"Starting from the Western Region...?" Margie asked curiously, "I didn't know there was a good harbor here that could lead to the sea."

"There isn't one yet, but we can build one."

Her eyes widened, "Your Highness, are you serious?"

"Of course, construction should start by next spring," Roland smiled.

In this era, harbors were without exception natural. Such a huge project as a man-made port, which would require transforming the natural landscape, was almost impossible.

But now he had Tili's full support. Once the houses on Sleeping Island were completed, Lotus would return to the Western Region again. By then, the threat of demonic beasts would have receded, making it the perfect time to open a port.

He stood up and pointed to the map hanging behind him, "There is a shoal south of Border Town. The water depth is ideal, and the area is very suitable, enough to accommodate all the facilities needed for a port. With a little modification, and by leveling the coastal hills, I can transport goods out of the Western Region's interior."

"Modifying shoals...leveling hills. Why do these astonishing actions sound not so difficult coming from your mouth?" Margie said with interest, "However, do you have a merchant fleet? You know, sea ships are very different from inland river sailboats."

"Not yet," Roland spread his hands, "That's why I hope you can be involved."

"Have me provide ships?"

"And be responsible for transportation and sales," he added, "The Western Region will only provide the goods."

This was equivalent to an exclusive distribution right in the Fjords. With Margie's experience, she could naturally see the profits it contained. Organizing her own merchant team to sell in the Fjords would naturally earn more, but Roland didn't want to invest too much energy and manpower in this aspect. He only wanted to exchange for new funds as soon as possible to maintain the territory's rapid development. Once the initial accumulation was completed, the implementation of credit currency was only a matter of time.

Sure enough, the female merchant blinked and asked excitedly, "Entrust it all to me?"

"If the price is reasonable," Roland nodded, "If you are willing to be the agent for the Western Region's overseas trade, we can discuss it in detail. The sales scope is limited to the Fjords, and the price must not be lower than the current selling price to the Crescent Bay merchant team."

"Of course. Just the steamships that can sail continuously without relying on wind power are worth a high price for those cross-sea merchant teams to compete for," her tone was full of confidence, "Selling directly to the Fjord Islands, I am confident that I can double the price."

"And we can share the extra profit," Roland smiled, "In addition to steam engines, the main product is this." He clapped his hands, and the guard waiting outside the hall immediately walked in holding a plate. On it were four or five crystal glass bottles, each only the size of a thumb.

"This is..."

"Open it and smell it."

Margie curiously uncovered the cork on top of the bottle, put it in front of her nose, and her eyes lit up, "Good heavens, you've made perfume!"

"I wonder how it compares to the products of the Royal Capital Alchemy Association?"

"The fragrance seems even more concentrated," she held the bottle and looked at it from left to right, obviously a little fond of it, "Was this made by the Border Town Alchemy Workshop?"

"More or less," Roland also picked up a bottle and placed it in the palm of his hand—according to his requirements, the perfume bottles were made of crystal glass with excellent transparency, and the shape was a standard hexagonal prism. Gently rotating the bottle, the perfume inside would change into different shades of color under the light, which was very beautiful. According to the sales concept of later generations, exquisite packaging can greatly improve the grade of the product itself. As a flagship product to open the Fjord market, he naturally had to treat it with care.

Compared with steam engines, perfume was a truly low-cost commodity. When Evelyn realized that "the most pungent liquor" was also a type of wine, high-concentration alcohol was continuously produced from her hands, and even the final step of distillation was omitted. As for roses or other flowers with unique fragrances, they were also transformed into multi-oil products by Leaf. Just crushing two or three flowers could fill a jar of alcohol with a strong floral fragrance.

"If you like it, these few bottles are yours," he put the perfume back on the plate.

"Really?" Margie laughed, "Then I won't be polite."

"I heard this stuff can sell for a good price in the Fjords?"

"You should know that the Royal Capital Alchemy Association sells a very limited amount of perfume every year. The quantity of a thousand or so bottles simply cannot meet the demand. Those big merchants are particularly...particular about the fishy smell on their bodies, so perfume is a regular item for them. After being sold from the Royal Capital for five gold royals, it can become fifteen to twenty gold royals in the Fjords. In fact, a large part of the perfume sold to other regions is also taken away and resold by cross-sea merchants."

Margie paused at this point, "I wonder how many bottles of perfume your alchemy workshop can produce in a year?"

"If the raw materials are sufficient, it should be about ten times that of the Royal Capital Alchemy Association," Roland deliberately lowered the number—he didn't want to sell a product with high profits as cabbage, nor did he want to only earn four or five thousand gold coins a year. As a flagship product alongside steam engines, he hoped that perfume could bring back the same amount of profit.

"..." The female merchant was speechless for a long time before exclaiming, "Your territory is truly full of wonders."

"Then are you willing to be my agent for selling these goods?"

"Of course, Your Highness," she stood up, put her hand on her chest and bowed, "For me, this is also a rare opportunity."

…

After reaching a general agreement, the specific details and contract terms were left to Barov to discuss in detail. Roland returned to his office to prepare to write a letter to Tasa, who was lurking in the Royal Capital.

Whether it was taking the initiative to overthrow Tiffeco or opening up new trade routes, both were two-pronged approaches. He didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket. If the attack failed, he also hoped to continue to obtain saltpeter.

This route was self-production.

In the letter, in addition to mentioning his intention to attack, another point was to have Tasa contact the saltpeter production sites around the Royal Capital and purchase a batch of saltpeter workers to send to the Western Region.

The saltpeter merchants must not be having a good time this year. While Tiffeco forbade exports, he also forced them to sell to the Alchemy Association at low prices. As a result, the profits of the saltpeter fields would naturally decline again and again. Roland believed that as long as the compensation was generous enough, it wouldn't be difficult to buy the factory and the people together.

The principle of saltpeter extraction is not complicated. Nowadays, the population of Border Town is constantly increasing, and it can also meet the large amount of manure required by the saltpeter field. The conditions for self-production have all been met. Before defeating Tiffeco, it would undoubtedly be the most stable guarantee.