23rd September 1656
Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagar State, Capital City Hampi
The Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Industry
Rajesh, along with some of his men, was eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Venetian delegation. Naturally, Danior Boswell was present among the Bharatiya delegation, since he is the main technical consultant of this deal.
As for the Venetians, similar to the Bharatiya delegation, brought in their own consultant to be prepared, and both sides had serious faces as they arrived at the ministry, looking forward to closing the deal.
Honestly speaking, the Venetian side was quite eager to close the deal because this deal is more important to the Venetians than it is to the Bharatiyas. Look at it this way: this deal for the Bharatiyas is only of monetary and strategic importance when it comes to opening up new markets and trade channels. As for the Venetians? it is a matter of winning or losing the war against the Ottomans.
The stakes were drastically high; hence, upon finding out that the Bharatiya Empire was willing to modify these battleships for them, the Venetians were already intent on purchasing these battleships, given that the price was not too unexpected.
In this fashion, both delegations, with their own thoughts and considerations, met with each other, this time preparing for a final brawl.
"Welcome, Your Excellency Leonardo, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Excellency Rajesh. I wholeheartedly wish our deal goes through."
They both greeted each other with warm smiles, not disclosing anything other than politeness to the other party.
Their delegations did the same, as they were all professional in their conduct.
Danier Boswell discovered his mentor among the Venetian delegation, a man who had indirectly taught him about advanced shipbuilding during his days in the Shivaji Shipyard. Danier felt uneasy since this mentor was also the designer of the Pune class battleship, knowing the ship inside and out, which could potentially prevent His Excellency, the Minister, from making a profit.
As for Rajesh, he already knew about the man’s identity because, even before the Venetians left their hotel, all information about their identities and anything that could help with the negotiation had been reviewed and distributed by him. Although he thought this designer might pose some trouble during the negotiation, he did not believe it would be critical.
If anything, he felt that the Venetians were taking the deal seriously by bringing in the actual designer of the ship they were purchasing.
"Your Excellency Minister Rajesh, so I assume that our requirements are not too harsh since we are holding this discussion so soon," Leonardo said, his face filled with a smile. In simpler terms, what he was saying was, ’Why did you invite us in a hurry? Are you so eager? Let’s see if I can get the price reduced by 20%.’
"Of course not, Your Excellency. The requirements you proposed are numerous, and for this reason, we had to mobilize some of our resources in order to come up with a rough plan for you quicker, especially now that the Venetian Republic is at war against the mighty Ottomans. Otherwise, we would have been more thorough to fully satisfy our guests," Rajesh replied, his smile impeccable.
In simpler terms, what he was saying was, ’Don’t think too much. We just expedited things since you are at war with the Ottomans, so don’t try to deceive me. Stay still while I slaughter you for an additional 20% increase.’
Both designers who came as consultants to the negotiation did not know what was going on, but the atmosphere was filled with tension. Despite the smiling faces of their delegation leaders, as if talking to a close friend, they could feel the electrical sparks flying between these two figures, the designers shuddered and decided not to meddle in politics.
"Well, what you said does make sense, Your Excellency, and thank you for the Bharatiya Empire’s consideration. So, Your Excellency, what is the price for the Pune class and Bhiema class naval vessels?" Leonardo chose to break the deadlock, as the deal was indeed more important for him and his country.
Rajesh smiled with triumph as he said, "Haha, the Republic of Venice is such a big collaborator and investor in our nation. Of course, we will give you friendly prices."
"For the Pune class battleship that is modified, which is temporarily named the San Marco class battleship, it will be priced at 296,082.67 varahas, or in terms of gold, it is around 20.13362 kilograms. In European terms, it is 5,752.5 ducats. As for the Bhima class armed merchant ship, which is temporarily named La Serenissima, It is priced at 156,127.49 varahas or 10.6167 kilograms of gold.
In European terms, it is 3,033.33 ducats."
Hearing the price, Leonardo was internally very happy because it was within the ballpark, and he knew the Bharatiyas had raised the price by 30%. But it didn’t matter, since they were in the ballpark, negotiation could be done.
"Your Excellency Minister, you are being insincere. You do know that my friend Francis Molin here is one of the directors of the Bharatiya Shipyard, don’t you? So please quote a more sincere price since we know the price at which the ships are built and sold to the Bharatiya military," Leonardo said.
"Well, what you said is indeed true, Your Excellency, but you have to consider the price can’t be the same for our own consumption and for our foreign guests, especially since the products you are buying are the best ships that we can currently produce. But no matter, the Venetians are indeed very good friends of the empire. I will give another 5% discount on this price.
How about it?" Rajesh said as he raised five fingers.
Leonardo was happy inwardly since there was indeed space for bargaining, but outwardly he tried to fight for more benefits.
"It is not enough, Your Excellency. You know the Pune class is designed by the man next to me, don’t you? So we already know that the modifications do not take too many extra resources. Why is it so much costlier than the Pune class used by the empire? Please make it 30% lower," Leonardo said.
Rajesh knew this question would arise, hence he was prepared. "Haha, Your Excellency, you might not know. Although material-wise it indeed does not cost anything extra to modify the ships, please consider that for this modification to take place, we have to revamp our production lines, which are the supporting industries for our naval industry, and this costs extra resources."
He then added in a suggestive tone, like a real estate salesman:
"I am assuming that you need the delivery as quickly as possible. In that case, there is no other way than to buy a ship built using the construction methods we use. Otherwise, if you insist on traditional shipbuilding methods, the price can indeed be lower, but the delivery time will take longer."
Seeing how Leonardo was looking convinced, Rajesh decided to throw in a bait. "How about this: if Your Excellency can order more than 10 ships, I can decrease the price by another 10% at most, and beyond that, I do not have the authority to decide," Rajesh said, with the word sincerity almost written on his face by the kind of expression he was showing.
Truthfully, though, Rajesh lied about revamping the production lines and it costing extra. as in reality, Due to the existence of machine tools, modifications can be done on the go as changing the parameters would not take too much trouble; it could be done in a single morning, and production could start by lunch.
Leonardo was indeed stumped, as he really did not have any information on the industrial chain pertaining to the naval industry of the Bharatiya Empire since it is a very high-security industry and intelligence in this sector is taken very seriously.
However, considering the current price, he felt it was acceptable, but still, he tried to negotiate some more to see if he could get the price lower.
Rajesh immediately felt the softening tone of the Venetian in front of him and decided to lower the price just a little bit more in order to show that they had done a favour for the Venetians.
Overall, the negotiation lasted for four whole hours, and all the members from both delegations were sweating as the stakes were high.
*Phew!*
Finally, the deal was reached, and everyone, including Rajesh, who had the upper hand, let out a sigh of relief.
"We wish this cooperation would go further and prosper, Your Excellency Leonardo."
"Certainly, Your Excellency. We wouldn’t want anything more."
The leaders of the delegations, with smiles on their faces, happily did a namaskara to each other and then proceeded to handshake to close the deal.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
However, what was different this time was that their faces showed genuine happiness, as opposed to the professional smiles they had put on during the negotiation, which only showed politeness and kept the other party at arm’s length.
"So, Your Excellency, the Pune class battleship—oh, sorry, the 10 San Marco class battleships—will be priced at two million two hundred seventy-seven thousand five hundred fifty-nine varahas, or 154.874 kilograms of gold, or 44,250 ducats.
As for the 15 La Serenissima class armed merchant ships, They will be priced at two million two hundred fifty-two thousand eighty-eight Varahas, or 153.125 kilograms of gold, or 43,750 ducats."
"Overall, according to the deal reached, we will start the construction of these ships right away, and your order for these 25 ships will be ready for delivery in 4 months," Rajesh said, reassuring the Venetians.
"I see, it seems like building two battleships in a month in a single shipyard is not just a legend. I am very grateful that this service was provided for us. I will be looking forward to sailing on these ships, Your Excellency," Leonardo said.
"Oh, Your Excellency is going back to Venice?" Rajesh asked.
"Yes, Your Excellency Rajesh. I will be going back to Venice and spending time with my family there. I haven’t been there for a year, after all."
"Definitely, definitely. We will make sure that you have a comfortable ride back home, Your Excellency."
The deal that had been reached quickly went through the communication channels of the empire and reached the ears of Vijay, who was very happy with the deal. Not only were the profits considerable, but it also opened up the European market.
P.S. Thanks its_a_joke, for the Pizza