I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 292: Comparison and Incitement (6)

I never expected things to escalate this much.

It’s not that it’s bad that things are going like this right now...

But it seems that not everything goes the way I want it to.

“Sebastian, say it again. What’s happening in the rural villages right now?”

Sebastian looked at me with a somewhat confused expression and replied again.

“Across the rural villages of Toscana, there have been an overwhelming number of petitions this harvest season requesting to hold a Thanksgiving and Imperial Appreciation Festival. Additionally, I’ve heard that every week, during mass, the people are voluntarily gathering money and praying for His Majesty.”

“I understand that they’re grateful for the tax reduction, and I get why there’s an Imperial Appreciation Festival. But to think that masses are being held in various places for His Majesty?”

If only a few regions were experiencing this, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

But the truth is, similar petitions are being submitted in every village across the country, and with the Emperor reducing taxes by 10%, he has become the representative of all serfs and the poor.

So, if you asked whether things are going in the direction I intended...

I’d say my goal has been achieved, but it’s just gone a bit too far.

I thought reducing taxes from the original 60% to 30% would spark this kind of fervent worship of the Emperor among the serfs in the Empire.

‘It’s not bad, but it’s completely unexpected.’

“Some of the perceptive itinerant missionaries have been preaching that His Majesty the Emperor is the earthly representative of Deus, sent to save the people, and they are stirring up patriotism with these sermons.”

“They’re idiots who’ve never properly studied theology. All they do is ramble on with their own opinions while pretending to know the Bible. If they want to live off preaching, they should bribe some high-ranking clergyman in the city and get into a position as a village priest, not do this nonsense.”

In an era overflowing with theology students, not every student can start a church or become a pastor at a significant church.

Some talented preachers, however, have deviated from the path and taken the title of “missionary,” traveling across the country to lecture and preach.

But in Toscana, both advanced theologians from theology colleges and lower-level clergymen trained in one-year accelerated programs are extremely rare.

After finishing their studies, it's hard for them to find work, so it’s not surprising that some just roam around preaching.

‘Most of them are charlatans.’

Among those doing this, there are almost no legitimate clergymen.

To put it bluntly, if someone opens a hospital without a medical license, how many of them would actually be competent doctors?

When you strip away the pretense, many of these itinerant preachers are former priests who were removed from their positions for causing problems or people who never studied theology and simply make money by giving sermons people like to hear.

“Well, it seems that His Majesty is leaving them alone, not directly supporting them, but letting them be. If they overstep, the local dioceses will take care of them anyway.”

“The Emperor reduced the taxes, but the preachers are the ones making all the money.”

It’s an old saying that the monkey does the hard work, but the king gets the money.

I never expected to see someone use the Emperor like a performing bear, though.

I’ve used the Emperor to shut down guilds and received investments in stocks to make a profit, but...

‘This method is rather novel.’

“One of those guys said something like this.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that the imperial authority is given by Deus, and that all citizens of Toscana must obey it. Moreover, Deus said that secular rulers are those who act in accordance with God’s will, and opposing them is tantamount to opposing Deus, which is a wicked act deserving of hell. This guy gave quite an interesting spin on it when he preached.”

“That’s something His Majesty will love to hear. I need to have a proper conversation with that guy later.”

Sebastian smiled, looking somewhat like me, and replied.

“I’ve politely invited him to the Rothschild estate.”

That doesn’t mean he literally handed him a business card and asked him to come.

Unless you have significant fame, an itinerant preacher’s social standing is barely above that of a serf.

So, using the power of the Rothschild family, Sebastian must have convinced him with a bit of force, probably threatening to beat him up if he didn’t follow.

It’s said that after three years even a stray dog can chant poetry, and although Sebastian, like me, didn’t have the opportunity to learn from British wisdom...

It seems he was influenced by my intuition and experience in utilizing the wisdom of the neighborhood.

As soon as I saw someone preaching the divine right of kings, I had him locked up.

“And His Majesty has sent a confidential letter to you, Count.”

“A confidential letter?”

Thanks to the tax reduction I proposed, the Emperor had made a huge profit.

If you could represent imperial authority on a graph like stock prices, it would show a steep upward curve.

There’s no way the letter would contain anything that would harm or disadvantage me.

If it’s something that benefits me, of course.

I opened the confidential letter from the Emperor with the excitement of opening a Christmas present.

“Truly, our Emperor is a great man who gives as much as he takes. The nobles of the Empire are fortunate to have him.”

“It seems the contents are quite beneficial to you, Count.”

A confidential letter, especially one sent by the Emperor, should never be shared with others.

This is a timeless truth, valid anywhere in the world.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

That’s why, when the king appoints an inspector in Joseon, the moment the official document is opened, you must immediately put everything aside and go about your inspection activities.

You’re not even allowed to contact your family to inform them you’re leaving.

Your family would be left wondering for a month or more, but it can’t be helped.

It’s the king’s order.

‘But not everything in life follows the rules, does it?’

“He said that after abolishing the Commercial Law Department, they will collect taxes from the merchants and create a new office to manage them. Naturally, accountants trained by our family will enter the new government posts.”

“A completely new department is being created, so there’s no downside for us.”

When major companies undergo large-scale restructuring, that’s when their stocks are at their lowest.

At that time, things are chaotic, and no one knows which areas are profitable, making it easy to slip into a profitable sector.

Let alone when a government department is being restructured?

‘I’ll have more opportunities to profit.’

“And His Majesty has graciously given us the right to recommend officials for positions below the head of the department. Well, it’s a bit unfortunate that he asked me not to spread it around that I made the recommendations.”

In an era where bribery is legal, it’s incredibly lucrative to pretend to be generous and sell government positions.

However, since it’s an unofficial recommendation, I can’t boast about controlling the appointments to the Ministry of Commerce and receiving bribes.

If I did that, the Emperor would cut off my head, saying I dared to overstep ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ his authority...

It would be like the fate of men like Jo Mal-saeng and Hwang Hee, who, even after committing crimes that warranted death in Joseon, couldn’t resign.

“For now, I’ll leave most other matters aside. For the new officials, we’ll assign 15% to our business, 35% to the lazy noble sons related to us, and the rest will go to people with close ties to us. For senior officials, we’ll choose based on merit rather than personal connections.”

“Senior officials are the most important, aren’t they?”

To be slightly exaggerated, influencing one high-level decision-maker is more effective than recruiting 1,000 operatives.

In fact, even when a military coup is planned, the first people the ringleaders persuade are division commanders and regimental commanders, not the soldiers or non-commissioned officers.

Once you convince one high-ranking official, the whole brigade, regiment, and division will follow.

“You’ll get indigestion if you eat too much.”

“I understand. I’ll recommend capable people, but I’ll also send small gifts to those who have worked hard in government affairs.”

“Ultimately, it’s sincerity and effort that moves people, right?”

There’s nothing more annoying than the usual nagging from elders, telling you to get married, have children, or find a job.

Sometimes it feels like they’re not actually concerned about us, but just want to feel superior by telling us what to do.

But if they give us 200,000 won for New Year’s gifts or pocket money, we’ll feel that their words come from genuine care, won’t we?

‘In the end, sincerity and effort come down to money.’

“We’ll show the sincerity of our Rothschild family.”

I’ll show the sincerity in the way it should be shown...

“I’ll go meet with the new minister of commerce.”

The new minister of commerce might be highly skilled in practice, seeing everything clearly, but when it comes to something entirely new, he might not know what to do.

I’m sure he’d be happy if I gave him a little advice.

And before long, the Toscana Empire would begin to impose a new tax on merchants.

The storm of corporate taxes was approaching.