Volume 4 Chapter 34: Banta City's changes

The year 3783 on the continent passed very quickly for the people of the Lampuri Kingdom.

To the people of Banta City, it seemed like it passed in the blink of an eye.

His highness Eric had led the northern army to attack the Sack Kingdom in the beginning of the year and received a victory. Then his majesty Lampuri Thirteenth fell to his illness, causing his highness Eric to suddenly turn from a prince to a king.

When his highness Eric took the throne, her highness Seveni was no longer the City Lord.

The new City Lord didn't change Banta City too much at first, so people thought that Banta City would develop smoothly like normal.

But facts proved that it wasn't as simple as everyone thought.

When summer came and when the weather was burning hot, there were a series of dazzling changes in Banta City.

First the Frestech Chamber of Commerce agreed to the requests of the magic machine industry management department and in order to develop Lampuri Kingdom's magic machine industry, they decided to give a part of their magic machine technology to the companies decided by the department.

This was different from when the Frestech Chamber of Commerce sold their technology.

According to the «Banta Times», when these ten companies received these technologies, they only paid the Frestech Chamber of Commerce a symbolic amount of transfer fees. If they added in the manpower and machines the Frestech Chamber of Commerce invested, it was almost equal to giving it for free.

Even if the «Banta Times» didn't say it directly, anyone with a brain could see that this wasn't a normal transfer. It was clear that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was being forced by the department, or rather being forced by King Eric to agree to this.

A week after the «Banta Times» released this report, the editor in chief Nakhi announced his leave, as if he was verifying this guess.

In less than half a month after the Frestech Chamber of Commerce transferred this technology, there were several dozen small and large companies that appeared in Banta City in one night.

Among these new companies, there were the ten companies that had been named by the department.

As for the remaining unknown small companies, naturally many of them had unclear relationships with the ten companies.

The appearance of these companies didn't affect Banta City at first, but once the burning summer passed and the slightly cool autumn wind swept through Banta City, everyone in Banta City felt that these company, or rather the technology the Frestech Chamber of Commerce transferred brought some clear and unclear changes to the city.

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The Falcao Chamber of Commerce's chairman Fuller Morgan was feeling a bit annoyed recently.

It was close to the end of the year, which meant that they were getting closer to the year end report the Frestech Chamber of Commerce had to conduct.

Before this, chairman Morgan never felt annoyed over this because the Falcao Chamber of Commerce's main industry was iron. It had always been stable without waves, so he as the chairman only had to get good stats and he could easily do his job.

But this year was different.

Or rather, from three years ago, it was already different.

Three years ago, because of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce appearing and driving the magic machine industry in Banta City and the entire Lampuri Kingdom, because people demanded more and more magic machines, naturally the demand for iron increased.

With this large demand, the Falcao Chamber of Commerce's iron sales soared each year. Just with last year's iron sales, it had beaten the sales from five years of when the Frestech Chamber of Commerce still hadn't appeared.

Because of the appearance of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce's steel mill, with iron being replaced by steel in various places, most of the iron the Falcao Chamber of Commerce produced went to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to be refined to steel. The remaining bits were sold to people who still used normal cast iron.

Even if Xu Yi had reached a deal with Duke Jole in secret, as there was more and more demand, the price of the Falcao Chamber of Commerce's iron ores eventually grew higher and higher.

Just last year, the Falcao Chamber of Commerce made a net profit of four million gold coins just selling to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.

According to the estimates of chairman Morgan, as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce expanded last year, with production bases in the various cities of the kingdom, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce's iron demand would increase again. It meant that the net profit the Falcao Chamber of Commerce could earn from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce alone would break five million gold coins.

At first it was going well, but chairman Morgan never would have thought that his majesty Lampuri Thirteenth would suddenly pass away, turning Batna City into this.

Among the ten companies assigned by the department, the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce received the steel smelting technology from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. In just two short months, they had built five steel mills with the help of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.

Compared to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce's two steel mills, the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce's five steel mills were bigger and produced more, smelting more than three times as much steel as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce from before.

Naturally they had a high demand for iron smelting all this steel.

Properly speaking, chairman Morgan as the Falcao Chamber of Commerce's chairman should be happy to see an increase in the sale of iron, but he didn't feel happy at all. Rather he felt quite annoyed.

The reason was very simple, the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce gave a very low price.

When the Falcao Chamber of Commerce sold to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, because of the agreement from before and even with preferential treatment, they sold it for ten gold coins a ton.

But the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce actually cut that price in half, only offering five gold coins per ton!

This price was even lower than the price the Falcao Chamber of Commerce sold iron at before the appearance of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce!

But chairman Morgan didn't have a choice, he had to sell the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce what they needed.

As for the reason? It was naturally because the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce had the kingdom's largest royal family, the Stagg Family and even King Eric behind them.

Even Duke Jole couldn't do a thing against them.

For this situation, Duke Jole had already given instructions to chairman Morgan a month ago. He had chairman Morgan sell to the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce at the price of five gold coins a ton.

Because of this low price, chairman Morgan was very clear that the figure at the end of the year would be very ugly.

However, Duke Jole couldn't do anything, so naturally he couldn't do anything.

The only thing he could do was curse Xu Yi in his heart.

"That idiot! Why did he have to give the steel smelting technology? It's good now, the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce's steel is ten gold coins cheaper than your Frestech Chamber of Commerce's, I want to see how long your steel mill can continue!"

But even if he did cuse, when he thought of Xu Yi, even chairman Morgan who didn't like him at first couldn't help feeling emotional.

"Just where did that fellow run off to? Could it be that he really wants to give up the developed Banta City?"

###

The Fersen Carriage Company's chairman Pompeii was more annoyed than chairman Morgan.

Chairman Morgan was just worried that their profits would drop, but chairman Pompeii was worried that the Fersen Carriage Company might suffer a loss!

When he cooperated with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, focusing on becoming a logistics company, the Fersen Carriage Company's profits had quickly increased.

In just a single month, the Fersen Carriage Company's profits had surpassed two hundred thousand gold coins after taking away their expenses.

If this trend continued, the Fersen Carriage Company's total yearly profit might reach over two million gold coins or even reach three million gold coins.

But all of this had disappeared without a trace after the order from the City Lord Manor came.

This order was very simple. It said that to better manage Banta City, the City Lord Manor would be putting the Banta City's public transport system under the control of the City Lord Manor.

There didn't seem to be a problem with this order, but when it was implemented, chairman Pompeii was filled with rage.

According to the rules of the City Lord Manor, since the public transport system was managed by the City Lord Manor, there would be a set of rules.

There was no problem with this, but the problem was that in these rules, the City Lord Manor said that the Fersen Carriage Company had to restructure the public transport system. All the Magic Cars under the Fersen Carriage Company used for the public transport system had to be changed to the Magic Cars dictated by the City Lord Manor.

And the one chosen by the City Lord Manor.....was of course not the Frestech Brand.

Among the ten companies the department had given technology to, one of them was the Lafaye Chamber of Commerce that had taken a part of the Magic Car production method.

With the help of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, the Lafaye Chamber of Commerce used two months to build their first medium sized passenger Magic Car.

Chairman Pompeii was surprised at first. Since the Lafaye Chamber of Commerce had taken the Magic Car technology, why did they first make the medium sized Magic Car and not the most lucrative Magic Sedan.

But once the City Lord Manor's orders came, he understood.

The Lafaye Chamber of Commerce was working with the City Lord Manor, they had prepared everything!

But even if he knew about this, chairman Pompeii couldn't do anything.

When he was faced with the order of the City Lord Manor that came from King Eric, what could he use to resist?

Looking at the investment analysis of switching to the Lafaye Brand Magic Cars, chairman Pompeii's forehead was covered in a cold sweat.

If he followed the City Lord Manor's orders, the Fersen Carriage Company had to invest at least two million gold coins.

Moreover, according to the request of the City Lord Manor, the Fersen Carriage Company had to pay five hundred thousand gold coins a year to the City Lord Manor as fees.

With this, not only would they definitely lose money this year, it might be impossible to get back their investments in the future.

After a while, chairman Pompeii suddenly threw the report on the table and angrily shouted out.

"Damn! Since we can't do it anymore, then father won't do it!"