bookrebus Chapter 270 How to Get Cheap Food
Chapter 270 How to Get Cheap Food
Winter 1452
Bernas, located on the west coast of the Southwest Governorate, is an ancient port city. In the ancient imperial language, the word "Bernas" means a beautiful bay. According to the research of some Midland historians, Bernas may be the first port city on the west coast of the entire continent.
The ocean in front of the port of Bernas was rippling with waves under the night sky. The occasional moonlight from the clouds sprinkled on the sea surface, covering it with a layer of silvery-white film.
At this time in the port of Bernas, unlike the usual silence at night, there were many sailors and large horse-drawn carriages gathered in the port. Although it was time to get off work, these sailors were still waiting.
"No one will refuse double the hourly wage and a glass of rye beer. It's hard to find a job now. A job that pays half a silver coin an hour can cause a group of people to fight in the street."
Looking at the hundreds of sailors gathered at the port, Jacques breathed a sigh of relief. The purpose of his coming here this time was to transport the grain loaded by an Isu fleet back to the military camp warehouse near Mont-de-Marsan.
After arriving here and receiving the news that the fleet would arrive tonight, Jacques immediately took people to the local sailors' guild. At the same time, he sent people to various taverns to recruit unemployed sailors. Only then did he piece together a transport team at night.
"Captain, the fleet seems to be coming!"
Following a shout from his teammate, Jacques immediately took out his telescope and looked over the sea. Under the moonlight, he saw the outline of a ship appearing on the distant ocean, and behind it, there were several vague silhouettes of ships that appeared and disappeared in the darkness.
"Eight, nine... so many ships."
Seeing that the number of ships exceeded ten, Jacques did not dare to delay and hurriedly ordered all team members to restrain the sailors and get on board and load the cargo as soon as the ships docked.
After a while, the first ship entered the port and docked at a pier under the flag signal of the local guide. Several middle-aged men dressed in businessmen got off the ship. The leading merchant saluted when he saw Jacques coming towards him:
"Good day, sir. I am Ramon, the person in charge of this trade. We have brought ten ships of food as requested by Lord John."
"That's great, but I'd like to ask, how did you get so much food so quickly?" After Jacques asked Ramon the question John asked him to ask, Ramon smiled knowingly and said:
"We were originally planning to go north to the colonies to buy food, but we unexpectedly encountered an unmarked smuggling fleet. After confirming that it was not a ship from the Midland Navy or the Isu people, we led our respective ships to surround the smuggling fleet in batches and boarded their ships. After a fierce battle, we successfully captured all the ships and their cargo. Coincidentally, their ships were loaded with wheat, barley and other food."
After listening to Ramon's story, Jacques didn't have time to think about which captain would dare to sail on the ocean without a cannon. He immediately asked the sailors to carry the food on board and asked the accountant to count the amount of food. After the carriage was loaded with a full warehouse of food, it immediately drove towards Monde Marsan under the escort of the Black Watch mercenaries.
"asshole!"
Another vase was broken. The housekeeper looked at the devastation in the bedroom and advised Andrew, who was lying on the bed:
"Sir, he is a governor after all. Naturally, he has ways of obtaining food that we don't know about. Now we should think about how to resolve this conflict. Maybe it's time to use your connections in Wendam."
"Of course I know this, but what makes me angry is that John is so ignorant that he actually threw me out. And those guards, are they just there to do nothing? Fire them all immediately and tell them to get out as far away as they can!"
Looking at the current president who was throwing a tantrum, the butler felt a pressure he had never felt before. Although he had encountered many life-threatening moments with the previous president, he had always managed to escape danger. But the current president had found such a powerful opponent for him that the butler felt the veins on his head throbbing because he was too nervous.
"Also, find out where they get their food from. I clearly bought up all the food I could find in the entire southwest region, just waiting to make a profit in the deep winter. Not only did this John make me lose face, he even tried to steal my money!"
"He may have bought the grain from other places. After all, the entire west of the kingdom is a grain-producing area." The butler replied.
"I've thought of it a long time ago, so I specially hired a smuggling caravan to help me buy food. That is to say, if John wants to buy food, he has to go to other parts of Midland or even other countries to buy it in order to meet the needs of this group of untouchables." Andrew answered as a matter of course, but as soon as he finished speaking, he realized something. Could it be that John intercepted his smuggling caravan?
"Impossible." Andrew shook his head. John didn't bring the navy with him and that caravan was active in the waters west of the kingdom, where there were not only smuggling caravans but also various Isu pirates. How many ships could a count's fleet have? If they were put into the ocean within a few days, they would be robbed clean.
"It's not good, sir!"
Just then, a servant ran to the door, holding a letter in his hand and said:
"The head of the smuggling guild said that your shipment was intercepted by a large group of Isu pirates!"
"What!" Andrew was so angry that he clenched his fist and slammed it heavily on the table.
"Fuck the smuggling guild, fuck the Isu pirates!"
After his impotent rage, Andrew slumped in his chair, and finally ordered the servant angrily:
"Call my mistresses here, I need to cool down."
In a luxurious apartment in the civilian area of Mont-de-Marsan, a gorgeously dressed lady looked at Cary who came with ill intentions and slowly spoke:
"Hey, isn't this the cousin Cary who pissed off your dad to death? What's the matter with you suddenly coming to my place after not seeing him for a few years? If you want to borrow money, forget it. I've been living in a tight spot lately."
Looking at his cousin who looked down on others, Kari sneered and responded confidently:
"Don't look down on me. You are just a mistress of a big businessman. I tell you, your businessman Andrew is doomed! And I am here to take care of him."
"Stop laughing. Who are you? You don't know where you are when Master Andrew moves his finger." The cousin didn't believe what he said. After mocking him, she continued to put on makeup.
"Humph! It's not that I don't have the ability, but my master can!"
"What's your master's name? In Mont-de-Marsan, even a noble has to look at Master Andrew's face, and others have to bow their heads and talk to him."
"Then let me tell you, my master is not a noble from Mont-de-Marsan. He is the governor and count sent by the king, John Hohenzollern. You should be familiar with this name."
Hearing the name, the lipstick in my cousin's hand almost fell to the ground. The whole celebrity circle of Mont-de-Marsan knew about the day when John ordered people to throw Andrew out. Now everyone is respectful and afraid of Andrew, but as for John, everyone has the attitude of avoiding him if possible, and doing whatever he tells them to do if they can't. In short, don't let John remember your name, let alone say or do anything that is not good for John.
"As for you, how can the governor look at you?" asked my cousin doubtfully.
After noticing the change in the other party's attitude, Kari said proudly:
"Don't believe me? If you don't believe me, you can take a look at this gold coin. This is a reward given to me by Lord John. Look at the workmanship. It is better than any gold coin traded in Mondmarsan. You can tell it came from the Windham Mint in the capital."
Looking at the well-made gold coins in front of her, the cousin finally believed that Cary might have really had contact with John.
Just as she was about to touch the gold coin, Kari put it back into his pocket and said to her cousin in a serious tone:
"I'm telling you, your Andrew is only a few months away from death. Lord John is looking for evidence now. Once the evidence is solid, thousands of soldiers outside the city will immediately enter the city to arrest Andrew and seal off his Chamber of Commerce. By then, his servants and mistresses like you will be implicated!"
"I am reminding you for the last time. If you don't appreciate it, I will immediately report you to Lord John as Andrew's mistress. I will then get a gold coin, and you will probably be invited to the prison for afternoon tea one day."
Seeing his cousin's frightened look, Kari was overjoyed. For so many years, he was the one who was afraid of others, and this time he could finally make others afraid of him.
Thinking of this, Kari walked to the door and warned as he left:
"I'm telling you, next time I come, you must give me some information about Andrew. If not, you know the consequences!"