Her Majesty’s Secret Service

092. Founding of the company

New Year’s Day, June 30th.

Jonghyung and his sister-in-law had a bitter fight. It seemed like Jonghyung had done something very wrong for his normally gentle sister-in-law to become so angry.

While my sister-in-law went into the room to soothe my nephew Cha-du from crying, I approached Jong-hyung and asked him, “What did you do to make a gentle person like your sister-in-law so angry?” He answered, “You are all good, but you have no tact.” I listened to La Pinzan.

New Year’s Day, July 4th.

It’s been almost a week since Jong-hyung and his sister-in-law started living in separate rooms. There is still no sign of reconciliation between Jonghyung and his sister-in-law. Jonghyeong went to the port again today, met with merchants, and came back.

New Year’s Day, July 5th.

Jonghyung began to invite merchants into the mansion in earnest. They kicked out the merchants until last week, and I don’t know what’s going on. Among them, there was one who had been kicked out by the soldiers last time. When I asked Jong-hyeong why he was calling the merchants together, he answered, ‘To build a big merchant’.

New Year’s Day, July 12th,

A few days later, news circulated around London that a man named ‘Knox’ would come to visit. It is said that he is coming to England to crown a new queen from Scotland, but he is clearly like the old Mangakjoui who wants to steal the crown from his country’s king and place it on another country’s king.

Despite the noise in London, Jonghyung held an ‘information session’ today and invited dozens of merchants to the mansion. I was curious about what kind of ‘explanation’ he was giving, so I decided to attend Jonghyung’s ‘information session’ and listen to his story.

Looking at Jong-hyung, who had started preparing to receive guests in the morning, I wished that he could reconcile with his sister-in-law during this time, but it seemed that Jong-hyung had no intention of doing so.

* * *

Jane’s attitude was extremely cold today as well.

At the court meeting last weekend, I recommended Mary and Catherine Gray as King of Scotland, and since we had a big argument that day, Jane heard me recommending Mary and Catherine Gray as King of Scotland. Since then, Jane has not only shared a room with me, but we sometimes run into each other in the mansion. There was no mixing of words.

Jane did not seem to accept that I had brought forward my sisters-in-law, Mary Gray and Catherine Gray, whom I had not yet met.

Not only had nothing been decided yet, but in the worst case scenario, I had never seen Jane get angry at me, asking why I was dragging her younger siblings when she could wear the crown herself, before and after getting married.

‘A saint, no, a very saint was born. Really. She was put through that situation, but she wants to be used again, so what can she do? Phew… .’

Even though she knew what wearing the ‘Scottish Crown’ meant, Jane angrily said that she would sacrifice herself. I asked Richard if he would accept it, even though he might be taken advantage of, and Richard responded that he would protect it at all costs… .

Damn it, I hate my family being taken advantage of and I’m thinking about doing this. I couldn’t stop feeling sad about Jane’s attitude of being so angry without even acknowledging that.

“Baron, it looks like all the guests you invited have arrived.”

“I understand. “I’ll be out soon.”

I should put aside Jane’s thoughts for now and go out to meet the guests I invited. These are the ‘shareholders’ who will invest in the trading company I will create.

First, they use eastern trade as a bait to receive investment from them. And based on those funds… Whatever it is, I should try something that can make a profit. For my family.

* * *

The banquet hall of Grinstead Mansion.

Although there was no grand food prepared, light drinks, simple refreshments, and ‘toast’ with jam and whipped cream were placed here and there on the table for those who would attend today’s meeting.

John, the head of the Hawkins family, a powerful family in Plymouth, was attending a meeting prepared by the Baron with his relative Drake, which Baron Logan of Grinstead called an ‘investment briefing’, and was waiting for the owner of the mansion to come forward.

“Francis, why are you looking around so much? Is this your first time in a place like this?”

“… No, have you been to the royal banquet hall?”

“Oh, is that so? “Then stop looking around like a hillbilly.”

“Don’t say nonsense like someone was looking around. that is… I was wondering if the captain had arrived… .”

“Well, if you’re like that, then that’s probably it.”

“Ha, don’t keep teasing me like that. Thanks to someone, this place was created… .”

“Whose credit is it? “Isn’t it thanks to Baron Grinstead, the owner of this mansion, who allows us to sit on a cushion of money?”

“Huh, I guess I shouldn’t say anything… .”

“Oh, of course it’s also thanks to our relatives. “If a relative hadn’t given me a letter, how could this situation have come about?!”

Hawkins, who made harmless teasing toward Drake, was truly grateful to Drake. I can’t believe that taking a stab at this after hearing that this relative was involved in eastern trade led to this result.

Beyond the level of receiving investment from the famous ‘Baron Grinstead’, I was given the opportunity to invest in the Baron himself.

“A place where obscure people like us can step into ‘Eastern Trade.’ “This is all thanks to you, Francis. I am so grateful for this.”

Rather than the ‘slave trade’, which is close to smuggling and uncertain whether it will make a profit or not, it is the right to invest in the ‘Eastern trade’, which has already returned with profits exceeding tenfold.

* * *

Hawkins recalled what had happened about a week ago, when he and Drake had come face to face with the baron and bill dealer Robert.

Until he and Drake arrived at the mansion after receiving the Baron’s call, he had been determined to somehow receive investment for the ‘slave trade’ he had planned.

“Yes, John Hawkins. “I enjoyed reading the letter you sent.”

“It is an honour. Baron. If not… How much to invest… ?”

“invest? Ah, I seem to be mistaken about something. “I have no intention of investing in the slave trade.”

“yes?”

Hawkins could not hide his embarrassment when Logan said that he had read the letter well and that he had no intention of investing in the slave trade.

Since he had called me, I naturally thought he was calling to tell me that he would invest in his business.

“then… “Why did you call me?”

Hawkins was slightly disappointed when he was told that he would not invest, but soon shook off that disappointment.

‘They say they don’t invest, but… ‘You probably called me because you had something to tell me.’

It was a great achievement for the Baron, who had chased away all the merchants who wanted to invest, to meet him like this.

“So you are the head of a fairly prosperous family in Plymouth? The so-called ‘local influential figures’. I wrote it down in the letter. “Why did your father also serve as mayor of Plymouth?”

After saying that, Logan returned the letter to Hawkins and continued his story.

“Let me put it bluntly, I don’t know how much your slave trade will make you, but it won’t make you any more than the ‘Oriental Trade.’ Am I wrong?”

“It’s a little… compared to that.” From the beginning, the size of the ships used in Eastern trade… .”

“Are you saying that the slave trade could be more profitable than the eastern trade, assuming ships of the same size were used? sincerely?”

“to be honest… It must be difficult. Yes, it would be difficult to earn more than several times the profits from the Eastern Trade.”

“That’s why I won’t invest in you. Why would I invest in you when there are ways to earn more and more reliably? So… “I would like to make one suggestion.”

“If you say it’s a suggestion… ?”

“I will create an opportunity for you to invest in ‘Eastern Trade.’ Instead, there are a few conditions… .”

“glory! It is an honour! I am so grateful for the opportunity to sacrifice myself for Her Majesty, The Baron, and England… !”

* * *

Thinking about that time and looking at Drake, Hawkins couldn’t help but smile. Thanks to this relative, who was about ten years younger than me, I was able to seize the opportunity of a lifetime.

Hawkins turned his gaze away from Drake’s face and looked around the banquet hall, reflecting on the faces of those present. When I looked closely, I saw more than one familiar face.

‘Mowbray Street, Kent, Viewport, Angford. What, up to Holland Street in Hull? Robert, the old man said he was making the move himself. Did the news reach every corner of the country?’

Looking at the faces of those in attendance, I found that each and every one of them was either a powerful person from each region or a local nobleman with vague influence.

As I was wasting time looking at the faces of those in attendance, the person who held this meeting and the owner of this mansion, Baron Grinstead Logan Lee, appeared.

“Everyone, thank you for attending.”

Immediately after the appropriate greetings were exchanged, Logan got straight to the point.

“Everyone is busy, so I’ll keep it short. Everyone, have you received my invitation from Robert?”

“You mean the invitation with that strange content? We received an invitation saying that we would be given the opportunity to invest in the Baron… .”

“uh? Did it say that on the Beauforts’ invitation? “I thought it was just a simple mistake?”

“No, it wasn’t just our family? It is also written in our family that we are giving the Baron an opportunity to ‘make’ an investment, not an opportunity to ‘receive’ it… .”

As the contents of the invitation became noisy, Logan knocked on the table next to him to attract people’s attention.

“Now, I’ll explain, so would you please listen to me first?”

As the attention of the invited gentry and nobles turned to Logan, he cleared his throat once and continued his story.

“First of all, the statement in the invitation letter about providing an ‘opportunity to invest’ is not an error. “Literally, I’m giving you the opportunity to invest in me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“To make it easier for you to understand, I put my name on a big… I am planning to establish a ‘commercial association’. Yes, the Chamber of Commerce.”

“What is it? So, are you calling us to tell us to invest in the company that the Baron is creating?”

“That’s right. To be precise, I plan to establish a merchant association for ‘Eastern Trade.’”

When Logan, who led the Eastern Trade last time and is said to have actually come from the East, mentioned the word Eastern Trade, the market began to stir.

As the market became noisy once again, a merchant from Holland Street from Hull raised his voice towards Logan.

“Wait a minute, let me ask you one question. “Baron.”

“As much as you want. “What are you curious about?”

“Yes, as far as I know, the success of the ‘Eastern Trade’ was possible because of a new ship called the ‘Mary’. Moreover, looking at the profits gained through this trade, it is clear that royal funds will be invested in the next trade, so how on earth can we enter into eastern trade?”

“Oh, you mean that? That’s not really a problem.”

“It’s not a problem?”

“Of course. “It’s no problem.”

“Why is that so? No way, ‘Catherine’ is also in the next trade… ?”

“The Catherine, which was built as a warship, and the Mary, which was repurposed for trade, cannot be placed on the same ship. It’s simple. I’m thinking of building a new ship. It is a ‘new ship’ that is slightly smaller than the Mary, but is sufficiently capable of heading east. “For that, we want your ‘investment’.”

Feeling the curious gazes pouring towards him, Logan continued his explanation.

“The ships built in that way will be immediately used in the next Eastern trade. And all the profits that the ship will bring will be distributed fairly among you. Of course, quite fairly depending on the ‘amount invested’.”

Logan finished his explanation and looked around the hall. Logan noticed the worried expressions of those attending the briefing session. Even though they were worried, desire was revealed in their eyes. The desire to see how much profit one could make if one could get involved in ‘Eastern Trade’.

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*In actual history, it is said that Mary Gray and Catherine Gray almost disowned their mother, Lady Frances, for allowing their older sister Jane to die. Looking at that, it seems like the relationship between Jane and her two sisters was not bad.