Chapter 1680: Chapter 98: Arms Dealers of the New Era
The Black Forest People had no intention of confidentiality, and the actions of the Frank Empire and the Iberia Kingdom quickly reached Hudson’s ears.
The moment he saw the news, he was shocked. The nascent aristocratic capitalism was playing such a fierce game.
Although the technological level of the Continent’s countries is generally similar, the actual productivity is vastly different.
The countries with more freemen see more developed industrial and commercial manufacturing, with higher government revenues.
Even small workshop-style production, once scaled, is more conducive to cost control.
In the presence of obvious disparities, asking someone to open their borders outright is something only a fool would agree to.
Bullying small countries aside, if big countries could be dealt with simply by loans, there would be no “military force to open borders” in the world.
Compared to war, the cost of loans is much lower.
After careful thought, Hudson felt it was normal. The economic model of the Frank Empire and Iberia Kingdom cannot be simply summed up as capitalism.
Essentially, they are still centered on aristocratic rule, with capital merely a subsidiary. Their growth and expansion are mainly driven by noble lords seeking profit.
Aristocratic capitalism, resembling a mishmash, has an uncertain future that even Hudson finds confusing.
With the variable of extraordinary power, past experiences are rendered unreliable here.
As things stand, so long as the Noble Consortium controls extraordinary power, capital can only be relegated to an auxiliary role.
The aristocratic mindset handles issues much more decisively, with various convoluted tactics currently unlearned or deemed unworthy to learn.
It’s unknown whether the plans of the two countries will succeed, but in the short term, it is surely beneficial for the Alpha Kingdom.
When the first and second are busy maneuvering, the third cannot just sit idly by.
Since actions are needed, internal strife must first be paused.
With the expectation of eased political struggle within the Kingdom, Hudson also stepped out of isolation accordingly.
To ease relations between the two major interest groups, intermediaries are indispensable.
Originally, the King was the most suitable choice, but Caesar IV was too deeply entangled with the reformists.
If the reform succeeds, he will surpass all previous monarchs and become a god-like figure.
Conversely, if the reform fails, Caesar IV will find himself caught in a vortex of upheaval, unable to easily extricate himself.
Currently, the only person who can speak on both sides of the camps is Hudson, with his special status and position.
It’s almost surreal to think that the leader of the emerging nobility has become the best candidate for mediating the conflict between new and old nobility.
However, there is no rush for now, as a mediator must definitely appear at a critical moment, and intervening now is a tad too early.
The tax exemption benefits of the Three Kingdoms in the Central Continent must be utilized. Previously, internal purges took precedence, but now is the time to intervene.
To be honest, the Snow Moon Territory and Mountain Domain currently have very few products that possess competitiveness.
Profitable commodities like arms and salt are not lacking in the Dark Forest Kingdom, and these are controlled by local powerful factions, undoubtedly blocking outsider intervention.
Bulk goods like textiles and grain have high transportation costs alone, which dictate no market.
What truly holds potential is livestock, more specifically—war horses!
Occupying vast grasslands, Snow Moon Territory has been continuously expanding its war horse breeding scale for the past few years.
If not for the peculiarity of the Alpha Kingdom’s national situation, such breeding far exceeding self-demand would have long invited countless criticisms.
Now, no one raises objections because they all believe Hudson is preparing for the downfall of the Orc Empire.
Once war breaks out, war horses will become consumables. It’s better to have more horses idling in the ranches than to lack horses during war.
No matter how much breeding is expanded, there is a numeric limit.
Unlike cattle and sheep, war horses consume grain. Feeding only with fodder breeds nothing but inferior horses.
The chronic collapse of the territory’s livestock industry is fundamentally due to what the war horses have consumed.
Of course, if one is simply trading war horses, whether or not there’s tax exemption doesn’t matter.
As a strategic resource, no government will restrict the flow of war horses.
War horses are priced differently in Alpha Kingdom, the Central Continent, and they fetch even higher prices once entering the South Continent.
What Hudson aims to do is use war horses as bait, bundled with other territorial products for sales.
Even though this approach will dilute the profit margins, it essentially keeps a host of loss-making industries afloat with the profits of war horses.
Faced with the competition of two giants in the South Continent, Mountain Domain and Snow Moon Territory can only seek a place through indirect routes.
Previously when dealing with magic potions, Hudson considered bundling sales, but due to low-end substitutability and the necessity to ensure scarcity for mid-high-end potions, the plan had to be scrapped.
War horses are different; they’re destined for volume sales. Cavalry must form scale to exert maximal combat power.
A major noble organizing a thousand-strong cavalry requires at least fifteen hundred war horses. If it’s a Knight Corps, the demand is even greater.
A singular war horse is not much, but few forces can provide so many horses for sale at once.
War horse breeding cycles are too lengthy, demanding substantial long-term capital investments and their domestic sales prices are not high.
Even nobles who came to exploit the Near East are constrained by their own finances, with limited war horse numbers.