The Ryan Empire was not lacking in mineral resources. On the contrary, it was quite rich. Although it was not as rich as the Gris Kingdom, it was almost on par with the Solant Kingdom and the Irus Empire. In terms of total iron reserves, the Ryan Empire far surpassed the two countries and the smaller duchies.
However, because the metallurgy technology in the Ryan Empire was relatively backward, the utilization of mineral resources was very low. Although the mining efficiency was very low, the Ryan Empire still accumulated a lot of mineral resources over time.
The Ryan Empire could export mineral resources and wealth like the Gris Kingdom, but because magic metals were a precious strategic resource, the ministers had never agreed to export these resources. Therefore, the Ryan Empire had been hoarding mineral resources and not exporting them.
Sitting on a mountain of treasure, the Ryan Empire could only stare.
Testero suddenly stood up. "So your ultimate goal is our magic metal mine!"
Fiona spread out her hands. "What else does the Ryan Empire have that can be used as collateral? Hmm? "
Heh, if you could guess it, why would you beat around the bush?
Magic metal mine?
That kind of thing was important, but for Ellington who had already developed universal alloys, it was not that valuable.
Of course, it would be good if they had it, but it did not matter if they did not have it.
Testero slumped down. "No, no …"
Fiona deliberately provoked him. "Speaking of which, the women of the second-class subspecies are very beautiful. If you want to do the slave trade, it's not impossible —"
"Shut up!"
Testero's bear-like eyes widened. "I will never let my people be slaves!"
"You're not willing to do this and not that. Do you want the Datang Chamber of Commerce to do charity?"
Testero was silent for a moment and sighed. "… Let's change the terms."
What did magic metals mean to Prandal?
It meant the advantage of equipment in war!
It meant the future!
The significance of magic metals was too great. It was related to the strategic position of a country in the future. It was absolutely impossible to give it away so easily. That was not a deal, but a betrayal of the country.
It would be strange if Testero agreed to it.
However, Testero still underestimated Tang En's plan.
Their goal was not the magic metal mine in the first place …
"You're not willing to use the magical metal mine as collateral?"
Fiona frowned. "Forgive me for being blunt, Your Majesty, but as far as we know, the Leon Empire should have a lot of reserves of magic iron and adamantine. I'm afraid the only valuable thing you have right now is the mines."
"Impossible! I won't agree to it. Don't even think about the magical metal mine anymore! "
Testero shook his head. He couldn't sell the magic metal mines. They were the lifeblood of the Ryan Empire.
"Then what can you offer as collateral?"
"… Five … No! Ten years of tax exemption! "
Testero hardened his heart and said, "Ten years of tax exemption! This is an unimaginable preferential policy! "
"Ask yourself how much business can develop in the Ryan Empire in ten years, and how much money can the Datang Chamber of Commerce make here?"
Fiona said very calmly, "To tell you the truth, even if you give us twenty years of tax exemption, considering the development of the economy, we can only agree to exchange one billion gold coins at most."
"Then forty —"
Halfway through his words, Testero suddenly closed his mouth.
Forty years of tax exemption, it was impossible to agree to this even now. This kind of preferential treatment was too exaggerated.
Property as collateral ….. What else could be used as collateral?
Mines ….. Mines?
Testero suddenly said, "Right! Other than the magic metal mine, we also have the Magic Crystal mine! I'm willing to use the Magic Crystal mine as collateral! "
The Ryan Empire had six small Magic Crystal mines, six medium sized Magic Crystal mines, and three large scale Magic Crystal mines. These were all mines that had already been discovered and had even been mined for a while.
Only the Ryan Empire's situation was worse than the Irus Empire's. The Magic Crystals mined in the Irus Empire could be sold to the City of Silver through the Ronitante trade route, or they could be used by the large nobles. However, the Ryan Empire couldn't do this at all. They didn't even have a market to digest the Magic Crystals they mined. Therefore, after discovering the Magic Crystal mine and after a short period of mining, these mines were put on hold.
After all, the Ryan Empire's demand for Magic Crystals was basically zero.
The Ryan Empire's Magic Crystal mine was also one of Tang En's targets.
"The Magic Crystal mine is fine, but you also know that the main market for Magic Crystals is the City of Silver. With the City of Silver's consumption, just the Magic Crystal mine produced in our Irus Empire is enough to satisfy the market demand. If we keep increasing production here, it will make the already saturated market even cheaper."
Fiona began to lie with wide eyes.
Although the City of Silver used to be the main consumer of Magic Crystals, Ellington's magic industry had already begun to develop, gradually covering the entire Irus Empire. The bigger it was, the more Magic Crystals there would be, so the market would only become bigger. Of course, as the consumer, she definitely wouldn't reveal the information she had to Testero.
So Testero was completely fooled by Fiona's plan.
"Our Magic Crystal mine has an estimated value of several billion gold coins."
"That is just the mining value, it doesn't mean the market value. I don't want to talk about the difference between mining value and market value with you."
Fiona waved her hand and cut him off. She softly said, "Using the mine to exchange for debt is a good idea, but just the Magic Crystal mine isn't enough. If you're not willing to use the magic metal mine as collateral, you can use normal metal mines like iron and copper mines."
Iron and copper mines?
Testero hesitated a bit. The magic metal was related to the high level equipment of the country and the iron ore was related to the equipment of the low level soldiers. Selling it like this really was a bit painful … …
"Alright, the iron ore and copper mines it is!"
Testero gritted his teeth and didn't want to keep dragging this out. Actually, he already had no other choice, he only had these cards in his hand. He could either hold them in his hand and wait for death, or he could use them to have a chance of survival.
Testero wanted to take out the map and take out the iron ore and copper mines he had already explored for Tang En to choose from, but after thinking about it, he broke out in a cold sweat.
Those mines were all marked on the Ryan Empire map, so if he took them out, it meant that the Ryan Empire map and the various cities would all be exposed to his eyes!
Although he was quite happy with Tang En and they didn't have any thoughts of fighting, Testero didn't know if Tang En's goal was the map or not, so he decisively gave up this idea.
This really was a sly and sinister human! He didn't dare be negligent at all!
Testero pulled Sharp Tooth and the other beastmen ministers out to discuss for a bit. When he came back, Testero's face was already very calm.
He said, "The mines that have already been explored in the Ryan Empire already have owners, so we can't give them to you. How about this, I can give Tang En Majesty an unlimited mining certificate. As long as you have this permit, you can explore the areas outside the Ryan Empire's military restricted area without restrictions. Moreover, you can mine on your own after you've explored. We will only take 30% of the profits as tax and the remaining 70% will belong to you. How about this?"
Unlimited mining certificate!?
Tang En was shocked. This guy was going to spend a lot of money!
Although there was a 30% tax, this certificate was not to be underestimated. It meant that the holder was only paying 30% of the price to buy all the mineral resources in the Ryan Empire! If a mining tycoon received this certificate, he would probably have a brain hemorrhage from excitement!
One had to know that in Prandal, the mining industry generally had to pay a heavy tax. After you explored a vein, you had to go through a lot of trouble to get the mining permit from the king before you could start mining. However, under normal circumstances, half of the mining amount would be collected as tax.
In other words, if you dug out 10 kilograms of ore, 5 kilograms would have to be handed over to the treasury. However, the remaining 5 kilograms would not all belong to you. In addition to the mining tax collected by the king, there was also the 30% tax collected by the feudal lord. In other words, only 2 kilograms would belong to you.
It seemed cruel, right? But this was the reality under the extremely backward productivity.
Testero gave a certificate of unlimited mining with a 30% tax. Based on the amount of resources in the Ryan Empire, this certificate was worth more than a billion gold coins right now. In a few years, it would probably be worth several times more!
Agree!
Tang En hinted to Fiona that this condition was already quite good.
But …
"Your Majesty, 30% tax is too high."
Fiona secretly waved her hand at Tang En and continued, "You don't have to do anything. You just use a piece of paper and a few words, and you get 30% of the mining income for free. On the other hand, we have to run around looking for ores. The cost is extremely high. I think the tax should be reduced to 20%."
"20%!? That's too low! "
Testero shook his head decisively, "This is an unlimited mining certificate! Tang En Majesty is so strong and has such a long lifespan. If he continues to live and you keep mining, how much mineral resources will the Ryan Empire lose? 30% tax is already very low! Also, this certificate can only be used by you. It cannot be transferred or sold! "
Fiona was shocked. She realized that she seemed to have misunderstood something.
The "unlimited" in Testero's unlimited mining certificate was referring to a lifetime of unlimited mining!
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