Throne of the North.

Chapter 714 The Economy of Empire and the World
The task of the new emperor of the empire is quite simple.

The merchant guild, which originally created wealth for the nobles, was transformed into a merchant guild that created wealth for the empire.

Such a thing was naturally hard to accept. Even nobles like Grand Duke Meyers looked at Volvo Columbus, the Emperor Columbus IV, in shock.

"Your Majesty, the major merchant guilds are the wealth of the nobles. No one has the right to shake the territory of the nobles. The merchant guilds belong to the nobles, and only to the nobles."

Grand Duke Meyers said somewhat angrily that if the emperor had such thoughts, then they, the nobles who supported him, could also become Grand Duke Freming's allies.

Ultimately, the current political landscape of the empire still revolves around the emperor and the nobility, with a clear dividing line between them.

Columbus III almost erased this line, but he died.

The nobles redefined this boundary.

"Your Excellency Grand Duke Meyers, you must understand that I am creating wealth for the empire."

The emperor looked at the nobles before him and said sternly:
"You should believe that I will bring more glory to the empire, and my followers, you nobles, will also reap more wealth from it."

"The emperor of the empire does not plunder the wealth of the nobles, but rather expands their wealth."

"In my opinion... not every nobleman is qualified to engage in trade."

Grand Duke Meyers raised his head, his aged eyes narrowing slightly, and looked at the emperor.

……

……

……

The North, the Frozen Territory.

Ryan returned from the Kingdom of Andara in the east and took a moment to glance at yet another decree from the emperor in the capital.

"This is the third one already. Is he so eager to assert his sovereignty now that he's become emperor?"

Ryan was helpless. The first two letters had already caused a lot of trouble in the Northwind Province. Although the emperor did not ask Northwind to produce a lot of iron ore, he was asking the nobles to support the slaves in construction.

I don't know now...

"Trade permit from the Chamber of Commerce?"

what?
Ryan's eyes widened, temporarily setting aside his thoughts of war, as he stared in astonishment at the decree being delivered to the nobles.

"Is Volvo going to reform the empire's economy?"

Ryan was incredibly curious. Was His Majesty the Emperor really that brave? He was making such sweeping changes right from the start, shaking up the most crucial element of the three pillars of politics, economy, and military.

The edict was very, very long, so long that many nobles would probably give up halfway through, but Ryan patiently read it to the end.

Ryan gently put down the decree in his hand and sat in his chair for a long time without saying a word.

"master."

Beard came in and placed the tea on the table.

Ryan picked up the scalding hot tea and drank it all in one gulp.

“Beard, put this decree in the middle.”

The scalding hot tea made Ryan's mind active. This was an extraordinary resource. After thinking for a long time, he finally understood why Grand Duke Meyers and Grand Duke Freming in the capital city had agreed to the emperor's decree at this time.

"Volvo, you still have some tricks up your sleeve."

Volvo's methods of wielding political power are no less sophisticated than those of Columbus III.

He probably wanted to issue this decree authorized by the Chamber of Commerce a long time ago, but before that, he first issued a decree on the interests of Grand Duke Meyers and his group, ensuring that the story of historical inheritance would not be lost or interrupted.

Then a second batch of decrees were issued, which would be blocked by nobles such as Grand Duke Freming.

Amidst the entanglement, Volvo announced its ambitions, namely the so-called trade permits.

The content of trade permits is actually very simple: it involves bidding and qualifications.

Permitted chambers of commerce are qualified to conduct trade worldwide and require only extremely low tariffs... or rather, they shouldn't be called tariffs; the government hasn't even formalized such rhetoric yet. It's more like a form of protection money.

And what about the merchant guilds that didn't receive permission? To be precise... what about the nobles who didn't receive permission?

They would become producers, providing resources for these merchant guilds; the land resources controlled by the nobles would be the best production base.

In Ryan's view, this decree clearly divided the empire's economy into three parts.

The first part belongs to the minor nobles, who grow and sell crops on their land; they are the producers.

The second part consists of the great nobles, who will use the merchant guilds they control to conduct economic exchanges and trade.

The third part is the empire, and the emperor.

The empire and the emperor received a share of the profits from the high and low nobles in this transaction; in other words, it was taxation.

Volvo is making the world's economic and trade system more standardized, but that's not the real result.

The final result will be only one: a severe disparity in wealth.

The great nobles will acquire more wealth, while the lesser nobles... only a portion of the lesser nobles will see their wealth increase, depending on the fertility of their land and the geographical environment of their territory.

Those with favorable geographical environments, such as the nobles of the Volga province, could grow large quantities of grain simply by sowing seeds in their territories, so they were never short of money.

If the geographical environment is not good... then it will be difficult.

Wealth among nobles will concentrate upwards, and eventually, countless riches will converge in the heart of the empire, the capital city.

The reason why the four Grand Dukes of the Empire and many nobles tacitly agreed to the creation of this decree was only because of one thing.

They controlled the chamber of commerce; they were its masters. They also controlled all the specialties of each province.

A simple calculation shows that under this decree, one's wealth will increase in a very short period of time.

This even includes nobles from the Northwind Province, such as Ryan, Winter, and Sauron.

The nobles, both large and small, control numerous iron mines in this land, which are precious land resources. Therefore, it can be said that the nobles here are all beneficiaries of the government's policies.

But that's only the basics.

There are still many nobles in the Northwind Province, each with their own territory, but the land resources there are barely enough to support themselves. "Using wealth to concentrate power, this emperor's methods are rather cruel."

Ryan analyzed it this way, but he could also see that the Empire's internal reaction to this matter would not be significant in the short term.

Why? Because this cruelty will most likely be first applied to other parts of the Norris continent.

The empire was powerful and prosperous. Even the poorest baron was richer than the poor barons in the noble territories and kingdoms, and had more political opportunities and the means to play the victim to live a life of luxury.

In short, even if you can't be a master, you can still be a beggar.

However, outside the empire, there are many places where even beggars are not allowed to go.

Just like the neighboring Kingdom of Andara, where nobles mainly use silver coins for daily necessities. Extraordinary knights and mages are already in the high-end market, and gold coins don't circulate very often.

According to Ryan, this period could last for a hundred years barring any unforeseen circumstances.

A century later, the powerful nobles within the empire will fight over wealth, leading to a redistribution of riches among them. Some nobles will lose their wealth, and that will be the time when the empire will suffer disaster.

The empire's strength allowed it to remain standing for a long time; it's just unknown whether those great nobles and emperors will ever witness such a scene today.

Ryan was thinking based on the history of another world in his mind, a world whose people... probably couldn't do that.

His thoughts were fixed on a few words in the government decree.

Trade license.

How many merchant guilds does the empire have now? They all belong to the great nobles, but what about ten years from now? How many merchant guilds will be left?
Ryan had long ago witnessed the shrewdness of the guild managers who served the nobility.

The decree states that if the Chamber of Commerce provides sufficient tax revenue to the Empire, it will receive permission from the Empire, which seems to be no different from before.

Ten years from now, major chambers of commerce will likely engage in economic and trade wars among themselves, resulting in the demise of a number of chambers.

And then... hehe.

"I wonder if the emperor had already considered this, which is why he did this, or if he simply wanted to control more wealth under his power? Has the monetary victory in the Northern War made him lose his mind?"

Ryan muttered to himself, not in a hurry, because he was also a beneficiary of this decree, and he also had a place like the Ryan Treasury.

What can withstand economic turmoil the most? Banks, of course.

A bank that appears to only spit out and never eat should be built on water, because the bank reflected in the water is the real bank, which eats everything but spits it out.

Ryan understood why the capital city possessed such captivating charm.

Even he had to change some of his future plans because of this decree.

With a new emperor in power, who knows how many orders will follow?

"Why weren't there so many problems when Columbus III was alive?"

Ryan thought helplessly. The capital city wouldn't bother him for the time being, but he needed to give his allies a heads-up.

The Kingdom of Andara.

The king and nobles were still discussing how much more supplies were needed for the war in the north. Many nobles were making a fuss about it, and the king was finding it difficult to control so many nobles.

"Your Majesty, news has arrived from Earl Ryan that the Flor Empire will issue Imperial Trade Permits in three months. Merchant guilds of any kingdom or noble territory can enter the Empire to trade as long as they obtain Imperial Trade Permits. The Flor Empire has even sent people to the Kingdom of Wansu and the Dwarf Kingdom."

The king of Andara, upon hearing these words, looked up in bewilderment, completely unable to comprehend what these strange words meant when put together.

"What is the Empire trying to do?"

The king asked the question without any guile, and the nobles were also unable to answer; the news was far too advanced for them.

Beside the king, Earl Meuses pondered for a moment, his eyes filled with surprise and a hint of confusion, before speaking:

"Your Majesty, the Empire is trying to integrate the merchants of the Empire and the Norris Continent. They have a new emperor, and this new emperor seems to be very eager for money."

"Is that so? If we give the emperor money, will he be able to send more troops to help us defeat the orcs in the north?"

The Kingdom of Andara has been racking its brains because of the orcs. This land is not qualified to be like the empire. When the orcs came, the nobles still had time to engage in political and power struggles in the capital city.

They lacked the confidence; the Andara Kingdom, whose capital had already been defeated, was terrified when the orcs arrived.

“That’s certainly possible, but let’s hear what else Lord Ryan has to say first.”

The king and nobles then came to their senses and looked at the messenger.

Ryan's prestige has been rising steadily lately due to the war with the orcs.

"Your Majesty, Count Ryan's letter states, 'Your Majesty and all the nobles of Andara, I sincerely invite you to join the Northern Merchant Guild and establish a branch of the Andara Kingdom's trading guild. You have already witnessed the Imperial Merchant Guild's trade with the Andara Kingdom via the Northern Wind Road, reaping immense wealth. Now, a tremendous opportunity lies before the Andara Kingdom to exchange its resources for vast riches throughout the Norris world through Imperial channels.'"

After the servant finished speaking, he handed the letter and another letter that he was not entitled to see to a member of the royal family, who then presented them to the king.

King Andara opened the letter, calmly read it aloud, and then read it aloud.

"This is both an opportunity and a challenge, but as an ally of the Empire, the Kingdom of Andara has no right to refuse. More merchant guilds will enter the Kingdom of Andara. Their arrival will bring wealth, but it will also cause the land to rise in value or lose its value. Those with abundant land will rejoice, while those with barren land will weep."

"Only by using the same means can the land interests of the nobles be protected. The wealth of the North cannot compare to the soil of the warm climate of the South, but the resources that the North possesses are enough to preserve the wealth and interests of the Northern nobles."

“We are all citizens of the North, but as the chairman of the Military Council, Ryan can only suggest to His Majesty the establishment of a force that is integrated with the Northern Merchants’ Guild.”

At roughly the same time, the rhetoric used in the Gerald noble territory was also quite similar.

However, things have changed somewhat in the kingdoms of Sera and Coran.

Regarding the Kingdom of Sera, Ryan needed them to ascertain the attitude of the Dawn Church. Since the Emperor of the Empire wanted to engage in global economics, the Dawn Church was an unavoidable factor.

This world cannot exist without faith.

The situation in the Kingdom of Kolan is much simpler. The Dawn Cult, the King, and the Grand Duke have complete control over the entire Kingdom of Kolan. Right now, everyone is still in a honeymoon period, and there shouldn't be any major problems.

"I just hope that His Majesty the Emperor won't cause any more trouble."

Ryan thought to himself that he didn't have time to overthink what the emperor was up to.

Only the nobles of the North can feel the pressure from the orcs of the North.

Do they think the only thing lacking in the southern lands is money?

(End of this chapter)