Chapter 484

Glanston Castle, Count Derike's study, a roaring fire flickered in the brick fireplace, dispelling the chill of late autumn.

The count sitting behind the desk showed a smile on his face, playing with the Glanston family crest in his hand, carefully examining the light on the golden shield.

The Campbell family is like the fire in the fireplace, achieving the glory of the Glanston family. However, when the fire is too dazzling, it is still up to them, the nobles with pure blood, to turn the tide and remind the former who is the real shining gold.

Fortunately, the Glanston family has a deep foundation, and the Duke with a shallow foundation cannot make any waves.

Everything is under his control—

Whether it is the North Creek Valley countship, the Principality of Campbell, or that Demon King in Lei Ming County.

Looking at the master who had the victory in his hands, the old butler's expression was slightly uneasy, and finally couldn't help but cough softly and said.

"Master… I am still a bit worried, the demons of hell are not so reliable after all, what if they go back on their word?"

"There is indeed this risk, but this is not a problem."

Count Derike held the golden shield emblem carelessly, the shadow cast by the thick palm covered the firelight refracted by the emblem, just like covering the sky of Campbell.

"The Trident Knights are in our hands, and the Light of Praise is in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng. Edward has lost his biggest bargaining chip, and the only thing he can rely on is the citizens of Lei Ming City. The reason I contacted the ancient allies is just to reduce casualties."

Even without considering the Demon King, he has two cards in his hand.

One is Jeluoke, and the other is the King of the Kingdom of Laine…

The guests last night were not just knights of the Trident Knights, but also friends from the royal capital. They were mercenaries in name, but only serfs who knew nothing would really treat them as mercenaries, and there were even knights who were loyal to the King himself.

They all came to correct the chaos in the Principality of Campbell!

When he said this, a sharp light flashed in Derike's eyes.

"Another thing, I don't think the Demon King of Lei Ming County will refuse our proposal. The Campbell family is their sworn enemy, and Aaron Campbell killed Xinuo's father. Even if that cold-blooded fear demon doesn't care about the hatred of killing his father, they will never give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win once."

Reduce casualties… huh?

The old butler couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Obviously, in the eyes of Count Derike, the citizens of Lei Ming City cannot be called people.

Including those serfs who left the land they had farmed for generations, the adventurers who made a living from the labyrinth, and the small and medium nobles who betrayed their own class.

The old butler was not sympathizing with these strangers he had never seen before, he was just worried that teaming up with the Demon King might bring fire to himself.

The Tribunal of the Church has never been so close to this land, and Lord Ximenes is only separated from them by a Jiliu Pass.

This civil war… must it be fought?

It is said to be for the future of Campbell, but all who die are Campbell people.

There was a light knock on the door of the study, and Count Derike's eyes drifted to the door.

"Come in."

The door opened.

A confidant who held the same secret faith as him walked in, his right hand on his chest, bowing respectfully.

"Master… that adult has written."

Derike sat up straight from the chair almost immediately, pushed the chair and stood up, with an excited expression on his face.

"Take me there!"

……

The underground altar of Glanston Castle.

The air was filled with a fishy smell mixed with sulfur and beast blood, a barbaric sacrificial ritual had just ended, turning into those two scarlet marks on the statue.

Xinuo Delagong descended here!

Everything went as smoothly as Derike planned, this Demon King who descended on the altar again swept away the previous restraint, loudly vented his hatred for the Campbell family, and praised the loyalty of the Glanston family!

"As long as you and the northern vassals dare to raise the banner of rebellion and challenge the Campbell throne, the million demons of the labyrinth will come out in full force and swallow the entire Lei Ming City from underground!"

"…After I conquer the Principality of Campbell, you will still be the Count of North Creek Valley! No, I want to seal the entire Creek Valley Plain to you!"

Obviously—

He had already reached a consensus with his demon generals to attack the surface again, otherwise he would never have been so confident!

Derike was overjoyed, lowered his head respectfully, hid the disdain and arrogance in his eyes, leaving only the ecstasy hanging on the corner of his mouth.

"Praise the master who rules the night, praise the Demon God, praise the Demon King… The Glanston family awaits your arrival." He recited softly, with only piety in his voice.

This stupid "Minotaur"…

Actually thought he could conquer the surface!

Haha!

A cannon fodder also wants to get on the table, he has never heard such a funny joke!

The two scarlet marks on the statue dissipated, the breath of fear left this cold and damp secret room, and the Demon King's will returned to his loyal Great Labyrinth.

Derike also completely put away the respect on his face and left the secret room without looking back.

He walked through the corridor like flying, left the stale air in the basement, and returned to his warm and bright study.

The fireplace fire was still roaring.

He poured himself a glass of fine wine during the day, which was extremely rare, shook the glass gently, and sat on the oak chair paved with velvet to examine it carefully… as if celebrating the birth of an uncrowned king of the great Principality of Campbell in advance.

"…Regent, this name is good."

Jeluoke is an excellent knight, but he is a soldier after all.

He has no governance team of his own and cannot manage a huge principality at all, so he still has to rely on the Glanston family in the end.

Count Derike's face had a bright smile, and he drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp, just like drinking a glass of mellow blood.

Until he finished the wine, he added as if he just remembered.

"For the future of Campbell… cheers."

……

Andi Manor, Grand Duke Edward's study.

The morning sun crossed the sparse birch trees, leaving sparse shadows on the floor of the room. The air was filled with the fragrance of cedar, which was the winter incense replaced by the manor's servants for the guests.

The weather was getting colder, and it was going to be winter in a blink of an eye.

Just when Count Derike was cheering for victory, Grand Duke Edward was leaning on the back of the chair, reviewing a report on the construction progress of the "Mud City" special zone, with a focused expression, lost in thought.

His subordinates mentioned two things that caught his attention.

One is that many surprising construction equipment appeared on the construction site of the Mud City special zone, including steam-spitting crawler vehicles, and huge steam-driven lifting tools.

These seem to be things born in the new industrial zone of Lei Ming City, the casting process can vaguely see the shadow of dwarves, but many dwarf craftsmen also said they had never seen this thing.

Another is the scout's report, saying that a group of lizardman raiders' corpses were found in the forest of the southwest swamp.

These unlucky guys were suspected of being counterattacked when attacking the supply team. However, the dense bullet holes made it hard not to care, that was at least the firepower that could be produced by the volley of three hundred-man teams.

The "breech-loading rifles" shown by His Highness Kelin might not be the full strength of the Kingdom of Gutav, they still hid a hand.

Edward couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Deserving to be the descendants of the Dragon God…

The strength is really as unfathomable as a dragon!

At this time, the door was knocked rhythmically.

"Please come in."

Yang Andi pushed the door and entered, holding a folder in his arms, and said respectfully.

"Grand Duke, I have made a briefing for you on the economic activities of Lei Ming City last month. I don't know when you are free to review it?"

"Put the document here, and tell me about it by the way."

Edward put down the report in his hand, signaled his right-hand man to sit down, and crossed his fingers with interest.

"I want to know how much vitality the orders brought by Mr. Ai Sa Ke Jifeng have brought to our market… and, is there anything worth noting recently."

Yang Andi nodded cautiously and sat down, but his expression was much more serious than usual.

"Your Majesty, our market is unprecedentedly prosperous, all of which are sufficiently reflected in the report. But if you ask what is worth noting… I think compared to the already excellent import and export data, another thing far away from Lei Ming City is more worth our attention."

"Oh?" Edward's eyebrows raised, his eyes gradually sharp, signaling him to continue.

Andi did not dare to be slow, opened the folder, and pulled out the top report. Judging from the format of the document and the seal on it, this is a document of an importer under the Andi Chamber of Commerce, which belongs neither to the bank nor to the city hall.

"The grain trade in the Creek Valley Plain has almost stopped."

"Led by the North Creek Valley countship, the lords there seem to have agreed, and not a single grain of wheat harvested this year has been transported to Lei Ming City. At first we thought it was a supply chain problem, but later we found it was not the case, they just didn't want to sell."

Edward frowned slightly, vaguely capturing something, and said in a low voice.

"Maybe their harvest is not good?"

"On the contrary." Yang Andi shook his head and immediately denied this guess, "Our merchants have dealt with them for many years, and those merchants who purchase grain know their harvest better than the locals themselves. Judging from this year's climate, the harvest in the Creek Valley Plain will only be better than previous years… and the problem is right here."

He handed the report to Edward's desk, pointed to the curve marking the grain import and export data of previous years, and said seriously.

"Grain is the main financial source for northern vassals. According to practice, every year at this time, except for leaving enough reserves for winter and the coming year, most of the surplus grain will be sold to Lei Ming City for money to buy things their territory cannot produce."

"But this time, they chose to hold back from selling in the harvest season contrary to practice. I can't help but worry whether they are waiting for something, or… preparing for something."

When he said this, Andi stopped.

As a shrewd businessman, he knows very well what words he can say, and what words can only be understood.

He believes that with the Grand Duke's wisdom, he can definitely guess what that is.

The study fell into a brief silence, with only the ticking of the clock.

Edward's face was as calm as the vast ocean, but his crossed fingers tightened unconsciously, and a sneer curled up at the corner of his mouth.

"It seems that our granary has broken out in famine."

He let go of his hands, tapped his index finger on the table, and pushed the report back.

"Don't spread the word about this."

Andi buried his head and stood up, respectfully taking back the report.

"I understand, sir."

"You did a good job on this."

Andi said with his head down.

"Don't dare… I just, hope our principality will always be strong, so that the Andi family's business can grow bigger and bigger."

"I hope so too."

Edward stood up, walked to the window, looked at the sparse birch trees outside the window, and said in a casual tone, "Since there is a famine in the north, let's buy it from elsewhere."

After a pause, he gave the order.

"You go and do it immediately, import grain from other city-states on the northeast coast of the Vortex Sea through the port step by step, everything is done as a commercial act, but buy a little more. In addition, remember, let the subordinates do it, don't come forward personally… You go and do something else during this time, there should be many people staring at you."

"Yes, I understand what you mean, this little thing is not enough to keep the head of the Andi family busy." Andi understood the Grand Duke's meaning in an instant and said with heart.

"You know it's good."

A smile curled up at the corner of Edward's mouth, and he nodded with satisfaction.

Yang Andi bowed and retreated from the study quietly.

The door closed.

Edward stood there for a full minute before walking to the bookshelf, ringing the bell to summon the guards, and calling his confidant.

"Go, invite Viceroy Gede Wilson to see me."

In less than a quarter of an hour, a middle-aged man with a rigorous expression walked quickly into the study and stood respectfully before his desk.

"Your Majesty, you are looking for me."

"Gede Wilson," Edward's tone was unquestionable, "I have a new decree that needs you to execute immediately."

Gede's expression was solemn.

"Please give your orders."

Edward paused and continued.

"In the name of 'supporting Twilight', the mobilization order of the Northern Rescue Army should not be lifted for the time being. Not only that, the training of new recruits should also be carried out as usual… and take them to the southwest swamp for training, just use the new weapons sent by those allies."

Gede Wilson was stunned, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty, hasn't the war in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng ended? The Tribunal and the Lionheart Knights have completely taken over there, and Her Highness Princess Ailin is about to return in triumph. We are training new recruits now to…"

"It's being prepared for a rainy day."

Edward ignored his question and continued, "Huang Tong Pass is in a precarious situation, we must prepare for the worst and guard against the invasion of chaos."

"This…"

Gede Wilson was dumbfounded.

Although Huang Tong Pass relies on the east side of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng, the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng is too large, and dwarves live in the Wan Ren Mountains, and the wind of the Dimensional Desert cannot blow here no matter what.

How come you suddenly started preparing for a rainy day at this time?

Thinking of the rumors in high society recently, saying that the Grand Duke and the King had problems, he calmed down and reminded him carefully.

"Your Majesty… I will execute your orders without hesitation. But I also dare to ask you to think twice, everything should be based on harmony."

Edward sat down at the desk again, looked calmly at the cautious Viceroy, and left a meaningful sentence.

"I hope so, but my wish may not be everyone's wish."

……

The tea room of the "Dawn Embrace" hotel, this is an excellent location to overlook the panoramic view of Queen Street.

The afternoon sun is warm and pleasant, the streets are full of traffic, and citizens in bright clothes are flowing endlessly.

Thanks to the huge orders provided by the "United Kingdom of Gutav," the economy of the entire Lei Ming City has reached an unprecedented peak, and the wealth of the entire northeast coast of the Vortex Sea has gathered here.

In fact, it was already prosperous here before.

The "Great Storm" of the Vast Ocean and the expedition of the Imperial Temple Knights made Lei Ming City's power machinery factory busy since last year, and that 7 million square kilometer market was just pouring a basin of oil on the fire…

It's just that under the surface of prosperity, the clouds of civil war were also gathering silently out of people's sight.

Sitting opposite Prince Kelin, Andi picked up the teacup and blew gently, but his expression looking out the window was a bit absent-minded.

In order to prevent arousing Count Derike's vigilance, he handed over the grain procurement affairs to his subordinates, and he himself was "avoiding suspicion" and busy with other affairs.

For example, the bank is the focus of his work now.

Thanks to the prosperity of the financial industry, the credit and savings business derived from it can be said to be the fastest-growing field for the Andi family in recent years.

And when many things were not uncovered, he was good and I was good, but after uncovering the lid, he discovered the severity of the problem.

The hidden worries under the prosperity of Lei Ming City are not just civil war, but liquidity crises are also accumulating silently…

"Your Highness."

Yang Andi put down the cup in his hand, turned to Kelin who was leisurely tasting tea, with a hint of undisguised worry on his face.

"I have encountered some work problems recently, I want to ask you for some experience, I don't know how the prosperous United Kingdom of Gutav deals with the problems brought by prosperity?"

"Oh?" Luo Yan signaled him to continue with interest, "This is really an interesting way of saying… are you complaining that you have too much money?"

"On the contrary," Andi shook his head and said helplessly, "Our money… is not enough, or to be precise, gold coins are not enough."

Luo Yan nodded.

"So that's it."

This is an obvious problem. Even in the center of the Empire, a million gold coins is a huge number, enough to make countless people like Sir Tangtais crazy and liver and brain for his cause.

But in Lei Ming City…

The 10 million shares publicly issued by the Kelin Group account for one-tenth of the total market value. Its unit price rose to more than 20 gold coins, and even rushed toward 100 gold coins at one time.

What concept is this?

Miss Castellion's father came here, I'm afraid he would be scared to have a heart attack by the ambition of this group of "hillbillies."

How can this group of "barbarians" be so rich?!

Of course, Lei Ming City actually doesn't have so many gold coins. As Andi said, they are facing a liquidity crisis.

But if Luo Yan wants to say, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Reciting scriptures cannot be separated from the background of the times. The same thing is a precursor to completion a few hundred years later, but it is not called a crisis at the end of the Renaissance.

Farm tools suddenly became people, isn't it normal to be expensive.

They are just re-pricing their assets.

It seems that he was worried that Prince Kelin didn't understand, Andi continued to explain.

"For example, the stock price of 'Kelin Group' continues to soar, but the higher and higher unit price has begun to seriously limit the liquidity of stocks. Many people hold stocks but cannot cash them out, and many people want to buy but don't have enough gold coins. Not just stocks, including property on Queen Street and many things, have begun to appear in a situation of 'having price but no market'. It is one thing for holders not to want to sell, and it is also a problem that no one takes over."

Including goods in factories.

They cannot always rely on overseas buyers, more and more farm tools have been turned into people by their Grand Duke, and people have consumption needs.

Not just food and beer that anesthetizes nerves.

They need houses to shelter from the wind and rain, clothes that are not only cold-proof but also decent, and send their descendants to better schools… just like every resident of the Shengcheng defaults to being a matter of course.

Living like a human is not just the privilege of the Shengcheng, the blood and sweat paid by the Campbell people deserve a better tomorrow, they are not just tools for the Empire.

"A more dangerous signal is in the currency market." Andi lowered his voice, "Due to the lack of liquidity of gold coins, the actual exchange rate of gold coins to silver coins has increased from the standard 1:100 to 1:110. On the black market, I heard that it even appeared 1:115."

"This was extremely rare in the past."

In the past, big nobles and merchants only used silver coins for transactions, and large commodities and luxury goods would use gold coins. This is also the reason why the stock price of Kelin Group will not affect the lives of ordinary people no matter how high it rises.

There is a lag in liquidity between different currency pools. Simply put, the shortage of liquidity of gold coins will not immediately affect copper coins and silver coins.

This is like three reservoirs connected to each other, but as long as the flow rate of water is controlled, the water level difference between different reservoirs can still be maintained.

This is also one of the reasons why Edward can maintain the price of a loaf of bread at 4 copper coins with a small amount of subsidy.

However, the problem now is that the liquidity of gold coins has shrunk sharply and can only be supplemented by silver coins or even copper coins.

And the increase in liquidity means inflation, and this inflation is inversely proportional to the scarcity of the currency itself.

People here tend to hoard gold coins as a store of value, while using more silver coins and copper coins for transactions, forcing silver coins to depreciate and copper coins to depreciate sharply.

Andi did not mention the exchange rate of copper coins, because now in Lei Ming City, the exchange rate of copper coins has become an immeasurable thing.

This has led to the richest group of people in Lei Ming City fully enjoying the feast of soaring asset prices, while ordinary people who use copper coins can only watch their assets shrink, further widening the gap between rich and poor.

Except for bread regulated by the Grand Duke, a series of daily necessities priced in copper coins, including salt and fuel, are soaring.

If this continues, Campbell, who is more capable of working than a steam engine, will sooner or later become as cheap as "Edward's bread"!

In the face of that more soul-touching contradiction, Princess Ailin's No. 6 bill cannot solve any problems, it is just scratching the itch.

Facing Mr. Andi's worry, Luo Yan thought for a while, then put down the teacup in his hand and said gently.

"This is indeed a serious problem. But I am thinking if there is a possibility… that you take gold coins too seriously."

Andi was stunned.

"What… does this mean?"

Luo Yan opened the conversation and said slowly.

"Gold coins are a tool for pricing everything in the world for the Empire, but for you, they are just a medium of exchange. The United Kingdom of Gutav does not have this problem. I think it must be because the lizardmen there do not use the Empire's gold coins, but use their own currency. They can decide how much currency to issue based on how much they produced this year."

Andi's expression moved slightly.

He is a very smart person, and in an instant, he tasted the meaning that ordinary people couldn't read from the latter sentence—

If you compare the life of a Campbell person to a product on the shelf, then the label given by the Shengcheng is a bit too cheap!

Perhaps they were indeed worth this price a thousand years ago, but it is clear that since the Isaac Dynasty, Campbell people have been producing many things that Imperial people have never seen!

Admittedly, using the Empire's currency has brought them many benefits, such as being able to access the Empire's trade center without obstruction and enjoying the convenience of zero tariffs.

But at the same time, their efforts will also be enjoyed by the Empire.

Just like a cow that has practiced a body of tendon meat with all its strength, no matter how long it stretches its neck, it cannot reach the seat of the farm owner, at most it reaches the table.

It's just that he didn't expect that the person who woke him up was actually a Prince of the Empire.

Of course, he is not completely awake, at least limited by the limitations of the times, he did not realize that that series of complex theories can actually be summarized in one word.

That is "sovereignty."

People without sovereignty are colonized, and land without sovereignty is a colony, even if the kingdoms of the Old World do not consider themselves colonies.

These vassal states did not realize that they were not "higher" than the colonies of the New World. The young guys of the Temple Knights couldn't mix in the colonies and could go home. They were still Imperial people after all, and the Shengcheng didn't say they couldn't go back. But like Laine people, Luo De people… no matter how pious they are, the Tribunal didn't treat them as humans when cleaning them up.

In fact, if hell wants to corrode the foundation of the Empire, it can start from this angle. This is the life gate of the Empire.

It's just that hell actually didn't figure out this thing either.

After all, except for having a seemingly advanced "council," the level of civilization in hell is not as good as that of surface humans, otherwise the human transcendents would not be pressing the demon transcendents to hammer.

Not to mention that the demons are too degenerate, even succubi play pure love, and the ambitious one is a human Demon King.

Andi swallowed his saliva and asked in a tentative voice.

"What do you mean?"

A smile appeared on Luo Yan's face, and in the name of Prince Kelin, he descended an "oracle" to this ambitious businessman.

"My idea is that you certainly cannot violate the laws of the Empire to mint gold coins on a large scale, but you might as well adopt a compromise method, such as creating a new medium of circulation to replace the old pricing tool."

"For example—"

"Led by your Andi Bank, unite all banks and large gold shops on Queen Street, with your joint credit and reserves as a guarantee."

"Issue a paper currency called 'Silver Pound'."

Or say—

"Sovereign" currency.

(End of chapter)