I replied.
「First of all, you may abolish the so-called national donations. Over the past few years, I have returned all donations received from your kingdoms. We no longer need them」
The national donations were nothing more than bribes in disguise.
Even if they padded my personal funds, they were useless when it came to the national budget.
「And now, to the main point」
With that preface, I continued.
「I would like Bernada to serve as a trade intermediary between the nations to the east of our country and all of you in the west」
「「「What!？」」」
Everyone widened their eyes.
I explained.
「Our country has already begun trade with several eastern nations」
Over the past few years, I’ve focused heavily on building trade.
Through that effort, we’ve begun establishing trade routes with eastern merchants.
「So eventually, I plan to create a hub within our territory where merchants from the East and merchants from your western nations can conduct trade. In other words, what I’m proposing is intermediary trade between East and West」
I could feel the shock ripple through the room.
Bernada would connect the western and eastern nations that lay on either side of it.
My proposal was to facilitate trade between both sides.
「Bernada is geographically well-positioned to become the central hub for East-West trade. The reason is simple: location」
I gave a signal to Nordura.
She nodded once and took a large map from her item bag.
It showed the countries surrounding Bernada, as well as forests, mountains, and other geographic features.
「As you can see from this map, the southern part of Bernada is bordered by the Kadra Mountain Range. This range is extremely vast, beginning in Bernada and ending in the Frostia region. Because of this mountain range, eastern merchants cannot travel west, and western merchants cannot head east」
In other words, the Kadra Mountain Range cuts vertically through the continent, dividing the eastern and western commercial spheres.
Merchants cannot cross the mountains, so they’re unable to trade across regions.
「What about the northern part of Bernada? As shown here, the northern region is dominated by the Monster Plains. This area is a den of dangerous beasts, and thanks to the destruction they’ve caused, there are no usable roads. Needless to say, merchants cannot travel through there either」
I summarized the situation as follows.
「In short, trade between eastern and western merchants is currently impossible due to the Monster Plains in the north and the Kadra Mountain Range in the south」
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