Ch 139: Wool Merchant
Seeking a loan from a merchant?
Utgard felt a surge of resentment. As a traditional Viking warrior, he always looked down on those smooth-talking merchants. Now, ennobled as a knight, he felt his status was higher than that of a commoner, making him even more unwilling to deal with such people.
Afterward, Utgard found a knight he had formerly served, requesting help.
The other man sighed, indicating his helplessness. “Child, normally, you were once my retainer, so providing funding would be acceptable. However, I also have a large debt that I haven’t finished repaying. I suggest you borrow money from the Tyne Town merchants, agreeing to repay it in five years. I guess they won’t refuse.”
Under the pressure of reality, Master Utgard had no choice. He spent several days recruiting five young Viking men, promising them land, and then led his newly formed team to Tyne Town to borrow money.
It was now late September. The autumn harvest was over, and the flow of people in Tyne Town increased sharply, especially in the East City marketplace area. This area was filled with rural peasants and merchants from Northern Europe and Flanders. They hawked their goods in different languages, creating a scene of prosperity and chaos.
Utgard walked along the main street and found a two-story brick building at the intersection. The sign was written in three languages, with a scale depicted beside it; a wool bale was on the left pan, and a pile of silver coins was on the right.
“Wool Merchant Guild?”
The knight, illiterate, entered this busy trading post with doubt.
On the ground floor hall, a long wooden counter was set up, with a layer of thick woolen cloth covering the surface to prevent coins from rolling. Three young apprentices were handling business behind the counter, and a middle-aged accountant was supervising.
At this moment, a long queue was lined up in front of the counter. Some held a parchment filled with writing, some carried a basket of wool, and some held a heavy bag that seemed to be filled with silver coins.
Without queuing, Utgard walked straight to the counter. “I am a knight newly ennobled by the Duke. I heard you offer loans?”
The accountant carefully examined this brown-haired Viking. He was tall and strong, wearing a black wool cloak over an old iron scale armor, with a sword hanging from his waist.
“Openly walking in the street in armor and carrying a sword. Good, it is a privilege exclusive to masters.”
Thinking of this, the accountant immediately changed his expression and invited the knight to the meeting room on the right side of the hall to inquire about the latter’s details.
“May I ask your name, age, the date of your ennoblement, and the location of your fiefdom…?”
“Utgard, 24 years old. I killed Hugh, the former lord of Glasgow, and was ennobled as a knight by the Duke half a month ago.”
After verification, confirming the knight’s identity was correct, the accountant inquired about the client’s needed services. Unsurprisingly, it was another loan to purchase a warhorse.
He took out a document and explained it word by word.
“Recently, King Ragnar levied additional taxes, causing the price of warhorses to rise, and the profits from wool and various export businesses to decline. Our loan agreement has been slightly adjusted. The contents of the agreement are as follows:
One, the knight will borrow seven pounds of silver, with a total interest of 1.5 pounds, to be repaid over five years.
Two, during the repayment period, this Merchant Guild enjoys the right of first purchase of the wool from the knight’s manor.
Three,”
1.5 pounds of interest! I’ve saved up for so many years, and it’s only enough to repay the interest?
Utgard abruptly stood up. The Merchant Guild guards outside heard the noise and rushed in to check the situation, but were dismissed by the accountant.
Utgard was both surprised and angry. “No, no, you are simply too greedy.”
On the way here, he had heard passersby mention the Pontilan Merchant Guild, which also operates loaning business, so he intended to try another place.
The accountant guessed the other party’s intention and softly persuaded him:
“The interest rate of the Pontilan Merchant Guild is the same as here, and their wool sales channels are not as good as ours, so the price of purchasing wool may be slightly lower.
The remaining Merchant Guild belongs to Ilis. She is the Duchess’s mother. The Duke worried that such business would damage his relationship with his subordinates, so he forbade Ilis from providing loans to barons and knights.”
Utgard did not believe the accountant’s words and went out to inquire about news. After wasting half an hour, he returned to the Tyne Wool Merchant Guild.
After a short while, the accountant drafted a loan agreement. After confirming that there were no errors, he called in the marketplace notary and Harry, the guild’s shareholder on duty that day.
Given Utgard’s knightly status, the Earl’s Residence also sent a young clerk to explain the terms of the agreement to the knight.
After a long time, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed, Utgard, unable to bear the torment, pressed his fingerprint at the end of the agreement and awkwardly wrote his name.
“Finished?”
The fat merchant, Harry, placed a large bag of coins on the table. “Yes, this is seven pounds, a total of 1680 silver pence. You can count them one by one, or you can choose to weigh them.”
Utgard turned his head and sought help from the notary and the young clerk. Seeing this, the notary took out a scale and weighed the total weight of the silver coins. It was indeed seven pounds.
Thus, the transaction was concluded.
There were a total of three copies of the agreement: one for the Wool Merchant Guild, one for Utgard, and one for the Earl’s Residence.
Carefully putting away the parchment, Utgard shook hands with Harry. Suddenly, he noticed that this Anglo-Saxon merchant was wearing a pendant with a World Tree pattern, apparently converted to the Norse faith.
Not only him, but all the other Merchant Guild employees were wearing the same pendant. Utgard felt puzzled, picked up his money pouch and left the guild. A few minutes later, he realized:
The Roman Catholic Church forbids believers from lending money, so these profit-seeking fellows simply changed their faith!
Instantly, Utgard’s mind was greatly shocked. He looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed:
“Commerce is the dirtiest activity in the world. Once involved in it, the virtues of knights, such as loyalty, faith, and bravery, will inevitably be corrupted. As for those greedy and cowardly merchants, they are not the masters of wealth, but rather slaves of wealth.”
Pushing through the crowded streets, he arrived at the Southwest Area of Tyne, paying the Castle accountant for the purchase of Frankish warhorses, and applying for an audience with the Duke.
Vig was somewhat puzzled by his subordinate’s arrival. “The warhorses will not arrive until next spring. Why are you so impatient? Borrowing money several months in advance means you need to repay it early, which is not cost-effective.”
Utgard scratched his head, saying that he hadn’t thought much about it. He came to Tyne Town to collect supplies and, incidentally, handle the loan procedures. To settle it once and avoid having to make another trip next year.
Vig didn’t say much more and talked with the knight about other matters, finally reminding him, “There will be no war in the next few years. Remember to treat your subjects well and patiently manage your own industry.”
“As you command.”
Utgard bowed, leaving the main hall of Tyne Castle. Outside, he passed by five young men with youthful faces.
These young men were the first graduating students. Invited by Ivar, they went to Ireland to help manage accounts. After half a year of hard work, they ended their overseas assignment and returned to Tyne Castle to report.