Chapter 512 New Friends and Old Friends

There is no doubt that the capital is a huge treasure house.

Although it is very backward as a city, and those seemingly magnificent buildings are not worth mentioning in Roland's eyes, it is still the brightest pearl in the Kingdom of Graycastle.

In terms of population, the number of nobles it has far exceeds that of other cities - any noble whose family has declined or lost their fiefdom will first think of coming to the royal capital to look for opportunities. Together with the landless knights and knights conferred by the royal family, this ratio has further increased. For example, among the residents of the inner city, nobles account for nearly 20%, and they usually have received primary education and can read and write. For Roland, they are all They are reserve officials worth training. After all, without land and family property, they will not be too resistant to new policies, and they have good knowledge and can accept new things faster than ordinary civilians.

In terms of industry, the royal capital also has a large number of talents. In addition to the business and crafts guilds, it also has the largest alchemist association and a unique astrologer association. These talents are all the ones Roland covets, and summoning Barov and Kaimo Stryer is also to accommodate them as much as possible.

Finally, there is wealth... The various materials collected in the palace are enough to be worth ten Dukes of Lane. Golden dragons, jewelry and gold and silver crafts are piled up in several warehouses. With the addition of other important ministers who fell with Ti Feike, the final statistics are inevitable. It would be a staggering number. If all their property is confiscated, Neverwinter City will have no worries about food and clothing for the next two to three years. However, Roland did not intend to move them all. Not only would it take too much time, but taking over the capital would also require a large amount of expenditure to maintain stability. There is no point in piling money in the basement or throwing it around needlessly. It is only right to let it circulate at its own value.

If possible, Roland hopes to spend the first half of the year to digest these gains, but time waits for no one. Compared with the royal capital far in the middle, Shuilong Ridge and the Extreme South Territory, which can be integrated with the Western Territory, are more important.

Shortly after Iron Ax left, a personal guard reported, "Your Majesty, there is a businessman outside the palace who calls himself Margaery and wants to see you."

Roland's eyes suddenly lit up, "Bring her to see me."

When the businesswoman walked into the hall, he stood up from the throne with a smile and stepped forward to greet her, "We meet again."

"I didn't expect that the place where we would meet again would be the Palace of Graycastle," Margaery pulled up her skirt and curtsied, "You always surprise me, Your Highness Roland... No, I should call you Your Majesty now. "

"It doesn't matter, since the enthronement ceremony hasn't been held yet, I'm not really a king," Roland waved his hand.

"You are not in a hurry at all, you are indeed a king." Margaery covered her mouth and said, "It seems that the royal capital will be full of business opportunities in the future. For the sake of my old friend, you should take more care of me. "

"Of course, even if you don't come to me, I will come to you," he laughed heartily. "You may not know that Border Town and Changge Fortress merged into a big city, and more steam engine factories were opened. With a few production lines, the output can almost triple. There will be many new products in the future, and I guarantee that they will all be unique and good products in the four kingdoms."

"I have fully seen your creativity, and we can discuss these in detail slowly," Margaery nodded, "but this is not why I came today, and I have other things to ask for."

"Oh?" Roland said with great interest, "Tell me about it."

"Can... we talk somewhere else?" She looked around and asked in a low voice.

It cannot be solved with the financial resources of the Chamber of Commerce, and it has to be kept out of sight. Could it be that the other party has really encountered some serious trouble? The prince thought for a while and said, "Then go to my study."

…

The study room located on the top floor of the Crown Tower originally belonged to Wimbledon III, and it was also the place that the fourth prince longed for most when he was a child - only here could he see his taciturn father. Roland chose this place purely because the terrain was high enough, making it difficult to set up a secret passage, and there was only a circular stone staircase leading to the top of the tower, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

"Can we talk now?"

He, Margaery, and Nightingale were the only ones left in the room, with their figure hidden.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I am entrusted by others and can only tell you one person..." She bowed solemnly, "Lord Thunder hopes to meet you."

"Thunder?" Roland was greatly surprised, "Is that the most outstanding explorer of the fjord? Wasn't he... already buried in a shipwreck?"

"Although a real explorer believes in the Three Gods, he will not fall into the arms of the Three Gods easily." Margaery shook her head. "He doesn't want to reveal his whereabouts, especially not letting Lightning know. This is why I want to tell you secretly. The reason. Lord Thunder originally planned to contact you through His Highness Tilly, but he didn't expect that you would occupy the royal capital so quickly, so he changed his decision temporarily." The businesswoman paused, "He also said that there was a discovery to the west of the Shadow Islands. The incredible sight is probably related to the ruins from hundreds of years ago, you will definitely be interested in learning about it.”

"Wait...he is in the capital now?"

"Yes, he just arrived yesterday and made this decision after meeting with me."

"You don't seem to be surprised at all by his resurrection," Roland asked strangely, "Have you known about this for a long time?"

Margaery nodded.

"So, the first time you went to Border Town to do business was not because of the personal guards I sent, but to find lightning?"

"I'm sorry for not explaining it to you at the beginning," she said, stroking her chest. "Lightning is wearing a magic stone. Lord Thunder confirmed her location through this method. He sent me there just to confirm whether she was safe. After learning that Lightning had settled in your territory, he decided to hide the news about himself and keep his daughter away from the path of explorers."

So it turned out that Roland understood everything immediately - he did not ask in detail about Thunder's death at that time, and the other party's answers were all true in a sense, so Nightingale did not find anything strange in it, but just concluded that she There is no hostility towards the witch. It turns out that there is a reason for this "accidental encounter". Without lightning, my own steam engine trade might not have been able to open trade routes so quickly.

"The royal capital is still in a whirlpool, so it is unlikely that I will leave the palace," Roland thought for a moment and replied, "If Lei Lei wants to see me, just bring him to the palace. I can promise not to go to the palace." Lightning reveals information about him.”

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty," Margaery said with a grateful look on her face and bowed again, "I will tell him the answer as soon as possible."

After asking the attendants to see the businesswoman off, Roland just returned to the main hall when he heard the report from the guards, "Your Majesty, a nobleman came from outside the palace, claiming to be your old friend, and clamoring to rush into the palace."

This news surprised him slightly. The minor nobles who were not affected by the spring offensive would come to inquire about the situation sooner or later, but he did not expect it to be so soon. Logically speaking, they should wait for a while to see which direction the wind blows. Now that Tifeko has not yet asked, he should not take the initiative at this moment... Moreover, he was originally a prince, how could he be so familiar with a minor noble? "What's his name?"

"Sir Yorko, Your Majesty." (To be continued.)