Chapter 69. When someone else's territory goes well, it hurts my stomach. (3)
“As expected, I guess you didn't know. The lord has developed a new farming method this year.”
A merchant belonging to the Arnel Company taught me the whole story step by step.
Areel Ernesia, lord of Fahilia.
The reputation was well known.
He is the one who developed a new paper and revived the territory here.
Then, he was interested in the crop production environment here.
He promised to greatly improve the farming environment here by investing considerable attention and budget, and realized it.
“No matter how much you improve. How to farm in this weather...
Den tried to imagine, but he couldn't understand.
“I don’t know either. It seems that it was done by having wizards do research, but if I knew well, would I be a merchant? do wizards.”
“But… no matter how much farming I do, it can’t be compared to southern crops…
” “I knew you would say that.”
It is normal to not believe in common sense.
The merchant gave an understanding look, and after a while instructed his subordinate to bring a handful of barley.
“Look at this.”
“Is it barley?”
“This is the barley produced in Pahilia this year.”
Den kept his mouth shut.
I can't believe it.
The barley he showed me was never inferior in quality to the one he brought.
Are you sure it's not cheating?
However, it is well known that Arnel is the one who has a direct influence on Arnel Corporation.
It is unlikely.
Then everything you hear now is true.
“In addition, Eulhae plans to do business with the West as well.”
“I heard that the West is a bad harvest.”
I should have gone that way.
Looking back, there were signs.
Only this year, there were extremely few peddlers carrying crops here.
.... Those who already knew shut their mouths and quickly headed west or east.
There is no point in blaming them.
For a peddler, not knowing the market price and demand information of a product is a disqualification factor.
It was too late to regret it now.
‘I can't go west.'
The road to the west from here is rough, and by then the crops will be spoiled, so it's impossible.
Like it or not, we have no choice but to dispose of our crops here.
“Even so, this price…
” “At least, I'm paying you like this because of your hard work. Originally, it doesn’t matter if you buy it at a lower price.”
Thinking of the peddler who came to do business from far away, he paid it not badly.
But even so, in the end, only horse fodder comes out.
virtually no benefit.
“Isn’t it fortunate that I didn’t suffer irreparable damage?”
“… I have nothing to say.”
Den's shoulders drooped and he admitted his mistake.
* * *
There is a country called the three major powers.
The three countries that gained hegemony after the Great War 50 years ago.
Ernesia Kingdom.
Merman Empire.
And the Kingdom of Damaniel.
The Kingdom of Damaniel is somewhat lacking in power compared to the other two countries.
Even at the time of the Great War, a country that obtained interests and wealth almost like a fisherman.
However, it is a place where luck and skill are showing off their status as the third largest country.
A banquet attended by certain high-ranking nobles of the Kingdom of Damaniel was in full swing.
It was a banquet held directly by the Prime Minister of the kingdom.
“I hope you enjoy today to your heart’s content.”
As befits a banquet hosted by a country's prime minister, most of the high-ranking nobles in the kingdom were participating.
“You seem to be in a particularly better mood this year.”
“Ahahaha. Thanks to you.”
The nobles spoke nice things to the Prime Minister, sometimes exchanging information with each other, and sometimes trying hard to impress him.
“It's small, but I've prepared something that will please His Excellency.”
A high-ranking aristocrat beckoned, and the lady-in-waiting handed over something like papers to the minister's servant.
It was a ledger about the gift he had prepared.
The present ordered to be moved to the chancellor's storage should have arrived by now.
“Hmm. Will I be happy?
I'm curious about what Where...
The chancellor gestured to the servant with some anticipation to check the list of documents he had just presented.
“Oh this!”
A gift from a high-ranking noble is a precious elixir that is only sold within the kingdom of Ernesia—a elixir rumored to grow new hair just by applying it.
Ointment for permanent hair loss by name!
“I'm ashamed to say that the prime minister is deeply concerned, but I've prepared it.”
what is that anxiety
You can tell by looking at the Prime Minister's head.
The light from the chandelier hanging from the ceiling is shining brightly as if it were a blessing.
Hair loss medicine is a drug that cannot be traded in the Kingdom of Damaniel.
This is because, unlike other imported goods, pharmaceuticals have not yet been officially approved for trade because the procedure is complicated.
That's why the chancellor was also a drug that he tried to get somehow through the back door, not through the official route.
“It would never have been cheap. sending something like this Wouldn't that be too much of a burden?”
Contrary to what he said, a deep smile appeared on the corners of the chancellor's mouth.
“If you think of it as my heart, it won’t be such a burden.”
“Thank you. hmm. I'm sorry for just taking it. Is there anything you want to know in case you want to know later?”
“Oops. I don't want anything in return.
Instead... my son was assigned to the Ministry of Home Affairs the next year. It's embarrassing, but... because I'm worried...
he deliberately muted.
With that alone, the chancellor would have fully understood what he wanted.
“Don't worry. I will definitely remember your heart.”
In addition to this, there were not a few nobles who gave all sorts of gifts to impress the chancellor somehow.
Of course, the types of gifts varied.
However, to point out what they had in common, about two-thirds of the items they donated were products that had not yet been officially imported.
“Come to think of it, there is not a single dish at this year’s banquet that is not outstanding.”
“That’s right. They told me to pay attention to several things, including drinks. Thanks to that, the chef suffered quite a bit.”
Even what the nobles ate and drank at the banquet was quite a bit of things brought in from Ernesia Kingdom.
Drinks range from carbonated ade to cocktails with carbonated water added.
And a recipe that the youngest prince of Ernesia Kingdom developed.
Recently, in the Kingdom of Damaniel, items brought from Ernesia Kingdom or items that have not yet been brought in are very popular.
Nobles to look good to each other. Or, in order to show off, she spent a lot of money and purchased products from the Kingdom of Ernesia.
Or, if they couldn't save it, they were trying to save it by mobilizing illegal routes.
That's why there were not a few people in the banquet hall looking at the scene with an undesirable gaze.
* * *
The meeting room of the kingdom of Damaniel.
There, King Hezen Lugia Lutania asks, looking at his subjects from the seat of honor with a worried expression on his face.
“What do you guys think?”
A question with multiple meanings.
No one readily answered.
There is no one here who does not know what the king is so uncomfortable with.
“What the hell do you think of this!”
The king could not stand it and burst into anger at the frustrating attitude of his servants.
He threw dozens of sheets of white paper on the table.
The servants just watch the fluttering and scattered papers in silence.
“I heard that there are quite a few other things going around the market these days.”
Not long ago, the king ordered an aide to take a look at the market in the kingdom.
And after reading the report in its entirety, I couldn't help but feel miserable.
“I heard that wherever you go these days, there is no place without items from the Kingdom of Ernesia!”
Even if you grab a merchant and ask them to recommend a good product, they say he recommended the imported product there without hesitation.
“I heard that they even had a banquet with special products from that kingdom!”
Paper, let's say yes, because paper is necessary.
But what about the other luxuries!
A few nobles whose consciences were pricked by his wrath could be heard gasping.
“... Your Majesty, please calm down first.”
In the end, the one who interceded was the Duke of Elgizen, one of Hezen's arms.
“There is no point in reprimanding them right now.”
“Do you see this as something to be overlooked?”
“I don’t think so either.”
He also knows very well what the king is so concerned about and resents.
Currently, a considerable amount of foreign currency is flowing into Ernesia Kingdom.
Of course, if you trade, money can come in and out.
However, the problem is that trade in recent years has been unilaterally leaning toward importing and consuming Ernesia Kingdom's goods.
“How do you think things will turn out this way?”
To the king's question, the Duke of Elgizen immediately brought out a prepared answer.
“At this rate, there will be a gap that can no longer be filled in five years.”
When he pointed it out again, a shadow fell on the faces of the others.
So far, the economic gap between the three major countries has not been that great.
Of course, there were minor changes every year, but there were no overwhelming differences.
However, the weight was finally unilaterally put on that stable scale.
It's exactly a sign, but when you've already detected it, it's usually too late.
“What should I do?”
That is the main agenda of today's meeting.
We must stop the poisoning of Ernesia Kingdom somehow.
“paper! Is there any particular trend in the empire on paper?”
Although paper is not traded with Ernesia Kingdom, the Merman Empire, which previously produced paper, cannot overlook it.
Even if it wasn't so, they were the ones who tried to interfere with the paper imported from the Orient at every opportunity.
I'm sure he wasn't going to let it go easily.
“They said it had no effect.”
Naturally, the Empire sent a formal letter of protest to the Kingdom of Ernesia.
However, the fundamental development method of paper is different.
Their objection, on the grounds of different quality, was formally dismissed.
In response, the Empire tried to find out the secret method in order to somehow dig out the weakness of paper, but it seems that there was no particular result.
Same goes for other products.
All countries have strived to overtake them in common, but as of now, there has been no country that has achieved such remarkable results.
“What should I do...
Now I even feel the urgency.
It wasn't something I couldn't understand.
In the end, if this continues, it is a problem that could overturn the economic landscape between countries in the future.
Among them, the man who had been silent until now opened his mouth.
The Duke of Seville, the other of the two henchmen.
“We have to stop it by force.”
The force he spoke of was none other than war.
Diplomatically, there is no way to stop it, so all that remains is an event of physical destruction.
“... But the Kingdom of Ernesia is a strong country. Will it be so easy to wage war
?
Even though it is the third largest power, the kingdom of Ernesia has a slight advantage militarily.
In fact, this place is 3rd, 3rd!
How can you win a war with this ambiguous power?
“joy. I don't mean to fight alone.”
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