327 Turnaround (1/2)
As expected, the overlord wasn't going to just let me get my way. It would be way too easy if he were to just agree right away to my request!
But that didn't mean I was going to give up!
”So to sum things up, you are worried about the consequences of me offering a better life to the people you subdued? If that's the most important thing, I can easily take care of this problem!”
The easiest way to settle this matter was to pose as someone evil, looking to use them up just like a cattle, but that would lead to mistrust right off the bat. Unless I would find a way to convey a secret message between the lines aimed to scare them, they could very well just find a sharp-ended piece of wood and cut their throats with them to avoid the horrible fate they would expect from me!
”It's not only about making the example out of them. How do you think I managed to make this land prosper? While I'm not proud of it, without a proper amount of slaves both used in developing this sorry piece of land and traded off for resources required to boost our progress, we would never be able to reach such peaceful times. If you want me to give up an entire batch of fresh slaves that my soldiers bleed and died for, you will have to offer something worth at least as much in compensation!”
So this guys dabbled in slave trade as well? Now, his trips around the neighbouring islands and tribes suddenly make sense… While I already suspected that he picked Chrilaka fruits as the basis for their cultivation resource mostly because it was unavailable naturally on this island, granting him a reason to travel while blocking others from doing the same, but it seems that this ploy was actually deeper than I initially believed it to be!
But it didn't really matter. While he could present his points and attempt to force me to raise the stakes… In the end, it was all up to me to decide how much I would offer. Being the one in possession of the elusive good which knowledge is, I was the one to name its price, as much as the one limiting my own output for these negotiations!
Even if I pretended to cave in under his demands, I could teach him exactly the same stuff that I aimed to trade-off right off the bat, just by calling it more elaborate names!
”While I'm not going to refute what your lordship said, I would like to remind that slaves are only a temporary ware. If one decides to sell them, they present rounded up monetary value. If one decides to use them, they can only bring so much manpower while forcing one's hand to provide overseers while infusing society with too many slaves could easily lead to revolts. Knowledge on the other hand…”
Putting the glass away, I wiped my mouth clean with the back of my right hand, smiled and picked the topic up.
”Knowledge is something that prevails and can boost both the fighting prowess and the productivity of the entire social group. If you can't value knowledge properly, I don't see any reason to conduct business with you, if I could simply extrapolate my current advantages to get whatever I would ever want from you. When you think about our situation in this way, don't you think that I'm offering you a rather good deal?”