The first consignment of the new Arren Steel was ready for market. It wasn't the flawless, modern high-carbon steel Alex dreamed of, but after refinement in Garth's secondary furnace, it was vastly superior to the traditional bloom iron sold by the Merchant Guilds. It was hard, less prone to snapping, and held an edge better.
Alex gathered the initial batch—a few dozen finished moldboard plows and a handful of standardized steel tool heads. He had the Efficiency Carts loaded, ready for the journey to the largest nearby trade town, Silverstream.
"Garth," Alex instructed, handing the blacksmith a ledger sheet. "Your margin for the plows is 200% over cost of raw materials and labor. The Guilds charge 350%. We will undercut them by 25% and still make a massive profit. This is called competitive pricing."
"We're selling better metal for less coin?" Garth asked, bewildered. "That sounds like a terrible way to get rich, My Lord."
"It's the only way to get permanently rich, Garth," Alex corrected. "We don't need a massive profit on one sale; we need consistent volume. We are disrupting the market with superior value."
He sent two of his newly certified foremen with the carts, trusting their training over any guard. Their mission was simple: sell the plows and report all market data.
***
The success was immediate and overwhelming. The Arren plows, sold at a lower price point and proven to work with one less ox, were a revelation. Farmers and small landholders flocked to the Arren stall. The Guilds, bloated and complacent from decades of monopoly, reacted with predictable fury.
Within three days, Alex received an official, pompous scroll from the Silverstream Merchant Guild Council, sealed with the stamp of their powerful Master, Lord Valerius Thorne (no relation to the Arrens, but a ruthless businessman in his own right).
The message, delivered by an arrogant Guild apprentice, was short and pointed:
*Viscount Arren is selling goods that threaten the established and necessary order of the market. Should he continue to sell below the mandated Guild floor price, his goods will be confiscated, and he will be charged with market subversion.
The Guild's strategy was simple price fixing backed by legal threats—a common medieval tactic used to crush emerging competitors.
Alex dismissed the messenger with a bored wave. "They mistake a problem of supply and demand for a problem of authority," he muttered, grabbing his charcoal.
Alex had anticipated this. He called a meeting with his now-neutralized steward, Hemlock, who still technically managed the manor's finances under Alex's strict supervision.
"Hemlock, the Guild wants a price war. We will give them a supply war," Alex said, tapping the desk. "They control the distribution channel into Silverstream. Fine. We will create our own."
Alex outlined his strategy:
* Eliminate the Middleman: The Arren fief would cease selling products directly in Silverstream.
* Factory Outlet: They would open a permanent sales office—a crude storefront—right on the Arren side of the Baron Tarsus road, just before the Guild's effective jurisdiction began.
* Customer Incentive: To draw customers out of the city, Alex added an irresistible draw: "We will offer credit financing."
Hemlock gasped, dropping his abacus. "Credit? My Lord, that is madness! You risk everything on the honor of a peasant!"
"No, Hemlock. I risk it on quantifiable risk assessment," Alex corrected. "We will not charge interest as a tax; we will charge a service fee based on repayment time. We are selling the plow, but we are really selling the guaranteed increase in that farmer's crop yield. If the Three-Field System increases their output by 100%, they can easily pay 10%. Their harvest secures the loan."
It was a primitive form of micro-financing and asset-backed lending—concepts entirely alien to the Guilds' predatory, debt-trap loan methods.
***
Alex dispatched his foremen and a few guards to set up the sales shack. The Guilds, watching Silverstream, assumed Arren had backed down.
They were wrong.
Within two weeks, a steady stream of farmers, tired of the Guilds' inferior, expensive tools, bypassed the city entirely. They bought the Arren plow on easy credit, secured by their next harvest. Word spread through the rural network faster than any official proclamation.
The Arren Fief was not just selling steel; it was selling prosperity and opportunity.
Lord Thorne, the Guild Master, eventually received reports that his own internal sales had plummeted by 60%. He had forced Arren out of his city, only to discover Arren had created an entirely new, cheaper, more efficient market outside of it, one that included financing.
The Viscount, sitting in his study with the sound of the blast furnace roaring faintly in the distance, smiled grimly as he updated his ledgers.
The competitive threat has been neutralized by superior distribution and financing models.
Next phase: Resource Diversification. This world needs more than plows. It needs organized power.
The conflict with the Merchant Guilds has been solved using financing and market bypass.