After a small incident,
Anke led the three earls to the meeting hall to discuss eliminating the bandits on horseback and using that as a pretext to make money.
“You three earls are experienced and intelligent people. I won’t waste words.
I invited you all to the Border City for just three things: Make money, make money, and make money!”
Anke stood at the head of the conference table, raising his right hand with three fingers extended.
“Make money? Lord Anke, you personally invited us here, isn’t it to discuss how to eliminate the bandits on horseback appearing in Hanover Province? Can eliminating bandits also make money?”
Earl Oca leaned back, looking at Anke with doubt.
“Ahem, eliminating the bandits on horseback can indeed recover some looted goods, but it’s hardly worth Lord Anke calling us three earls to join forces for that little bit of money, right? Or does His Highness have some inside information that these bandits are hiding a great treasure?”
Earl Rohark, whose health was poor, kept coughing as he spoke.
“If it’s as Earl Rohark says, then it’s our honor that His Highness invited us to share in this treasure.”
Earl Pauly’s tired face showed a polite smile.
“You’re all wrong. The money I’m talking about doesn’t come from the bandits. It comes from the act of eliminating them.”
Anke sat down, gently tapping the table in front of him.
“From eliminating the bandits?”
Earl Oka and the other two looked at Anke with curiosity.
“Let me explain. But I hope you won’t spread this around. The fewer people who know this profit scheme, the more we make.”
Anke leaned forward, lowering his voice.
“Please go on, Lord Anke. We won’t leak it.”
Earl Oka’s eyes were fixed on Anke.
“Ahem, agreed.”
Earl Rohark straightened up and leaned toward Anke.
“Like a trade route, right? The fewer who know, the better. I understand, Lord Anke.”
“Then let me ask you three a question. Do you want to make money?”
“What kind of question is that? Who doesn’t want to make money?”
Earl Oka looked at the other two earls after speaking.
“Money, ahem, the more the better.”
Earl Rohark shared a knowing smile with Earl Oka as he looked over.
“I personally run these two port cities. House Rohak controls the two rivers junction, collecting passage tolls from three kingdoms. House Oka also handles the wealth of all seventeen cities. Lord Anke, you ask if we want to make money?”
Earl Pauly rubbed his dark-rimmed eyes as he finished.
“I know that. But you all mostly earn from the common people, don’t you?
Yet how much money do commoners have? It’s the merchants selling goods and the local nobles who are rich!
To make big money, we need to take it from them!”
Seeing Earl Pauly seemed about to question him, Anke spoke first, explaining in more detail.
“I know you might deny it, but you do make money from merchants and lesser nobles. Let me be clearer. First, money can’t appear out of thin air. It has to be squeezed from the lowest commoners, then passed up and distributed, then passed up again and distributed again.”
“By the time it reaches us through all these layers, only a small portion remains. Most of it is devoured by those in the middle. More practically, think about the tithe—the grain and money shipped from your territories to the Royal Capital each year. I believe you know well what happens to it along the way.”
When Anke used the tithe as an example, the three earls’ expressions changed drastically.
“Well, the tithes we send from our territories each year are all in full, all in full.”
“Ahem, yes, yes. We are loyal to the Kingdom and wouldn’t, like those below, only look out for ourselves.”
“This question is a bit presumptuous, Lord Anke.”
Anke smiled at the three “old foxes” and continued.
“Haha, I definitely believe you earls are loyal. But the parasites below might not be. And as I said, I want to make money. I want to squeeze it out of those fat pigs.”
“I can grasp the clever idea of Lord Anke.
But squeezing money from these people is no different from slicing fat off a live pig.
What method do you plan to use to make them willingly hand over the money?”
Earl Pauly asked Anke.
“Simple! Use this business of eliminating the bandits on horseback!”
Anke brought the focus back again.
“Eliminate the bandits? You want to use that to threaten them into handing over money? What if they refuse?
And the bandits on horseback only threaten a few merchants and minor nobles on the fringes.
Slightly larger middle-tier nobles and those living in cities wouldn’t fear such a danger.”
Earl Pauly guessed.
“Ahem, indeed. Using the bandits as a threat would only, ahem, work on a small number of people.”
Earl Rohark agreed with Earl Pauly.
“Lord Anke, your plan isn’t just what Earl Pauly guessed, is it?
If so, you’d only make money once, and it would cost you your noble honor.
Throwing away a family’s reputation for a bit of cash isn’t worth it.”
Earl Oka shook his head.
“So, we need a justification. We can’t just say ‘if you don’t pay, we won’t eliminate the bandits.’ We need a pretext: that we’re doing it for everyone’s safety and asking them to contribute, so they can do their part in eliminating the bandits. Then, you three earls lead by example and donate first. Once you’ve paid, how dare anyone else refuse? The money naturally falls into our hands.”
Anke explained further to the three.
“What do you mean? You want to make money and have us pay first?”
Earl Oka questioned Anke after hearing this.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t shortchange you all! After all, you earls have helped me with the Border City Reconstruction. I can’t let you lose out. I want to help you all make money together.”
“We pay? And still make money?”
Earl Rohak coughed harshly.
“Of course. Since the money for eliminating the bandits is in our hands, how we handle it is up to us, isn’t it? Once we’ve collected from all the merchants and middle-to-low nobles,
the three earls’ money is returned in full. The rest is split 90-10. I take only 10%, and you three earls each take 30%.
All you need to do is pay first. The key part—the elimination—I’ll handle myself, and I’ll do it clean. How does that sound?”
Anke looked at the three earls with expectation.
After hearing this, the three earls huddled together for a brief discussion, agreeing that the plan was viable.
“We three agree with Lord Anke’s plan. But since you proposed it, wouldn’t taking only 10% be too much of a loss for you?”
Earl Pauly conveyed their conclusion to Anke.
“I came up with the idea, but you three are the key to carrying it out. Taking 10% is already greedy of me.”
Anke said modestly.
“Lord Anke is too humble. I, Earl Oka, and Earl Rohark all think it’s better to split it 25% each.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Right, ahem, Lord Anke, you shouldn’t lose out for our sake.”
“Very well. Then let’s wish for a smooth partnership. After the lunch banquet, I’ll need you all to stay a few nights at the castle to make some preparations for this profit scheme.”
“Of course.”
“Ahem, I’ll follow Lord Anke’s arrangements.”
“Then I’ll follow Lord Anke’s arrangements.”