260 – Anecdotes – After the unification of the Creutel Empire (2)
The event that can be said to be the biggest driving force for European development can be said to be the beginning of the Age of Discovery.
It can be said that the beginning is the confrontation between the Islamic State and Europe.
It is a paradoxical fact that the Islamic countries’ trade blockade on spices, etc., Targeting countries such as France, Germany, and Spain, encouraged the beginning of the Age of Discovery. It can be said that it is a case of helping.
And there is this background that Islam and Europe started fighting all over the place…
Europe used to farm for one year and leave for one year, but the Sampo farming method was introduced around the 10th century, resulting in an increase in surplus food and an increase in population.
However, the increase in arable land did not catch up with the increase in population, resulting in a shortage of arable land, and a situation in which the children of nobles did not have land to inherit.
Boys in Europe believed that all problems would be solved by killing nobles and serfs competing for land through war.
The pope and nobles, who felt a sense of crisis at the fact, suggested this.
‘Ah, God hates it when there is a war in Europe. Like a man, let’s give true education to Muslim bastards who have a lot of dirty money and go to eat in Jerusalem. The flag-bearer is the king and he does everything. Guaranteed free issuance of indulgences.’
So Islam and Europe, which had been peacefully selling spices such as pepper, waged war for hundreds of years, and Islam continued to sell spices only to Italian merchants such as Venice, who did not participate in the war.
Then, the price of spices gradually rose like crazy and became the price of gold.
It was the beginning of the Age of Discovery when Portuguese people declared, ‘I’m going to go to India to buy spices myself.’
And if you ask why I’m thinking this…
It reminds me of how Benicia merchants arbitrarily quadrupled the price of spices like pepper, nutmeg, and mace five years ago, just like they did in Europe.
“Do people with less gold or silver than me have a tough temper? These f*cking bastards. Because I distributed nearly 10 times more sugar than their supply, the market price was cut in half, and they took petty revenge!”
Besides that, I had a complete monopoly on the iron armor and weapons that Benicia merchants were making a huge profit on, and the matchlock gun, which was now widely spread.
As someone who worked in commerce and rose to the rank of emperor, it’s not that I don’t understand that Benikea’s guys have to do such petty things in order to survive.
That’s it, and even though it’s a problem limited to one spice market, for me and the empire, pepper from Indica is an irreplaceable necessity for nobles, so it’s a big hit.
At the time I was grinding my teeth like that, Eugen, who had been promoted to first rank inspector a few days ago, opened the door and said.
“All the heads of the great merchants of the Kreutel Empire have arrived at the conference room, Your Majesty.”
“Let me go immediately.”
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From Noble mtl dot com
As I moved and arrived near the meeting room, I heard the voices of the leaders of the guild talking beyond the door.
“Chief Elden, what will Your Majesty propose to us this time? Wouldn’t you like to say something like last time that you should give one silver coin every month to those who do odd jobs?”
“Still, didn’t you lower taxes after raising the salaries of the employees?”
“Rather than that, I’d like you to come up with a way to get revenge on the damn Benikea merchants. Because of those bastards, the deficit in the spice sector is over 5,000 gold coins!”
Before I went in, I decided to mobilize the Imperial Inspection Department to rob the company of a guy who regretted giving a worker a silver coin every month.
Damn it, even if you get one silver coin every month, for a family of four, there’s nothing left to eat with bread mixed with wheat and rye and pickled herring.
Looking at that too, it’s a video even if you don’t say what the welfare state of the employees is like.
As I made up my mind once again and went into the meeting room, the Royal Guard knight following me shouted loudly.
“His Majesty the Emperor Ciel von Creutel ate. Everyone show your respect!”
At those words, the owners of the upper ranks got up from their seats after chatting and prepared their best manners.
After receiving their greetings, I walked in front of a bulletin board with huge maps of the northern continents of Europe and Ifrequiya.
I said, pointing at the map with the scepter in my hand.
“I have called you today to propose a new business. And the name of this project is ‘The Age of Exploration’, and everyone here will have to participate, whether they want to participate or not.”
Hearing that, the faces of the merchants were divided into two groups, one with white faces with anxiety about starting a new business, the other with curiosity about the newly thrown rice cake dumplings, and looked at me.
When I was a count, I had to seek at least some understanding and persuasion from the top lords before proceeding with my business.
Being the emperor, there is no need to persuade the upper tier to force participation in national-scale projects, and all you have to do is issue orders.
Still, if the people involved suffer losses, I’ll make up for it to some extent… No, since it’s a business that started with something that can’t cause damage, you don’t have to worry about compensation for damages.
In the future, just like Muslims, you can return it by giving me a money bomb that will make you bow three times a day in my direction.
“Before we begin, let me tell you that I have been preparing this project since the destruction of the Elain Empire until now. I will also inform you in advance that I have invested half of the gold accumulated in the imperial treasury over the past five years, no, 70% of the gold.”
When the amount invested by me, who had never failed in commercial transactions, was disclosed, the upper-class stockholders looked at me with an expression that they were relieved while being surprised at the scale.
“Then let’s talk about the business in detail. The point of the business is to trade gold with the tribes of the western part of the Ifriqiya continent by ship, starting from Elliot Harbor. All you have to do is send the sailors, technicians, and scholars needed for this business according to my policy, identify them, and conduct trade.”
It was to obtain spices that opened the golden age of the Age of Exploration, but it was the black slaves and gold brought in from West Africa that supported the basis of the Age of Exploration before the spices.
Among these, black slavery not only does not fit my human rights consciousness, but I have no intention of permitting it from the beginning because black slavery will compete with simple workers in the empire for efficiency.
However, if we plant a flag in the West African gold mine and suck up the mineral resources like gold…
You will earn as much income as you earn on sugar.
“At the same time, while doing trade, I will find a place where people live well, but there is no country made by the natives, and I will build a city as a base. I’ll give you the right to trade all goods used in this city. Also, to those who actively cooperated in urban development.”
I paused here to get their attention and then I spoke.
“Important stronghold cities will be under my direct jurisdiction, but the rest of the cities and surrounding lands will be given to your families based on the money invested by each of them and the contributions they have made to the development of the territory they have pioneered. In other words, even if you do not have military service, you will be given a chance to receive a noble title and land.”
If the continent of Ifreikiya is similar to the continent of Africa I know, it would not have a large military force except for a few major cities, so it would not be possible to rebel by force.
However, due to the nature of the huge amount of gold and goods moving, if you properly build and control only one city, a huge amount of money will come in through the vines.
The owners of the giant merchant guilds who tasted the sweet taste of money coming in from other continent cities will invest in Ifreikiya by arranging factories and businesses in the mainland of the Croytel Empire that are getting less and less efficient.
Our empire will gradually expand its territory to unexplored areas.
In that gap, more opportunities will be given to merchants and industrialists who have not yet become conglomerates.
And then, to introduce the last goal, I drew an invisible line from the western part of the Ifriqiya continent to the Muslim Empire.
“Finally, I don’t know how long it will take. If you can return to the continent of Ifriqiya by sea, you will be able to buy and trade the spices yourself.”
At that, one of the leaders of the guild asked with expectant eyes.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Isn’t North Iprikia connected as one, just like Europe? So if you go around the sea, you will be able to reach the origin of spices someday. Even if that’s not the case, if you build a fleet of merchant ships and discover new places, I’ll reward you with a huge amount of gold from my imperial treasury. In addition, the title of count and a county will be given to those who find the route to Indica around the Ifriqiya continent.”
At those words, the heads of the upper ranks looked at me with dumbfounded expressions.
Seeing them like that, I said with a smile.
“Do you want riches, fame and power? If so, put your life and death on the exploitation and trade of the Ifriqiya continent. I’m leaving now, but the Court of Lorraine, or the Chancellor, is coming soon. He seems to have high expectations of how much you will invest.”
And I muttered as I quietly left the seat.
“You bastards of Benikea, I will dig up a lot of gold in Ifreikiya and bring down the price of the gold you hoarded. Even if you don’t have enough spices right now… If the price of gold goes down, damn bankers will love it.”