I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 238: Auditing and Absolute Power (12)

Every group has its traitors.

If someone sells out their country, they become a traitor like Lee Wan-yong, and if they sell out a company, they become an industrial spy.

For the person who’s being betrayed, there’s nothing worse in the world than that.

But for the betrayer and the people who partner with them, there’s an enormous profit to be made.

“That’s why I tried to persuade the Duke of Visconti, telling him that we can’t just root out corruption without any strategy. But when he ignored my warning, this is what happens.”

The world is like the wild, after all.

Unlike the animal kingdom where beasts tear each other apart with their teeth, in human society, we simply don’t bite each other—at least not directly.

But you never know when someone like me, silently waiting, might sink their poisonous fangs into you.

People who were once giants with power that reached the sky can suddenly become penniless beggars overnight because of betrayal from their subordinates.

The law of the jungle, or rather, the careless ones go first.

“Isn’t that right, Kris?”

Kris, who had brought the report in place of Sebastian, gave a subtle smile and nodded.

“It’s unfortunate for them, but they brought it upon themselves.”

No matter the company, the biggest headache for the higher-ups is always ‘labor costs.’

It’s a significant portion of the company’s expenses, but not everything is as non-negotiable as machine costs, rent, raw materials, or research and development.

Some might ask why it’s such a headache when there’s room to adjust.

But if you pay the minimum wage and force people to work overtime every day, you only attract low-quality workers. On the other hand, offering high salaries to attract talented individuals is tricky because it drains too much money, making it hard to find a balanced solution.

The ones who’ve been focusing only on lowering labor costs by cutting corruption have ended up losing everything.

‘They tried to save on labor costs, and in the end, they lost everything.’

“And because of their mistakes, the Rothschild family is now benefiting greatly.”

Someone’s mistake becomes a huge profit for me.

A good example of this is an idiot from the Great Japanese Empire, who once claimed that the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers were divine and didn’t need supplies.

If there were no trucks to carry supplies, they could use cows and horses, and if food was scarce, they could march while eating grass. A legendary operation.

It was an unprecedented, brilliant military tactic that no British or any other great general could have predicted.

Thanks to this operation, the Allied forces easily reclaimed all of Southeast Asia.

Business, life, and trade are all the same, really.

“We’ll leave the trivial matters aside and just report on the big things.”

Even in Joseon, pro-Japanese collaborators like Lee Wan-yong sold national rights at dirt-cheap prices.

And it wasn’t just the pro-Japanese Min family who did it.

In dramas, King Gojong looks all heroic, but during the Gwangmu Reform, he leased the rights to forests and mines for rent.

But if someone sells something cheaply, it means I can buy good things for cheap.

I wonder how much they made off of it.

“One copper mine, three lead mines, twelve combat horse breeding farms, thirty sheep ranches, timber and forest cutting rights, and one hundred thousand hectares of cotton farms.”

Out of these, the most appealing to me are the cotton farms, the grazing land for sheep, and the breeding farms for combat horses.

Even though gunpowder weapons dominate the era, combat horses still hold tremendous value, worth at least the price of a Ferrari, even if it’s a cheap one.

And wool, well, it was once the reason for wars between France and England, and it’s still a valuable commodity.

‘In the Albanian continent, or rather, in a pre-modern society, clothing technology is as important as semiconductors.’

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The technology itself can be learned by anyone given enough time, but once wool is turned into clothes, its value skyrockets, much like semiconductors.

“Wool and cotton are going to be in abundance.”

While there’s a limit to cotton farming technology, I can’t increase the number of sheep indefinitely...

But there’s room to improve sheep farming efficiency, so if I ignore animal rights, I could make a lot more money.

“Also, eight families have sold their rights to tax collection contractors.”

Since we’re using fake identities, it’s okay to engage in some morally questionable actions, right?

We could even squeeze the maximum amount of legal tax burdens from friends whose businesses are similar to ours by including accountants.

And for anyone who’s caused trouble with our family, we could apply laws that were established hundreds of years ago but haven’t been repealed, imposing massive fines and penalties.

“Also, various real estate, buildings, land, and estate inheritance rights have come our way. There are exactly eight estate inheritance rights, though they’re not very large.”

Real estate is one thing, but selling off an estate?

How did they even manage that?

“Selling an estate, really? These guys are out of their minds.”

Kris smiled coldly.

“When I first heard this, I thought the same as you. But it turns out, those estates had no heirs. Normally, they would have reverted to the family of the lord.”

When someone with vast assets dies without an heir, the property is reverted to the state.

Similarly, if there’s no heir to an estate, it reverts to the lord’s family.

In Europe, such estates often reverted to the king.

French kings, during the absolute monarchy, would even grant these estates to their lovers.

Since the lover would die eventually, it was like buying a house for a woman they were sponsoring.

“But there’s still a bit of a process left.”

This was a tactic used frequently in Edo-period Japan.

When a daimyo’s family line ends, the thousands of vassals under their employment are left unemployed.

If a daimyo dies suddenly without proper death registration, the vassals would bring anyone, even distant relatives, and declare them the successor.

‘Before our lord died, we legally transferred the estate to this person.’

Then they’d trick everyone and block the return of the estate.

This method was called “adopting an heir urgently,” and our Tuscan nobles use similar tactics to preserve their titles.

‘The estates sold this time are probably like that.’

Later, selling these estates to nobles who want to pass on their titles to their sons will make a lot of money.

“Even so, they’re selling off estates. It would be nice to give one to Leo.”

Even if I have a lot of money, buying estates isn’t an easy task.

If I give it away now, even after Leo becomes independent decades from now, he will still retain his noble title and estate.

Kris agreed with my idea.

“Chloe will like it too.”

Since Chloe has a slightly yandere-like disposition, I honestly thought she might be jealous of her child before giving birth.

But now, Chloe is taking care of Leo with extreme devotion.

Even though it’s wearing her out completely, she’s making sure to breastfeed and care for him as best she can.

‘Normally, middle-class families would leave breastfeeding to a nanny.’

Chloe, whose love for her child is overwhelming to the point of being a bit heavy, would definitely appreciate it.

“No, should I leave one more for now?”

Kris quickly understood my intention after hearing my words.

“It’s for the child I’ll have.”

Erica may still be far from adulthood, but Kris could easily have children just like Chloe.

It’s time to start preparing.

‘If I prepare properly, I’ll be able to overcome any challenges that come my way.’

Kris carefully sat on my lap and spoke.

“Chloe said that you sometimes drink her breast milk.”

Of course, I’m not a child, and I don’t drink milk from a bottle.

There are times when I’m honest with the instinct to return to childhood.

“I thought you never acted spoiled with anyone. But if having a child means I’ll see that side of you...”

Kris drew her body closer to mine, from chest to hips.

“I’d like to see that side of you too.”

Honestly, breast milk isn’t all that tasty.

But just like how a cold sip of water after a hike can taste incredibly good,

It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe in words.

“I’d like to have a cute child like my sister too, but I’ve got a lot of work to do, so I should go now.”

Kris got up from my lap and stood.

She teased me and then left, citing all the work she had to do.

Was she trying to stir up my desires on purpose?

“Then I’ll take my leave, Baron.”

Kris closed the door behind her and left.

I looked at the report and underlined the words “sheep farm” and “cotton fields.”

I had money and the technology.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have something like a semiconductor factory?