in the words of one of their own: "Theft and murder are bad for business. You can steal from someone, but will he trade with you after that? You can't bargain with a dead man."

having just read http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Grasping_Fortune by Serjo Hlaalu Dram Bero... i have some questions about as to who or what or how influences the philosophy of--and ideology of--and mean of accomplishing things for--Hlaalu?

examples...
is Hlaalu financing Redoran's war costs. (maybe not directly but by some scheme or another?)

i know this is talking about Dre's money, but what if it is about the people's money, too? if or when people's money run dry, will people still love Dres. how for Hlaalu to make the people run out of money though?

now, i know it is less than always successful to look for explanation of things of TES in terms of how things are in ours here world, but... so is Hlaalu using some Elder Scroll equivalent of indentured servitude and or perpetual debt to, hm, accomplish their goals, etc? if Hlaalu is greed and stealth, then what is Redoran and Telvanni? religion and force and pride and smokescreens?

if murder and theft are bad for business, than don't murder then, force them to trade with you. if not directly, then by schemes and or debt. it you can steal from a dead man but not trade with him, then you sure can steal from him when he is still alive... through, again, if not directly, then by schemes and or debt. is this the ways of the Hlaalu--and by logical extension, also Empire's, since "We are the only Great House who has embraced the irresistible tides of Imperial law and custom. And thus we have profited by the Empire's new policies, ...."? trade, arrow, and olive branch, with the dragon's head turned towards the coin?

As I understand it, house Hllalu was scheming to get slavery banned, and make other large changes to the way business was done in Morrowind. Since they were the ones behind these compromises with the empire, they always made the right investments ahead of time. So, they pulled out of slaves just in time for the ban to cripple House Dres. This is the irresistible tide of Imperial Law: you can use it to screw over the competition.

MinotaurWarrior, so the slavery thing and all of what you just said is what was talked about here then? "The Dres know how to make money, but they have not learned how not to make enemies."