The six-member council dreams of suppressing these two opponents with unlimited potential, so that they can occupy as much share as possible.

If one of them could be defeated without using force, they would probably be able to laugh out of their dreams.

As a nobleman with very high political sensitivity, Sir Crispian sensed huge opportunities.

He had a hunch that if he could really use this opportunity to hit Baldur's Gate hard, he would definitely be able to gain huge support in the Council after returning, and even climb to the position of the six-member Council in his lifetime.

No hesitation!

After briefly discussing some operational details, General Laurel immediately mobilized the army to seek justice for the envoy.

Almost at the same time, he did not forget to let out the news that the despicable and shameless people from Baldur's Gate who were killed attacked the envoys sent by Amn.

On the other side, the shadow thieves who infiltrated Baldur's Gate also took action and began to spread various gossips and rumors in the streets of Baldur's Gate.

All of a sudden, this vital commercial hub and port city in the Sword Coast was firmly labeled as a "black pot" amidst the uproar from the outside world.

Although the Duke and merchants of Baldur's Gate stood up and tried their best to refute, but as the saying goes, if you start a rumor, you will lose your legs if you refute it.

In addition, Sir Crispian hired bards to spread the story of how the paladin of the Knights of the Burning Heart fought bravely in the face of the evil white dragon and died tragically, which quickly won the hearts of countless people.

Tears and sympathy.

Therefore, it is almost inevitable that the direction of public opinion will begin to tilt significantly towards Amn.

Baldur's Gate's reputation suffered a huge blow as a result.

Especially the questions from the Lords Alliance made Duke Silver Shield, who controlled the maritime trade, and Duke Iltan, who controlled the Flame Fist mercenaries, feel overwhelmed.

They never dreamed that an otherwise ordinary peace negotiation would cause such a big mess.

The attack on the Amn mission completely put Baldur's Gate into a passive position.

Pressure from all aspects has completely nullified the original plan to strive for favorable conditions.

In the current situation, let alone taking advantage, it is probably a good thing not to be taken advantage of by the other party too much.

After all, the longer the war drags on, the worse it will be for Baldur's Gate.

If the reputation is really as bad as that of Luskan, then many merchants will choose to bypass Baldur's Gate and no longer do business with the chamber of commerce here.

By then, businessmen who cannot make money will flee in large numbers, and the entire city will inevitably fall into depression.

"Damn it! It seems we have to make some concessions." Duke Silver Shield said through gritted teeth.

Duke Iltan immediately nodded with a wry smile: "At this point, it is difficult not to give in. It seems that there are experts on Amn's side to give guidance this time. Otherwise, they would not be able to think of anything based on their usual style.

Such a powerful method. By the way, how about the attack investigation?"

"There are no clues at all. This group of attackers was so elusive that they left nothing behind except some footprints. In addition, I also got a definite message, that is, the reason why the envoys were able to escape was because they had recently

Among them are the chosen ones of Talona, ​​the famous goddess of poison and plague."

When saying these words, Duke Silver Shield's tone suddenly became serious.

Because anyone who is not a fool knows what it means for the six-person Council of Amn to stuff this powerful killer weapon into the envoy.

When Duke Iltan heard this, he immediately hit the table with his fist and roared loudly: "Asshole! What do they want to do? Threaten us by spreading the plague?"

Duke Silver Shield helplessly spread his hands: "This is an obvious thing. If one tenth of what Talona Church preaches is true, then we must take it seriously. After all, the plague is not a war, it is a war.

If it doesn't go on, it can be ended through negotiation. Once the plague breaks out in Baldur's Gate, the blow to the entire city will be devastating."

"According to what you say, we can only accept the conditions offered by the Amn people?" Duke Iltan was obviously unwilling.

As the supreme commander of the army, what he hates most is having to surrender to the enemy.

"There is nothing we can do about it.

Although giving up some trade shares will cause losses, our situation will only become more and more difficult if this continues.

Do you know?

Some chambers of commerce in Waterdeep City have begun to take advantage of the situation and deliberately raise the prices of goods.

These commodities are all daily necessities such as grain, salt, cheese, iron products, beer, herbs, etc.

Citizens in the city have begun to complain about rising prices."

The Duke of Silver Shield did not hide anything and spoke out the serious situation directly.

You must know that in the vast land called "West Hartland" surrounding Baldur's Gate, although there are countless settlements and villages scattered, most of them are self-sufficient, and they are very fragmented and trivial, with basically not much

The surplus grain is used to supply the city.

In addition, since the city was first established, fierce conflicts broke out between foreign businessmen groups and local farmer groups.

Therefore, the farmers in the surrounding areas have no good impression of Baldur's Gate, but are full of hostility and hatred.

Once given the opportunity, I will 100% choose to drive up food prices and give some color to the businessmen who have suddenly become the ruling class.

This means that Baldur's Gate actually has to rely on external food to ensure that famine does not occur.

If it were normal times, businessmen in other areas would naturally be very happy to sell the excess grain after the harvest to earn the price difference.

But now, all the chambers of commerce have clearly seen the huge crisis that Baldur's Gate is in, and without exception they want to take this opportunity to make a huge profit and suck up all the wealth that the city has accumulated over the years.<

/p>

……

As the "little tricks" provided by Zuo Si began to ferment, Baldur's Gate finally became a little unable to hold on.

More than a month later, the two sides finally began to prepare for negotiations in Candlekeep, which stood on a cliff by the sea.

The representative sent by Baldur's Gate is Duke Silvershield, who is in charge of trade, while the representative from Amn is Sir Crispian, who has been authorized by the six-member Council.

As soon as they met, the two old rivals looked into each other's eyes.

A full minute passed before Sir Crispian took the lead to speak out: "Your Excellency, Duke, do you have anything to say about the attack on the Amn envoy?"

"I am deeply sorry for those who died. But I can swear that this incident has absolutely nothing to do with us at Baldur's Gate." Duke Silvershield responded while suppressing the anger in his heart.

He knew very well that the other party was completely using this incident to threaten him into making concessions.

But the problem is that as long as the real attacker is not found, the suspicion of Baldur's Gate will never be cleared.

Who let them start this border war first?

After all, Amn simply raised the price of steel.

In the eyes of outsiders, if you find it too expensive, you don’t have to buy it. What’s the point of starting a war?

"Sorry, we don't believe every word you just said.

But for the sake of precious peace, why do those innocent soldiers no longer die for the ambitions of a few people? The six-member Amn Council reluctantly agreed to today's negotiations.

Please remember, Your Excellency the Duke.

The people of Amn are not weak, but we cherish peace and the lives of those poor soldiers more than you do."

Possessed by the actor Sir Crispian, he recounted the scenes he learned from Zuo Si, instantly placing himself in the position of the victim while seizing the moral high ground.

Just listening to the speech, those who didn’t know better thought he was a just, kind and widely respected “good man”.

But in fact, if a priest or paladin uses Detect Evil, then his body will 100% be exposed to a dark red aura symbolizing the evil camp.

That’s right!

Sir Crispian is a standard lawful evil noble.

According to rumors, his family has been secretly engaged in illegal smuggling and obtained unimaginable wealth from it.

Without a doubt!

The words that were openly and secretly blaming the top management of Baldur's Gate just now made Duke Silvershield's blood pressure rise instantly. He couldn't help but want to have an attack several times, but he finally endured it.

Because he noticed that among Amn's delegation, there was a boy of about ten years old with black hair and black eyes and an oriental appearance.

Baldur's Gate has already received information, so they know that this is the legendary plague bringer who destroyed a world with plague, and the favorite chosen one of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease.

Therefore, the Duke of Silver Shield does not want to give the other party any excuse to launch revenge.

After a brief confrontation, Amn immediately gained the upper hand in terms of momentum.

After a while, the two sides began to argue fiercely over trade, tariffs, steel prices, etc.

Seeing these "upper-class people" tearing off their disguises and spending every penny like street vendors, Zuo Si's lips turned up slightly, revealing a sarcastic smile.

Because all this has nothing to do with him.

And not long ago, the six-person Council specially sent someone to make a promise that after the negotiations were completed and they returned to Amn, they would pay Zuo Si 70,000 gold coins as a reward for protecting the envoy at the critical moment.

In addition, the other party also granted him permission to open a shop next to his mage tower, specializing in various magic items, potions, scrolls and books.

You must know that this is Askatra, which prohibits all unofficial arcane magic, but scorpions are the only ones who shit.

Before this, only the Masked Mage Guild had such privileges.

Places like the Adventurer's Market in Waking's Arcade District can only sell some magic weapons and armor at best.

Such as potions, scrolls, wands and various triggering magic devices are prohibited.

Zuo Si felt that this privilege should be because the six-person council rewarded him for giving advice to Sir Crispian, which dealt a heavy blow to the competitor of Baldur's Gate.
To be continued...