81 – Blueport trade hub plan started (4)

I said, pointing to the map on which the Northern Alliance was drawn.

“Although the Northern Alliance was unified by the predecessor king, His Majesty’s royal authority is still weaker than that of the Romanian emperor, who governs the country while negotiating and compromising with the 7 electors. According to the information obtained through trade right now, His Majesty’s dukes act as if they are the kings of the territory. And I know that the Duke of Helsinki rebelled against Your Majesty a few years ago.”

Hearing that, the king put on a serious expression, as if he would kill me right now, and then looked at me and sighed.

“That’s right, if it were originally, all the territory of the Duke of Helsinki should have been my direct domain… The royal authority was still weak, so I had to share the Helsinki manor even to nobles who didn’t do much.”

“I feel sorry for you. However, if Your Majesty accepts the ball and culture I have proposed, there will be less need to make such concessions.”

And to get the king’s attention, I paused and said,

“Aristocrats are those who live with dignity and dignity, and they can’t afford to afford the military and land management expenses that are already difficult to afford, as well as the dignified culture. And we will exclusively supply the cultures of Italy, Romania, France, and Elaine to His Majesty through the Blue Port. In that case, Your Majesty could become a creditor to the nobles who imported too much culture.”

In fact, many people think that it has nothing to do with nobility and debt, but it is only possible if you directly sell various special products in addition to resources such as sugar and salt like me.

And the nobles are usually in debt to the merchants because the grains they collect from the taxes of their estates are not enough to cover their own expenses.

The lords live their lives pretending to be dignified, but they usually suffer from usury of debts that are two to three times their income.

To add a bit of exaggeration, the amount of money equivalent to several months or half a year of one’s estate is attached as interest on the debt.

However, if the enormous expenditure to maintain the dignity as a nobleman and the debt for it are added to this, it will be difficult for even the majestic duke family to endure.

So there is a saying in the bible like this.

‘The debtor becomes the slave of the lender.’

“Your Majesty, buy the nobles into debt now. And at the same time, if you force them to have the least luxuries and culture with the most luxurious banquet and ball in the Northern Alliance… Think of the consequences.”

The king who heard that, no, the emperor who wanted to become an emperor, the dream tree king heard me and said with a smirk.

“Yes, nobles with a lot of debt tremble even when an agent sent by the owner of a large merchant company comes to collect interest only. By the way, if I, the king of this united nation, owes them… ”

“Yes, you will have an overwhelming advantage in things like the occupation of the Duchy of Helsinki on condition that you forgive your debts. No, it is not impossible to become their absolute monarch. Can’t you see that Ciel von Creutel, who is only 24 years old, wields absolute power as Countess of Nantes and Hellsmann?”

“It excites me to think that I can wield that power. But from the look on your face, it looks like this is just the beginning. You didn’t bring out a map just to explain the situation in the north, right?”

I answered skillfully, pretending that I couldn’t win.

“Yes, Your Majesty. This is the start. First, throw a ball, put the nobles in debt, and drive them to war. If you win, you will be able to rise to the position of unified emperor that the previous king so much wanted. And the place where the war will be fought”

said the king in a playful voice.

“You and I seem to have the same thoughts, but let’s say it at the same time.”

And we both opened our mouths at the same time and raised our voices.

“Holy Romanian Empire”

“Holy Romanian Empire”

“As expected, you and I were thinking the same thing. That’s right, you would have offered the Duke of Brussels to keep Romania and France in check in exchange for protection from Elaine. So I have to hit the better of the two… Maybe Romania is easier than Franchi?”

“Yes, and the Emperor of Romania will want to break the spirit of Maxburg, who controls Hamburg, which exclusively supplies sugar to Romania and France, because of me these days… If you only attack the Duke of Maxburg, I will tolerate it to some extent.”

“Then where do you want to get it?”

If possible, I would like to capture Hamburg, but if Hamburg is in hand, Romania from the right, the Duke of Brussels from the left, and the French from below will press.

And the current county of Creutel couldn’t afford to handle those three forces at once.

So now is the time to give up Hamburg for a while.

“I wish I could get my hands on Hamburg, but if that happens, there is a high possibility that I will be attacked by a pincer from Romania and France. Therefore, we will not occupy anything in this war.”

“Give up Hamburg. If so, Jim has no reason to trust you.”

When the king finished his words, he placed a white chess piece on the baronial territory of Mainz, the most north of Maxburg, and said,

“Eline is already fighting a civil war after the death of the emperor, and Romania and Franchi are constantly targeting our county of Creutel. Therefore, we need to defeat Maxburg’s main force first in order to break their will to attack us. If they lose once, they will only defend unless Kreutel goes first. Then, in the future, shouldn’t we just keep Franchi in check?”

“Right. And are you thinking about franchising?”

Frankly, it’s not a bad idea to run down Franchi, but it’s not the best strategy.

Because as soon as I strike down to France, the other Elector Counts of Romania and Counts of France will enter my rich estate…

Because you’ll have to fight an unreasonable battle one more time.

Therefore, the best course of action is, after all, as I said with the opponent in front of me, as soon as the mutual foundation is established, it is to strike Maxburg, Elector of Romania again.

“If Your Majesty builds the foundation for advancing a large army based on Mainz and advances, we will respond from the opposite direction. If we do that, we should be able to get at least one county.”

“As expected, I can’t catch a fish even if I float like this. Yes, I was afraid that you might be blinded by the rich lands of France and abandon Romania, which is a bit barren.”

“Being loyal to Your Majesty is more valuable than obtaining a fertile county. So, how could I, as the Count of Elaine, break your trust?”

“You go over like a tomboy. So, when do you think the war will end?”

Of course, as long as I’m officially sworn to be in the Blue Fort anyway, I won’t be suspected…

Considering that even after leaving the Blue Fort, you can buy some time in the name of reorganizing the army, it is about a year to a year and a half.

Also, the troops of the Northern Alliance cannot come over during the winter when the sea freezes.

“In a year, Your Majesty and I will attack Maxburg at the same time. Your Majesty will draw the attention of the Baron of Mainz, and I will draw the attention of the Magsburg of Romania.”

“And the rest we’ll discuss later… that’s a good idea. If so, what will you give me as collateral to gain my trust?”

In general, when such an alliance is formed, the daughter of the older person is usually given as a wife or concubine by the younger person.

However, in the case of this alliance, since it is of a nature that should not be discovered, there is no conspicuous marriage or engagement ceremony…

In the end, it has to be settled with land or money…

Giving land to the north means that I cannot defend my territory as a count, and this is fatal for me, who has just become a count.

On the other hand, if I pay, they’ll figure out I’m in a position to cling to them and charge a hefty fee for the alliance.

So while I was thinking of a way to pretend to help the other person without spending any of my money, a good idea crossed my mind.

“Since I don’t have a wife at the moment, I wanted to take this opportunity to receive Your Majesty’s princess… but, as you know, this alliance has to be hidden for at least a year, so I can’t get married.”

At that, the king nodded.

“If I give up the land, my vassals may think that I have given up protecting them. Because the lord must protect his land, so in the end it seems that he has no choice but to give it in money.”

The king smiled as if he was very satisfied with what I had said.

“hahahaha, it will be difficult because you just took possession of the territory, but you don’t have to overdo it. Your sincerity is important, how can you only talk about marriage alliances and land cessation? Yes, tell me.”

And I started fishing to retrieve the rice cakes I had laid so far.

“In fact, the data I have shown to Your Majesty calculates the cost of the goods plus the cost of transportation. Of course, when you buy a product, it costs more than that if you add our labor cost and various profits. Approximately 3000 gold coins, no, about 3200 pieces.”

The King listened to me and replied with a slight smile, as if he had a rough idea of how I was going to pay.

“3,200 copies… that’s a huge amount. However, I have to hold a banquet on a larger scale than you, the emperor of the empire. Of course, the dukes, marquises, and counts under me, as members of the United Kingdom, a large country in Europe, have to hold a banquet on a scale similar to yours, so it is not a small expenditure. This will happen.”

“Yes that’s right. So, in order to reduce Your Majesty’s future expenses, I would like to give up all profits and give them at cost.”

“Wongara, if that’s the case, for you and the other nobles…”

“Of course, it should be much more expensive than today’s banquet. When I made the ice cream for today’s banquet, 5 silver coins were spent. For them, you will receive at least 8 silver coins or 1 gold coin. No, it’s far away, so I got quite a few ingredients from over there, so I just hit the price of the cornerstone used to make ice cream… It’s 6 silver coins.”

“Oh, oh, oh… I was treated to very expensive food.”

And I said with a smile more sinister than Shylock’s.

“Of course, Your Majesty should receive only one or two silver coins for cornerstone. That’s what it means. And if merchants buy foundation stones, musical bands, clothes, etc. from you for all nobles and merchants, it seems that you will be able to leave three times the price you bought…”

“Triple the profits, accumulate debt and take the interest… Not bad.”

“Or would you like gold coins?”

“This is better. Is this the end?”

And I handed out the contract summarizing the contents of the conversations we had exchanged so far to the king and said.

“This is the end. Please put a signet ring on me.”

“Okay, by the way, is the banquet over?”

“It should be almost over now. And His Majesty, the most delicious wine in the north is…”

“I’ll pack it for you when I get back.”

That’s how I was able to sign an alliance to destroy Maxburg and an unlimited supply of foundation stones and various cultures at a triple margin while pretending to be kind to the Northern Alliance.

The emperor seems to have a sense of the margin when supplying cornerstones and culture to some extent, but he must be ignoring it because he can reap greater profits on top of the amount I overcharged.

After all, the king of a country, the person who sat in the seat of moving countless people was different from Schwein.

If it was Schwein, I would have ripped it 20 times.

**

On my way back after leaving Count Creutel to see the end of the banquet, Magdrov, the butler who had been assisting me for decades, approached me and asked.

“Your Majesty, did you finish your talk with Count Creutel?”

“Ah, it must have been Magdrov. I couldn’t get a bigger profit than I thought. I thought he would have been taken aback by the fire falling on his foot, but he would think of a way to satisfy me in that situation and not cause any harm to himself.”

“Is that so?”

“I never imagined that you would use your inferiority towards the countries in the middle of the aristocrats to spread a splendid culture that even they do not enjoy and share the supply rights and profits with me. He even generously gave it to ostentatious nobles for free and then had his nose pierced… He was like Shylock.”

Hearing that, Magdrov smiled and said.

“The prince liked Shylock the most in The Merchant of Italy. He says that he is a model of a true monarch who knows how to risk his life so as not to lose even an inch. Did you like it that much?”

“That’s right. If it’s for him… it’s okay if I let him go.”

“You are the daughter of Michaela, whom Your Majesty truly loved.”

“They’re both great tomboys, so they’ll be a good match.”

And I watched the nobles who attended the banquet for the last time.

They don’t know if they know what kind of banquet they’re enjoying right now, or maybe some of them already know.

As if they were living only in the present, they were immersed in the pleasures and splendid culture that Creutel provided.

without knowing what the cost would be.