King-Chapter 1124 - 171: Preparing the Bank

The massive influx of outsiders not only resolved the shortage of workforce in Snow Moon Harbor but also promoted the economic development of New Moon Port.

Master Hudson’s workers, who were provided with food and accommodation, indeed did not possess much purchasing power, but they brought liveliness to the area.

People came and went daily, and the streets too started bustling. Even false prosperity is still prosperity, at least it made many of the shops in the city easier to lease.

Seizing the opportunity, the Department of Commerce ended most of the loss-making deals, retaining only a few highly profitable industries to continue operations.

Including bulk commodities like grain and fabrics, the Department of Commerce provided only wholesale, leaving the retail end facing direct customers to private merchants.

With the increase and decrease, the financial data of the territory looked much better. Although the deficit remained high, the income column continued to increase.

Putting down the documents he was working on, Hudson asked with concern, "How are the discussions going with inviting the major merchant guilds to set up here?"

In the closed world of Aslante Continent, relying solely on small and medium merchants can’t drive economic development, it also requires major guilds with monopoly resources to join in.

As a Major Noble, Hudson could engage in many industries, but there were even more that he couldn’t get involved in.

For example, tea, spices, Magical Beast meat, high-end weapon manufacturing, financial exchange, and the magic industry...

Where others monopolized resources and high technical barriers existed, it was difficult to get involved. Rather than blindly spending money for an education, it was better to find direct cooperation.

Fortunately, Hudson had the right connections in this area, as he had dealings with most of the major commerce guilds on the continent, providing a foundation for collaboration.

"Duke, the discussions about cooperation are almost complete, most guilds are willing to set up branches in Snow Moon Territory.

However, there are difficulties with financial cooperation. The guild representatives are skeptical about the safety of the Near Eastern Nobles’ territory, worrying about issuing loans that might become significant bad debts," explained Rudolf.

Hudson frowned at this explanation.

Developing the Near East required a tremendous investment of human, material, and financial resources, the first two could somehow be managed, but the financial aspect was what most lesser nobles found most problematic.

Relying on their own efforts to accumulate slowly, it might take fifty years for them to develop their territories. In such times, financial financing becomes very necessary.

The banking industry in Aslante Continent was not developed, and the lucrative business of financial loans were handled incidentally by the major guilds.

Generally, Noble Lords were the best clients. With revenue from their territories as collateral, there was virtually no risk of default.

Regrettably, these clients generally did not lack funds. Even if they were temporarily strapped for cash, they would find ways to raise money from within their circles, rarely resorting to borrowing from guilds.

"If financial cooperation can’t be agreed upon, then let’s set the matter aside for now. Seeking profit and avoiding harm is human nature.

The situation in the Near East is not yet clear, their reluctance to commit heavily is understandable!"

As he spoke, Hudson sighed silently.

Capital in Aslante Continent was still at a nascent stage, under the control of the major nobles behind the scenes, beings who detested all uncontrollable risks.

Counting on them to take the risk of total loss to support the development of the Near East was not very probable.

Engaging with these individuals was a necessity for Hudson, as the Kingdom of Alpha was too impoverished, not just the government but also the domestic nobility.

Wars had consumed much of their wealth, and even the Major Nobles of the kingdom did not have much reserves.

Hudson’s role model was the Royal Family. After acquiring large tracts of land, the usual choice was to concentrate efforts for comprehensive development.

However, the Royal Family’s progress in developing new territories was far behind Hudson’s estimation.

One must know, to develop new territories, Caesar IV spent most of his time inspecting various places, with countless royal progeny fighting on the frontlines of development—the extent of their seriousness was evident.

With sufficient reserves of talent and the control of a kingdom, and still falling behind in development progress, there could be no better explanation than a lack of financial resources.

With even the deeply rooted Royal Family facing economic hardships, the plight of other nobility in the kingdom could only be imagined.

Even if they had some savings in the past, how wealthy could a nation, constantly exhausting its resources on war, be?

Being able to take care of their own new territories was already commendable, let alone having excess funds to lend to the small and middle nobility of the Near East!

If internal solutions for the financial issues were possible, Hudson would have proposed them to the kingdom long ago, rather than having to bring in these uncontrollable major guilds.

Now that the attempt had failed, Hudson need not fret anymore. Since the plan of using others’ means to produce outcomes had failed and quick development of the Near East was hopeful, it was time to change strategies.

Expecting to single-handedly create a bank to solve the financial issues faced during the development of the Near East was impossible.

The core problem was still—lack of funds!

When considering deposits, Hudson didn’t even know whom to approach. Within the kingdom, apart from a few slightly wealthier nobles, the only potential clients were a small number of affluent merchants.

Serfs, ordinary citizens, artisans, or even some small traders, none were qualified to be clients.

It wasn’t that Hudson discriminated by status, it was simply that the cost of engaging in finance under current technology was excessively high.

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