I will be crowned king

Ding!

Anson gently put down the fork in his right hand, picked up a napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth while looking at the remaining apple tart on the table with recollection.

This delicious home-cooked dessert from the Northern Empire is as simple as its name: use crispy pie crust as a base, top with carefully cooked applesauce, top with fresh apple slices, and finally bake it in the oven. .

Because the preparation is simple and the main ingredients are very common (flour, apples, butter), and it is in line with the heavy taste of Clovis people, it is common in cafes and restaurants in Clovis City and North Port. It can be regarded as one of the most popular places in Clovis. This is the most affordable version of "Geyingren Imperial Cuisine".

But compared with the one in front of me, all the apple tarts I had tasted before were only worthy of being called "apple-flavored" tarts.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?"

Reinhard, dressed as a chef, walked to the dining table with a smile and casually hung his hat and apron on the back of the chair: "I hope it's not too bad... I haven't made an apple tart in about two years, so I'm a bit of a handicap."

"It's simply perfect." Anson praised without hesitation and took out his pipe from his arms: "I once had an apple tart in Beigang that was said to be 'authentic'. It was very different from this one - it was a different variety of apples. The reason?"

"Ah...this is the most common mistake that regular diners and novice chefs make."

Reinhard couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth, and sat down while shaking the fork in his hand: "People are always accustomed to taking the word literally, thinking that the quality of the apple determines the success or failure of the dessert. To a certain extent, it is exactly the opposite... Yes, if It’s an apple with great sweetness and texture, which will definitely add a lot of flavor to it.”

"But don't forget, this is a home-cooked dessert! The farmers who first invented it could get a stove and pick a few crisp and sweet apples. It was not easy. They couldn't force any varieties... No, no, no , the most critical thing is the temperature and the puff pastry on the outside.”

"Puff pastry?"

Anson asked with a smile.

"Yes, it's a very easily overlooked part, right?" Reinhard picked up a piece of apple tart and took a bite:

“But in fact it’s quite difficult to make…the ratio of flour to salt, the fineness of the butter particles, the softness of the dough, how to ensure that it is heated as evenly as possible when it goes into the oven and turns into a crispy golden brown. "

"When I make this dessert, I can always put myself into the role of a sharecropper's wife: my husband worked hard to get apples and sugar, there is not much butter at home, the salt was just bought on credit, and half of the ground wheat flour is used for winter. Prepare for the New Year banquet.”

"In order to surprise the hard-working husband and the children who are waiting to be fed at home, this wife who also works hard all day must be very careful and think over and over how to use extremely limited materials to make the whole family smile and see the sincerity on their faces. Rather than trying to squeeze out a smile to comfort yourself!"

Reinhard's expression was quite serious, without any exaggeration at all; it was as if this dessert had transcended itself and been given a deeper meaning.

Anson listened patiently, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised:

"I didn't expect you to be an excellent cook."

"I prefer the title 'foodie'." Reinhard shrugged:

"It's hard not to find some interest when you're one of the youngest children with no hope of inheriting the family business - because your parents only care about your marriage, not you."

"Food can replace parents and teach a child many things... You have to do things step-by-step, pay attention to details, learn to make trade-offs, be careful and conscientious, understand history, and consider issues from the different perspectives of the producer and the customer at the same time... …”

"Like...apple tart."

Anson raised his eyebrows.

"Exactly." Reinhard leaned back slightly and relaxed on the back of the chair:

"Delicious apples and jam are important, but everyone can see this; whether you can put enough effort into the pastry and work hard on it determines its success or failure - just like New World Bank."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"I have been thinking about it for a long time, hoping to merge New Continental Bank and New Continental Corporation."

Faced with Anson's inquiry, Reinhard did not hide it and went straight to the point: "Instead of letting the two 'New World Enterprises' do their own thing, it is better to merge them into one and become a company that combines investment, development, pioneering, security, and transportation." industry, a real New World company!”

"I have asked Colonel Fabian and your secretary, His Excellency Alan Dawn, about the Shooting Army and the New World Company; this kind of paramilitary large-scale trans-regional organization has extremely strong financial needs; and New World Bank is a bank that uses coal mines and steel as its ultimate collateral and has a high demand for secure transportation and postal services."

"If the two operate independently, they may cooperate at first, but in the end they will definitely develop their own financial and security units to facilitate management. I personally think that this kind of reinventing the wheel is a huge waste. It will also lead to a meaningless competition for talents and resources, which is far less beneficial than merging the two into one!"

After learning in detail about the functions of this so-called "New World Company", Reinhard's instinct as a businessman told him that Anson Bach was definitely not just a fig leaf for his army of servants called the Shooting Army.

He is establishing an extremely complex and sophisticated organizational system for controlling and operating all colonies!

If the "Declaration of Freedom" and the League of Promises were to create an imaginary community for the imperial colonies, defeating the imperial army was to actually make the colonies have to accept the intervention of the Storm Legion. The newspapers in each colony were publicity and collection The mouth, tongue and ears of information...then New World companies and banks are the last and most critical link in the entire system.

Reinhard, who was born in the Empire, has a deep understanding of how to truly connect the six colonies that are independent of each other and unable to interfere with each other, and how difficult it is to issue orders to them.

In a sense, the six colonies are microcosmic "empires"; although the emperor has authority in name, he is essentially just one of the rulers, which is completely different from the absolute centralization of power in the Kingdom of Clovis; in freedom In the Confederacy, the so-called "Supreme Council" and "Confederate Governors" are not even as good as the Imperial Emperor, and it is almost impossible to interfere in other colonies.

And Anson Bach...he obviously found a way to solve this problem from the ruling logic of the Clovis Kingdom.

Concentrate most of the country's wealth and army in the capital (the lord's castle), and use the most power to suppress all parties. This is what the knights and warlords of the Dark Ages understood; but how to use this power most effectively?

postal.

An efficient, fast, and hierarchical information transmission system; transmitting information that occurs in an area from one location to another in the fastest and safest way.

Not only information, materials, troops, wealth... can all pass through this channel, but they can also complete the most efficient gathering and projection in the shortest time; through postal routes, the originally semi-independent areas are connected to each other. .

The reason why Reinhard was able to realize this quickly was because he had witnessed the "power" of this power with his own eyes.

Black Reef Port, Sailing City, Red Hand Bay...the reason why these colonies dare not accept Cedric's proposal is not only the storm division's previous power, but more importantly, they believe that once they commit an act of betrayal, the storm division can quickly deal with it. They exact revenge.

The so-called "Confederation" is just an empty shell on the surface. The "New World Company" that is about to be established is the institution that rules and manages the New World colonies. If the bank wants to obtain the maximum benefits as soon as possible, it must actively join... Reinhard has this point Believe it or not.

"Even so, I still suggest you not to make a decision so quickly." Anson bit his pipe and said: "This is a very big step, involving many interests."

In fact, even if Reinhard didn't say it, this is still within Anson's plan, but it is definitely not now; according to the expected plan, after a long-term cooperation, the two parties will gradually get closer through frequent business contacts, and finally realize the integration naturally. the result of.

Now that the other party wanted to merge as soon as they came up, he was not only surprised, but also somewhat doubtful that there were some problems that he didn't know about...

"No, I've already thought about it, it's absolutely true!" Reinhard raised his hand and interrupted:

"To be honest, Cedric stole my idea when he changed the name of Coal Mine Bank to 'New World Bank'; the reason for choosing this name is to facilitate the two parties to face less resistance when integrating into one company, and to make it more convenient for investors. We accept it.”

"And once the merger is completed, New World Company's business scope will become broader and it will be easier to attract investment from outsiders." Reinhard pushed the dinner plate on the table and leaned forward slightly:

"Let me remind you that the current investment that Ice Dragon Fjord has obtained from the local area is partly due to the strong support and support of the Franz and Cecil families, plus the leading effect of the Roland family; partly it is due to the security provided by you in terms of force. Guarantee to make trade flow safe and unhindered.”

"For a local chamber of commerce or financial institution, this may be enough; but for a bank destined to span the entire New World colony and far away from the world of order, she must have the power to protect herself!"

"Merging with the New World Company, 10,000 Shooting Army soldiers will be able to provide this guarantee - especially when our business scope extends beyond Ice Dragon Fjord and enters other colonies."

"But in this way, as the president of New World Bank, your power will be greatly reduced, which is not in line with the agreement we originally negotiated." Anson gave a kind reminder:

"Although it is just a servant army, it is still a military organization. No matter how much you and the Roland family behind you are willing to invest, I will not be able to give you much say."

"It doesn't matter." Reinhard shrugged: "As long as we can get corresponding rewards, I believe the family can understand this small change."

This is definitely not a small change, but the entire bank is directly merged into New World Company... The corner of Anson's mouth twitched.

From Reinhard's tone, he had probably guessed what this guy was planning - the merger of New World Company and the bank would, on the one hand, weaken the Roland family's say in the bank (to avoid family interference), and on the other hand, On the other hand, they can enjoy the conveniences of the Storm Division in the Free Confederacy (reducing costs).

Then as the person in charge of the money bag within the New World Company, he became the de facto "finance minister", with a status second only to the Luen family and himself.

If his prediction was correct, Reinhard Roland had already planned to break away from the control of his family, establish a new Roland family in the New World colony, and become one of the behind-the-scenes rulers of the New World like the Rune family.

To be honest, Anson doesn't object. After all, this can be regarded as a way for the other party to show loyalty - through deep binding of interests to show that everyone is a grasshopper on the same rope, which is helpful to the New World Company and to enhance the strength of one's own camp. .

The only problem is that this actually slightly harms the interests of the Luen family, which is equivalent to turning Reinhard Roland and the power behind him from allies into shareholders who share the cake.

Under the other party's scorching gaze, Anson was silent for a few seconds, then slowly took off the pipe from the corner of his mouth:

"I can't make a decision on this matter right away. I need to discuss it with some people before I give you an answer; but if nothing else happens, it shouldn't be a problem."

Anyway, the core interests of the Luen family are "evolution" and "immortality". Ruling the new world only provides them with a cover to avoid the forces of the Ring of Order. Thalia should not mind sacrificing a little part in exchange for stability.

Of course, the most important thing is that the 'Run Apostle' behind her should not mind.

Maybe?

Anson suddenly felt a little stiff.

"Then I'll just wait for the good news." Reinhard smiled slightly. Bow politely:

"I'm going to go to the construction site of the New World Bank in a while to have a look and push forward the progress. Are you interested in going with me and chatting about the recruitment of shooting army soldiers? I've thought of a good beast slave acquisition plan. "

"No problem, but I have to discuss with my secretary first and rearrange the original schedule."

Anson nodded slightly. Regarding the acquisition and training of beast slaves, the Shooting Army did need financial support from New World Bank.

While talking, a figure in dark formal clothes pushed open the door of the restaurant. Reinhard, facing the door, subconsciously stood up and prepared to leave.

But after he saw the face of the visitor, a confused expression appeared in his eyes: "You are..."

Before he finished speaking, the figure had already stretched his right hand into his arms, and at the same time, he quickly stepped forward and rushed toward Ansen, who had his back to the door.

"boom--!"