I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 37 You're not lying to me, are you?
Sure enough, that damned imperial dog still hasn't shaken off his doubts about me.

However, it's not a big problem. Before setting off, I specifically consulted with Butler Pinault and asked him which products were the best-selling in the Kingdom of Victoria.

I already know the answer, so as long as I answer calmly, I'm sure I can gain the trust of this damn imperial dog.

Once this damned imperial dog lowers its guard, I can find a chance to escape!

John Maslow, no matter how cunning you are, you would never have imagined that the great Master had already made thorough preparations, would you? Hmph!
Thinking of his flawless plan, Dick was filled with smugness, but on the surface, he still respectfully addressed John:

"Reporting to Warrant Officer John, the reason I led my men to the Kingdom of Victoria this time was actually to engage in the silk trade."

"Judging from your hair color and pupils, if I'm not mistaken, I think you must be one of the descendants of the Immortal Qin Empire who have been separated from the world. So you probably know more about the value of silk, a specialty of that great empire that mysteriously disappeared thousands of years ago, than I do."

"Furthermore, given that His Majesty William Perus of our Empire is extremely fascinated by the Xianqin culture, I think it would be beneficial to travel to the Victoria Kingdom, which currently produces silk, and recruit some silk-making artisans at great expense, and then bring them back to the Empire."

"For an empire that can only import silk from abroad, which keeps silk prices high, if I could recruit artisans to produce silk that belongs to our empire and bring down the price."

"At that time, it will surely be sought after by all the nobles of the empire, and it is even possible that our Deman family will gain the emperor's favor."

"And it was precisely driven by this kind of self-interest that I risked selling off all of my family's century-old business, intending to secure a future for my descendants!"

"So I really am not an Allied spy, please believe me!"

After saying that, Dick stared intently at John, afraid of missing any subtle expression on the damned imperial dog's face.

Upon hearing this answer, John fell into deep thought.

In fact, John, as a player, knew all too well what was going on with the mysteriously disappeared Immortal Qin Empire that Dick mentioned.

After all, the game itself draws heavily on the background of the previous real world.

The so-called Immortal Qin Empire is a background story designed by the game company to prevent censorship and approval.

Simply put, the Immortal Qin is the Qin Dynasty of the past. However, unlike in history, after the First Emperor unified the world and completed the Fengshan ceremony, the Qin Dynasty experienced a spiritual revival, and from then on, the Qin Dynasty ushered in an era of universal cultivation of immortality.

Afterwards, Zu Long found the Luo Shu and entrusted it to Guiguzi, who had joined the Immortal Qin, to perform divination. Guiguzi concluded that the spiritual power of this world could not last long and would eventually perish.

Therefore, after much deliberation, the First Emperor decided to lead the entire Qin Dynasty to ascend to the true immortal realm.

However, in order to preserve traces of the Immortal Qin Dynasty, a group of descendants of the Qin Dynasty who did not have the qualifications to cultivate immortality and a large amount of wealth were left behind before the entire nation ascended to heaven, undertaking the mission of recording the history of the Immortal Qin Dynasty.

After the immortals transcended the mortal realm, in order to continue their lives, these descendants of the immortals began to travel to various parts of the world to multiply and spread the culture and history of the immortals throughout the world.

Therefore, under the influence and inheritance of these thousands of years, almost everyone on the continent where John lived, from the emperor to the common people, had an unprecedented fervor for the mysteriously vanished Xianqin Empire.

As a garment highly favored by the top management of Xianqin, silk is not only beautiful in appearance after being made into clothing, but also extremely comfortable.

Therefore, it has always been favored by the high-ranking officials of various kingdoms.

In addition, William XIII, the Norman Emperor, is portrayed in the game as a very enthusiastic fan of the Xianqin series.

In response, the game developers included an Easter egg in the game: William XIII, following the legends of the immortal Qin dynasty, spent a fortune to have a black dragon robe made for himself, just like that of the First Emperor, and even perfectly replicated a nine-tassel crown.

However, perhaps feeling that this was too offensive to the immortal Qin emperor he admired, he later secretly changed it to a six-tassel crown. If John remembers correctly, the replica of the Emperor William XIII's robes should be under His Majesty's bed at this time.

He had already regarded it as his most precious treasure, and even his most favored concubine was unaware of it.

Regarding this secret, nowadays, apart from William XIII himself and John, probably no one else in the world knows it.

If this is the case, then Dick's act of carrying a large amount of gold to the Kingdom of Victoria in an attempt to engage in commercial activities is indeed plausible.

So, this guy is really just a money-mad businessman, and not an Allied spy?

After all, this statement makes perfect sense no matter how you look at it. Could it be that I guessed wrong?
John fell into deep thought upon hearing this answer, but after carefully considering Dick's suspicious behavior earlier, he felt that it was too early to condemn him outright.

Since this idiot is using silk as an excuse, why not just follow along and test the waters?

In any case, when it comes to information in games, no one in the world knows more than the clever Warrant Officer John.

If this guy who calls himself Reddick is an Allied, he only needs a few words to trick this idiot into revealing even what kind of underwear he's wearing today.

Upon hearing this, John immediately smiled.
“Yes, Mr. Reddick, silk is indeed a very good commodity. You are indeed a very discerning businessman. If you can bring the silk-making technique back to the Empire, even I can foresee your future success.”

"If you could gain the approval of His Majesty the Emperor, then perhaps it wouldn't be long before I would be bowing to you as a superior."

Sure enough, that idiot believed it!
You're an Imperial Pig, you don't even know your own worth. You think you can interrogate your brilliant Uncle Dick? You'd better go somewhere cool and drink the northwest wind, hmph!

Realizing he had successfully 'deceived' him, Dick breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little smug.

Feeling that he had now definitively confirmed his identity as a businessman, he immediately waved his hand modestly and said:
"Oh, not at all, it's just a concept. Warrant Officer John, you flatter me too much. I'm just an ordinary businessman. How could I possibly become your superior? You're really joking!"

"That's not necessarily true. After all, our Emperor is a great admirer of the culture of Xianqin!"

John smiled noncommittally, but quickly changed the subject, feigning doubt as he asked:

"However, I still have a question. If I remember correctly, due to the large number of private silk enterprises, the quality was uneven, and there were instances of inferior products being passed off as superior ones. Therefore, it seems that the Kingdom of Victoria issued a new business policy in early May six years ago. In Article 13, it seems that a decree was issued regarding the change of silk craftsmanship from private to state-owned."

"After this commercial bill was introduced, the production and sales of Xianqin silk came under the control of the Victorian royal family. As a result, the price of silk in the imperial market has soared in recent years, reaching a terrifying price of 400D per foot."

"As a qualified businessman, you should be more familiar with this business law than I am, but judging from your performance, you seem to know very little about it. To be honest, I am quite surprised by this, Mr. Reddick."

Seeing Dick's smile inexplicably freeze and his forehead covered in fine beads of cold sweat, John couldn't help but smile, as if to say, "I knew I was right."

Immediately, he spoke calmly into the other person's trembling eyes:

"My dear Mr. Reddick, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"!"

……

(End of this chapter)