Luo Yan smiled and raised his glass in a gesture, lightly clinking it with General Hamoldon's as they did the same. The atmosphere in the dining room was harmonious and pleasant, which steered into the main topic as the main course, a roast lamb leg with herbs, was served.

General Hamoldon put down his glass, unable to contain his eagerness any longer, and asked Luo Yan with a slightly expectant expression.

"Your Highness, regarding your negotiations with the Gutaf United Kingdom, what was the outcome? How much grain can they provide to support us?"

Luo Yan set his glass down, smiling slightly, his voice clear and steady.

"Rest assured, General, the Gutaf Kingdom still has quite a bit of surplus grain. They've agreed to export at least twenty thousand tons of corn per month to Withered Wood Port to ensure the supply for Saint Yil Castle."

"Twenty thousand tons!"

Hamoldon's expression showed a moment of doubt, but swiftly turned into delight, his fist instinctively pounding the table.

"Excellent, this completely resolves our concerns! Apologies... I didn't mean to be rude, I'm just too excited."

Watching the embarrassed Hamoldon and the vibrating ceramics on the table, Luo Yan smiled slightly, indicating he didn't mind.

Hamoldon took a deep breath, calming down a bit, and then cautiously asked about the other matter he was most concerned about.

"So, what's the mode of payment they're proposing? Is Imperial Gold Coins acceptable? Our opinion is cash on delivery!"

Luo Yan gently shook his head, expressing a hint of helplessness, "Cash on delivery is fine, but the Imperial gold coins... to be honest, I'm a bit surprised. The gold eagle embossing hasn't changed for a thousand years, but the gold content declines almost every year."

Hamoldon's face showed a hint of embarrassment. The insufficient gold content of Imperial gold coins is almost an open secret, though not decreasing every year, it's certainly lower compared to five hundred years ago.

"This... is indeed a problem, but we acknowledge the value of the gold coins! The Gutaf Kingdom can buy goods worth the full value with these coins in the Imperial market!"

Luo Yan looked at him with a sense of regret.

"I believe that, but... I can't persuade the Queen of Gutaf. She's quite critical of this and insists on trading with pure gold and pure silver."

Hamoldon let out a wry smile and said.

"Pure gold, pure silver... that's a bit troublesome. The military budget allocated to Saint Yil Castle by the Empire is all in coins, and the Imperial law clearly states that melting coins privately is a serious crime."

Silver coins can be melted, after all, the minting rights of silver coins were long ceded to each Kingdom... However, even those with minting rights are restricted to the Kings of respective Kingdoms, who must leave their family crest on the silver coins they mint.

Imperial Princes, of course, are not included in this, and ordinary nobles can only mint some copper coins, for extorting the old farmers who buy bread with copper coins.

Are there those who privately mint gold coins?

Of course, there are, even though every noble claims they strictly abide by the law, only the most foolish would believe what nobles say.

Imperial laws are not meant to constrain nobles, just as ropes around a cow's neck are not meant to restrain Imperial peasants.

Even Luo Yan himself had minted coins before; it really needed no technical skill, the only worth was in the gold itself.

As long as there's a deal with the Demon of hell, or there's a gold mine within one's territory, you can do this.

However—

The trouble lies in that dirty money cannot go through public accounts.

Hamoldon's concern was precisely this.

He couldn't exactly hint directly to Luo Yan—hey brother, melt the gold coins I gave you, see how much gold you can get first, then adjust accordingly later.

This war-competent General indeed lacked political wisdom but wasn't foolish enough to this extent.

But Luo Yan saw through his predicament, his gaze flickered slightly as he spoke calmly.

"General, this is actually not hard to solve. I can act as an intermediary between both parties; I'll receive your silver coins at a rate of thirty coins per ton and handle the delivery at Withered Wood Port's warehouse. This way, you won't need to violate Imperial law and can smoothly acquire the grain you need."

After a pause, he continued.

"And I, in turn, will purchase some Empire-produced crafts from merchants at Withered Wood Port using these goods, selling them to the Gutaf Kingdom. Although they only accept pure gold and silver as general equivalent, it's not that they have no interest in Imperial goods... Conveniently, the Colin family has some gold reserves, I can advance the cost of procurement for you, then find a way to earn this money back."

Hamoldon felt both amazed and moved upon hearing this.

Advancing funds for grain procurement!

What generosity!

Immediately, he looked toward the Quartermaster behind him, whispering.

"Thirty silver coins per ton... How about this price?"

The restless Quartermaster quickly leaned into Hamoldon's ear, lowering his voice and excitedly replied, "General, this price is indeed slightly higher at usual times, but not by much! Currently, with every land in the New Continent and even the Empire's mainland affected by a huge storm, grain production has significantly reduced, causing grain prices to skyrocket everywhere... To be honest, this price is actually quite a bargain."

He wasn't sure if this price was learned by Prince Colin from the sailors stranded in Withered Wood Port, but if that were true, this honorable gentleman would certainly lose big!

Hamoldon was left speechless, his expression turning more and more solemn, his gaze gradually filled with deep admiration.

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