Chapter 177 Commercial Colonization
Bukur Yesti, the political and commercial center of Wallachia. After several years of development, prosperity has begun to show here.
In the tavern, many people were talking loudly. They came from Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and other places, in order to survive, but also for glory and wealth.
"The university exam is about to take place again. I wonder how many people will succeed this time?"
"Don't think about it. It's good if you can fill your stomach. How can I still have money to go to college?"
They are all civilians who have just arrived here, unfamiliar with the place, and most of them have no skills, so they can only sell their labor to make money. But fortunately, the university does not restrict the birth level of their children. They can only put their hope of revitalizing the family in their children.
In a luxurious house, a banquet was beginning, and the attendees were all well-known local businessmen and factory owners.
"I heard that Sir Edmund has made a lot of money recently, which is really enviable."
"Mr. Merrill is too generous. It's a small business and not worth mentioning."
The two people speaking were both relatively powerful merchants in Wallachia. Edmund was engaged in re-export trade, selling goods from Wallachia and the East to the West, and then selling Western things to the East, from which he made money. Take the difference. Thanks to the expansion of Wallachia, his assets have also increased, and his business has spread across Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania.
And that Merrill is the largest wool textile merchant in Bukur Yesti, with 500 manual workers under his name, and the textiles he produces are sold as far as Eastern Europe. He was also particularly good at learning. In Moldova, he saw that in a factory run by a nobleman, each worker was only responsible for one process, which inspired him a lot. After returning, he renovated his workshop. Each person was only responsible for one procedure, which greatly improved efficiency. His products quickly flooded into the local market and their share continues to grow.
In recent years, due to the peaceful development of Wallachia, some wealthy merchants and factory owners have emerged in the towns. After gaining economic status, they began to rush into politics. The emergence of the examination system eased the conflicts between them and the government, and Increased their loyalty. The demand for markets and sources of raw materials made them keen on expansion. They strongly supported colonial activities and spontaneously organized colonial teams to march to Anatolia.
"Transylvania has recently ordered large quantities of our grain and wool products, and the profits are huge."
"Yes, there are also wines from Moldova and art from Constanta. These can all find buyers."
"This is all due to the wise leadership of the Grand Duke. Without the Grand Duke, we would not have achieved what we have today."
The merchants said long live the Grand Duke and discussed what to do next. Logically speaking, it is to find more markets, but this is inseparable from colonial expansion.
“In my experience, you can make twice as much profit selling from Viruga and Alen than selling in Iasi.”
"It's true, isn't it a lie?"
Mineral businessman Ambrose expressed his opinion. He contracted more than a dozen mines in Crimea, Bulgaria and other places. He used the technology learned from HRE and Northern Italy to significantly increase the amount of mineral mining and acquire some shares in small mines, and also opened a foundry to smelt ore into semi-finished products, thereby increasing value.
Benefiting from the huge demand for iron farm tools in Wallachia, Ambrose made a fortune from the iron mines contracted in Crimea. Coupled with the high demand for weapons, the price of copper ore has also increased. This made him a lot of money.
In addition to these few, there are also large businessmen engaged in shipping, finance, oil extraction, wine and other industries. Their assets range from 400,000 to 900,000 silver lei.
A year ago, they formed the Bukul Yesti Chamber of Commerce, second only to the Chamber of Commerce formed by Peter. In order to continue to expand the market and to search for the east, they formed a caravan and took root in Anatolia together with Andrei.
"I recently heard the news that the Ottoman Sultan is preparing to go to war with a lord in the east, and that lord is quite powerful."
"Then can he win? Even we can't beat him."
"Not necessarily. I heard that that person has an opponent in the south. If they join forces, they might be able to win."
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Our progress in Anatolia is very smooth. According to the news, we have established a foothold near Nicomedia."
Upon hearing the news, some businessmen cheered. This shows that their efforts have finally paid off. If the superiors regain the lost ground and they claim credit, the reward will not be huge.
"In addition to Nicomedia, I think we can also send a caravan in Sicily."
As soon as these words came out, the originally lively room fell silent instantly.
"Is this possible? As far as I know, Sicily used to be the land of the Roman Empire, but that was hundreds of years ago. If we go there, aren't we looking for death? Will their king let us go?"
Such words are really helpless. Sicily was ruled by King Martin of Aragon. Although Martin was called humane by later generations, he was very fanatical about religion. He not only attacked the Emirate of Cordoba in the south, Expulsions of Jews and other heretics were also carried out, even among the Western Orthodox, but only underground.
"You only saw his rule, but not the borders of his rule. Aragon only ruled the port of Sicily and its surroundings. He did not touch or could touch the vast inland area."
When Aragon ruled Sicily, he only ruled the coastline and nearby plains. The inland areas were ruled by the church and family. These local governments had limited control, so they didn't care. As long as they paid the money on time and recognized his rule, it would be fine.
At this point, some people were moved, but the risk of expanding to the west was still too great, so they decided to do trade on the island first. Sicily occupies an important position in the Mediterranean commercial trade routes and is a place of important strategic significance. With Sicily, there is a springboard for expansion to the west. Malta and Naples can also be obtained, but I don't know when Wallachia will look to the west.
Like the Bukur Yesti Chamber of Commerce, there are many trade and colonial teams. Some of them choose to go to Northeastern Europe, some choose to go to islands such as Crete, and some go to Bohemia and HRE along the Danube River. The farthest One even made it to Hamburg. With the support of mercantilism, merchants in Wallachia are growing rapidly, even faster than Venice and Genoa. This is a rapid process of industrial and commercial development. Of course, agriculture has not been left behind. The planting area of grain and other crops has increased, and the yield is also high. It is indeed the most fertile place in Southeast Europe.