I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 287: Comparison and Incitement (1)

“The demand for increased circulation is coming from all over the Empire.”

Unlike modern society, which is on the brink of bursting with entertainment options, the Toscana Empire has almost no real sources of amusement.

Nobles and the wealthy might indulge in wholesome entertainment like horseback riding, balls, hunting, and fine dining, or, to the level that even 21st-century politicians would be taken aback, decadent and immoral banquets.

Most people in modern society couldn’t relate to foreign languages or various technical studies being seen as entertainment, but for common folk and peasants, their only form of amusement would be drinking, chatting with neighbors, and being with their wives.

That’s why newspapers, which provide information to accompany drinking, have become so popular.

“Pubs, inns, merchants, local notables, and rural nobles have all requested to buy a copy of the newspaper. Just yesterday, we received more than 200 letters.”

“Did anyone ask for it to be delivered earlier, even by a day?”

That’s the nature of information.

What everyone ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) already knows is of little value, but only what others don’t know has real worth.

If I got information today that a major corporation's stock would increase by 200% in a year, I could make a significant profit in a year.

But if I waited until a day later, after the stock has already risen by 200%, it would be meaningless.

The people of Toscana Empire are surely aware of this logic.

“They must want to buy stocks that are likely to rise by getting information even a little faster.”

“Except for the requests from the pubs and inns, all the others mentioned that specifically.”

Being able to obtain information quickly is honestly an outrageous privilege.

The information I gathered from running the newspaper is something I should only share with my family, with the spirit of peace and love...

There’s no way I’m going to share it with anyone else.

Why would I share my profit with others? I’m not crazy.

“Politely reject all of them. The information I’ve gathered from running the newspaper is for my own use.”

“A wise decision, my lord. After all, anything shared diminishes.”

I can eat an entire cake myself until I’m stuffed, but if 16 people share it, it won’t even make a dent.

“A silver coin for each copy seems fair to me.”

A single silver coin is the living expense for a peasant family for a month.

It’s certainly not a small amount, but considering the value of the information provided by the newspaper, I honestly think it’s reasonable to charge that much.

In our poor peasant villages, we give out the newspaper for free to read, but we can’t just dig up money to print and distribute it.

“A silver coin seems appropriate.”

“That’ll cover the printing costs. Besides that, we’ll use the rest for other purposes.”

The newspaper isn’t just for providing information.

Strictly speaking, it serves the purpose of gathering and distributing information from distant places, but just like how we don’t use a bottle of liquid bandage only for its intended use, but also to erase permanent marker marks...

The newspaper can be used for various purposes.

For example, incitement, spreading false rumors, slandering someone’s reputation,

or covering up shocking news about powerful individuals with even more shocking news.

You can use it however you like, as long as it benefits those in power.

“We’ll have to show the power of the newspaper to His Majesty soon.”

Until now, we’ve only shown that we can convey the Emperor’s will to the people,

but there’s so much more we can do with it.

If you don’t understand that, half—no, 80%—of your political career is wasted.

If I were him, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

No, even if I were scammed and lost money, I’d sleep soundly until I realized it.

But once I tell him, he’ll probably regret not realizing this sooner and drink in frustration.

“I’ll contact His Majesty and tell him I’ll visit him soon.”

There’s no need to mention the newspaper; the Emperor will want to see me anyway, so I’ll go before he calls for me.

Upon seeing my face, the Emperor immediately put a hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.

What’s this? I haven’t done anything wrong toward the Emperor.

Could it be that he found out I manipulated the Rothschild firm’s financial records and altered the profit margin?

Damn, if I had known this, I would have only claimed I made a 30% profit, not 20%.

They say greed always comes back to bite you.

Still, let’s keep quiet until the confession is out.

The wise men of old always said,

“Until it’s finished, it’s not over.”

“Your Majesty, you seem troubled.”

The Emperor let out another deep sigh after hearing my words.

“...You were right again. As you predicted, Raphael, the one who led the rebellion, was killed by the rebels and thoroughly suppressed. Meanwhile, the Holy Empire is in an uproar, claiming they’ll save the people living in the border regions of the Lyon Kingdom. The Emperor of the Holy Empire is concerned about the suffering of the people? It’s more believable that a dog would start talking.”

I had been worried that they’d discovered my embezzling and that I’d be forced to pay taxes and bow down in submission.

Thankfully, it wasn’t about taxes I had evaded so far.

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Tonight, I’ll go home and offer a prayer of thanks to Deus with Chloe.

Although the church of Deus is corrupt beyond measure, the tithe (of course, based on the manipulated income records) I generously paid to the Deus Cathedral was worth it.

“Is the Emperor of the Holy Empire truly such a cruel man?”

“I met him once when I attended a ball at the Holy Empire’s palace during my time as Crown Prince. In front of the nobles, he acted polite, but to the servants, he treated them terribly. He would grab them like rats, oh, just thinking about it makes me shiver.”

There are many with broken personalities among the high-ranking individuals, but was the Emperor of the Holy Empire really that extreme?

When I think about it, when I first went to see him, he tried to have me killed, so it seems he was truly a broken character.

A person like that can’t truly care for the people.

The Emperor shook his head.

“But more than that, what really sends a chill down my spine is that everything has gone exactly as you predicted. All the details, all the circumstances—it’s eerie how accurate your predictions were.”

“That much was easy to predict.”

Honestly, the timing of the rebellion and the size of the army led by the Marquis of Orléans were not hard to figure out.

It was too easy to predict when and where this rebellion would lose momentum and falter.

Only regions with food shortages and economic crises were affected by the rebellion,

while other areas remained unaffected, so there was no reason for people from other areas to join the rebellion.

‘A three-year-old child could figure this out.’

“I, along with the General Staff, always thought this rebellion wouldn’t succeed, no matter how well things went. We had various opinions, but no one predicted it as accurately as you did. So now, Marquis Ragusa—no, the General—he says that if you had been a noble from some family, he would have immediately appointed you to the General Staff and regrets not doing so.”

What is this nonsense, General?

You’re no King Sejong, why would you force someone into the military and stick them in the staff?

Who in their right mind wants to rise by winning in war?

I just want to live peacefully while pulling the strings behind the scenes.

I want to reform the church and collect tithes and absurd donations from them, make the Sforza Duke family pay for their betrayal, and secure our family’s influence in Iprikia, making it our economic colony,

then take over the New World and place it under my control.

Why do you keep trying to push me toward military service with your foolish suggestions?

Maybe I’ll petition to have the military undergo an audit.