Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 657 Joint Venture
bang——

Amidst the deafening roar of thousands of spectators, a burly dwarf charged left and right, forcefully shoving aside two opponents who were blocking his way, and like a bull, rushed to the baseline and smashed the rugby ball into the basket.

The referee, who had caught up, was covered in sweat and blew his whistle loudly.

"Spellcaster Academy Team, goal stands! One point!"

The stands erupted in thunderous applause and cheers, showering the young people from other races with praise and commendation.

Having just scored the winning goal, Steelmane ran around the field, so excited he wished he could grow a tail and wag it. His thick beard was covered with glistening beads of sweat. The elven students who were fighting alongside him changed their usual attitude and lifted him high in the air without any disgust, tossing him into the sky amidst cheers.

"The rugby match was absolutely fantastic!" Earl Hines clapped until his hands were red, then turned to his old friend Dickinson beside him, laughing heartily as he exclaimed, "I never imagined I'd live to see dwarves and elves put aside their past grievances and cooperate so closely... Hahaha!"

Dickinson suppressed a laugh and said, "These students have been in the capital for a long time, and they have long lost their initial prejudices and stereotypes. They have engraved His Majesty's concept of racial harmony and equality into their hearts and have completely integrated into this new system."

Ross, the staff officer sitting alongside them, glanced thoughtfully at the heavily guarded platform next to them, then tugged at Dickinson's sleeve and gave him and the Earl a meaningful look.

Dickinson immediately understood and whispered in the Earl's ear, "There's a quarter-hour break before the next match. His Majesty rarely comes to watch the game in person, so take this opportunity... Ross and I will take you up to meet him."

The count's spirits lifted, but he then frowned with concern, saying, "Isn't this too informal? What if His Majesty finds it too impolite..."

Ross shook his head and laughed, "You don't understand His Majesty. He likes to discuss and handle government affairs with people anytime and anywhere, whether it's on his travels, during his daily meals... I've also heard that the Chief Steward, Lord Rainer, is used to reporting to His Majesty every morning when he's just gotten up and is still leaning on his couch."

The count's lips twitched, and he chuckled awkwardly, "Your Majesty is truly an extremely interesting and eccentric person..."

……

Just before the start of the next match, Xavi met with a noble merchant who was renowned in the old capital.

After scrutinizing the other person for a moment, he recalled that they had met once before after the battle of Golden Radiance City... At that time, this elegant nobleman was still holding the prestigious title of Earl of the Imperial Palace.

Dickinson and Ross humbly explained the Earl's purpose to him. Harvey nodded knowingly and asked directly, "The Earl wants to obtain the qualification to participate in the Royal Capital Exhibition from me, which is not difficult... but what kind of goods do you plan to monopolize?"

Harvey had long heard of the Hines family's business of trading sea salt in the western border of the kingdom... He had always been tolerant of law-abiding nobles who knew how to assess the situation and did not push them too hard.

However, the import of salt, sugar, and spices into the capital has always been handled entirely by the Pharos Royal Merchant Guild. The quality and price of the goods they transport are much better than those of the Hines Merchant Guild, which has no competitive advantage whatsoever.

Although the demonetization order and the new currency bill promoted protectionism in the domestic commercial market, Harvey would not choose absolute favoritism when the quality of goods affected the quality of life of the people... No one dislikes cheap and inexpensive imported goods. Count Hines, however, was prepared for Harvey's question and replied with unusual sincerity: "Your Majesty, the business that our family's trading company has been operating in the past... has been limited by transportation and product quality issues, and both profits and sales have gradually declined. Therefore, I have come to you with humbly requesting a new exclusive right to trade goods."

They've stopped doing sea salt trading?
Harvey raised an eyebrow in surprise. It seemed that this former Earl of the Palace was quite a far-sighted and shrewd businessman... He was well aware of the State-Owned Chamber of Commerce's unwavering price control strategy on cheap consumer goods, attempting to cut off its own arm to survive and open up new trade categories before being gradually squeezed out of the market and completely cut off from sales.

"Hehe, that's a wise choice... But to be honest, the merchants at the Royal Capital Trade Fair have already divided up most of the best-selling goods in the kingdom. Even if you suddenly intervene, you'll probably have a hard time getting a satisfactory result."

The Hines Chamber of Commerce, being of limited size, was simply no match for the business giants who had long-standing partnerships with Harvey in a brutal bidding war, even if it was willing to concede profits.

“No, no, no! Your Majesty, I have no intention of competing with your business partners... nor do I intend to disrupt the current harmonious atmosphere of the merchant alliance.” He said, taking out a silk handkerchief from his pocket and carefully presenting it to Harvey. “I wish to request the exclusive right to purchase and sell ice silkworm silk... For this, I am willing to transfer my family’s entire sea salt trading business to the state-run chamber of commerce, as long as I can be allowed to open a silk textile factory in the capital and purchase ice silkworm silk directly from you.”

"Oh? Where did you hear this news?"

Harvey chuckled and casually glanced at Ross and Dickinson standing to the side, startling the two into immediately kneeling on one knee and pleading in unison, "Your Majesty, please forgive us! We learned of this from a silk clothing store in the market district. Considering that it neither involved any confidentiality regulations nor constituted a national trade secret, we... we took it as a way out and revealed it to Your Excellency the Earl."

From the perspective of the Kingdom's laws, this does not involve any violation of laws or regulations. As advisors to the Ministry of Defense, neither of them disclosed any secrets of their work to outsiders in their private interactions. The news that the Ministry of Agriculture had begun large-scale breeding of ice silkworms had long been circulating in the market and was common knowledge. It was not worth Harvey getting so angry about it.

"Get up. I have no intention of punishing you. Your actions have not been against the rules." Harvey's tone remained gentle as he turned to the Earl and said, "Ice silkworm silk production is low, and the finished silk products are expensive... How do you plan to guarantee its sales?"

"Your Majesty, I do not intend to use it to squeeze out the cheap clothing market of ordinary people. Instead, I intend to target the upper-class nobles and wealthy merchants and gentry of the southern kingdoms. Only the capital city has the ability to cultivate and produce ice silk. This scarcity is difficult to be replicated by any merchant guild or workshop. Once it is launched on the market, it will surely attract a frenzy of buying from those rent-seeking classes, just like jewelry and perfumes."

It turns out they had already planned to go down the luxury goods sales route.

Harvey nodded in satisfaction and went straight to the point, stating his conditions—

"First, I will give you the qualification to enter the Royal Capital Trade Fair, but you still need to participate in the bidding for the exclusive right to purchase and sell ice silkworm silk, and obtain it with sufficient cost and sincerity."

"Secondly, when opening a silk factory in the capital, my state-run chamber of commerce must hold a 50% stake... But rest assured, they will not interfere with your business operations or the management of the chamber of commerce."

"Third, the silk factory must prioritize recruiting local people and provide at least 1,500 jobs. The salary and benefits system must also be implemented in accordance with the standards of state-owned factories."

Looking at Earl Hines, whose face was pale and covered in cold sweat, Harvey curled the corners of his mouth and said calmly, "You don't need to agree to me right now. Go back and think it over carefully before giving me an answer."

"Now, let's talk about you selling your family's sea salt trading business to me..."

(End of this chapter)