Roland looked at Pero with interest, and suddenly laughed, "You're the first person to ask me that question," he took a sip from his glass and said in a relaxed tone, "There's no doubt that the Fortress of Long Song is mine, even if I'm not here." I do, however, need someone or a family to take care of the fortress for me. So, what you should be asking about is not the ransom, but the "proxy fee". ”

Broker...... Perro was no stranger to the term, and some discerning merchants would always look at the nobles who had a lot of output in their territories, but did not have the time or disdain to sell their goods for them. In order to obtain this right, they have to pay a sum of money in advance as a security deposit.

"How many golden dragons do you want?" he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"It's a long-term process, so you don't have to pay it all at once," Roland paused, "Thirty percent of the fort taxes every month, as well as a thousand worth of supplies, and the rest will be yours." ”

It's not outrageous, Pei Luo thought, as long as he can completely occupy the Changge Fortress, such a price can even be said to be fair. The other party was not joking, he confirmed this, and His Royal Highness the Prince really intended to do so.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Pero told himself in his heart. He and the prince are not enemies, the duke has been completely defeated, and the children will be deprived of the right to inherit, if the alliance of the six families cannot defeat the prince, who else can prevent him from actually owning the western realm?

"Your Highness, why don't you stay here, this castle is much bigger than the border town. ”

"You're actually trying to ask, why don't I manage the fortress myself?" Roland looked at a slightly embarrassed Pero and smiled, "There are many reasons, such as the fact that the forces here are too complicated, and it will take me a long time to straighten out the relationship between them, let alone profit from it." If you support a local nobleman, he must know how to govern the place better than I do, and it's a win-win deal. In addition to that, there are many reasons that you can slowly go back and think. The prince played with the silver cup, "By the way, if you were to be your deputy, you would not be able to take revenge on me for the duke, would you?"

"Of course not, Your Highness!" Perro replied immediately, although the last sentence was a little abrupt.

The duke is gone, and the first thing that comes to mind of the five families is naturally how to divide his territory, revenge, who cares?

However, Perot also knew that the reasons spoken by His Highness were not the real reasons. In the face of overwhelming power, he can completely cut down the leading opposition forces, and in a year or two at most, all the nobles will forget about the loser Ryan, just as Ryan has done in the past. But two years is definitely not enough time to build a border town into a big city like Changge Fortress.

His Royal Highness Roland must have a deeper plan.

"That's good, then the city ......"

"I'll act for you, Your Highness!" Perro blurted out, but his expression soon became hesitant again, "but, the King—no, I mean your brother, doesn't necessarily agree with this outcome. If he assigns a new duke to the West, I will not be able to confront the royal capital. ”

"You don't need to fight either," Roland tossed two letters in front of him. "Look at this, and the paperwork I found in Duke Lane's study. ”

Perot quickly finished scanning the contents of the letter, and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

The first letter looks like a secret letter, the new king Tifeko has fought the Queen of the Blue Water in Eagle City, and suffered a major defeat?The second letter is even more terrifying, the document is only halfway written, but the Duke of Lane wants to annex the North and become the king of independence has already been revealed on the paper. Since there is no ending, it is unknown to whom this paper is intended to be sent.

He immediately understood what His Royal Highness meant - there was no need to resist, because the new king was already too busy to take care of himself. Otherwise, the Duke would definitely not want to raise the flag and be independent, his elite knights are enough to defeat the Western Realm, but they are still much worse than the Knights of the Royal Capital.

The secret letter may have been forged, but it was indeed in the handwriting of Osmond Lane, unless the prince found a witch who could simulate someone else's handwriting...... He thought about it for a moment, and then dismissed the speculation.

There is no need for the other party to go to great lengths to deceive himself, acting for the Changge Fortress is not a one-sided transaction, if he can't gain a firm foothold in the fortress, His Royal Highness the Prince will not be able to make a profit either. Moreover, the duke designated by Tifeco will inevitably be the enemy of the four princes.

If Honeysuckle wants to be above the four families, he must rely on the support of the prince, and on the contrary, in order to ensure that his own treaty of interests is not abolished, the prince must also let the Hermon family sit more firmly in this position.

Thinking of this, Perro slowly stood up and bowed to Roland, "The Hermon family is willing to serve you. ”

"Very well," the latter nodded, "but it is not yet up to you to decide that you will act on your behalf." Let me start by asking you a few questions. ”

"Your Highness, excuse me. ”

"How are you going to deal with the forces that oppose you?"

"What is your estimate of the monthly tax revenue, and how can you guarantee a thousand worth of supplies?"

"If I ask you to do business, what will you do?"

“......”

Pei Luo originally thought that His Royal Highness just wanted to take this opportunity to learn about the information of the various nobles in the Western Realm, but he didn't expect the other party to ask such strange questions, as if he was testing his governance methods and business knowledge.

After a series of questions were asked, Pei Luo racked his brains to answer them one by one, and His Highness's expression became more and more satisfied. Eventually, he clapped his hands and said, "Yes, that's all for today." Once you've decided on the ransom of 3,000, you'll be able to redeem the Earl. Don't worry, I'll treat him well these days. ”

"Your Highness, the agency ......"

"It will also be revealed that day. Roland motioned for the knight to see him off.

Perro walked out of the hall with mixed feelings, and then saw Carter shove the Divine Punishment Stone back into his hand - the one that was still blue and translucent, and was worth fifty golden dragons.

"How's it going?" Roland looked at the nightingale that was showing his form.

"Well, it's mostly the truth," she shrugged, "much more sincere than the previous ones." Anyway, is it really okay for you to repeat the same thing to everyone? And those letters, all of which are confidential. ”

"Not everyone," the prince flipped through the list in his hand, "they all come from the five major families, and they are the only ones who are suitable to manage the fortress on my behalf." If the ability is not strong enough, even if you sit in this position, you will not be able to make the fortress work, and it will only plunge the forces into endless infighting. As for the news of Tifeco Wimbledon's defeat at Eagle City, it's not a secret, sooner or later it will spread throughout the Grey Keep, and all I have to do is make it spread a little faster. ”

And these two pieces of news came really just right, he thought, if it weren't for the second prince's fiasco, he would probably have to spend a lot of effort to recruit an agent himself—if coercion was used, the result might not be so beautiful.

"So...... Did you choose him?"

"If nothing else. "He was the first person to ask me about it, and initiative has always been the most important quality of an employee." And I didn't expect that there would be such people in the Five Great Families who were so proficient in administration and trade, I thought they would only ride on horses and kill and kill. ”

He found the name of Pero Hermon on the list and lightly circled it with a quill pen. (To be continued.) )