Chapter 34
Parachute appointments are unwelcome in any company.
There's a 99% chance they're leeches who came in without the ability or proper qualifications to just suck honey.
And because they're likely to hinder one's own future and power.
However, when I first came to work as a financial officer, everyone in the Medici family warmly welcomed me.
"Young Master Fabio, you've become so dependable that I can hardly recognize you from two years ago."
"It's the family's blessing that the young baron has formed a connection with the Farnese count family, and you've prospered like this too."
"I should try not to show an unworthy appearance to you, young master."
Having only seen people who were thinking of stabbing me in the back until now, it felt a bit awkward.
But I could feel the family vassals in front of me welcoming me with sincere attitudes.
And thinking about it carefully, I am a parachute appointment, but my ability has been proven and my term is limited, so there's no chance I'll touch their rice bowls.
It would be strange if they didn't welcome me.
"Thank you for welcoming me."
"Didn't you volunteer to be the financial officer to help our family? We should run out barefoot to welcome you."
If the coming words are kind, the following words should naturally be kind too.
No, there's a saying that a kind word pays a debt of a thousand coins, so I should rightfully give a gift too.
"This is a gift for the military affairs director. The highest quality seaweed harvested from my territory."
From my perspective as the giver, it's really not much of a gift, but the military affairs director received it respectfully as if it were gold and silver treasures.
"Actually, my granddaughter is about to give birth soon, so I was going to buy seaweed to make soup for her. I can use this to make it. My granddaughter and son-in-law will be happy too."
"This soup becomes more effective if you add some garlic and dried fish when making it."
"Is that so?"
A very bright smile appeared on the military affairs director's face.
His mouth corners are going to ascend for real at this rate.
I should quickly give some to the other administrators too, or there might be misunderstandings that I'm only favoring the military affairs director.
"Everyone take one box each. It's an expensive item, but what's there to be stingy about giving to colleagues who serve the Medici baron family?"
"Thank you, young master."
As soon as everyone received a box of seaweed, smiles didn't leave their mouths.
With one 200g box of that, you can buy a fairly decent house without exaggeration, so it would be strange not to be happy.
Then Albert, the leader of our baron family's vassals, refreshed the atmosphere.
"I understand you're excited because Young Master Fabio came, but we didn't come here to chat with the young master, did we? Let's do work first and catch up later."
At Albert's words, everyone sat down.
They became so serious that there was no trace of the laughing and chattering from just a moment ago.
"Young Master Fabio, as the financial officer, how do you see the current situation of our Medici territory?"
Honestly, by the standards of the Tuscan Empire, there wasn't any particular problem other than a lot of debt due to the wedding.
However, looking from a perspective one step away from such fixed ideas and common sense.
There seemed to be quite a few problems.
Like applying the same tax rate regardless of whether items are expensive or cheap when collecting customs, or only collecting in kind rather than money from artisans, and so on.
Several pre-modern and inefficient systems were visible.
I wanted to say these were problems, but...
I'm just a 'temporary' financial officer.
Although I was ordered to tackle problems, it would be better not to touch anything too fundamental.
"First, the most urgent problem is resolving the 8,000 gold coins borrowed to hold the baron's wedding with the lady from the Farnese count family. The interest rate is set too high, probably because the money was borrowed urgently."
Even if urgent funds were needed, 50% interest rate?
This means 4,000 gold coins of interest alone accumulate every year excluding the principal, and if the creditor applies 'compound interest' on top of this, the amount to be repaid will snowball rapidly.
That's why most nobles give various vested interests to the merchants they borrowed money from because they can't even think of repaying after borrowing money like this once.
Like becoming political backing, or bestowing knight titles if they whine about needing knight titles, and so on...
If the situation worsens a bit more from here, they even interfere in internal affairs.
So it says it all that great merchants, though without titles, look down on most nobles openly.
If we don't want to end up like that, we need to resolve the debt first.
It might seem like there's no need to say it since everyone knows the problem, but conversely, it's also serious enough for everyone to recognize.
"So it's best to sell all useless artworks and jewels in the family and reduce the debt as much as possible."
At those words, the expressions of those present darkened a bit.
Saying to sell family artworks means implementing austerity measures for the Medici family.
In 21st century Korea, implementing austerity measures ends with receiving voluntary retirements from employees and cutting bonuses...
Although vassals, who could be called executives of the company, are not subject to dismissal, there could be confiscation of property in kind as part of 'macroeconomic policy'.
They'd like being welcomed, but of course they wouldn't like being told I'm going to take money like this.
Everyone would want to oppose it.
Still, the military affairs director who received seaweed from me sighed and said.
"If necessary, our Stefano family will contribute 120 gold coins."
The legal officer sitting opposite shook his head.
"It doesn't seem that dangerous yet. Aren't you being too hasty?"
My words, having proven financial management ability through trading company management, have definite authority.
Moreover, I came with the delegation of 'father', who is essentially the superior of Albert, the current baron.
So it would be awkward for everyone to oppose...
"I think there's some misunderstanding. There won't be any additional money collected from vassals or subjects because of this wedding. If we do such a thing, it would tarnish the meaning of the baron's wedding, which should be celebrated by everyone."
The Medici family chose to hold a lavish wedding, but make the vassals and subjects pay the price?
Minstrels, who could be called medieval journalists, might hear this story and spread it throughout the country immediately.
Even if that doesn't happen, it's clear that public sentiment in our territory would worsen.
"So it's important to put out the urgent fire by selling things like artworks first and then increase fiscal revenue by expanding spice trade."
This isn't particularly special thinking.
Saying to increase fiscal revenue by expanding spice trade is something anyone belonging to the Medici family could think of.
"Young master, spice trade certainly brings in big money. If we increase the scale of trade, we can obviously earn more money, but spice trade is also done under the tacit agreement of the great merchants of the Tuscan Empire. If we arbitrarily increase the import volume, there will be tremendous friction."
It's not that I don't know that.
But guilds are like that, and great merchants are like that too...
From a modern person's perspective, great merchants tacitly agreeing and only playing within each other's territories is honestly very inefficient.
"There would be friction if we get caught. So shouldn't we do 'smuggling'? We'll use the Medici family name when visiting, but when selling elsewhere, we'll launder and sell under the name of an 'unknown family'."
It was like that during the Age of Discovery too.
Trade was smuggling.
No, Vasco da Gama, the first European to reach India by ship, was resentful that they wouldn't exchange spices for the tribute (trash, odds and ends) they presented upon arriving in India.
He gifted cannonballs and death instead of money while taking spices.
This was the spice trade of the early Age of Discovery.
Does our Tuscan Empire have to trade fairly and squarely?
"If we make the great merchants suspicious of each other like that, we can naturally escape from being suspects. If we just don't get caught, we won't get stoned either."
As a rule, when conflict arises in a state where evidence cannot be secured, the one who is prepared to sow discord first can quickly escape from being a 'suspect'.
"We have to pay back the money. And I'll personally execute this trade as the financial officer with full authority from father."
I'll build some connections there while executing trade as the financial officer...
I need to create a pipeline to smuggle things other than spices too.
That's why I deliberately stepped up to rebuild the Medici family finances at the risk of my life.
"What do you think of my proposal?"
Albert nodded.
"Young master has already achieved the feat of building an enormous trading company in less than a year with just a few gold coins. Moreover, what you said doesn't go against reason at all. We just need to not get caught... and that's also a specialty of our Medici family's merchant fleet."
In a world without radar or satellite surveillance, it wasn't that difficult to deceive human eyes.
That's why damn pirates could swarm and live.
"Is there anything else you'd like to say as the financial officer?"
There is one thing.
"I did think the taxes imposed on serfs were too excessive. But since that's not my jurisdiction, I won't bring it up."
"I understand. Then let us entertain you today, young master. It won't be too late to start work tomorrow."
One of the important things I need to do now is to give a better impression to the vassals of the Medici baron family.
That way, even if my brother brings up the idea of being hostile to me later, the vassals will oppose it.
Over several days, I prepared what I needed to do as the financial officer and trade with heretics, and immediately set sail.