Just like both the ancient, current and future sages would say, sleep is a redy for the most problems related to the man's soul. After a good night of rest in a surprisingly comfortable bed, all the worries from the last day were gone, with new challenges of the current day already taking all my attention.
With my butler scheduled to co to fetch when the ti would be ripe to get to the eting I set up yesterday with the innkeepers from my area, I had nothing better to do than just stay in my bed and think about the future.
And it wasn't as bright as I initially thought it would be. From common problems that I never realised how dire they were before actually experiencing them on my own skin like lack of a proper plumbing system including bathrooms and washrooms or lack of proper education, all the way to burning problems like a weak military I had access to and overall powerless state of my lands against any invasion from more adventurous noble.
Sure, I had an almost impregnable castle that could protect and my most loyal retainers, and the city that was the backbone of the power of my household just finished renovating its walls under the guidance of my great ancestor But that was basically everything.
Without a mobile, even if the small, army, I was unable to project my own influence outside of the borders of my privately owned land. Even if I would be capable of creating an insanely popular product like the beer I hoped to infuse in all shops around my own area, as long as other nobles decided to ban it, no matter how much rchants would like to buy it and trade with it, I would be forced to abandon the idea!
Before I even realised, my thoughts got interrupted by the knock on the doors leading to my chamber, before soone pushed them open, letting themselves in.
"It's ti, my lord."
Just as I expected, it was the butler coming to alert of the ti. If I wanted for the shop owners to actually take seriously, I couldn't allow myself to be late for the eting I scheduled myself!
Dragging myself from a surprisingly comfortable bed, I pointed at the barrels standing on the floor of the chamber.
"Fetch so servants to bring those barrels down. I will get soone to organise the carriage, as I need them for the eting."
With how I didn't bother to change my clothes before going to sleep, I only patted the cloth a few tis before I got satisfied with the results and stepped through the doors with the intention of rushing to deal with the matters at hand, only to be stopped right beside my doors.
"Good morning, my lord."
Resting her back against the wall of the corridor, Elia greeted with a slight bow while trying to hide her mischievous smile. From the way she attempted to lower her head in order to hide the curvature on her lips, I could guess what was her aim in waiting for .
"Let guess You want to co with ?"
Instantly straightening her back, Elia no longer hid her smile as she sprung her arms forward and hanged herself on my neck, bringing her body closer to mine in a light hug.
"How thoughtful of you, my lord!"
After gracing with this slight amount of skinship, she distanced herself from for a far enough to let actually through the corridor. With no ti to waste, I just shook my head before grabbing her hand and walking towards the staircase.
"What's so interesting in eting with so jews? It's not like you didn't attend this kind of etings back when you were still living in Pilzno."
I was the only one who knows the implications that this eting could bring. If not for simple curiosity, I couldn't really wrap my head around her intention of accompanying . From what I rembered from the history classes, this sort of etings would either be boring or as long as pointless with how rchants and overall middle class considered the nobility the leechers living off their profits! Especially with how generous my lord ancestor was towards them - sothing almost unimaginable for anyone else from the nobles slowly turning into a proper, thoughtless aristocracy.
"Calling for this eting was the first thing you did after freeing ourselves from that annoying envoy. You don't need to be a genius to see how much of importance did you attach to it, my lord!"
Did I ntion how smart she was? Once again, she managed to derive information from the stuff I didn't pay any attention to! But there wasn't actually any problem with bringing her along for the eting. If we wanted to appear as a proper couple, if my retainers were to see her sticking to my side at all tis, especially with how young our relationship was, the rumours about how close we actually were, could turn into an usefull tool in my struggle against her family!
"Well, you got there! I want to offer them the chance to partake in the new model of trading beer in my lands. I just need so of them to see the potential profits of my plan, to actually go forward with it. While it would be for the best for all of them to be as enthusiastic about it as I am, with how it will limit their freedom a bit, I don't think it will go as easily as I would want it to."
No matter the tis, changes were abhorred by the majority of the people. If I wanted a tool to project my power in the trade and get real profits from it, while taking so freedom away from them, I had to make sure to offer them sothing equal in value in exchange. With that said, I could already tell who would be for and who would be against the idea.
If I were to just sell the beer at the high price it deserved, no one would bat an eye, nor would anything change in the long term. If I really wanted to bring a change to my lands, I had to sell the beer for the similar price to what was offered already, while limiting any potential profit-making into the better quality drinks that I would export along the way.
"If that's the case, how about letting convince them? Considering the trading rights you asked about during our first eting, I think I can assu that this beer matter was sothing you already considered back then? Flaunting the potential profits from trading it to the east could work as a nice charm!"
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