Chapter 95
The establishment of the newspaper offices in the territory of Achiyoli Territory and the Anas Kingdom has gradually gotten on track. It took a long time for Cyrus to receive a reply to the letter that Qing Tuan sent to His Holiness the Pope.
He hoped to establish a news agency in the Saint Airo Empire, because to assign people to collect and even investigate information, it would be necessary to consult with the "official" authorities.
--With constant conflicts between countries, it is very difficult for foreign merchants to establish themselves in other countries.
Moreover, as an independent great lord and the owner of the Thorn Merchant Guild, Cyrus's rash decision to allow his exclusive forces to enter the Saint Airo Empire would likely be seen as having ulterior motives.
In addition, Cyrus had previously set a trap for people.
The Ed Merchant Guild and Marquis Gary Phoebe are now extremely hostile towards him. Even if they don't hate him, they will definitely try to sabotage him in secret.
When His Holiness the Pope did not reply to him quickly, Cyrus guessed that the matter was likely not progressing smoothly, or even difficultly, in the Saint Airo Empire.
Cyrus took the letter from the outstretched claw of Qing Tuan.
As expected, His Holiness the Pope mentioned in his reply that both the Saint Airo Empire and the Ed Merchant Guild were hostile to his plan to establish a newspaper within the Empire.
The Saint Airo Empire believed that he would use the establishment of the newspaper office as a pretext to secretly pursue other purposes.
--The Lord of Desinia traveled to the Anas Empire to help Queen Minina steal the spotlight at her birthday banquet...
Later, when the Anas Empire was in a state of division and under imperial blockade, he was able to escape unscathed and smoothly, without being affected in the slightest...
Therefore, it is now widely rumored in the Saint Airo Empire that the ultimate instigators of the split of the Anas Empire were Orville Achiyoli and Archibald Cavendish.
But Desinia was definitely involved in this whole affair.
Judging from his current alliance with the two, it's clear that Desinia is also involved in the plan to overthrow and split the Anas Empire.
He deliberately used White Sugar Formula as bait, causing King Puli to fall into the trap without any precautions, and those implicated by him also quickly met their deaths...
Therefore, the Saint Airo Empire had good reason to suspect that Desinia's plan to establish a newspaper in the Empire was ill-intentioned and had ulterior motives.
Cyrus: "..."
A group of people with a serious case of overthinking.
The reasons why the Ed Merchant Guild resisted the establishment of the newspaper store are simple.
One reason is that I lost a lot of gold coins because I was scammed before.
Although the person who blatantly tricked the Ed Merchant Guild was a subordinate of Grand Duke Achiyoli, the Ed Merchant Guild later learned that a diplomat from the Desinia Territory had visited the Bia Kingdom at the same time.
As soon as the mayor and diplomats of Komoy Fort left, papers detailing the White Sugar Formula were suddenly thrown into the streets of the Bia Kingdom, becoming known to everyone. This directly led to a dramatic devaluation of sugar and candy prices...
In this way, the White Sugar Formula that the Ed Merchant Guild had spent a lot of money to buy instantly became a piece of waste paper, completely useless.
--The president of the Ed Merchant Guild was so angry that he almost had a heart attack.
Most importantly, the president of the Ed Merchant Guild later learned that Marquis Phoebe had also been swindled out of a large sum of gold coins because of the White Sugar Formula...
The Grand Master only needed to think carefully to realize that this was clearly a conspiracy between Achiyoli, Cavendish, and the Lord of Desinia!
He and the Marquis Phoebe were in shock for several days as a result...
Secondly, it's simply due to the hostile relationship between the chambers of commerce.
The Thorn Merchant Guild has risen too fast in recent years, almost catching up with established chambers of commerce like theirs that have been around for a century.
Not only does the Thorn Merchant Guild sell unexpected new items every year, but its affiliated shops also keep popping up one after another.
For example, clothing stores and cosmetics specialty stores—the profits they can generate are staggering and truly enviable.
Moreover, the Thorn Merchant Guild and the Nagabi Merchant Guild have established a close cooperative relationship... This undoubtedly makes the Ed Merchant Guild feel threatened.
In his letter, Segalot said that although the newspaper could be established within the Saint Airo Empire, it would inevitably face joint suppression from the Empire and the Ed Merchant Guild.
The final result will undoubtedly lead to the abandonment of the newspaper office.
The Holy See can support the establishment of newspapers, but it cannot openly show favoritism or protect them.
After reading the letter, Cyrus thought to himself, "Ah, he has put His Holiness the Pope in a difficult position."
So he wrote back—thanking His Holiness the Pope for his help.
Since establishing a news agency within the empire was proving extremely difficult, he decided to take a step back and have diplomats within his territory first negotiate with the Bia Kingdom to explore the possibility of establishing the news agency in Bia...
After all, the Bia Kingdom no longer wants to be a vassal state of the Saint Airo Empire, and is very likely to take the initiative to accept the mission.
Bia is a neighboring country of the Saint Airo Empire, and having the newspaper stationed in the Bia Kingdom would not only protect it from resistance but also allow it to keep abreast of the situation in the Saint Airo Empire.
After thinking it over, Cyrus nodded in satisfaction, and then had Qing Tuan deliver the reply to the Pope.
His Holiness the Pope quickly received a reply, "..."
He couldn't openly show favoritism, but he could do it secretly... However, Little Rose probably didn't understand the matter of a little coquetry...
Leaving aside His Holiness the Pope's slightly depressed mood.
Cyrus immediately dispatched Nat to the Bia Kingdom to discuss the matter of establishing a newspaper, and the final result was gratifying: His Majesty the Bia Kingdom agreed to cooperate in establishing the newspaper.
By the time these important matters were gradually resolved, it was already the dead of winter.
As the weather gradually turns colder, people don't like to go out much except for necessary work.
The Thorn Merchant Guild Guild's newspaper shop has launched a new service—people within the territory can subscribe to newspapers monthly or yearly, and the newspapers will then be delivered to their homes by delivery personnel.
Monthly and annual newspaper subscriptions offer discounts and are cheaper than buying a single newspaper.
The nobles didn't care about the money; they enjoyed the pleasure of having their newspapers delivered to their door.
They not only subscribed to newspapers within their territories, but most of the nobles also subscribed year-round to newspapers published in the Achiyoli Territory, the Anas Kingdom, and the Bia Kingdom.
Light snow began to fall that day, and Visas was gradually covered in silvery white.
Two newsboys, one big and one small, dressed in thick clothes and carrying bags, walked into the tavern.
As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the irresistible aroma of beer, cabinets overflowing with bottles, and waiters bustling between tables and chairs... The older newsboy couldn't help but sniff hard, his face filled with longing.
Outside the tavern, it was quiet and deserted, but inside it was lively and warm, as if they were in two different worlds. The bell under the door jingled, attracting the attention of the people inside.
The two newsboys were frequent visitors to the tavern, so much so that the regulars who came to drink there all knew them.
One of the bearded men, sitting in a chair, called out to the older newsboy, "Little Mark, what's new in today's paper?"
The boy named Little Mark had messy hair that looked even when it was pressed under his hat.
He had freckles on the sides of his nose. Hearing this, he wrinkled his nose and said rudely, "There's plenty more interesting stuff. Buy a copy and see for yourself!"
Someone immediately mocked, "Yeah, Old Rutt, can't you read it yourself? Did you spend all your money on alcohol and can't even afford a newspaper? Haha!"
The people in the tavern burst into laughter without any restraint after hearing this.
Old Rutt's face turned red, embarrassed and annoyed. He simply beckoned Little Mark over and bought a copy of every newspaper.
He snorted and took a sip of wine, then sat down in a chair and opened the newspaper of the Bia Kingdom, pretending to read it.
Old Rutt hadn't been looking for long when he slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed excitedly, "The Saint Airo Empire has actually been driven back by the Bovell Kingdom!"
"Hiss—are the people living in this Far Northern Highlands country really this powerful?!"
Even the Empire's cavalry couldn't defeat them?!
He exclaimed with a wide grin, his loud exclamation piquing the curiosity of everyone else.
Anyone who tried to peek over was immediately shooed away by Old Rutt: "Go away! Buy it yourself!"
"Who cares?"
The man curled his lip and beckoned the newsboy to toss him a newspaper about the Bia Kingdom.
Someone immediately shouted, "Little Mark, give me one too!"
"I don't want the newspaper from the Achiyoli Territory, just give me one from the Bia Kingdom... no, no, I'll give you another one from that Grand Duke's territory."
The man muttered, "Didn't the last newspaper say that this Grand Duke built a wild animal park on his territory? I wonder what kind of animals he keeps..."
Little Mark and his newsboy friend kept going back and forth in the pub, and soon they had almost sold out all the newspapers they had brought.
But in the end, there was still a little left.
Once the tavern patrons no longer needed the newspapers, Little Mark, his cloth bag now light and flimsy, licked his lips. He glanced longingly at the beautifully colored beer, but ultimately resisted the urge and pulled his friend out of the tavern.
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He wanted to sell the remaining newspapers quickly so he could get back to the courtyard and continue reading the Tales of the Gods.
Cyrus was also curled up in the study reading the newspaper.
He was very curious about the Bovell Kingdom in the Far Northern Highlands, and having learned from the newspapers that the Bovell Kingdom seemed to have some connection with the Trak Kingdom, he asked Reinog and Yadai about it.
Reinog and Yadai explained to him that the Trak Kingdom had split apart long ago, and the Bovell Kingdom was one of the parts that split off.
They were defeated and driven further north.
The area is covered by ice and snow year-round, disappearing in spring, summer and autumn, leaving only cold or extreme cold.
When the extreme cold season arrives, the mountains are sealed off by heavy snow, making them impassable. People from the outside cannot get in, and people from the inside cannot get out, making life extremely difficult.
But it was precisely because of such a harsh environment that all the surviving Povil people were tall, strong, and incredibly fierce.
I heard that they tamed the wolves in the snowy mountains, and because it was cold all year round and fire was difficult to preserve, they also changed their diet, eating raw flesh and blood...
Reinog stopped there.
Then he recalled some rumors he had heard about the Povil people before the Trak Kingdom was destroyed, and said, "The current Bovell Kingdom worships the White Wolf King of the Snow Mountain, and I heard that the king keeps a pack of wolves... but the wolf king is not White Wolf."
"Pure White Wolf are very rare."
"The White Wolf," Cyrus sighed.
098 went on another trip.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of gift 098 would bring him this time... He remembered mentioning before that they had a group of felines but no canines...