Chapter 110: Winter and Summer Warring States
By early December, the cold winter had frozen the entire mountain range of Einweiden, and the coast except for the port was also blocked by thick ice.
The new shipyard has been put into use for a long time, and there are only two months left before the new large ship is launched and outfitted.
And the Earl... no, these documents declaring independence from Grand Duke Roslingay were circulated, and even ordinary people knew that the Kingdom of Alta had changed without anyone knowing.
Although everything in the territory was the same as usual, at this critical juncture, Letilen and the others believed that the lady would not be looking for them for some trivial matter today.
They asked Fanxi for a while, but Fanxi just shook his head, unable to guess what the lady wanted to do.
Gao Sili said, "Do you think the Madam will ask us to stop shipping? Can we still build this new ship?"
"I don't know either. The world outside is in chaos, how can we remain immune? The risks for merchant ships going out to sea are increasing.
If war breaks out in the future, southern merchants may not dare to come north to do business as compradors.
But if there is no trade, how can Einweiden, with its thousands of people, one or two hundred workshops, and hundreds of shops, survive?"
Letilen answered.
Hearing that the two big men in front of him were so worried, Theseus, who was in charge of shipbuilding, was even more worried.
However, Letilun changed the subject and said, "However, we don't have to worry about our own safety for now. After all, we still have thousands of soldiers blocking the way."
"As for what to do next, the Baroness will surely have a solution. Otherwise, why would she summon us?"
Letilan: "Come on, let's go in together, Gossili, I guess you have to take the lead."
The three of them tidied their clothes outside the side hall before following Fanxi in.
When they arrived at the side hall, Olivia was already waiting for them there. Old Renault and Caesar were still at Encore, and Theresa was also here to listen in today, taking charge on behalf of Old Renault.
Olivia's face was serious but with an invisible scrutiny, and there was a sense of power and oppression, but the three of them were very docile, and inexplicably had a sense of security that came from being blessed by God.
"Please take a seat. We called you here to inquire about the progress of the shipbuilding. The merchant ship has returned. Please report to us in person."
She has already obtained all the data for this sea transportation. The scale is still the same as usual. Excluding the cost, she can earn 20,000 to 30,000 gold coins per trip.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds of produced grain have also been stored, so there will be no worries about food for the next year.
As for the goods from the south, even if the world is in chaos, the nobles still need food and drink, and everyone is purchasing military supplies, so the demand is no less than usual.
The liquor from the Southeast Continent and the sugar from the Southwest Continent that were shipped up this time have become rare commodities.
If you do the math, after all the goods are sold, Eindhoven’s treasury will have more than 100,000 in assets.
Even in the most difficult situation to earn an income, this amount is enough to survive for three to four years.
Several people orally described the situation of the ship and looked at them expectantly.
Theresa is not the protagonist today, and she also has to follow Olivia's arrangements.
Olivia cleared her throat, took a sip of water, and said:
"As you all know, Alta has been unstable for the past month, and going out to sea in the future will be quite dangerous."
After hearing this, several people were in a state of uncertainty.
"However, navigation and trade are Einweiton's greatest advantages. If there is no navigation, what use is there for this port?"
“Therefore, sea transportation must not be interrupted, and future plans to go out to sea will continue.
However, the product content needs to be changed, so forget about spices, gems, etc.
I want you to buy food, sugar, salt, wine, and most importantly, iron ore from the southern continent in the future.
As for the workshop, as long as the raw materials sent from other baronies can keep up, it cannot be stopped and production must continue."
"I know that under the current circumstances, sea voyages are not safe. In the past, we worried about natural disasters, but now we have to worry about man-made disasters.
Therefore, we need to equip each ship with a crossbow and a corresponding number of soldiers.
As long as we pass the coast of Alta in the first half of the month and reach the south, we will be safe. As for the return journey, we must also arrange a fleet escort in advance."
"Gao Sili, you should also have the forges here speed up the casting of weapons and equipment, and the production of ship ironware. Don't be afraid of too much, there will be no shortage of ore."
After listening to it, everyone had an idea in their minds, especially Gao Sili.
Not to mention shipping.
The crossbow in his hand has developed from the original three arrows to six arrows, and the range and distance can be adjusted.
If we were on the sea, we wouldn't be afraid of someone trying to board the ship by force.
These ships were in Letilen's hands, and he had to arrange the details.
Olivia said to him:
“Although we have to go out to sea, we all go out to sea in small boats with a capacity of 500,000 pounds.
Deliver the new two-million-pound ship to the Coast Guard and the military, equip it for military use, and have it patrol the coastal waters."
All three of them thought that this proposal was very good and in line with the times.
Olivia thought that in Alta, there was no ship larger than the new one.
If the ship is well-equipped and manned with hundreds of soldiers and sailors, they will actually have control of the sea.
At the current shipbuilding rate, the scale can double in half a year.
If Grand Duke Roslingay wants to carry out any military action relying on shipping in the future, the first thing he will think of is to use her manpower.
Since it is useful, then it can be a credit. With the credit, will you still worry about not being able to get ten times the territory?
The strategic arrangement was very short. Before the hot water in the cup had cooled down, the three of them said goodbye again and followed Fanxi out.
This time, they were no longer murmuring like when they first came, and they were much more motivated.
Back in the workshop area, Gao Sili plunged into the model room. He wanted to modify the base design of the bed crossbow to make it more suitable for ships.
He had just finished revising the design drawing when he suddenly heard a short loud noise coming from a nearby open space.
…
In the fortress, Olivia and Theresa wrote a basket of letters to the Baron's Mansion, which had a cooperative relationship with them in the trade association.
Make it public that she has dedicated military vessels at sea.
The purpose is to tell them that business still needs to be done, supplies still need to be sold, and no one can give in.
If we are not united at this critical moment and do something disgusting, we will be excluded from the association even if the future is stable.
At this time, their leader must take a tougher stance.
The letter quickly reached most of the baronies throughout the "Principality".
The barons are all waiting for orders from Anko, and the wives of these barons are in charge of the overall situation in their mansions.
A few days later, Olivia received their reply, and the most basic mineral sources needed in the territory were still stable.
Although there are always one or two companies that want to raise prices, it doesn’t matter.
Olivia has two preparations. One is shipping. Currently, she can mobilize four small cargo ships of 500,000 pounds to go south to find supplies. The second is these local resources.
As long as the foundation and operating cycle she built with her own hands are not disrupted by the changes, Olivia believes that this change will also become a new opportunity to further enhance the region's influence.
Early in the morning, it was snowing heavily outside the fortress. She was in the study, opening a letter and replying to it for a while, when suddenly Fanxi walked in with some official documents.
Olivia knew from her expression that these things must be extraordinary.
I took it and looked at it, and it was indeed true.
The first one was an announcement that the queen had captured the Archbishop of the royal capital and inherited the throne as the queen mother. The Archbishop of the royal capital recognized her legitimacy.
This announcement was issued by the Queen in an attempt to persuade the old man Everk to submit to her power.
In the second letter, the Marquis of Desiso in the north declared regional independence.
In the third letter, Count Antoine also declared independence.
The following are a lot of declarations of independence responded by the princes and earls of the south.
The last letter was sent back by Caesar in an urgent message from the city of Anko, saying that Grand Duke Everk had received accurate information.
The Duke of Wallius did not recognize the legitimacy of the queen, and joined forces with his uncle, Marquis Felix, who was originally in line to the throne, and sent tens of thousands of soldiers to the capital in an attempt to seize the throne.
He also sent letters to various princes, asking them to recognize the legitimacy of Marquis Felix.
And it was impossible for Grand Duke Everk to watch the old Duke of Wallowa use the heir to the throne to control the princes.
The Grand Duke's idea was to also join forces with his closest neighbors, the Marquis de Ciso and Count Antoine, to send troops to the royal capital, and then negotiate terms with the old man.
Either they divide the capital together and occupy one side, or they start fighting.
Caesar said in the letter that he and his father-in-law probably returned home the night she received the letter.
They had to respond to the Grand Duke's order, count their troops and take them to the border bordering the Dukedom of Valois to wait.
If the Knights fail to reach an agreement with Duke Valleu after entering the royal capital, they will have to enter Duke Valleu's territory.
In addition to the direct territory of the capital, there are a total of eleven relatively large forces in the Kingdom of Alta.
It is divided into two duchies, two marquises and seven earls.
The remaining viscounties are too small and their populations are not much different from those of baronies, so they are not included.
To the north of the royal capital, there is one duchy, two earls, and one marquisate, a total of four.
There are another seven families to the east, west, and south of the royal capital.
However, among these seven families, there are not many that are powerful. Only Count Barros, who owns Frankfurt on the southern border, is relatively powerful.
Whoever first seizes the royal capital, a fertile land built on the plains, will have the advantage of clearing the entire kingdom.
Olivia calmly flipped through the letters.
In order to complete the task and obtain more fiefdoms, she must be expecting the Grand Duke to send troops everywhere to capture cities and seize land, preferably to become a great feudal lord.
Now that people have gathered at the border, Grand Duke Everk wants to discuss distribution with Duke Wallius and divide the capital peacefully, but no one will agree.
Olivia turned on the event function and looked at the world map.
Since the Duke of Valeu is holding the heir to the throne hostage to seize power, he will definitely bring the marquis into the royal capital.
The royal capital was within the range of her map. She would take action when the time came and deprive Duke Vallu of this excuse. Even if they didn't want to fight, they would have to fight her.
…
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