Section 9 Trade Road ()

A young businessman came up, bowed to Schwab openly, and knelt in front of Schwab on both knees. He took off his hat and placed it on his chest, revealing a golden hair shining in the sun, and his blue eyes stared at the ground in front of him.

"Sir, this is the merchant from Nassau." Old Lauke said to Schwab. Schwab looked at the merchant in front of him, curious about his youth, but still enthusiastically asked him to stand up.

"What's your name?" Schwab asked him gently.

"My name is Rupert, my lord." Rupert lowered his head and did not dare to look Schwab's eyes. Rupert knew very well how to show humility in front of a noble, otherwise the noble could take his life and take away all his property at any time.

"Oh, please don't be restrained, Rupert, my friend." Schwab was a little uncomfortable with Rupert's respect and Shenwei, and patted his shoulder easily. Schwab's actions surprised Lao Lauke and Rupert. Nobles with noble ancestry would not call a profit-oriented businessman a friend, but as a time traveler, Schwab did not realize this.

"Thank you, the kind Lord." Rupert's blue eyes were filled with tears. He felt his disobedience and quickly lowered his head again.

"What's wrong? Is there anything you have?" Schwab looked at Rupert strangely, thinking that he had done something wrong, which made the handsome guy cry, and decided not to talk nonsense and ask him clearly what he was going to do first.

"That's right, merciful Lord, I petition you on behalf of all the merchants from Nassau." Rupert said this and looked at Schwab's face secretly. Seeing that Schwab had no unpleasant expression, he continued. "We came from Nassau to come to Hanorway and must pass through your territory, but the guards of your territory said that we must pay 40% of the toll tax. Of course, we know that you collect the toll tax on your own territory is a natural right given to you by God, but it is really hard to bear after such a long journey. Please ask Sir, you can give mercy to reduce the tax by a little."

"Is this happening?" Schwab asked Old Lauke.

"Of course, the right of the princes to collect tolls is the right of the princes. After all, it is your land that passes, not to mention that the tolls we collect is already lower than the surrounding territories, which has already made the other princes dissatisfied." Old Lauke said in embarrassment. Rupert also knew that this was the truth, but his luck this time was very bad. He was robbed by robbers many times along the way, and most of the losses of goods would be lost if he had to pay tolls.

"Hey, isn't this a merchant who exchanged for linen?" Rude, the dwarf who was sending the horse back to the stable, shouted. He stared at Rupert in front of him with his little eyes.

"What's going on?" Schwab asked.

"That's the case." The dwarf Rud told Schwab about the incident. Rupert nodded quickly and said that it was true. Schwab thought for a while and said. "So, Mr. Rupert, you have helped me."

"It is our honor to serve the Lord." Rupert is worthy of being a businessman, and his ability to observe words and expressions is not inferior to that of later generations. He immediately beat the snake and said on the stick.

"Since that's the case." Schwab thought about it. Although the toll tax seems to be able to collect money for the time being, it is not conducive to the circulation of commerce. Schwab's territory is very small and there is basically no future for agricultural development. According to the experience of later generations, one is to expand the land, and the other is to vigorously develop business. Now, you basically don't think about it. Thinking about Schwab even had a group of robbers. It is too unrealistic to expand immediately. Moreover, through these days' understanding, Schwab also has a rough understanding of the world. All the lords around Schwab have a marriage relationship. Moving one is equivalent to moving a group of people. In this way, only by the way to develop business and having a lot of money can we arm his army and develop his territory. "I grant you the right to freely pass my territory."

"What did you say? Oh, God, I'm not dreaming." Rupert couldn't believe his ears. The right of way only exists among nobles. For example, one noble wants to visit another noble, but they are separated by other nobles' territory. Then when passing through the territory of neutral nobles, the right of way must be obtained. But I have never heard of the right of way between nobles and civilians. When merchants pass through the territory of any lord, they must pay toll tax. This is the consensus of this era.

"Yes, I will issue an order that you and your caravan will not have to pay any tolls when passing through my territory."

"Thank you very much, the kind and generous Lord." Rupert's heart was full of passion. The acquisition of the right of way means that the opening of his trade route in the future, and the reduction of costs will increase the profit he earned several times. However, Rupert also had doubts in his heart why this Lord was so generous to him. He would not naively think that he would obtain such a precious right of way if he provided linen once. "If you have any instructions, I will do my best."

"Well, I hope Mr. Rupert can help me a little bit." Speaking to smart people is easier, Schwab touched his chin and said to him. "I want to ask you to see local specialties. If you may hope you can help us sell it, it will be a blessing for the people of Markburg if you succeed."

"Oh? What kind of specialty is it?" Rupert was very curious. It was not the first time he came to Fort Mark. He had never heard of any specialty here. If it weren't for the neighbouring Han Ruowei, no merchant would have been willing to pass this place where birds do not shit.

"Rode, go and take our specialty papers." Schwab kicked the dwarf, who was still in a daze, and he woke up and ran towards the papermaking workshop. After a while, the dwarf Rude and two workers carried a stack of papers and came to them.

"This is." Rupert looked at the thin paper in front of him. He had never seen such thin paper. Could it be some kind of cloth?

"It's paper." Schwab looked at him proudly. The paper made of fir was rougher than Schwab's post-era paper, but it was definitely much thinner than parchment made of sheep's skin in the Middle Ages.

"Paper?" Rupert looked at the paper incredibly and couldn't help but touch it with his hands. It was very smooth as silk. Of course, this was the first time I saw a person who made paper in later generations. With an exaggerated feeling, Old Lauke also came over curiously. He had been engaged in cultural career and knew the value of this paper very well. He blushed excitedly and suddenly knelt in front of Schwab, begging Schwab and stretched out his hands.

"Can the Lord give me a piece of paper like this to me?"

"Oh, okay." Schwab didn't expect Old Lauke to be so excited. Thinking of the fact that there are still many places to ask the old monk in the future. Schwabruo hesitated for a moment, then nodded and lifted up a few pieces of paper and handed it to him.

"Thank you, generous Lord." Old Lauke took the paper excitedly, his hands trembling, making the paper rustle. He quickly stood up and ran to his room with the paper, where there was a bottle of ink he had treasured.

"Well, this paper is completely different from the parchment I have ever seen." Rupert admitted that if this paper could be popularized, it would bring him countless wealth, but can the nobles and monks who are used to parchment accept this thin paper? "Generous Lord, I will bring these papers to Han Ruowei to try my luck."

"Very good. There will be a dinner in my castle tonight. I invite you and your friends to attend." Although Rupert did not say enough, Schwab understood this kind of businessman's little thoughts. You should know that Schwab came from the post-era era when business was extremely developed.

"Thank you, generous Lord." Rupert felt very honored to receive an invitation from a nobleman.

After seeing off Rupert, Schwab took off his armor and William quickly caught it. These armors were very easy to rust and had to be oiled and polished every day. Otherwise, when you need them, you will find that they have already become a pile of scrap iron, and the attendants become professionals in nursing equipment. These attendants are served by children from low-level noble families. They are exercised in helping knights care equipment, feed horses, and do housework until one day their efforts are recognized by the knights, thus gaining the opportunity to become a knight. Of course, to become a knight, there is also a certain amount of economic power to support the purchase of horses and equipment.

"Little William polished my armor so that they could shine brightly on my shadow." Schwab wore the chain mail inside and pinned the mace around his waist. Compared to the sword, he liked this kind of heavy weapon that was more convenient than the sword. Schwab sat on an oak chair and watched as William carefully wiped his breastplate. The sun shone on Schwab's body warm, making him a little sleepy. Schwab shook his head and wanted to make himself clear, because he still had many things to consider, such as how to arrange a dinner tonight. Schwab really couldn't stand the food here, and maybe this also needed some change.

"Little William took me to the kitchen." Thinking of this, Schwab could no longer sit still, and could not let the poor diet here destroy his future eating habits, Schwab decided that he could no longer rely on the fatty cooks. Although William thought about Schwab's habit of one thing and had not yet reacted, his obedience made him immediately place his armor. Under the leadership of William, Schwab came to the kitchen of the castle, which was a building built in a southwest corner of the castle.

It relies on the tower of the castle and opened a thick wooden door on one side of the tower. This wooden door can directly lead to the hall inside the tower. Of course, from the perspective of safety, the kitchen is built with stone and is as strong as the tower. Its roof is flat and built on the eaves and is built like battlements. If you place a guard on it, you can fire crossbows on the roof to attack the enemy downward. At this time, black smoke was emitted from the chimney of the kitchen, and the chef was slaughtering a rooster outside the kitchen.
Chapter completed!