"This place is still so dilapidated," Perot, the fortress ambassador, said as he stepped out of the cabin, a musty smell of decaying wood hitting him in the face. The surrounding air was humid and oppressive, making him feel uncomfortable all over. He sniffed, looked up, and the sky was a hazy gray, as if a heavy rain was brewing.

"It's been a year since your last visit, right?" the assistant solicitously draped a woolen coat over the ambassador's shoulders. "There's nothing here but rocks."

"It was a year and a half ago," Perot corrected, "The Duke sends different people every season, and the last time I was in Border Town, it was summer. And besides rocks, there are all kinds of excellent furs, and..."

"What?" the assistant looked blank.

Perot shook his head, not answering. He stepped over the ship's side and onto the moss-covered pier, the wooden planks creaking under his feet. It'll probably last a few more years before this pier falls apart, he thought. Border Town has not only rocks and furs, but even... land. But there's no point in saying this, the assistant is just an obscure clerk in the city hall and can't see that.

There's a large expanse of uncultivated land between Border Town and Longsong Fortress, bordered by the Impassable Mountain Range on one side and the Redwater River on the other, like a narrow corridor. As an outpost of the fortress, if it takes on the responsibility of the defense line, the large tract of land in the middle will be brought under the control of the fortress. It's uncultivated and can be planted many times without fallow periods, plus the natural barriers on both sides, it won't take much effort to take it down. This would alleviate the series of problems caused by the increasing population of the fortress, and Border Town would become an integral part of the fortress, instead of being separated as two independent territories as it is now.

The only drawback is that it requires three to five years of operation and a large initial investment.

Unfortunately, when it comes to investment foresight, most nobles are not as good as a mediocre merchant.

"Huh, why is the stockyard empty?" the assistant pointed to a vacant lot in the distance. "Shouldn't they have all the ore ready?"

Perot sighed softly, "Let's go to the castle to see His Highness."

"Wait... Ambassador, aren't you waiting for their welcoming party?"

Don't even know if there will be one, he thought to himself but didn't say it, "Let's go, the stables are just ahead."

Now, the trouble of being divided into two independent territories is obviously here. What would a normal noble or royal disciple do when the king throws the Fourth Prince into this desolate place with a royal decree? Of course, seize everything here for himself. Let ore and jewels be exchanged for grain and bread? The prince probably only sees gold dragons.

If it were him, he would do the same. Seeing the output of his territory exchanged at such a low price, probably no one would be willing to accept it. Moreover, the prince doesn't necessarily have to go to the fortress. The bunch of idiots in the family forgot one fact, that is, the Redwater River doesn't only pass through Longsong Fortress. He can sell the ore at market prices to Willow Town, Dragonfall Ridge, and Redwater City, and then take the people to these places for refuge – it's just a longer journey.

Then what can Longsong Fortress do? Block the river and intercept the prince's party? That's openly opposing the Kingdom of Graycastle! Everyone knows that the Fourth Prince is not liked by the King, but at worst he is still the King's bloodline, there's no doubt about that.

The two rode rented horses and slowly advanced along the stone road by the river. The horses in the stables were all old, with mixed fur colors and skin and bones. Even when walking slowly, their whole bodies trembled. And for these two stupid things, he had to pay two gold dragons as a deposit.

"Look, sir, is that a Willow Town ship?"

Hearing the assistant shout, he looked in the direction the other pointed and saw a single-masted sailboat with a green leaf and scimitar flag slowly sailing along the river. The ship's waterline was high, indicating that it was full of cargo.

Perot nodded expressionlessly, but his heart sank, the other party was acting faster than he thought. If the prince has already started contacting those towns downstream of the Redwater River, he will have one less bargaining chip in his hand. He originally planned to persuade his father to agree to buy the ore at 30% below the normal price, which would still be profitable, not to mention luxury goods like jewelry that could be worth several times more after polishing. Unfortunately, this monopolistic business is not up to him, nor is it up to the Goldensun family.

There are six noble families involved in Border Town's mining industry, and a resolution cannot be formed without a majority agreement.

But they are slow to react, thinking that the situation is still the same as before... Or, the output of the mining area is not worth their attention. Anyway, the other five families are indifferent, and his father confidently rejected him. In fact, they are very wrong. The main reason for the low output of the mining area is this barter trade model. If it becomes normal trade, the more you produce, the more you earn. The ore output is likely to reach a new level next year.

If the previous monopoly plan is discussed, it is highly likely, no, it is definitely impossible to achieve. Perot thought, it can be seen from the empty stockyard that the prince does not intend to let these stones be exchanged for inferior wheat, he has already contacted other buyers.

If he still wants to maintain this trade line, a 30% discount is his last bargaining chip. The distance between Willow Town and Border Town increases the cost of ore transportation, and Willow Town has more than one ore source. The price they offer is likely to be half of the market price. As for Dragonfall Ridge and Redwater Fortress, they will only offer lower prices, so the Fourth Prince may agree to let Longsong Fortress monopolize it – especially the gem trade.

But the question is, if he signs a contract without authorization, will his father agree? What about the other five families, will they think that his move is simply surrendering to Border Town and giving up the family's interests?

After all, in their eyes, Border Town is still a pasture controlled by their own people in the fortress, taking whatever they want.

The two slowly crossed to the castle located in the southeast corner of the town. Perot was not here for the first time, but this time, the place had changed owners.

The guards saw the ambassador's credentials and immediately went in to notify the lord.

Fourth Prince Roland Wimbledon soon summoned Perot, and when the two were led into the reception room, the prince was already waiting in the main seat.

"Ambassador, please sit down."

Roland clapped his hands and asked the maid to bring up a rich meal. There was roast whole chicken, mushroom stewed wild boar leg, butter bread and a large pot of vegetable soup. Obviously, in this remote place, the personal enjoyment of the royal children has not been diminished in the slightest.

Perot was naturally not polite. It took two days to travel by water from the fortress to Border Town, even with a tailwind; if it was a multi-masted and multi-oared cargo ship, it would be even slower, taking three to five days. There was no kitchen on the ship, and they usually ate their own dried meat strips or wheat cakes. Seeing the steaming dishes, he felt saliva welling up in his throat.

However, years of aristocratic cultivation still allowed him to maintain perfect dining etiquette, on the contrary, His Highness's eating habits were much worse – especially in the use of knives and forks. Perot noticed that except for cutting meat, the Fourth Prince used a dining knife, and all other movements were completed with a pair of small wooden sticks. And it looked like... two wooden sticks were actually more convenient than a fork.

"What do you think?" Roland suddenly asked when the meal was about to end.

"Uh, about what?" the ambassador didn't come back to his senses for a moment.

"This," the other party shook the wooden sticks in his hand, and without waiting for Perot to answer, he said directly, "A steel fork is a luxury for most people, let alone a silver fork. And eating directly with your hands makes it easy to eat dirty things into your stomach. Illness enters through the mouth, you know?"

The ambassador didn't know how to answer, he didn't quite understand what illness enters through the mouth meant, but according to the understanding of the previous sentence, it probably meant that dirty things sticking to food would easily cause disease. But everyone has been doing this, and no one has died from it.

"A pair of oak sticks, there are as many as you want in the Misty Forest, which are clean and easy to obtain. I plan to promote this in the town," the prince took a sip of wine, "Of course, my people have almost no meat to eat now, but it will slowly get better in the future."

Perot breathed a sigh of relief, he still understood how to answer this sentence. After routinely expressing his agreement and blessings, he disagreed in his heart. Let the people have meat to eat? It's simply wishful thinking, even Graycastle can't do this, let alone this remote place in Border Town.