Businessmen’s Revolt
If one were to sit aside, they probably wouldn’t realise there was a brand new continent there. Queen Sisi perceived it to be the empire’s new land. From the perspective of a particular group of businessmen, however, it was a new place to strike it rich. The new content supposedly could produce what the previous continent they were on permitted, thereby bringing them the money they needed as businessmen. In other words, it was their new land.
Melissa shifted her gaze from the ocean before her to her retainer, who she passed a letter to: “You must deliver the letter as soon as possible. Count Lin must see an urgency that needs to be addressed to be in such a rush to consult me. Get it to him as soon as possible before he gets anxious.”
“Understood.”
Melissa placed her glass down and turned to the businessman next to her: “It appears the idiotic businessmen at the imperial capital have also begun preparations to enter the market in the South. As the minister of business, Lin Dongqing has also begun to look into the land on the new continent. Although we’re confident we won’t lose to those businessmen, our primary hurdle is the involvement of the nobles in the imperial capital.
“After the military was restructured, lots of military personnel were replaced with those with the businessmen in the imperial capital. From within the military ranks, they’ve provided authority and military authority. The nobles and businessmen have allied again. They don’t dare to act rashly in the imperial capital because Her Majesty would treat it as a rebellion, and she’d, consequently, kill them for sure. At the new continent, on the other hand, it would take days for Queen Sisi’s commands to reach them. If they decide to do something at the cost of their lives, our corpses would have started to decay by the time we receive assistance.”
“You mean to say that the businessmen at the imperial capital might harm us?”
Businessmen wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate their competitors for profit. The businessmen in the South had a far superior understanding of the new continent compared to the businessmen in the imperial capital.
To keep it simple, not much usable land had been located on the new continent. If they wanted land to plant crops or to open factories, competition was inevitable. The businessmen in the imperial capital could convince Queen Sisi into sending a military over. Once the military arrived and stopped all news from leaking back to Queen Sisi, then she wouldn’t have any vision on the new continent. Firstly, the businessmen in the South didn’t have their own military. Secondly, they didn’t have weapons. Therefore, they would be at the mercy of the businessmen in the imperial capital’s army and the power of the nobles.
In the above scenario, the businessmen in the South only had two ways of protecting themselves. One method was to find someone with enough power and could help them to take on the role of governor on the new continent. The only person the businesses in the South could depend on was Lin Dongqing.
Lin Dongqing had visited the South before and was on good terms with Madam Melissa under the table. He wasn’t actually a noble family of the imperial capital. Additionally, his interests and profits weren’t linked together with the nobles and businesses in the imperial capital. That indicated that he didn’t side with the nobles in the imperial capital. He also had multiple clashes with the businessmen. Hence, he wouldn’t be biased to either side or let them run rampant if he was governor of the new continent. Most importantly, he was Her Majesty’s favourite.
As Her Majesty’s favourite, Lin Dongqing’s input held a lot of weight with Her Majesty. Without his permission, the imperial capital’s businessmen wouldn’t dare to step out of line as Queen Sisi would definitely hunt the nobles and businessmen down if they did. Worth noting was that was only applicable for the South’s businessmen.
The other consideration was Lin Dongqing’s competence. With his competence, there was no doubt that he could fulfil the role of ruler perfectly. The only uncertain factor was whether or not Lin Dongqing would support Melissa’s idea. Up until this point, he had yet to explicate his desire to serve as the governor of the colony. Apparently, someone not very well known by the name of Oaksvid was assigned to the post. By now, it should be clear that Oaksvid’s delegation wasn’t good news for the South’s businessmen. Consequently, Melissa added some “spice” to the letter.
“Regardless of what the circumstances are, we, the South’s businesses, cannot initiate attacks. At the end of the day, we are at the disadvantage when it comes to politics. But nonetheless, if Count Lin Dongqing refuses to take the post, and the imperial capital’s people decide to have a go at us, we must retaliate.”
“Understood.”
“We need to prepare ourselves in case. Hiring mercenaries or whatnot will be acceptable, as well. We’re closer to the continent, so it must be ours. The imperial capital’s businessmen should just stay in their lanes. Why do they insist on sticking their nose in our business? I believe that Count Lin Dongqing also wants to get involved, too. I’m positive he is also preparing himself.”
***
Indeed, Lin Dongqing was amidst his earnest preparations…
“Uhm! This colour does go perfectly with Miss’ eye colour. Her rosy eyes go perfectly with this ruby fabric. We will complete it and then send the entire set to your place as per your wishes. While we are at it, I suggest adding this gem. Would you agree that she would look prettier with this gem as a chest pin? By the way, Countess, do you think you should change? The season is changing soon, after all. I think you should prepare more clothes. I will save a piece of fur from the North for you so that I can make you a scarf.”
“All right.”
When Veirya spent money, she spent as you’d expect of her character – without sparing a thought. She never looked at the expression I wore. While I wouldn’t get angry with my family for spending money, the way Leah and Veirya spent money blithely… hurt. Lots of the things they bought were unnecessary… They still seemed to want to shop at a lot more places…
“Boy, this is going to be rough for me…” I thought.
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