On the seventh day, the somewhat sober Jefferson looked at the hungover Doug in front of him and asked, “Your Excellency, how about you rest a bit more?”
Seeing the painful expression on Doug’s face, Jefferson wondered if he had poured too many drinks last night, perhaps enough to kill off the biggest enemy in Graythorn Territory.
“It’s fine.”
Doug waved his hand and said, “Let’s talk business instead.”
“Alright.”
Though he doubted if Doug was in the right state of mind, Jefferson wasn’t there just for smuggling.
“I can bring out this much weaponry for you, Your Excellency. You can take a look first, but to avoid suspicion, you will need to purchase a batch of our goods for cover.”
This was a strategy proposed by Jefferson and Lind at the time. Anyway, Graythorn Territory already had a normal trade relationship with Doug’s territory; since they were going to make money, why not make a bit more, and scam Doug out of some funds while clearing out Graythorn’s surplus goods?
Lind lamented how shrewd businessmen could be but agreed with the strategy. Thus, alongside the weaponry list in front of Doug, there was also a goods list.
The prices weren’t cheap at all.
Doug felt a bit pained looking at the prices, but it was only a slight discomfort.
“Do you know about that particular trebuchet you mentioned?”
“Oh, you mean the cannon?”
“Yes, that cannon.”
Doug waved his hand, and two guards immediately came over carrying a box.
Before Jefferson could ask, Doug opened the box himself, revealing it was filled with gold shield coins.
“This is a little token of my gratitude, and I hope you won’t refuse. As long as I can get my hands on that cannon, I have more gold shield coins here.”
Jefferson couldn’t help but swallow hard; it wasn’t just for the gold shield coins, but because the cannon was already on the smuggling list for the next batch.
He didn’t expect Doug’s demand for cannons to be so strong, which meant that Jefferson’s initial pricing might have been too low.
Graythorn Territory could make even more profits.
Doug indeed needed the cannon urgently, not only to alleviate the upcoming offensive against Graythorn, but also to deal with the restless Demon Clan and the Eastern Border.
That guy Monroe had already begun harassing the Northern Border, seemingly with the intent of uniting with the Demon Clan to swallow a piece of Northern territory.
Doug had written more than once to the newly crowned Queen, hoping the royal capital could intervene and restrain Monroe, but the Queen was still occupied with internal affairs in the capital and had practically abandoned the Northern Border.
In this situation, Monroe, who presented himself as loyal to the royal family, being able to expand into Northern territory was viewed as a good thing by the capital, as long as he didn’t take too much; they were generally tacitly approving.
With cannons, it would at least be possible to greatly relieve the pressure from the Eastern Border.
Therefore, the usually abrasive Doug was not only polite in front of Jefferson but even allowed Jefferson to call him “Your Excellency.”
Other nobles referred to Doug with a long list of titles, such as “True Heir of Lars,” “Ruler of the Northern Border,” “The Only Governor,” “Lord of the North Wind,” Doug Lars.
“This… I’m afraid this is a bit difficult. You know, Your Excellency Doug, cannons are quite heavy and very difficult to transport. We might struggle to disguise the cannons within the goods.”
Jefferson showed a troubled expression, seeming to contemplate the possibility of smuggling cannons, but shook his head repeatedly, as if rejecting one idea after another.
But Doug looked pleased; as long as Jefferson didn’t outright refuse, it indicated that smuggling cannons was still a possibility.
Human desires are like boulders rolling down a mountain; once they start, they can’t be stopped. So even if Jefferson refused this time, Doug believed acquiring cannons was just a matter of time. Doug was a more fervent believer in the Church of the Money God than Lind.
Jefferson was indeed brainstorming madly, just thinking about the right price. How many gold shield coins should he charge Doug for those eliminated inferior cannons?
Ammunition was also a problem; Graythorn Territory didn’t even produce ammunition compatible with those inferior cannons anymore, but ammunition might be the big ticket item in future smuggling transactions. Should he get in on that money?
However, he had heard that this production line was to be restarted, as there might also be orders for such cannons from the royal capital.
“I have a plan.”
Doug suddenly shouted excitedly, looking at the goods list on the table: “Your Excellency, as long as I purchase enough goods from you, wouldn’t the extra quantity go unnoticed? We could easily hide a cannon or two.”
“Huh? Would that be a bit too risky?”
What Jefferson really meant was that it felt a bit unethical. He had considered this method earlier, but the profits were so high that even Jefferson felt it was too much; his conscience was pricked a bit.
“Also, we can’t let Your Excellency take the risk.”
Doug feigned a painful expression and anxiously walked back and forth in front of Jefferson. In the end, he sat down before Jefferson and earnestly said, “But I ask you, for the sake of the people in the Northern Border, to please give it a try. If anything goes wrong, I promise to do my best to rescue you.”
“…”
Suddenly, Jefferson felt that his conscience didn’t hurt as much. Doug’s shamelessness was to such a degree that Jefferson felt he needed to learn even more.
“This time, I’m afraid it won’t work, Your Excellency Doug. I will try my best next time.”
“Hahaha, then I’ll have to rely greatly on Your Excellency.”
Doug excitedly grasped Jefferson’s hands.
After the goods list and weaponry list were dealt with, Doug no longer felt the pain about the money, and without even a glance at it, he bought everything outright. It was all for the Northern Border; if worse came to worst, the people of the Northern Border would suffer a bit more, and Doug could take the blame, since the citizens could still squeeze out a little profit.
After Jefferson took care of his side, Doug received a steady stream of firearms coming in through the smuggling route.
It went so smoothly that Doug even felt a sense of unreality. Soon, these weapons were delivered to various armies.
Although these firearms were far inferior to those crafted by skilled alchemists, there were enough in quantity and they were easy to maintain. Furthermore, with sufficient samples and some basic components, Doug could start replicating them and would soon be able to continuously improve and copy them based on these firearms.
Doug clearly realized the importance of standardized equipment, so even though he spent a lot of money this time, he believed it was worthwhile.
Until one day, an informant from the royal capital brought Doug a firearm.
“Isn’t this our firearm? How does it also appear in the royal capital?”
Doug asked the recently arrived informant, looking puzzled.
“Huh? My Lord, the royal capital is really strict in control; every firearm has to be numbered, and it took a lot of effort and trouble to obtain this.”
After saying that, the informant rubbed his hands, waiting for Doug’s reward.
“That’s not right?”
Doug stroked his chin. Though he knew his army was not the best, they shouldn’t have leaked their weaponry to the royal capital so quickly; it was quite a distance from there.
“I heard this weaponry was purchased by Her Majesty the Queen from Graythorn Territory.”
Seeing Doug’s confusion, the informant slowly recounted what was happening in the royal capital.
When it came to the price of firearms, Doug’s eyes darkened, and he sank to the ground.
“My Lord? My Lord? True Heir of Lars, Ruler of the Northern Border, the Only Governor, Great Lord of the North Wind!”
The informant called out Doug’s titles while rushing to help him up.
Doug stared blankly at the firearm in his hand. The royal capital’s purchase price for firearms was over half cheaper than his own, while he not only spent more money but also was bound to some unsellable goods.
As if that wasn’t enough, both sides had identical models of firearms.
In an instant, Doug suspected it was a conspiracy and even thought about tearing Jefferson to shreds.
But Doug quickly calmed down; such a price difference wasn’t Jefferson’s fault, since the royal capital bought through regular channels while he could only rely on Jefferson for smuggling, which justified the markup. It might also be because Graythorn had started selling weaponry to the royal capital that Jefferson had more smuggling space; Doug even felt he should thank Jefferson.
“Can we buy such firearms directly from the royal capital?”
Doug struggled to rise and asked the informant beside him.
“Not possible, My Lord. The royal capital has strict controls. As I mentioned before, every firearm there is numbered. Not to mention buying and selling, even losing one will incur penalties.”
