Information rules over war.
No, it enables us to predict and prepare for nearly every phenonon occurring in our society.
If a typhoon is approaching, and a satellite detects a swirling vortex in the middle of the Pacific, we can prepare and take action weeks in advance.
In the traditional gas of the Korean people, using a map hack can allow soone to beat players who are much better than they are.
Therefore, throughout history, the powerful—naturally, all the nobles and rchants of the Toscana Empire—have repeatedly emphasized and obsessed over the importance of information.
And I am one of them.
Hiring an accountant was, in fact, a way to legally extract information from the rchants.
"Has the banker arrived yet? It seems like it's ti for him to co."
The butler answered my question.
"I'll go check downstairs."
"Please. And while you're down there, ask the cook to prepare so cheese and strong whiskey."
"Cheese and strong whiskey?"
In the Toscana Empire, it's common to drink beer during als instead of water.
So, having a glass of beer or wine during the day isn't considered drinking alcohol, but drinking sothing like whiskey is a different matter.
If this gets out, I’d be called a drunkard in the social circles for at least a week.
‘Drinking a 30% alcohol beverage in the afternoon isn’t exactly normal.’
"Right, the things I need to discuss with the banker are difficult to talk about without a drink."
The butler listened to my words and without asking any more questions, went off to do his work.
Not long after, the door to my office opened, and the banker, Banco, entered.
"Thank you for giving soone as lowly as the chance to et with you, my lord."
"This is our first ti eting face to face."
"When I first heard that you summoned , I thought it was a trick by thieves. I hope you can forgive the offense I committed when I spoke to the attendant who conveyed your ssage."
Banco and I share the sa profession as rchants.
However, our political stances and the businesses we focus on put us in opposition.
From his perspective, it might have seed as though the Secretary-General of the Soviet Union was unofficially inviting the head of an Arican corporation.
I would have thought that spies were up to sothing too.
"You didn’t hit them, did you? I was just trying to confirm the facts. I’m not such a petty person that I can’t understand a little rudeness."
"Thank you for your rcy, my lord."
"One should live honestly. Isn’t it written in the Bible? Treat others as you wish to be treated."
"People say you are a cold and calculating person, my lord, but that’s all a misunderstanding. Soone like you, who shows so much concern for a lowly rchant like , could never be cold-hearted."
If the words spoken are kind, the reply is naturally kinder.
That’s why diplomats generally stick to speaking kindly.
There’s no need to unnecessarily provoke a foreign or enemy state.
If I were disappointed in you, I’d simply say sothing like, ‘I express my regret,’ and that’s all.
‘Anyway, it’s good that outwardly everything seems peaceful.’
"First of all, doubting what our attendant conveyed is secondary."
I took a sip from the whiskey in front of and handed Banco a docunt.
"Did your mind go out for a stroll in the diterranean and drown, or did you leave your common sense in heaven? Whatever you do, you must do it moderately, this is a bit too much."
"My lord, even though we are politically hostile, don’t you think your words are a bit harsh? If you insult without any evidence... Duke Sforza will not remain silent."
Before stands soone who belongs to the ranks of wealthy rchants.
Like myself and the dici family’s ancestors, he is waiting for the right mont to rise to the ranks of the nobility.
Though he has no title, if soone like tries to stomp on him for no reason...
‘You think you can stomp on for no reason? You can’t kill alone.’
This is soone with the power to threaten nobles.
For , if he were to bite with a venomous tooth, I wouldn’t die. I’d just be out for a few months of recovery...
Still, he’s not soone to be taken lightly, nor is he soone I can attack recklessly.
‘If I try to kill him and end up injured, I’ll only lose.’
"Why would I try to stomp on you without reason? There’s always a reason."
"We are innocent. Even if you investigate us, my lord."
There is no one in this world who doesn’t have dirt on them.
Especially the higher soone is, the more dirt they have.
By hiring accountants and investigating the missing money in the books...
It wasn’t just dust; there were piles of filth coming out of him.
If you’re secretly doing sothing evil, at least try to hide it better.
Why leave things so vague?
"Let’s see, you’ve committed more than one offense deserving of execution. Maybe it’s ti we were honest, don’t you think? The Empire’s criminal code says that if a criminal confesses, their punishnt may be reduced."
Of course, no high-ranking person or politician would casually confess their cris.
Confessing could reduce the sentence, but once you’re in prison, your life is ruined.
This is as true in any era...
If you’ve committed a cri, you first destroy the evidence and delete any traces that might lead to you, carving a way out.
Though I’ve committed multiple cris that could lead to my family being executed...
‘But I haven’t been caught, so I’m innocent.’
"Let’s see, you’ve been scamming with the weight of the currency. When minting 1,000 gold coins, the Empire’s law states you must use 2 kg of gold. You used only 1.5 kg and mixed in tals like lead for circulation."
"What are you—"
"Aside from that, you forced serfs into debt and sold them into slavery, and smuggled high-tax goods like wine and artwork from the Kingdom of Lyon, making huge illegal profits. The money you gained from these three cris is over 60,000 gold coins."
Banco didn’t dare speak and challenge further.
‘How does he know all of this? What has he done?’
But at least so reasoning worked in his mind, and he didn’t voice that thought.
How could a re rchant like point fingers at him? How embarrassed must he have been?
"I just used my information network a bit, and everything beca clear."
This is a semi-public secret, but the accountants in the Ministry of Finance are practically my agents.
Thus, the classified, high-level information collected within their network naturally cos to .
The one who passed this information to was, of course, Stero Conto, the person in charge of the Florence accountants.
‘This is information I told them not to pass to the emperor or the administration.’
Ah, this is why it’s great to have people planted in the governnt.
"Don’t bother asking any more. No general in this world would show their hand to the enemy. And right now, the important thing is that I know all of these secrets. How I learned them is irrelevant."
Banco looked at with a face that seed to say his life was over.
Maybe he should have lived as honestly as I did (keeping the cris hidden from the enemy).
Why leave vague evidence that would give accountants sothing to latch onto?
And for his ntal health, and to maintain my network, I didn’t tell him...
His family’s employees were incredibly disloyal.
‘A little reasonable conversation, and they spilled everything.’
I patted Banco on the shoulder.
"Hey, I haven’t even finished saying everything I want to yet. How can you be losing your mind already?"
"I’m sorry."
"If you’re sorry, you shouldn’t have done the thing that made you sorry."
"...Please forgive ."
"You should have sought forgiveness before you did sothing that would put you in a position to need it. You know, you’ve done sothing amusing for . You tried to steal the operational secrets of our family’s munitions factory."
There are always industrial spies in every age, but when you’re the victim, it feels terrible.
That’s why my friend who studied Eastern history used to say this.
‘Mun Ik-jeom is a hero in Korea, but in China, he’s one of the worst criminals.’
He succeeded in growing cotton and saved hundreds of thousands of lives, but in China, the cotton trade to Korea was blocked, so they must have thought of him that way.
"I’m sorry, but if you’ve done sothing wrong, you’ll have to pay the price for it."
Reviews
All reviews (0)