First Arrival in Wessen Territory

The port of Weissenburg is unlike any other. The moat encircles the city like a centipede, the river is the body, and the docks dug into both banks, capable of holding two ships each, are like the legs on either side of the body. Colored flags hang along the riverbank to mark different areas.

Incoming ships sail directly from the Swabian Rezat River into the moat. As they do, they see a large wooden sign the size of a city wall on the riverbank, with lettering half a person tall indicating which goods are to be unloaded at which port area.

A cargo ship loaded with chickpeas and salt is about to dock at a pier in the blue zone, and the three passengers on board are also preparing to disembark.

Armand, from the Kingdom of Gaul, said to his two attendants, "The Wessen Territory is currently run by Baron Frederick von Weissen, who is only eight years old. It should be quite chaotic here. Be careful. Don't be afraid of trouble, but don't cause any either."

The big red-haired man and the short blonde man behind him immediately agreed.

The cargo ship quickly docked. As soon as the gangplank was laid down, tax officials immediately boarded to inspect the goods. The broker, known as the "Nine-Eight Man," and the foreman of the dockworkers waited on the shore for the captain to disembark and discuss business.

Armand was not in a hurry to get off the ship. He followed behind the cargo owner and the captain, wanting to see how the taxes were here.

It was the cargo owner's first time doing business in Weissenburg. A few silver coins were already in his pocket, ready to perform a magic trick if necessary, making the silver coins appear in the tax official's pocket.

As long as the tax official understated the amount of goods slightly and shared a portion of the saved tax money, the cargo owner would have made a profit.

When the tax official boarded the ship and saw that it was all chickpeas and salt, he took a parchment from his leather bag and handed it to the cargo owner, smiling as he said, "All incoming grain, salt, and oil in the Wessen Territory are currently tax-exempt. You just need to go through the process."

A brilliant smile appeared on the cargo owner's face. The tax exemption was not a small amount. He immediately filled out the form.

The broker on the shore saw the hand signal the tax official gave when he disembarked and knew what cargo this ship was carrying. By the time he boarded the ship, he had already taken out several slips from his leather bag.

Armand and the cargo owner studied the slips. They listed the prices at which local merchant associations in Weissenburg would purchase chickpeas, as well as warehouse rent and handling fees. Even the broker's 2% commission was clearly marked.

Salt was simple: a monopoly of the Weissen Family.

Prices for bulk commodities were negotiated and set internally by the local merchant associations. They were all the same price, but each association had its own advantages and offered preferential prices for their main goods.

The cargo owner was very interested in Weissen Syrup and kept asking the broker questions. Armand, on the other hand, was surprised that steel ingots were so cheap, only 60% of the price in the Kingdom of Gaul.

Furthermore, Armand felt a sense of unease, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong for a moment.

The cargo owner decided to purchase a batch of Weissen Syrup to take back. At this point, the broker took out another slip and said to him, "I suggest you first find a mill to grind the beans into flour and then exchange it for syrup. This way you can get more."

"A big client came from the south recently, and there's no syrup in stock these past couple of days. You can take the mill contract and come with me to the Yelena Trading Company. I have some standing there, and I can get you in line. By the time the bean flour is ground, it will be your turn. We'll exchange the bean flour for the syrup."

The cargo owner thought about it. This would save on warehouse rental and multiple handling fees, so he was about to agree.

Just then, Armand coughed lightly twice.

The cargo owner immediately followed the pre-arranged script and said to the broker, "This is the Young Master of our family. He came out with us this time."

The broker's eyes lit up. When he had first seen Armand, he thought this young man was some kind of accountant. He hadn't expected him to be a big shot.

Upon closer inspection, he realized he had misjudged earlier. Although this young man was in his early twenties, plain-looking, and wearing ordinary clothes, a closer look revealed his academic nature, just like the scholars who had recently arrived in the Wessen Territory.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" He immediately took out a wooden token and handed it over with both hands. "Sir, in the Wessen Territory, you can enjoy discounts when you consume at taverns and inns with this symbol."

Armand took the wooden token and examined it. It was palm-sized, smoothly polished, and the text and pattern on it were branded with fire. The front pattern was a hand with a raised thumb, and the back said, "Welcome to the Wessen Territory, where you will feel right at home." There was also a string of numbers in the bottom right corner.

The young man did not yet know how deep the schemes ran in the Wessen Territory. When traveling, saving money was important, so he happily put the card away.

Armand asked the broker, "Why are the mill prices so low, and they even provide free storage for two days? Is there some hidden secret we don't know about?"

Although he had not done business before, his family estate also had a mill. He was also a top student who had graduated from a military academy and another college. After calculating the currency exchange rate, he found that the mill prices on the list were half the normal rate.

The broker immediately nervously shook his head and denied it, "No, no! Absolutely no hidden secrets!!"

"Since the Young Master took charge, a law has been enacted requiring clear pricing. Prices can be negotiated if they are not suitable, but charging extra for items not on the price list will result in a large fine!"

Armand's heart skipped a beat, and his opinion of Frederick changed slightly. He thought to himself, Perhaps there's a master behind him.

But this didn't explain why the mill fees here were so cheap.

"With the Young Master here, isn't it normal for our waterwheels to be powerful?" the broker said as if it were obvious.

Bearings were no secret to the people of Weissenburg, but ordinary people's ability to express and understand was limited. After several retellings, everyone only knew that the Young Master and the scholars who had come to him had made something very impressive.

Armand decided not to visit Frederick for now. His intuition told him he should look around here first.

If the mill was cheap, it was cheap. No one would argue with saving money.

Next, the cargo ship began to unload goods.

The foreman of the dockworkers came and looked at the goods on the ship, immediately quoted a price, and after the cargo owner agreed, he began to arrange for manpower.

Armand, with his two attendants, stood at the bow of the ship, watching the dockworkers on shore unload materials from a cart and set up a human-powered crane, and then begin to unload the cargo.

After a while, the cargo owner suddenly shouted to the dockworkers, "Enough, enough! Don't be greedy! Make a few more trips! Don't drop my salt!"

His shipment of salt was all packed in wine barrels, because he had heard that there was a significant demand for containers like wine barrels in the Wessen Territory. After selling the salt, he could also sell the wine barrels.

Now, a cart was fully loaded with salt, with the wooden barrels stacked two high. They hadn't loaded this much when they loaded the ship.

If too much was loaded onto one cart, the horse wouldn't be able to pull it, and pulling and dragging could easily cause the goods to fall off.

The driver looked back at the goods on the cart and said, "It's fine, it's only a little bit of stuff, I can pull it."

The broker said somewhat proudly, "Don't worry, because of the Young Master, our carts can carry more than in other places!"

Armand frowned, realizing where he had felt uneasy earlier.

Not only were the mills cheap here, but the transportation costs were also unusually low.

If the carts here could carry more than in other places, it would make sense, but what secret was hidden behind the increased transportation capacity?

Armand couldn't figure it out, not unless he crawled under the cart.