I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 243: Industrial City Abito (5)

Giovanni Marchesi, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Tuscany Empire, was sitting in a carriage, his face pale as he sweated coldly.

"Lord Rothschild, that bastard is no human! He's a devil disguised in human skin. How can anyone be so wicked?"

As the heir to the Marchesi Count family, a noble family known for their legal background, Giovanni had devoted nearly 30 years of his life as a diplomat for the Empire since he was 20. He had done things that he could proudly speak of to anyone, as well as covert operations that he could never, ever speak of publicly.

Among these secret missions, he had investigated confidential foreign information and scandals, and sometimes, to weaken the strength of potential enemy nations, he had even stirred up internal revolts. Once, a high-ranking noble from the Kingdom of Lyon was framed and "committed suicide" because of false rumors spread by Giovanni.

For the Empire, he had done everything, even shed blood, and performed despicable and evil tasks.

"But compared to Lord Rothschild, it was nothing."

"He's invented a technology that can produce woolen and cotton fabrics at an unbelievably low cost. When I thought about it, selling fabrics at such low prices would deal a fatal blow to the economy and the lives of the people of the Tuscany Empire, right?"

When Giovanni first heard this, he was deeply impressed.

Some had said that Lord Rothschild attended church during the day and drank with Satan at night, but at least he felt there was loyalty to the Empire and the Imperial family at the core of it all.

So, if the conversation had ended there, Giovanni, as a member of the legal nobility and a supporter of the Imperial family, would have naturally thought:

"Lord Rothschild may be cunning, but it's all for the country, right?"

After all, there were hardly any nobles who considered the lives of the serfs.

But then, the next thing that was said made matters worse.

"So, you want to do something that could cause such harmful effects to the Holy Empire? Is that even something a human should say? Stirring up the sentiments of the Holy Empire’s people to incite a war between the Holy Empire and the Kingdom of Lyon. Even Satan couldn't defeat that trash."

Giovanni thought about Adolf Hitler, an idiot who had failed art and couldn't pass the army sergeant exam, yet managed to label the cause of all of Germany's social problems and class conflicts as the "Jewish people," and successfully oppressed them to make Germany great in a short time.

Giovanni did not understand the gods of manipulation, lies, and scapegoating.

Thus, he began to think:

"Is Lord Rothschild a Satan worshiper?"

But when those ridiculous thoughts crossed his mind, he shook his head. No matter how he thought about it, that idea was too extreme.

After cooling his head down, Giovanni came to a conclusion:

"I have to stop that bastard somehow."

Stopping him didn’t mean he could do anything to the impeccable Lord Rothschild, who had never made a public mistake. Lord Rothschild had created regulations under the guise of sanitation and disease prevention to impose heavy penalties and taxes on the Sforza Duke’s faction, collecting huge amounts of revenue.

Normally, one would think that a mere baron would be crushed by the duke and his faction’s political attacks. But instead, the Duke’s best effort was to send the archbishop to collect 20,000 gold coins in tithes, which barely scratched Fabio's surface.

"Other barons would be trampled by the Duke’s real political assault, but this madman... He’s received the Emperor’s great favor, and rumor has it he might soon become a royal consort."

"You must persuade His Majesty and tame him a little," Giovanni thought. "A man who's doing so well at such a young age is dangerous."

It wasn’t that he thought Fabio would eventually make a huge mistake and fall; it was that he was becoming increasingly arrogant and trying to climb higher, perhaps even above the Emperor himself. If someone else were to attempt such a foolish move, it would undoubtedly fail.

"But if it’s Lord Rothschild, he could pull it off."

He could either become a manipulator controlling the Empire or aim for something even higher.

"This will also be for Lord Rothschild's sake in the end."

Giovanni recalled that he had grown mature after being scolded by his parents and elders, especially someone with an uncontrollable level of genius like Fabio.

"Take me to the mansion. You go directly to the palace and tell them that Count Marchesi seeks an audience with His Majesty!"

The next day, Giovanni had an audience with the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, Lord Rothschild has advised me on a major diplomatic strategy."

The Emperor’s ears perked up. Every strategy Fabio had suggested so far had never once failed.

Every time, it had exceeded his expectations.

Not once, not twice, but many times.

"Luck can’t always repeat; at some point, it’s skill."

"Speak."

Giovanni then explained the strategy that Fabio had presented in detail.

The Emperor struggled to keep his composure, almost clapping his hands a few times as he listened.

Unlike modern society, the neighboring countries on the Albanian continent were all potential enemies, and weakening their power meant gaining superiority in terms of national strength.

"With this, we could get one step closer to becoming the only Emperor on this continent."

"According to Lord Rothschild, if we do this, we can sow discord between the two nations while the Tuscany Empire gains tremendous national profit. As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, I also support this strategy."

"If it’s for the national interest of the Tuscany Empire... anything is allowed. If Lord Rothschild asks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide ‘unseen’ support.”

"Unseen support," meaning that if the request was filed in advance, he would be granted permission to do whatever he pleased, as long as it wasn't visible to the public.

Giovanni was not jealous of the Emperor's favor toward a 24-year-old baron, but honestly, he was afraid.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.

A second son of a mere baron family was receiving such trust from the Emperor, and even the Duke of Visconti had broken laws and traditions to marry his granddaughter to Fabio.

"Is Lord Rothschild using hypnosis?" Giovanni thought.

"Yes, I will do so. But as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Count, I must offer one piece of advice, Your Majesty."

Giovanni swallowed nervously and spoke.

"Your Majesty, Lord Rothschild is still young, yet he has already achieved too much success, wealth, and power for someone of his rank."

The Emperor crossed his arms and listened attentively.

"That’s true."

"Young people who achieve small successes at an early age tend to overestimate their abilities and become arrogant. Lord Rothschild is no exception to that."

The idea that young people become arrogant after a little success is something that’s been said since ancient times and will continue to be said in the future.

"It’s time for him to be disciplined. If Your Majesty wishes to use him, now is the time to show him the bitterness of the world."

"How do you suggest I proceed? Speak freely, and I won’t punish you for it."

No one here would take those words literally, but in fact, Giovanni knew well that if he were punished for saying this, it would be for reasons unrelated to the words themselves, and the promise would still hold.

Giovanni felt a slight chill down his back.

"Lord Rothschild has been particularly harsh in auditing the corruption of nobles belonging to the Duke of Sforza’s faction. He has ignored fairness among the Empire’s nobles by creating factions of his own."

Giovanni cautiously suggested:

"Send him to the front lines as an officer, and make him atone for his actions."

It was a reasonable suggestion. If he truly repented, the punishment could be forgiven and he could be reinstated, as many nobles had been before.

But the issue was that this punishment was meant for Lord Rothschild himself.

The Emperor immediately stood up from his chair and shouted.

"Are you out of your mind?"

The Emperor knew Fabio well. He was the type of man who would destroy anyone who dared to challenge him, even a little.

He had even caused a baron who refused to grant him a trade permit to “commit suicide.”

What else had Fabio done? Even the Emperor of Tuscany didn’t know.

But the Emperor understood Fabio’s nature:

"If he can make money by betraying another country for a single coin, he will."

In the worst light, he could be seen as the embodiment of Satan, but in the best light, he was our crazy dog.

"If it’s for punishing Fabio’s mistakes, he will accept it. But punishing him for something he didn’t directly do? What will be the consequences?"

The Emperor only had one thing on his mind: the worst possibility.

"What if Fabio exiles himself? What if he loses his wives in the process? If the man who cherishes his retainers and people so much turns against me, what will happen?"

Giovanni snapped to attention as he realized what the Emperor was thinking.

His face went pale.

"Now that you mention it, he would do something far worse to the Tuscany Empire. As you know, Lord Rothschild has no qualms about inciting a war between the Kingdom of Granada and the heathens for the sake of profit."

"Oh... my."

"Imagine the vengeful Lord Rothschild sharpening his sword in a foreign land. What do you think will happen?"

The Emperor did not yet know that Fabio was planning to set fire to the Holy Empire and the Papal States with the 20,000 gold coins the Archbishop took as tithes. If the Emperor knew, he might have had a heart attack.

By the grace and protection of Deus, the Emperor was still unaware.

"I’m not going to punish him for this. But remember, Lord Rothschild must remain the mad dog of the Tuscany Empire, not a mad dog in another country."

That night, the Emperor regretted forcing his granddaughter to marry the Duke of Visconti’s granddaughter.

By next week, an unexpected tax was levied on the Visconti Duchy, a gift from the Emperor.