The vice-minister of justice must understand the advantages of competition.
However, in our empire, there is no concept that pitting merchants against each other benefits consumers and politicians.
In Korea, competition among businesses in the same industry is natural, but in this world, it’s absurd for those engaged in the same trade to fight over profits.
‘It’s like Columbus's egg.’
Once someone has thought of it, it seems easy, but before someone mentions it, no one dares to consider it.
The vice-minister pretended to think deeply, making a sound as expected.
‘It’s a concept that has never existed until now, so it will be difficult to understand without a simple explanation.’
“Think about when the director of the Ministry of Commerce is selected under the vice-minister. When the other divisions are competing for that position, you, the vice-minister, and the minister of commerce, along with other superiors, will do your best to present a good image.”
These days, participation in gatherings tends to increase significantly during personnel announcement seasons.
When that time comes, there are often people who volunteer for overtime or trips to remote locations.
In the Toscana Empire, where bribery is essentially legal, all kinds of gifts must be exchanged.
‘Top-quality wine, money, land, fine swords, ornate armor, horses.’
Even though I didn’t explicitly say that gifts were exchanged, the vice-minister cleared his throat.
“Cough, cough. I don’t do that, but as the announcement approaches, there certainly are shameless individuals who work especially hard. As a noble, one should, like me, be dedicated to their duties at all times.”
It seems our vice-minister sends gifts regularly.
Besides this request, I should support him now and then to encourage him in his government duties.
“Now think about when there’s already a designated candidate for the director of the Ministry of Commerce, and no competition is taking place.”
“Shameless individuals wouldn’t be dedicated to their work. And as for merchants, to be frank, they only care about the profits before their eyes and treat principles like scraps of paper. If there’s no competition, their reason to pledge loyalty to the emperor, who guarantees their profits, diminishes.”
To understand a concept that hasn’t existed in the empire until now in such a short explanation is impressive.
He must be sharp, as he has risen to the vice-minister of one of the core administrative departments.
So, it’s better if I don’t directly continue this conversation...
Perhaps I should wait until he speaks up, convincing himself that he has discovered it on his own.
‘It’s said that the things people come to understand on their own remain in their memory longer.’
“I’ve never thought of this as a problem before. But upon reflection, it seems the very existence of guilds competing for commerce hasn’t benefited the merchants at all.”
The vice-minister widened his eyes upon hearing my words.
His face appeared slightly flushed, as if he was deeply impressed.
He chewed on his lips a few times and cautiously asked, “I apologize for saying this, but you, Baron Fabio de Medici, are closer to being a merchant than a noble, aren’t you? Why then, do you challenge the established interests set by merchants?”
Objectively speaking, there’s a limit to breaking through the glass ceiling created by the guilds and merchants of large cities with only my strength.
That’s why, even though it would be clearly more profitable to sell at lower prices for military supplies, I’m thinking of proceeding in this manner with the “comprehensive trading company.”
I’m not directly challenging the industries where the merchants have monopolized everything.
If I try to break through that glass ceiling—or rather, a diamond ceiling—using only my strength, I might end up dead.
‘Courage and recklessness may seem like a thin line, but the outcomes are worlds apart.’
“Although my relationship with the current Baron Albert de Medici isn’t the best, I am still the second son of a baron family. From a young age, I learned that loyalty to the emperor must take precedence over everything else. Therefore, I have never acted dishonorably.”
To be precise, I’ve never been caught doing anything dishonorable.
Selling seaweed and textiles to avoid taxes in Guillaumi is disgraceful, but the emperor and the duke wouldn’t know.
And if I don’t get caught, it isn’t a crime.
“It is the duty of nobles to help solidify the emperor’s power.”
In any country, politicians will dispose of even the presidents elected from their own party if necessary.
While such occurrences cannot physically happen in the Toscana Empire, where the concept of democracy doesn’t exist, it’s not uncommon for nobles to weaken the imperial authority to protect their interests.
The Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights in England were created by those who espoused the “absolute loyalty to the royal family” to protect their rights as nobles.
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‘Of course, what they did was morally and ultimately justified.’
“For that reason, I, Baron Fabio de Medici, will pluck the poisonous thorns of the thorny path with my bare hands. With this military supply, I have entrusted all production to the guilds in smaller cities, hoping to establish a foundation for them to become self-sufficient, and if I can nurture these smaller guilds in this way...”
I deliberately paused to stir curiosity.
“If the guilds in smaller cities grow in stature, they will naturally want to compete with the guilds located in larger cities. This will create competition among the guilds, leading them to depend on the authority of the emperor, who has the power to decide the victor.”
Since I am favored by the emperor and am rapidly rising among the nobility of my generation, it would still be difficult for me to secure an audience with him.
There’s no way that the guild master of a small city could meet with the emperor directly.
So, who would be the first to bring a load of money to?
‘The noble faction, the emperor’s high-ranking slaves.’
“At that point, the emperor will be able to shatter the commercial monopoly of the guilds that have become a remnant of the past.”
I’m not a paragon of loyalty, and it’s better to reveal my ambitions here.
“I want to occupy a portion of the space left vacant by the highest-ranking merchants.”
A smile broke out on the vice-minister of commerce’s face.
He probably felt relieved that I wasn’t just considering the emperor, realizing instead that I aligned my interests with his.
‘A loyalist who appears completely devoid of greed, like General Yi Sun-sin, tends to become a source of fear for monarchs and companions alike.’
The reason why Won Gyun, a master of hypnosis, was able to rise was also that.
While the embodiment of integrity, General Yi Sun-sin was admired, but looking closely into his life might have evoked a similar feeling to gazing into an abyss.
‘An instinctive aversion to the incomprehensible.’
In contrast, Won Gyun appeared capable and honest about his desires, so even those like the trash that was Seonjo would have felt a sense of camaraderie with him.
‘Didn’t someone say this? If an ordinary person tries to follow General Yi Sun-sin, they’ll ruin their lives.’
His journey was magnificent, but for an ordinary person like us, it was an area we could never reach.
It’s like a person starting to run every day, training until Usain Bolt becomes tired and runs away.
“Hm, listening to you, I think military supplies would benefit the empire if they proceed through the connection of a reliable merchant group and the guilds of smaller cities.”
“It’s an honor, Vice-Minister.”
“However, you’ve already been entrusted with the military supplies for two divisions, haven’t you? It won’t be easy to give you more.”
I never thought I would immediately receive military supplies on the scale of ten divisions.
“However, I’ll request that the emperor temporarily designate you as the first priority.”
“It’s an honor, Vice-Minister.”
I said that if I couldn’t have it, then neither should anyone else.
That way, it would leave the possibility for me to obtain it later.
Then I presented a banknote to the vice-minister.
“This is a banknote worth 1,000 gold coins. The source of the funds is very clean. If you come to our merchant group, I’ll exchange it for you.”
“...This is not how it should be.”
Yet, he didn’t refuse and accepted it as if he had no choice.
“Ahem, ahem. I’ll convey your words well to the emperor.”
With that, I left the meeting.
If I want to achieve something big, I must start by impressing the other party...
‘It’s important to look at things with a longer perspective.’
Wherever there is light, shadows must inevitably exist.
As the saying goes, even if they are of a lower rank than the merchants, the guild masters of Florence, who fall into the category mentioned by me, gathered.
Among them, there wasn’t a blacksmith guild master who had become a loyal dog of Duke Visconti...
“Fabio de Medici. Isn’t that fellow acting a bit too recklessly?”
The guild masters from various trades, including jewelers, butchers, chefs, millers, real estate agents, and more...
Many guild masters nodded upon hearing those words.
“I’m not going to criticize him for handling military supplies with integrity. If we start a quarrel over that, the Duke Visconti or the emperor behind him wouldn’t just sit idly by.”
Although they didn’t say it directly, the underlying meaning is clear.
They don’t want to provoke anyone if it won’t directly harm them.
“However, that fellow has already tamed the guild masters of two smaller cities to his side. While the other merchants might still communicate with one another, do you think that young brat will want to have a conversation with us?”
When people gather, they tend to speak ill of anyone not present, even if it’s the king.
Moreover, while each guild master here may not match Fabio’s power, if dozens of guild masters join forces?
They could exert tremendous political influence.
The number of seats in the city council held by these guild masters represents one-third of the total council members.
With the right distribution of bribes, they could impose various regulations.
‘That Fabio fellow has a lot of greed; he might try to push us out.’
When dealing with potential troublemakers, you either uproot them or properly train them to make them submissive.
“There’s no need to draw swords immediately since he hasn’t directly challenged us. However, we must give him a bruise. Is there anyone with a good idea?”
Upon those words, the spice guild master, who ranks among the top five guild masters in Florence, stood up.
“I have a good idea...”