By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber Read Free Book Online Page A

figure out a long-term way to pay for it out of our own ongoing revenue stream.”
    Lock Island’s eyebrows rose as he gave his young monarch a look of respect. Ironhill, on the other hand, positively beamed, as did Gray Harbor, and Merlin nodded mentally in satisfaction, as well. All too many rulers twice Cayleb’s age would have settled for whatever got them the ships they needed in the shortest possible time and let the future take care of itself.
    â€œActually, Your Majesty,” another of the men seated at the table said, “I think paying for the Navy isn’t going to be quite as difficult as it might first appear. Not, at least, as long as we’re not trying to raise mainland-sized armies, at the same time.”
    All eyes turned to the speaker. Ehdwyrd Howsmyn was short, stout, and very well dressed. At forty-one years of age (thirty-seven and a half, standard, Merlin automatically translated mentally), he was the youngest man in the council chamber after Cayleb himself. He was also, almost certainly, the wealthiest. It was his foundries which had produced the artillery and the copper sheathing for the galleons Cayleb and his captains had used to smash the recent attack upon the kingdom. In fact, his shipyards had built half a dozen of those galleons, as well. Howsmyn was not officially a member of the Royal Council, or even of Parliament. Neither, for that matter, was Rhaiyan Mychail, the sharp-eyed (and almost equally wealthy) man sitting next to him. Mychail was at least twice Howsmyn’s age, but the two of them were business partners of long-standing, and Mychail’s textile manufactories and ropewalks had produced virtually all of the canvas for those same galleons’ sails, not to mention most of the cordage for their standing and running rigging.
    â€œUnless you and Master Mychail intend to build ships gratis, we’re still going to have to figure out how to pay for them,” Ironhill pointed out. “And without access to Desnair’s gold mines, we can’t just coin money whenever we need it.”
    â€œOh, I’m well aware of that, Ahlvyno. And, no, I’m not planning on building them gratis. Sorry.” Howsmyn grinned, and his eyes twinkled. “Neither Rhaiyan nor I have any intention of gouging the Treasury, of course. That’d be an outstandingly stupid thing for either of us to be doing at this particular moment. But we do have to manage to pay our own workers and our suppliers, you know. Not to mention showing at least a modest profit for ourselves and our partners and shareholders.
    â€œWhat I was getting at, though, was that as long as the Navy can keep merchant shipping moving, the balance of trade is going to provide quite a healthy cash flow. And under the circumstances, I don’t see me or any of my fellow shipowners complaining if the Crown decides to tack on a few extra duties and taxes on the Navy’s behalf so that it can keep trade moving.”
    â€œI’m not as certain as you seem to be about that cash flow, Ehdwyrd.” Ironhill’s expression was far more somber than Howsmyn’s. “If I were the Group of Four, the very first thing I’d do would be to demand that all of Haven’s and Howard’s harbors be closed to our shipping immediately.” He shrugged. “They have to be as aware as we are that the Kingdom’s prosperity hinges entirely on our merchant marine. Surely they’re going to do everything they can to cripple it.”
    Gray Harbor frowned, and some of the others went so far as to nod in sober agreement. Howard and Haven, the two main continents of Safehold, contained at least eighty percent of the planetary population. The kingdoms, principalities, and territories in which that population lived were the markets upon which Charis’ merchant marine and manufactories had built the kingdom’s wealth. If those markets were taken away, Charisian prosperity would be