owns several luxurious mansions, a large number of taverns, hotels, and shops along the street in ten years, it is enough to prove that this man is extraordinary.
In addition to his shrewd mind, this guild leader is extremely adaptable, has a wide network of contacts, and is decisive in doing things without any sloppiness. After more than ten years of accumulation, Mario has a high prestige and deep connections among merchants in the autonomous city-states of Lombardy, and his business tentacles are almost all over the southern continent. This is why businessmen from various autonomous city-states did not hesitate to agree to come to this city autonomy meeting when they received the invitation from the Lavati Commercial Guild to discuss how to solve the current crisis facing each city-state.
Seeing everyone's emotions so excited, Mario knew that his goal had been achieved.
After a moment, he continued to speak: "My lords, now, the Lombard court is using various reasons to slander the autonomous city-states for colluding with the Burundians, and using this as an excuse to send troops to plunder our wealth, kill our people, and mercilessly destroy everything we have built for decades. What should we do?"
After saying this, Mario slammed his fist on the table, his face flushed with excitement.
"Counterattack!"
"Counterattack!"
"Counterattack!"
At this time, the merchants and nobles in the hall who usually travel around the world instantly burst out with a surge of blood, vowing to fight the Lombardy court to the end.
"Yes, we must fight back! Otherwise we will only have one fate, and that is to be hanged by the Lombardy court!"
"Never!"
"Never!"
There was another noise in the hall.
"That's right! We will never surrender! We must resist! For victory! For freedom!"
"For victory! For freedom!"
At this time, the atmosphere in the hall has reached a climax. This heralds the beginning of the municipal self-government meeting—