Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

The next day, Ling brought the merchant named Nandar as promised.

The man was about 30 years old, had no beard, and looked like a very clean person.

After entering the reception room, Nandar sat down on the sofa opposite Hull in a very familiar manner.

He tossed and turned, looking rude, and didn't seem to care about Hull's identity as an officer.

"You called me here for something?"

"It seems that you taught Ling Kumin. Why do you know this language?"

"...I will tell you if you can promise not to hold me legally responsible."

Hull pointed to the things he had prepared on the coffee table.

"Here is the official document signed by me. No matter what you say next, you will be innocent. This way you can rest assured. Besides, I'll pay you for your travel expenses for making this special trip."

Heer pushed the documents and a silver deer coin on the coffee table in front of Nandar.

"You've prepared everything. You gave me a silver deer right away. You're really generous."

Nandar took the money without hesitation and then looked through the documents carefully.

"But even if I lied to you, you won't blame me? I didn't grow up telling the truth, so I won't necessarily tell the truth about everything I say."

"Don't worry about that. I am confident that I can tell whether it is true or false."

"Oh? So confident?"

As if he was examining the quality of a commodity, Nandar stared at Hull's pupils intently.

"...What a terrifying pair of eyes. It feels like my heart is being clenched. I understand. I will also fulfill my professional ethics as a businessman and chat with you about this silver deer."

"So much the better."

"It's a long story as to why I speak Kumin. When I was young, I met a Kumin girl and we fell in love very quickly."

"I was attacked by a wild beast in the forest and was badly injured and bleeding. She saved me and took good care of me until I recovered. That's how I fell in love with her at first sight."

"How long have you been together?"

"I was 16 years old that year, so we dated for five years."

"Then why did you separate?"

"She was executed. She was with me, breaking the Cumin code, and when I found her, she was already..."

Nandar said, stroking his neck with his fingers.

"She was a very good girl...After she died, I was overwhelmed by anger and hatred and wanted to die with the bastards who killed him, but I didn't succeed in the end."

"..."

Now that I can sit here safely, it seems that the hatred should have faded.

"Then why did you teach Suzuku the Ming people's language?"

"I knew the Kuming people wouldn't attack children, so I went to the orphanage to find a child who could do business with the Kuming people on my behalf. Ling is a smart and capable child, so I chose her."

"I see. I now roughly understand what happened."

"You didn't come here just to hear my story, did you? Time is money, let's get straight to the point."

Nandar rubbed his cheeks, and even now he was still looking at Heer as if he was appreciating a commodity.

Hull really likes talking to such smart people. It is very efficient and saves a lot of time.

The other party's neither humble nor arrogant attitude made Hull feel at ease.

Doing business is all about the exchange of interests, which has the nature of a transaction and should be equal and autonomous.

If the other party acted too respectful, Hull might feel disgusted.

"Soon, our Empire will reach a truce with the Kumins. At that time, we will need a merchant to act as a bridge for trading with the Kumins. Are you willing to take on this responsibility?"

"Armistice? How is that possible? Do you know how much blood has been shed and how many people have died on both sides so far? This war between the Empire and the Kumin people will never end unless one side is destroyed."

"You don't need to worry about this. I will do my best to facilitate the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement between the two sides. Once a peace treaty is signed, there will be no more bloodshed and sacrifice on both sides. Currently, there are very few people in the North who understand the language of the Cumin people. After the ceasefire agreement is reached, I hope to have the exclusive rights to benefit from the transaction with the Cumin people."

"..."

Hearing what Heer said, Nandar sat up straight with light in his eyes.

It seems that his passion as a businessman was ignited by this proposal.

"So, the Northern Border Military intends to entrust me with this?"

"No, it has nothing to do with the military. This is my personal commission."

"I see. Is this an underground transaction? I am really impressed by your courage to sit in this fortress and make such a request openly."

"I was just facilitating a deal between the civilian merchants of the empire and the Kumin people as an officer. This behavior does not violate military law or the laws of the empire."

"...So, how much money do I need to give you after I start the official transaction with the Kumin people?"

"unnecessary."

"I understand, I understand. If I give you the money directly, you will be at great risk. Don't worry, I can transfer the money a few more times, so that there will be no legal problems when it finally reaches you."

This is what is called taking kickbacks. The money that was intended for Hull was first transferred to people who had nothing to do with Hull, and then after it was transferred several times, it was finally given to Hull under other excuses.

But Hull still shook his head.

"No, what I mean is that all the economic benefits generated by monopolizing the Kumin people's business will belong to you. You don't need to give me even a small copper coin."

"Ah? But if that's the case, then I'm the only one who benefits from it, right? What do you want?"

Nandar rubbed his chin and looked at Heer with a frown.

As expected, businessmen would instinctively be wary of such pie-in-the-sky things.

"Of course I have my conditions. When you do business with the Kumins for the first time, the list of goods to be bought and sold needs to be reviewed by me in advance, and then I will be given the right to negotiate the initial transaction."

"What about the pricing of the first batch of goods?"

"I'll leave it to Ling to formulate."

"Is this your only condition?"

"Yes."

"...I really can't figure you out."

Nandar rubbed his brow, looking like he was admitting defeat.

"What's wrong? Are you dissatisfied with my proposal?"

"No, I have been doing business for many years, and I don't think it takes much effort to figure out the intentions of the person I am talking to. But I can't see through your true intentions."

"You immediately understood my purpose. Nandar, in addition to selling goods, you are also involved in logistics, right?"

"Of course, if logistics cannot be guaranteed, there is no way to talk about sales."

"I want to buy the goods from the Kuming people, process them, and then sell them back to them through you."

"..."

Hearing what Hull said, Nandar fell into deep thought.

A full five minutes passed before he spoke again.

"You have taken a fancy to some of the items produced by the Kumin people, right?"

"Yes, but I can't reveal what it is yet."

"...I see. This is also your business secret, so I won't ask about it. Okay, I understand the deal with the Kumins, and I'm willing to take it."

"So happy? Don't you want to think about it again?"

Hull obviously had some secrets that he hadn't revealed. Normally, the most important information was hidden in these secrets.

Nandar also seems to be a person with a very keen business sense.

The better a businessman is, the less likely he will give up any business opportunity.

But in response to Heer's reconfirmation, Nandar touched his chin and nodded solemnly.

"Don't think about it anymore. I'm willing to do this business. Mainly because you refuse kickbacks. To put it bluntly, the imperial army is full of bastards who take advantage of their power to exploit others. I thought you were one of these bastards. Before coming here, I was still worried about how you would exploit me. Now it seems that my worries were unnecessary."

"...People who do business seriously must be allowed to earn enough profit from their business. If they can take excess profits without doing anything, it will only hinder the development of business."

Hull's goal was not to extract profits from the transaction.

He needs to find enough excellent people around him, form a symbiotic relationship with them in which their strengths complement each other, and promote the formation of a united organization.

This unprecedented business with the Kumins was bound to be successful.

The reason is very simple, there are no competitors in this industry.

But over time, this will also be impacted.

That is because, in the future, there will inevitably be nobles, chambers of commerce, and even the country itself that will try to extract profits from it.

It is only a matter of time before various forces set their sights on this virgin land.

By then, whether it is Nandar or Hull itself, if they are not united, they will inevitably be thrown out in the competition with other forces.

Hull would naturally not allow such a thing to happen, so he started to make plans before this incident began, that is, now.

Even if he can't get any monetary benefit from it.

"Hahahaha, you spoke my mind. I'm very happy to meet you. Ling, you were really picked up by a kind person."

Ling, who had been standing beside Heer without saying a word, heard Nandar say this.

His head shook like a rattle.

"Mr. Nandar, I advise you not to underestimate this man, or you will suffer a great loss!"

Ling looked at Heer with a look of disgust.

Heer gave a wry smile, but Nandar looked confused. He wasn't sure why Ling said that.