Heavy Merchant

The sudden surge in agricultural output in Glan Territory led to a series of new problems that Zhou Ming had not anticipated.

With grain flooding the market and the territory's consumption capacity unable to keep up, farmers who suddenly found themselves with large surpluses of grain were at a loss.

"Sell all the plows and farm tools in the castle to the farmers! Also, take some money from the castle treasury and buy the excess grain from the farmers at a reasonable price. If this grain stays in the farmers' hands, I'm afraid that next year, Glan Territory's grain production will not only fail to increase but will actually decrease! Human laziness is inherent; no one will work while lying on a granary."

Zhou Ming implemented a series of emergency measures, using methods like bartering and monetary buybacks to reclaim most of the excess grain from the farmers.

Adding the old grain accumulated in the castle granary over the years, Zhou Ming had nearly ten thousand tons of grain stockpiled.

The total population of Glan Territory was only a little over four thousand people. This much grain was enough for the entire population of the territory to eat for three years without doing any labor.

"No, I must sell the grain I have immediately. Keeping it will only let it rot in the granary. I need some Traveling Merchants passing through Glan Territory to help sell this grain to other territories!"

Zhou Ming planned to ask Traveling Merchants for help to solve the problem of grain oversupply in Glan Territory.

Traveling Merchants were the main representatives of the merchant class in this world. They traveled between various territories, selling all sorts of novel goods. Some Traveling Merchants were well-informed and widely connected, some formed merchant guilds and were immensely wealthy, and some swindlers also posed among them. However, it was undeniable that this group of Traveling Merchants connected the almost isolated territories of this world in terms of goods and information.

To solve the problem of grain sales, Zhou Ming ordered a recruitment notice to be posted at the road intersection on the territory's border.

The main content of the notice consisted of three points:

One, Traveling Merchants engaging in commercial activities in this territory will only be taxed 10% on their business, with total transaction amounts less than 10 gold coins being tax-exempt.

Two, this territory has a large amount of grain for sale. Any Traveling Merchant is welcome to come and purchase it. The more you buy, the better the price.

Three, Traveling Merchants passing through this territory are exempt from various taxes such as road tolls, rest taxes, and landing taxes. Any Traveling Merchant can stay in the inn provided by this territory.

After these three points appeared on the notice, they attracted the attention of almost all Traveling Merchants passing through the area.

The Traveling Merchants stood in front of the notice for a long time. Each of the three points on the notice held a fatal attraction for these Traveling Merchants who regarded profit as their lifeblood.

Firstly, only collecting a 10% business tax was the lowest tax rate these Traveling Merchants, who had traveled through countless territories, had ever encountered. Compared to territories that often levied heavy taxes of 30% or 50%, this astonishingly low 10% tax burden instantly doubled or even tripled their profit margin.

Secondly, in addition to business taxes, Traveling Merchants carrying money and goods through various territories could not avoid being extorted by local lords.

For example, the road toll was undoubtedly a fee for passing through. The rest tax referred to having to pay a rest tax for staying one night in that territory. The landing tax was even more unreasonable; it stipulated that if goods on a Traveling Merchant's carriage fell to the ground, those goods that fell to the ground would no longer have anything to do with the owner and would belong to the local lord.

In other words, compared to the farmers who worked hard in the fields, these Traveling Merchants, who seemed glamorous on the surface, didn't actually live that comfortably.

Soro was one such Traveling Merchant who made a living by selling grain. Over the years, he had traveled north and south, east and west, from losing his capital multiple times at the beginning to later getting to know many lords and establishing stable customer relationships with them. It took him over twenty years. Now, when his caravan passed through various territories, as long as he displayed the flag given to him by the local lord, he only had to pay a small road toll, and he could rely on his personal friendship with the lord to avoid considerable losses.

Even so, over twenty years, he had earned some money, but Soro hadn't accumulated much wealth. After all, grain was just a common commodity, incomparable to gold, jade, weapons, or copper and iron. Its advantage was lower risk, and its disadvantage was a low-profit margin, only allowing for a large profit in years of great famine.

Seeing the notice at the intersection, Soro, who was originally just passing by and had no intention of entering Glan Territory, decided to meet the lord of this territory and make a friend.

He also wanted to ask if this territory really had that much grain for sale.

Castle reception hall.

"Mr. Soro, Glan Territory welcomes grain merchants like you to purchase grain here. We can provide as much as you want to buy, and the more you buy, the better the price and the more favorable the terms."

Zhou Ming had a servant serve drinks, entertaining Mr. Soro, who was dressed meticulously, was a bit short, but whose eyes sparkled with the unique shrewdness of a merchant, promoting Glan Territory's grain.

"Respected Butler Ryan, I would like to ask if the content of the notice posted by your territory at the intersection is true? For example, only collecting a 10% business tax and exempting various miscellaneous taxes for Traveling Merchants?"

Before confirming cooperation, Soro wanted to double-check.

"Written clearly and displayed publicly, how could it be fake? Mr. Soro, Glan Territory is a place that strictly adheres to the law. As long as it is a law enacted by the Lord of Glan Territory, it will be implemented. If you encounter someone in Glan Territory collecting commercial taxes from you beyond what the law stipulates, tell me, and I will severely punish that person!"

Hearing Zhou Ming's solemn assurance, Soro finally felt relieved and asked him how much grain Glan Territory had for sale.

Zhou Ming took him to the castle granary to take a look. Seeing the granary full, almost overflowing with grain, Soro couldn't help but exclaim.

"God, this grain is probably enough to feed the population of an earldom for a year. All the grain I've transported in my life combined isn't this much!"

Soro felt his heart was about to give out. This full granary of grain was like a beautiful woman standing naked before him. He wanted to eat, but he couldn't.

But...

Having so much grain in front of him also meant a huge business opportunity was before him. If he could seize this opportunity, not to mention getting rich overnight, filling his belly was definitely not a problem!

Because Soro had learned from some of his Traveling Merchant friends that in the Iron Fortress Kingdom, which bordered the southern part of the Vorris Kingdom, since the old king's death, the prince and the king's uncle had been engaged in a fierce battle for the throne. This war had been going on for over a year and was still undecided. The large amount of land left barren by the war had caused a severe grain shortage in that country, and prices were soaring. If he could transport a batch of grain to the Iron Fortress Kingdom...

However, although Soro really wanted to make a fortune, with his current wealth, it would be good if he could take on a tenth of this full granary of grain. Taking it all was simply wishful thinking.

Zhou Ming saw his troubled expression and asked for the reason. After hearing Soro explain the chaotic situation in the Iron Fortress Kingdom and his lack of capital, he made a decision that Soro could never have expected.

"Soro, I can sell you this grain on credit in batches. As long as you sell this grain in the Iron Fortress Kingdom and then purchase a batch of Iron Ingots that Glan Territory needs from the Iron Fortress Kingdom, you don't need to pay me any extra money. You just need to get me enough Iron Ingots."

Zhou Ming had long heard of the Iron Fortress Kingdom. It was a wealthy kingdom with 36 earldoms, famous for producing a large amount of high-quality iron ore. Its national strength, population, and resources were many times stronger than the Vorris Kingdom. With internal strife in the Iron Fortress Kingdom, there were countless small countries around it eager to take advantage. Zhou Ming also wanted to make a move, of course, on the Iron Fortress Kingdom's Iron Ingot resources.

Hearing this.

Soro suddenly stood up from his chair, took off his hat, and knelt on one knee in front of Zhou Ming, placing his hand on his chest and bowing deeply, saying, "Respected Steward Ryan, your generosity and benevolent heart have deeply moved Soro. Please rest assured, after I transport your territory's grain to the Iron Fortress Kingdom, I will definitely exchange all the grain for Iron Ingots and transport them to Glan Territory. Even if I, Soro, don't earn a single silver coin this time, I will complete the task you have given me!"

As the saying goes, a scholar dies for his confidant. Soro, who had always regarded profit as his life, went into every business with the goal of making a fortune. But this time, he wanted to invest by giving up this huge profit to gain the trust and heavy reliance of this young steward, laying a solid foundation for more cooperation opportunities in the future!

"Mr. Soro, please get up quickly. How could I possibly let you not earn a single silver coin? Don't worry, the profits that belong to you should be yours. If you complete this business well, the grain produced by Glan Territory in the future will continue to be cooperative with you and sold to various kingdoms and places around the world!"

From Traveling Merchants like Soro, Zhou Ming saw many opportunities to promote the rapid development of Glan Territory. For example, the Iron Ingots that Glan Territory currently lacked the most. If Soro could transport enough Iron Ingots, he could use these Iron Ingots to forge more farm tools, make more armor, and train more soldiers.

And what Glan Territory currently lacked the most was a combat-ready army capable of defending the safety of this territory.