NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20
“As far as I know, you sell 10 kilograms of sugar for 25 silver coins, and I’ve heard that sometimes you sell it for 30 coins when the supply is short.”
“That’s correct, you seem to know the market well.”
“Thank you.”
The apprentice looked like he wanted to test me now, staring straight into my eyes with a voice full of curiosity.
“Then, do you happen to know how much sugar is imported here?”
For a moment, I wanted to answer, ‘About 100 tons,’ but given that I had already answered the market price accurately, a casual response wouldn’t look good…
No matter how I think about it, it wouldn’t reflect well on me, and considering that ‘sugar’ is almost a strategic resource in this age, there’s no way I could know unless I had access to confidential documents.
It would be best to just say I didn’t know.
“I don’t know. However, just by observing the marketplace outside, I think a considerable amount is likely being traded.”
The apprentice seemed to appreciate that response and smiled as he replied.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know. The only ones who really know how much sugar is traded are myself, a few senators, and the higher-ups in the spice guild.”
“Is that so?”
Although I pretended to be calm on the outside, I felt a sense of relief that I had given a good answer and avoided a crisis.
Ignoring me, the apprentice continued speaking.
“Indeed. I hear the sugar you brought amounts to four carts’ worth, but with the income from your territory, there’s no way you could purchase that amount without going through us… How did you acquire it?”
“I developed a method for making sugar. That’s how I was able to bring this much.”
The apprentice, upon hearing that, made an incredibly shocked expression for the first time in front of me.
How could he not? If I were to exaggerate a bit, it would be like performing a miracle by using some ‘unknown materials’ to create gold.
Of course, even though I didn’t reveal what those materials were, having created ‘gold’ was itself a miracle.
“You’re not lying to me, are you?”
I deliberately shrugged nonchalantly as I replied.
“No matter how hard we try, we can’t import sugar without going through Hamburg, isn’t that right?”
After contemplating for a moment, the apprentice sighed and muttered.
“…True, those Spaniards might be able to smuggle it, but at this volume, it would be three times cheaper just to buy it from me. There’s no way they’d be crazy enough to do that.”
“Then will you trust me now?”
“Yeah, if it were about two carts, I’d suspect it was smuggled goods being hastily dealt with, but at four carts, that changes everything. That’s over two tons of sugar, right? No duke’s domain would smuggle gold worth 5,000 coins. Let’s get to the point. How much will you sell it for?”
After a moment of contemplation, I replied in an affected tone.
“10 kilograms for 25 silver coins, but I can provide as much quantity as you want. I swear I won’t lower the price with lies about a poor harvest like the Spaniards do, Your Excellency.”
“Stop with the nonsense. I don’t know how much you spent to make this sugar, but you brought it to me because it was made for less than 25 silver coins, right?”
The apprentice pondered for a moment, then smiled at me.
“Alright, fine. I’ll be generous. Let’s do 10 kilograms for 17 silver coins, and in exchange, I’ll waive all customs duties when you sell here and allow you to buy as much as you want.”
Hearing this, I barely managed to suppress a smile from escaping my lips.
Even at that price, selling at 15 silver coins per 10 kilograms would still yield a significant profit.
However, if I couldn’t manage my expression properly, the other party might push back, saying, ‘Then I’ll just lower it to 10 coins.’
This was still a profit, but still, it is the basic principle of business to sell at the highest possible price.
Thus, I decided to set aside my pride to maximize profit.
Even the great general Han Xin had, when in need, put himself under the thugs of the neighborhood, after all.
“…I can’t possibly accept that price… No matter how much we’ve secured a method to make sugar cheaply, we also need to survive. Your Excellency, how about 23 coins instead?”
“23 coins? Not a bad offer, but aren’t you gaining too much? Even though it is cheaper than buying from Spain, for someone who just gained a new method… Alright, I’ll be generous and buy it for 18 coins.”
“18 coins? Please raise it to 20 coins. I beg you.”
After that, I lowered my heavy head and took on a posture as if begging for mercy from the apprentice.
Seeing me continue to exhibit this servile demeanor, the apprentice smiled, feeling he had an upper hand in the negotiation.
Nobles should never bow their heads to another noble except for a king or a lord, but since I had bent so low…
It was unlikely anyone would think I had any room to pull tricks at this point.
Then the apprentice chuckled and said.
“Oh, just take it at 18 coins. Instead, I’ll make sure your territory receives some special care from us. No, how about we reduce customs duties when trading with us? I can’t offer any more favorable terms than that.”
Then, he grabbed my hand, shaking it with a truly wicked smile on his face.
…
What did those successful negotiators in history do in situations like this? No, before that, my senior who earned his doctorate once told me about the story of Im Sang-ok, didn’t he?
“Indeed, Im Sang-ok’s scene of selling ginseng to the Qing officials is something I can read anytime. Those who refuse to buy the ginseng that must be procured, saying they will burn it if the price isn’t right, he actually burned it, didn’t he? However, the reason he could do that…”
It was because Im Sang-ok had monopolized all the ginseng that the Chinese couldn’t live without.
I don’t monopolize this sugar, but if this gentleman threatens to wipe out all sugar-producing factories he doesn’t know about…
I could definitely sell for around 20 silver coins, making all kinds of show of it.
And no matter how I thought about it, accepting 18 coins would mean that he would eventually start to sap us slowly with 17 coins later on.
Like how large corporations gradually reduce prices on subcontracts…
I closed my eyes for a moment, steeled myself, and quietly declared.
“Your Excellency, I absolutely cannot sell for less than 20 coins. Even selling at that price is still 5 silver coins cheaper than what is sold in Spain per 10 kilograms. If this were just 1 ton, that would equate to 50 gold coins, and considering Franche, Elaline, Britannia, and Romania, you would likely be buying over 200 tons. If we were to supply all that… Honestly, there would be almost nothing left for us.”
Hearing me speak so confidently when just a moment ago I had been submissive, the apprentice stammered his words.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, and if this isn’t acceptable… then it can’t be helped. I will sell it through Salzburg to the east of Count Nante’s domain. There, I could at least receive around 22 coins. Even after paying customs, I can still sell for about 19 coins here.”
While I said that, in reality, there would be limitations to selling sugar in Salzburg as I had no ships to reach there.
Even if the apprentice from Hamburg was trying to gather all information, there was no way he would know about the road conditions and maritime trade of our little baronial territory.
Taking advantage of the pause in the apprentice’s speech, I asserted even more vigorously.
“You could also form an alliance with Salzburg and opt not to purchase from us for a year or two. In that case, we would…”
“What would you do? Are you saying you wouldn’t make sugar?”
In response to that, I grabbed the apprentice’s hand first and spoke.
“Yes, we would burn it all. Every technology, too; we wouldn’t be able to maintain this technology for even a year if we couldn’t sell it. Ah, and please don’t think of trying to lure away our technicians from our territory. I will ensure they are all dead before allowing them to leave. I, SIEL von Croilet, prefer to destroy everything rather than handing it over to someone else.”
While I said that, in truth, I wasn’t some madman who found pleasure in killing people.
There was no way I planned to kill the serfs who learned the ‘method of making sugar.’
However, the apprentice, who had no way of knowing my true intentions, looked at me with eyes wide in shock and said.
“So you’re saying you’re prepared to fight me if the situation turns unfavorable?”
I chose to remain silent.
After a brief silence, the apprentice sighed and said.
“Alright, fine. I’ll purchase the four carts of sugar and continue buying at 20 silver coins per 10 kilograms afterward. I can’t make any further concessions. Sugar does sell like hotcakes to all the nobles blinded by feasts, but we have to eat, too, don’t we?”
In the apprentice’s eyes was the determination that if I asked for any more concessions, he would take it as a declaration of war.
“Understood. I will sell it at that price. So how many will I need to deliver by next year?”
“Bring in 40 carts of sugar. A down payment of 2,500 gold coins will be made, and once the goods are delivered, you will receive 3,500 coins. Be sure to bring them in.”
My head spun at the unimaginable amount.
With this money, I could buy 100 sets of plate mails for knights, 100 warhorses, and a multitude of weapons.
Ah, with this money, I could sustain an army of about 1,000 men for two months.
Once I received the final payment, it would cover two years’ budget for Count Nante’s domain.
The issue would be expanding the facilities, but… well, I could always buy slaves here to increase production…
If the current facilities already yield 100 carts a year… considering the construction period, I’d need to triple the workforce.
Fortunately, I had planted three times as many sugar beets in the fields as a precaution, so now I just needed to replicate the money.
Thus, I did my best to hide my smile, but ultimately, I couldn’t help but respond with a grin.
“Is there an issue?”
“Get going right away.”
**
A few days later, an elderly butler working for the apprentice’s family arrived driving a cart.
Upon checking the gold coins in the cart, there were indeed 2,500 gold coins, just as I had expected.
I would utilize that gold to…
Hire slaves and various technicians to set up equipment for producing more sugar, while simultaneously purchasing many weapons and armor.
According to the setting of the story, a crisis that would be hard to withstand is approaching if preparations aren’t made soon.