167 Magistrate

18th May 1574

"So this is the fabled site where the beer that turned the capital on its head is produced!'

Just the first sentence that the Magistrate spouted as soon as his feet touched the makeshift riverport managed to convince me that dealing with him will be either insanely simple or a damned pain in the butt. 

"No, sir. The beer of the Tarnowian land is produced exclusively in Tarnow. What you can see here, is the site that produces the new material we are going to use to build the road along with the peripheral projects required to keep it running."

Instantly correcting the man as I offered him my hand, I smiled and added.

"Obviously, we have some of the barrels stored here just in case of a need like that. Outside of that, I would like to offer you, sir brother, a nice ride to Tarnow later on, as to let you inspect how are we going to move the insane amount of resources to the road construction site."

As all the projects in the former mine area were moving at full speed, in the last two days not only we managed to finish the first and second steam paddler, but the entire carpentry plant was in its last stages of construction along with the basic shipyard right beside!

This was the only reason why I was so keen at inviting this representative on the crown for a trip to Tarnow. Not only would that allow me to flaunt a new kind of vessel in his eyes, but also prove that I was capable of doing everything that I promised in exchange for the required financing!

"Ah, that's a pity! I really wanted to have a taste of a freshly brewed sample!"

Seeing how this guy was only interested in the beer, I was quite disappointed. It seemed like rather than convincing him to the potential benefits of investing Crown's money into my projects, I would have to simply bribe him with a few barrels to make sure we would receive any founding!

But while that might sound easy, if I were to negotiate with a real official who took his job seriously, then by making him notice the potential worth behind all my inventions and their applications, rather than receiving the expected amount, I could hope for even more gold than we would initially request!

"Don't worry, sir. I will give you a tour through our great breweries myself, but as for the road…"

While this man's reaction to my words forced me to accept the fact that I would be unable to promote the development of the country through the rumours that he would spread, I still had to have him inspect the production of concrete to make him realise how intricate task it was in order to not make him refuse the price of the cement in the first place.

"Yeah, I know, I know. The road stuff. You really need to relax a bit, sir brother. It's not like we will enter the state of civil war tomorrow! How about we have a drink first?"

I guess that's how the greatest military power in Europe was capable of defeating itself during the trip to squash one of the cossacks bunts. Thinking about this, I really wish I could know how to make disulfiram, otherwise known as Esperal… With its effects stopping the diffusion of alcohol in one's body, all the effects of the hangover would be not only enhanced, but they would also come in a few minutes from the moment of drinking alcohol rather than only when the next day would arrive!

Regretfully, even if I had such drug on hands, I still wouldn't be able to use it. Not only no one in the noble brotherhood would allow having such a thing implanted in his body, but also that would prevent the medics from using the very basic way of disinfecting the wounds with spirit!

"I would still prefer if we start drinking only after we get on the boat. I'm sorry sir, but this matter is too important for both my family and the entire country at once to let the sweet taste of alcohol push us away from doing our best to fulfil this wish!"

No matter what, if I wanted to get a good price for my cement in order to siphon the money from the royal treasure, I had to make him see the production of this improved mortar no matter what! And when we would board the steam paddler, then I could tell him the tales of how insane this ship would be when used on the White River down south in my next project, while making him drink more and more in order to nail this information down his head!

"Eh… What a spoil fun… Okay then, bring me to this miraculous mortar that you spoke about in the report I have."

With a clearly annoyed expression on his face, the magistrate pushed his hand forward, showing me his open palm as if ordering me to lead the way. Gnashing my teeth against each other to make sure I wouldn't erupt in anger when seeing someone as lacking as him on the official position, I only nodded slightly before moving forward.

If by holding my emotions I could secure the funding for my projects, then I was ready to toughen through this ordeal. After all, sooner or later, this fucktard would be gone, replaced by a nice pile of gold coins that I could use far more effectively than literally anyone else in the world!