Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 401 Echoes Through the Mountains (Part 3)

Time is the most ruthless force; it never stops for anyone.

Only a few days had passed since the night of the fire, and the flames, riots, and attacks were like bursting bubbles. Everyone who was in the midst of it witnessed its appearance and disappearance, yet could not recall its exact appearance.

Memory diverged from here, and people began to tell their own versions of the story, of cavalrymen shattering glaciers, fire tornadoes devouring churches, and conspiracies hovering over the city.

Regardless, life goes on—even if life itself is just a journey of suffering, Steelburg has already begun to look forward.

The bloodstains in the city square were washed away, and the furniture and carriages that were blocking the river were retrieved.

With the assistance of the garrison, the temporary rationing system was implemented in Steel Fort, and shops and markets on the less damaged North Shore also resumed business.

Artillery officers from the garrison were urgently reassigned to assist city government employees in surveying the burned-down old town area.

The city council then urgently passed a mandatory decree: strictly prohibiting any citizen from rebuilding their house without authorization, "those who violate this will be severely punished," and "all rebuilding must wait until the land ownership is clarified before it can proceed."

As order was restored, the garrison gradually returned control of Steel Fort to the municipal government.

The City Hall once again became the administrative center of Steel Castle, with a constant stream of people coming and going to deliver messages, issue orders, and file lawsuits and petitions.

The parish guild headquarters, which faces the city hall across the square, appears much quieter – the imposing four-story brick building has its doors tightly shut, with no cars or pedestrians seen entering or leaving.

The citizens of Steelburg used to say that the Elin Cathedral, the City Palace, and the parish guild headquarters symbolized the city's three pillars—faith, power, and wealth.

Today, faith crumbles in flames and storms, and wealth is reduced to ashes in riots and fires.

Power—the City Hall, which was originally ranked last, rose to prominence with the help of the army and became the true master of Steel Castle.

However, at this very moment, inside the thick, cold stone walls of the guild headquarters, a mass of lava that could change the fate of Steel Fortress was brewing.

"It's fucking come to this!" Iron Hand Geisberg's roar almost burst through the arbitration chamber door: "What the fuck is wrong?! How the fuck can't I explain myself to you?!"

Iron Hand's speech ended with a loud slam of his fist on the table and his unwilling roar.

Then came an old man's hoarse voice: "Regardless of their intentions, what that...that lady said is correct. As long as the war in Palatine continues, the embargo will remain in effect. If the war in Palatine goes on for ten years, are we supposed to stop working for ten years?"

“Why not start work?” another sullen voice retorted. “Even if the waterway to Palatour is blocked, we can still sell the goods to the Empire, or transship them through Varn.”

Iron Hand sprang up from his chair as if he'd been placed on a red-hot iron: "Transporting from Varne? Who can afford that? Are you expecting us to squeeze every last drop of business from the Empires? [Blacksmith's voice cracked with rage]!"

The humiliated forge owner also slammed his fist on the table and retorted with vicious Monta curses. Had the Helvetii people not had no custom of dueling, the two would likely have been killed in the arbitration hall.

Even so, Iron Hand's indignant question still echoed between the stone walls: "Why don't you understand? Why don't you understand? This is our chance! Our chance to rise again!"

At the other end of the corridor, Winters and Anna were touring the archives of the guild headquarters.

The Baron and Baroness were supposed to be waiting in the reception room for the Executive Committee's final reply, where the fireplace was burning warmly and the hosts had thoughtfully prepared hot wine and pastries.

Winters was very curious about everything about the Steelburg Parish Guild and asked to visit the guild headquarters, which his host generously agreed to.

The forge master, who was assigned to lead the baron and baronet on the tour, stood outside the archives room and proudly introduced, "Your Excellency, what you are about to see is the entire history of Steel Castle."

As the heavy oak door was pushed open, a smell mingled with insect-repelling herbs and musty parchment wafted out.

The introducer sneezed, left the lantern outside the door, covered his nose, walked to the wall, and opened the sealed window. Fresh air and sunlight rushed into the room, and Winters was finally able to see the entire archives:
Nearly two-person-high wooden shelves stretched from the floor to the vaulted ceiling, filling the corridor-like archive room with identical shelves.

The guide traced his fingertips from the front of him to the far end of the room: "From the initial charter issued by Bishop Elin to the Swordsmiths' Guild, to the contract witnessing the merger of the Swordsmiths' Guild and the Polishers' Guild, to the declaration of the establishment of the General Guild. All the important documents of the Blacksmiths' Guild and the General Guild are here, preserved in chronological order—the originals."

Winters listened and nodded.

Judging from the Baron's focused listening, the guide would almost assume that his main purpose in coming to the guild headquarters today was to tour it, and that the negotiations with the executive committee were just a side business.

……

About an hour earlier, Baron and Duchess Granah visited the headquarters of the Steel Castle Guild, where they were greeted by the entire executive committee of the Blacksmiths Guild, who had arrived early.

However, what happened next was beyond the expectations of the executive committee: the person who actually explained the plan to the masters of the forge and answered their questions was not the "renowned" Baron Granah, but the more mysterious Baroness.

At first, the forge masters looked at the baroness, who was too young and too beautiful, with disdain, doubt and distrust.

However, as the other party elaborated on their story, the atmosphere in the arbitration hall gradually became serious and heavy.

Anna began by concisely analyzing the predicament of Steel Fortress:

As long as the war in Palatine continues, Steel Fortress will only decline day by day.

As one side gains while the other loses, even if Steelburg can hold out until the end of the war, its dominance will be taken over by other iron-producing regions.

This city prospered because of the opening of waterways, and it will perish because of the closure of waterways.

"As long as the trade ban remains in place, even if we could buy up all your inventory now, it wouldn't prevent the steel industry in Steelburg from shrinking in the future. That's a reality, painful but inevitable. Of course, there are always ways to circumvent the ban, such as smuggling. But if you take the risks into account, smuggling will always be a losing proposition for you."

Anna said softly, "Therefore, please be sure to carefully consider the olive branch we have extended."

Winters' proposal has already been forwarded to the Executive Committee through Member Servit, and Anna no longer needs to elaborate on the specific plan. Anna's presence before the Executive Committee today is both an ultimatum and a final effort.

“No longer just exporting ironware, but exporting manpower; no longer just exporting resources, but exporting technology; no longer just exporting goods, but exporting…” Anna stopped abruptly, pondering for a long time before finally choosing the most accurate ancient term: “[wealth].”

The blacksmiths' guild's forge owners looked at each other, unable to understand the unfamiliar pronunciation spoken by each other.

Anna smiled and explained, "It is the sum total of all movable and immovable property."

……

The arguing in the arbitration hall could be clearly heard by Winters and Anna even through the corridor. The Forge Master, who was in charge of receiving them, looked somewhat embarrassed and began to explain the history of Steel Castle with even more enthusiasm. Anna leaned closer to Winters, a little uneasy and worried, and whispered, "Was my explanation not good enough? I'll try talking to them again."

Winters patted Anna's hand on his arm, feeling more relaxed as the final moment approached: "Let them argue it out themselves."

He then joked, "But to be honest, your public speaking skills are really not that great. If I have time, I'll teach you."

Anna gave Winters a silent glare.

“You’re being too rational, and you’re assuming the other person is also too rational,” Winters sighed. “But you have to understand that most of the time, people don’t make decisions based on reason.”

"Excuse me." The guide, who was walking in front, turned around and asked apologetically, "What did you ask?"

“It’s nothing,” Winters said with a smile. “I heard that the guild headquarters keeps records of all forge transfers? And they’re kept in this archive?”

"Forging furnace transfer?" The guide paused for a moment, then quickly realized what he meant and pointed to the wooden shelf against the wall: "Oh, right, it's here too. Right on that shelf. According to the rules, all forging furnace transfers must be registered with the guild, otherwise they won't count."

“Can I take a look?” Winters asked.

The guide looked embarrassed: "I'm sorry, but those who are not members of the blacksmiths' guild cannot view those files."

"Alright then." Winters didn't press the matter and continued chatting with the guide as they walked: "I'm still a little curious, how many forgings are registered in Steel Castle right now?"

"If you include smelting furnaces, forging furnaces, and heat treatment furnaces," the guide thought carefully for a moment, "there are probably more than four hundred."

"Has it always been this much?"

"Of course not," the guide replied with a smile. "There were only a few at first, right? More and more gradually appeared."

But he immediately added, "However, in the last thirty years or so—as far as I can remember, at least twenty-five years—the number of forges has not increased."

"why?"

"What else could it be?" The guide's tone was quite complicated: "The guild no longer allows the registration of new forges."

“I see.” Winters responded with a smile and asked, “So, where should we visit next?”

……

Meanwhile, inside the arbitration hall, the executive committee still failed to reach a consensus.

"We can't just think about eating meat; we also need to consider the risks!" someone earnestly advised. "Have you not considered that they might turn their backs on us? Even if they keep their promises, so what? They are at most just a bunch of warlords under Plato! What will we do if we entrust our skills and wealth to them and they are defeated and destroyed?"

"They don't want your money or your labor. All you need to do is provide manpower!" Iron Hand roared back on the spot, "They don't even need you to provide manpower, all you need to do is agree to provide manpower!"

The other party retorted, "Shouldn't we be sending people from Steel Fortress? Shouldn't we be sending members of the Blacksmiths' Guild? Shouldn't we be sending our own blacksmith brothers?"

Iron Hand retorted sarcastically, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I only realized so late—that you care so much about those blacksmith brothers in your workshop who get paid!"

Finally, old Schmid couldn't take it anymore and slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "Enough!"

Neither side of the dispute spoke, and the arbitration hall fell silent for a brief moment.

Iron Hand held back for a while, but finally couldn't resist. He stood up, propped himself up on the table, looked at the other forge owners, and said through gritted teeth:

"I'll just say one thing to you—if you're going to pick up gold from a cesspool, then don't fucking care about saving face! Don't you understand? This is a risk-free, highly profitable business for us! We don't have to put up anything! All we have to do is agree to relax the restrictions on guild oaths, and we'll get a huge industry for free—an industry that might rival Steel Fortress in the future!"

You keep nagging about risks, risks, risks! But why don't you think about the potential profits? Think about it! Produce ironware directly in Palatul! Sell it to both sides in the war! You might even earn more than we do in Steel Fortress! Without taking risks, how can you expect to get the most lucrative piece of the pie?!

Iron Hand looked at the executive committee members in front of him, remained silent for a moment, and said coldly, "Even if all the blacksmiths we send out die in Palatour, at least we won't have to worry about how to pay them their wages anymore. Isn't that right?"

This candid statement, which pierced the darkest corners of everyone's hearts, sent chills down the spines of the other forge owners present.

"Shut up!" Old Schmid slammed his fist on the long table, causing it to tremble violently. "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Iron Hand snorted and sat down without changing his expression.

After a long while, someone whispered again, "In the past, when someone defected, the Executive Committee would offer a bounty to hunt them down. Now the Executive Committee is going to endorse someone who broke the guild oath, and no one will be convinced."

Iron Hand's temper flared up again, and he spat viciously: "Back then, the Oathbreakers lured away so many traitors, why didn't a single one of you dare to say a word? Back then, I was the first to say that I would put a bounty on the heads of those traitors, weren't you all trembling with fear at the hands of the Oathbreakers? Now you're clinging to your guild oaths! Bah!"

The iron hand, having completely torn off all pretense of civility, was something no one else present could withstand. The person who had just spoken was rendered speechless by the insults and awkwardly shut his mouth.

Seeing this, old Schmid looked helplessly towards the end of the long table, and then towards Congressman John Servit, who had remained silent: "Sir, please say something."

Servetus paused for a moment, then slowly stood up.

……

[Reception Room]
“I’m sorry,” John Servit said apologetically, nodding slightly to the Baron and Baroness. “Could you give us another day? We will give you a definite answer tomorrow.”

Winters smiled and got up to leave: "No problem."

Anna pulled Winters back to her seat and persistently asked, "Can you tell me why we need an extra day?"

"This matter is too important for the executive committee to make a decision."

"Then who else can?"

Servet pursed his lips: "All forge masters."

[I'll be starting work early, so I might not be able to update regularly lately. Sorry.]
[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)