Chapter 384: A Great Partnership
Cassius gazed down at him.
"Do not repeat this."
"Envoy of the Waukeen Church, remember to put away your petty tricks. I am not one of those gullible human lords."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sherwin answered nervously, still somewhat unsettled.
With that, Cassius effortlessly took the initiative in the negotiation, steering the future direction of this partnership.
"The empire has drafted a comprehensive cooperation plan that ensures mutual benefits for both parties," Cassius declared.
However, he was already losing interest in this Waukeen Church envoy. Greedy merchants were utterly uninteresting to him.
The red dragon lazily reclined back onto the Iron Throne and signaled to Langpu, who stood by his side.
Langpu immediately understood and retrieved a thick stack of proposals from his robe, along with a parchment contract.
"The Ember Empire and the Waukeen Church will cooperate on the basis of equality and friendship, adhering to the commercial principles of good faith, mutual benefit, and shared development..."
Sherwin listened attentively for a long time, enduring a flood of meaningless rhetoric. Just as he was about to grow impatient, he caught onto the critical points.
"The empire possesses a large stockpile of goods for export, while the Waukeen Church boasts a network of temples spanning the Faenso Continent. This creates a complementary relationship with significant potential for cooperation and shared interests."
"The empire will collaborate with the Waukeen Church to establish the 'Imperial Southern Continent Company,' with the Ember Empire providing goods and the Waukeen Church offering sales channels and trade hubs."
"In this partnership, the Waukeen Church will earn a commission, but the empire must maintain the leading role."
Sherwin frowned slightly and inquired, "A trade company? You intend to sell goods to the south?"
"Indeed," Langpu replied with a nod.
However, he could see the doubt in Sherwin's eyes, though the envoy dared not express it openly in Cassius's presence.
Sherwin's skepticism was understandable—Anzeta Wasteland was remote and barren, while the south was wealthy and vibrant, far more prosperous.
How could Anzeta's goods possibly sell in the south?
Langpu tapped his staff on the ground, causing a ripple of spatial distortion as he retrieved an item from thin air.
Adjusting his pince-nez, Sherwin saw that it was a wool sweater—plainly woven, with no magical enhancements. Its craftsmanship wasn't even refined.
"Do these backwater Anzeta savages truly consider this a treasure?"
Sherwin thought disdainfully but hid his contempt, wary of the red dragon's presence.
Langpu smiled and asked, "Can you guess its price?"
"Twenty silver coins?"
Sherwin replied casually, confident in his expertise as a follower of Waukeen and his knowledge of market prices.
But Langpu merely shook his head.
"Fifteen silver coins?"
"Ten silver coins?"
By now, Sherwin's initial contempt had turned to disbelief.
Ten silver coins—this was the wholesale price from one of the south's renowned textile cities. No price lower than this was possible without incurring losses.
Langpu raised five thick fingers and waved them in the air.
"This... this is impossible!"
Sherwin exclaimed in shock.
Langpu calmly stated,
"Nothing is impossible. The empire's wool sweaters are priced at five silver coins each, with room for further reduction."
"With the empire's current production capacity, we can produce seven million sweaters annually, provided raw materials are sufficient. Once our industrial construction is complete, that number is expected to increase tenfold."
"How... how is this possible?"
Sherwin's face was filled with astonishment.
He knew the key to sweater production wasn't the wool itself but the skilled artisans who wove them to earn a living.
Yet the empire's products were incredibly cheap and produced in massive quantities. He couldn't fathom how they achieved this.
Magic?
Impossible.
The cost of magic was far higher than employing artisans.
Even in the magic-rich south, magic was still not practical for mass-market goods.
Skilled artisans could only weave three or four sweaters a day.
Did the Ember Empire enslave tens of thousands of craftsmen, forcing them to work nonstop?
This absurd thought crossed Sherwin's mind, though he dismissed it quickly.
Langpu tossed the sweater onto the ground, his tone steady:
"You don't need to know how the empire achieves this."
"You only need to help us sell these goods and earn profits from the process—a task your Waukeen Church excels at, isn't it?"
"O-of course."
Sherwin's eyes gleamed with greed, as if he were staring at a mountain of gold.
The potential profits were staggering.
If the Ember Empire's goods were truly this cheap, they would sell like hotcakes in the south.
And if Langpu's claims about production capacity were accurate, their entry into the market would bankrupt countless wool workshops across the continent.
Yet the trade itself would generate millions of gold coins in annual profits.
Even a fraction of this would fill Sherwin's coffers to overflowing.
"Who is your chief negotiator?"
Langpu's voice interrupted Sherwin's gold-filled daydreams.
"It... it's me, my lord,"
Sherwin stammered, trembling with excitement.
Langpu waved dismissively.
"I mean the head of your Waukeen Church, not this envoy team. You're not qualified to sign contracts or dictate the terms of future cooperation."
"The... the Supreme Coin Tiona Ludwig,"
Sherwin finally calmed himself, realizing he was merely a messenger and unfit to make such significant decisions.
The unified faith of Waukeen across Faenso was led by a high priest known as the Supreme Coin.
The current Supreme Coin, Tiona Ludwig, managed Waukeen's faith from the grand "Golden Tower" temple overlooking the Free Trade Federation.
Langpu's grotesque face lit up with a confident smile.
"Very well, go back and tell her this: there's a contract worth tens of millions of gold coins here. Ask her if she wants to sign it."
"Yes, my lord,"
Sherwin bowed deeply, suppressing his excitement.
This was the allure of gold.
A grand and infamous partnership was about to begin, promising a golden age of free trade while ensuring countless financial ruin.
After the Waukeen envoy left hurriedly, a brief conversation took place in the empty palace.
"Langpu, you understand my expectations?"
"Of course, my master. These profit-driven Waukeen followers can't be trusted. Their greed knows no bounds."
"We're merely using their influence in the south."
"Once our company is firmly established there, we'll discard them and replace their personnel with our own people."
"Good. You understand perfectly."
As Langpu berated the Waukeen Church's greed, he failed to realize—his own greed and stinginess surpassed theirs, unwilling to share even a drop of the wealth with outsiders.