Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 366 Trade Embargo
Although Hornburg [Hornford] is the capital of the Monta Republic, Steelburg [Solingen] is the most prosperous and thriving city in the mountainous country.

Benefiting from its abundant mineral resources and the skilled craftsmen who settled there, Steel Castle was a renowned blacksmith town in the Monta Royal Territory many years ago—but only in Monta.

Trapped in the mountains, even the best quality ironware from Steel Fortress could not be transported out.

Even if they could be shipped out, the lords and municipalities outside were unwilling to buy Monta goods; they preferred to protect local iron products that could contribute to tax revenue.

Until thirty years ago, two major events occurred.

The first thing: the Woodpecker Canal was completed, opening up the waterway between the Rose River and the Ember River.

It took the Steelburg Blacksmiths Guild forty years just to raise the funds to build this short canal.

By the time the first jar of buried gold coins saw the light of day again, the leader who had initiated the project had long since passed away, and the bewildered boy in the audience had grown old.

After that, it took another fifteen years to build the canal, taking a total of fifty-five years, which is the lifespan of three generations.

The second event: The Duke of Arlian led his troops into the foothills, and the Sovereignty War broke out.

War is like a ravenous monster, constantly demanding more steel and blood.

The iron-producing areas at the foot of the mountain were burned to ashes by the brutal tug-of-war, while the steel fortresses, far from the ravages of war, were able to make a fortune.

Two wars of sovereignty, totaling eight years of fighting. By the time Mad King Richard withdrew his troops, Steel Castle had become the largest iron manufacturing center in the Two Mountains.

After the war ended, the arms trade became difficult.

However, Steel Castle did not decline; on the contrary, it was able to develop more freely because it was freed from the shackles of the empire.

The Alliance, in dire need of rebuilding, had an inexhaustible demand for iron products. Steelburg blacksmiths stopped making swords and instead started selling iron bars.

With the reduction of tariffs within the Alliance, the steel produced in Steelburg was no longer confined to the mountains. It was loaded onto ships, sailed downstream, and sold to republics, the empire, and even overseas.

The decade of the Sovereignty Wars was a tragic one for many ordinary people, but a golden one for Steel Castle.

Even the twenty years following the end of the war were twenty years of rapid development for Steel Castle.

Steelhold has not only developed from a small, well-known blacksmith town into a renowned steel capital of the Alliance, but it has also grown from a remote valley on the shores of Rose Lake into a transportation hub where trade routes converge.

Therefore, foreign merchants who want to do business in the Republic of Monta will focus their main efforts on Steel Castle, rather than the capital, Horn Castle.

Most of the business owners' heads in Steelburg are actually their heads in the Republic of Monta – this is the case with the Navarre Business.

……

The Navarre family's agent in Steel Castle was an old gentleman with a Venetta-style beard named [Carlo Ed].

The so-called Venetta beard is simply the absence of a beard.

Mr. Ed was tall and thin, and rarely smiled. If it weren't for his bald jaw and upper lip, many people would probably mistake him for a clergyman based solely on his clothing and demeanor.

When Anna returned from sketching, covered in dew, Mr. Ed was discussing the gold exchange with Winters.

“…Although Steelburg could probably consume half a ton of gold, if it were to be exchanged for Ducat all at once, the price would definitely be forced down.” Mr. Ed dipped his fingertip in water and wrote a number on the table: “The goldsmiths in Steelburg are all backed by guilds. If they figure out the truth and join forces to lower the price, the exchange rate will be even lower.”

Winters gently rubbed the bone whistle and nodded thoughtfully. The two wolfhounds lay obediently beside Winters' boots, peeking at him expectantly.

Also sitting at the small table was Father Kaman, whose face remained expressionless.

Compared to the meticulously groomed Mr. Ed and Father Carman, Winters was somewhat unkempt.

Although Winters' clothes were fairly neat—thanks to Anna—his beard and hair were not so lucky—also thanks to Anna.

Upon seeing Anna Navarre return to the camp, Mr. Ed stood up to greet her: “It’s a pleasure to see you, my lady. You look much healthier and more energetic than you did two years ago in Aquamarine.”

“Mr. Ed, I’m even happier to see you looking so well,” Anna said with a smile, putting down her easel. “However, ‘more energetic’ and ‘healthier’ are not appropriate terms for a lady.”

"For someone my age, health is more important than anything else."

“Mr. Ed is right,” Winters echoed righteously. “Health is beauty!”

Two people who spend every day together often fail to notice each other's changes. Winters couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed about Anna, but it seemed like everything about her had changed: her nose and cheeks were more beautiful, her waistline was more alluring, her thighs were firmer, and she looked more radiant...

If we say that when Ms. Navarre first arrived in Iron Peak County, she still had a bit of baby fat from being pampered.

After a long and arduous journey, Anna's delicate air had completely disappeared, replaced by a vigorous vitality, like an idealized and realistic ancient goddess statue that had come down to earth.

Winters was captivated by Anna's vibrant beauty, so lately, whenever Anna used the comparative degree, Winters would sing her praises without hesitation. Except for her skin—that was a taboo subject, and mentioning it was a death sentence.

Anna, returning from sketching, entered the tent, unfastened her sword, scooped up some water to wash her face, and dried it. She then stepped out of the tent and sat gracefully at the table.

There are now four people at the table: Winters, Kaman, Ed, and Anna.

Mr. Ed glanced at Winters without making a sound, then at Anna, and found that the two of them looked natural, without any strangeness or pretense.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Ed?” Winters asked softly. “I’m waiting for you to continue.”

“It’s nothing.” A smile appeared on Mr. Ed’s serious face. “I think perhaps only an extraordinary woman is worthy of a great man.”

After a brief pause, Mr. Ed continued talking about exchanging gold bars for gold coins.

……

……

Half a month ago, after the golden statue used for the sacrificial ceremony was recast into four cartloads of gold bars, the delegation from Tiefeng County split into two groups.

Escorted by Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, the shipment, containing three-quarters of the gold, returned directly to Iron Peak County, where the county government desperately needed this hard currency to alleviate its financial crisis.
Another route, led by Winters himself, secretly headed north into the Republic of Monta.

However, upon returning to the "civilized world," Winters faced the dilemma of having money he couldn't use: gold bars couldn't be used directly, and even if someone was willing to buy them, they would be too conspicuous; he had to exchange them for common gold coins.

Fortunately, the Navarre Trading Company also had business in the Mountain Country, which prevented Winters from being completely helpless.

Winters first found a branch of the Navarre Trading Company in Lucerne, a border city of the Monta Republic, and exchanged a small amount of gold bars. At the same time, he sent an urgent letter to the company's headquarters in Steelburg through the Navarre Trading Company's channels.

Then he took the remaining gold bars and rushed to Steel Castle without stopping.

Then, he waited for Mr. Ed outside a small village on the outskirts of Steelburg.

"In conclusion," Mr. Ed said, his expression turning serious again, "it would be a very unprofitable business to exchange all your gold for Ducat, Provincial Gold Shield, or Monta Gold Coins at once."

"And what is your suggestion?" Winters asked.

“My suggestion is to use it as collateral. First, use this batch of gold as collateral to obtain gold coins, and then gradually absorb them to maintain a stable exchange rate. Of course, it would be best to take the gold back to Veneta and recast it into Ducat, that would be the most cost-effective.”

Winters was puzzled: "Using gold as collateral to obtain gold?"

“Yes. But instead of mortgaging to the goldsmith, we mortgage to other merchants.” Old Mr. Ed explained: “By dividing the gold bars into several equal parts and mortgaging them to different merchants, we can bypass the Steel Fortress goldsmith. Moreover, during the mortgaging period, the collateral cannot be recast, so it will not affect the exchange rate between gold and gold coins in the market.”

Winters saw Anna nod slightly to him, so he stood up with relief and thanked the old man: "Thank you for everything, Mr. Ed."

“It is my pleasure to offer assistance.” Mr. Ed nodded. “Your Excellency Montagne.”

Having determined how to exchange gold bars for gold coins, a series of more important problems still need to be solved.

Mr. Ed took out an urgent letter in Anna's handwriting from his pocket: "In your letter, you said that you hoped to be introduced to the decision-making level of Steel Castle. This is not difficult. Mr. Borso of the Esther family is in Steel Castle. He is a close friend of Mayor Wupper. I can introduce you to Mr. [Borso da Esther] and ask him to introduce you to Mayor [Paul Wupper]."

To any Venetian with a modicum of common sense, da Este was an incredibly prestigious surname.

Although Winters didn't know who "Borso da Esther" was, if a "White Eagle" was willing to lend a hand, meeting the mayor of Steel Castle shouldn't be too difficult.

[Note: The symbol of the Este family is the white eagle.]
"As for your other request—purchasing weapons," Mr. Ed frowned slightly, "I'm afraid that will be difficult."

"What?" Winters didn't seem surprised and joked, "The Steel Fortress blacksmiths aren't going to make money?"

Old Mr. Ed took out another folded piece of scrap paper from his pocket: "The Monta people do things differently from us. Life is tough in the mountain country, so the Monta people are more united and loyal. Once they reach an agreement, they will never go back on their word or disobey."

Winters took the toilet paper and unfolded it; the freshly printed ink on the paper still emitted a faint, unpleasant odor.

A large seal was stamped directly below the draft paper, and the first sentence at the top read: "The following resolutions have been passed by a joint vote of the senior representatives of Solingen, beloved by the Sovereign and the Free People..."

Old Man Ed said in a deep voice, "The Steel Fortress City Council has just passed an executive order prohibiting any individual or guild from selling weapons, ammunition, or any resources that could be used for war to the Republic of Palatul. However, this order is only an executive order and needs to be debated and voted on by the head office before it can become a formal decree."

Winters skimmed through the notice and then handed the scrap paper to Anna.

"Steelburg is about to impose a trade embargo on the Republic of Palatour." Old Mr. Ed said grimly, "And Steelburg may only be the beginning."

[One chapter is owed for now, it's too late, sorry.]
Idealized realism refers to an art style that "pursues an idealized form of realism." The most typical example is the ancient Greek statues, which are all "human," but also "ideal appearances that flawed humans cannot achieve," giving the cold marble both divinity and humanity.

Inheriting the art style of ancient Greece, the Romans also pursued idealized realism, even applying this style to human beings.

For example, in the "Statue of Augustus," Octavian was actually neither tall nor strong, and was even frail and sickly. However, the sculptor sculpted Octavian as a demigod-like, imposing general, a style reminiscent of later portraits of kings and princes.
[Furthermore, this idealized, realistic art style even influenced China. The most classic example is the Gandhara-style sculptures of Buddhism.]
Alexander the Great's eastward conquests established a series of Greek-influenced states in what is now India, and introduced an idealized, realistic art style to Indian religions. This style, along with Buddhism, spread to China via the Western Regions, and representative works that have survived to this day include the Yungang Grottoes in Datong and the Dunhuang Grottoes.
Civilization is a continuous process of exchange, learning, and growth.
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)