You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 93 Expensive Friendship

Morey finally made up his mind.

“Lord Roman, I do not want any reward. Please allow me to make a request.”

"I hope to gain your friendship."

This request made Roman re-evaluate Morey.

Why did you choose me?

Merchants have a relatively high social status, and can be considered to be in the same class as professionals such as lawyers, judges, master blacksmiths, and senior carpenters.

The main characteristic of this class is that they lack the ability to protect themselves.

Only the governors of free city-states and members of commercial guilds could engage in equal dialogue with the nobility.

Even nobles couldn't afford to maintain an army, let alone the merchant class.

Mercenaries were unreliable, so the knights under the command of nobles became the merchants' first choice.

Therefore, merchants would seek the friendship of certain nobles, hoping to gain their patronage and assistance.

Roman didn't have the manpower to allocate to Morey. He valued Green and Aaron highly, and Jeter and Dick were too sensitive to be sent out.

Given Morey's resources, finding a great lord or earl wouldn't be difficult.

From any perspective, Roman is not the best dependent.

Morey frankly stated, "I hope I have a way out."

Selin's children would receive a comment from him when they grew up.

Serin's assessment of Morey was that he was indecisive and incapable of achieving great things.

Serin believes that Morey's tendency to be indecisive before acting leads to missed opportunities. Furthermore, he is prone to regret afterward, always feeling he made a mistake.

But this cautious nature also made his life relatively smooth.

Sometimes it's better to earn less in order to reduce risk.

But his father believed that this kind of mentality was destined to prevent him from accomplishing great things.

Every time Morey thinks of those words, he feels like he has a fishbone stuck in his throat.

This comment has followed Morey for years.

Now, he feels he can't go on like this.

Important things can be left undone!

But I must save my life!

Roman chuckled. "You think Sig Town can be your fallback plan?"

"I don't see anything wrong with this."

Roman did not feel happy about the compliments.

So-called noble friendship is not just about empty words, but about providing real help.

For example, if Morey gains Roman's friendship, he can then act under Roman's name and badge.

Imagine a merchant traveling to an unfamiliar territory to do business. He tells the lord there: "I am a friend of the Duke of Fury, and I have earned his approval."

How will that lord treat him?
He will receive various preferential treatments, and the lord may even reduce commercial taxes as a result.

The reputations of the three Grand Dukes were enough to allow merchants to travel freely throughout the Black Iron Lands and even most of the surrounding countries.

Because these merchants have met with misfortune, the nobles who offered their friendship will certainly not stand idly by.

Otherwise, it would damage their reputation.

To offend a merchant who is a nobleman is to offend the nobleman himself.

Of course, the extent to which nobles took action was also linked to the degree of importance they attached to merchants.

If a merchant gains the friendship of a baron, one cannot expect the baron to attack the earl's territory just because the merchant is being harassed by the earl.
At most, we'll condemn it, and settle the score when we have the chance in the future.

A good merchant will have many nobles as friends. If you mess with these merchants, it's like making enemies of those nobles. If you provoke too many, they might form a coalition and rob you.

Roman had no idea that his reputation was so great, or what advantage it could give Morey.

Among the three great knights, the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor has the most merchant friends.

In recent years, some merchants have even been able to operate freely under the banner of the Cracked Armor family without ever meeting the Cracked Armor Grand Duke in person. They only need to pay a "friendship fee" of several hundred gold coins.

One or two are scarce resources and deserve attention.

But if there are more than ten, it becomes an overabundance.

Before leaving the Grand Duchy, Roman even heard that some merchants were forging the banners of the Grand Duke of Cracked Armor to swindle people.

In any case, nobles in various regions found it difficult to distinguish between the genuine and the fake.

The descendants of the Archmage were outraged. Damn it! Pay up!!

Roman found it amusing.

He told Morey, "My friendship is very expensive."

That's how Roman sees it. Even though he's now unknown and living in obscurity, he still considers himself noble, the only one worthy of respect in the world.

Morey looked troubled.

He had thought that the discounted, high-quality slaves would be enough to win Roman's friendship, but he failed to achieve his goal.

But now that we've spoken, we can't back down.

Morey was in a bit of a bind, so he could only say, "Please feel free to make your request."

Roman smiled faintly and said, "Send me at least 300 slaves every month."

This request made Morey's heart stop beating.

One slave was worth one silver coin, so 300 slaves would be worth 30 gold coins.

This is just ideal data.

In the northern lands, coastal areas, eastern plateaus, western forests...

It should be understood that in every part of this land, human life is quite cheap.

If a human life could be exchanged for 10 jin of salt, or 5 jin of iron, or more than 100 jin of wheat.

They would then not hesitate to use the stones in their hands to kill or capture others, especially in the coldest and most desolate places.

But can it be exchanged for?
Obviously not.

The dead are worthless, the living are precious.

But transportation costs are too high.

Those low-quality slaves weren't even worthy of boarding the ship.

This agreement meant that Morey would have to allocate half of his merchant ships to transport these slaves, and if there were any setbacks, he would even have to deploy all of his merchant ships.

He disliked transporting slaves.

Especially since the Black Iron Lands have been stable for too long, without any large-scale wars, the demand for slaves is not that great.

Unless it's a special type of slave, slave traders in the Black Iron Lands can only make a small profit, not a huge one.

Moreover, having slaves does not equate to having qualified laborers.

If you're too harsh on those slaves, they'll either give up or riot, and they'll die in a heartbeat.

If Roman needs a few slaves, he can always find some by wandering around.

To make large-scale purchases, one must travel to war-torn or impoverished areas, contact slave traders there in advance, and then conduct the transaction.

This means crossing a distance of thousands of miles.

If transported by land, how many horse-drawn carriages would be needed?

Otherwise, how many days would it take for slaves to walk this more than 1,000 li (approximately 500 kilometers)?

Can you walk 50 li (25 kilometers) a day?
How much food will be consumed during this period?
Do you have the strength to walk if you don't have enough to eat?

While water transport is certainly fast and convenient, it still requires boarding a sailboat and rowing upstream. When encountering intersecting waterways, the boat may even have to be lifted across.

It's like what if two railway tracks don't connect? Then you just carry the train across.

Ships are much lighter than trains, but how many slaves can a ship carry?
Why not use this time to transport any other goods?
Shipping costs sometimes even exceed the price of the goods themselves.

Some orchards have fruit that rots on the ground, while some people can't even eat fruit. What makes sense?

By agreeing to the treaty, Morey meant that his caravan was now inextricably linked to the town of Sig.

From now on, we can only engage in the slave trade in Sig Town, and even then, we may not be able to complete this task.

Morey found this condition difficult to accept.

He is a businessman looking for friends, not a stray dog ​​looking for a master.

But Roman's next words dispelled Morey's concerns.

"You can also help me contact other slave traders. As long as you regularly transport slaves to me, I will increase the purchase price."

It's not freeloading, it's acquisition.

Instead of having his caravan do it, he can act as an intermediary.

Morey belatedly realized that his heart had started beating again.

(End of this chapter)