CHAPTER 2342  FREE TRADE

He should have expected it, considering how important the Shionel Confederation was. However, it was more than just a bit shameless, considering that the alliance was also threatening to destroy the nation if it didn't agree with their terms.

Unfortunately, they could get away with it.

Power was threatening to destroy your host and still be treated like a guest despite the hostility.

"What did he offer you?" Rui raised an eyebrow. "Must have been something special. I highly doubt that just an offering of financial compensation could have moved you."

The guildmaster stared at Rui with an inscrutable expression.

"However, it's not like they're in the best position themselves," Rui mused. "The Sekigahara Confederate sure as hell did not put up anything taxing. The Republic of Gorteau is not in the best place either. And while the Britannian Empire is fine, they probably offered you something that involved all of them as an alliance. No one partner would ever foot the bill of their peers. So…"

His eyes narrowed. "…They must have offered you something that wasn't resource or capital-intensive in the first place. Probably something involving their authority and influence."

A mild smile cracked at the edge of the guildmaster's mouth. "They offered an exclusive free-trade agreement treaty between myself and all members of the East Panama Treaty Alliance."

Rui's eyes sharpened gravely. "…With you as the guildmaster of this nation or you as the chairman of your company?"

"As the chairman of my company," Guildmaster Bradt replied lightly. "It is exclusive to my company alone. And I'm sure I do not need to tell you the advantages of this agreement."

He didn't.

His business inevitably required his delivery and transport convoys to pass through many countries and nations, each of which charged an import tariff. The further away the destination, the more he needed to pay en route.

However, an exclusive free-trade agreement treaty with all the members of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance would allow him to skip out on taxes that all others would have to pay, allowing him to cut down on his expenses significantly below any other competitor.

He was already an oligarch in East Panama.

With this agreement, he could go on to become the sole oligarch of distribution and delivery across the rest of human civilization. Every other nation and company would have no choice but to rely on him because all his competition would be dead due to this unfair free-trade agreement with the many countries in the enemy alliance.

It was no wonder that not even the juiciest of offers that Rui made were not instantly earning his agreement. What the prime minister was offering him was a straightforward elevation in his existing path.

Rui was offering a different path than the one he was walking on now and promised him that it would lead to greater places as long as he trusted the Kandrian Empire.

He understood why the former was more appealing on purely a surface-level.

However, that didn't mean it wasn't without its grave cons.

"That offer gives them immense power over you." Rui's tone grew stronger. "Do you think a contract or treaty is absolute? You think that they can't and won't revoke it after they no longer need your power? You complained about placing too much trust in the Kandrian Empire, but you're considering this deal? A deal that gives all the power to people who are threatening to destroy your nation if you don't do as they say?"

The guildmaster snorted. "There's a reason I have not accepted the offer. However, the circumstances are not identical. I cannot trust any one nation too much. This isn't one nation. And this deal gives me as much leverage over them as they do have over me."

Rui stared at him as he understood his point. "You plan to destroy competition the moment the treaty is signed and then entrench your company deep in their nations to the point that they will experience a recession without you."

"If they come to rely on me to supply them food, energy, material resources, then my absence would be devastating to the nation's stability. That gives me power. It gives me leverage. It helps that my nation is already an established oligarch in this sector in East Panama."

Rui stared at him as he understood why the man was considering it. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

While he did indeed give the East Panamic Treaty Alliance too much power, he could also gain an equal amount of leverage if he played his cards immaculately.

However, a single mistake or unexpected outcome could cause this entire plan to come crashing down like a house of cards.

It was high-risk and high-reward.

"In comparison, our proposal is low-risk and high-reward," Rui remarked. "I don't see how the two plans are comparable. We are offering to give your company a nation for a base. A whole coastal nation with a highly developed sea-faring foundation that can more than replace your land-faring foundation and get rid of most tariffs, which is what they are offering. Our offer has that and more."

The guildmaster gazed at Rui with an unimpressed expression. "Only one plan involves the Shionel Confederation and my company getting attacked, Your Highness. This offer alone does not match yours, but I have not forgotten that I would be going to war with the East Panamic Treaty Alliance should I accept yours. As a businessman, I do not enjoy doing things that make me a lot of enemies. Especially in my sector."

Rui simply stared at him. "Yes, but having more enemies is not the same as having more risk. The Kandrian Empire has proven its ability to protect its allies. We have fewer Martial Artists, but we have an extraordinary advantage in tactical intel."

The guildmaster heaved a sigh. "That is why I'm seriously considering your offer. I'm afraid that it is deeply difficult for me to choose. However, I cannot delay this decision for too much longer. And so, I have come to a conclusion."

He closed his eyes. "I will make my decision after a joint conference with both the representatives of the Britannian Empire and Kandrian Empire."

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