Lord of Industrialization

Frederick once asked a certain former great thief how they used to stop and rob merchants.

A former big thief who did not want to be named said that they used to be very friendly to passing merchants, but a tree fell on the road and blocked the road. They asked the merchants for some hard-earned money to help move the tree.

If there is a strong person in the caravan who shows his strength and blows up the tree, they probably can't defeat them, so they can only watch the caravan pass by.

But now there are no big trees on the road ahead. There is a guard box on the roadside with a railing blocking the road. The toll charges are written in several languages ​​on the wooden sign next to the guard box.

As for the toll collector, he does seem to have the toughness of a bandit.

Fontana asked the bandit leader curiously: "Halfface, why are you here to collect money?"

Frederick was also looking at half of this man's face curiously. The right side of this man's face was burned by the fire. He was tall, not like a poor man, but more like a knight, and he looked familiar.

Half of his face said to Fantana: "You'll be beaten to death if you have a crooked nose and no eyes, that's all."

"Let me make it clear to you first, now the money is not calculated according to the number of horses, but according to the number of wheels."

Fontana was startled and asked hurriedly: "Why have the rules been changed? How should we calculate it?"

Half of his face said helplessly: "Can you not change it? It's not like you don't know that there are horse-less carriages in the Principality of Wesson. I won't be able to receive money if they come over."

"Do you know how the crooked nose died? This spring, the fiancée of Archduke Wesson passed by in a car like that. He couldn't get the money and made some rude remarks. As a result, he was slapped by Mrs. Wesson's guard. Slap your head up the mountain."

Fontana shook his head and said, "I told you a long time ago that he will die with that broken mouth one day."

"How much does it cost now?"

Frederick curled his lips aside. Maria's escorts were all from the expanded female soldier company of the Guard Regiment. The entry requirements were to be able to use cold weapons to hunt back seven wolves in the mountains, and to be guided by the sword master thereafter.

Not to mention the bandits, some veterans in Wesson's army suffered a lot at their hands.

The toll was quickly negotiated there, and it was almost the same as before.

Half-face waved, and soon a large group of people came over, holding all kinds of things in their hands, selling to the merchants in the convoy.

What they sell are leather goods from the mountains, skewers made of wild beast teeth, and combs made of sheep horns and other gadgets.

Fontana whispered to Frederick: "Sir, you can buy whatever you want. You can't leave without buying it."

Frederick said helplessly: "It seems that they are very nice people. They can obviously use it to rob them, but they actually give them away."

Half of his face was a little nervous and he said to Frederick: "Uh... well... we paid the tax to the master. We have a lot of money, and it's not just to make more money."

Frederick felt that this person looked more and more familiar, but Fontana said nothing. He bought a comb and said that he should put it in his luggage bag when he returned to the bus.

When he walked away, he followed him with half his face pretending to be on patrol.

Seeing that no one was around, Frederick asked in a low voice: "Who are you?"

Half-face replied: "My lord, when you hanged that man, I was the one who delivered the letter to you for Archduke Byrne. His face was injured in Hanma City."

"We were ordered to sneak in here and capture the bandits."

Frederick understood that a distant relative of Archduke Byrne had killed a young girl in Weissenburg, and there had been letters exchanged on the matter.

It seems that the Principality of Byrne attaches great importance to this railway and has already begun its layout.

Frederick nodded, indicating that he understood.

When he opened the curtain of the bus, he saw that the nun who was traveling with him was eating a sausage roll. He just took a bite and hurriedly hid behind him when he noticed someone coming in, puffing out his cheeks and feeling a little nervous.

Frederick got into the carriage, put the comb in his bag, and said with a smile: "What are you afraid of? The barbecue buffet restaurant in Oak City was destroyed by your seminary students."

After he finished speaking, he took out a bottle of happy water and placed it next to the nun, and then said: "Be careful not to choke."

After saying that, he ignored the nun and got out of the car to continue chatting with Fontana.

As the convoy continued to move forward, Fontana said to Frederick: "In recent years, there have been more merchants on the road. Our union has come out to discuss with the lords along the way, hoping to set rules. We pay taxes. Apart from bandits and roadsiders, they The beast.”

"At first, the lords ignored them. Most of the bandits were their black gloves. They can't collect taxes as quickly as they can steal money."

"The situation has changed in the past two years. Archduke Wesson fought a war and killed two principalities in order to keep the trade routes open."

"Then the late Emperor passed away and Queen Anna ascended the throne. Not long after, Archduke Byrne sent an envoy."

"The envoy said that this road is an important trade route for Grand Duke Wesson to make money. He is also the lover of Queen Anna. If he wants to fight you, Queen Anna will definitely help him."

"The messenger also said that when Archduke Wesson's demon army kills you all, it will be time to take back all the land to the royal family, and then it can be given to their illegitimate children."

"Not long after, Queen Anna sent another order, requiring the territories along the way to take care of the safety of merchants on the trade route."

"At this point there are still some people who don't take it seriously."

"Later, Duke Marie, the Protector of the Country, came for a visit. She hid in a caravan and was robbed by bandits on the way. The bandits and the lord were all hanged for treason."

"Now all the lords have to be obedient and let those bandits collect tolls and repair the roads at the same time."

Frederick realized that this railway might not be that simple, and the time point was much earlier than he expected.

When Ferdinand died, the Archduke of Bavaria attended the funeral and Anna's coronation ceremony as the plenipotentiary representative of the Rhine Alliance. I am afraid that at that time, an agreement in principle had been reached on this railway.

But this is normal. After all, the Kingdom of Sardinia is rich. If the Duchy of Bavaria has a railway connecting it, it will benefit a lot as a transportation hub.

Frederick asked Fontana again: "If the railway is opened, people and goods will buy the railway, won't your team have no business?"

Fontana said helplessly: "What can we do? We can only think of other ways."

"There is a railway station planned near my home. At worst, I can break up the team into small pieces and deliver goods to places in the mountains where trains cannot reach."

"There are still many good things in the mountains. If they are transported out, they can be sold at a good price."

Frederick nodded. The forest resources and animal resources in the mountains are quite rich, and stone is a scarce commodity. The sculptures of the German Cathedral and the Edelweiss Library are mostly made of stone there.

"Ah, it looks like it's going to rain." Fontana suddenly pointed to the dark clouds in the sky ahead. "The rain in the mountains now comes in bursts. If you are lucky, the clouds will pass in a few minutes. If you are unlucky, it will take a day or two and you will have to spend the night in the wild."