Chapter 1338: Count Austin's Predicament

"Sigh." Count Austin let out a sigh, looked toward Liu Zheng, and said helplessly, "Mr. Liu, actually, there is a matter I would like to trouble you with, but I don't know if you..."

Liu Zheng waved his hand, interrupting Count Austin; he still had a rather favorable impression of this Count.

Back at the ball, it was also Count Austin who, in order to protect himself, let him leave first.

"If there is anything, just speak freely."

Count Austin steadied his heart and began, "I want to ship a batch of wine to sell to the Dragon Flame Nation, and while I'm at it, I also want to import a batch of Yinzhou Drunk from the Dragon Flame Nation."

"In the past, when the Dragon Flame Nation and Austria were not at war, although Yinzhou Drunk was expensive, I could still afford to drink it."

"But now..."

Liu Zheng understood; although the Dragon Flame Nation was not ostensibly at war with Austria, everyone actually knew that Austria had already gone to war with the Dragon Flame Nation.

Then, Dragon Flame goods must have been squeezed out in Austria, and some Dragon Flame merchants, in order to save their lives, must have left long ago.

Fine wines like Yinzhou Drunk would certainly no longer be sold by any Longyan people.

Liu Zheng had seen Count Austin's wine at the ball that day and knew he was also a man who loved wine; it was just a pity that Austria's white spirit technology was not very good.

If this matter were put to other wealthy Longyan merchants, it might be a monumental difficulty, but for Liu Zheng, this matter was much simpler.

Seeing the look of difficulty on Count Austin's face, Liu Zheng slapped his thigh and said calmly, "This is no problem."

"As for Yinzhou Drunk, I will have someone send a batch over in a few days; as for wine, the Longyan people also love to drink it."

Count Austin's old face froze; it was that simple?

If he didn't know Liu Zheng and know that he was a rare merchant and artist, he would have thought anyone else among the Longyan merchants who said this to him...

... was either a fool or a swindler.

The relationship between the Dragon Flame Nation and Austria was very delicate right now; at a time like this, for him, an Austrian Count, to do business with a wealthy Longyan merchant, it always felt a bit unrealistic.

"Let's decide on this then." Liu Zheng found it somewhat amusing; he had originally only come to Vienna pretending to be a merchant.

He hadn't intended to do business, yet business had come knocking at his door.

"Uh, alright, Liu Sheng, please don't force yourself." Count Austin looked worried.

After all, Liu Sheng was only a wealthy Longyan merchant; if he were to do business with an Austrian Count at this time, there would always be people gossiping if it got out.

And there might even be competitors who, in order to strike at Liu Sheng, would pin a big label of treason and selling out the country on him.

Although such a thing could also happen to him, Count Austin was not afraid at all.

He was an Austrian Noble, with power and influence, and he had performed great meritorious service for Austria; to this day, he still carried old wounds from serving his country.

Now that he was old, he had returned to Vienna to retire and craved a mouthful of strong liquor.

It was a pity that Austria had no such strong liquor, and only the Yinzhou Drunk from the Dragon Flame Nation suited his taste.

That was why he had come up with this idea, but he did not fear any attacks from political enemies; with his status and position, who would dare to be disrespectful to him?

But Liu Zheng was different.

"If you have any difficulties, just tell me, and I will find a way," Count Austin instructed.

Liu Zheng felt like laughing; if he wanted to ship a batch of Yinzhou Drunk to Austria, who in the Dragon Flame Nation would dare to say a word of "no"?

Liu Zheng wanted to step into Europe, but he did not want to rule this place; the Holy See problem here was too deep.

The divisions were severe, and the people were not easy to manage.

In Liu Zheng's view, the only value of Europe was their talent and their money.

As for occupation, Liu Zheng really didn't think much of this place.

The two sides finalized the business, and after Count Austin returned, he soon brought over a batch of top-quality wine.

Shipping it to the Dragon Flame Nation, Liu Zheng also ordered a letter to be written and sent back to the Dragon Flame Nation through his own channels, ordering Zheng Yue Ru to send a batch of Yinzhou Drunk to Austria.

Far away in the Dragon Flame Nation, after Zheng Yue Ru saw Liu Zheng's letter,

she remained silent and soon arranged for a batch of Yinzhou Drunk to be sent to Austria, but her heart was extremely disappointed.

Liu Zheng hadn't even mentioned half a word about her in his heart; Zheng Yue Ru consoled herself, *He still has to rely on me back in the Dragon Flame Nation. *

Half a month passed, and the war situation in Europe had not changed much.

However, ever since the Longyan Unit entered Europe, they had seemed to vanish; no one knew where they were.

It was likely that the Franco-Austrian Alliance had to guard against sneak attacks from the Longyan Unit, which gave Frederick II a chance to catch his breath.

In fact, none of them knew that the Longyan army had not disappeared; it was just because of Liu Zheng's order that they were not to act rashly.

So this million-strong army remained at the Austrian port, quietly waiting for Liu Zheng's orders.

And at this moment, Liu Zheng took a sip of Count Austin's coffee.

"How is it?" Count Austin asked expectantly.

Liu Zheng tasted it and almost spat it out; if this stuff wasn't mixed with sugar and milk, it tasted just like dishwater.

He really didn't know what Count Austin was thinking; clearly, coffee shops had long since started adding sugar and milk to coffee.

Yet this great Count of his was still drinking coffee in its original, unadulterated form; what kind of backward way of drinking was this?

It was simply insane.

But it was impossible for Liu Zheng to say this to Count Austin's face, so he could only say, "This taste is just like the taste of the water used to rinse the pot after we Longyan people finish cooking a feast."

"Gathering the strengths of a hundred dishes, the deliciousness that remains."

Count Austin didn't quite understand the meaning of the Longyan words, but he heard the words "feast," "strengths of a hundred dishes," and "deliciousness."

He knew as soon as he heard them that it was a compliment.

Count Austin beamed and praised, "As expected of a great Longyan artist, the way you speak is truly pleasant."

Liu Zheng chuckled twice and did not explain the meaning of the sentence.

Count Austin, however, became interested and began to speak incessantly: "I originally captured this coffee during my military career, and later, when I drank it, I felt the taste was not bad."

"So I brought it back to Austria, and I didn't expect it to become popular; speaking of which..."

Count Austin talked at length about interesting anecdotes from his military career, and Liu Zheng listened patiently until he finished, lamenting that people in the army sure love to drink.

It is also because of the slaughter on the battlefield; one never knows if they will die the next second, so they drink a cup of wine to bolster their courage and kill the enemy!

Mentioning wine, this Count Austin recalled that batch of Yinzhou Drunk and asked, "Liu Sheng, when will that batch of Yinzhou Drunk of yours arrive?"

"I, the Count, am really craving a sip of strong liquor right now."

Liu Zheng expressed his understanding, but he was also curious; half a month had passed, and according to the distance, his Yinzhou Drunk should have arrived by now.

Why hadn't it arrived yet? Could something have gone wrong in Longyan?

That seemed unlikely.

Just as Liu Zheng was feeling puzzled, a servant of Count Austin ran in, looking anxious and flustered.

"Count, it's bad."

Count Austin frowned, his face darkening; ever since he returned from the army, he had taught his servants to be elegant in their manners and not to make a fuss over nothing.

"What is it, that you are so flustered?"