In the tail end of autumn, Neverwinter welcomed a long-absent guest.
The merchant Margie.
For this friend who first sought them out and brought substantial returns to the struggling border town, Roland accorded her the highest level of courtesy. Not only did the First Army fire cannons in welcome, but he also personally went to the shallows to receive her into the castle.
"You are too kind, Your Majesty," Margie smiled. "I am but an ordinary merchant."
"Without your help, the Western Region would hardly be what it is today," Roland replied easily. "Neverwinter never fails to reciprocate friendship."
Whether it was the initial large-scale acquisition of grain or the subsequent leasing of numerous ships to transport refugees, all were completed with the strong assistance of the Margie Trading Company. Even Tasa's ability to gain a foothold in the old royal capital was inseparable from Margie's connections and support. Although these were not provided without compensation, Roland was well aware that many things could not be accomplished with money alone.
"To be called your friend is my honor," Margie bowed slightly. "This time, in addition to fulfilling the previously signed perfume contract, I have also brought you new business opportunities." She pointed behind her. "These are the most prominent merchants in the fjord, and they are full of interest in your steam sailing ship project."
"Is that so?" Roland smiled. "I'll trouble you to introduce them to me properly later."
According to his custom, he always conducted business with merchants while eating. After entering the reception hall, the long table was already filled with various delicious foods, and these overseas guests seemed particularly pleased not to have to eat fish. In addition, noble etiquette was not popular in the fjord, and at first they tried their best to restrain themselves, trying to behave as elegantly as possible. After a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere became more and more heated, and all the imitated etiquette was thrown to the back of their minds.
Roland didn't mind this at all. Compared to the tedious table manners in the court, he preferred a lively dining environment.
In the course of the chat, he also gained a general understanding of the visiting merchant group. Besides Gamor and Marlan, the Crescent Bay merchants who first visited the border town, there were also merchant associations from Sunset Island and Shallow Water City. The two islands, one in the south and one in the north, are closely adjacent to Crescent Bay, forming a closely linked trading circle.
As the fjord people's original residence, although the three islands are not large in area, their population and strength are among the top in the fjord, and the competition between them is also quite fierce. This can be seen from the scale of the other two fleets. Each ship docked at Shallow Shoal Port is a three-masted ocean-going vessel, each capable of carrying nearly three hundred people and an equal weight of goods. The price of such a sailing ship is close to five thousand gold dragons, not including sailors. Obviously, in the competition for face and the demonstration of strength, these two merchant associations did not want to lag behind Crescent Bay in the slightest.
When the dessert was brought up, it meant that the talks were officially starting.
"I heard from Margie that you all want to buy steam engines?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Niberon, the head of the Shallow Water City Merchant Association, said first. "But not only steam engines, we also very much hope to have the kind of steamboats you sold to Crescent Bay."
"I heard that the transformation fee you previously offered was eleven hundred gold dragons? Sunset Island is willing to add two hundred more, at a price of two thousand gold dragons to transform five ships," Etier, a merchant from Sunset Island, was not to be outdone. "The merchant association can pay half of the deposit first."
Obviously, they were referring to the paddle steamer purchased by Crescent Bay a year ago. For Roland, this was already outdated technology. It would be a very worthwhile transaction to use this batch of orders to train workers and earn a considerable income in the process.
"It takes two to three months to transform a paddle steamer, and about a year for five ships. If you can accept this, Barov, the Chief Steward of the City Hall, will sign this contract with you."
"There is absolutely no problem, but Sunset Island has a small request." Etier cleared his throat. "We hope that you can use fjord craftsmen to complete the ship transformation."
"What do you mean?" Roland raised an eyebrow.
"Just like the steam engine factory in Crescent Bay, we will provide you with a batch of craftsmen. The ships they transform will be given priority to Sunset Island. When the ten-year period expires, they will have the *ziyou* to choose whether to stay or leave."
"Shallow Water City also hopes to sign the contract in this way," Niberon echoed. "Five sailing ships are just the first batch of orders. If you can agree to our request, there will be at least five ships accepting transformation every year."
So that's how it is, Roland thought. So this is a large order lasting ten years, with an annual transaction price of up to ten thousand gold dragons, and they will get detailed transformation methods after ten years, so that they will not always be controlled by others.
But the fact is, he doesn't care about spreading this method at all. Compared to the steam turbines being developed and the three-expansion steam engines that have already been put into production, paddle steamers are clearly outdated.
The purpose of his initial ten-year agreement with Crescent Bay was to use these ten years to allow the craftsmen to adapt to life in the Western Region, making them unwilling to return to the fjord and eventually becoming members of Neverwinter, rather than to prevent technology leakage.
Technology divorced from the industrial base is nothing more than a seemingly beautiful castle in the air.
Thinking of this, Roland tapped the table. "In principle, there is no problem, but we may be able to make some modifications to the details, such as changing the ten-year period to five years..."
At this point, obvious joy appeared on the faces of the two big merchants. For them, the sooner they could master the steamship transformation technology, the better.
"As long as Shallow Water City and Sunset Island are willing to keep the craftsmen in the Western Region, I can also give you a 20% discount on the price, how about that?"
"This..."
The two of them hesitated for a moment. After all, craftsmen are not so easy to train. Shortening the time by five years for several hundred people, plus saving two thousand gold dragons per year, they were not sure whether this deal was worthwhile.
"Your Majesty, can I discuss it with the others in the merchant association before giving you an answer?" Niberon said.
"Of course," Roland made a gesture of invitation.
"Allow me to take my leave for the time being," Etier followed him out of the reception hall.
"Then..." He looked at Gamor and Marlan. "Your purpose in this trip does not seem to be steamships?"
While the two merchant associations were vying to talk about business, the representatives of Crescent Bay had been very calm, occasionally mentioning past transactions with the border town. It felt like they were not here to talk about business, but to reminisce about old times... This kind of sentimentality naturally aroused Roland's curiosity.
"No, Your Majesty, we are also here for steamships," Gamor sipped his white wine. "But not wooden paddle steamers. Crescent Bay wants a steel ship that can split the waves and is indestructible—the one you built for Lord Thunder."
As soon as these words came out, Margie's face changed instantly.