Chapter 536: And the King is stabbing a dagger into his own chest

The capital of the Lei En Kingdom, Luo Lan City, Lower City District.

In a coffee shop called Copper Pot, the air was as turbid as a pool of stagnant water.

The smoke from burning inferior tobacco swirled under the low ceiling, mixed with the smell of over-boiled coffee grounds, making people frown as they smelled it.

This should have been a place for citizens to relax, but the atmosphere at this moment was oppressively heavy.

Sitting around were a few citizens dressed reasonably decently.

And the reason Luo Ke judged them to be "decent people" was that there was a cup of over-boiled coffee on their table.

Luo Ke sat at a wobbly table in the corner, took out his pocket watch for the third time, and then looked up to survey the surroundings.

"Saint Xisi is above... can't these guys be a bit punctual?" He complained in his heart, but thinking that the other party's shed might not have a clock, he felt relieved.

"Boss, I really need a raise."

A voice came from the bar, deliberately lowered but unable to hide its anxiety.

Luo Ke tilted his head slightly, seeing the young waiter clutching that dirty rag, looking at the shopkeeper who was settling accounts with resentment on his face.

"Do you know how much a piece of black bread is already? A full twenty copper coins! Saint Xisi is above, I work hard for an hour, let alone buying a cup of coffee I brewed myself, I can't even buy a piece of bread!"

"Then get back to work!"

The bloated shopkeeper didn't look up, his fat fingers writing fast in the account book.

"If you think the money is too little, you can leave; there are plenty of homeless people outside fighting for this job. If you work hard enough and serve the guests well, they will naturally give you tips. Don't complain to me here, the purchase price of my coffee beans has also gone up!"

The waiter opened his mouth, finally suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, fiercely wiping the counter that had already been wiped white, as if that were the shopkeeper's greasy head.

Luo Ke withdrew his gaze, no longer looking over there. However, even if he intended to avoid looking, he couldn't stop the annoying voice from finding him.

"Our treasury is like a wine barrel with a hole in it..."

The whisper coming from the next table drilled into Luo Ke's ears.

Those were three men in old wool coats, looking like down-and-out minor civil servants or schoolteachers.

One of the men with a full beard lowered his voice, his face showing obvious dissatisfaction.

"Every drop of tax money falls in, and you can't even hear a sound, but three drops of debt will appear underneath."

"That can also be considered a miracle."

Another person pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his voice carrying mockery.

"After all, our great Baron Weiketon invented an oil press that can run forever; as long as our baron increases the production of their copper coins, our kingdom can run forever."

This sounded like self-deprecating humor.

However, the third guy's emotional intelligence was really too low, just like Miss Ma Rui with "natural empathy," and a cold sentence suddenly made the topic go cold.

"Then what is the fuel?"

The air was quiet for a while.

The three looked at each other in silence, then the person who spoke first shrugged his shoulders, saying in an uncertain tone.

"Maybe... us?"

Luo Ke, who was listening carefully, almost couldn't help laughing out loud; the Lei En people were being serious and funny again, although this joke was a bit hellish.

Fortunately, the three guys laughed themselves, not noticing the abnormality on the face of another gentleman beside them.

But even if they had noticed, they probably wouldn't have cared.

Just as he had judged, the entire Luo Lan City had turned into a powder keg locked by shackles, and the shackles were already burning hot.

Everyone was waiting for the fuse to burn to the end, inciting the sparks in the street corners and alleys.

At this moment, the waiter who had just been scolded walked over with a dark face, heavily placing a pot of refill coffee on the table, the spilled liquid dirtying the tabletop.

His actions were clearly carrying a bit of resentment from life, even if he himself didn't feel it.

If it were in the past, Luo Ke would probably tell a joke to make him laugh. For example, "Hey, buddy, how did the black coffee I ordered get on your face?"

But now, he didn't say anything, instead saying "thank you" in the softest voice, even though the waiter who turned and left didn't hear it at all.

Just then, the wooden door of the coffee shop with a bell hanging on it was pushed open, and a wind carrying the smell of lime powder blew in.

The stonemason Ba Er walked in, dusty and tired; he was wrapped in an ill-fitting coat, wearing a duckbill cap pressed very low on his head.

Looking at this man who clearly couldn't afford to consume, the shopkeeper behind the bar frowned, staring straight at him until he sat opposite a decent gentleman before withdrawing, continuing to calculate the accounts that could never be calculated clearly in the account book.

"You finally came..." Luo Ke glanced at the clothes on his body, saying in a low voice, "Next time we should still meet at the beer hall."

"Sorry, I've caused you trouble." Ba Er's face carried a cautious expression, saying in a small voice.

"It's fine."

Luo Ke shook his head, putting down the coffee cup in his hand.

Ever since those two reckless guys broke into his apartment last time, he had decisively changed the contact location to here for safety.

However, it seemed now that these people not only had no concept of time, but didn't even have a slightly decent piece of clothing.

Actually, at first they agreed on correspondence, but Luo Ke helplessly discovered that writing letters for people like Ba Er was simply harder than ascending to heaven.

They weren't completely illiterate; if they were completely illiterate, they wouldn't be able to understand the *Encyclopedia*.

However, language ability wasn't just writing; some people could explain ten things in one sentence, but this brother Ba Er couldn't explain one thing in ten sentences, and occasionally his right brain would be led by his left brain.

This wasn't the most fatal thing.

The more fatal thing was that they didn't realize at all that they were doing such a dangerous thing; in order to save that stamp, they couldn't help but deliver the letters personally every time.

Saint Xisi is above, if Miss Ma Rui saw him, he could still explain that they were renovation workers; if Sir Si Gaidejin, a guy from a commoner background, found out, that would really be the end!

Speaking of Sir Si Gaidejin, he was also an interesting guy.

Ever since he found out he was with Miss Ma Rui, he came to visit his house every few days, and always forgot valuable things at his house.

Sometimes he couldn't tell who was giving dividends to whom for the fire extinguisher business; couldn't everyone just split the money according to the contract?

If he had known earlier, he should have found a local to do this job of his!

Luo Ke didn't know that while he had inadvertently discovered the "scientific method," he had also inadvertently grasped the essence of a "multinational corporation."

However, stonemason Ba Er didn't care about these; he and his stonemason brothers cared more about how to save their homes.

"Things... did you bring them?"

Ba Er lowered his voice, his face full of wind and frost written with tension and expectation, his hands rubbing uneasily under the tablecloth.

The bookstore where they had bought the *Encyclopedia* before had already been sealed by the Royal Guard, including newspapers from Lei Ming City and other publications.

Before, they could occasionally see Lei Ming City newspapers, but now even the peddler selling salted fish didn't dare use that stuff to wrap things.

Luo Ke was his only channel; only this powerful Campbell merchant could bring the voice of "republic."

Unfortunately, Luo Ke didn't know what he was thinking, otherwise he would probably be between laughter and tears.

Powerful...

Fine, after all, Sir Si Gaidejin was the biggest big shot these stonemasons could see, so there was nothing wrong with that.

Luo Ke looked left and right, confirming no one was paying attention to this side, before unbuttoning his coat like a thief, taking out a few book volumes wrapped tightly in *Luo Lan City Times*.

Those were a few abridged versions of the *Encyclopedia*, the covers deliberately worn out, looking like ordinary account books.

"Take them."

He quickly stuffed the books into Ba Er's arms, complaining in a low voice.

"Don't look for this kind of trouble again... Saint Xisi is above, I have to say this stuff is of no use to you at all."

"How could it be useless, sir," Ba Er held the books tightly in his arms, arguing for their Professor Ferguson, "Only by understanding what feudalism is can we find the republic we look forward to!"

Ha...

Luo Ke took a sip of coffee, sizing up this guy who exuded the smell of plaster powder, making no evaluation.

He had no intention of looking down on them, but clearly they had only read the literal meaning of the *Encyclopedia*.

However, perhaps Ba Er was right, this wasn't completely useless. After all... as long as you hold a ruler and measure carefully, you can always measure that two legs are of different lengths.

He had tried it yesterday, and it really was so.

It was just that Luo Ke couldn't help but think of what happened in the Twilight Province, a group of guys who didn't know what holy light was, making up a child called the Son of God for Saint Xisi.

"You are right, Mr. Ba Er, I have to take back the second half of my sentence, please accept my apology." He put down the coffee cup, taking care of his emotions.

What if they won?

Although he didn't know who opened this casino, in short, Luo Ke's chips must appear in this casino...

Maybe it could save his little life.

"You don't have to apologize! It's us who have to thank you, Mr. Luo Ke! By the way, we recently found a priest who sympathizes with us and told us... wait, don't go yet! That priest is a good person, really! Also, you at least take the money!"

While holding Luo Ke who was about to get up and leave, Ba Er hurriedly reached into his pocket, soon touching a dirty silver coin.

That silver coin was stained with mud and sweat, the edges already worn so that the patterns couldn't be seen; it must be the famous "Lei En Iron Sheet."

"This is the book payment... I heard the *Encyclopedia* in Lei Ming City is worth one silver coin; I know you don't lack this money, but this is a little bit of our heart! We can't let you pay out of your own pocket to support our cause."

Ba Er pushed the silver coin into his palm without question, restraining the volume of his speech.

Luo Ke looked at that inferior-quality "silver coin," trying hard to restrain the fear in his heart, reluctantly sitting back down, while looking left and right.

Seeing no one paying attention to their side, he breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the silver coin back into Ba Er's hand with a straight face.

"Listen, Ba Er, I'm not doing this for money, and I don't need any return from you; this is for my... conscience."

The price of the *Encyclopedia* is one silver pound; one silver coin can't buy this stuff.

Now "Lei En Iron Sheet" and Silver Pound have no public exchange rate; even Lei En merchants are not very willing to collect those crudely made iron sheets. They would rather take the goods to a place further away, spend a little more time, and exchange them for money with higher silver content.

And...

The risk he bore for this was more than this.

Seeing Mr. Luo Ke not accepting his money, Ba Er was anxious, stubbornly wanting to push the money back.

"Sir, I know you are doing business, and you don't lack this little bit from us. But this represents a little bit of our heart; we can't take advantage of a friend!"

"Then you can just treat it as my heart, or treat it as... Mr. Luo Ke's investment. Enough, if it really doesn't work, just treat it as me lending it to you!"

Luo Ke blocked his hand again, this time using a bit of force. Although his strength couldn't compare to Ba Er's, he still showed his determination.

"But—"

"No more 'buts,' I don't want to be misunderstood that there's something between us, don't forget this is a public place!"

Ba Er was stunned, clearly not understanding the Campbell humor.

However, seeing this gentleman so determined, he could only sheepishly take back the silver coin, so as not to gather the surrounding gazes on the two of them in a while.

"Then... I'll thank you on behalf of the workers!"

He stood up, bowed to Luo Ke with a thousand thanks, then protected the books in his arms tightly, walking quickly out of the coffee shop and disappearing into the gray streets of the Lower City District.

Luo Ke looked at his retreating back, shaking his head helplessly, drinking the last drop of coffee in the cup, and leaving a few copper coins as a tip on the table.

"Truly crazy."

"... Truly crazy."

In the central city district of the same city, the office of the Minister of Economy, Baron Weiketon finished reading the newspaper in his hand, unable to help but curse in a low voice.

At this moment, what stood in his hand was the *Lei Ming City Daily*, and the headline was news from a few days ago—

【Andi Si Bank, together with several banks on Queen Street and the Campbell Royal Mint, jointly established the "Central Bank," issuing Copper Pounds as a stable auxiliary currency for Silver Pounds!】

Although the capable people around His Majesty the King had already realized the corrosion from the lower reaches of the Benliu River and sent troops to blockade all texts from the lower reaches of the Benliu River, for him who was also a "capable person," getting a few broken newspapers wasn't a very difficult thing.

It was precisely because of this that Baron Weiketon felt that bone-chilling coldness earlier than anyone else, flowing upstream along the Benliu River.

Although not a single word in the report mentioned that Grand Duke Edward intended to take back the minting rights in the hands of those minor nobles, as an expert in economics, Weiketon smelled that hair-raising taste from just the line "issuing Copper Pounds as auxiliary currency."

Andi Si Bank, which had previously issued Silver Pounds to hollow out silver coins, this time aimed its gun down an inch, aiming at the barons' copper coins!

They no longer allowed nobles to prostitute the blood and sweat of commoners!

Then what does everyone eat?!

Baron Weiketon felt unprecedentedly tricky.

Clearly, there was a real master around this Grand Duke Edward, who was directing the Campbell people to build a dam on the flood discharge area of the Lei En Kingdom.

Is it that Prince Kelin?

Or Sa Ke Jifeng from the Gu Taifu Kingdom?

Or... Yang Andi Si himself?

He felt he was in a fog, his past experience was no longer enough to solve this tricky problem, and everyone behind him was counting on him to move quickly.

Just then, the wooden door of the office was knocked.

He put down the newspaper in his hand, looked up and responded.

"Come in."

The door opened, and in came Sir Hanuoke, the Director of Finance.

He was holding a thick stack of documents in his arms, and that face that was always worried on weekdays had a bit of ruddiness today, although the puffiness under that ruddiness was still vaguely visible.

He had either drunk too much alcohol last night, or hadn't slept well.

"Baron, this is the spring financial report."

Hanuoke put the documents on the table, wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief, and reported in a hurry.

"Thanks to the progress you made in the Third Estate, the time for the exhaustion of His Majesty's treasury has been extended to June of next year. Although the problem hasn't been solved, at least a turning point has appeared... perhaps the situation will improve by then."

He tried his best to say these words in a relaxed tone, highlighting the Baron's credit, but still couldn't hide the trace of hidden worry between his brows.

Weiketon opened the report, carefully reading every punctuation mark on it.

The deficit on the account was shrinking at an astonishing speed, and those huge debts that had once made the kingdom gasp for air had miraculously evaporated by a third in just three months, especially the copper coin debt, which had miraculously shrunk by half!

And the reason wasn't complicated, because the copper coin debt was the citizens' debt, the IOU written by the royal housekeeper to the tavern owner; although it certainly had to be repaid, strictly speaking, it couldn't be counted as debt.

It was more like a tax collected by nobles from citizens through the "great hand of time."

This genius idea was thought of by Baron Weiketon, who was forced into a corner by the nobles, in a flash of inspiration.

If the King hadn't forced him, he wouldn't have known he was so capable.

As long as His Majesty's bottom line is adjusted down a little, and nobles are mobilized to increase the production of copper coins, copper coins will depreciate rapidly against silver coins, and one silver coin in the hands of nobles can be spent as two, while one gold coin in the hands of His Majesty can be spent as three or even four!

As for the silver coin debt, it can be resolved through transactions with nobles.

For example, the King lowered the standard of copper coins and allowed nobles to rob the citizens of Luo Lan City; nobles certainly wouldn't mind taking out some debt interest as an exchange.

For nobles and the King, this was clearly a win-win. As for who would pay for this banquet, the answer wasn't hard to guess.

Since ancient times, the audience has always paid for the performances on stage.

However, Baron Weiketon knew very well that doing so wasn't without a price; after the trial of the "Winter Fire," now it was time to test the Lei En people's tolerance for hunger.

Just as he expected, Sir Hanuoke, who was standing in front of the desk, twisted his hands uneasily, the excitement in his voice gradually receding.

Replaced by undisguised tension.

"Baron... although the most serious crisis has been resolved, I have to remind you that we may have buried more serious hidden dangers."

Weiketon clearly guessed what he was going to say, didn't look up, just flipped through the documents in his hand, straight to the point.

"How much is a piece of bread?"

"Twenty copper coins..."

"I'm asking about black bread, not the piece you ate this morning."

"I'm talking about black bread, and the cheapest one, sir. I'm worried my servant is fooling me, so I specifically went to the market to ask this morning. I can tell you very responsibly that a one-kilogram piece of black bread costs twenty copper coins! But maybe it won't be just this much tomorrow, because other breads are rising, and soon everyone except us will have to eat that stuff."

Weiketon's fingers flipping the pages paused, and even his heart twitched fiercely.

Twenty copper coins!

Even in a famine year, this price was enough to make people's hearts jump. You know, just three months ago, the most expensive this stuff was didn't exceed ten!

The farmland of the Lei En Kingdom didn't have a reduced output.

But a famine occurred.

The farmers didn't slack off, the merchants didn't hoard goods, the cargo ships on the Benliu River didn't decrease, but the citizens couldn't afford it...

Where exactly did the problem go wrong?!

Even if a copper coin doesn't have a bit of copper, it's at least metal, right?!

Baron Weiketon took off the glasses on the bridge of his nose, picked up the glasses cloth and wiped it again and again, trying to calm himself down to think. ===== CHAPTER 537 =====