08-06-2022, 02:26 PM
The "resources for weapons" trade deal announced between Xiomera and Roucourt was even more complex than it seemed. The trade of significant naval firepower for resources to pour into the ever-hungry maw of Xiomeran industry was the splashy part of the story, the one deliberately publicized by Xiomera and guaranteed to catch the world's attention.
But that wasn't the only trade deal made between Empress Calhualyana and General Secretary Leclerc. It was just the public one.
The two leaders had agreed to something more. A new international trade consortium, known as the Xiomera-Roucourt International Development Consortium, was quietly set up. On the surface, it was an innocuous entity meant to facilitate development in Roucourt. And it would definitely do that, through building projects and the like. The consortium would also build factories to produce goods both for consumption in Roucourt, and back in Xiomera as well.
But to accomplish these goals, the consortium would rely on conscripted labor.
This was not a new tactic, either in Xiomera or in Roucourt. Both countries had used prisoners for labor in the past, for example. But it marked the first time, perhaps, that two countries had agreed to use forced labor for their mutual benefit. Roucourt would gain a fast track to much needed development, thanks to Xiomera. In return, Xiomeran corporations would get to reduce their labor costs through the use of the workers in Roucourt.
As was usually the case with Xiomerans, the deal the Empress made with Leclerc was more than what it appeared to be on the surface. But it was a win-win deal for everyone. Except the people in Roucourt who found themselves being forced to make gadgets and products for Xiomerans and the elite of their own country, with no say in the matter and little reward other than some meager food rations.
And if Roucourt's government needed help to keep the locals in line, Xiomera would be there. Investments needed to be protected, after all.
But that wasn't the only trade deal made between Empress Calhualyana and General Secretary Leclerc. It was just the public one.
The two leaders had agreed to something more. A new international trade consortium, known as the Xiomera-Roucourt International Development Consortium, was quietly set up. On the surface, it was an innocuous entity meant to facilitate development in Roucourt. And it would definitely do that, through building projects and the like. The consortium would also build factories to produce goods both for consumption in Roucourt, and back in Xiomera as well.
But to accomplish these goals, the consortium would rely on conscripted labor.
This was not a new tactic, either in Xiomera or in Roucourt. Both countries had used prisoners for labor in the past, for example. But it marked the first time, perhaps, that two countries had agreed to use forced labor for their mutual benefit. Roucourt would gain a fast track to much needed development, thanks to Xiomera. In return, Xiomeran corporations would get to reduce their labor costs through the use of the workers in Roucourt.
As was usually the case with Xiomerans, the deal the Empress made with Leclerc was more than what it appeared to be on the surface. But it was a win-win deal for everyone. Except the people in Roucourt who found themselves being forced to make gadgets and products for Xiomerans and the elite of their own country, with no say in the matter and little reward other than some meager food rations.
And if Roucourt's government needed help to keep the locals in line, Xiomera would be there. Investments needed to be protected, after all.
<t></t>