Beatrice said:

"That's where Lady Xilin's cleverness lies. After all, she is one of us from Ense. With her intelligence, how could she not foresee the severe consequences if this painting fell into someone else's hands?"

"So even before it was created at the border of the Snow Country, she had already placed several restrictions on this painting."

Louis was shocked: "You can place restrictions on it?"

Beatrice nodded: "The place where 'Border of the Snow Country' takes effect must be within the Ense Empire, this is the first restriction."

"Only Lady Xilin, her husband, their descendants, and members of the Ense Royal Family can summon the city walls, this is the second restriction."

"As for the method of using 'Border of the Snow Country,' many years ago, Lady Xilin secretly sent it to the Imperial Palace."

"Very few people know about this, and we have wanted to retrieve this painting for over a hundred years now."

"But Lady Xilin passed away suddenly, and by the time we learned of this, most of her remaining works had already been snatched by ambitious people."

"Including this precious 'Border of the Snow Country.'"

"The royal family has kept this secret for almost a hundred years, continuously planning to bring this national treasure home. But because Lady Xilin's paintings are highly valued, it has not been able to return for a long time."

"It wasn't until recently, the Am Empire, which held the painting, never managed to test its use, that they agreed to auction it at a high price."

Louis clicked his tongue.

Just from Beatrice's brief words, one could infer the countless hidden strategic maneuvers behind this national treasure's return home.

Louis pondered for a moment and said:

"In that case, I'll divert a stream of cash flow here to prevent any problems during the auction."

Beatrice smiled and said:

"Are you worried someone might snipe us at the auction?"

Louis nodded:

"'Border of the Snow Country' must not be lost. It's been a hundred years, and even if the royal family has kept the information well-hidden, there's no guarantee that unexpected variables won't arise."

Beatrice nodded:

"I've allocated 1 million gold coins, a price that surpasses any market value of Lady Xilin's works."

Louis shook his head and said:

"Although I'm unaware of the prices of Lady Xilin's other paintings, if the effect of 'Border of the Snow Country' were known to outsiders, I would not hesitate to spend 1 million gold coins to buy it."

Beatrice found it reasonable but sighed and said:

"In that case, it might have to be you who first draws from your side."

Louis quickly understood Beatrice's meaning.

1 gold coin = 10,000 copper coins.

The purchasing power of 1 copper coin is similar to RMB from the previous life.

In other words, for the Ense Royal Family to purchase this painting, they directly accessed a cash flow equivalent to 10 billion RMB.

This is not a small sum.

The main point is...

"Is this draw made in the name of the royal family and not in the name of the Ense Empire?"

Beatrice nodded:

"In the name of the royal family means using our private treasury; in the name of the empire means using the national treasury."

"The commotion of using the national treasury is too big; it's not possible to hide it from outsiders."

"If the outside world knew, with the Am Empire's businessmen's keen instincts, they would certainly realize that 'Border of the Snow Country' has potential value that the Ense Royal Family could exploit."

"If it turns out to be such a worst-case scenario, spending more money would still count as nothing; the Ense Empire has the funds."

"But the fear is..."

Louis sighed.

The fear is that if Am Empire suddenly decides, "I'm not selling,"

Then the hundred-year-old layout on this side of the empire would have big problems.

Louis pondered for a moment and said:

"No, we can't be led by the Am Empire and potential risks. Beatrice, let the Mayer Commerce Association handle the purchase of 'Border of the Snow Country' this time."

Beatrice was surprised for a moment: "Is that okay?"

Louis said: "Originally, the Mayer Commerce Association was created by me to prevent risks."

"In this situation now, it's precisely when the Mayer Commerce Association should play its role."

Louis smiled and said: "Moreover, for the Mayer Commerce Association, it's indeed necessary to display some means to tell our allies, in terms of cash flow, the Mayer Commerce Association fears no other association."

As he spoke, one idea after another popped into his mind.

He added:

"To be precise, it's time to further expand the reputation of Mayer Morgan Rockefeller."

"Recently, the commerce association has hit a bottleneck period, or rather... due to the rapid pace of expansion, my side's liquid funds are somewhat insufficient."

Beatrice grumbled:

"You're short on liquidity, yet you still think about getting involved in this?"

Louis laughed loudly:

"Precisely because there's not enough liquidity, it's essential to give investors confidence!"

"The more money-scarce, the more we need to showcase Mayer's fearless nature to the outside world, otherwise how will we deter those wolves and tigers."

He blinked and said:

"Besides, this money isn't truly flowing out of the Mayer Commerce Association."

Mayer's identity, externally, is the top merchant of the Ense Empire.

Purchasing 'Border of the Snow Country' with astonishing financial power and then "offering" it to the Ense Royal Family better fits others' definition of the Mayer Commerce Association.

Otherwise, purely capitalizing on it, consuming so many imperial benefits without paying much of a price, doesn't meet the conditions for benefit consumption.

Making profits without paying a price is something no country would allow.

It's important to note, whether it's Tunisia or the Am Empire, when the Mayer Commerce Association enters, it still bears the weight of building local supply chains.

Even the Tower of Eternal Daylight serving as a transit station must allocate a portion of benefits to city heroes.

But on home turf in the Ense Empire, no price at all was paid, and yet it consumed the share of nationalized businesses?

There would inevitably be suspicions, perhaps questioning if there is any need for the Ense Empire to control the Mayer Commerce Association at all?

For instance... the true controller of the commerce association might be the highest tier of the empire.

Though this deception will be revealed eventually, it is certainly not now.

The Mayer Commerce Association still has a historical mission to stay hidden.

Being under Prince Louis's protection is conceptually different from being directly controlled by Prince Louis or even the Eldest Princess.

With these understandings, he resolutely decided to be part of this matter.

He opened his communicator and contacted his dedicated executive, Lord Rom:

"Lord Rom, it's Mayer."

"Mr. Mayer, how can I assist you?"

"Help me divert 5 million gold coins in liquid assets, there's a new plan."

Lord Rom said softly: "Please hold on."

A moment later, Lord Rom said: "Instruction verified as yours, the funds will be ready for you by tonight at the latest, still your previous corporate account?"

Louis said: "Yes."

"Alright, I'll arrange it now."

Louis hung up the communicator and turned to Beatrice, saying:

"Since we intend to compete, we mustn't leave the opponents any chance."

Beatrice said with emotion:

"Your approach suits you very well."

The Mayer Commerce Association is a one-man association.

Since Louis began acting under the identity of Mayer, the Mayer Commerce Association has forged a blood-stained path forward without looking back.

For the members of the Mayer Commerce Association, they do not need those high-level ideas.

The most important ones are those who can fully execute "Mr. Mayer's" orders.

Although this behavior may turn the Mayer Commerce Association into a one-man show for Mayer,

for a commerce association without much historical background, what supports its rapid development is the personal charisma of its high-level founder.

Operating under a purely commercial management model instead sacrifices the Mayer Commerce Association's greatest advantage.

From this perspective, it's likely Lord Rom will remain Louis's most useful subordinate for quite some time.

A huge amount like 5 million gold coins, any other executive would immediately question the funds' utilization.

But Lord Rom wouldn't.

On this point alone, he perfectly aligns with Louis as a tool person.

Thinking of this, Beatrice smiled and said:

"I initially worried your expansion might suffer from a lack of talent, but now it seems you can hold on for a while."

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