"What do you think of this trade guild?"

After Simon’s summons, the merchants of Brambleford gathered in groups at the Cold Stone Restaurant. The waiters were so busy they barely had time to catch their breath; business had boomed thanks to the influx of merchants.

"All I can say is that the prince is a master strategist. With this move, even though he remains in Brambleford, he has effectively put merchants across the entire empire under his control. Any merchant who joins the guild must follow his lead." A merchant named Damian sighed.

"I was thinking the same. But the problem is, the prince holds the keys to fine wine, perfume, and soap. If we don’t join, we get nothing. Yet if we do join, we’ll be at his mercy, forced to pay a hefty sum just to sell products in lands that should belong to Prince Aurelia. Why not pressure him by having prince Aurelia issue a ban on these goods?"

"That won’t work!" Damian shook his head. "Prince Simon wouldn’t care if Prince Aurelia banned sales in his territory. Other merchants would just smuggle the goods in anyway, and the prince wouldn’t lose much. But you and I? We’d be the ones losing out on a fortune."

"So, we have no choice but to join the guild."

"Exactly. It’s a brilliant move on Prince Simon’s part. We have no alternatives."

As the two of them debated, similar discussions took place at other tables. In the end, all the merchants came to the same realisation: they had no leverage over prince Simon.

Thus, when the auction began the next day, the same merchants who had gathered at the Governor’s Office returned once more.

They scoured the map of Eldorian Empire, searching for their hometowns. Though they felt reluctant, they knew they had to buy the rights to sell in their home regions. And if they didn’t bid high enough, they’d be stuck producing soap instead.

Just as he had the day before, Simon arrived at the Governor’s Office, accompanied by Baldwin, Percival, and Roland. If today’s event succeeded, the Royal Castle would rake in an enormous sum of silver.

"My Lord, this map of the empire is quite remarkable." Baldwin remarked, admiring the massive map hanging on the wall.

The map was highly detailed, clearly outlining the empire’s boundaries, provinces, mountains, and rivers, something Baldwin had never seen before.

"Just a little something I put together," Simon replied with a grin. Today would be a turning point for Brambleford. If he could gather enough silver, he would have the resources to implement his plans in the spring. After all, there was so much to do.

As they spoke, a wealthy merchant suddenly called out from below.

"My Lord! I want to purchase all the cities within prince Gerad’s territory. Will 300,000 caps of silver suffice?"

Percival chuckled. "Everyone knows that prince Gerad’s lands are among the richest in the empire. Burrow’s Town, in particular, is a hub for merchants, scholars, and courtesans alike. Sixteen counties in total, don’t you think 300,000 caps is a bit low?"

The crowd erupted in whispers.

"Isn’t that Jack Walker from Burrow’s Town?"

"Yes, it’s him! They say his family’s wealth is worth at least ten million caps of silver. He alone contributes a million caps to prince Gerad every year!"

"I heard his dining bowls are made of gold!"

Simon nearly choked when he heard this. A personal fortune of ten million caps?!

Meanwhile, he had been ecstatic over mere tens of thousands of caps, how embarrassing.

Baldwin, seeing Simon’s shock, remarked coolly. "My Lord, why are you so surprised? Every feudal lord’s territory has a few immensely wealthy merchants. Jack is nothing special. The richest family in the empire is the Fletcher family from Bristol City. They say their wealth rivals that of the entire Kingdom, amounting to over ten million caps of silver."

"Ten million caps?" Simon’s jaw dropped. That was one hundred million in modern terms. The Fletcher family was essentially the Eldorian Empire’s version of the legendary merchant.

Baldwin smirked. "But in the end, they are nothing more than fish on the chopping block. If Prince Gerad ever needs money, he could simply kill Jack and seize his wealth."

A cold shiver ran down Simon’s spine. This empire was truly one where officials ruled over wealth. To men like Baldwin, merchants were merely pigs raised for slaughter, the fatter, the better.

"Well said, Baldwin," Simon replied, though he resisted the urge to argue. There was no time for a debate; he had a show to watch.

Another merchant sneered. "Jack, since when did you become so stingy? The counties under Prince Gerad are worth at least a million caps. If you’re not interested, how about letting me take them instead?"

The speaker was Damian, a leading merchant under Prince Aurelia. He turned to Simon. "Your Highness, I offer one million caps of silver for Prince Gerad’s territory."

Jack’s expression soured. He knew 300,000 was too low, but one million was far too high. Prince Gerad and Prince Aurelia’s lands were both in the wealthy Bristol City region and had long-standing rivalries. Damian, a merchant just as wealthy as Jack, was clearly trying to provoke him.

Now that they were bound by guild regulations, whoever bought the rights would have exclusive control. If Damian won the bid, Jack would lose face in front of Prince Gerad.

Gritting his teeth, Jack countered. "I’ll pay 1.3 million caps!"

A hush fell over the crowd. No one else dared to raise the bid further, after all, at such a price, it would take years to recover the cost.

Jack smirked, knowing he had accomplished his goal.

Simon, watching from his seat, merely smiled. These merchants came from all over Empire, representing various factions and power struggles. But in the end, when the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits.

With Jack setting the precedent, the territories under Prince Aurelia, Prince Ravencrest, and other feudal lords were swiftly monopolized by their respective local magnates.

The fiercest bidding war, however, took place over the imperial territories, especially Eldora, where ten merchants had formed a joint venture to secure the rights.

This was essentially a modern-day corporate partnership. The Goldwynd and Chandlier families were both involved, proving that when it came to excluding outside competition, they were perfectly aligned.

By the end of the day, the entirety of the Eldorian Empire had been divided up among the guild’s merchants.

And Simon? With zero upfront investment, he had just made seven million caps of silver.

Aside from the two largest transactions, both over a million taels, the other territories fetched far lower sums. Some regions, being less wealthy, saw little competition, and a few were outright ignored.

Yet, Simon’s business model was not uncommon in modern times, he had essentially appointed local agents while positioning himself as the master distributor.

Now that the regional sales rights were secured, the next step was for the merchants to purchase land in Brambleford and build factories.

The true growth of Brambleford’s wealth was only just beginning.