The forces in Cold Wind City scolded Victor and Hugo too much. Old Borg was scolding, and Bruno, the dwarf foreman of the forge, was also scolding. He was grabbing a glass of sloshing ale and slamming it on the wooden table, accompanied by
There was a clanging sound and a loud shout:
"Our lord is so evil. He is violent, cruel, and ruthless. He is the most terrifying monarch in the world. Anyone who disobeys him will die, including you."
In front of the wooden table were a dozen stout dwarves with long beards, all glaring angrily at Bruno who was bragging. They were hill dwarves, and they were enemies of the gray dwarves from the Underdark. Both sides disliked each other.
Bruno was shaking his head as he drank, his face flushed. The ale in his glass was a highly distilled alcoholic beverage, and one whiff of it would make you dizzy. However, this guy had already drank half of the barrel, and his tongue was tied when he spoke.
Even though he was very drunk, Bruno still didn't forget to brag and brag hard.
"No one in Cold Wind City will buy your junk. Your weapons and armors are all defective, and they are so expensive. Who would want them? The lord will definitely not buy them.
The entire Northland is buying products from Cold Wind City. Our products are good and cheap, and the time from order to delivery will not take more than a month. Can you do it? You can't!"
Bruno was so excited that he pointed to the wall next to the table, "Look at the weapons hanging on the wall. These are all made by our forge after a second upgrade.
The secret of quenching and annealing that you regard as a top secret is not a secret here at all. The formula for adding magic elements is known to all the lords.
The skills you have honed over decades are nothing compared to high-temperature furnaces and hydraulic forging machines. Our apprentices can create master-level products in just one year. How long will it take you?
What's more important is that your output is too little, really too little. Our forge's output in one day is equivalent to your tribe's year. How can you compete with us?
The entire weapons and equipment market in the North is occupied by Cold Wind City, and you can't defeat us at all. So, you all have to die, starve to death, die of poverty, hide in the tribe and cry to death!"
Bruno yelled loudly, his body swayed, his short figure swooped downwards, and fell under the table. Within a few seconds, you could hear him snoring below.
Before the glass of ale was finished, Bruno was also knocked down when he fell down. The wine spilled from the table, and some fell on his face. This guy also knew how to drink with his mouth open, and kept smacking his mouth.
The hill dwarves at the table were all silent, each other angry and frowning.
The rise of Cold Wind City has had a huge impact, not only making it difficult for the human nobles in the North to adapt, but also causing different changes in the production and life of other races.
The most obvious thing is that the price of metal products in the Northland has dropped significantly. The heavy-duty carriages of the 'Harmony Chamber of Commerce' have sold indispensable commodities to every corner of the Northland.
Among them, weapons and equipment are second to none, but daily tools such as pots and pans are the best-selling items.
In the past, Old Borg was considered a rich man because he had a big pot in the Voodoo Swamp. Now basically every household in Coldwind City has a complete set of cooking tools. This has brought about huge changes in life.
Agriculture in Cold Wind City is developing rapidly, but there is still not enough food to eat. Selling metal tools in exchange for food has become an indispensable trade.
The cost of this kind of dumping is that the Northland dwarf tribe that originally engaged in this business will soon be unable to survive.
No matter how hard the dwarves tried, they could not withstand the three dams and seven hydraulic forging machines of different specifications that Zhou Qingfeng built in succession.
As Arcee's understanding of machinery deepened, and as Zhou Qingfeng's level increased, heavier spare parts were brought in. Today, Fu Qiang's most powerful hydraulic forging machine uses a 150 kilogram forging hammer.
Mo Ji even installed a small hydraulic press with real parts to produce delicate small pieces of metal.
As for metal smelting, it has developed by leaps and bounds. The precise use of trace elements allows the forge to produce low-level magic equipment.
The newly built iron-making furnace, combined with the coke oven, can produce twenty to thirty tons of molten steel every day. Modern technology has allowed Hanfeng City to develop by leaps and bounds in the manufacturing industry.
In terms of metal products, regardless of quality or output, the dwarves have absolutely no way to survive.
As time goes by, the situation will get worse. Arcee and Sophia are trial-making a small-horsepower steam engine. The key cylinder and crankshaft can be brought to Zhou Qingfeng from reality.
Even sealing artifacts such as rubber gaskets can be used directly.
When the steam engine breaks through, not to mention the dwarves, all blacksmiths in Faerûn will feel threatened.
"Except for magic, don't think of anything else to trouble Sir Victor Hugo." Bruno fell to the ground and muttered, "If you don't surrender now, when will you do it?"
The hill dwarf turned to stare at Bruno under the table. Someone whispered: "Is this bastard really drunk? Is he pretending?"
Another dwarf shouted angrily: "This guy must be scaring us. Gray dwarves are not dwarves. They are in the same group as the dark elves and are very cunning."
As soon as he said this, the gray dwarves on the ground stopped talking or smacking their lips, only snoring like thunder. The dozen or so dwarves at the table still had sad faces, facing painful choices.
The product dumping in Cold Wind City has driven the dwarf tribes in the North to bankruptcy one by one. This race does not know any other production except mining and blacksmithing.
Lord Hugo is open to purchasing ore, but the income from mining is too low, and the money earned is not enough to buy wine. The dwarves are always in a dilemma, and they have to gather together to make a request to Cold Wind City - can they sell less iron?
Innocent!
When Zhou Qingfeng heard this request, he sent the gray dwarf Bruno to negotiate with several dwarf leaders. He did not set any negotiation requirements, but just let Bruno take care of it.
The gray dwarves were cunning and sinister. They threatened the hill dwarves when they saw them. They took out the products of their forges and showed them to these distant relatives, telling them that they would die if they did not surrender.
They were obviously here to discuss business and quotas, but they received death threats. The hill dwarves were so angry that they wanted to start a war. But the boastful Bruno fell down drunk, and they couldn't argue with a drunkard.
There are some swords, axes, and armor hanging on the wall next to the table, all of which have a faint magic wave. This is the effect of the correct doping of trace elements. They are either reinforcement, magic resistance, or sharp.
It is also easier to enchant these equipment again and the effect is better. Just buy one of these weapons for two to three thousand gold coins, and it can become a treasure passed down by low-level nobles for several generations.
But this thing is just a common item in Cold Wind City, and it is a standard product that can be equipped in large quantities.
The dwarves had visited the infantry regiments of Cold Wind City during the day. Among them, the Rock Infantry Battalion had just completed its expansion, and the impact of three hundred heavily armed infantry was extremely intimidating.
Several dwarf leaders conveyed information with their eyes and communicated silently with gestures at the table. After a while, they kicked Bruno, who was lying drunk on the ground, "Gray Dwarf, get up. Stop pretending, let's talk again."
Bruno jumped up and yelled angrily: "You are the dwarf, your whole family is dwarf, your whole family is dwarf. Why do you call me a dwarf?"