Chapter 571: Chapter 41: Professional Field

There’s a saying that the Guterres Family is the royal family to the merchants of the Frank Kingdom.

Though the saying was somewhat treasonous and likely fabricated by political rivals, it was enough to offer a glimpse into the Guterres Family’s influence in the commercial world of the Frank Kingdom.

"There’s no need to be so reserved.

To be honest, the reason I asked my Uncle William to help arrange this banquet was because I hoped to ask for all of your help," Robson said with a smile.

’Is he revealing his true intentions already?’

The merchants were puzzled.

Of course, they all knew Robson had come here hoping to gain something.

’But this is too abrupt. The middleman just left, and he’s already making demands. Is there no preamble at all?’

However, the merchants weren’t particularly surprised.

’It’s just youthful impetuosity. Young people are all like that, especially a young man like Robson. He’s the one who defeated Kemal, after all!’

Forget defeating Kemal in their youth; if any of them had defeated Kemal now—or even just participated in that battle—they would be so arrogant their noses would be in the air.

"How could people like us possibly help you, sir? To be frank, our influence is nothing compared to Marquis Guterres," Feodor subtly hinted.

President Feodor’s wife was from the Guterres Family, and he himself was a Viscount, so he didn’t adopt as humble a posture as the others.

"Uncle Feodor, that’s where you’re wrong," Robson said, smiling.

"The answers I seek can only be found among you."

The merchants’ hearts sank.

’What could there possibly be that the Guterres Family can’t handle, but we can?’

They figured it probably wasn’t that the Guterres Family was incapable, but rather that Robson couldn’t take advantage of them and had to turn to them instead.

"Please speak your mind, General," said Feodor.

’Since Robson has brought it up, we have to at least hear what he wants.’

"I’ve heard it said that every profession has its own specialists. Each field has its own experts.

My maternal grandfather, Marquis Oscillate; my brother, Prince Noah; and my uncle, Marquis William—they are all giants of the Kingdom’s political world, the ones who keep the wheels of government turning."

"They are the titans of the Kingdom’s political sphere. And I believe that all of you are the titans of its commercial sphere."

Robson smiled, simultaneously flexing his connections while trying to close the distance with the crowd.

Clearly, the powerful names Robson dropped had indeed intimidated everyone present.

However, they quickly recovered.

"You jest, General. How could we possibly compare ourselves to Marquis Oscillate? That would be like comparing a chicken on the ground to a phoenix in the sky," said President Mason.

"Perhaps the General should first tell us what it is you need our help with."

While Robson’s comparison was startling, it at least showed that he held no prejudice against merchants.

"You are all being too modest. When it comes to leading armies and fighting wars, you might not be my match. But in business, I could probably bankrupt myself even with half a million free laborers," Robson said with a laugh.

At these words, the corners of some merchants’ mouths curled into slight smiles.

This was a Frank joke. When Louis II ascended the throne, he inherited the Sun King’s Elite Army of 500,000 men, and ended up bankrupting the Frank Kingdom.

Such jokes were popular among the common people of the Frank Kingdom, but the merchants were unaware that the upper nobility enjoyed telling them as well.

Seeing that the mood was right, Robson continued.

"As you all know, my future will certainly be in the Kingdom’s political arena.

After the great war, with so much to rebuild, the government’s primary mission will undoubtedly be to restore the people’s livelihood."

"In my opinion, commerce is a vital part of restoring the people’s livelihood.

Agriculture is the heart of the Kingdom, and commerce is its veins. The two are complementary and inseparable."

"In fact, my mother also came from a family of merchants, so you could say I have some understanding of commerce."

Robson explained in a measured tone.

The merchants hadn’t yet caught on. They still thought Robson was just trying to get on their good side before asking for a favor.

The only thing that puzzled them was his claim that his mother also came from a family of merchants.

But that wasn’t too surprising. The Guterres Family was a merchant family, after all.

They listened as Robson continued.

"And for that very reason, I personally have many questions about the Kingdom’s commercial policies.

I wonder, have any of you heard of last year’s Hom Port Act?" Robson asked.

"You know of the Hom Port Act, General?" President Mason looked shocked.

Robson nodded. He had done his research before coming.

The Hom Port Act came about when a merchant was caught smuggling weapons and armor to the Haven Kingdom. They had used Magic to disguise the goods as farm tools, but by some coincidence, the deception was discovered.

To prevent this from happening again, the Kingdom Council issued a decree that all shipments of farm tools had to be held at the port for thirty days.

This was because few disguise spells could be maintained for more than thirty days. But this created a problem.

The delivery of farm tools is time-sensitive. Once spring is over, they won’t sell for a good price. Moreover, keeping the tools at the port for thirty days cost money; the Kingdom didn’t provide merchants with free storage.

It was a classic case of inflexible bureaucracy.

The Hom Port Act caused a huge uproar among the merchants at the time, but in the end, nothing came of it.

This was because, not long after the act was passed, the Wei Man Clan announced they would be entering the farm tool trade between the Frank Kingdom and the Haven Kingdom.

"Yes, I do know.

I was very confused at the time. The government could have easily assigned a Mage to perform inspections, or built a Magic Array capable of breaking through disguise Magic.

Why resort to such a wasteful and burdensome method?" Robson asked.

"I was told it was the merchants’ own decision, because building a Magic Array and hiring a Mage would require government expenditure.

But the relevant merchant guilds were unwilling to pool their funds to resolve the issue."

Without the groundwork Robson had laid earlier, the merchants present would likely not have dared to complain to him about this matter.

But with the groundwork Robson had laid—especially after he’d dropped all those prominent names—everyone present was willing to believe that Robson genuinely had the ideas and the power to deal with such things.

Just then, a merchant, his face filled with righteous indignation, stood up.

"That’s simply absurd!"

"General, some of the lower-ranking officials... they’re rotten to the core.

Do you know how much they claimed it would cost to hire a Mage back then? Twenty thousand Gold Coins! A full twenty thousand!

My heavens, the value of all my cargo combined doesn’t even come close to that amount."

A merchant had stepped forward, his face flushed with anger. From the sound of it, he had been one of the victims of the Hom Port Act.

"How much?"

Robson’s eyes widened. ’Twenty thousand Gold Coins...’ Robson knew that local governments in the Kingdom were prone to graft and extortion, but he had never imagined they could be so brazen.

The merchant seemed to be a hot-tempered man, and having stood up, he began to speak without pause.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.