Chapter 266:

Chapter 266:

About three hours after meeting with the alchemists,

Marcus was discussing the future plans with Tadius over dinner.

Its been a long time since we talked face to face. How have you been?

Yes. Ive been reporting to Publius in the meantime. I think this is the first time since the conquest of Parthia. Great Shahanshah.

That title might cause a fuss if you use it in Rome

I heard that you have already ascended as the de facto ruler of Rome. I was sure that this day would come since I first met the old Shahanshah. Rome is now yours, so why bother with their opinions?

Tadius was a Roman, but he had lived in the East for so long that he had adopted their way of thinking.

It was clear to see the differences between the people of Rome, Alexandria, and Parthia, having seen them all in a short period of time.

The Romans showed extreme respect for Marcus, but that was it.

The alchemists of Alexandria were a bit different.

They regarded Marcus as a living god and obeyed him.

However, they were still a bit awkward about what to call him.

He was a god, but he was already the incarnation of Amun-Ra and Horus, the gods of Egypt, who were also Pharaohs.

On the other hand, the old Persian region had maintained a consistent attitude from the beginning.

The local nobles who had their privileges recognized by Marcus, who had conquered the Persian lands, called him King of Kings, Shahanshah, and revered him.

Marcus also thought that it was advantageous for him to be praised like that for local integration, so he did not stop them.

As a result, it became natural that all regions east of Syria called Marcus Shahanshah.

The reason why the Han Dynasty recognized Marcus as an emperor was also because of this background.

How is your business going? I hear that you are still doing well.

Thanks to your grace, Shahanshah, I have been enjoying unprecedented prosperity every year. Especially since I reduced the imports of tea and silk and shifted my attention to handicrafts, the trade surplus has increased even more. But did you call me in person because

As you guessed. I want to give you another big business opportunity.UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

There was a brief silence.

Tadius quickly reviewed the current situation, spare funds, and manpower of his company and nodded with a determined face.

I will do my best to fulfill your mission, even if I have to trade my body for it.

Its an opportunity that can benefit both of us, so dont feel too pressured. You should also make money and enjoy yourself.

Yes! I dont know which region I will go to, but I will scrape up all the gold and silver there and bring them here.

Thats a great attitude. Then let me explain what you need to do. Oh, before that, let me tell you briefly about the current situation in that region. Do you know whats going on in India right now?

As soon as the question fell, a glint flashed in Tadius eyes.

The Roman merchants had never actively traded with India until now.

They had only traded with the Han Dynasty until last year, and it was only this year that the restriction was lifted.

It was natural for his heart to flutter with anticipation at this point when he needed to diversify his routes and Marcus himself brought up India.

Ive heard a lot about India from Han merchants. They call it Shindok or Tianchuk, and its also a very old place. It is estimated that there was a very strong unified empire there during Alexander the Greats time, but fortunately the situation is very chaotic now.

Youve done your research well. As you said, the current situation in northern and southern India is very different. Especially in northern India, there have been quite a lot of accidents recently. If youve looked into it, you might know more than me.

The northern part of India is currently without a proper owner. The original occupant of that area, the Sakas, a branch of the Scythians, and several small kingdoms were completely shattered by the Huns who came down through the Silk Road.

So they unwittingly paved the way for us.

Then eventually, the spread of gunpowder would have to be taken as a constant.

The low production difficulty meant that it was also an item that required a lot of risk reduction.

Especially if they saw something like a finished firearm somewhere, the development speed would be even more boosted.

But even for that reason, he needed to get his hands on Indias saltpeter.

Saltpeter was the most important resource that could determine the direction of war until the 18th century.

It was obvious because without saltpeter, you couldnt make gunpowder.

In fact, saltpeter was not something that had to be mined from nature, but it could be produced enough.

But no matter how much you produce it, there is always a limit to the amount.

Thats why England and France were so eager to take over India in history.

The reason was simple.

Until the saltpeter mines in the New World were discovered, India accounted for more than 80% of the worlds saltpeter production.

Of course, if you import saltpeter in large quantities, people around you will wonder what you are going to use it for.

Marcus had also thought of a great excuse for this.

This saltpeter is a natural fertilizer with excellent performance. I can make it myself, but its too cumbersome, so its better to scrape it off from India where its cheap and naturally produced in abundance.

If its an item used for fertilizer, they wont control it too strictly over there. And the price wont be too high either. I see. Ill sell coffee, wine, sugar and bring in large quantities of that saltpeter.

It would be easy to secure saltpeter in India if nitrogen fixation was developed later, but it was still far away from taking the first steps in chemistry.

Besides, even if Rome could make saltpeter as they pleased, it didnt mean that Indias importance would decrease.

It was valuable in itself to preempt the largest production area so that saltpeter wouldnt fall into the hands of others.

Even if he started producing gunpowder someday, the quality and quantity of firearms between Rome and other countries would be incomparable.

That would do.

The problem is that even if I win the war later, its impossible to directly rule over that vast land of India Should I learn from the British way?

He might be able to create a similar framework by using Tadius as in the case of the East India Company.

But the East India Company had a lot of negative effects on the countrys interior, so he was reluctant to apply it as it was.

Tadius also thought that it would be difficult to conquer India completely, but he didnt bother to ask.

Anyway, he was a merchant and his role was to scrape off the wealth of other countries.

He thought that Marcus would take care of the rest and he had to do his job.

Great Shahanshah, when should I start trading? Can I summon the merchants as soon as tomorrow?

The sooner the better, since we have to elicit a reaction from the Indian dynasties. I expect you to show your excellent skills as you did with Parthia.

You will never be disappointed.

He couldnt even guess how much wealth he could accumulate by sucking up from Han and India.

Tadius desperately held back the laughter that was about to burst out and lowered his head to hide his expression.

Marcus rather liked the merchants greed.

If he had such a desire for money, he would rip off as much money as possible from the other side and make them feel impatient.

He imagined the faces of the Indian dynasties who would soon be crying and smiled contentedly.

The End