127 – War Preparation (6)

As Balt and Chris left the room, an older bald man came into the room where I was.

“I am Feronia Margherita, member of the Committee of Ten in Hamburg. I have received your call and have come.”

“Thank you for coming. Okay, would you like a cup of tea?”

“It is an honour.”

Feronia listened to my words, sat down in an empty chair, and drank the tea I poured for her.

“This is a really good tea. I especially like the refreshing scent.”

“In Italy, I boiled it with the peel of a lemon. Then it smelled fresh. By the way, have you made your decision now?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Before that, there is something I want to ask Your Excellency.”

It is also an act worthy of the head of the Margherita family, who leads numerous merchants in the commercial city.

Even if he is in a position to bend and enter, he is cautious that he will never sign unless he sees the contents of the contract.

Through such virtues, he was surely able to avoid unequal treaties and transactions that could lead to numerous unfair trades.

“Okay, what do you want to ask?”

“We, the Margherita family, will be your servants. However, all loyalty comes at a price. How much do you think His Excellency will pay for our loyalty?”

No, not at the level of avoiding unequal treaties or deals, but now that they’ve been cornered, they’re threatening to bite.

If you don’t accept it through negotiations, even if it means ruining the family, that venom that will bite your hand is really…

Even if the hand is bitten, it is not seriously injured.

However, the longer it takes to heal the wound, the more it puts you at a disadvantage in this war…

Clearly, those guys, as a result of analyzing the information they obtained by rolling their own information network, must have figured out my situation and are making a strong point.

but… . Even in the days when there was only one barony, they bluffed and threatened the duke, but the initiative can’t be taken away just like this.

So I laughed, clapped three times and said.

“Hans, the guest is passing away.”

“Yes, I will prepare wine, sweets and some souvenirs.”

This signal means I’m lying, so it was a signal to just pretend to react to the servant, but…

Feronia said in a desperate voice, assuming that it was a signal sent to expel her.

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency!!”

“We have many other partners to negotiate besides you. Other families besides you will come soon… Well, if you just want to go back, there’s no problem if you send them back.”

After that, a soldier knocked on the door outside the door and said,

“The head of the Danilea family has come. Shall we let you in?”

I didn’t even give a signal, but seeing the attendant come…

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Maybe the head of the Danlea family really came, or Balt and Chris responded to it with care, but…

“There’s already someone from a different family than you. Yes, even in a place like this… are you planning on negotiating?”

Feronia soon bowed her head deeply and expressed her intention to surrender.

“No, sir. Just give me orders.”

Normally, Feronia would not have fallen for such a lame trick.

He must have properly checked whether the head of the Danlea family had come.

Because it’s rare for a person to appear at exactly this timing, and even if he did, he would have joined forces with his old ally to defend his interests.

However, the options given to oneself are limited and the more urgent one is, the more likely a person is to make a mistake.

But now that I’ve succeeded in catching it anyway, I should stop making assumptions like this and put a leash on that man.

Then, I knocked on the door and said,

“Are you busy talking to the head of the Margherita family? Tell me later.”

When I said that, the expression of Feronia in front of me brightened a little.

“You’re lucky, if you made a foolish decision… the Danlea family would have a chance. Then here’s the contract.”

“I’ll read it.”

Feronia said while taking a rough look at the contract I gave her.

“Besides wine and sugar, herring… to buy thousands of tons each year. How do you sell all of this?”

“I guarantee you, later you’ll ask for an increase in 10,000 tonnes.”

In fact, after the elder Willem Vökelson developed a method for processing herring at a low price, the business expanded to the point where more than 200,000 people were engaged in herring processing alone.

Since it was a business involving 200,000 people at the time, it is certain that hundreds of thousands of tons of herring were produced, supplied, and sold.

However, the man in front of me said in a suspicious voice that he couldn’t believe it.

“Trades of that magnitude are not carried out except in the trade of grains such as wheat, barley or beans. As you know, Your Excellency…”

I interrupted him halfway through.

“Yes, I can’t sell all of the thousands of tons to the extent that I only sell to citizens, nobles, and soldiers.”

First of all, the commerce of this era tends to be limited to the extent that it can be said that it is conducted for the citizens, nobles, and soldiers of cities, which account for about 10% of the population in Korea.

Because the serfs, who make up 90% of the population, are self-sufficient, with very little left after paying their taxes.

For this reason, it is common among serfs to make transactions using money only two or three times a year.

Because most things and groceries are too expensive for them to buy and eat.

“Someone who knows that…”

“But herring is different. Maybe it’s because it’s caught so many times that a 100-kilogram pickled herring costs only 2-3 silver coins locally. So, even if you add up all the shipping costs, it won’t exceed 1 gold coin.”

When I heard that, the family head was looking at me with a dazed expression as if he was dumbfounded.

“Then I can’t do business because I’m losing money, so 15 silver coins, no, they say I’ll sell them to you for 2 gold coins. You’ll sell them for about 3 gold coins. You should be able to buy it for a reasonable price. The cheapest salted meat among meats is about 8 to 9 fairy tales per kilo, so it’s half price.”

“But don’t pickled fish rot quickly?”

“If it’s pickled right away, it lasts for up to a year, so don’t worry about it rotting. Wouldn’t the serfs buy and eat this much?”

“And no matter what method is used, the nobles will buy all of them to reduce the cost of food eaten by the soldiers. Considering that they will also buy low-level workers in the city… As your Excellency said, thousands…”

Feronia was extremely excited while she was talking, so she said while salivating.

“No, I think it’s possible to trade more than tens of thousands of tons. It’s really amazing…”

“If you can keep this level of business, wouldn’t it be possible for you to become a nobleman with a title by buying the surrounding territories from the emperor of Romania like Duke Tosrio of the Medica family?”

“We are merchants. No matter how much money I earn, how can I completely suppress the other families in this city and make them my subjects?”

I said that, but Feronia’s voice didn’t show any objection to what I said.

Obviously, at the point where I decided to sell them and stick with me, I must have put down everything I had built up while coexisting.

“Isn’t there anything you can’t do? Merchants are beings who have to lick the bottom of the other person’s shoes in order to survive. If you become that strong, they will rather beg you to become faithful servants if you give them enough food. Instead… .”

Before I finished speaking, Feronia knelt down on one knee and bowed her head as other vassals do before me.

“Even though I am not a servant belonging to your domain, as long as you protect the interests of our family… I will serve as your servant. Please accept my loyalty.”

I felt a bit bad at the moment because I was cut off from what I was about to say, but what I was about to say was, ‘Follow me because I will guarantee you a profit.’ That’s what I meant to say, so it doesn’t matter.

Then, I handed him the sword I was wearing and said.

“This is a price for that loyalty. As long as you are loyal, I will protect the Margherita family with all my might.”

“Thank you, sir. And I have a request for you.”

I nodded and urged him to speak.

“Our family gets the exclusive supply of sugar, but we don’t want to charge a fee when we provide sugar to other families. Can we do that?”

“Is that okay? The price I supply to you is about 80% of the current price. Even if I get a little more from here, no one will say anything.”

At those words, Feronia said with a really evil smile.

“I’ve already betrayed them. But, I still need them… I’m trying to win their favor by using the lower price of sugar as bait.”

If I were to sign an exclusive contract, and the one who went first would share one of the biggest profits…

I’m sure the hatred and hatred towards him will disappear sooner or later.

And no matter how quickly Feronia seizes the distribution network or commercial rights of the remaining 4 families, there is a gap in the middle…

It would be advantageous for me to not have that much free time.

“So be it. Then please take care of me, Feronia Margherita.”

After negotiating with Margherita, I took everyone back to the Château de Nantes as quickly as possible.

Because now we have to prepare for war.