Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 348 The trump card
Viscount Wilke raised his fist at the Western nobles in celebration of victory.

His face beamed with excitement, and the Western nobles around him also showed joy, patting each other on the shoulder, as if the position of vice leader had already been firmly in the hands of the Western Kingdom.

“The third item, provisions! Please state your prices, both of you?” Lady Aishar smiled and extended her hand. Her voice broke the brief celebratory atmosphere among the Western nobles, drawing everyone's attention back to the competition.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became tense again. Everyone knew that food supplies were just as important as the army and military equipment in war.

Count Anthony took a deep breath. He knew this was his last chance. If he couldn't win this battle on supplies, the Eastern Territory would completely lose its chance to compete for the position of vice-leader. He composed himself and said, "Our Eastern Territory can provide enough supplies for an army of 500,000 for a year."

This is the largest grain reserve that the Eastern Territory can currently provide. In order to raise this grain, the Eastern Territory has almost emptied all its granaries and also borrowed a lot of grain from some wealthy merchants.

Upon hearing this number, Marquis Sonata began to calculate it in his mind.

Although the western border has relatively abundant food reserves, it is not easy to produce more than this amount of food at once.

If it had been a year or two later, and purple melons had been planted on a large scale in the western region, this problem would have been much easier to solve.

He glanced at Viscount Wilke, who nodded slightly, as if to say, "Leave it to me!"
Viscount Wilke cleared his throat and said loudly, "Our western border can provide enough provisions for an army of 500,000 for a year."

After listening to the offers from both sides, Lady Aishar nodded slightly. She looked at the nobles around her and said, "Now that both the Eastern and Western territories have presented their offers, we can begin to discuss who is more qualified to serve as the vice-leader."

A buzzing discussion immediately filled the conference room.

The nobles of the North were whispering about the formidable strength of the West, while the nobles of the South were weighing the advantages of the East and West.

Although the nobles of the East were somewhat disheartened, they still held onto a glimmer of hope and tried to explain the East's value in other aspects to the other nobles.

The nobles of the West were actively seeking support, emphasizing the West's contributions and strength in various aspects.

When someone questioned the Westerlands' grain production, Viscount Wilke revealed a sly smile and threw out his trump card.

He stood up, straightened his collar, and confidently surveyed everyone in the conference room.

"The reason we have so much grain is simple: it's because of our new crop in the western border, the purple melon. This crop can yield up to a thousand catties per acre, it doesn't have high requirements for the soil, and it's drought-resistant and flood-resistant..." Viscount Wilke introduced the advantages of the purple melon in great detail.

His voice echoed in the conference room, each word like a seed planted in the hearts of the nobles present.

As Viscount Wilke introduced the nobles, regardless of their origins, they all revealed greedy or envious glances.

The nobles of the North thought that if they planted purple gourds on their vast but sometimes harsh land, the grain yield would increase significantly.

The nobles of the southern border were thinking that if they could introduce purple melons, the population could grow further, since more food could feed more people.

Often, food also represents productivity and population.

In this predominantly agricultural world, a high-yield crop is like a key to unlocking the doors to wealth and power.

Whoever controls sufficient food can feed more soldiers, develop more industries, attract more people, and thus enhance their own strength.

"In our war with the Central Plains, we in the Western Regions are willing to offer some of our purple gourd seeds to you all!" Viscount Wilke's words were like a bombshell, instantly causing a huge uproar in the conference room. What had initially been envious and greedy gazes instantly turned fervent.

The nobles of the Eastern Territory had a sudden inspiration: if they could obtain the purple gourd seeds, the Eastern Territory's predicament might be easily resolved.

The nobles of the South and North were also reassessing the value of the West.

“Viscount Wilke, are you telling the truth? Are you really willing to sell purple melon seeds?” a nobleman from the North couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course it’s true. However, the number of these seeds is limited, and the price…” Viscount Wilke deliberately dragged out his words, his eyes revealing a businessman’s shrewdness.

The other nobles in the western border also wore smug smiles.

Purple gourd seeds will be the decisive advantage for the West in this competition.

Viscount Wilke watched the reactions of the crowd and felt secretly pleased with himself.

At this point, the position of vice leader was getting closer and closer to the Western Frontier.

Count Anthony of the Eastern Territory frowned. He knew that with the Western Territory offering such a tempting offer, the Eastern Territory had virtually no chance of winning the competition for the position of vice-leader.

But he was unwilling to accept defeat and was still trying to think of other ways to turn the situation around.

Unfortunately, no one would give him a chance. Representatives Langjing and Justin immediately made the decision to support Xijing as one of the vice leaders.

Their decision caused a small commotion in the meeting room.

Langjing of the North stood up and said in a loud voice, "The West has demonstrated its great strength and made a great contribution to the Allied Forces. The North supports the West to become the vice leader."

Lesteen of the South nodded in agreement: "That's right, the purple melon seeds of the West are of great significance to our allied forces, and the South also supports the West."

Completely shattering Count Anthony's last hope, Count Anthony was furious. His face turned gloomy, and his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms.

However, he soon smiled and asked Viscount Wilke about purchasing the purple melon seeds.

Getting angry at this point won't help; it's better to seize the opportunity to gain some practical benefits for the Eastern Territory.

He's a man determined to become the new Grand Duke of the East.

"Viscount Wilke, what is the price of these purple melon seeds? Are there any restrictions on the quantity that can be purchased?" Earl Anthony tried to keep his voice calm.

Viscount Wilke was secretly pleased, but outwardly remained calm as he replied, "Earl Anthony, the price of these purple gourd seeds naturally depends on market demand and the quantity of seeds."

However, please rest assured that we in the Western Regions will allocate resources reasonably based on everyone's contributions and needs. Regarding the quantity to be purchased, we are currently calculating the total amount available for sale, and will give everyone a clear answer later.

(End of this chapter)