Chapter 82: Leading Industries 1
Translator: Cinder Translations
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Mr. Bennett Todd, residing in Frand Port, is a wealthy man in his prime, owning five cargo ships.
Bennett's grandfather was originally a humble land merchant who accumulated wealth through years of traveling. By the time of his father's generation, the family began to focus on maritime ventures.
Amidst puzzled looks from relatives, his father used the money left by his grandfather to buy the first oar-sail ship for the Todd family and recruited enough sailors to start shipping business in the Northwestern Bay.
By the time Bennett took over, the Todd family already owned five cargo ships.
The presence of pirates did not overly affect the business of ship merchants. Though the annual protection fee was heart-wrenching, since the rise of the great pirate Edward, pirates understood the principle of not killing the goose that lays golden eggs. Only those stubborn enough would be robbed clean by pirates.
Furthermore, even if the money meant as a protection fee were not paid to the pirates, it would still be collected as tax by the lords.
True, what's lost are those lords along the coastline, just on the whole, where pirates are more likely to receive higher protection fees, lords have to collect fewer taxes, after all, a sheep with two pieces of skin cannot be peeled.
However, this year, the Northwestern Bay is said to be ever-changing.
The pirate leader Edward and his main fleet suddenly leave with no clue as to where they are going, and the remaining scattered pirate groups have lost their restraints, beginning to act recklessly, ignoring past rules.
This has caused considerable losses to maritime merchants.
Then several pirate groups landed one after another to loot, a leader named "Shark" from a pirate group even occupied Frand Port and stayed there. More surprisingly, they also ambushed and killed Earl Graymam, the lord of Alda.
Including local merchants like Bennett, they were extorted for a large sum of money by the pirates.
However, the good days of the pirates didn't last long. The new lord, Paul Grayman, quickly recruited soldiers and fought back against the pirates. The Shark and other pirate groups were hanged on the square of Frand Port a few months after their glory.
Initially in Mr. Todd's eyes, the young little Grayman was an ambitious man, of course, he might as well be too tall.
After reclaiming Frand Port, he convened businessmen to wind, saying that he would establish a "far-reaching trading company" in the future, hoping that everyone could participate together.
In his depiction of the future, businessmen's business will no longer be confined to the Northwestern Bay, but will reach further places, such as the Kingdom's west coast, such as the Southern Angle Bay, and even eastward after rounding Angle Bay.
At the time, everyone thought that the lord had been bewildered by the victory of pirates and was asking for money in different ways, how long would it take to travel that far by boat?
However, the recent events that happened to this lord have made Mr. Todd and some of his merchant friends feel that he was not just boasting or deceiving everyone at that time.
Earl Grayman did not force everyone to "invest" in a company as everyone had guessed, but he first produced several novel things that sold well.
Cheap new paper, exquisite porcelain, and harvesters that attracted landlords to place orders, all of which were produced by this young lord.
So even if he invented a ship that could sail far, it seemed not impossible.
However, even if this were true, what is there in the remote northwest that can be sold as a commodity, which would attract people from prosperous areas in the south?
Oh, yes! Earl Grayman himself managed to sell those things. No wonder he had to set up a "far-reaching trading company."
This way, the count came to Frand Port once again, summoning the businessmen to the government hall for a meeting.
At the appointed time, Bennett arrived at the government hall, this former church had been refurbished and turned into a place where town mayors and other officials handled daily affairs.
There were already quite a few familiar faces sitting inside, not just businessmen, they greeted Bennett one after another.
The lord hadn't arrived yet, and everyone was discussing what tricks Earl would play this time.
"The Earl Grayman is here!"
Upon hearing the loud announcement from the guard standing at the door, everyone immediately quieted down.
They saw the lord enter with Frand Port's mayor Theodore and the mayor's advisor Old Peter through the side door.
After the three of them took their seats, Earl Grayman went straight to the point.
"Gentlemen, the reason I've summoned you here this time is not for anything else but to discuss a good way for you all to get rich."
"Make us rich?" The businessmen below exchanged glances. Weren't the nobles treating them as fat sheep? When they needed money, they would just slaughter them.
"I can collect more taxes only when you all get rich!" the count said unabashedly.
Ah, so that's it. First, fatten up the sheep, then slaughter them.
Well, that works too. At least there will be more meat left on their own bodies. Many merchants began to think more actively.
The lord continued, "Surely everyone knows that the south is at war. What does war mean? War means getting rich!"
As vassals of His Majesty the King, it was quite unexpected for him to say such words in such difficult times. Many people were secretly mocking him, but they all agreed on one thing: getting rich.
"I mentioned the matter of overseas trade before, but it's not yet feasible. However, my shipyard is currently building ships suitable for long-distance voyages. I believe we will soon see results. When the time comes, I'll need everyone's support!"
Upon hearing this, Bennett thought to himself, "It seems Earl Grayman is prepared."
If ships suitable for long-distance voyages could really be built, the Todd family, as ship merchants, must not be left behind, no matter what.
Of course, it wasn't just Bennett who had similar thoughts.
The lord continued, "Although the conditions for maritime transportation are not yet in place, we can still transport goods by land. Even though there are many checkpoints along the way, there are still profits to be made."
The businessmen were skeptical. They had tried what the lord had just mentioned. They all suffered losses.
The specialties of the Northwestern Bay region were few, and most of the products produced here were also produced elsewhere. Transporting them over long distances, passing through various checkpoints of each territory, made it impossible to set low prices at the destination in order to avoid losses.
And because of the high prices, they couldn't compete with similar products locally, ending up not selling and still suffering losses.
Therefore, for a long time, the businessmen here either sold their own products locally or traded foreign specialties in the Northwestern Bay.
The wealth outflow caused by the trade deficit was one of the important reasons for the economic decline in the Northwestern Bay region. If it weren't for the support of food and a few rare specialties, the situation would be unimaginable.
"I know what you all are thinking, so I've decided to develop several 'leading industries' for our Alden."
"Leading industries?" A new term emerged from the lord's mouth, and the businessmen pricked up their ears.
"For example, the recent new paper, porcelain, and harvesters. We can manufacture what others cannot, or we can produce better quality, larger quantities, and cheaper prices."
The businessmen suddenly realized that the recent emergence of paper, porcelain, and harvesters could indeed be considered specialties of the Northwestern Bay region.
Unique in the world, there were no others, only one, and that was the Grayman family.
Many people in the room had already purchased paper and porcelain from the Earl's "factory" and sold them elsewhere.
Only the harvesters were strictly restricted by the lord's mansion, allowing only agricultural machinery factories to sell directly to indigenous customers in Alden and Byerldine.
However, the production of these items was still too low to be considered an industry.
Many people had a ridiculous idea popping up in their minds:
Could it be...
Is it possible...
Earl Grayman intends to share the manufacturing technology of these items with everyone, thus expanding their production?
(End of the Chapter)
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