Chapter 8 Negotiation (II)

  Moreover, this also involves another level, that is, if a town forms such a relationship with a merchant group, then the prosperity of the town will largely depend on the performance of that merchant group. For a trading town like Seadenton, it's even more so. And Raymond and his people don't seem to be a merchant group that can make a lot of money...

  So Lambert actually started playing tricks on Raymond, it can be seen that although they were forced to seek help from Raymond, they were actually very unwilling in their hearts, so they tried to take advantage of Raymond's "unprofessionalism" to deceive him. Unfortunately, he met the sharp-eyed Freddy and was exposed on the spot.

  Exposed by Freddy, Lambert, Depero and Vanning all showed unnatural expressions, apparently they had reached a tacit understanding.

  Charlotte's face changed at the sight, as the mayor and at a time when they were discussing something that concerned the survival of Haddington. The three of them did this behind her back, which made her both shocked and angry.

  "Mr. Lambert, what are you doing?" She pulled the three of them aside and asked in a low voice.

  "Charlotte, you're still young and don't think things through," said Lambert with a sly tone. "Look at those guys, do they look like real businessmen?"

  DePero and Van Ning also said: "Yes, we are considering Haidington's future."

  "You...!" Charlotte was furious, trying to hold back her anger: "You are my elders, I have always respected your opinions. But this time, we absolutely cannot hesitate anymore, please believe me, if we don't make up our minds to drive away those robbers, Haidington will really be doomed."

  "So I think it's worth paying any price."

  "So, your vision is still too shallow. Even if they can drive away the robbers, what do you think will happen if Haidington is tied up with those people? Do you know how much loss we will suffer at that time?"

  Charlotte took a deep breath: "Sorry, I think what should be considered at this time is the residents of the town. When I became the mayor, I promised them that I would restore the prosperity of Haidington and give everyone a job."

  "Charlotte, don't forget who made you mayor!" Fan Ning threatened in a low voice.

  Charlotte glanced at the three of them and a resolute look appeared in her eyes. She said calmly, "Is that so? It's good that you know who the mayor is."

  "You..."

  Before the three of them could react, Charlotte turned around. However, before she could speak, Freddie bowed to Raymond and said: "Sir, since they don't want Haidington to be our base, let's use other conditions as an exchange."

  I don't know what Freddy wants to say, Raymond's eyebrows slightly raised. Freddy nodded to him, indicating that Raymond should be at ease, and followed him to turn around, with a gloomy smile: "So it's settled then. If we can drive away the robbers, you will get the same conditions as Reid, as a reward, how about it?"

  As soon as these words came out, Charlotte and Lambert's faces changed at the same time.

  Charlotte said incredulously: "How did you know..."

  Freddie's pale face revealed a sarcastic smile: "Isn't it strange? Actually, if you just think about it a bit, you'll know that for a big merchant like Reid to offer his help, of course, it wouldn't be enough with just a little money or making the town his base."

  "So, your terms must be even more extreme. I suppose it's either complete surrender or handing over control of Haidingtown, right?"

  "Who would have thought that this gloomy-looking man had such insight? Charlotte slowly let out a breath: "What's the point of that?"

  "If you're not satisfied with the terms we offered, then we'll take a loss and go by the terms you gave Reid. After all, we're just substitutes for him, aren't we?" Freddy said coldly.

  Only Freddy can say such "suffering".

  "Charlotte, you see? That's their true intention!" Lambert shouted in a fluster.

  Charlotte was taken aback for a moment. The conditions offered by Freddy were obviously unacceptable. However, they had been in the wrong from the start and couldn't blame others for making outrageous demands.

  She bowed her head deeply: "I apologize again for what happened earlier. But this request is really too harsh, please change back to the conditions we discussed before."

  "Let's go." Raymond said without hesitation.

  "Huh, really...really?" Because he answered so curtly, Charlotte could hardly believe her own ears.

  Only Freddy seemed to have anticipated Raymond's words. He turned around, bowed to Raymond, as if saying "I've done what I should do", and then sat down silently beside him.

  "Why not?" Raymond said with a smile: "But, like the boring trick just now, it's best to be the last time, can you guarantee that?"

  At this time, Lambert and others had already been made to lose face by Raymond and Freddy, and now they could only nod stupidly.

  "Alright." Raymond smiled slightly, his calm and terrifying gaze swept across the three of them: "Then it's a deal."

  Raymond neither thundered nor made any threatening remarks, nor did he mention what the consequences would be if it happened again.

  He calmly let the three make a promise, as if it was an unimportant matter. However, Lambert and the others, who should have been relieved, felt a chill run down their spines at this time, as if some instinct was reminding them that it would be best not to violate this seemingly casual promise.

  "I don't know what kind of psychological test Lambert and the others are undergoing, but Charlotte said gratefully: 'Thank you. Here, I promise on behalf of the mayor of Haidington that I will never go back on my word.'"

  "Alright then, let's get down to business," said Raymond, nodding. "How much do you know about those robbers?"

  "Those people suddenly appeared near Haidington about a year ago," Charlotte said. "According to the messages that have been sent back by those who were robbed, it can be known that there are roughly three groups of bandits, each controlling the surrounding areas leading out of Haidington, with a total number of around 600-700 people."

  "Wait a minute, you're saying there are three bands of robbers in total?" Raymond asked in surprise.

  Charlotte nodded: "Yes, they control different places, but they seem to be connected with each other. Last time a larger mercenary group went to clear them out, they were defeated by the bandits uniting together."

  "It's more troublesome than I thought." Rutz murmured.

  Charlotte thought he was worried about the number of bandits, so she said: "Although we can't maintain too many guards due to insufficient taxes, we can still gather around 200 people, hoping to be of some help."

  "Never mind that for now. The real problem is that there are actually three strong thief groups. It seems that before formally dealing with them, some preparatory work is still needed."

  Although the number of robbers was more than imagined, Raymond didn't take it to heart. The difference in numbers wasn't enough to pose a great threat. What was really troublesome was that they had split into three groups.

  "What needs to be done?" Charlotte asked hastily.

  "Leave this to me. Rest assured, within half a month, I guarantee that there won't be a single bandit left outside of Haidington."

  Although Raymond's group had only about a hundred people, for some reason, after two days of contact, Charlotte deeply felt that this group of people was not simple, plus Reed's recommendation, which inadvertently ignited a glimmer of hope in her.

  Maybe this time we can completely eliminate the bandits...

  "Right." As if remembering something, Raymond said: "Before cleaning up the bandits, I can probably still help you with some things. Does Haidington have any urgent and valuable goods to sell? I can send Dreya to transport them by boat to the Lovell Chamber of Commerce first, and then buy back some of the things you need."

  "Although I only have one ship available now, if we cooperate well, it's possible that they will send more merchant ships in the future and establish a solid trade relationship."

  "Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise and delight: 'Do you mean it?'"

  This time, even Mulroney and others couldn't help but be moved. It was only then that they thought of it, this guy was hateful, but after all, he had a connection with Reed, if they could get Reed's support through him, or even develop an ocean trade route, then the prosperity of Haidington might not be just empty talk.

  The three of them, still feeling somewhat resentful in their hearts, couldn't help but start rethinking their relationship with Raymond.

  Charlotte said with delight: "It's really great, because the trade route was cut off, we accumulated a lot of goods. If we can sell them through sea routes, making money is secondary, it will be a huge boost to the townspeople."

  Moriarty also said: "Now Haidington is seriously short of medicine, and special living supplies such as spices have been out of stock for a long time. If they can be replenished..."

  Just then, the door of the reception room was suddenly opened and a man rushed in, anxiously saying: "Mayor Charlotte, something's happened!"

  "The Rainbow Flying Fish" tavern, one of the few still operating in Haidington. However, at this moment, the entire tavern is in disarray, with broken tables and chairs and wine bottles scattered all over the floor, and faint bloodstains can still be seen on the ground, as if a fierce fight had taken place.

  When Raymond and others arrived, the fight had stopped, and the perpetrators were surrounded by the Haidington guard who had rushed to the scene. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that there were 7 or 8 drunken robbers, and Harlot was also among them.

  Charlotte inquired of the guards, it turned out that Harlot and his men had gone to a tavern for drinks, got drunk and tried to flirt with the barmaid, only to be scolded by other customers. Taking advantage of their numbers, they started a big fight, injuring several people, until the city guard arrived to stop them.

  It seems that Rutz's worries were not unfounded. After leaving the continent of Mojina and entering a safe environment, these guys immediately returned to their old ways, revealing their bandit nature. I didn't expect that just on the second day after arriving, they would cause such a big commotion.

  As they were under Raymond's command, Charlotte found it difficult to deal with them and signaled the guards to disperse and wait for Raymond's handling.

  Raymond walked up to the group of thieves without saying a word. Because of his past dealings with their former leader, the thieves were quite intimidated by him, and given the huge mess they had caused, they felt guilty and involuntarily lowered their heads, anxiously wondering what kind of punishment they would receive.

  "About time someone taught these guys a lesson." Freddy muttered.

  At this time, Rudes also understood the meaning of Raymond's words "they will come to the door by themselves" last night. Obviously, Raymond had expected that these restless guys would make trouble.

  If we can take advantage of this opportunity to kill a chicken and scare the monkeys, we will definitely be able to thoroughly subdue these bandits.

  At this time, a sudden noise was heard, and a large group of people rushed in this direction. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the remaining bandits, who had apparently heard the news and hurriedly came to support their companions.

  The most infuriating thing was that Bastar actually ran first with an excited face, as if he was afraid of missing out on some good show.

  The menacing gang of thieves caused the onlookers to gasp, and the nearby guards also tensed up, gripping their sword hilts. Charlotte remained calm and composed, only signaling them not to make any rash moves.

  "Meow, young master, what's going on? Has a fight broken out? Where is it?" Bastet asked excitedly as she ran up to him.

  At this time, the gang of thieves also saw Raymond and Rutz, and their arrogance vanished. Especially the tall beastman, his heroic pose of killing the leader "Grass Board Axe" with one blow still makes this group of robbers see it as a nightmare, and they dare not make trouble when the two are present.

  For a moment, whether it was the residents of Haidington or the group of bandits, their eyes all fell on Raymond, watching how he would handle this matter.

  Raymond said nothing, just slowly walking back and forth in front of the few people who were making trouble. His face was calm, and no thoughts could be seen in his heart, but the more he did so, the more it made people's hearts feel uneasy.

  Xin Dao thought that this time, they probably wouldn't be able to escape. The wine had scared awake more than half of Harlot's men. Xin Dao's throat was dry as he said: "Elder... Elder brother, the brothers have been worried and frightened for many days. Now that we've finally settled down, I wasn't careful and drank a bit too much..."

  "Have you had enough?" Raymond interrupted him.

  "Uh...of course it's enough."

  "What about you?" Raymond turned to the others again.

  The rest of the robbers didn't dare say more, and they all nodded repeatedly. But then, unexpectedly, one who hadn't fully woken up yet mumbled: "Enough? Of course not, bring...bring more wine..."

  "You idiot, do you want to die?!" Harlot was so scared that he grabbed the guy's collar and gave him a few slaps, while smiling and saying: "Boss, this guy is drunk, just pretend he farted."

  Who knew Raymond would actually turn around, take out a bottle of wine from the tavern and hand it to the man: "If it's not enough, then drink some more."

  Harold couldn't stop him, and that guy actually took the bottle and started gulping it down. At this point, almost everyone thought, "This idiot is done for."