Chapter 689: No Good Enemies
King Yasan couldn’t help but reveal a smile on his serious face at this moment: “You are indeed as cheerful as Taina said, and I like to deal with cheerful people. , regarding the purchase of grain, grass and military supplies from the valley, I have listened to Taina’s report. This is a very good idea, but we in Cormyr are not comfortable with this matter.
How about we divide the work and cooperate. The general will handle the acquisition, and we, Cormier, will be responsible for solving the maritime transportation matter, and the benefits will be shared equally. , what do you think?”
I don’t know if King Yasan is a business wizard, but the assignment of tasks is just right and everyone draws on their strengths.
Gavin has flexibility that the Kingdom of Cormyr does not have, and the resistance in the valley is relatively small. This resistance mainly comes from the Zhentarim and the Kingdom of Sembia.
The three major forces have been competing for control of the valley over the years.
Do you really think that the poor political structure in the valley can withstand the invasion of any of the three?
The valley is indeed guarded by top powerhouses such as Elminster and Storm, but both the Kingdom of Cormyr and the Zhentarim have existences comparable to them, and it is not difficult to contain them.
The valley's survival to this day is the result of the balanced competition between the three major forces.
The reason why the valley has not been able to rise and unify is because the three major forces do not allow it. They will jointly suppress whoever takes the lead. Rashan, the owner of the Scar Valley in 1356, is a lesson learned from the past.
Therefore, although Gavin is developing territory in the Battle Valley, he will not easily launch a unification war in the valley. This matter requires an opportunity, an opportunity where the three major forces have too much to take care of themselves. In other words, Gavin can be strong enough to withstand the three major forces. The pressure of a joint encirclement and suppression campaign by major forces.
In short, if the Kingdom of Cormyr wants to take action in the valley, the Zhentarim and the Kingdom of Sembia will stop it without even asking for the reason.
I am different. Even if I now show signs of moving closer to the Kingdom of Cormyr, based on the value I have shown now, the Zhentarim and the Kingdom of Sembia will desperately try to win over me.
As for the Zhentarim and the Kingdom of Sembia, they once plotted against themselves, trying to treat themselves as a fat sheep and prevent their rise.
It can only be explained by the saying that there are no eternal enemies in this world.
At least this sentence is applicable to these two profit-oriented organizations, especially the Zhentarim. Gavin, who has stayed in it for more than ten years, is very clear about the operation mode of the dark intelligence network. He has no idea about this huge dark organization. As for the intelligence network, whether you plan against the dark intelligence network, plunder their goods, or fight against the Dark Fortress on the goblin frontier, it is a process of self-proven strength. Only in this way can you be qualified to join the entire dark network.
Those who join in this way are of course not slave cannon fodder. At the very least, they are emerging local backbones. Once they join, they will immediately receive a certain degree of resource tilt, gain greater authority, and embark on the road to the future. The fast track to success comes at a huge price. In the process, the soul will be slowly infiltrated until it falls into darkness.
The situation in the Kingdom of Sambia is similar. Since there is no way to destroy it, let you join the ranks of our wealthy government and proceed in accordance with the rules we have established. If you can play it, it will be nothing more than Sangbia. Business Council of the Kingdom of Biya There is a new seat in the hall. If you can't play it, it won't take long before it will be commercially annexed by them. Not even the bones will be left. This is another, more high-end annexation mode of theirs. It is not for everyone. Everyone is eligible to enjoy it, and now Gavin is eligible.
The Kingdom of Cormyr has a maritime advantage.
Although the valley is connected to the endless wilderness on land, there are either dense forests, high mountains, or countless rivers along the way. The business roads are also twists and turns. Not to mention that Gavin is just a voyeur of the God of Roads now, and even the reservists are Not really. Even if you really obtain the Road Priesthood, opening up this road will require long-term planning, mobilizing massive manpower and material resources, and spending a long time to promote this matter, and the effort is not proportional to the gain.
Because there is an extremely convenient sea route here, you can land in Tefram in Sesk across the Sea of Fallen Stars, and follow the golden road to the endless wilderness.
It’s just that the ocean has never been the domain of land people. They are just passers-by and intruders here. Walking here is more dangerous than walking in the wilderness. At least in the wilderness, you know where your danger comes from. Where and what dangers will be encountered.
But it’s different at sea. Many times, when disaster strikes, you still don’t know who your enemy is. Many top experts, when they get here, can’t exert even a small part of their strength.
Compared to the aborigines of Falling Star Sea, the greatest danger still comes from the numerous pirates on the sea.
This inland sea has a large number of islands, especially in the middle, which are as many as pockmarks on pockmarked faces. This provides convenience for the survival of pirates. When pirates are at their most rampant, they not only A pirate kingdom was established on the archipelago at sea, and it even directly attacked cities on the ground. Another port metropolis of the Kingdom of Cormyr, Masembo, was a former victim. This was a thousand-year feud between the Kingdom of Cormyr and the pirates of the Fallen Star Sea. beginning.
Even though this short-lived pirate kingdom soon disintegrated due to internal strife, the legend of the treasure left by the Pirate King and the Pirate Islands named after it have always been there.
If you want to transport a large amount of food and wealth here, without a large number of ships and a powerful fleet to guard you, the possibility of safely traveling thousands of sea miles is extremely slim.
The Kingdom of Cormyr is one of the few existences in the Starfall Sea that has this kind of strength.
“I have taken a big advantage in this transaction. Your Majesty can proceed without me, but without His Majesty’s support, this transaction will be difficult to proceed.” Gavin naturally would not raise any objections, even if No matter how much grain is purchased, it will be useless if it cannot be transported to the destination. It is just a matter of making more or less.
"Very good, this is the most pleasant deal I have ever negotiated. I heard from Taina that you have many unique ideas in both business and politics. I have already ordered people to prepare a banquet. How about we go over there? Let's talk while eating. "King Asan took the initiative to initiate the invitation, which means that the core affairs of both parties have been discussed, and the remaining details need to be advanced slowly.
"It's my pleasure." Gavin responded with a smile.
After entering the banquet hall, the atmosphere was obviously much more relaxed, and the topics discussed became very broad. It was not limited to politics and business. King Yasan was also very familiar with adventurous life and had a lot of knowledge. Adventure stories, he is also known as the adventurer king. Before inheriting the throne, he took the initiative or was forced to enter an adventurous life for a long time, and even joined several adventure groups. Many deep friendships were forged at that time. of.
When talking about this, King Yasan can be said to talk endlessly. Gavin is a good listener. He can not only listen carefully, but even pinpoint key points to further stimulate King Yasan. of conversation.
If you really think of King Asan as a simple storyteller, you would be totally wrong.
Every story he tells has a certain purpose. For example, what he tells most is the adventurous life and activities of the Just Destiny Free Adventure Group with Seob, the lord of Dadeluk Town. The trajectory is mainly in the Land of Rock and Thun. He remembers this place as if it was yesterday. Many place names come to mind, and this overlaps with Gavin's current main territory. It is naturally mixed with a lot of old and new issues. .
Through insinuating these questions, I unknowingly got a lot of things out of Gavin's mouth and learned about his layout in the two places from the side.
To say too much is bound to lead to mistakes.
No matter how high your intelligence is and how meticulous your mind is, you cannot think about every word you say. You have already revealed a lot of things without knowing it.
Fortunately, Gavin’s goal was not in the Kingdom of Cormyr from beginning to end, and he had a good impression of this ancient country that had been passed down for thousands of years.
There is no other way. Looking around, around the Falling Star Sea, there are really few forces that can be called kind.
Needless to say, the Zhentarim and the Kingdom of Sembia are typically profit-oriented.
The eight-city alliance just formed on the Dragon Coast is an existence dominated by dark forces, and has nothing to do with good.
Most of the various forces in the valley tend to be kind, but under the joint suppression of the three major forces, they have been divided and have not been able to raise their heads for many years.
No matter how much King Asan tries to get from Gavin, it will be win-win cooperation and development side by side.
To say kneeling and licking is a bit exaggerated. As long as the Kingdom of Cormyr does not plot Gavin’s back, he will not easily go against this ancient country. For Gavin, the more King Yasan likes him, the more he gets to know him, the more he likes him. He has wild ideas but does not deviate from reality, his methods are vicious and sophisticated but does not lose his humanity, he walks on the edge of gray but does not let himself fall into darkness. His character It perfectly complements the Crown Princess's old-fashioned, fair, strong-willed and kind-hearted character.
Tainarasta is the perfect choice to be the guardian of the home, and he is a model of opening up new territories. The goddess of strategy is absolutely right to choose him as her elect. He is the kind of person who will never settle down. For the Lord who comes down, in many cases, it is not the war that comes to him, but where he goes, he will bring the war.
It’s not that he is the kind of warmonger who likes war. On the contrary, he seems to prefer to use commerce and the development concept of peaceful coexistence to clear the way compared to war methods, and wants to achieve win-win cooperation. .
This is pure goodwill, but what he brings is forward-looking and will have an impact on the existing rule. Those with vested interests will bear the brunt. For their own vested interests, they They will try their best to stop it, and in the end they will have to go to war.
It was the same in the Giant Plains, it was the same in the Dragon Coast, it was still the same in the Goblin Frontier, and now in Cormyr, there has been no fundamental change.
It’s just that the Kingdom of Cormyr has been a country for thousands of years and has a strong foundation. I cleverly used the impact he brought to my advantage, but this does not mean that everything will be fine. Although the Obaiskir royal family stipulates that economic development should be used to determine the Yan region. Attribution, it is strictly forbidden to use force to solve problems.
But when it really starts to develop, how can this kind of thing be banned?
Especially when the three parties have invested a huge amount of manpower and material resources in it, will the loser really just take the money and leave after five years?
Anyway, as a veteran, King Yasan will not believe this kind of perfect adult fairy tale. In the end, it is very likely that he will use force to completely eliminate the losers, and the winner will get everything. This is the development of power. An inevitable development pattern after a certain level.
As he becomes stronger and stronger, the huge wave of change will become bigger and bigger. By then, the Obischier royal family will inevitably be affected by the wave. They must be there before , adapt and join it, make yourself a new vested interest, and let this huge wave of change become an opportunity for the Kingdom of Cormyr to create new glory.
If so, Gavin originally only represented this possibility.
Now that King Asan has come to this understanding, it is more than just a possibility. This scheming old fox will take the initiative to promote this later and win greater benefits for the Kingdom of Cormyr.
So in the following talks, Gavin received a lot of preferential policies, which were not in Rockland, but in the Kingdom of Cormyr, mainly in terms of investment promotion. This was to prepare Gavin as a Exploit your abilities to the extreme.
Gavin was really not idle at all during the past few days in Susar.
During the day, there were meetings of various sizes, all related to the development of rock gambling. After King Asan set the main tone, he stopped participating in it and left the matter to the Crown Princess. Tynarasta, she serves as the representative of the royal family.
Naturally, Gavin would not be able to end the fight in person. Instead, he would form his own resource team with Veranika as the leader, conduct in-depth planning on the matter, and scheming with the other two parties to finalize other details.
In the evening, there were various aristocratic social banquets.
Gavin was grateful for such a banquet, because he knew that he was now an out-and-out outsider, and it would be difficult for him to integrate into such a banquet.
Either become an isolated object, or become a rare object of play for those ladies and ladies.
Except for being dragged by the Crown Princess to attend a few royal banquets that he couldn't avoid, he declined all the others. However, the accompanying girls he sent in advance from Amphier Village, between power and With money leading the way, many people got into this top-level social circle and collected all kinds of useful information for him.
It is not the kind of information related to the destruction of the world or the rise and fall of the country that is called intelligence. The interpersonal relationships between the nobles of the Kingdom of Cormyr and the gossip secretly circulated in the noble circle are all a type of intelligence, which can make oneself more aware. Identify your opponent clearly.
Gowther’s mother, who came to Susar less than ten days before Gavin, is familiar with the complex relationships among the nobles of the Kingdom of Cormyr.
“The rise of the Red Crow Mercenary Group started from contracting some peripheral bandit suppression work in Arabay City, and then began to enter the security employment work of Arabay City Municipal Chamber of Commerce, until it became Arabay City And the largest mercenary around The group became famous after they signed an employment agreement with the royal family to clean up the rock. Every year for this alone, they took hundreds of thousands of employment payments from the royal family
In the middle of this year, Hong. The Crow Mercenary Group is even more involved with Arabeb City. A wasteland reclamation agreement was signed, and the Red Crow Mercenary Group was responsible for organizing manpower to reclaim new farmland and build a new fortress manor in the wasteland north of Arabe City. For this matter, Arabe City had to pay at least millions of employees every year. Gold to the Red Crow Mercenary Group . ”
As the main competitor of Rockland Development, Gavin is naturally the focus of attention. Regarding this mercenary group, Gao Se’s mother did a thorough investigation and collected not only the latest news, but also the process of its rise. Was also picked out.
Gavin did not ask the stupid question of still using the Red Crow Mercenary Group even though Arabe City had powerful Purple Dragon Knights.
First of all, there is the issue of risk cost. There are some tasks with extremely uncertain risk factors that are not suitable for dispatching the Purple Dragon Knights. They spend a small amount of money and leave them to these peripheral mercenary groups to perform, especially some Once something goes wrong in matters related to the gray area, they can be immediately pushed out to take the blame. This is the fault of temporary workers and has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Cormyr.
Secondly, as a regular army, the Purple Dragon Knights only have law enforcement rights within the Kingdom of Cormyr. Once they go outside, they can easily be tit-for-tat and denounced as illegal invasion, which is not as convenient as mercenaries.
The third one is a relatively gray type of internal and external collusion. The pioneering activities led by Arabe City, the manors developed will be under the name of the city, and the pioneering activities of mercenaries, even if they are not completely personal, then There are also a large number of preferential policies, such as a certain degree of tax exemptions, limited-year ownership, etc.
This is the most typical drama of outflow of state-owned assets. It is very common to use the money of the country and the city to do your own things and seek benefits for yourself.
"Then what is the background of Leyana, the leader of the Red Crow Mercenary Group? What is her relationship with Ms. Milman, the Lord of Arabe City?" Gavin asked.
This kind of internal and external collusion, non-blood relatives, even close relatives cannot give too much trust. For the sake of profit, it is too common to sell the immediate boss.
“There are several legends. Some say that Leyana is the illegitimate daughter of the Lord of Milman. Others say that Leyana has royal blood flowing in her body and was born from the royal family outside. As for bloodline, compared to the first one, I personally prefer the second one, over there in Arabe City. The tendency to support the Red Crow Mercenary Group is too blatant, but the Obischier royal family has not responded at all, which is inconsistent with their past behavior, unless this matter itself is the royal family's tacit approval."
< br>Gother's mother has always been very fond of this kind of tidbits. Interested, he clicked his tongue and said, "This matter is also consistent with the temperament of that old dragon, and the age is also right. I just don't know who the mother is. What role does Ms. Milman play in it? If so She is the illegitimate daughter of two people, so that’s interesting.”
"Leyana should not be the illegitimate daughter of King Asan and Ms. Milman. She has the blood of the fire genasi in her body, and King Asan and Ms. Millman are both pure humans." Gavin I couldn't help but think back to the previous meeting in the royal court meeting hall and the behavior of those three people.
I didn't think about this before and didn't notice any abnormalities. Now that I think about it carefully, it seems that there is something really out of the ordinary.
From the beginning to the end, Leyana seemed to be discussing the problem with the palace mage, and did not look at King Asan at all.
But King Asan didn't care at all, and his eyes showed a little guilt.
The most normal one is Ms. Milman. This city lord is as arrogant as a peacock. There are not many people who are qualified to look at her, and naturally she does not take Gavin seriously.
“The general has begun to have a fixed mindset again. There are many ways to make one’s body have elemental characteristics. It doesn’t necessarily have to be inherited from parents. I heard that some special professional inheritance or powerful magic tools can also It can make the owner show a similar situation." Gowther. The mother shared another intelligence report, "Captain Leyana seemed to appear out of thin air. No one had seen her when she was young, but someone once said that they had seen Captain Leyana with golden hair. , It’s a pity that the man is an alcoholic, and no one believes this rumor.”
(End of this chapter)