Bradley took the sheets of draft notes, and a prominent title caught his eye: "Draft Charter for Northern Frontier Supply Administration and Joint Defense."
"Read as you listen," Louis said with considered gravity. "I'll explain the key points."
"Bradley, you know I don't seek power for its own sake. All of this is to help Red Tide and the Northern Frontier survive longer and live a little better.
We can no longer rely on outside aid or luck. The Northern Frontier rebuilds every year. Unless we unite, we'll only repeat the same mistakes."
Bradley nodded as he leafed through the pages.
"The first item is food." Louis paced slowly. "As we discussed before, free relief ends here. From now on, supplies will be sold at discounted prices.
With that as our foundation, we'll propose establishing the Northern Frontier Supply Council and the Northern Frontier Commercial Alliance at the next Northern Frontier Reconstruction Conference, giving trade standards and relief a return."
"But will they agree?" Bradley asked tentatively.
"More precisely, they have no choice," Louis replied calmly, the corners of his lips rising almost imperceptibly.
"They may resist at first, but once they gain stable trade routes and we gain a flow of revenue, no one loses out, and no one can step outside the rules. That is balance.
Every noble and merchant association aligned with Red Tide will become part of a community of shared interests. I'm merely helping them understand who can keep that chain running."
Bradley drew a quiet breath. A vision like this required not only power, but tremendous influence and control.
Had anyone else said it, he would have called it arrogance. Coming from Louis, it somehow seemed only natural.
"What about the flow of revenue?" he couldn't help asking.
Louis pointed to the second page.