Chapter 357 – So Broke (4)
It couldn’t be like this. The Dwarven upper ranks gnashed their teeth. Really, it couldn’t have been. 60,000 gold was not a debt of a scale that one upper class could afford. He didn’t know how to explain to the kingdom. The original plan was not like this.
The goal was for the dwarves to dig up iron ore in the north and have their own manufacturing process for arms. However, the Dwarves who visited the North were unable to dig up a single ore because they were soaked in luxury and pleasure. His head his was dizzy.
It was hard to believe that 200 skilled Dwarf artisans who could develop a few mines were lost in gambling and were lying on the ground. It wasn’t just the clothes. The bill of sale attached to the IOU stated that all the equipment necessary for mining had been sold. There was nothing in the North now. There were only beggars waiting for him to save them with 60,000 gold.
Sang Sangju left them alone and turned his body. It was because he had to talk about the iron ore trade with Emilia again. Her face was not very bright when she followed her back to her castle her. Emilia suppressed the desire to laugh out loud in front of her eyes as she watched the upper column. Sang Sangju, who had been in conflict for a while about the penalty, finally made a decision.
“So, how much do you intend to pay for the iron ore?”
“First of all, I heard that the dwarves decided to trade only what they mined, so all iron ore currently mined in our mine is under contract with the Kingdom and Ahldern. As I said before, you paid the penalty properly…”
“I will give it to you. I’ll give it to you, so please give me a quote! We want this quantity!”
Sang Sangju interrupted Emilia with her urgent voice. Even if she had to pay the penalty, she couldn’t help it. Because it was unacceptable for her to come back empty-handed from this deal. They must bring iron ore.
The owner of the upper house presented the contract prepared in advance. Emilia flipped through her contract and handed it to an official standing next to her. The mouse-looking man in her glasses smiled and glanced over her quote her, then brought out another piece of paper and set her price her. Emilia sipped her tea, looked over her papers with a leisurely expression, and then handed them out to the top lord, she said.
“It’s about this price.”
“Where… Uh, what… ! There is no amount like this! Not more than 5 times the original iron ore price! How are you going to do business at this price?”
The owner of the upper house hated looking at the amount written on the paper. It was because the ridiculous amount was written on the paper. It was an amount that far exceeded the existing iron ore market price. Emilia frowned at the words of the upper class and replied.
“I don’t want to. You can return empty-handed. If you unilaterally break the contract with the other guild, the credibility of our northern group will be greatly damaged. Of course, you have to bear the damage.”
“If you buy according to this amount, you can’t buy even half of the original allotment. Please set the price with this in mind.”
“Then if you cut it in half, that means you can live up to your allotment.”
Still, it was more than twice the original market price. The dwarf Sang Sangju nodded his head while pressing down on his painful stomach. Emilia, like a fishmonger in a market, she gladly reduced her price for her. The upper state put her in a position to hastily sign it before Emilia changes her mind. He sighed again after signing her contract her.
I managed to hit the quota somehow, but it was because I suffered too much loss. It was clear that public opinion in the kingdom would get ridiculously worse if it was sold again in the Evory Kingdom at this price, and the loss was extreme if it was sold at a low price. It was also questionable how to explain this situation to King Abori.
Wouldn’t the king’s wrath overtake him? The upper class trembled in fear.
****
Disquieting rumors were circulating in the Dwarven Kingdom. In fact, it was rumored that King Evori was a very greedy and cruel person, and that the previous king had been actively keeping such Evori in check. It is said that Avori had been aiming for the throne from the beginning, and when he was in danger of being ousted due to a decisive corruption of his own, he struck first and removed the king.
Rumors spreading from drinking parties in the back alleys of the Dwarf Kingdom began to spread throughout the kingdom without properly naming the source.
Rumors grew in a way that was quite specific and full of provocative elements. Rumors spread that the missing Minister of Finance was in fact a great loyalist of the royal family, and that he was struggling to stop the corruption of Egbold and the Avory gang.
After the miners went to the north, another rumor spread. Someone started spreading rumors that they had seen Dwarves playing in the North. The story that there was a large pleasure village in front of the northern mine, and the Dwarves dressed as miners only played there all day long and didn’t do any miner work confused the Dwarves.
At the end of various malicious rumors, rumors about the King of Evory and his supporters began to spread again. Most of the miners were famous skilled miners who had a close relationship with the King of Evory, and the story spread that the King of Evory was giving luxurious hospitality in the name of being dispatched to the north to treat these people who supported him. Of course, no one knows where it came from.
However, no one could deny the fact that most of the miners who went to the north were composed of famous people in their respective regions. Avori was only waiting for the success of the top amid rumors that were getting worse day by day. It was because if the guild properly brought iron ore, this rat-like rumor could have been put to rest at once.
About the things that spread as rumors, Evory had a lot to say. Since he did not know what the northern mines were like, he gathered and sent the most capable and talented miners from each region, and it was natural that he, who was originally interested in mining, was friendly with the local people.
Besides, I swear in the names of Egbold and the previous king, Evory had never coveted another’s property. Avori could be sure that ‘someone’ was behind this situation that put her down and raised the name of the Minister of Finance. And that someone was very likely a human kingdom.
“The top has arrived.”
It was only natural that Abori’s face widened at the news that Sangsanju had arrived. The upper house was moving along the main road pulling dozens of wagons full of iron ore. Numerous dwarves were looking at the iron ore and the top bar with dubious faces. He forced a smile and waved his hand, but the pale complexion behind his smile caught the dwarves’ attention even more.
He hurriedly rode his horse, afraid that the dwarves would catch him and question him. His whole body rattled and rattled as the horse moved. His steps toward the royal castle were heavy.
“What is it?”
Abori, who was longing for only good news in the audience room of the royal palace, couldn’t help but frown at the first word that Sang Sangju uttered. Because as soon as the top bar opened, she said, ‘It’s a big deal.’ Sang Sang-joo threw out that one word and began to tremble as he lay flat on the floor. Evory calmed her raging anger and opened her mouth.
“Tell me more. If something serious happened, how would you know what happened?”
Only then did Sang Sangju begin to tell all the stories he had seen and heard. The fact that the dwarves became debt collectors in Northern Gongsan and live in a harsh environment. Thanks to that, the dwarves couldn’t mine any minerals, so they had to pay more for minerals contracted elsewhere.
He added that if this situation continues, the debt will increase according to the debt, and minerals will not be properly obtained. Evory’s face her swelled red like a magician’s balloon, then shrank as she exhaled. She seemed to have multiplied her wrinkles in an instant. He grabbed her pounding heart and gnashed his teeth.
“This person…!”
“Fix it. Your majesty!”
“Cowardly bastards in this world! Dirty bastards!”
Evory yelled into the air, taking her anger out of her. Her short limbs her twitched on her throne her. He slammed her fists hard at the ceiling, then roared again, stomping on the floor and running amok. It took Evory a long time to vent her anger.
He was able to regain her sanity her only after he expressed his anger her in such a dwarf way. However, Evory soon realized that there is no solution even if you think rationally.
There was no way. If it became known that 200 dwarf miners had become debtors while naked, it would not only be a loss of face for them. The authority of Evori, who believed in them and sent them, was also broken.
The same was true even when it was known that the iron ore he had bought was mined by humans, not by dwarves. Everything that Sang Sangju just said had to be kept strictly confidential from the public.
“Upper share. Didn’t you tell someone what you exchanged here and now?”
“No one knows except me and the core members of the upper ranks.”
“Be sure to keep your mouth shut.”
The king’s son was still alive. He spent his days under arrest in his house after ‘justly handing over’ the throne to Ebori. Under these circumstances, suspicion and criticism were unacceptable. Evory gnashed her teeth and called the current Minister of Finance.
Unlike the former Minister of Finance who was a trader who ran the Merchant Chamber, the current Minister of Finance was a human being who was a soldier to the core like Evory. The finance minister, who appeared in the audience room at Avori’s call, saluted Avori with strong muscles and strong eyebrows waving like a general. Evory said.
“Prepare 60,000 gold right now. Upper State, prepare to depart immediately.”
“Yes?”
The Minister of Finance looked at Avori, who mentioned 60,000 gold, with an absurd look, as if to prepare for a picnic. Avori sighed and began to explain to the Minister of Finance again what had happened. The Minister of Finance accepted the situation more calmly than Ebori. He asked Evory.
“But then, what about the price of iron ore?”
“Do it cheaply. Absolutely cheap. We need to show that our policy is not wrong. Shouldn’t you take a little loss?”
“But Your Majesty. If you spend 60,000 gold and take the loss of iron ore, your finances will be devastated. Since you’ve already spent a lot of money on gemstone mining costs…”
“… Adjust the price within the line that does not deviate from the current market price.”
Evory felt that nothing was going right.
