The day after Gius returned, the imperial grant arrived in Brambleford. With the court’s silver and the palace concubines down payments, Simon now had a total of 500,000 caps of silver at his disposal.

In Brambleford, this was an enormous sum, but for Simon’s development plans, it was a mere drop in the ocean.

Moreover, 200,000 caps were deposited for perfume orders from the concubines, which meant a large portion had to be spent on purchasing raw materials for production, effectively reducing the available funds.

Simon had no intention of selling perfume to anyone else. While he was willing to share certain businesses to divide and control Brambleford’s aristocrats, some industries needed to remain under his direct control to maximize profits.

Especially in the prosperous South, where commerce thrived, trade was the fastest way to generate wealth. Given his technological advantage, he had been planning for a long time to establish his own merchant guild.

The real reason he had tasked Harlan with building ships was trade, history had proven time and again that commerce was the key to national prosperity.

"Captain of the Fearless Cavalry, Percival Crowe, greets Your Highness."

In the main hall of the prince’s castle, Percival stood below, bowing deeply to Simon.

Now that he had funds in hand, Simon’s desire to establish his merchant guild had grown even stronger. However, he had struggled to decide who should run it until now.

The officials he trusted, like Roland and Bjorn’s family, were either his personal confidants or had no local connections, making them ideal for preventing aristocratic influence.

Percival had already been investigated by Roland; he had no powerful background and was not deeply connected to the Brambleford elite. His extroverted personality and clever, adaptable nature made him far more suited to business than the military.

"Rise," Simon said. "I have an important mission for you."

Percival smiled. "My Lord, please command me. I will serve to the death."

Simon knew his personality well and ignored the flattery. "I am establishing a merchant guild, and I want you to be its leader."

Percival’s face went pale in an instant. "My Lord... I have already reflected on my failures with the reavers."

Simon waved him off. "This is not a punishment. I did not blame you for what happened. You will retain your military position, but you will also be responsible for the merchant guild. If I recall correctly, your father, Wayne, was a merchant in Brambleford, wasn’t he?"

Percival grimaced. In the Eldorian Empire, although commerce had gained some respect over the past century, merchants were still looked down upon due to the traditional agrarian focus.

He had only become an officer because his father had paid a fortune to purchase his military rank from Simon.

This was why Lancelot had always despised him.

Now, Simon was asking him to become a merchant instead of a military officer, it was humiliating. However, since his military rank would remain, he felt a bit relieved.

"My Lord, you are correct," Percival admitted. "Before my father passed, he traded textiles across various cities."

Seeing his reluctance, Simon said. "I know you’re not thrilled about this, but understand, this merchant guild is an official enterprise. Though it deals in commerce, it belongs to the government, and you will still be a government official. If you insist on staying in the military, I can find someone else. However, I must warn you, Lancelot recently reported that due to the harsh winter, many livestock in the northern grasslands have died. The reavers will likely raid the south this winter..."

"My Lord! I accept!"

Percival shuddered. He was the only son in his family. Given the choice between being looked down on as a merchant or dying in battle against the reavers, he would rather choose the former.

Simon smirked and patted his shoulder. "Now you’re thinking wisely. The key to success is using people in the right roles and you are not suited for the military. Come, let’s discuss how we’ll establish the merchant guild."

Percival sighed in defeat and moved closer to listen.

The merchant guild would officially operate under the prince’s name, ensuring safe passage across the empire and protection from corrupt local officials.

The guild’s name was Novelty Merchant Guild. Simon allocated 50,000 caps of silver to purchase five small trading ships for maritime trade and ten caravan teams for overland trade.

At the moment, this was a small-scale operation, but every great endeavour starts somewhere.

Beyond logistics, Simon introduced modern business concepts to Percival, leveraging his System to help him quickly absorb and understand these advanced strategies.

Since Percival’s family had been merchants, he had some background in business; these teachings were like lifting a fog, bringing clarity and ambition. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"The first product you will handle is perfume." Simon instructed. "You will ship it south by water routes and sell it directly to major cities."

Still shaken by his newfound knowledge, Percival couldn’t help but feel excited.

"My Lord, I have trusted friends in the military. May I bring them along?"

"Fine. Take whoever you want except Lancelot." Simon joked.

Percival nodded, saluted, and left to begin organising the merchant guild.

As soon as Percival left, Edger entered the hall, led by Roland.

Simon immediately asked. "Edger, how goes the purchase of slaves"

"My Lord, it was a difficult process, but I gathered every contact I could. This time, I have 950 slaves for Your Highness. Once the roads clear, I plan to travel north and buy more."

Although 950 slaves were still far too few, it was a start. Ultimately, shipbuilding and overseas trade would be the key to scaling up labour acquisition.

"Well done. Continue buying slaves, you will be well rewarded." Simon glanced at Roland, signalling him.

Roland stepped forward and handed Edger 20,000 caps in silver notes.

"My Lord, this is... quite generous," Edger said, thrilled. He had never conducted such a large and easy transaction before.

"Consider it an advance payment for the next batch of slaves." Simon replied. "Where are the current slaves?"

"They’re at the northern dock of Brambleford City," Edger answered happily.

Simon turned to Roland. "Take Lancelot with you. Move the slaves to the eastern military camp for now. I will inspect them personally tomorrow."

Roland nodded and led Edger away.

Now that he had ample funds, Simon was determined to accelerate development.

The warning he had given Percival about the reaver threat wasn’t just a scare tactic. In reality, Dunmere’s outskirts were already seeing large numbers of reaver scouts.