Volume 2 Chapter 192 Keeping the seeds of flame
Xu Yi didn’t faint from happiness, but he did almost jump from joy.
Having private territory, that was one of his dreams since he came to this world.
Understanding the society of the Sines Continent, he knew the importance of having territory.
When he set up the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, especially when Baron Belil had expelled them from the Stagg Family’s territory in Banta City, he wanted his own territory even more.
There were many advantages to having his own territory. Other than not being casually expelled by others, Xu Yi could change his territory as he wished and no one would dare say anything because that was his right as the lord of the territory.
Other than that, the most important thing for Xu Yi was that after receiving territory, Xu Yi could boldly create the foundations for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce there and make a long term plan based on it. He didn’t need to worry about strange circ.u.mstances that he would have to deal with pa.s.sively.
To put it simply, Xu Yi was king in this territory, he could do whatever he wanted and other people couldn’t interfere.
So when he heard Seveni say that he would be receiving territory, Xu Yi immediately gave out an excited cry. He pumped his fist before quickly asking Seveni, “Where is this territory? It’s best if it’s not that far from Banta City and it’s best if it’s not too small. You should at least let me put down a few factories, don’t you think, your highness?”
When Xu Yi treated Seveni courteously before, it was because he was dissatisfied and wanted to object, but this time he was too happy and had unknowingly used it.
Seveni saw Xu Yi’s flattering look and couldn’t help pursuing her lips into a smile. After a bit, she said, “Honourable Lord Viscount Xu Yi, if you had to choose your territory, where would you want it? And how big do you want it?”
Xu Yi replied without any hesitation, “Of course it’s the Falling Rain Valley. As for the size, it would be best if you could give me all of the Falling Rain Valley, but I know that this idea is too much, so…..”
“No, this idea isn’t too much.” Seveni cut Xu Yi off.
Xu Yi was stunned, “It can’t be, right? Could it be…..Could it be…..you’re really giving the Falling Rain Valley to me?”
Seveni nodded with a faint smile, “That’s right. I’ve discussed it with royal father and we’ve fought with the Royal Parliament to give you the Falling Rain Valley as your territory. Moreover, it’s even been expanded to a total area of twenty square kilometers. How about it, are you satisfied with this?”
“Yes! Very much!” Xu Yi immediately broke out in laughter as he excitedly looked around, not knowing how to express the emotions in his heart. He suddenly came forward and hugged Seveni, patting her on the back as he loudly shouted, “Your highness, I really have to thank you! From this day forth, I am your loya fan!”
Seveni was scared by Xu Yi’s sudden action, but feeling the strength in Xu Yi’s arms and smelling the scent that came from him, her face couldn’t help turning red.
Actually, this was her first time being this intimate with a man other than her royal father, she didn’t even hug her two big brothers. Now that she was being intimately hugged by Xu Yi, she wasn’t used to it, but strangely she didn’t dislike it, rather it felt quite comfortable.
This feeling was something she felt when her royal father hugged her when she was younger, she hadn’t felt it in a long time.
In the end, Xu Yi reacted and quickly let go. He took two steps back and explained to Seveni with an awkward look, “This…..your highness, sorry. I was too excited and I couldn’t help myself…..I didn’t do it on purpose…..”
The blush on Seveni’s face slowly disappeared. She shook her head before saying with a faint smile, “It’s fine, I understand the excitement in your heart. After all, it has been a long time since our Lampuri Kingdom has granted a n.o.ble territory. But Xu Yi, I always thought that you would keep your calm and wit, I never thought that you would become like this when you became excited.”
Xu Yi laughed, “There’s no other way. All people have this time, I’m not an exception. It’s harder to control yourself when you become excited.”
Seveni suddenly gave a soft sigh, “It seems like you’ll only show your true appearance when you’re with young miss Still, it’s hard for others to see it.”
Xu Yi said with a shrug, “If you want to see it, you could just get along with me like Still.”
As soon as his voice fell, Seveni’s face turned red again. Xu Yi was surprised before he reacted.
These words were too crude, it could even be considered s.e.xual hara.s.sment.
It would be too meaningful to explain at this time, so the two of them fell into a strange silence.
After a while, Xu Yi gave a soft cough before asking Seveni, “That…..your highness, why is the Royal Parliament suddenly agreeing to give me territory after the Lampuri Kingdom hasn’t granted territory in several hundred years? Am I really that special?”
“Giving you special treatment is of course because they have a special request for you.” The blush on Seveni’s face slowly faded as she said to Xu Yi with a serious look, “Xu Yi, royal father and I hope that you and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce can keep researching more military magic machines. Although we have the advantage in the north against the Sack Kingdom, it’s far from being able to defeat the Sack Kingdom. In order to solve the problem of the northern border permanently, royal father hopes that you can create some more easy to use military magic machines and a.s.sist in defeating the Sack Kingdom.”
Xu Yi was silent for a bit before saying with a sigh, “Your highness, although I understand his majesty and your thoughts, let me speak the truth for a bit. Although a war seems to be a compet.i.tion between the ability and equipment, or military weapons of countries, it is actually a compet.i.tion of economic conditions. Don’t you feel that the kingdom spends quite a bit of money on the northern border each year?”
“Of course I understand this, but there’s no other way here. The Sack Kingdom and our Lampuri Kingdom’s grudge hasn’t faded since the day our Lampuri Kingdom was formed. If we don’t fight back, our country will be destroyed by the Sack Kingdom.” Seveni said in a helpless voice.
“I’m not saying that fighting the Sack Kingdom is wrong, rather I wanted to say that money is an important factor in deciding a war. To give an example, the Magic Trebuchet is easy to use, but it costs the army headquarters one thousand gold coins to buy one. With the current situation of the army headquarters, how many can they even afford?” Xu Yi asked.
Seveni looked at Xu Yi with a look of hidden bitterness, “Isn’t that because your Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s price is too high?”
Xu Yi immediately said in an aggrieved voice, “Your highness, this isn’t because of our high price, it’s because the costs are high. Not mentioning anything else, just the steel required for a Magic Trebuchet costs several hundred gold coins. Then there’s no need to mention manpower, research, and other aspects. For the Magic Trebuchets that we sold to the army headquarters, our company is close to losing money!”
“It would be strange if I believed you.” Seveni rolled her eyes at Xu Yi, “Although you might not earn much, I wouldn’t believe that you would be losing money.”
Xu Yi laughed, “Alright, even if we don’t lose money, we are a company and we do need to earn a bit.”
Seveni helplessly shook her head, “No matter what, you’re right. The army headquarters and the kingdom can’t withstand the heavy military budget, so royal father and I gave you this territory in hopes that you would make some contributions to the kingdom.”
“If people pay me, I’ll help them with their disaster. Since I’ve received this large benefit, I should give something in return.” Xu Yi gave a nod, “But your highness, it’s still the same problem. Even if my company develops more military magic machines, how will the army headquarters pay for them? If you want our company to pay for it, we can’t do that. So in the end, to solve this problem, you have to develop the economy of the Lampuri Kingdom and raise its financial power.”
“The problems that you mentioned are things that royal father and I are clear on, otherwise do you think that royal father would take such a large risk on Banta City and accept those old stubborn fools’ test? Why would we insist on giving you this piece of territory at this time?” Seveni asked back.
Xu Yi thought about it before giving a nod, “Alright, I understand. It seems like his majesty and your highness wants to put your hopes in me and our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, there really is quite a bit of pressure……”
“With great power comes great responsibility and pressure. I think that you remember that you said this to me before.” Seveni said, “Xu Yi, you have already proved that you have the ability to change Banta City. Royal father and I believe that you have the same ability to change the Lampuri Kingdom. The success of a single city like Banta City isn’t important. If you can shut the mouths of those stubborn conservative n.o.bles, allowing royal father to promote the magic machine industry across the entire kingdom, bringing prosperity to all the cities of the kingdom that rival Banta City, it’s worth it even if Banta City was destroyed.”
“You’re saying that you want to preserve our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, this seed of flame?” Xu Yi asked.
“Yes.” Seveni gave a nod with a serious face, “Xu Yi, you and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce are the hope of the magic machine industry, this seed of flame. As long as you and the Frestefch Chamber of Commerce are preserved, I believe that this seed of flame will erupt into a greater flame in the future that will light up the entire Lampuri Kingdom. Do you believe this?”
“Who do you think I am?” Xu Yi revealed a confident smile, “I am certain that this seed of flame will turn into a powerful flame of industry that will not only light up the entire Lampuri Kingdom, it’ll sweep across the entire Sines Continent!”
(Volume 2 «Fires of Industry» end.)