Chapter 83
As soon as I returned home, it was Chris, not Chloe, who welcomed me.
Usually Chloe always came out to greet me, was something wrong?
"Did something happen to Chloe? Is she sick or something?"
Thinking carefully, Chris isn't a servant or maid working in our house, how would she know all that.
I could just ask the butler here.
However, contrary to my expectation, Chris immediately answered.
"She heard you were coming and was about to go out to greet you when she happened to meet me. And since there's a lot to report now, she told me to wait in the room."
Chris had a fairly large stack of documents wedged under one arm.
"We've finished identifying the spice guild's asset list and figuring out which real estate, assets, and physical goods we could take."
There's only one reason people try to buy tax farmer positions by any means.
To gain profit, whether by collecting more taxes than the money they paid to buy the position, or by extorting assets.
For me, revenge and warning Albert were more important than that...
But money is always better the more you have, so you should take even one copper coin if you can.
'All the work is finished too.'
"You've worked hard, Chris."
Looking closely, Chris had some dark circles under her eyes, and her skin seemed to have lost some vitality.
I gave her vacation after escaping the sugar embargo.
But as soon as that ended, she must not have slept properly while urgently organizing the asset list of the spice guild with its enormous wealth, and sorting out what could and couldn't be eaten.
I worked to death too, not just pushing work onto employees.
'I've been so busy lately that Chloe has been severely lonely.'
"You've worked hard too, Viscount."
"Thank you. Then report right away."
"Yes."
Chris immediately took out a summary of the report and began explaining.
"I'll start with the assets in Florence. The spice guild office building, a 250,000 pyeong warehouse in the suburbs, 900 iron-wheeled carriages and carts, 1,000 pack horses, 600 cattle. 18,000 gold coins, 60 tons of pepper, 0.5 tons of saffron, 2 tons of cloves, 1 ton each of nutmeg and mace. Other artworks, jewels, etc. are written in the report so I'll omit them."
Those bastards had that much spice piled up for 18,000 gold coins?
Moreover, why is the warehouse size 250,000 pyeong?
I thought I was saving a lot of money lately and my income wasn't envious of ordinary merchants, but those who've accumulated wealth through collusion for hundreds of years are on a different level.
'Even the Emperor would be surprised seeing those bastards' asset list.'
Not surprised that the spice guild bastards are richer than him, but surprised that just the 'Florence Spice Guild' is rolling so much wealth.
"Besides that, here's the asset list of the Florence Spice Guild dispersed throughout the country. There are mansions in big cities including Latina, Visconti..."
The spice guild's main business is trade with infidels.
Of course, those guys are like puppets of great merchants, but to do trading business, 'merchant ships' are essential.
Otherwise they can't transport goods.
"Five 250-ton sloops, three 450-ton carracks. About 550 employed sailors."
If those were used as warships, they would have put 140 people on one ship.
Because it's advantageous in naval battles to give up cargo space and cram in cannons, gunpowder, and people in that space.
But merchant ships only take the minimum number of people needed for combat, trade, and navigation.
Because profits are maximized by loading as much trading goods as possible.
'So there are only about 550 people for 8 ships.'
"There are other assets too, but when converted to cash, they amount to only about 3,000 gold coins in total."
"I see. Then what do you think we should take, Chris?"
Chris pondered for a moment before answering.
"First, I think it's right to distribute cattle, horses, carts, spices like pepper, etc. to His Majesty, His Grace the Duke, and other nobles as thanks for their help. Cattle and horses cost too much to maintain, so there's no point in keeping more than necessary. Spices have little use besides mass consumption at banquets, so it might be good to distribute them all."
The scale of territory I possess isn't that large to begin with.
Therefore, even if I supply that many cattle, horses, and carts, the serfs can't even use them all.
Moreover, my territory focuses on commerce and industry instead of farming...
'If you're not farming, you surprisingly don't need much livestock.'
If you have vast land and people like His Grace Duke Visconti, giving one cow per household and having them cultivate land would show immediate effects.
It's similar to increasing cargo trucks in a company, but our trading company already has very ample livestock and carts including reserves, so it would only incur maintenance costs.
As Chris said, spices are pushed back in asset retention priority since there's no need for mass consumption except at banquets.
"It seems we only need to take the Florence guild office building, warehouse, cash, jewels, and artworks, and don't need much else. The mansions in other big cities, sailors, and ships are all valuable, but if we try to monopolize everything, we'll get indigestion. We should consider distributing them."
Even just those 8 merchant ships are worth over 10,000 gold coins, but merchant ships and sailors are real money-eaters.
Exaggerating a bit, just maintaining 8 merchant ships with sailors would burn through 2,500 gold coins in maintenance costs.
Mansions in other big cities would be nice to have, but our trading company doesn't particularly have problems without them now.
'We should gradually expand Cafe Medici and the postpartum care center too. Especially merchant ships seem like they could be very useful if we broaden our perspective.'
"It seems good to distribute the guild office building, warehouse to His Majesty, His Grace the Duke, Chief Justice Mancini, etc. who helped with this matter. And take the mansions in other big cities, merchant ships and sailors, cash and jewels."
Chris tilted her head.
She must be perplexed because what I said doesn't match common sense.
But seeing that she's not particularly questioning or objecting, it probably means she believes I wouldn't make a reckless choice.
"We're occupying too large a market share in Florence now. If we eat up the guild office building and warehouse too, checks from other guilds in the capital will intensify. We might be able to handle one spice guild somehow with our power, but if all the guilds join hands and come at us, it would be hard to fend off."
"Although our Medici Trading Company won't collapse since His Grace the Duke and His Majesty are backing us, we'd undoubtedly take a big hit if all of them joined forces."
The reason I was able to give Albert bastard a lesson this time and split and kill the spice guild in half is because the 'entire guild' didn't join hands and come at me.
If all of them had come together to try to kill me, there would have been no answer.
"So now it seems good to expand Cafe Medici and Medici Hospital centered not just on Florence but other big cities too."
"Indeed, there's no one among nobles in the provinces who doesn't know Cafe Medici and Medici Hospital. Imitations of Cafe Medici desserts are being served at provincial banquets, and provincial nobles have been trying to hospitalize their wives at Medici Hospital for months."
After yearning for over a year, they'll all come running crazily.
"If we aim for the best and highest in Florence's Cafe Medici, it seems good to target various customer segments in other cities."
60% of nobles baron and above in the Tuscan Empire live in Florence.
So we can aim for the best there, but in other cities, targeting only 'very high-ranking people' would result in losses.
"Let's keep the quality of service the same, but lower the high point of desserts by one level and the low point by four levels for business. Do something similar with Medici Hospital too."
Lowering the low point that much will bring prices down to a level where ordinary craftsmen or merchants in the city can afford if they set their minds to it.
And by lowering the high point by just one level compared to the capital, successful nobles will have no choice but to come to Florence even if prices are several times more expensive...
'It means we can maintain and expand the market's premium value simultaneously.'
"Then using mansions in big cities would certainly cost less. I understand. But why the merchant ships?"
I grinned at that question.
"This is really confidential, so only you should know, Chris."
Usually when you say only you should know, secrets all leak out, but Chris isn't such a loose-lipped woman to begin with.
I tried to verify trust by even attaching a senior assassin from the information guild to verify, and they said there's no chance she'd leak confidential information.
'I completely incinerated the rest related to piracy.'
Then I whispered the secret in a very small voice.
Hearing that, Chris opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth.
"How far are you looking, Viscount?"
Like someone who's lived in a globalizing world, I have a very broad perspective.
"A little wider than Chris thinks."
"As expected of you, Viscount..."
Her voice was too small to hear.
"Now I want to rest today, so is this all for urgent matters?"
"Yes, Viscount."
"Then Chris should go home too, and send all other employees home."
"Understood."
Even after hearing to go home, Chris didn't leave.
Does she have more to say?
"Chloe is preparing something special for you, Viscount. Please go in quickly."
...... Come to think of it, the cat play flew away because of that damn spice guild master?
And she said she was preparing something.
I ran to my room with very light footsteps.