I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 235: Auditing and Absolute Power (9)

"Baron Rothschild, the Parneze Count family has sent 1,000 gold coins as a reward for the accounting audit you conducted for them."

"I already received a huge sum just for starting the audit, and now they’re giving me a separate reward. It seems like our accounting audit really impressed them."

Even though the budget handled by the Parneze Count family is large, the investigation into corruption is typically finished in about two weeks.

Considering that we sent about 20 accountants, the reward is considerable.

Of course, the assets we recovered from those who were secretly embezzling or betraying the family would exceed this reward, but...

‘If we control the accounting system properly, it could become quite profitable.’

By next year, students eager to enroll in accounting will be flocking in.

"Of the 1,000 gold coins, 300 should be given as an additional bonus to the accountants who audited the Parneze Count family. Give them a 3-day vacation as well."

"Yes, understood."

"And handle the rewards from other families the same way. 30% of the reward should be given to the auditors involved as bonuses."

Right now, the accountants working for us aren’t lacking in money.

However, these people have all been merchants throughout their lives.

If you pay them more, won’t they push themselves even harder, even at their old age?

"Yes, understood."

"And always keep a close watch on the families we’ve audited. Pay particular attention to the senior vassals within those families."

If anyone else had been here, they might have raised a question at this point, but...

The man in front of me didn’t show any curiosity about what I would do with that information.

"Yes, understood. Should we deploy more of our informants?"

I strongly agree with the idea of deploying more informants.

However, the number of our informants is too small, and the families we need to monitor are too many.

No matter what I do, I have limited resources, personnel, and capabilities...

So, for now, I must focus on prioritizing and concentrating our efforts.

Everything that can be replaced, without causing significant problems, should be replaced.

"We’ve already audited nearly 10 families this time. We’re going to need to audit close to 90 more in the future. There are limits to how many informants we can send, so let’s ask the local information guilds to provide us with any suspicious movements or relevant information."

I had heard something about an economic crisis before.

‘Whether it’s a Great Depression or a boom, there are always signs before something big happens.’

Even in areas that breed corruption, signs are bound to show.

For example, actions like the Duke of Visconti not adjusting the salaries of officials to match reality.

How can you catch corruption like that if the territory is running smoothly?

Do they think I’m just handing out money because I have an endless supply?

‘It’s because I’m giving out huge amounts of money that the actions I’ve taken in the empire don’t leak out.’

"Yes, understood. We’ll bribe all the bandit guilds in the regions where we conducted the audit."

Our informants follow the principle of directly infiltrating through servants or other means to gather information.

As a result, the credibility of the information they bring back is very high.

They aren’t like those who spread rumors or buy information from low-ranking servants with cash, selling it at a high price as if it’s confidential.

‘Eventually, I’ll need to expand the organization and place informants across the entire continent.’

I need to start gathering promising orphans from the Rothschild domain and provide them with specialized training, starting now.

"Do that, and make sure to record all the expenses carefully. And take the proper steps to ensure they can be hidden when necessary."

Right now, it’s simply an accounting system where the Rothschild family sends accountants, but in the future, it will likely become something more akin to the Rothschild Accounting Corporation.

I must ensure everything, even the smallest detail, is handled properly.

"Yes, understood."

With that, the employee left the room.

Soon after, Sebastian approached my desk.

Though he didn’t look like he had stayed up all night, his cheeks were slightly sunken, suggesting he’d overworked himself.

Despite his tiredness, he was concerned about me first.

"Baron, you’ve been coming in early and working late into the night without rest. Please take care of yourself. If anything were to happen to you, the Rothschild family and the business would collapse immediately."

Other noble families can survive if the heir is around, even if the head of the family dies.

But for the Rothschild family, it’s obvious that without me, everything would fall apart quickly.

‘In a way, I’m the one holding everything together.’

To protect and grow the family’s wealth, I’ve been scraping together every resource I can from the empire’s ‘wisdom’ and using ‘Baguette Kingdom’s disturbances’ to extract money from enemies.

I’m pushing rivals down while climbing higher.

If I were to disappear, those who hold grudges against our family wouldn’t just sit by idly.

"I'm still in my early twenties. I’m only 24, there’s no way I’m collapsing yet."

Sebastian shook his head.

"Before Chloe got pregnant, she told me she was worried about your health. Even your personal doctor said that, for a man in his early twenties, your health is a bit weak."

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Men in their early twenties here have physiques that rival active military soldiers or special forces.

It’s standard for them to run 3 kilometers in full metal armor.

An officer can even run 10 kilometers at a slow pace.

By comparison, my physical strength is obviously lacking.

"Once this matter is settled, I think it would be good to ask the young Duke for some physical training."

"I’ll consider it."

Sebastian finished the small talk and then brought up another topic.

"Since we started the accounting audits, there have been continuous petitions from Rothschild University’s accounting department to recruit more people. Noble families are asking for their sons to be admitted."

In the 21st century, it’s common for universities to have annual entrance exams, but medieval universities, like those in the Tuscany Empire, allowed entry as long as students could pay the tuition.

Just like in Tuscany, if you have money and at least the minimum ability, you can start university life at any time.

‘But if the numbers increase too much, the demand for accountants will drop.’

Once, even a poor family’s son could change their life entirely by passing the judicial exams and becoming a wealthy son-in-law, because only around 100 people passed each year and they would rise to the top positions as judges or prosecutors.

If the number of accountants increases too much now, their value will decrease.

"Rothschild University claims it is selecting students fairly through exams and has rejected all requests. Even if the emperor himself asks, they all get turned down."

Of course, if a powerful figure keeps insisting, we’ll have to accept them eventually...

But in exchange, I’ll demand a huge price.

‘In the U.S., they say you need to donate tens of billions of won just to get into Harvard, right?’

I should be taking at least that much, if not more, to make it worthwhile.

"And sneak about 100,000 gold coins out of the family’s vault. Of course, let Erica and Kris know about it."

"Yes, understood. What will you use that money for?"

"I’ll use it for bribes. If my guess is right, greedy individuals selling off their family’s interests to satisfy their own desires will start appearing soon."

In the Tuscany Empire, all forms of corruption are ‘survival corruption.’

Nobles want to enjoy wealth and luxury, but their salary and income are insufficient for their spending habits, so they resort to embezzlement or fraud.

But if accounting audits catch them, ordinary people would stop, but...

For those who are addicted to luxury, would they really refrain from other forms of corruption?

"I’ll use the money to buy land use rights and various other interests from those fools at a cheap price."

Even just obtaining information about what business the family plans to push forward can yield a lot of money.

"That’s a wise idea."

"When buying these interests, I won’t be going in person. Have reliable people handle it."

"Yes, understood."

"And..."

Just as I was about to continue, someone knocked on the door.

"Lady Chloe’s labor pains have started!"