Your eyes widen at the seal stamped into the wax, and you unroll it to find a contract very similar to ones you've signed.
"Baron Anton Kiesinger II, in his capacity as the Baron of Blutdorf, ownership of a stake of 16% of the Eastern Imperial Company?"
"I saw how Wilhelmina was as Steward, she's scary when it comes to trading and finances and whatnot. So when she started clashing with the West Stirland Riverine Company - you remember, with Franzen and Wolfsbach? I told them it'd probably go really badly, and they spoke to her, and the Countess is paying a fortune for those handguns she's trying to introduce so she jumped at the chance to be bought out of the EIC. They got half each, and that meant that the EIC had the entire Old Dwarf Road, and with the Countess away the EIC has a free hand throughout the demesne so that gives them the Nuln Road all the way to Ramsau. And of course I'm not going to ignore the advise I just gave to Petra and Artur, am I? So when Wilhelmina came to town with that look in her eye, I didn't just get out of her way, I jump aboard. I cracked open the treasury, bought 16% of her share, damn near gave Da a heart attack. But then just as the Countess is getting mad at Nuln for the prices for all those handguns - which the EIC is being paid to ship, by the way - Wilhelmina has a word with her and gives her the idea, what if Stirland made the guns? And you know, Bultdorf already has a crossbow factory, it's got a Guild of Engineers, it's a safe distance from Sylvania, so where better? So Wilhelmina turns around and gives me back all that money I bought her share with, and we've just broken ground on a handgun factory that's going to have an exclusive contract to supply the Army of Stirland."
I'm... I'm trying to parse it and I want to scream. And I am an absolute ignoramus in economics.
So, you are a brand new elector-countess of Stirland. You have just inherited a province with it's coffers empty but it's armies victorious and it's ancient enemies dealt a heavy blow. Your soldiers are a hardy and stoic lot, if a bit conservative, and your position, while not great is not terrible. So, your first move?
-Reamament. Guns are neat.
Except you are told that your soldiers hate guns, and will not take the reform in good spirit. You press on, half your army resigned and guns are fucking expensive, so you've got underarmed army and a hole where your treasury used to be.
Now there is a megacartel which you own a part of, and which is paid for supplying your army (including the transportation of your beloved guns). They have money, you need money - so you strike a deal - they pay you a lump sum, you give them taxation rights. And then you take that lump sum and... buy more guns, obviously. Infrastructure is for sissies. But now you have a bright idea: the guns will be cheaper if you produce them in Stirland instead of far away, right? And you pay that megacartel for army supplies anyway, why complicate things? What if they were the ones to make guns for you?
They agree, enthusiastically. Except you are once again out of money, but hey, they once again cough up a lump sum - for your share of the cartel this time. You agree, enthusiastically - you are going to save a lot of money buying cheap and good Stirlandian guns. In fact, they are willing to offer an even better price if you promise not to buy guns from anyone else. You know a good deal when you see one, and you agree.
-------------------------------------------
So, she
actually
paid the monster that is EIC to get a state monopoly on guns. With her share of EIC, letting go of what little control over it she had. She also sold taxation rights to the EIC. And what money she didn't pay EIC for services, she used on buying guns.
Please, tell me I am mistaken. PLEASE.
The only silver lining is that she is obviously the rightful ruler of Stirland - the blood of Dieter IV is unmistakeable.
