NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 77
What I originally planned was to expand the four-crop rotation system, sell the excess food, and in return, obtain Northern specialties to create a city that could sell to neighboring countries and territories.
However, with the return of the herring to this area, I had to significantly revise that plan.
This was because, when I initially made the plan, I wasn’t considering the foundational industries that could allow us to process and produce directly in this city at a single touch.
So, I gathered the district heads and began to explain my revised plan.
“Listen well, Captain Hulk has already caught 100 kilograms of herring in just an hour with only 10 crew members. If he had used nets, the boat would have been filled within the hour.”
Upon hearing this, the district heads started looking at me with wide eyes.
“Just securing this much herring means we won’t have to fear bad harvests. Because, if there’s a poor harvest, we can have some serfs engaged in fishing to secure fish. Normally, we could sell that many fish locally and amass tremendous wealth.”
Even in modern times, for herring, it’s legally permissible to catch them indiscriminately during the spawning season.
This is because, even if caught during spawning, herring populations are so abundant that it’s commonly agreed they won’t run out.
Thus, no matter how much you try to catch herring with a ‘net-using fishing boat,’ their numbers are numerous enough that it won’t make a dent.
Additionally, the relative value of food is overwhelmingly higher compared to modern times, where meat and fish are nearly worth their weight in gold, but herring can be traded at about half the price of wheat due to their relative abundance.
Therefore, though the trade in this era is largely limited to the desires of the upper middle class and above, if well-preserved, it can even draw money from the wallets of the majority of the peasantry.
Because no matter how poor they are, if they have a cheaper source of protein available than wheat, they will buy as much as they need, or even more.
So I spoke to explain this to them.
“Herring, exaggerating slightly, can be caught just by throwing nets once you secure a fishing ground. They taste good, and it’s easy to feed them to serfs as a substitute for meat. No, if distribution is possible, we can even feed them to poor serfs instead of wheat, given that we can sell it for less than wheat.”
Upon hearing that, the district heads were in shock.
“…Fish cheaper than wheat…”
“Your Excellency, even so, that’s…”
“That’s right. Wheat can simply be planted after plowing the fields… but fish can only be caught in the sea, right?”
Then I smiled at them and said softly.
“Who are you discussing impossibilities in front of? Surely you haven’t forgotten who I am?”
If another noble said such things, it would be perceived as a way to suppress merchants with their power and authority, as they had no basis.
But I am also an entrepreneur who has developed countless markets as a merchant.
I immediately extracted sugar from beets and led a legendary harvest that resulted in a population of 200,000 and 5,000 elite soldiers by increasing yields until the grains were overflowing using the four-crop rotation method.
Perhaps that’s why the district heads looked at me with expressions filled with anticipation.
“Can you share that portion with us?”
“Follow my orders, and then I can give you more. If you follow me, I will grant you wealth and honor that will make other counts envious. No, wait…”
I paused mid-sentence and whispered in a small voice, putting my right hand to my mouth.
“I will make all of you nobles. I cannot grant fiefdoms, but you’ll be wealthier commercial nobles than knights who hold fiefdoms. In that regard, I will grant privileges.”
The merchants in front of me seemed more excited about the word “privilege” rather than the rather intangible notion of becoming nobles.
So I spoke to instill confidence in them that they could become nobles by following me, and to create a trickle-down effect to make everyone wealthy by allowing them to purchase the dignity of nobility.
“From this moment on, the Croilet Count’s territory abolishes the distinctions in clothing between nobles and commoners. That is, even if you are not a noble, you can wear clothing made of silk that isn’t just black, and you can eat the same food as the nobles. Furthermore, it will be permitted to have extravagant carriages and wealthy-looking servants. However, unless you are ‘nobles’, you cannot engrave your own crest, of course.”
Upon hearing this, the district heads were so stunned that they seemed to forget I was in front of them and began to talk about the things they wanted.
“Me, in a red silk outfit? Wow, can I dress like a prince even in my forties? One of my dreams was to wear clothes like a prince from a fairy tale…”
“Great, I have to get my mother a colorful silk outfit. She likes yellow, so I must get her a yellow silk dress…”
Then I clapped my hands twice to gather their attention and said.
“Instead, you will follow my orders completely. You need to persuade the citizens under you. They should be willing to act as if they would die if I told them to.”
After I finished speaking, a silence as deep as the sound of blinking began to settle between us.
I broke the quietly flowing silence and spoke to them again.
“If you will not comply, say it now and leave. However, once you leave here, you’ll have to leave this city as well.”
Hearing this, a courageous district head turned to me and asked.
“What happens if I leave? Are you going to kill me?”
“I’ll simply use the money I have to buy out all your assets. I don’t know how much it will be, but with my personal wealth alone, I can buy up all the businesses and properties owned by two or three of you. And then I can place another obedient administrator in that position.”
Then, I rang the bell at my seat to call the servant and said.
“Bring me the contract.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
After a bit of time passed, a contract was placed in front of me and the district heads.
“Read it, and then decide. No, rather, once you’ve read it, I’ll give you a final chance, so think it over carefully.”
“Yes, Count Croilet Your Excellency.”
They began to read the contract meticulously after hearing that.
Some, perhaps trying to find hidden deceit in every letter, even put on a monocle and moved their pens as if underlining every character.
Seeing them reminded me of a friend from high school who topped the class and wore thick glasses, but there was a seriousness in their demeanor that was a different kind of life-or-death seriousness.
And after a while, everyone put down their pens, and I asked them.
“Well, is there anyone who wants to leave?”
“No. However, I would like to ask something.”
I thought they wouldn’t leave easily now that I allowed them the symbol of nobility, the ‘silk clothing,’ but the fact that not a single one stood up after seeing the contract was unexpected.
It was slightly different from the development I had anticipated.
“Speak up.”
And the district head who questioned me spoke as if he might actually kill me if I weren’t a count.
“I understand dividing regions into weapon shops, armor workshops, factories for food processing, and large clothing manufacturing plants. It makes sense, as Your Excellency has certainly achieved great success by binding the guilds like that in the Croilet Count’s territory. Given that you’re not just any merchant, but you are His Excellency, I can trust you to this extent. However… why must we reveal our accounting records to you starting next year?”
I replied casually to the questioning merchant.
“It is to ensure your interests as much as possible. If you start submitting accounting records from next year, I will send my soldiers whenever necessary to secure your businesses.”
In truth, from the perspective of this era, the concepts of revealing accounting records and ensuring profits are absolutely incompatible.
This is because merchants in this era seek to minimize visible revenue to hide the profits they declare to the lord.
And, of course, the hidden taxes end up directly in their own pockets.
This was a common practice that was generally overlooked during this time.
Thus, the merchant would be wary of any losses arising from my disregard for that practice.
So I presented a carrot to persuade that gentleman.
“If you reveal your accounts, you’re only required to pay 30% of your net profit in taxes. Moreover, in exchange for paying taxes, you will receive my full protection and support.”
“What kind of support do you mean? And what protection? All we need is the assurance to conduct business in your territory or the right to run workshops or factories.”
I clicked my tongue twice before speaking.
“Listen well, revealing your accounts and paying taxes is akin to a bilateral contract with me and the knights. If you report your income from engaging in commerce for me and pay taxes, I will protect you as if you were my retainers.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“If one of the nobles in our territory demands a bribe from you, he will face the penalty for infringing upon my property. If a lord from another territory bothers you, I will personally write a letter of protest. If necessary, I will even start a war.”
What I had said was extraordinarily unconventional for this era.
This is because lords generally think only of collecting taxes from merchants and never bother to cultivate markets for them, discarding them outright if they become a liability.
And naturally, if a conflict with another lord appeared likely, they would simply settle things and call it a day, tending to demand both taxes and bribes at the same time.
When I was engaged in trading in Hamburg, if I hadn’t made direct trades with the apprentices, I would have had to pay bribes equivalent to the customs duties when exporting sugar to the powerful figures…
Perhaps that’s why all the district heads stared at me with their mouths agape.
“What are you so surprised about? I am different from other lords; I have been active as a merchant just like you. Thus, I obviously understand your hardships better than other lords. Also, let’s be honest. How much money do you think you’ve lost due to bribes or loans that you never received while operating here? If you make 200 gold coins in profit, don’t you think about 80 coins of that disappears like that, before you even pay about 20 coins in taxes?”
The incisive remarks left them speechless.
To those, I extended my right hand like a devil and said.
“Then, how about joining hands with me? If you work with me, I will give you access to the vast Northern market. Moreover, I will share goods that can be sold at prices 10 to 40 times over their cost, simply because they’re unknown to those people… I will share that with you. Now, I have finished my part, and the rest is up to you for practical coordination. Anyone wishing to leave can do so immediately.”
Even after hearing that, they did not leave.
And instead, they looked at me with eyes filled with greed.
“Your Excellency, you have ordered us to build factories and workshops, but how do you plan to recruit personnel?”
“I will gather the second and third sons of those in Nante, Croilet, and Helzman who have no work and put them to catch herring, and I will develop some of them into artisans to build the structures, and others will be trained as sailors. There are already over 40,000 people who can be brought here in our Croilet Count’s territory. Conversely speaking…”
They swallowed hard as they awaited my words, and I said with a bright expression.
“That’s equivalent to each of you having 5,000 subordinates. Wow, while you may not receive taxes, having 5,000 subordinates will make you less envious of the nobility. No, in fact, you will enjoy wealth and honors that would make even the ordinary village counts envious.”
Lastly, I told them.
“Since you have chosen to stay today and cooperate with me, I have prepared a small feast. The dishes served here will be enjoyed by the nobles and ladies of the future who will come to this place… so you can look forward to it. But really, you’ll soon have enough that you’ll be sick of it, so enjoy yourselves today while you can. A few months from now, you’ll grow tired of it.”
After that, we quietly enjoyed the sophisticated dishes I provided at the trade and tourism city of Blueport.
The budget per person was only 2 gold coins, but the meals they enjoyed would be worth at least around 20 gold coins…
These dishes will undoubtedly dazzle the many nobles who pursue opulence and new experiences.
And soon, I would leave this territory in the care of Frost and Chris, along with the bureaucrats, and set off to charm the ‘nobles of the Northern Alliance’ with Ela.
I was sure I could entice the rustic people, who had nothing but eye colors, with a variety of splendid goods, numerous dishes, and majestic architecture and art.