669 A Group of Envoys Part 2 (2/2)
Duke Barde was not even forty years old yet. His father died early, which was why he entered the House of Commons at such a tender age. Duke Barde had been trained in the army since a young so he presented himself to be capable and confident. This was why Safilos favored him so much.
The military spirit was important to Qin so all noble families were trained in swordsmanship. Duke Barde's father had been strict with his training and discipline. As a Duke who had inherited his position, Barde was skilful and possessed the abilities of a high-level swordmaster.
”Duke, please have a seat,” Ojarvis sat up straight in his chair and was not as complacent as when he spoke to the four Earls.
After the palace guard served tea, Duke Barde bowed first before smiling and said, ”Your Majesty, I was summoned by Prince Safilos early this morning and didn't have the chance to have any food yet.”
Ojarvis immediately summoned someone to prepare some snacks for Barde. It was not possible to set up a banquet since they would be engaged in a serious discussion.
”What did uncle summon you for?” Ojarvis helped himself to some snacks and began to eat slowly. The two of them seemed more like a pair of monarchs that got along well with each other.
”The Prince was extremely unhappy with what is going on at Luolan so he summoned all the first-grade Dukes from the House of Lords and House of Commons and requested for us to send our troops as well.”
”That is only right. If we used any more soldiers from Holy Rock City, the city would not have enough military forces,” Ojarvis said calmly.
”Your Majesty is right. All twelve Dukes agreed to send ten-thousand soldiers each. The Prince expects to activate another fifty-thousand men on top of those that were recruited at the last minute. In total, there will be an army of more than two-hundred-thousand.”
”Uncle recommended you to be the envoy?” Ojarvis changed the topic.
”Yes, Your Majesty,” Duke Barde smiled bitterly.
”This is a good thing. Duke, the war with the Holy See will not end in the next eight to ten years. Uncle must be planning to advance into the east of the Caucasus people's mountains by winter. To fight a war, we will need mages. Coincidentally, Metatrin City produces magic nuclei. Barde, when you reach Metatrin City, you have to negotiate with Saleen. Holy Rock City hopes that he can sell one-hundred-thousand middle-grade magic nuclei to us every year at half the market price.”
Duke Barde was shocked and asked, ”Your Majesty, how is that possible?”
Barde might not be a mage, but even he knew that buying at half the market price was going to be a challenge. This meant that Metatrin City would be making a loss of millions of gold coins every year.
”Why not? I will be paying with cash up front. He will still stand to profit a lot from such a huge deal. If he were to sell them himself, he would have to take into account the cost of manpower and logistics.”
After hearing what Ojarvis said, Barde suddenly became furious and said, ”Your Majesty, that means Alchemy City has been earning so many gold coins from us every year! This is simply…”
Ojarvis waved his hand and said, ”Alchemy City is not something you can afford to find trouble with. This must be carried out in secret. I want to purchase all the magic nuclei for this year. It is okay if the prices are marked up. Once we make a breakthrough in Luolan, we will have to organize our attack again. By then, the local noble families will have no choice but to contribute their forces as well. I will let Uncle lead the army and sweep across the four major Duchies before advancing into Tanggulasi. As such, the number of magic nuclei used will be extremely high.”
After hearing what the Emperor said, Barde came to a realization. Even if Alchemy City really fixed their prices, there was nothing much Holy Rock City could do. One could not possibly force the other party to sell their magic nuclei at a lower price. No wonder the Emperor wanted to send a Duke to Metatrin City. It was worth traveling there for such a big and important business deal.
”On this trip, you must carefully observe and find out just how powerful Metatrin City has become now. Since I have acknowledged it as a kingdom, you must be humble.”
”I… understand.” Although Barde came from the House of Commons, he stood on the side of the Emperor when it came to matters concerning the rise and fall of the Empire. A business involving one-hundred-thousand magic nuclei that could potentially save half the cost would be extremely beneficial to the Empire. It was not that Holy Rock City could not afford to pay, but if the war persisted, they could not afford to rest on their laurels. There would come a day where even a thousand years' worth of reserves could be used up. They had to prepare for a rainy day.
”Grand Sorcerer Tiffany has returned to Holy Rock City. She will be accompanying you along with four other grade-6 mages. Don't worry about your safety. I will also order Guderian City to ensure that you are escorted past Phoenix.”
Safilos had already mentioned all that, but Barde was glad to know that there would be a grade-8 sorcerer traveling with him.
”You can stay in the palace tonight. The gift list has yet to be prepared, but you should be able to set off by tomorrow.”
”Your Majesty, is it that urgent?”
”Yes, it is. The journey will be more than ten-thousand miles and will take two to three months' time. Sister has told me that we need to send someone over before October, the magic nuclei deal will have to wait until next year otherwise.”