Road to the Crown

Chapter 105: Idea for investment (2)

15th April 1574

"Cossacks? Do you mean those poor souls thinking they can go against the rightful rule of the crown on those lands? Why did you even bring them up?"

At this point, I realised that I might hurry a bit with my revelations. While I missed only a few years, the age of growth for their organisations at the borderlands that were under Commonwealth rule only on paper would fall on the time of rule for the next King, one of the greatest that this poor country has seen in its history.

For now, the cossacks that the history knew as the brave yet unruly fighters that posed quite a bit of diplomatic problems with their daring raids against ottoman lands, had yet to truly form! Even though they already existed as the commonly know group, they had yet to be considered as officially acknowledged organisation by the crown!

It would be only the next king that would create a cossack register, allowing them to directly serve under the crown, yet that didn't stop most of the nobles in the region to consider them as a barrier against the Tatar raids on the sizeable farmlands of Ukraine!

"Sir, this problem is quite a complicated one, so let me explain myself from the very core of this matter. If I'm not wrong, the period of time when we could borrow the strength of those people and just throw them away as soon as their period of use was over, won't last long. Sooner or later, they will realise their value as a semi-standing army guarding our borderlands against the Tatar raids, and start pushing forth demands."

While we were talking, due to the nature of what I was saying, I had to look around to make sure no soul would be any wiser of the content of our discussion. While people from my neighbourhood couldn't care less about matters regarding cossacks as they never influenced their way of life in any way, if the word got to the Governor, who was a high official in the country, it might draw quite a lot of unnecessary attention!

"What I expect to happen, is someone sooner or later accepting at least a part of their wishes, but ignoring the rest. Just like always, if you don't know what something is about, then its about money. What I intend to do then, is not only offer you the setting up of the brewery for your own use, sir, but also rights to sell it in the entire Rhuthernian province and the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania. But the terms for this transaction are just as harsh as juicy the profits would be."

Rather than putting forward all the potential profits that my partner could earn from the deal, I wanted to explain all the risks and costs that he would potentially suffer from it right off the bat, to avoid him later blaming me for it. In the end, investment always bore the risk of failing, but in the case of what I was going to offer, I firmly believed it had a huge chance of bringing more money than any of us could imagine!

"First thing first, all of the profits from selling the beer around the eastern parts of the country, will be funnelled into investing in the cossacks workshops that I want to establish on the border of their sphere of influence. What I want them to do, is push all the goods they will find on their raids, towards those workshops, while hiring the more artistically talented bunch to create something oozing the spirit of their peculiar group. And considering what I told before, I think you can already see what my real intention is!"

This time, rather than picking up the glass and drinking even more of my premium beer, I simply smiled to the lord in front of me, while watching him raise his own cup towards his own lips.

"I think I know what you want. By selling those uncommon goods to the west as a luxury product that can't be found anywhere else, we will be able to obtain an immense wealth, while providing a good source of revenue to finance the development of the cossacks lands, further binding their loyalty to us I think that's a great idea!"

Hearing the Michal find my proposition not only reasonable but as wholesome as he found out himself, I couldn't help but openly grin, to the point where Elia had to serve me a nudge to the side to calm me down.

"Obviously, this entire proposition will need a lot of time to bring real benefits, while forcing us in the position when we will be clearly seen as supportive of the cossack case. The question that stands is, do you think the possible benefits that could not only fill our coffers but create a loyal and devoted army for the protection of the country as well are worth the risk of being ostracised by some of the other major nobles? After all, before those people will see the benefits of our investment, it will be hard to change their habits!"

It went without saying that investing in the cossack region brought not only those risks that I spoke about but quite a greater ones along as well. By encouraging the raids on the Tatar and Turkish lands, the tension would only raise, just as they did in the history I knew, leading to a series of a bloody war on the south, that only further weakened the country. Yet if the benefits of this line of trade would be great enough, not only we would create something that Commonwealth lacked the most - a standing and loyal army, financed by its own people, while bound to us as we would be the one providing a way to sell off their wares - but the potential income from this investment should be way more than enough to hire more mercenaries that was even necessary to simply crush any potential enemy with the sheer number of troops!

"There is no benefit if one is not ready to take some risks! If that's how you wish to put this matter, I don't think I have any other choice than to accept your offer!"

Standing up, Michal extended his hand to me with a smile. With how this was a traditional way of settling the deal, I knew that upon shaking his arm, no matter of paperwork would shake our commitment to this cause!

Standing up myself, I even prompted Elia to do the same. Reaching forward with my hand, I grabbed the fingers of my new partner and decisively shook his hand. While it was just a feeling, I could swear that at this moment, I felt the gears turning the world around suddenly stop, only to pick up their pace right away.

Considering the way in which I appeared in this world, this strange feeling made me quite worried, yet seeing the curious look on Elia's face, I simply fixed my own expression and sat back down on the chair of mine and grab a piece of freshly roasted pork brought by a thoughtful servant.

"I don't know why, but I have the feeling that with just this simple handshake, we changed the fate of the world."