You call this the god of etiquette?

Chapter 139 Three Towns Alliance
"Lord Pusner, I believe that with your wisdom, you can easily see the benefits of establishing an alliance between our three border towns."

In a transparent cabin lit by sunlight, Fast leaned forward, with a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

This is the accommodation area on the Ur River. It is a special area established by the "Belstad" official to receive foreign dignitaries.

Of course, there are standards for "VIPs". Many foreign nobles who are qualified to participate in the silver-level tasting party cannot even get a room, not to mention those participants in the bronze-level tasting party.

It's usually only during the Gold Tasting days each month that the accommodation area gets a little more lively.

And a day like today should be a normal day.

The accommodation area became lively because of an unprecedented "Northern Conference".

Leaders of various churches in the north responded to the invitation of Archduke Eden and gathered in "Belstad", the majestic "Gateway to the North".

Since the locations of each town are different, the specific time of the trip may vary, so most tour groups will set aside enough time.

In the end, most of them arrived at "Belstad" early.

Therefore, in the days before the meeting, clergy from various churches in the accommodation area naturally began to contact each other and exchange information.

Pusna, the mayor of "Dock" and the leader of the Psalm-Tune Religion, also came to the guest cabin attached to the mansion assigned to the Black Gift in "Belstad" at the invitation of Iger. , met with Bishop Fast of Father Earth Church.

Pusner's face has soft lines, revealing a calm and easy-going atmosphere.

Rather than being a powerful mayor, he is more like a young painter studying at Devonzel University.

However, after listening to Fast's speech, the "young painter" did not give a direct response, but just nodded lightly.

Fast had no choice but to turn to Eagle for help.

He certainly didn't want to sound so groveling if he could help it.

In other words, given other choices, which bishop would be willing to put himself in such a humble position?
It's just that he really needs to ease his relationship with Psalm Tune.

In order to stabilize the situation, the Church of Father Earth had actually lost the "Talek".

The temple left in "Dock" is the spark of revival he left behind for the church to recover in the future.

He must keep this fire at the lowest cost possible, so that the church will avoid the dilemma of having to be trapped in the town of "Ephe" in the future.

If this meant he had to give up some personal dignity, he was more than happy to do so.

Ige pondered for a while and turned to Pusner:
"Lord Pusner, I think Lord Fast's proposal of the 'Three Towns Alliance' is very good."

"Especially now that the Northern Conference is about to open, we are in the same north, and there are no disadvantages in being united."

"It's just that Ephesus really needs to show more sincerity."

Fast nodded frequently when Ige spoke at first, but when he heard what happened later, his expression froze.

Good guy, we are obviously an alliance of the three towns, but you want us to show "sincerity", right?
Why don't you pay?

But when his thoughts changed the next second, he had to admit bitterly that it was indeed "Fuyi" who needed this alliance the most.

Fast had already received the news before he left for "Belstad". The Gift of Black and the Tune of Psalms signed a large paper pulp supply order worth hundreds of gold coins.

The two churches are now at war with each other.

In comparison, Father Earth Church is more like an “interferer”.

Iger didn't know the bitterness in Fast's heart, but in his opinion, this matter was not complicated at all.

The weak should yield to the strong.

Among the three churches present, the Ceremony in Black is undoubtedly the strongest, so it should have the power to divide the cake.

The Church of the Earth Father is currently seeking the tune of the Psalms.

Wouldn't it be natural for Father Earth Church to pay more?

After listening to Ige's words, Pusner smiled on his face.

That's why he likes to deal with the Black Ritual.

Although the Psalms are the church of the God of Poetry, and most of their church activities are pragmatic poetry gatherings, when it comes to actually dealing with the world, they are very pragmatic.

If they were not pragmatic enough, it would be impossible for them to agree to become vassals of the Balance Church, let alone have a town of their own - even if the town was not yet completely under their control.

And Black Clothes Ceremony's rather realistic style of conduct is just to their liking.

If you want the Psalm Tune to give up suppressing "Dock"'s Father Earth Temple, and even completely reconcile and form an alliance with Father Earth Church, then you have to show real benefits!

After Ige finished speaking, Pusner immediately followed up with approval:
"What Mr. Eagle said makes sense."

"Our three towns are closely related neighbors, and strengthening cooperation is the general trend."

"But at times like this, the more we need to build mutual trust first."

"Only when everyone trusts each other can the alliance go further."

At this moment, Fast still couldn't tell that this so-called "mutual trust" meant that Father Earth Church should provide sufficient benefits.

When the benefits are enough, "trust" comes.

Feeling aggrieved, Fast still smiled and nodded in response:
"Of course, Lord Pusner, Lord Ige, and the Church of Father Earth are willing to make their own contributions to the alliance."

"Recently, Fuyi, just like Tarek, has started to implement a pioneering plan."

“This is an opportunity to show the friendship between our three towns.”

"I cordially invite the Tune of Psalm and the Rite of Black to join us in our pioneering mission."

“As the host, our church is willing to provide special conditions such as priority land selection, preferential land prices, and priority allocation of irrigation facilities.”

"What do you think of this?"

The scene fell into silence.

Neither Eagle nor Pusner answered Fast's question, which made him feel embarrassed for a moment.

Looking at the two "Friendly Religion Leaders" with unchanged expressions, Fast secretly scolded them for being greedy, but he had to put forward new conditions:
"Two adults, besides that, I'm still wondering, can we enjoy the benefits of the road to prosperity together?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pusner's face changed, and Ige frowned slightly.

The Road to Prosperity brings prosperity to both Tarek and Eph, but it is an extremely unsightly "harm" to the Psalm Tune - it diverts most of the time that should pass through " Doc" caravan heading to "Talek".

So there was nothing wrong with Fast using Road to Prosperity as an entry point to try to convince Pusner.

But "Talek" is still at the other end of the road to prosperity.

If the benefits of Fast's transfer obviously harmed "Talek", it would be absolutely impossible for Igor to agree to it.

Fortunately, the bishop of Father Earth Church, who stabilized the situation of the church in one year, does have a big-picture perspective and did not lose his head because of his eagerness to please the tune of the psalm:

"The road to prosperity started in Ephesus, but it is able to play its current role only because of the joint efforts of the churches in the three towns in the north."

"Therefore, in addition to partially opening up the right to purchase land on both sides of the Prosperity Road to religious friends and granting preferential conditions, Physi also agreed to transfer some of the stations along the road belonging to Physi to Tarek and Dok."

"Station?"

Pusner didn't understand why the topic suddenly turned to the inn at first, but he realized it after thinking about it for a while.This is relinquishing some of the control of Father Earth Church over the road to prosperity!

Stations are extremely important to any road, including the road to prosperity.

It consists of at least three parts: the main building that provides food and accommodation; the stables for horses to rest; and the outpost responsible for road safety, combating bandits along the way, and delivering information when necessary.

As far as Pusner knows, there are about twenty stations along the more than 300 kilometers of prosperity road.

Almost half of them belong to "Ephe", that is, about ten.

But now, Fast is willing to give up part of the ownership of the inn, which is equivalent to allowing Psalm Tune to use the inn as a fulcrum to intervene in the road of prosperity and share the benefits.

The income of the station itself is a considerable amount, and it can also obtain additional sources of intelligence and directly grasp first-hand information on the "serious problem" of the road to prosperity.

In addition, after participating in the pioneering of "Fuyi", the soldiers deployed at the post station can also take care of the protection of farmland.

An attractive offer indeed.

Eagle also felt that this proposal was much better than the dry "participation in pioneering" at the beginning.

However, just saying this is a bit general.

"Lord Fast, how many inns do you plan to transfer, and how many of the Rites of Black Clothes and the Tune of Psalms can you get?"

Iger's question also touched Pusner's heart, and he then turned his attention to Fast.

Fast sighed inaudibly.

He knew that the blood would not flow out today:

"My idea is that the Rite of Black and the Tune of Psalms can each choose two of the eight inns outside the suburban inns."

"Three seats, please."

Pusner and Iger looked at each other and gave an answer in an understatement.

"Two adults, three inns for one is too much!" Fast shook his head when he heard Pusner's words, "In that case, there will only be three inns left."

"Our church has always been honest. Once we agree to transfer the ownership of the inn, we will not secretly build a few more."

"But I also hope that the two adults can preserve the basic dignity of Father Earth Church."

Fast's words were sincere, but there was no sign of impressing Pusner.

Eagle knew that now was the time for him to speak.

The value of the Stations on the Road to Prosperity is completely different for the Tune of Psalm than for the Rite of Black Clothes.

The Ceremony of Black Clothes already has twelve inns.

If it weren't for the fact that he could better grasp the trends at the other end of the road to prosperity, Fast's proposal to "transfer the station" would actually be as attractive to him as "jointly pioneering".

Now that Pusner has moved on, it doesn't hurt to be a good guy here:
"My lords, a good relationship between the three towns will indeed be of great benefit to us all."

"In this case, we, the Gift in Black, are willing to take a step back."

"All we need is ownership of two stations."

After saying that, he stared at Fast, his face showing the awe-inspiring righteousness of giving in for justice.

Fast paused and glanced at Pusner, who was smiling and silent. He knew that when the matter reached this point, there was no room for negotiation.

He gritted his teeth and finally agreed:

"Okay, you two adults, it's settled!"

"very good!"

Ige stood up first, smiled and said to the other two:

"Then I guess we can call each other allies."

Pusner also stood up, first shook hands with Iger, thanked him a few words, and then turned to the relieved Fast:
"Lord Fast, I think there will be more opportunities for Doc and Fo to work together in the future."

Fast also forced a smile and responded while shaking hands with Pusner:
"Yes, Master Pusner."

"Our alliance will remain unbreakable."

"Belstad" is divided into east and west cities by the Our River.

The two cities are simultaneously surrounded by a magnificent 20-meter-high city wall, with two breaks naturally formed at the north and south ends of the Ur River.

The suspension bridges at the north and south ends each belong to a majestic city gate.

At the top, arrow towers and battlements are arranged on both sides, extending infinitely to the end of the field of vision.

Despite the city's size, its interior is well planned.

The streets are wide and straight, connected by alleys.

Workshops, factories, shops, etc. are usually concentrated in specific areas and divided according to different industries.

For example, blacksmith workshops are concentrated in what locals call the "hot air area", and tanneries are concentrated in the "black water area."

Even shops selling necessities such as salt and sugar are located in the "food area".

Like "Talek", it's rare to see all kinds of workshops, shops, and vendors pushing carts on one Nimman street at the same time.

Iger took his personal guards to inspect the urban planning and customs of "Belstad", and finally stopped in front of an arch bridge.

This is an exquisitely designed stone bridge across the River Our.

In order to ensure the passage of ships, a navigation hole was opened under the bridge.

The bridge deck is wide enough to accommodate several carriages passing side by side.

There are flat walkways and stone railings on both sides.

Pedestrians come and go for a walk and enjoy the river view.

There are also children chasing and playing with each other without interfering with the carriage.

Iger remembered the scene he often saw when he looked out the window of his house on Layton Street when he was still the "Delusional Iger" -

Pedestrians in a hurry, broken doors and windows.

In the center of the picture, there must be children fighting for broken toys in the sewage, all dirty.

"Belstad" is such a nice city!

It's a pity that I don't know how long this kind of leisure can last.

Iger couldn't help but recall the news that Pusner mentioned at the end of the meeting a few hours ago, as the leader of Psalm Tune, a vassal of the Balance Church, and also a member of the newly established "Three Towns Alliance":

"War is inevitable!"

　Thanks to Qian Lanmeng, reader 20190514175147777158304, Crown of Thorns, and the monthly pass for the Forgotten Garden Resurrection!

　　Thanks to Ling Yumu for the 100-point reward!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)