Ch.126Upper Section (3)

“About the base…”

“Regardless of how it came into my possession, it wouldn’t look good to voluntarily give up something that’s already in my hands. Though it’s far from the mainland and in a poor neighborhood, isn’t the location quite good? I need to find a way to make use of it somehow.”

Hearing my words, Leclerc tilts his head thoughtfully before eventually nodding with vague understanding.

“However, wouldn’t this cause some complications for Dijon’s prosperity? Merchants from various countries come to Dijon to acquire our Lotaring goods, but if we stack all sorts of merchandise in Baron Barde’s territory, the merchants might become dispersed.”

Leclerc, having accurately grasped what I intend to do, speaks thus. Despite just now understanding the concept of a logistics hub, he immediately realizes the disadvantages it might bring. He truly is competent, which I appreciate.

“It’s fine. We’ll strictly prohibit foreign merchants from entering anyway, and it won’t be a place where transactions take place.”

“If transactions won’t occur there… will it simply be dedicated to receiving payments and handling deliveries?”

“That’s right.”

As I mentioned earlier, the territory dumped on me by those vicious merchants is useless in itself, but its location is excellent. Being in the center of Caroling says it all.

The buying and selling of goods will still only take place in Dijon, but when shipping goods to Caroling, like weapon supplies, Baron Barde’s territory will be used as a hub.

Of course, to do this, I’ll need to modify that barony… Perhaps I’ll use the baron’s castle as a warehouse for goods. I should also station soldiers there to prevent anyone with strange ideas from causing trouble.

“Hmm… It would indeed be much faster to depart from Baron Barde’s territory rather than Dijon when heading to Duke Neustria in the north or Duke Anjou in the west. However, wouldn’t it be faster to depart from Dijon rather than the barony when going to Duke Provence’s territory in the southeast?”

The dukes Leclerc just mentioned are the three main figures claiming the throne of Caroling. Each leads their own forces and uses every method to win the civil war, notably seeking cooperation from neighboring countries like mine by any means necessary.

Duke Provence even went so far as to offer me vassals of Caroling. I was momentarily tempted, but since the vassals he was offering weren’t even under his command and the price was too high, I just rejected him.

“Since the directions are completely opposite, that’s true. For now, weapons sold to Duke Provence—no, goods going to the southeastern region of Caroling—should depart directly without passing through the hub.”

Given that the economic level is strictly medieval, there isn’t that much logistics traffic to necessitate using a hub. However, since hubs are the beginning and end of the logistics business, I need to introduce them early so Lotaring can quickly become accustomed to the hub system and gain related experience.

Above all, hubs aren’t just for commercial use. If a hub contains military supplies instead of commercial goods, isn’t it essentially the same as a supply base? For merchants and officials to quickly adapt to such a good system, it’s right to follow the precedent step by step from now on.

……….

“Tsk, making such a fuss when they’re going to pay the full price anyway.”

“Indeed. I heard he was a great noble from western Caroling, but he seems quite shabby compared to his reputation.”

The merchant group that sold weapons to Duke Anjou as ordered, though at a higher price, is returning with complaints despite clearly having made a substantial profit.

This is because Duke Anjou, the buyer himself, dragged out the process too much. Seeing the duke, a great noble, trying so hard to haggle down the weapon prices, the merchants who had been somewhat tense until just now felt that tension crumble like sand and something inside them grow cold.

“If the great nobles are like this, I suppose the common people must be the same.”

“From what I heard in Anjou, even their king is raving mad, so literally the entire country is in terrible shape from top to bottom.”

The Lotaring merchants pour out various harsh words about Caroling.

The Empire, which was in the midst of civil war not long ago, was in a similar situation, but at least they paid the full price for goods, and above all, they rarely declared war on the Duchy of Burgundy.

Even in the medieval world where everyone fends for themselves, people still have minimal feelings for their homeland. The Kingdom of Caroling has always been the primary enemy of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Kingdom of Lotaring. In fact, didn’t they invade again when His Majesty was crowned as the Duke of Burgundy, questioning the succession?

Traditional Burgundians, that is, merchants born and raised near Dijon, which is considered the Duchy of Burgundy, simply cannot have good feelings toward Caroling. That’s why they recently committed the major incident of commoners executing a noble.

“Hahaha, as we saw from that beggar noble recently, they’re all cut from the same cloth.”

“How true that is.”

Commoners executing a noble—by common sense, this simply cannot be overlooked. There’s a very high probability, no, certainty, that complaints about this incident will be expressed both domestically and internationally.

Nevertheless, they feel no fear.

There’s a custom that if you find a thief, you can kill them on the spot without any crime being charged. If a noble commits theft, shouldn’t they naturally be treated as a thief?

Above all, since they killed a vicious Caroling noble, even Lotaring nobles who might have complaints will eventually let it slide. After all, why would there be punishment for killing a Caroling pig?

Moreover, they even offered the seized barony to His Majesty just in case. Even if problems arise, the matter won’t escalate uncontrollably.

“Speaking of that barony, it should be coming up soon.”

“Given how much time was wasted in Duke Anjou’s territory, personnel sent from our country should be there by now.”

“Hmm… I’m still a bit worried.”

“Come now, you’re still concerned? Eliminating thieves is a rightful duty, and we’ve even presented the spoils obtained from dealing with those thieves to His Majesty. It should be fine, shouldn’t it?”

Of course, those spoils have already been looted and drained of all value, but the merchants here sincerely believe this.

Even if it has been plundered, a manor is still a manor, and it simply cannot be compared to mere possessions. If the king of kings is an emperor, then the wealth of wealth is undoubtedly real estate.

As far as they know, there is no noble in the world who dislikes acquiring land. Not even if you search through all of history.

“Gentlemen, did you think His Majesty wouldn’t understand your intentions?”

Of course, the merchants’ expectations are shattered as soon as they enter the barony and are promptly captured.

Officials dispatched from the Lotaring royal palace sit in the place of honor with their heads held high, and in front of them stand heavily armed guards with gleaming blades.

By order of the officials, the merchants are forced to kneel on the dirt floor, while the professional soldiers accompanying the merchant group are dragged to a secluded spot by the officials’ superiors and given a dressing-down.

“Intentions? We truly had good intentions—”

“You just didn’t want the hassle of dealing with it and pretended to be generous by handing it over because you feared His Majesty’s anger. Do you think we wouldn’t know what even uneducated people like you could figure out?”

“Ugh…”

The merchants cannot respond to the official’s words. Not only because they hit the mark, but also because everyone instinctively feels that making excuses in this situation would backfire.

“Thieves? Yes, if someone from Caroling commits theft, you’d have no choice but to kill them. But this thief was a noble, and the plundering and territorial seizure completely crossed the line. Have you considered how to handle the repercussions if this incident causes unrest among the factions within Caroling?”

“That’s… we’re sorry.”

“…I will impose a punishment.”

At these words, the bound merchants’ eyes widen. As merchants who pride themselves on knowing much about Lotaring’s laws, they have no precedent for what punishment might be imposed in such a case, making it impossible to predict what penalty will be handed down.

Only the judge’s inclination will be the focal point of this verdict.

“You will have to live here for the next three years.”

“…What?”

The merchants, who had their eyes tightly shut, hear the contents of an incredibly absurd punishment.

They open their tightly closed eyes wide and make expressions as if questioning whether what they just heard is correct.

Restriction on relocation? Isn’t that a punishment only imposed on serfs?

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying you have to farm here or anything like that.”

“What does that… ugh.”

The official serving as the temporary judge simply closes his mouth and points at something with his finger.

The puzzled merchants follow the direction of his finger and swallow hard when they see the weapons and food supplies being brought in.

“You will have to assist in various ways with supplying goods to the numerous factions within the Kingdom of Caroling, using this Barony of Barde as a base. This includes accounting, logistics verification, loading and unloading of goods, and everything else. Ah, of course, your wages will be paid in full, not reduced because you’re criminals.”

This is clearly lenient treatment.

They can receive their full wages and don’t have to move around to earn money. Even merchants prefer sleeping in warm beds rather than camping and sleeping rough.

The merchants are inwardly puzzled by this sudden leniency from the official who had been bearing down on them so harshly, but they don’t outwardly show their curiosity.

“Thank you for your leniency!!”

They simply bow their heads and pretend to be grateful for the official’s leniency.

They will have to work solely without enjoying any leisure activities in this rural area with nothing to offer, but at this point, none of the merchants have realized this.