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Chapter 317 – Winter King (Rex Hyemis) (5)
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The Union State of Kalmar was up next after Teuton.
The Union State of Kalmar was located on the northern edge of the continent. Therefore, they were known as the Lions of the North. They were a nation of warriors that roared as they embraced the harsh cold and winters.
In the past, they used to go around on boats like Vikings and pillage various corners of the continent. Now, these brutal warriors succeeded in wrapping their combative spirits in a layer of refined leather. Their swords disappeared, but they instead became skilled at trade and commerce.
They were warriors and merchants at the same time. These two sides strangely coexisted within Kalmarians. Well, be it with swords or trading, they were still pillaging one way or another. It wasn’t that strange.
Kalmar’s ambassador spoke up.
“Count Palatine, the Republic has offered to lower their tariffs.”
It seems the Republic had already tossed out some bait.
“Lower their tariffs, huh……?”
“The conditions are fairly good. The reason why I am telling you this is because I wish to pay you back for all you have done for us, Count Palatine.”
And to also get us to offer a better proposal, I assume. Honest and bold. This was the impression I was getting from the Union State of Kalmar.
I swayed my glass of brandy with one hand.
“From what you have told me, it seems Kalmar is considering quite the detailed proposal.”
“Yes, all we desire is an ample market.”
The ambassador took a sip from his glass.
“The tariffs proposed by the Republic are rather appealing. However, the Republic does not have a very large market. To us, the Habsburg Empire has a more desirable market……. If a few conditions are met, that is.”
Lowering tariffs was obviously one of those conditions.
Out of all the nations on the continent, the Union State of Kalmar, the Republic of Batavia, and the Kingdom of Sardinia are the most well-known nations when it comes to merchant business. Kalmar was trying to get a certain lead by getting tariff benefits.
“I am guessing that one of the conditions is to not give tariff benefits to Batavia or Sardinia.”
“As expected, the Count Palatine is quick on the uptake.”
“Hm.”
I smiled.
“It is not particularly bad.”
“Not bad……? Pardon my rudeness, but could you clarify what you mean by that?”
Kalmar furrowed his brows. Did my response sound too vague to him?
“I am saying that it is not bad as a proposal; however, I cannot say that this is the best plan.”
“……I struggle to understand what you are trying to say, Count Palatine.”
The ambassador clearly looked uncomfortable. A politician from another nation had suddenly pointed out that their proposal wasn’t particularly good. This most likely rubbed him the wrong way.
Be patient. You’ll also understand soon enough.
“The motives behind your nation’s proposal are too obvious. You are openly defining Sardinia and Batavia as rival nations. Although we will be getting your nation as an ally, we would also be taunting two other nations at the same time. This would not be a balanced trade.”
“Are you saying that our nation is lacking to be a collaborator of the Empire?”
The ambassador asked back in an angered tone. I chuckled and shook my head.
“Of course not. As I mentioned earlier, the issue is that your motives are too plain for everyone to see. Hm. In terms of political moves, I guess you could say that it lacks grace.”
“…….”
“In the first place, Sardinia and Batavia will not stay still if a proposal like this is made. They will go on an offensive against our nation’s merchants. I am certain that a war of tariffs will take place. I believe that that would not be a good situation for your nation either. Am I correct?”
The ambassador slammed his glass down on the table.
“We warriors are not afraid of confrontations! Be it duels or commerce, tens of thousands of braindead Sardinians and wimpy Batavians are not enough to scare us.”
His confidence was good, but confidence must have its roots in reason.
A nation instantly becomes a group of failures when they allow confidence based on emotions to get involved in their national politics. This is because, if a policy fails, they don’t accept the failure rationally, but they instead try to analyze it from an emotional perspective.
Why did they lose to a rival nation? Because their bravery as warriors was lacking. Because their loyalty to their nation was lacking. Or because the other nation resorted to underhanded means…….
This wouldn’t solve anything. They would end up only emphasizing pointless things like bravery and loyalty. Emotions must only be used when trying to incite the masses. You must maintain a rational mindset when dealing with policies.
“Ambassador, would a method that allows you to win without shedding any blood not be the best plan?”
“I did not know you were a tactician, Count Palatine. Do you perhaps have an ingenious solution?”
I grinned.
“I heard that monsters are the biggest inconvenience when sailing the sea.”
“Hm? Yes, that is indeed the case, but…….”
The ambassador gave a vague response.
There are numerous monsters in the water. They’re a big threat to merchants. However, he couldn’t honestly say something like, ‘Yes, monsters are an annoying obstacle when doing trade on the sea and I wish they were all eradicated’ while in front of a Demon Lord.
“As you know, we are able to control monsters to a fair degree. If you think about it……it would be possible to make them not attack ‘specific merchant ships’.”
“……!”
The ambassador froze.
A curtain of silence fell over us for a moment. The ambassador seemed to shake himself out of his stupor from the pressure of the silence.
“C-Count Palatine, what do you mean by that?”
“We wish to trade with all nations. In order to prove our intent, we are planning to put a number of the lawless monsters of the sea under our command. Of course, it would be difficult to control all of them from the beginning.”
I slowly filled the ambassador’s now empty glass with brandy.
“The Empire’s plan is as follows: we will sell a marking that monsters can easily recognize. Like a fragrant substance you can apply to the sides of your ships. Well, there are several methods we can use.”
“…….”
“As a means to test this idea, we plan on selling this marking to a specific nation first.”
The ambassador raised his glass and drank its contents in a single gulp. He couldn’t hide the excitement on his face.
“In other words, you will prioritize giving those marks……to the merchant vessels registered under our union?”
“Correct. However, that is not the correct way to put it. This is not out of the Empire’s consideration. This is your nation participating in our dangerous experiment.”
I smiled broadly.
“Ambassador, let us say that this experiment is successful. There are numerous free cities throughout the continent. Commerce and the shipping industry make up most of the industries. What if they were to realize that ‘you do not have to worry about being attacked on the sea if you register under the Union State of Kalmar’?
“……!”
The ambassador’s mouth fell open in utter shock.
That’s right.
This won’t stop with the protection of Kalmar ships. This would give people a huge incentive to partner with Kalmar over Batavia and Sardinia. Kalmar would gain a benefit that other nations couldn’t possibly imitate.
“Batavia and Sardinia will also be unable to condemn you publicly. Your nation simply went along with our Empire’s experimental policy. The most they can do is stare at your nation with envious eyes.”
The ambassador gulped.
“How much will you sell that mark for?”
“It will be better the more expensive they are. This is for your nation’s sake, Ambassador.”
The ambassador furrowed his brow.
“……My apologies, but I do not understand. Why would it be good for us if they are expensive?”
“If they are cheap, then we will fall under the suspicion of colluding in secret. On the other hand, if they are just expensive enough to be considered a bit exorbitant, then people will assume your nation foolishly invested a large sum in marks that have not been verified. In other words, you took a huge risk…….”
Kalmar would be taking a huge risk for this venture. This would make it even harder for Sardinia and Batavia from condemning them.
There would be no formal condemnation or dispute. They would only be profiting.
All Kalmar had to do was reap the profits while not having to lift a finger.
“Ambassador, no matter how expensive they are, it would be a cheap price compared to what you will earn from the free cities. Furthermore, you can also resell the marks you purchased from us. For an appropriate price, that is.”
“Y-You will let us resell them?”
The ambassador ultimately lost his composure. His tone and expression had fallen apart.
“There are many things in the world that are prohibited officially but are still done unofficially.”
“T-This is not something that I can decide on my own. I must send a report to my country immediately.”
“Of course. But do not take too much time, Ambassador.”
I spoke casually.
“We could give the same offer to Batavia or Sardinia.”
That was the decisive blow.
The Union State of Kalmar sent us their response the very next morning.
The Union State promised the Habsburg Empire their full support as long as they were given the right to monopolize a certain marking. Kalmar was given the right to monopolize the purchase for 11 years.
I thus obtained another supporter at the price of selling a product for a rather expensive price. Ivar was in awe once she heard about how this negotiation concluded.
“This is spectacular. They are not simply buying something from us, but they are begging to purchase something at a price that is advantageous for us. I did not know Your Highness was good at business as well.”
“I have a good teacher.”
Like a certain succubus with pink hair.
We silently clinked our wine glasses together.
— Score 4:2.
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The Kingdom of Teuton and the Union State of Kalmar supported the Empire.
Although the details weren’t revealed, the fact that their support was announced was enough to change the mood. The Empire had acquired the support of two nations in less than 15 days. The Empire’s diplomatic power was clearly out of the ordinary.
The other delegates were surprised and also curious.
– What kind of conditions were those nations offered to make them give their support so quickly?
They started to look forward to seeing what the Empire would offer them.
As a result, the diplomatic battle that had been proceeding at a disadvantage for the Republic had arrived at its climax. All of the delegates put a pause on the secret negotiations they were doing with the Republic. They were making it clear that they didn’t want to negotiate until they heard the Empire’s offer first.
Because of this, the Republic’s ambassador ran around and offered all sorts of conditions in order to meet the ambassadors of other nations, but they were all adamant. The nations that were famous for their commerce were especially interested in the Empire’s actions.
“Better conditions than the ones offered to Kalmar!”
“Allow us to step on Anatolia more firmly…….”
“We have to do whatever we can to get a good proposal from the Empire.”
An out-of-season diplomatic battle was in full drive.
The culprit who stoked the fires of this bladeless war was naturally the Empire’s Count Palatine, Dantalian. As the diplomatic battle continued to progress, people started to refer to this ‘Demon Lord’ with another nickname
Winter King (Rex Hyemis) Dantalian.