Nador, the governor, widened his eyes when I mentioned war.
“Our Sultanate is not at war. Then what weapons are needed?”
There’s not a single Korean man who doesn’t know the reason behind the Republic’s military stockpiling massive amounts of weapons—it’s a preparation for an impending war that could break out at any moment.
Therefore, the more weapons, the better, as long as the budget permits.
“Plus, it helps maintain order and strengthens the power base, a threefold benefit.”
The problem is that it consumes an absurd amount of money.
“Certainly, you are not waging a war against the nation. But there are various disputes breaking out, aren’t there? Particularly against the tribes of West Ifriqiya.”
To put it nicely, it’s a dispute; strictly speaking, it’s a conquest war.
It’s a medieval-style M&A to expand the influence of Nador, a semi-independent state, and acquire more wealth and slaves.
And I’ve heard our governor is in quite a bit of trouble right now.
It’s possible to conscript Black slaves by dangling freedom as bait, but they say all they get are makeshift weapons like spears due to a lack of proper armaments?
The tribes use iron weapons to some extent, so it won’t be easy.
“And the opponent is just a bunch of unmounted nomads.”
“Your Excellency, let’s have a bit of honest conversation.”
“I already think we’re having a sufficiently honest conversation.”
Isn’t it dishonest not to confess when you’re in a very unfortunate situation?
Well, even if we’re family, during political negotiations, you wouldn’t lay all your cards on the table…
A good negotiation entails revealing all of your opponent’s cards while keeping your own hidden until the end, right?
Whoever said that, it’s quite a clever saying.
“Even Young Baron over there and I are really tight-lipped. Plus, our Toscan Empire and Nador are a whole week apart by sea, so I don’t think we’ll mobilize imperial troops to attack Nador.”
The most important thing when persuading a wary opponent is to let them know that I’m not a dangerous entity.
No matter how good my terms are for negotiation, would anyone trust a murderer or a conman?
At the very least, I need to instill the notion that I’m not a bad person.
“We simply want to buy gold at a cheaper price and sell it at a higher price to other countries, including the Lion Kingdom. The more money, the better.”
A great way to instill the idea that I’m not a bad guy is to find common ground with the other party.
During the late Joseon period, it was said that a Westerner visited a town and the local governor treated him with great suspicion.
The locals believed those guys squeezed the pupils out of people’s eyes when drawing pictures and considered them demons who would kill people without any hesitation.
But once they served a proper meal and watched him eat it without any issues, their suspicion faded.
“If he were a demon, he should be eating with chopsticks and plates, but since he eats rice, they believed he was human.”
In the same psychological manner, I revealed my honest desires.
“Though our deities may differ, can we not unite under our mutual love for money?”
I gazed at the governor with a gentle smile.
The Young Baron next to me tried to cover his mouth with his hand upon seeing me.
If I explained everything, he would surely understand.
Our Young Baron is a wise individual, so he would quickly grasp the merchant’s negotiation.
As if my sentiments reached him, the governor placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.
“Who gave you that information?”
“I cannot disclose the source out of respect for the informant.”
“That’s fair. Alright, I’ve thrown my hands up. Like you said, we are indeed working on civilizing the tribes in Ifriqiya.”
While it’s called civilization, in reality, it’s a conquest operation.
Leading with guns and blades, we send those wicked pagans to the divine realm and preach the true religion to the unfortunate ones left behind.
If they refuse to accept it, we cleanse them in ways that are a bit harsh to speak of.
And if they repent, we give them special opportunities to live, whether that be bio cotton picking or agricultural machinery.
By our Albanian, no, Sultanate standards, this is an extremely humanitarian and socially just undertaking.
We cleanse the wicked heathens and share the correct faith to help them abandon their futile lives.
“Even if the hidden truth reveals it’s merely a conquest for slaves.”
“And lately, it seems there’s a history of wicked demons, and those pagans have banded together in tribes to harass us. Therefore, weapons are urgently needed.”
I mean, if I were one of those tribes in Ifriqiya, I would probably suggest rallying together to drive you out.
It’s understandable because what you’re doing is not something a human would do.
I’m not exactly a champion of justice myself, but you seem even worse.
“The more weapons, the better for you.”
“Using Black slaves as cannon fodder and arming the people of Nador to wipe them out—how wonderful would that be?”
The governor looked at me and smiled broadly.
“So, how much do you intend to sell each gun for?”
“How about 20 gold per gun?”
“That seems a bit expensive.”
“When you import from the Lion Kingdom or the Granada Kingdom, don’t you end up paying a higher price? Even that involves smuggling, so the quantity would be limited.”
Even if the weapons management system on the Albania Continent is lax, it’s not easy to smuggle weapons internationally without colluding with the nobility.
Because once customs officials find weapons destined for export, they’ll implacably impose tariffs of 50-70%.
Bribing to escape from that involves significant money too.
Merchants who are at a level that could collaborate with the nobility don’t usually sell weapons to ‘pagans’ unless they’re as peculiar as I am.
Unless, of course, it’s to sell to the enemy country.
When it comes to combat, enemies are often seen as arch-enemies, whereas pagans are generally regarded as unforgivable foes who have violated their wives and daughters.
Thus, families like the Alshinit and the Medici Baron family in spice trading often appear as embodiments of evil in theatrical plays.
“Considering all the muskets exported yearly, would it be over 500 in total?”
“We’ll bring in 2,000 muskets and 50 tons of gunpowder every year starting next year. Afterwards, we can increase the quantity as much as you desire.”
Fifty tons of gunpowder would be enough for around 60,000 shots.
For those accustomed to shooting dozens of rounds at every training session, that may not seem like much.
But in the wars of this era, if a soldier fires more than five shots, it’s called ‘close combat,’ and if they exceed seven, it’s considered a devastating war.
With 2,000 guns shooting 30 rounds each, a tremendous amount of blood would flow.
“Will you be able to keep that promise?”
“The Young Baron over here will guarantee it.”
Upon hearing my words, the Young Baron nodded.
“That guy is a genius who rose to the rank of viscount at just 22 years old through sheer effort. I vouch for him.”
“…… Alright, then I’ll prepare the gold, so just bring the physical goods. I still have a schedule to keep, so I’ll take my leave now.”
After saying that, the governor promptly left.
The Young Baron took me to a secluded corner where only the two of us were present.
His face was quite stern.
However, his tone remained significantly calm.
“Even so, selling weapons to pagans? Isn’t this tantamount to doing them a favor for our profit? Are you still a believer of Deus?”
Honestly, I don’t care if someone believes in Deus, another religion, or the Buddha.
However, for the people of this era, faith is akin to breathing, so it makes sense to be wary of aiding pagans.
“I need to clear up that misunderstanding.”
“When did I say I would do only good things for pagans, Your Excellency? I have my plans.”
“What plans, exactly?”
It’s an act that a wicked rogue state would do, but maximizing profits during a war…
“With this, we have secured a foothold on the Ifriqiyan continent. Using this base to explore the geography surrounding it will lead us to the ‘coastal city located on West Ifriqiya.’ If we replace the flags of the ‘Medici Clan’ and ‘Duke Visconti’ that we are currently using with something different and sail directly to that coastal city, would we be caught?”
Without technologies like radar in this era, it feels quite advantageous.
As long as we don’t wreak havoc once we enter the port, there’s no chance of getting caught for smuggling.
So, we could land in a coastal town on the West Ifriqiya continent and trade gold and various resources, including gunpowder and muskets.
If the governor asks me something, I can say, “Ah, it seems like the foreigners are behaving like that,” and what will he do?
If we don’t buy muskets from us, the tribes will unite and come at them with weapons.
“No one is going to catch us.”
“If we can incite the primitive tribes who don’t believe in Deus to fight against the pagans, we could earn money and weaken the pagans’ forces too.”
The Young Baron looked at me as if dumbfounded.
“So this is why my father told you to learn from him. Baron, your strategies are remarkably exquisite.”
“I’m honored, Your Excellency.”
“Enjoy your hospitality adequately and head back. Also, I will report this matter positively to my father.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.