Chapter 379 Whirlpool (6)

Time is money, and Carlo Eide knows this best.

Although he did not agree with Winters's idea of ​​cooperating with the federal provincials, Carlo Aide still arranged a meeting with the "enemy" for Winters as soon as possible.

The day after the reception at the Este Palace - the third day after Winters arrived at Steel Castle, Baron Granach visited several large workshop owners who were pro-Union Province non-stop to express their purchasing intentions.

"Sir, please look, this is my forge." A fair and fat middle-aged man walked in front of Winters and opened the workshop door diligently: "It has been passed down to my hands for the third generation."

Father Carman translated in a low voice for Winters. After hearing this, Winters nodded slightly and followed the fat white man into the workshop.

The fat white man's name is [Ernst Fuller], he is forty-two years old and a formal member of the Steel Castle Blacksmith Guild.

He was the eleventh workshop owner Winters visited today, and the last person on the list provided to Winters by Carlo Ed.

Fuller inherited a small gun shop that included two forges. Fuller had far less wealth than the six "Forge Lords" Winters had met before.

Perhaps because of this, Fuller's attitude is more positive and urgent. He enthusiastically introduced all aspects of the workshop to His Excellency the Baron:

"Master, please see, this is the place where the forging platform, bending the iron plate as the barrel. Now it's stopped, when you are busy, oh, Ding Ding!

"That's the annealing furnace over there. Since my grandfather, my workshop has not used outside hardeners. Although it takes up a quota for a forging furnace, it can save a lot of money every year..."

"There's another thing ahead... Oops! Be careful of hitting your head! Sorry, sorry, this damn beam was in the way decades ago... I'll saw it off tonight!"

Winters held his forehead and stopped. In front of him was a typical blacksmith workshop: a furnace, a hydraulic forging hammer, a bellows, anvils and various tools.

He had visited similar workshops ten times today, and the novelty had long since worn off.

Fuller left the Baron and others in the workshop, hurried into the warehouse, and soon came back with a black wooden box.

Fuller solemnly opened the wooden box. The wooden box contained a beautiful spring-loaded short gun. The wood used for the gun stock had beautiful natural texture, and the gun body was engraved with complex and exaggerated patterns.

"The best gun." Fuller said with a smile: "Of course it must be matched with the most heroic knight."

Winters picked up the short gun, with the center of gravity roughly in front of his hand, giving it a good grip. Looking at the muzzle again, it indeed has rifling.

"[Old slang] A masterpiece from your workshop?" Winters asked.

After listening to Carman's narration, Fuller nodded vigorously and replied proudly: "Of course!"

Winters gently stroked the intaglio carvings on the gun body and looked back at the furnishings in the workshop - nothing special, just common tools such as hammers, chisels, saws, and rulers.

It was hard for Winters to imagine that such an exquisite weapon could come from such a simple, low-rise workshop.

But it was indeed born in the small workshop of the Fuller family, but its father was not Fuller, but a highly skilled and unknown gunsmith.

"The people of Steel Castle may think that the forge represents wealth." Winters couldn't help but think: "But the blacksmith wielding the hammer and chisel is the real source of wealth in this city."

Winters smiled and said a few old words, and Carman translated them dutifully: "The Baron asked where the craftsman who made this gun is? He hopes to thank him in person."

"Well, he should be at home..." Seeing the sullen look on the baron's face, Fuller immediately changed his words: "I'll send someone to find him now."

Winters had a sullen face, and only nodded with satisfaction after listening to Carman's explanation.

Kaman continued to act as a bridge of communication: "The Baron said that as far as he knows, the business scope of the Steel Castle blacksmiths is very narrow, and they only do one business. The Baron wants to know, is your workshop engaged in manufacturing rifled firearms?"

"Your Excellency, you have such a good eye!" Fuller complimented loudly without shyness. He boasted vigorously: "Fuller's workshop is the leading gunsmith in Steel Castle. His Majesty the Emperor's uncle, the Duke of Lothair, once came to my house because of it. Order a shotgun. If you go to the Duke of Lothair's warehouse now, you might be able to find a shotgun with Fuller's surname engraved on it..."

After rambling a lot, Fuller finally said what Winters wanted to hear: "Please rest assured, sir, I can provide you with as many matchlocks as you want to order."

Winters calmly put the musket back into the wooden box.

Rifled spring guns are expensive and are mostly the toys of the rich. Especially according to Fuller, their main customers are imperial nobles, so they can't sell many bottles a year.

How dare the owner of such a workshop, which mainly sells precious shotguns, pat his chest and say, "We can provide as many muskets as you need"?

Either Fuller was lying, or the fat white man was more anxious than he let on.

Winters was right. Fuller did have a large stockpile of muskets on hand. Some of them are made by Fuller's own workshop in the autumn and winter, and some are finished products purchased from other workshops.

A long time ago, Fuller considered himself a business genius, but he could not put it to use because the family business was too small. He wanted to seize the business opportunities arising from the Plato Civil War and buy a few more forges.

But now, he just wants to get rid of the muskets in the warehouse as soon as possible.

Because those muskets not only occupied all of his movable assets, but also a considerable part of them were purchased with loans and credit...

Winters was smiling, and Kaman already knew what he was going to say without even opening his mouth.

"Mr. Fuller." Carman coughed and said somewhat unbearably: "The Baron doesn't buy muskets."

"Ah?" Fuller was shocked: "Then what do you want to buy?"

"Your Excellency the Baron only buys barrels."

…

It was not until evening that Winters, Carman and the two accompanying guards returned to the hotel.

As soon as he got off the carriage, Winters went back and forth to check the carriage he was riding in. He only had to take off his clothes and get under the carriage to take a look.

"What's wrong?" Kaman asked strangely: "Is there someone hiding under the car?"

"Nothing." Suspicion lingered in Winters' brow: "By the way, do you feel that this carriage is much bumpier than the one we rode in yesterday?"

Kaman thought back a little: "It's a bit."

"Where's the only one?" Winters shook the car hard.

"Yesterday I rode in the carriage sent by Mr. Esther." Carman didn't take it seriously: "Today I rode in the carriage that Mr. Ed borrowed from you. Of course there is a difference."

Winters asked seriously, "What's the difference?"

Kaman was very uncomfortable with Winters' sudden serious tone. He subconsciously replied: "How did I know?"

"I thought you were a really knowledgeable person." Winters was quite disappointed.

While the two were talking, Anna walked into the courtyard and urged: "Gentlemen, if you continue to argue, the dinner will be cold."

Winters and Carman looked at each other and asked cautiously: "Will the nanny sent by Mr. Ed cook today?"

"Are you dissatisfied with anything?" Anna pretended to be angry.

"No." Winters sighed: "Of course, it would be better if her sense of taste is normal."

A deep and mellow voice came from behind Anna: "I am preparing dinner today, sir."

Balian, wearing an apron, walked out of the room and bowed. Ciel appeared shortly after, running excitedly towards Winters.

Winters was first surprised and then delighted. He hugged Charles and asked Balian: "How did things go?"

"Follow your orders." Balian replied calmly: "We have bought all the books and gold measuring instruments available on the market."

…

[Dining room]

Bellion minced the beef into puree, pressed it into balls, and cooked it with shredded radish and a few spices to make an extremely delicious beef meatball soup.

Except for the two unlucky guys who were drawn to stand guard, Winters, Anna, and the rest of the entourage gathered in the restaurant. There was no distinction between superior and inferior, and there was no difference in status. Everyone gathered around the long table to share the hot broth.

"Did things go well today?" Anna asked Winters while passing the bread basket to others. Dussac was flattered when he received the bread basket.

Winters was looking through a thick folio book intently: "It's not bad."

Anna made a threatening nasal noise.

Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing for an instant, and even the air in the restaurant became a bit cold.

"I don't know how to describe it briefly..." Winters raised his head and said with a smile: "Anyway, they all rejected me."

Winters didn't close a single deal today.

No steel castle workshop owner could accept the insulting offer made by Winters, but no one rejected it on the spot. Everyone said they needed more time to think about it.

"Then tell me carefully." Anna drawled slightly.

Winters looked around the dining table, facing the curious or confused expressions of his subordinates, and suddenly realized that this might be a good opportunity.

All the subordinates Winters brings with him are "reserve officers" who he has high hopes for and expect to shoulder more responsibilities in the future. They are also the people he trusts most. No matter how you think about it, it is not a bad thing for reserve officers to hear more, see more, and understand more.

"Then let me tell you." Winters put the folio aside, picked up the soup bowl, and glanced at the subordinates around the dining table: "You should also listen."

So Winters spoke in a simple and in-depth way about the difficulties faced by Steel Castle, the struggle between the United Provinces and Veneta for Steel Castle, as well as "opportunities in crisis" and "difficulties faced in taking advantage of opportunities."

He thought he had spoken very carefully, but several reserve officers were still confused and confused.

Koch, a farmer from Blackwater who had followed Winters since the first founding of the army, asked hesitantly: "You mean, there is no place to sell their goods, and you want to buy them but they won't agree?"

"That's pretty much it."

"Why?" Koch was even more puzzled: "What are they thinking?"

Winters can probably guess a thing or two about what the workshop owners are thinking: Paul Wooper has sent special personnel to the House of Commons at Hornburg to launch a protest against the embargo decree. The workshop owners probably still have a glimmer of hope and are waiting for news of the defense.

Winters expressed his conjecture, paused for a moment, and pondered: "I think... regarding the embargo law game, Steel Castle has a very small chance of winning."

"Why?" Kaman interjected and asked, "I think the Steel Castle people are very confident."

"The people of Steel Castle think they are right." Winters took a piece of bread and broke it into pieces: "But the Horn Castle has guns.

…

Bellian and Charles not only purchased a large number of scales, crucibles, glassware and other gold-testing instruments, but also followed Winters's special order and bought complete sets of all kinds of books on the market.

After dinner, Winters was still reading the heavy book on the dining table.

Kaman passed by Winters and asked curiously: "Folio? What kind of book is this?"

Folio means that the entire sheet of paper is cut only once during printing. Therefore, each page of the folio is twice the size of a common quarto. Only very important and rare books are printed in folios.

"Books." Winters replied without raising his head.

"Ah?" Kaman had a strange look on his face, walked to Winters, and said in a brisk tone: "The purpose is not simple, even if I can memorize the scriptures, there is no point."

However, when Carman really saw what book Winters was holding, his expression became very subtle.

What Winters was looking at was the 532 Imperial Calendar edition of the Common Language, one of the famous apocrypha recognized by the Holy See.

Winters at the dining table was still amazed: "Wow, how come it's printed so clearly?"

He turned the pages of the book and pointed it out to Carman: "Such small letters can be clearly distinguished. I can't write such small letters by hand. Compared with this book, Gévaudin's printing workshop is simply embarrassing."

"Can it be unclear? Monta is the home of the people who vowed to be anti-religious! Back then, the propaganda pamphlets spread across the north and south were all printed by the Monta people!" Kaman asked angrily: "Why are you looking at this? ?”

"It was originally intended to be a literacy teaching material. My subordinates... you have also seen it." Winters' tone was quite helpless: "You tell me, how can I trust them to lead troops in the future? And many of them are very interested in learning. If you don’t believe me, ask Charles how many canes he has broken.”

"Then what?"

"Then I thought that by using scriptures as teaching materials, they would be more motivated to learn literacy."

"So you plan to use the Apocrypha to teach Catholics?" Kaman said bitterly: "I suddenly feel that the existence of burning at the stake is very necessary, such as now."

"I have another idea now." Winters shouted: "Ballion!"

Balian, who was clearing away the dishes, heard the sound and walked into the room: "You called me? Your Excellency."

Winters tapped the book: "Is this printed by the steel castle?"

"yes."

"Find a printing workshop and buy all their typefaces."

"I'll go early tomorrow morning." Balian replied without hesitation.

Winters pondered for a moment: "I'm afraid it's not enough to just have a font..."

"I'll try to hire some printers..."

"As long as you are willing to come back to the new land with us, we will give you any salary. Make it clear that you can leave freely as long as you work for three years."

"You buy books, you buy typefaces, you hire a blacksmith, you hire a printer..." Kaman laughed angrily: "You might as well buy back all the steel castles!"

"If there was so much gold, I would definitely buy it." Winters said self-deprecatingly: "Now I am like a farmer who is scared of poverty and wants to move home any good thing he sees."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

The guard standing guard outside the door walked into the room, handed Winters two letters, and whispered a few words in a low voice.

Winters scanned the contents of the letter at a glance, his eyebrows furrowed little by little.

"What?" Kaman asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nothing." Winters frowned and waved the letter in his hand: "The honorable Mayor Paul Wooper invited me to attend the blacksmiths' guild election debate tomorrow."

"Where's the other letter?"

Winters laughed and picked up another letter: "This one? This is an invitation letter from Mr. Paul Wooper's only rival, the most evil lackey in the United Provinces [John Servetus]."

"ah?"

"Member Servetus has also extended an invitation to me to attend tomorrow's public debate."

"Then...you want to..."

"Prepare your horse." Winters grabbed his clothes and jumped up from the chair: "I'm going to go to Mr. Ed's house - I hope he hasn't rested yet."

After that, Winters strode out of the restaurant.

Everyone has long been accustomed to Winters' resolute and resolute style of doing what he says. He saddles his horse and dresses his clothes.

Anna's voice sounded from the stairs: "Put on this robe! Remember to apologize to Mr. Ed..."

For some reason, Kaman felt that he should also go along - Steel Castle was not safe, and he was always a little worried about letting Winters go out alone.

The apocryphal book was still lying quietly on the dining table. When Carman walked over from Winters' seat, he closed the book hard.

Out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently scanned a line of text:

[I will grant your request and give you wisdom and wisdom]

[The last sentence is not intended to boast about Winters' wisdom, but to express that "distributing wisdom to others is a wise and good deed." So the scripture quoted here feels a bit inappropriate, but I can’t think of a more suitable one for the time being...]

[Belion and Charles actually went out for a big shopping trip. I originally wrote about their shopping experience, but I felt it was too lengthy, so I just summed it up in one stroke... If I wrote it more divergently, I felt like I couldn't even finish the 100th chapter of the fourth volume... But he The two of them are still very happy to buy each other]

[The word touchstone actually comes from the matter of "touching gold". At that time, there were experimental methods such as soot blowing and pickling, as well as the feudal superstition of alchemists (touchstone)]

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