"Alright, Second Brother, don't say that about Morebach. Third Brother only did this for the future of the merchant group. Things have already happened, so we should think of a way to solve it instead of sitting here and complaining. " The one who spoke was the eldest young master, Theriham, who had been silent all this while. He was already very satisfied that he had won the competition against his third brother and was appointed as the successor of the merchant group by President Chikede. He was usually careful with his words and actions, maintaining a humble and calm attitude. However, at this time, he might as well show his brotherly love and magnanimity.
"Father, uncles, Second Brother's actually very reasonable. If we really fight to the death with that Count Norton, the merchant group will suffer great losses. It might even affect our position as the overlord of the southern seas. Although Syrovas Island is large, it is still in the northern seas. To the merchant group, we cannot afford to lose the southern seas. We cannot attend to one and lose the other … "
The eldest young master was obviously standing on the second young master's side, but it was understandable for him to do so. The second young master Seboyev had clearly stated the consequences of continuing to carry out the northern strategy. It was the nature of businessmen to chase after profits, but if the price to pay was greater than the benefits, then they had to think about it carefully.
President Chikede also hesitated. "We set our target on Syrovas Island because the merchant group is dominant in the seas, and using an island as our territory is the best. However, there are no suitable islands in the southern seas, and we can't obtain such a large territory along the coast …"
Indeed, the merchant group would soon implement the nobility system. The seven leaders of the merchant groups who held great power in the merchant group would all be conferred the title of duke, so they had to have a grand duke. The other six future dukes all had their goals, but the Guilovas Island, which the merchant guild had its eyes on, was in trouble. The archduchy was important, but it wasn't worth it to lose the entire merchant guild for this territory.
Theriham cleared his throat and prepared to speak. Like second young master Seboyev, he did not have high hopes for the merchant group's northern strategy of making Syrovas Island his family's territory. To him, there were two disadvantages to this strategy. Firstly, Cilovas Island was too far away from Morent City. The fastest ship would take more than 20 days to make a round trip. No one would be willing to stay on that desolate island and grow mold. Being far away from the prosperity of Morent City would make people feel that life was boring and meaningless.
Secondly, this so-called northern strategy was carried out by my most hated third brother, Murray Barker. Father is too biased. Since he appointed me as the heir of the Chamber of Commerce, why did he give third brother such an important task? Not only was he still in charge of the trade route in the north, but he was also in charge of the northern strategy that was related to the future of the Chamber of Commerce. Now that something had gone wrong, how could he not take the opportunity to teach his ambitious younger brother a lesson?
In terms of talent, the eldest young master, Serliham, wasn't as talented as the second young master, Seboyev. He was already a 1-star Gold rank before the age of 35. Grandpa Woody, the second-level swordmaster of the merchant group, was full of praises for him. He believed that he was likely to become a first-level swordmaster before the age of 50 and become the pillar of the merchant group's military strength in the future.
Compared to third young master Murray Barker, the eldest young master Serliham did not have the ability to scheme and overturn the clouds with a flip of his hand. The third young master's trip to the Shayslan Kingdom to deal with the spice trade was truly frightening. He actually caused the small king who resisted the merchant group's monopoly on the spice trade to die of a sudden illness. This was the first time the merchant group had interfered with the internal affairs of a kingdom's royal family. It had to be said that although third young master Murray Barker was bold and reckless, the outcome was extremely satisfactory.
Compared to his two younger brothers, the eldest young master, Serliham, was relatively mediocre. Growing up in the Chamber of Commerce, he could only be regarded as a standard businessman, buying low and selling high. In terms of seizing business opportunities, he was better than his two younger brothers. And this was what the upper echelons of the merchant group valued the most. There was nothing better than bringing profits to the merchant group. It was enough to be the heir of the merchant group.
It was just that after receiving the news that the merchant group was going to implement the Lord system and that his father was going to be conferred the title of Grand Duke, the eldest young master Serliham also had his own plans. After all, after his father passed away, the title of Duke would fall on his head, so he had to think about where the family's territory would be.
The territory that eldest young master Serliham had his eyes on was the Ulubaha Principality. The Ulubaha Principality was located in the south of the Ford merchant group. It could also be said that it was the starting point of the golden coastline of the southern sea. South of the Mana Hill Plain where Moriente City was located was the Christopher Hills, and further south of the Christopher Hills was the Titanic Mountains where the Dwarf Kingdom was located. And at the end of the Titanic Mountains was the Ulubaha Principality.
To put it nicely, the Ulubaha Principality was located between the mountains and the sea. To put it bluntly, it was a remote and desolate place. The people there were tough, and it was rich in mercenaries and robbers. Half of the pirates that appeared in the Sunshine Sea were poor fishermen from the coast of the Ulubaha Principality. They were entangled in groups, and no matter if you were a big merchant group or not, as long as there was a chance to make a profit, they would run away. If they were not careful, they could cause great losses to the merchant group.
The eldest young master Serliham was thinking purely from the perspective of a merchant. Half of the Ulubaha Principality was barren hills, and the other half was the beach. There was not much arable land. The most famous place was the Ulubaha Underground Cave, which was recognized as one of the seven most dangerous places on the mainland. Legend had it that this cave led to the mysterious underground world, and nine out of ten people who went there to explore would not come back. But this was not within the consideration of the eldest young master. He was a merchant, not a mercenary, nor an adventurer. Perhaps he could also use the dangerous underground cave to attract adventurers to explore and make a small fortune. As for the life and death of the adventurers, it was none of his business …
The Ulubaha Principality was a poor country, but for a merchant, it was just a lack of management. They could just replace it with a suitable person. The eldest young master Serliham thought that he was the right person. Not to mention other things, the dense virgin forest in the Principality was the best place to provide good wood. It was just that the Grand Duke of the Principality was reluctant to invest in building roads, so he missed this good source of income. Moreover, the Principality was connected to the Titanic Mountains. If he connected with the Dwarf Kingdom, he could make a lot of money just by reselling the local products of the dwarves. At the same time, he could also explore the mineral veins and invest in development. There were many other ways to make a fortune like this.
The biggest advantage was that once the Principality of Ulubaha became his territory, he could turn the pirates that belonged to the Principality into his own. Not only could he reduce the cost of suppressing the pirates, but he could also increase the strength of the merchant group's fleet. As long as he spent a small amount of money, he could make those poor fishermen become sailors of the fleet, reducing the expenditure and burden of the fleet's personnel.
It only took three or four days to reach the Principality of Ulubaha from Moronte City by boat. The transportation was convenient. After seizing the Principality of Ulubaha, the merchant group could build their base there as the starting point of the Golden Coastline. It would be easier for them to control the southern sea trade routes.
However, it was not easy to occupy the Principality of Ulubaha. First of all, the current Grand Duke of Ulubaha was a very stubborn old man. He was also a level three great swordsman. Although he had no hope of becoming a sword saint and was already in his seventies or eighties, he was still very strong and not easy to deal with. Secondly, the Grand Duke had two elite legions of about 24,000 people. This was the foundation of the Principality and the main way for the Grand Duke to make money.
There was no doubt that the Principality of Ulubaha was too poor to support these two legions. Although the scale was small, the cost was also very high. But in fact, these two legions were used as a whole for rent. Each time, one legion was rented out, and after the mission was over, the other legion would be rented out. This way, the Grand Duke of Ulubaha could earn a lot of wealth.
However, Serliham believed that if the Chamber of Commerce could occupy the Ulubaha Principality as its territory, it would be able to make up for the shortcomings of the Chamber of Commerce on land by incorporating the two legions. He would not rent out the two legions anymore. He believed that the soldiers of the two legions would soon submit to the Chamber of Commerce.
Thirdly, the Grand Duke of Ulubaha was a cousin of the president of the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Group. This was also the biggest difficulty that the Grand Duke of Ulubaha faced. Would the president of the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Group, Thunder, be enraged by the idea of taking over the Principality of Ulubaha and cause a conflict between the two giants of the merchant alliance, which would affect the structure of the merchant alliance and change it. This was the main reason why the higher-ups of the Chikder Merchant Group had never set their sights on the Principality of Ulubaha.
The Grand Duke of Ulubaha did not think so. The president of the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Group was also a merchant, and as a merchant, everything had a price. If the Chikder Merchant Group could pay a price that moved the president of the Twin-Headed Dragon Merchant Group, then the biggest problem would be solved.
To the Grand Duke of Ulubaha, the biggest problem was how to convince the higher-ups of the merchant group. This was because even if the Principality of Ulubaha successfully became the territory of the merchant group, the merchant group would still need to invest at least ten million gold fords in the construction of public infrastructure, improve the livelihood of the people, and win over the hearts of the people. Although this would be very beneficial to the stability of the merchant group and would slowly bring in a steady stream of profits, it was too slow and time-consuming for merchants. It was not a good deal.
The Grand Duke of Ulubaha, who knew the nature of merchants very well, felt that this was a good opportunity. While the higher-ups of the merchant group were hesitating, he should be able to make his suggestion. Instead of investing the money into the battle with Count Norton, it was better to invest it into the Principality of Ulubaha. At least there was a hope of recovering the money.
Unfortunately, the Grand Duke of Ulubaha was a step too late. The second young master, Seboyev, stood up and said, "I have an idea …"
The second young master, Seboyev, hung a large sea map on the wall. The higher-ups of the merchant group were no strangers to this map. It was a map of the Sunshine Sea, and there were nearly a thousand islands and reefs of various sizes on it.
No way. The largest island in the Sunshine Sea could only fit a small village, and many of the islands were steep mountains. There was no way to build a settlement there. How could this place become the territory of the merchant group? However, the second young master, Seboyev, soon showed them what it meant to be daydreaming.
"Look at the Sunshine Sea in the south. There are nearly a thousand islands here. Although the largest island is not as big as a baron's territory, most of the sea is shallow. The deepest is only ten to twenty meters, and the shallowest is two to three meters. Sometimes, you can walk between the islands by wading through the water. When the tide is low, you'll see that the bottom of the islands is exposed, and most of them are connected.
We'll connect the 27 islands in the middle with a red line. If we fill in the shallow sea inside, we'll get an island territory that's even bigger than Sirovas Island. No one will argue about this territory. Our merchant group can use this territory to gradually control the entire Sunshine Sea and drive out the pirates in this sea. This place will become the foundation of the merchant group and the family for thousands of years … "
The second young master, Seboyev, was talking non-stop, but the eldest young master, Theringham, was so distressed that he covered his forehead. What a stupid teammate! At this time, his second brother was actually peddling his idea of reclaiming the sea to create a territory, but he didn't think about the high cost of reclaiming the sea. It would take a long time, and the results would be slow. He also had to invest most of the merchant group's forces to eliminate the pirates that appeared on the thousands of islands in the Sunshine Sea. Is this something that father and the others are willing to do? We're merchants, and we want fast and profitable business …
It's over. Now even if I mention the Ulubaha Principality as my goal, no one is willing to listen to me. With a "gem" like my second brother in front of me, it will be difficult to convince father and the senior management of the merchant group to accept my proposal. The eldest young master, Theringham, sighed secretly. It seemed that he had to find another opportunity. He really didn't understand what his second brother was thinking. He had already said that his idea was impossible to achieve, but he was still so stubborn. Each one was more troublesome than the other.
Sure enough, the third brother, Murray, suddenly laughed and interrupted the speech of the second young master, Seboyev.
The second young master, Seboyev, said angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
The third young master, Murray, finally got this opportunity to take revenge. How could he be scared by him? He took a step forward and blurted out a series of questions. "My dear second brother, your idea is really wonderful. It's really exciting to have such a large territory in the Sunshine Sea. But have you thought about how much manpower and resources it will take to fill in this sea? How much money do you need to invest? How long will it take for the Chamber of Commerce to own this territory? "
"Uh …" The second young master, Seboyev, was stunned. "I haven't thought about it, but the Chamber of Commerce can find someone to calculate it …"
"There's no need to find someone. I have already calculated it for you. To fill in this sea, the Chamber of Commerce will need to invest at least two to three million gold coins a year. It will also need nearly a thousand large cargo ships to transport earth and stones. It will take ten years to fill in one-third of the area within the red line you drew."
The third young master, Murray, looked at the second young master as if he was looking at a fool. "My dear second brother, do you know how much the annual income of our Chamber of Commerce is? Less than two million gold coins. After dividends and various expenses, less than four hundred thousand gold coins can be put into the warehouse of the Chamber of Commerce. Why has the Chamber of Commerce been unwilling to agree to your request to build an armed fleet? Because we can't afford it. Do you know how much it costs to kill pirates in a year? Five hundred thousand gold coins. That's almost the entire annual income of the northern fleet.
I really don't understand why you would come up with such a brainless suggestion. Filling up the Sunlight Territorial Waters? Only you can think of such a thing. Is this something that our Chamber of Commerce should do? This is a mission that can only be accomplished by an empire, and it will take decades. Our father is the chairman of the Chikder Chamber of Commerce. Even if he is made a noble, he will only be a Grand Duke. Filling in the Sunlight sea as a territory? Are you prepared to make our father the biggest joke in Galinthea for thousands of years?
Why can other Grand Dukes take other people's territory, but we can't? In a few months, the Trade Alliance will implement the nobility system. By then, the six major Chambers of Commerce will all have territory, but we don't. How will the Chikder Chamber of Commerce stand among the seven major Chambers of Commerce? Are you going to tell others that we are filling in the sea and will see our shadow in ten years?
No matter how much you object, second brother, you can't just admit that there is no other place more suitable for our Chamber of Commerce's territory right now, can you? Is the inheritance of military merits that powerful? Is a level 3 swordsman that amazing? Isn't he still one person? As long as he isn't a Sword Saint, we have plenty of ways to deal with him.
Although our Chamber of Commerce suffered heavy losses due to our carelessness and lack of intelligence, I believe that our Chamber of Commerce is still strong enough to deal with this enemy. Now that we know the ins and outs of this Count Norton, as long as we carry out a detailed investigation and careful planning, we will definitely win! "
"You, you don't understand how terrifying a level 3 swordsman is, especially when Count Norton is still so young. He might even become a Sword Saint in the future. You are irresponsibly pushing the Chamber of Commerce into eternal damnation!" Second Young Master Seboev angrily rebuked.
"You are afraid before the battle has even begun!" Third Young Master Malibach retorted. "If that's the case, then we should kill him before he becomes a Sword Saint to prevent him from threatening the Chamber of Commerce in the future. No matter what, he is only a level 3 swordsman. We can invite external help. The Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce and the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce each have a level 3 swordsman, and the Visia Chamber of Commerce has two level 2 swordsmen. We can spend a lot of money to invite them. As long as it can be solved with money, then it won't be a problem. If four swordsmen aren't enough, then we can invite eight. As long as we kill this Count, his family might collapse, and the situation you are worried about won't happen again … "
"You …" Second Young Master Seboev was speechless. In a moment of panic, he rolled up his sleeves and was about to attack.
"Stop! Seboyev, back off! " President Chikede glared fiercely at his second son. His idea of reclaiming the sea was really a big joke. What his third son, Murray, had just said was exactly what he was thinking. Indeed, the Silovas Island was the easiest territory to obtain as long as they eliminated Count Norton, who was a Great Swordsman.
"Second Uncle, what do you think?" President Chikert asked Woody, who was beside him.
The Chikert Chamber of Commerce was not a family chamber of commerce. Originally, it was called the Sword and Barrel Chamber of Commerce. It was established by a few friends. Later, Chikert's ancestor became the president and developed the chamber of commerce into one of the seven giants of the trade union. He obtained 70% of the shares, and the name was changed to the Chikert Chamber of Commerce. The position of president was passed down from generation to generation.
The families who originally had shares in the chamber also relied on the chamber of commerce to survive. Those who were not capable would receive the annual dividends of the chamber of commerce and not have to worry about food and clothing. Those who were capable would mostly become the upper echelons of the chamber of commerce and participate in management. Woody's family was one of them. After Woody was discovered to have talent for martial arts when he was young, the chamber of commerce invested a lot of money in nurturing him, making him the guarantee of the chamber's military strength.
In terms of seniority, President Chikert had to respectfully address Woody as uncle.
Woody smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I was on the ship where Kumori died and saw the scene of the fierce battle. To be honest, four swordsmen is not enough. Invite eight, all at least level 2 swordsmen. Only then can we guarantee that we can eliminate the Count. Once you've made up your mind, don't worry about the cost. As long as the chamber of commerce is here, we can earn back everything. "
President Chikert slammed the table, "Alright, then we've decided to place the family's territory on Sirovas Island. There's no need to say anything else. Woody, send people to find out Count Norton's whereabouts and the background of his family. Also, send over all the information on Sirovas Island. If there's any more negligence, I won't forgive you … "
Serliham, contact the level 2 swordsmen of the other chambers of commerce and see how much it will cost to hire them. We can't hire people and let them say we're stingy … "
"Yes, father." Young Master Serliham stood up and nodded respectfully.
…
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