Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 378 The Whirlpool (Part 5)

[Late night of the White Eagle's reception]
[Rose Hotel, Nancheng District]
Mr. Ed, wearing glasses, held up the Woolst steel dagger that Schmid had given to Winters, examining the unique texture of the blade up close and praising it with admiration.

The door was pushed open silently, and Winters tiptoed back into the small living room, carrying the earthenware pot and cup.

“Before Rhodes Island fell, the Knights of the Sea captured quite a few Saracen Wouz steel scimitars every year.” Ed put the dagger back into the wooden box, his eyes shining with reminiscence: “But the patterns are so beautiful and exquisite… this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it.”

Kaman shifted uncomfortably: "The Knights?"

“The Divine Grace Knights.” Carlo Ed’s tone turned cold, clearly indicating he didn’t want to elaborate.

Anna went straight back to her hotel from the Palace of Esther and was already asleep. Only Winters, Father Carmen, and Mr. Carlo Ed were in the small living room at that moment.

“If you like it, I’ll give it to you. If you keep it, it’ll only be good for cutting paper,” Winters said in a low voice.

He first set out a cup for Mr. Ed and filled it with hot milk, then poured some for Kaman, and as for himself... he used a clay pot.

Drinking hot milk was a habit Winters brought back from the wasteland. With the Shire not around, he had to serve the wine and milk himself.

Winters had no servants; even Anna's current personal maid was sent by Mr. Ed, because he disliked treating his subordinates like slaves. But he wasn't so pretentious as to insist on being self-reliant in every aspect of his life. He did have orderlys, and he could be lazy too, but when he needed to do daily chores, he didn't feel ashamed at all.

Carlo Ed saw everything, smiled and shook his head: "I'm a businessman, bloodshed is bad for business, [gold will avoid blood]."

Winters sat back in his armchair, holding the warm milk jug, and pondered, "Perhaps '[blood will make gold disappear]' is more accurate."

“So…” Ed took off his glasses, reverting to his usual stern demeanor, and continued the conversation, asking, “Did the Schmidt father and son agree to your offer?”

"Mr. Schmidt said he needed some time to consider it."

That means I disagree.

"Correct."

"It's still unclear whether the embargo will be implemented, and the Schmidts want to wait and see."

“If it were me, I would probably also choose to wait and see.” Winters paused for a moment. “So I gave them another offer.”

"What kind of price?"

"Work for me for three years or sell the workshop to me."

"Oh?" Ed remained noncommittal. "Did they agree?"

Winters sighed, looking quite dejected: "I'll refuse outright."

"To be precise, we almost had a falling out on the spot. When we left, old Mr. Schmid's face had turned from black to purple," Kaman added the details without holding back.

“It’s not that exaggerated!” Winters protested, dissatisfied.

Kaman gave a half-smile: "My description has been quite conservative."

“Of course that stubborn old man Schmid won’t agree.” Carlo Ed gave a wry smile, as if he had known all along: “He’s been through this kind of thing many times.”

Ed patiently explained to Winters, “Every blacksmith in Steelburg must swear an oath to keep the ‘secret between the forge and the anvil’ when they enter the trade. Even if they were to sell their forges and skills, they would not sell them to outsiders like us, but only to other Steelburg blacksmiths.”

“I know the guild oath of the Steelcastle blacksmiths,” Winters still felt it was a pity. “That’s why I offered them a particularly high price.”

Carlo Ed said calmly, "The man who will betray you today for a better offer will betray you sooner or later for a better one."

Winters understood that Old Man Ed was trying to comfort him, but he was not yet ready to give up on the [secret between the furnace and the anvil] of the Steel Castle blacksmith.

"Has there ever been a blacksmith who left or betrayed Steel Castle in its history?" Winters asked slowly, peeling off the cream skin and sipping his hot milk.

Ed's expression gradually turned serious: "You'd better think about the consequences before making a decision."

“I’m just curious, has anyone ever broken a guild oath in the past?” Winters was actually thinking of someone else. He smiled and assured them, “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to break the rules, nor will I use violent means such as kidnapping or coercion that would damage the reputation of the Venetta Chamber of Commerce.”

“I have a feeling that you’ve already gone through all these plans in your mind…” Kaman muttered softly.

Carlo Ed rubbed his forehead and thought for a long time, then frowned and muttered to himself, "I don't remember this happening."

"And what about before you came to Steel Fortress?"

"I can help you find out."

“Mr. Ed, please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything in the future.” Winters, his unease gone, was now as eager as a hunter who had found hoofprints. “Could you also help me investigate the Schmid family’s recent financial situation? Do they have any debts? Any collateral? Any uncollectible payments?”

“This might take a little time.” Carlo Ed nodded slightly. “But it’s not difficult.”

Kaman couldn't help but frown, looking at Winters reproachfully: "Can't you just leave Mr. Schmidt and his family alone?"

“What do you mean by letting them go?” Winters asked, puzzled. “I’m trying to help them.”

"help?"

"I'm buying their surplus goods, isn't that helping them?"

"Forcing someone to buy a gun at the price of the barrel, is that what you call helping?"

“I won’t ask for a price they can’t accept,” Winters retorted confidently. “And how could they possibly give me a price I can accept?”

“Then you shouldn’t let them lose money.” Kaman was heartbroken and helpless, so he could only quote the classic: “[The greed in the heart will surely stir up strife].”

Winters rolled up his sleeves—not to fight, but to pull out graphite sticks and a sheet of white paper. He quickly and skillfully drew a map of Rose Lake and Steel Castle, and crossed out the Woodpecker Canal: “In winter, the canal freezes over, and Steel Castle’s cargo can’t get out, right?”

Kaman nodded slightly.

Winters asked Mr. Ed, "So even in normal years, the blacksmiths in Steelburg often undercut each other in the spring, right?"

“You know Steelburg better than I thought.” A hint of surprise flashed in Carlo Ed’s eyes. “Yes, the workshops can’t completely shut down in winter. They have a quarter’s worth of goods on hand, and it’s common for them to undercut each other. But the reality is that prices fluctuate, some years are high and some years are low.”

Winters said confidently, “In previous years it might have been high, but this year it will only be low, much lower. Because all the workshops in Steel Castle have been working like crazy to produce weapons all winter. Why are there so many laborers on the streets now? It’s because in previous years they would be laid off after winter. But this winter, they’ve all stayed in Steel Castle.”

Winters then sketched the outlines of Monta, the Shaded Mountains, Varn, the Empire, and the Wasteland with a few strokes: "In the current situation, as long as the embargo remains in effect, trade routes to the south are blocked. To the north, east, and west... regardless of whether there are buyers, these three directions require traversing mountains and rivers, and freight costs will skyrocket."

"Do you think the embargo will be lifted?" Winters asked Mr. Ed.

“I don’t know,” Carlo Ed said calmly. “But I do know one thing—the United Provinces won’t just stand by and watch weapons flow into Palatour.”

“That means all the goods that Steel Castle prepared for the Palatine war are now stuck in our hands.” Winters drew a sealed circle in Steel Castle and threw the graphite strip away. “So Baron Granahy, who came to Steel Castle with real gold and silver, is the savior.”

Kaman shook his head, looking troubled. "You still can't convince me, because you're always taking advantage of people in distress."

Winters countered, "Swords and gun barrels are neither edible nor usable; it's better to sell them at a loss than let them rust in the warehouse."

Kaman was about to say something when Carlo Ed coughed.

“Father Kaman, we are businessmen,” Mr. Ed reminded us. “Buying low and selling high is a matter of course for us.”

“Besides, this gold was obtained at the cost of many people’s lives. It’s not my private property, as you know, as you witnessed.” Winters sighed. “I have no right to waste it.”

Kaman was speechless.

The door to the small living room creaked open, and Anna, draped in a robe and holding a candlestick, appeared outside, still sleepy-eyed: "Mr. Ed, Father Carman... Good evening, when did you get back?"

"I haven't been back long." Winters got up and stoked the fire in the fireplace to make it burn brighter, then offered Anna a seat. "Did I wake you?"

Anna sat down in Winters' chair, quite confidently picked up the can and took a big gulp of the slightly cool milk, only remembering that there were other people present when she wiped her mouth.

Anna blushed instantly and bowed apologetically to Mr. Ed and Kaman.

“Good evening, my lady,” Carlo Ed greeted her without batting an eye. Kaman returned the greeting with equal formality.

Anna sensed a tense atmosphere in the living room as soon as she entered: "I dreamt that people were arguing..."

“It’s not an argument.” Winters waved the fire tongs in the air. “It’s a shock lesson.”

Kaman nearly lost his temper on the spot.

“By the way, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you.” Winters stood in the middle of the living room, leaning on the fire tongs, looking at Mr. Ed with piercing eyes: “Please be sure to tell me the truth.”

Mr. Ed nodded: "Please speak."

Winters narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, word by word, "In the Blacksmiths' Guild's election, does Paul Wooper have a very threatening opponent?"

“Yes,” Carlo Ed answered without hesitation.

Winters didn't waste time asking pointless questions like, "Why didn't you tell me before?" The White Eagle had its interests, and Mr. Ed had his—he had accepted that.

Winters' second question: "What should it be called?"

"John Servit, a member of the Blacksmiths' Guild, is a current state legislator."

Winters' third question: "Can you help me get in touch with him?"

Carlo Eder showed a slight hesitation for the first time, and the old gentleman frowned slightly, kindly reminding him: "Member Servet has a very deep friendship with our dear allies."

“I guessed it,” Winters said with a smile. “If Vineta can support a mayor, why can’t the federal government?”

"So you still want to get in touch with him?" Carlo Ed asked.

"Yes."

"why?"

Winters replied easily, "I want to do business with him."

Carlo Ed's expression turned serious, his eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

Winters succinctly revealed the truth: "The White Eagles bribed Paul Wooper with my money as a bribe. It's far too easy for a middleman to do this!"

“If it weren’t for Colonel Bern, I would still be grateful for the White Eagle’s charity,” Winters thought to himself. “But now that the pieces know the player’s thoughts, the player can no longer manipulate the pieces at will.”

“The blacksmiths in Steelburg all want to wait until things settle down before they buy and sell, but I can’t afford to wait. Once the canal is open, Monta’s border blockade will definitely become more and more stringent every day. By then, even if we buy weapons at the cheapest price, we won’t be able to transport them out.” Winters stated his core interests bluntly: “I don’t care who I buy weapons from, but I must spend the gold before the canal is reopened.”

Kaman could no longer understand what Winters was saying, Anna frowned slightly, and Carlo Ed seemed thoughtful.

"Since old Schmidt and the other forge owners are all watching from the sidelines, let's set fire to their backsides."

"Do you want to..."

"Introduce competition."

The steel-fortress style sword hilt (fish skin, spiral pattern, silver thread) appears in volumes 1, 2, and 4, respectively on a dagger, a saber, and a Damascus steel knife...
[It seems like no one has noticed this yet, but if I say it out loud, it might spoil the joke (facepalm)]
[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)