Soqya Peninsula, Badan City-State.
"I do not understand why we must allow the Viscount of Lanwan to open some 'Exchange House' here in Badan!"
Giovanni Draghi, sporting heavy dark circles under his eyes, clamored dissatisfiedly within the room where the duty elders of the Senate handled daily affairs.
Elder Lester, who was in the middle of processing official business, lifted his eyelids to look at Giovanni Draghi with a gaze slightly tinged with disappointment. He then lowered his head to continue working, speaking as he did so:
"What is so hard to understand about this? According to the agreement, merchants from the Lanwan Viscountcy are inherently allowed to conduct business freely within our city-state. The Viscount of Lanwan asking for our Senate's opinion was, at best, just her saying hello out of courtesy."
After experiencing that disastrous defeat at Dorukocha, the once-renowned Badan general, Giovanni Draghi, had completely lost his spirit. Whenever matters involved the Viscount of Lanwan, he would react intensely, as if possessed.
Take this issue regarding the Exchange House, for instance. The other elders, including Lester, felt this was merely a trivial matter. If the Viscount of Lanwan wanted to open a shop, then let her open a shop.
However, Giovanni Draghi shouted loudly at the Senate meeting, claiming the Viscount of Lanwan was insidious and cunning, and that her opening a shop definitely concealed malicious intent. He insisted that everyone must resolutely refuse, or else Badan would be in danger.
It was truly laughable. what danger could a shop exchanging currency pose? Could the shop hide several thousand knights inside?
This kind of clown-like performance from Giovanni Draghi was not the first time. The elders and citizens of Badan were feeling increasingly disappointed in him. If not for the fact that the Dragi family could be considered an old-money power in Badan with deep roots, Giovanni would have lost his status as an Elder long ago.
"How can the Viscount of Lanwan herself count as a merchant? She is a noble! We can completely use this reason to refuse her engaging in commerce!"
Giovanni still wanted to argue. It wasn't that he had seen through the hidden killing moves behind every chess piece Charlotte placed; he simply subconsciously felt that staying far away from Charlotte was safer.
Although some time had passed since the Battle of Dorukocha, when Giovanni slept at night, he still ordered people to light all the lamps and torches, illuminating the inside and outside of the manor as bright as snow. It was as if leaving even a spot of darkness would allow the elusive Lanwan army to charge out from the shadows.
Smack!
Elder Lester could finally no longer endure Giovanni's endless chatter. He slapped the table, stood up, stared into Giovanni's eyes, and shouted angrily, "Giovanni, I have explained this many times! We need to maintain good relations with the Viscount of Lanwan right now! Do you understand what 'maintaining good relations' means?!"
Giovanni opened his mouth, but Elder Lester did not give him a chance to speak. Pointing to the north, he continued:
"Our last Citizen-Soldiers have already been conscripted by Fedi. Right now, the knights of the Viscount of Lanwan are stationed in Dorukocha. If they launch an attack, what do we have to resist them? Are you willing to take your family's guards and slaves to die on the city walls for the city-state?"
Although the various city-states of the Ivy Alliance had many complaints about Fedi's renewed conscription, they more or less understood in their hearts the principle that if the lips die, the teeth will be cold.
To the other city-states of the Ivy Alliance, the Fedi City-State could not even be called the lips; it was the heart and pillar of the entire alliance. Once Fedi fell, the entire Ivy Alliance would instantly disintegrate, and no one would be able to resist the advance of the Delmore people.
Who among the city-states of the Ivy Alliance, accustomed to freedom and looseness, would be willing to be ruled by the harsh, tyrannical Delmore people who slaughtered cities at the drop of a hat? Although the Fedi people liked to put on airs and always felt superior, at least they wouldn't conduct massacres in allied city-states, and they rarely interfered in the internal politics of allied city-states.
Therefore, even if they were unwilling in their hearts, the last Citizen-Soldiers of the Ivy Alliance city-states were still slowly gathering toward Fedi.
The Badan City-State had just suffered a disastrous defeat and had another batch of troops conscripted. Now, the entire city-state could truly be said to have been squeezed until not a drop remained.
Facing Elder Lester's interrogating gaze, Giovanni shrank his neck. If it were in the past, he would have answered without hesitation that he was willing to die for the city-state. However, the brutal battle at Dorukocha had completely beaten the courage out of Giovanni; for a moment, he couldn't even utter a polite platitude.
The look in Elder Lester's eyes as he regarded Giovanni became even more disappointed. He sat back down and continued processing the work at hand, not sparing Giovanni another glance.
Left hanging to the side, Giovanni awkwardly left the Senate on his own, taking a carriage out of the city to return to his manor.
As the carriage passed through the streets of the city, Giovanni saw that most shops were extremely deserted, with few customers. This sign was actually already very abnormal, yet most elders, Giovanni included, did not feel how serious the problem was.
Because this world had not yet established macroeconomic theories, nor had it ever experienced an economic crisis, shops failing to sell things—while certainly disappointing—was hard to link to the life and death of a nation or city-state.
Suddenly, a wave of noise and clamor drifted over. Through the carriage window, Giovanni saw a large crowd gathered in front of a shop, standing out prominently on this cold and deserted street.
Giovanni couldn't help but press his lips together tightly, for that shop was the Exchange House newly opened by the Viscount of Lanwan.
The impulse deep in his heart told Giovanni he should leave this place immediately, but as the carriage passed the entrance of the Exchange House, Giovanni ultimately couldn't help but speak to the coachman.
"Stop for a moment."
The Dragi family possessed quite a few acres of fields and manors outside the city, producing a significant amount of wine every year. The Soqya Peninsula was full of mountains and hills, unsuitable for grain production but suitable for planting wine grapes.
The Badan City-State was famous for winemaking. Although the Dragi family's wine was not Badan's top-tier wine, by riding on the fame of Badan wine, they could still sell it for quite a lot of money each year. Therefore, a considerable amount of Dir was accumulated in the vault of Giovanni's family.
Although Giovanni held a deep dread of Charlotte, he had to admit that the Exchange House founded by the Viscount of Lanwan indeed had some tricks. If he wanted to know exactly how valuable the Dir was, the most convenient way was to come to the entrance of the Exchange House to look.
With the help of his guards, Giovanni squeezed through the crowd and entered the Exchange House. After entering, Giovanni saw that the counters in the Exchange House were divided into two sections. One counter was on the east side, with a wooden sign hanging in front that read "Deposits & Loans." The other was on the west side, with a wooden sign reading "Currency Exchange."
The counter on the east was almost empty, while the counter on the west was packed with people.
Giovanni also squeezed to the west counter without hesitation. Sure enough, a bulletin board hung on the wall behind the counter. On the board, "Today's Exchange Rate" was written in large characters with white powder, and below that were the exchange ratios for various currencies.
Giovanni saw at a glance that the exchange rate for Fuso to Dir had changed to 1:3.4. He clenched his fist and shouted 'Beautiful!' in his heart.
Those Dirs in his family vault had become even more valuable!
Seeing speculative "Dir merchants" at the counter holding a few Fuso to exchange for Dir, Giovanni couldn't help but want to exchange a few as well. Unfortunately, Badan was not like Ambratu; it did not border the Oran Empire. The main currency used daily in the city-state was Dir, so Giovanni didn't carry Fuso on him—of course, Badan had its own currency too, but people almost never used that money.
However, Giovanni didn't feel much regret. After all, his family vault didn't lack these mere few Dirs.
After secretly celebrating, Giovanni planned to leave the Exchange House. But before he walked out the door, his gaze uncontrollably fell upon the counter on the east side. Staring at the "Loans" sign for a while, a thought suddenly popped into his head.
Giovanni's heart first skipped a beat, and then he hurriedly shook his head.
This is the shop of that terrifying Viscount of Lanwan. Wanting to pick up a bargain here? You must not want to live anymore, Giovanni!
Giovanni admonished himself, then lifted his leg to walk out the door.
However, after taking only a few steps, Giovanni retreated back. The desire to get rich ultimately overpowered his fear of Charlotte.
Giovanni arrived before the loan counter.
"Hello, do you need anything?" the clerk inside the counter asked with a smile.
"Mm," Giovanni nodded and asked, "I need to borrow some money."
The clerk was just about to ask how much Giovanni wanted to borrow when Giovanni raised his hand and said, "No, I want to ask a few questions first."
"Please ask," the clerk said politely.
"If I borrow one Fuso, must I return one Fuso?" Giovanni asked.
"No," the clerk shook his head, pointing to the interest rate table on the wall. "We charge interest, but the interest is very low, much more favorable than the market rate..."
"I know," Giovanni interrupted. "I mean to say, if I borrow Fuso, can I only repay using Fuso?"
"Of course." The clerk nodded this time.
"And if I borrow Dir, I can only repay Dir, and cannot use Fuso to repay?" Giovanni asked again.
"Yes." The clerk looked at Giovanni with some confusion and asked, "Sir, what are you planning to do?"
Giovanni was startled by the question, almost feeling that his scheme had been exposed. He hurriedly said, "Nothing, nothing. Then let me borrow one hundred Fuso to try."
"Alright, how long do you need to borrow it for?"
"Borrow it for a month."
One hundred Fuso were soon handed over to Giovanni.
Clutching the heavy coin purse, Giovanni's heart surged with excitement. He had indeed discovered a massive loophole in the Viscount of Lanwan's Exchange House—a customer could borrow Fuso from the Exchange House, exchange the Fuso for Dir, wait for the Dir to appreciate, and then exchange it back for Fuso. Wouldn't that allow one to earn a large price difference for free?
For example, if one borrowed one Fuso from the Exchange House when the rate was 1:4 and exchanged it for four Dir, then waited until the rate floated to 1:2 to exchange the four Dir for two Fuso, one could repay the loan of one Fuso and still earn one Fuso!
This was simply getting something for nothing!
Giovanni was incredibly agitated. On one hand, it was because he had discovered a way to make money; on the other hand, it was because he could defeat the Viscount of Lanwan on another battlefield.
Sure enough, when it comes to commerce, the Viscount of Lanwan is still inferior to me, whose ancestors have been doing business for generations! Giovanni thought smugly as the carriage quickly returned to the manor where he lived.
His wife looked at Giovanni, who had left the house looking lost and dispirited but returned radiating vitality, and asked strangely, "Why are you so happy?"
"Of course, it's because I encountered something good." Giovanni laughed heartily, handed the coin purse in his hand to his wife, pointed outside the door, and asked, "Whose carriage is that outside? Do we have a guest?"
"Mm," his wife took the coin purse and said, "There is a guest. He says he is an old friend of yours. I don't know him, but his clothing doesn't look like that of an ordinary person, so I had the servants take him to the reception room."
"You did the right thing. I'll go see who it is," Giovanni said approvingly. He knew that most citizens and elders in the city-state currently had issues with him, so he dared not slight any visitor who actively came to his door.
Arriving in front of the reception room, Giovanni pushed the door open and entered, only to see a strange blond man leisurely drinking tea.
Seeing Giovanni enter, the blond man immediately stood up and bowed, "It is a pleasure to meet you, General Giovanni Draghi."
"May I ask who you are?" Giovanni was very puzzled. He didn't know this person, and after the defeat at Dorukocha, no one in Badan addressed him as General anymore.
"My humble name is Richard," Robin Mancini said with a smile, shaking Giovanni's right hand to introduce himself. "It doesn't matter if you don't know me; surely you can recognize this."
Robin Mancini took out a small object and stuffed it into Giovanni's right hand.
Giovanni opened his right hand curiously, and his pupils instantly dilated. The small object was a brooch, featuring the Mellerfield family crest made of enamel.
Giovanni was so frightened he retreated several steps. "You are the Viscount of Lanwan's man! What did the Viscount of Lanwan send you here to do? Do you want to assassinate me? Don't indulge in wild fantasies; even if it is the Viscount of Lanwan, I will not allow myself to be captured without a fight!"
The guards behind Giovanni immediately blocked the space between Giovanni and Robin, acting as if facing a formidable enemy.
Robin Mancini was left suspended between laughter and tears by Giovanni's reaction. He hadn't expected this famous Badan general to fear his own Viscount to such an extent. He hurriedly spread his hands and said:
"How is that possible? Badan and the Lanwan Viscountcy are friends who have signed the 'Economic Cooperation Agreement.' Why would the Viscount send an assassin to kill you for no reason? I am not carrying any weapons; you can have your subordinates search me."
Seeing Robin Mancini's demeanor, Giovanni admitted he indeed didn't look like he was there for an assassination. However, he didn't dare let people search the envoy sent by the Viscount of Lanwan, so he had to ask Robin Mancini from behind the guards:
"Then what did the Viscount of Lanwan send you to do?"
Robin Mancini pointed at the guards in front of him with a peculiar expression and said, "Are you sure you want me to say it in front of so many people?"
"Yes!" Giovanni nodded with great certainty. "Just say it like this. These are all confidants I can trust."
"Alright," Robin Mancini shook his head helplessly. "The Viscount of Lanwan sent me to borrow money from you."
"Borrow money from me?" Giovanni pointed at his own nose. He had just gone to the Viscount of Lanwan's Exchange House to borrow money, and now the Viscount of Lanwan's people came directly to his home to borrow money?
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