I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 196: Missionaries, Merchants, Age of Exploration (7)
After passing on the great imperialist lesson of "conquer and pay it back" to the Maasai Confederation, I went to meet Ulfric, who was overseeing the development of the trade route to Soros City.
Ulfric, like a proper United Kingdom man, was eating a sandwich with fresh cucumbers and bread.
"Baron Rothschild, welcome."
He handed the sandwich he was holding to his subordinate and quickly wiped his mouth.
If I had set a time to meet, it would have been different, but since I didn’t, and suddenly showed up without warning...
‘He was probably eating that horrendous cucumber sandwich because he was busy.’
Of course, the thought of putting cucumber in a sandwich is blasphemous, but...
As long as a person doesn’t directly or indirectly harm others, they can be forgiven for anything they do.
Yes, he could eat a cucumber sandwich.
However, I would never agree to have a meal with him at my house, no matter what.
Cucumber sandwiches or sardine pies are as harmful as a rotten religion.
"Finish eating what you were having. I can’t interrupt someone else’s meal just because you didn’t give me a heads-up."
Upon hearing that, Ulfric quickly devoured the cucumber sandwich.
The United Kingdom folks really have ruined their taste buds.
Eating a sandwich with just cucumber and salted fried eggs.
How cursed must that land be to live on such disgusting food?
Perhaps, after encountering only such horrible and tasteless foods, the British Empire became so dedicated to seeking out 'delicious food' and focused their energies on food hatred more than anyone else.
“Thank you for waiting.”
“No problem, what could be more important than a meal?”
We endure absurd behavior from our superiors, we tolerate being asked to go on weekend hikes, we tolerate being forced to do company dinners after being scolded by our wives, and even when we are asked to pay our share of the dinner tab after someone else decided to go drinking.
We grit our teeth and bear it for one reason only.
To make money and survive.
‘But the problem is that British cuisine is essentially cursed food.’
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.
I’ll have to enlighten them in the proper way later.
“So, how is the trade route development going?”
“The development is progressing smoothly. Those who voluntarily enlisted, or rather, those who expressed a desire to become sailors, have gained enough skills to work as basic crew members on merchant ships.”
The sailors and marines on merchant and military ships usually lack motivation.
In short, they are not much different from slaves working to avoid punishment.
But here, the sailors can earn good pay and even marry Ifriqiya women once they become official crew members.
They can expect results proportional to their efforts.
Why else would the outdated and moronic system of slavery be abolished when a single free man can do the work of ten slaves?
“Now that there’s hope for a more humane life from the bottom up, they can’t help but be desperate.”
Erikson scratched his head as he made a request.
“Now that they’re starting to make a living, they’re all clamoring to get married. Some have already married local girls nearby, but others are struggling with the barriers of skin color and appearance.”
If someone asks why they can’t get married, the answer is simple: they actually die here.
This isn’t a joke. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there were often reports in the newspapers of men who couldn’t get married committing suicide.
That’s when international marriages began—just a plain historical fact.
Of course, whether Buddhist or Catholic, apart from clergy, people believed that if they died without leaving offspring, they’d fall into hell (Catholics thought it was purgatory).
Therefore, these sailors must be married.
“Whether from the Toscanian Empire or anywhere else, we’ll bring appropriate women.”
In this era, it was customary for both commoners and nobles to marry anyone, regardless of their looks, according to their parents' wishes.
Even if I brought an unattractive woman, they would likely think of it as their fate.
‘But I should encourage more competition for efficiency.’
“I’ll have the new sailors evaluated to see who adapts to the skills the best. Those ranked highest will get to choose a woman.”
The women won’t be gathered in the typical voluntary enlistment style (kidnapping), but I plan to gather applicants from poor rural areas.
If I tell them the conditions for the men, many peasant girls will try to escape their miserable lives by marrying.
There will probably be some interviews in the village to filter out the unsuitable ones.
“That’s a wise idea. There are no prostitutes here, so these guys’ brains are full of lust. If they hear this, they’ll literally learn with the resolve to die. They’ll rush into dangerous voyages ‘for the women.’”
A ship filled with only men, living on the deck—they’d surely be obsessed with women.
If they’re just promised marriage, these guys will likely charge to the frontlines in war, and I’d bet Albert’s hand on it.
I’d have a 99% chance of winning, but it’s safer to bet on Albert’s hand.
“Routes have been developed extensively. Honestly, the world is expanding so rapidly that it feels almost frightening.”
Erikson showed me the maps they had created so far.
The coastline of the Ifriqiya mainland has increased by about 3.2 times compared to when I first arrived, and the ocean to the west, where there might be a New World, has also grown significantly wider.
Notably, some islands were marked with stars...
‘Do the starred islands have inhabitants?’
“By using over 12 ships to explore the routes, we’ve expanded our world much faster than we expected. As you instructed, the map also includes the direction of the currents and winds for both winter and summer, as well as distances based on accumulation.”
With this map alone, the chances of dying at sea would likely drop to 1 in 20.
Because the main cause of death during the Age of Exploration was getting caught in the doldrums or misreading the direction of the wind, which led to the depletion of food and water supplies.
With this map, we’ll know exactly how much supplies we need to carry.
‘The lack of a chronometer to know precise location is a drawback, though.’
I’ll need to create a clock that doesn’t wobble even on a ship in the future.
“There will be some margin of error, but by having the navigators record the ship’s speed and travel time every hour in the logbook, the maps are made based on that data, so I’m confident there’s no more accurate map anywhere, even in the Albanian continent.”
Honestly, to make a more accurate map, I’d need to develop a chronometer, not just a sextant.
Erikson, lowering his voice as if there was more to say, quietly spoke.
“This isn’t entirely certain, but by looking at the direction of the currents, it seems there’s land to the west of Azonas Island, the furthest west point. We would have to travel quite a bit further from Azonas, but if we find new land...”
Oh, that’s land we can exploit freely.
A land flowing with milk and honey.
Now that I’ve gathered capital through stocks, and since there are no regulations like accounting audits or corporate transparency to overshadow the British Empire’s wisdom...
I can secretly invest the funds gathered through the East India Company into the New World and monopolize the profits.
‘I just need to pay the promised dividends.’
Am I supposed to return all the extra profits to the shareholders just because they earned more?
That would be too early a civilization for the people of this world.
So, I’ll give people just the right amount of dividends, and once I’ve monopolized what I need, I’ll release the information.
“That land belongs to Baron Rothschild, doesn’t it?”
That’s right, it all belongs to me.
No, it belongs to me, my family, and my household.
Once we’ve consumed everything, giving the leftovers to the empire is the proper shadowy move.
After explaining all of this, Erikson submitted the loss reports from the voyage.
“Losses in ships and sailors during route exploration are always expected. Since you didn’t break any rules and acted recklessly, these are just reference materials for reflection.”
It’s wrong to punish subordinates who simply followed orders.
If anyone’s to take responsibility, it’s me.
Shifting blame to Erikson would make me a garbage human being.
“Since you’ve delivered perfect results under my command, once we return to the homeland, I’ll ensure you get a substantial reward. If you need anything, please submit it in writing.”
If money can solve the problem, I’ll make sure to accommodate him.
I’ll swipe my black card for my subordinates.
“Thank you.”
“Then, I’ll head back to the homeland. I need to distribute dividends to the shareholders.”
During the Age of Exploration, people had to be addicted to things like gambling and drugs to become rich.
Right now, I’m thinking of this as an investment in the future, so I’m going to pour everything I have into it.
Even dukes and emperors would want to invest in exploring new routes if they knew how much potential there was.
