Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Progress

- Puff!

  Samwell looked at the "fireworks" in front of him, and his mouth twitched a few times.

  Maester Qyburn blushed, coughed lightly, and said,

  "My lord, at present, it can only do so much. Although the power is not as great as you said, it is still a good kind of igniter ,

Although it's not as good as [Wildfire], it's easier to manufacture and the cost is not high."

  Samwell sighed and didn't criticize too much.

  In order to prevent Maester Qyburn from fiddle with live experiments, he set a research for the other party - black powder.

  Of course, his own knowledge in this area is actually at the level of a keyboard man .

  Maester Qyburn actually made black powder according to the specious hints given by Samwell. It's power... similar to fireworks, but it can only be used as a decent igniter.

  It's still far from the big killer on battlefield.

  Fortunately, Samwell didn't held much hope. Without a system and knowledge, it was too difficult for him to climb the technology tree. So , it's better to tame a dragon.

  It's time to get a dragon, Samwell suddenly thought, after all, Red Comet's time is coming soon.

  However, this research still needs to continue, no matter how bad it is, it will give Maester Qyburn something to do.

  "Well, it's not bad." Samwell encouraged, "you can continue the study, the ratio of gunpowder can be adjusted, and see if you can come up with a more powerful formula. Also, you can study how to create a confined space , that way the explosion might be even more powerful."

  Maester Qyburn nodded thoughtfully: "Yes, my lord."

  Samwell looked at Maester Qyburn who was deep in thought, and suddenly felt that maybe one day this person could really give him a surprise.

  After all, this guy can even make a cyborg. He might be able to take out a TNT someday.

  Leaving the Maester Tower, Samwell came to the first floor hall of the castle, where dozen brightly dressed merchants were already sitting.

  When they saw the baron enter the door, they quickly got up and saluted.

  "Please sit , gentlemen." Samwell waved his hand and sat down on the main seat.

  The maid filled the wine glass in front of him, and then walked lightly to the side.

  Samwell took a sip from his wine glass and said,

  "Gentlemen, I know that you are all well-known grape merchants, so I invited you all to come here to discuss a big deal."

  A chubby merchant said: "My Lord , I heard that you wanted to buy fresh grapes, right?"

  "Yes." Samwell nodded.

  There is no option , the grapes in his territory grow's too slowly, but brandy has already become famous in Westeros at this time, and Arbor Island, Old Town, and Highgarden have sent letters many times to urge him to speed up production. Earl Hightower let go of his image, saying that he would accept as much as he wanted.

  However, the production of brandy in Eagle Island is severely limited.

  Although there is no shortage of labor in the territory, and the manufacture of distillation equipment is not a problem, there is a shortage of raw materials for wine making.

  The grapes planted on a large scale have not yet matured, and at present, it seems that Samwell still underestimated the enthusiasm of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms for brandy, and the previously planned planting area was still too conservative.

  Therefore, he can only solve the shortage of raw materials by purchasing grapes.

  Although in this way, the cost will increase, but fortunately there is still money to be made.

  As long as there is something to earn, then why hesitate.

  "I need a lot of fresh grapes. Currently, it is tentatively set at 50,000 pounds per month. This number will increase in the future, so I need a stable partner." After speaking, Samwell slowly swept across the audience.

  Sure enough, the merchants showed surprise and greedy expressions.

  This is indeed a great deal!

  "My lord! The grapes in our Arbor Island are the best in all of Westeros! You will never regret choosing us!"

"My lord, the grapes in our Blackcrown territory are the best quality and cheapest!"

  "My lord , the grapes in our Three towers are picked by the girls themselves!"

  ...

  Samwell smiled and raised his hands, and stopped the shouting of the crowd:

  "Everyone can sit here because they have passed the preliminary screening. The quality of the grapes production and output must meet my requirements. However, because I want to find a long-term stable partner this time, there are some additional requirements."

"Your Excellency, please announce quickly !"

  "Okay." Samwell's face turned positive , his tone became serious, "First of all, since it is a long-term cooperation, I require the payment to be settled every six months."

  "Half a year?"

  The businessmen immediately started talking.

  Of course they understand that this is equivalent to having to advance their own money to buy half a year's grape production.

  This is not a small amount.

  "Yes, it is settled every six months. If anyone has any objections to this, they can quit now."

Samwell said lightly, picked up his glass and took another sip.

  When he put down his wine glass, he saw that there was no shortage of people on the field.

  After all, with such a big benefit, so what if it is settled every six months.

  And now Samwell Caesar is considered somewhat famous, and businessmen are willing to take some risks for him.

  "Very good, it seems that you still believe in my reputation." Samwell smiled slightly and waved to the maid behind him, "I only plan to choose three partners this time, but how to choose these three..."

Waiting for the maid to give each businessman sent a piece of parchment, and Samwell continued:

  "Please write down your supply prices on paper. At that time, I will choose three partners based on your prices. Please note that you only have one chance to bid."

Hearing this, the businessmen were stunned After a moment, their colors changed.

  "Quiet!" Samwell interrupted before they could speak, "You must not speak during this process. Let's begin."

  The merchants were like ducks whose necks had been strangled, but they could only lower their heads in a sigh because of the lord's authority. Looking at the parchment in his hand, they hesitated.

  Of course they understood the plan of the young lord, which was to let them undercut each other.

  But even though they understood, they were helpless.

  While secretly cursing how the damn baron would come up with such a bad idea, they gritted their teeth and wrote down the lowest price.

  After the maid collected the parchments, Samwell removed the two bids that were obviously too high, and then took out the three with the lowest bids from the rest and handed them to Gavin.

  Gavin immediately read the names of the three merchants above.

  The merchants whose names were read had complicated expressions. They were happy that they had won the order, but they also began to wonder if their quotations just now were too low...

As for those whose names were not read, they all showed disappointed look.

  Samwell said in a loud voice:

  "Very good. Next, my steward will sign the supply contracts with these three companies. As for the rest of the gentlemen, although the business cannot be done, you are still friends of Eagle Island. I will present these as gifts."

"Each of you can have a barrel of brandy as a reward for your travels here."

  The merchants looked slightly calm and praised the generosity of the lord.

  After explaining few words to Gavin, Samwell turned and left the hall.

  As soon as he walked out, he saw a middle-aged man in a priest cloth walking towards him.

  "Master Caesar, I am the servant of the Seven Gods, Ivan."

  Sure enough, he still came.

  People from the Faith of the Seven Gods.

  "Brother Ivan." Samwell squeezed out a polite smile, "Did you just arrive today?"

  "I arrived half a month ago but i roamed your territory during this period, and I just returned today to Eagle Island."

  "Ohh!, I hope you had safe journey ." Samwell said casually before preparing to leave.

  Unfortunately, Brother Ivan obviously did not intend to let him go so easily: "Lord Caesar, I need your help."

  "What kind of help." Samwell said patiently.

  "I have to say, Sir Caesar, your territory is expanding at an unprecedented speed, but because of this, I'm afraid you have overlooked a serious problem. Those savages, who believe in all kinds of messy false gods devotedly are blasphemy against the Seven Gods."

  Samwell glanced at the priest expressionlessly, and said lightly:

  " Ivan, let me just tell you straight. When I recruited these savages, I promised them that I will not force them to change their beliefs. It is precisely because of this that my territory can develop and grow at such a fast speed. So, if you want me to issue a decree to force the unification of beliefs, please forgive me. I can't change my oath."

  "Lord Caesar, I did not ask you to issue such a decree." Ivan said with a smile.

  Samwell was a little surprised: "Then... what do you want?"

  "My request is very simple. First, you must build a sept dedicated to the Seven Gods in your territory and allow me to spread the faith of the Seven Gods freely. Second, you must attend sept services regularly, and third, you must pay regular donations according to the standards of a baron, of course, if you want to give more, the Seven Gods will definitely give you more."

After listening silently, Samwell suddenly thought the condition of this priest are the most basic requirements.

  Apart from the northern border, which lord's territory has no sept? And what knight does not attend sept regularly?

  As for donations, the standard for a baron is ten silver stags per month.

  It's really not a burden for Samwell.

  Originally, he was worried that people from the sept would grab his pigtails and make some excessive demands.

  Samwell glanced at the priest before he noticed that there was a small lantern hanging around his neck.

  Every monk will dedicate himself to a certain form of the seven gods, and the lantern is a symbol of the old crone.

  It seems that this Brother Ivan may have really inherited the wisdom of the old crone .

  "As long as you don't force my people to believe in the Seven Gods, I can agree to these conditions." Samwell actually doesn't want to have conflicts with the sept, and it would be best if he could get along peacefully.

  "Of course not. Faith can never be forced. What is forced is definitely not piety." Ivan showed a vicissitudes of life smile, "Lord Caesar, as long as you allow me to preach in your territory, I believe that one day, your citizens will spontaneously gather under the light of the Seven Gods."

  Samwell curled his lips secretly, noncommittal.

  Just when he was secretly glad that he had passed the test of the sept, he heard Brother Ivan say again:

  "By the way, Mr. Caesar, I hope you can agree to a small request." "

  "Continue ."

  "I want to teach the children in the orphanage."

  Samwell took a deep look at the monk, but shook his head and said,

  "Thank you for your kindness. However, I have already arranged for someone to teach the children."

  Ivan smiled slightly, unexpectedly there was no entanglement, he just a nodded in approval.

  [END]