Volume 3 Chapter 155 Viscount Leslie’s determination
“Master, does it still hurt?”
Seeing Xu Yi touch his lip, Linda asked in a concerned voice.
Xu Yi shook his head with a bitter smile, “It does hurt, but with this appearance, it won’t be good if I go home. If Still were to see this, how would I explain it…..”
Linda covered her mouth to laugh.
“Who had master be careless and let Princess Caroline force a kiss. If the madame saw this, she would definitely know what happened.”
Xu Yi angrily glared at her, “If Still asks, I’ll just say you bit me!”
“The madame wouldn’t believe this, she knows that I wouldn’t be this bold.”
Seeing Linda secretly laugh, Xu Yi gave a helpless sigh as he thought that he wouldn’t be able to explain this.
The best method was honestly just to tell Still and try his best to get her to forgive him.
Seeing that the Magic Car was about to enter Anvilmar City, Xu Yi shook his head and didn’t think about this.
After getting off, Xu Yi brought Linda to Count Sean’s residence.
Housekeeper Lahm received a notice from Count Sean two days ago and knew that Xu Yi would arrive today, so he prepared everything. When he saw Xu Yi and Linda appear, he came forward to welcome them.
“Chairman Xu, Viscount Leslie and Baron Hannas are already waiting for you.”
Xu Yi was surprised, “Viscount Leslie? When did he come back?”
Before Housekeeper Lahm could answer, a laugh came from inside.
“I’ve been back for half a month, I never thought that I would be able to see you today.”
Xu Yi looked over with a gaze of pleasant surprise before moving over with a smile.
“Lord Viscount, long time no see!”
Viscount Leslie laughed, “Xu Yi, you are a viscount yourself, you can’t address me this respectfully anymore.”
Xu Yi quickly shook his head, “I’ve always been respectful to Lord Viscount. This isn’t related to the laws of the Royal Parliament, it’s purely because of the respect in my heart.”
Viscount Leslie turned to Baron Hannas nearby, “Look, after not seeing each other for two years, Xu Yi’s become better at speaking compared to before. It’s no wonder the Frestech Chamber of Commerce is developing this well.”
Baron Hannas gave a shrug, “I think that he’s right, otherwise wouldn’t I have to call you Lord Viscount every time I saw you?”
Xu Yi and Viscount Leslie looked at each other before breaking out in laughter.
“Alright, let’s ignore the rules of the nobles. We’re all old friends, we can call each other what we wish. Xu Yi, just act like Hannas and call me Leslie. No matter what, you are a very famous person in the kingdom, you’re not a small merchant like before, you can’t be as respectful to me as before.” Viscount Leslie said.
Xu Yi hesitated a bit before nodding, “Alright, Vis…..Un, Leslie, do you have any plans now that you’re back?”
“There is something that I wanted to discuss with you. I discussed with your company’s manager Flaime before, but he told me that he couldn’t make the final decision and needed to wait for you.”
“Discuss with me?” Xu Yi was a bit confused. He looked over at Hannas with a questioning gaze.
Baron Hannas shook his head. Viscount Leslie laughed as he took Xu Yi and walked out.
“Come, I’ve already ordered a room at the Chanel Restaurant! You can’t leave without getting drunk tonight!”
Xu Yi could only helplessly look at Housekeeper Lahm to take care of Linda before he was pulled out by Viscount Leslie and Baron Hannas.
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“Speaking of the northern army, it really was difficult.”
Viscount Leslie gave a deep sigh as his eyes filled with memories and emotions.
“You might have never thought that in the cold environment of the north where one could freeze to death at any time, there were many soldiers that didn’t even have a coat.”
“Wouldn’t many people freeze to death?” Baron Hannas on the side couldn’t help asking.
“Not that many froze to death.” Viscount Leslie shook his head, “But the few people who did freeze to death weren’t lies.”
Baron Hannas and Xu Yi looked at each other, as they revealed a slight trace of unwillingness.
The banquet was half over and the wine was half gone. When Viscount Leslie heard the two of them asking about the northern army, it was like a recorder had been turned on and he kept spewing out words.
“Why are the physiques of the northern army soldiers good? It’s because of the cold days that they have to keep practicing to stop themselves from freezing to death. But because there aren’t enough supplies, they can’t eat their fill, and there’s plenty of training, their bodies can’t keep up. But they freeze to death if they don’t train. So every winter, the northern army decides the training based on their supplies. They even need to change the plan every few days or people will die.”
Xu Yi couldn’t help knitting his brows, “I heard major MacConley say that the northern army’s expenses each year is at least two hundred thousand gold coins. Although they don’t have enough for good equipment, shouldn’t it be enough for them to eat their fills?”
Viscount Leslie looked at Xu Yi and gave a cold laugh, “Two hundred thousand? Do you know how much is actually used on the northern army soldiers in the end?”
Xu Yi was speechless.
Although he didn’t have much contact with this, he could guess from the rumours from major MacConley that there was serious corruption in the royal army. The kingdom’s finances distributed two hundred thousand gold coins for expenses, but there were less than fifty thousand gold coins used on this.
In this situation, the northern army could hold on for so many years and not let the Sack Kingdom take a step forward, it could be seen how strong and determined the northern army was.
“Then what about these days? His highness Eric is leading the northern army, so there wouldn’t be a lack in provisions, right?” Baron Hannas asked, “His highness wants to win this war and build prestige for himself, so I think that he definitely wouldn’t mistreat the northern army soldiers.”
“Is that so?” Before Viscount Leslie left the northern army, his highness Eric had invited him to a luxurious meal. He gave another cold laugh and didn’t say a thing.
When Viscount Leslie stopped speaking, they fell into silence.
Xu Yi looked at Viscount Leslie and Baron Hannas in deep thought, so he gave a light cough and asked Viscount Leslie, “Let’s not talk about these discouraging matters. Vis…..Leslie, you said that you have something you wanted to discuss with me and it was related to your plans? What is it?”
Viscount Leslie put down his wine and said with a serious look, “I discussed this matter with manager Flaime before, but he couldn’t contact you, so I’ll say it again. Xu Yi, I want to build a household magic machine workshop with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, what do you think?”
Xu Yi was stunned, “You want to cooperate with our company? In your name or in the name of your Stagg Family?”
Viscount Leslie said with a smile, “I’m not the family head, of course I can only represent myself.”
Xu Yi knit his brows, “Your family won’t object to you doing this?”
“This is my matter, they aren’t qualified to object.” Viscount Leslie waved his hand, “Xu Yi, just say it, is it possible or not?”
“Of course it is. Actually, Leslie, you had shares in our company before and if you didn’t give them up, you would be a major shareholder in our company and wouldn’t need to discuss cooperation with me.” Xu Yi sincerely said.
“There’s no need to mention things of the past and to be honest, I’m glad that I made such a smart decision back then. Otherwise because of the stocks I had in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, those fellows back at the family might try to force me to do things.”
Xu Yi and Hannas looked at each other, they could see the worry in each other’s eyes.
They could tell from Viscount Leslie’s words that the situation wasn’t good in the Stagg Family after his return.
And in this situation, he actually wanted to build a household magic machine factory. Wasn’t this clearly going against his family?”
“Leslie, have you thought of the consequences?” Xu Yi asked in a deep voice.
Viscount Leslie revealed a faint smile, “Relax, I know better than you when it comes to this matter.”
Xu Yi nodded and took a deep breath before saying, “Alright, since you’ve made your decision, I’ll fully support you as your friend. Speak, what kind of magic machine factory do you want to open? How do you want to cooperate with our company?”
Viscount Leslie shook his head, “The type of factory and type of cooperation doesn’t matter, I just need to work with your Frestech Chamber of Commerce.”
Hearing this response, Xu Yi and Baron Hannas both took a cold breath.
If they were just guessing earlier, they were now certain.
Viscount Leslie was clearly going against the Stagg Family and facing them head on!
But although he was the eldest son of the current head and the most likely successor, going against the family like this wouldn’t be good for him.
The Stagg Family was one of the most powerful noble families in the kingdom, their power was not something one person could compare to.
What would Viscount Leslie use to go against his family?
Xu Yi was silent for a bit before slowly asking, “Leslie, standing with our Frestech Chamber of Commerce and supporting her highness is something that I want you to do, but as your friend, I sincerely hope you won’t do this since there’s no benefits to you.”
“Right, you’ll only suffer doing this. How about you forget it?” Baron Hannas also advised.
As someone from a large noble family, Baron Hannas knew better than Xu Yi what kind of courage and price one would need to pay if one went against their family.
Viscount Leslie shook his head, “In this world, there are some things that you want to do even disregarding the price.” After pausing, he added, “Especially after two years of training in the northern army.”
Seeing Viscount Leslie’s determined expression, Xu Yi knew that it was no use trying to convince him. After thinking about it, he reached his hand out to Viscount Leslie.
“Alright, Leslie, I officially welcome you into the magic machine industry.”