Chapter 315 — One Step Forward
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Amber knew perfectly well that the "rules" Gao Yang had laid down were unlike anyone else's—just as Gao Yang's whole way of thinking was unlike anyone else's.
Would a normal person sell off his own advanced technological achievements? Would a normal person work so hard to drive magical power—something that ought to belong solely to nobles and extraordinaries—down to the price of cabbages? Would a normal person establish an administrative hall and a whole apparatus of government, delegating the powers that ought to be a lord's sole prerogative to "civil servants" of lowborn or even common origin?
Gao Yang had done all of it, and every time he had done so with reasons and precedents to back him up.
"The Magic Web has already begun spreading through the Southern Region. Prototypes of imitation work have appeared on noble lands near the Leslie and Kant domains. Several great nobles with sufficient wealth and good information have also learned of the magic-energy engine, and they should be very interested. Just as you planned from the beginning—let Viscount Andrew, rather than anyone from the Cecil domain, front the sales. That will further allay the Southern nobles' misgivings. Barring the unexpected, once spring comes and the trade routes open up, we'll have a steady torrent of income flowing in—just in time to buy more raw ore and expand the population."
After hearing Amber's report, Gao Yang nodded slightly. "Viscount Andrew is a familiar face in the Southern Region. His connections can help us put the primitive Magic Web and the magic-energy engines into other nobles' hands—and once they've tasted even a little of the sweetness... they won't be able to refuse what comes next."
"There's also word from Padric. The alchemical potions are still selling well through the winter; some merchants have even put down roots at the Eastern border and on the Holy Spirit Plain. But the large quantities of cheap potions in their hands have drawn the attention of the local lords, and Padric is a little worried about it," Amber reported, all business. "He's afraid those nobles will, driven by profit, squeeze the distribution end of the merchant guild... His exact words were: not every noble is as honest and trustworthy as Duke Cecil, doing business with a conscience."
Gao Yang lifted his eyelids. "What exactly is the situation? I doubt he sent you nothing but complaints."
"Can't hide anything from you," Amber said, scratching her hair. "He says there have already been a few rather nasty incidents. Further north, some local nobles detained our potion merchants and demanded they sell half their goods to them at an extremely low price—or else they'd declare our potion merchants illegal traders."
Gao Yang looked intrigued. "Oh? An extremely low price? How low is that?"
"...A third. A quarter, even," Amber said, her face clouding with indignation. "That's plain robbery!"
Gao Yang couldn't help laughing. "Hmm... given the current selling price and the costs over at the alchemy factory, even a quarter still leaves a profit."
"And you're laughing?" Amber stared at him, dumbstruck. "They're robbing the Cecil domain blind! If they weren't still mindful of your name, I'm afraid they wouldn't be demanding part of the goods—they'd just plunder the merchants outright!"