Fifth Hundred and Fifty-Fifth Chapter: Negotiations Begin

This is Border Town... no, Neverwinter City?

Edith stepped down the gangway, staring at the bustling and orderly scene before her, utterly stunned. Despite having made various guesses before arriving, she found that she had underestimated this city—the wharf area was more than three times larger than the royal capital, one side crowded with unloading sailboats and cement ships, and the ore and coal piled up in the storage yard formed a small hill.

On the other side, a dozen paddle steamers were slowly leaving the pier in a column, and many people were standing on the embankment to see them off. All the people on board were wearing uniform zhifu, standing upright along both sides of the ship's rails, and the vibrant fighting spirit they showed could even be felt by Edith—previously, this kind of expression only appeared on victorious knights, and these people were undoubtedly not nobles.

The center of the wharf was a gathering place for merchants, refugees, and migrants, mainly with various sailboats. After disembarking, people were separated by a group of men in black and asked to line up in long queues to pass through checkpoints. The flow of people in the entire wharf area alone was no less than a thousand, and such a prosperous scene paled even the royal capital in comparison.

"The wharf has gotten longer again," Victor clicked his tongue, "Does His Majesty plan to turn the entire riverbank into a wharf area?"

"Again?" Edith noticed his wording.

"At least last autumn the wharf wasn't this wide," he spread his hands, "Of course, there weren't this many people either."

"What are those checkpoints doing, collecting taxes?"

"There is no city entry tax here, you only pay taxes after you sell things," Victor explained enthusiastically, "And you can't set up stalls randomly in the city, all sales must be conducted in the convenience market in the square area. Those men in black are equivalent to patrol teams in other cities, they set up checkpoints to register identities and eliminate plagues."

Not extortion and blackmail? Edith gave her brother a look, and the latter nodded, taking out a purse to prepare some money.

"No, no, Konrad xiaojie, I said 'equivalent' to patrol teams," the gem merchant smiled and waved his hand, "In fact, they never charge extra fees—I know this is hard to believe, but that's the way it is, I was just as surprised as you when I first passed the inspection. Come with me, the merchant channel is much faster."

Just as he said, the men in black verified Victor's identity and let the group pass through the checkpoint without asking for a single copper eagle.

"Next, I need to find a clean and comfortable hotel, and then stroll around the convenience market," he turned his head, "What are your plans, Konrad xiaojie? If you're not familiar with this place, I can be of service to you."

"Thank you," Edith feigned gratitude, pinched the corner of her skirt and curtsied slightly, "You've helped me a lot along the way, that's enough... I'll go to the City Hall for help, I should be able to find news of my relatives there."

"It's just a matter of lifting a finger... It's my honor to meet such an outstanding noble xiaojie as you, please don't be so polite."

After declining several times, Edith finally managed to get rid of Victor's entanglement. The merchant kept waving to her as he said goodbye, saying that if she encountered any trouble, she could always find him at the Holy Mountain Hotel.

"Sis, you're really popular," Cole clicked his tongue.

"Hm?" Edith glanced at him, "What should you call me?"

"Uh... cough cough, Edith Madam," the Duke's second son couldn't help but shiver, "Should we find an inn to stay in too?"

"No, first go to the castle to submit the documents," she said without hesitation, "Get in touch with His Majesty as soon as possible."

"But we don't have the heads..." Cole reminded in a low voice.

"Then let's proceed as if we don't have the heads," Edith shrugged, "Remember the things I told you? Show sincerity, the Conrad family's loyalty cannot be represented by just two heads."

And even if they had them, they would probably stink already—presenting His Majesty with two rotten and unrecognizable heads was not a good idea either, she thought. Everything had deviated from the intended trajectory since they left the royal capital.

What to do will depend on the specific circumstances. In the end, the negotiator's ability is the key factor in determining the outcome of the negotiation.

*******************

"Your Majesty, a delegation from the Northern Lands is waiting outside the castle, hoping to be received by you," Sean, the guard, walked into the office and reported, "The leader claims to be Cole. Conrad, the second son of the current Duke of the Northern Territory, Calvin. Conrad. Master Barov has checked the credentials and coat of arms, and they should not be forged."

"The Northern Lands?" Roland put down the design drawings in his hand in surprise, "Isn't that Tifeikko's territory, did they explain their intentions?"

"Yes," the guard showed excitement, "Sir Cole said that the Duke is willing to pledge allegiance to you."

To take the initiative... to surrender, he frowned, this is really a troublesome matter. In essence, he does not need the allegiance of a feudal lord, which not only does not help the development of the kingdom, but also impacts the current centralized system. Roland would rather the other party hold a fluke and shrink in the territory, waiting for him to sweep over. Only by completely crushing the old forces can a centralized government be successfully established.

However, he couldn't refuse to see them either. If the other party sent a delegation to make peace but was deliberately left aside, it might cause other nobles to lose their fluke mentality and decide to unite and fight. This is not a military problem, he is mainly worried about affecting the people of the Eastern Territory and the Northern Lands—Roland has regarded the kingdom's citizens as his wealth, and naturally wants to save as many people as possible.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded, "Take them to the reception hall, and call Barov too."

"Yes." Sean responded excitedly.

Looking at the guard's expression, he probably thought that in this way, the entire kingdom would only have the east that had not been brought under his rule... Roland thought secretly, but sometimes things are not as simple as they seem on the surface.

At the same time, he also made a decision.

In any case, the principle of taking back the rights of the enfeoffed nobles is a principle that will never be shaken, and this must be accurately conveyed to all nobles to show his determination to reform the new policy. If the rebellious nobles dare to attack the people, they will pay a heavy price for it.

……

Walking into the reception hall, only two members of the delegation were sitting at one end of the long table. One of them should be Cole. Conrad, the Duke's second son, and the other made Roland's eyes light up slightly—she was a beautiful woman, and it seemed that she was Sir Cole's deputy, but her aura was more eye-catching than the knight himself.

Of course, in terms of appearance alone, the witches were the most dazzling pearls, so Roland didn't care too much, after all, assistants in this era may also play the role of "qingren" or maid.

"Your Majesty, I send my greetings to you on behalf of my father," Cole stood up respectfully and saluted, quickly explaining his intentions, "The Duke of the Northern Territory has a gift to give you."