Chapter 733 Business Layout
At noon the day after Balian left, the large group of Commerce Department troops headed by Salter finally arrived at Wellsburg after several days of running. Accompanying the group of people arrived here were more than a hundred carriages, half of which were loaded with cargo and military supplies such as medicines that the legions urgently needed.
· Along the way south, the caravans sold the goods from the North to residents and traders in the towns and manors along the route. At the same time, they purchased at low prices the southern goods that these people had been hoarding for more than a month and could not sell, and stored them in the warehouses and shops of European trading companies in various places. When the caravan returns to the valley, it will all be transported back and sold to noble merchants and wealthy squires in the north at a high price.
Since the war between Lombardy and Burgundy and Provence, the trade between the north and south of the European continent has been seriously hindered and even interrupted for a time. The large quantities of southern goods needed by the Northland can only be landed through the southern ports of the Principality of Provence, and flow northward from the west line to traders and customers in various towns.
However, due to insufficient port capacity in southern Provence, the southern goods needed by the North were far from being fully supplied, and for a time there was a "short supply" of southern goods.
At the same time, the grain, furs and linens produced in the North were ignored and had no market, which once caused dissatisfaction among northern merchants.
If it were not for the authority of the palace and the sharp swords in the hands of soldiers, these merchants, farmers and vendors who were forced to suffer economic losses would have broken out in riots long ago.
As soon as the caravan entered the city, the legion soldiers who had been waiting here unloaded the supplies and medicines belonging to the legion under the command of Bob, the secretary of the Chinese army.
The men and horses of the Central Radiation Department also received orders from the Chinese Army early in the morning to assist the caravan in unloading medicine and military supplies.
".-You guys, move quickly and send these large carriages of medicines to the warehouse near the south gate for storage. Remember to put hay on them, these are life-saving medicines for the injured brothers, don't be careless!"
In the crowd, Spencer, the head of the Radiation Department, methodically directed his radial soldiers to carry the goods. His thin and frail body was very conspicuous among the soldiers passing by. The short sword hanging on his waist swayed back and forth by his thigh as his body moved.
After a while, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Spencer's forehead, and there was an intermittent dull pain in the injured sole.
At this time, Bob, the secretary of the Chinese Army, stepped forward and said with concern: "Brother Spencer, your injury has not healed yet, so you should not be overly active. You can leave these menial tasks to your men. You only need to stand aside and talk."
"Lord Baron, you don't know something. For the rest of the month, I have been eating and sleeping every day, which has almost made me sick. Now that I have finally returned to the legion, it's time to do something. Otherwise, over time, this body will become useless." Spencer patted his thin body as he spoke.
"Okay, then you should pay more attention and take a rest for a while if you can't bear it anymore."
"I will, thank you, Lord Baron, for your concern." Spencer changed from his usual image of a rough guy and bowed to Bob.
Seeing Spencer's persistence, Bob had no choice but to give up.
After Bob left, Spencer wiped the sweat from his forehead and joined the unloading team again, full of energy.
In fact, what others don’t know is that although Spencer was physically tired, he was mentally inspired. Being able to return to the Radiation Department where he belongs allows him to regain his former self.
A few hours later, all the cargo from dozens of carriages was unloaded. After the Minister of Commerce, Salter, completed the handover with Bob, the secretary of the Chinese Army, he hurried towards the inner fort. "Sir, this is probably the situation in the Northland." The further south you go, the greater the impact of war. The goods I brought from the North to Lombardy had no problem selling. Compared with previous years, the profits of European trading companies in the business dealings with the south have more than doubled this month. The further south you go, the higher the price of goods. In particular, food, meat and vegetables, which are in short supply, are in even greater demand. "
In the Lord's Office in the Neburg of Wellsburg, the Minister of Commerce, Salter, was reporting to Art on the recent trade situation of the trading houses.
The account book opened on the table is densely packed with a large number of figures. These are the fruits of Salt's journey for more than a month.
Yate thought for a moment and asked again: "How is the progress of the negotiations with the Northern Khansa Alliance?"
Sart picked up the wine on the table and took two sips, choking and coughing several times.
wiping the remaining juice from the corner of his mouth, Salt replied: "Replying to your lord, the negotiations are going smoothly. As long as I have the authorization document signed by you personally and the special permission from the palace, I will be able to sign a trade agreement with them when I return north this time. Once the agreement takes effect, we can The goods are continuously shipped to the northern coastal states, earning even greater profits."
After hearing this, Yat breathed a sigh of relief and sighed: "Finally, your trip this time was not in vain. After this is completed, you will serve as my plenipotentiary representative to conduct business with the northerners."
"Me?" Salt was shocked.
“Of course it’s you, who else is qualified for this position besides you!” Art made no secret of his trust in the Minister of Commerce.
Sart couldn't hide his excitement, stood up, lowered his chin and eyebrows, and said excitedly: "I am willing to serve you!"
"Sit down and talk."
"Thank you, sir!"
As soon as Salt sat back down, Art poured a basin of cold water on him, "Don't be too happy too early. , the Khansa Alliance is different from ordinary business alliances. This organization has been established for many years and is deeply rooted in the north. Even the King of France wants to give it some respect. Their customers include a large number of powerful nobles including royal families. It can be said that this is a force that is far enough to disrupt the entire North. We must not be careless - "
"What your lord is saying is that I will proceed with caution."
h "In this case, you should seize the time and draft a trade agreement with the Khansa Alliance and show it to me. If appropriate, use this as a basis to negotiate with them."
h "Okay, sir."
At stood up. He came over, walked slowly to the window, sighed softly, and continued: "In addition, you have also seen that as we occupy more and more places, the affairs that need to be managed become more and more complicated. In a word, these places need more government officials to manage.
Similarly, there is an urgent need for talents who understand business to restore business here."
Sart naturally understood what Art meant, and immediately walked up behind Art and said, "Please don't worry, sir. I will arrange the people who manage the trade in these places."
Seeing that Salt was confident, Art's frown relaxed and he suddenly became interested. "Oh? Tell me what you think."
"Sir, this is the case. Since the establishment of the European Commercial Bank, with the gradual development, our team has become larger and larger, and there are many talents who are good at management. I have done a survey before, and there are more than 60 independent stewards under the name of the company. If you arrange two for each territory under your name, it will be enough. Enough. Coupled with the assistance of other officials from the Ministry of Commerce, it is enough to handle the commercial affairs of the territories under our jurisdiction. "
"In addition, the autonomous city-state merchants who have defected to the Lord can also help us manage local business. In this way, we will receive less resistance. Those Lombard merchants will also be more motivated."
After listening to Salt’s detailed analysis, Art nodded with satisfaction. He smiled and said, "I'll do as you say!"
"As you command!"
People are in high spirits during happy events, so Art walked to the table, personally poured a glass of wine for Art Sart and handed it to him.
After reacting, Salt was flattered and quickly stepped forward to catch the wine glass with both hands.
"Cheers to the growth of the European trading houses!"
"Cheers to my lord for regaining the family territory!"
Ding! The two raised their glasses to each other and downed the drink in one gulp.
After a glass of wine, Art felt refreshed all over.
Subsequently, the two discussed the current situation in various places.
Sarte has been traveling abroad and has received much more news than Ate, who is in the southern part of Lombardy.
When he learned that the nobles and civilians of the neighboring principalities had changed from the initial surprise to the current acquiescence in the Burgundy and Provence principality's attack on the Lombardy principality, Art was not surprised. Instead, he became more determined that his original choice was correct. On the contrary, the surrounding countries have been watching from a distance without taking any actual actions, which makes Art curious.
The two of them talked in the office room from noon to dusk.
Before walking out of the office, Salt suddenly stopped and turned around slowly, as if he still had something to say, but was too shy to say it.
"Look at my memory!" Art suddenly stood up and said to Salter: "You want to know how your son Jack is doing, right?"
Salt hurriedly took two steps forward and asked uneasily: "Sir, Jack didn't cause any trouble to the legion, did he?"
Matt said with a serious face, "What are you talking about! On the contrary, that boy did it Very good. He also has a share of credit for conquering Sauron Castle. After the war is over, he will receive a generous reward for his military exploits. "
After hearing this, Salt was so excited that he was speechless.
"Okay, you go down. Tell Ron and ask him to take you to find that boy Jack. You and your father haven't seen each other for many days, it's time for you to get together."
"Thank you, sir!" Salt bowed and beat his chest, then quickly retreated, and then led Ron to walk quickly towards the Grenadier Company's station.
On the day the caravan arrived, Wellsburg was bustling for half a day. At night, Salter and Spencer had a drink with the senior officers of the regiment in a tavern in the fort.
· During the banquet, the backbones of these legions who had invested in the caravan kept asking Salt about the recent profits of the European trading companies. When they learned from Salter that they would get a huge dividend after the spring plowing, everyone was already smiling from ear to ear, and they all picked up their wine glasses to drink with Salter.
It was not until midnight that the group of people returned to their respective residences~
There was no words all night——·