Chapter 116 – Inflation and Claims for Compensation
Jean Jolly was a merchant from the Gangtu Empire who conducted maritime trade between the Lesalei Kingdom and the Gangtu Empire year-round. Not long ago, while staying in the city of Pinrus in the Lesalei Kingdom, Jean Jolly heard from a colleague that the neighboring Lanwan Viscountcy had all sorts of fun gambling projects, so he came over for a two-day visit. It was then that he happened to encounter the Lanwan Viscountcy's "award ceremony" and saw the ten bottles of "Sea Serpent."
Perhaps many merchants knowledgeable about fine wines could realize the immense commercial value of the remaining two bottles of "Sea Serpent," but it was difficult for any of them to be more tempted by these two bottles than Jean Jolly, because he came from the Gangtu Empire.
The current emperor of the Gangtu Empire, Jefferson Shane, was a tyrant who loved luxury and vanity. Under his rule, one could trade money, treasures, and beauties for official positions, and even noble status. A livestock inspector for three thousand Tala, a pottery supervisor for twenty thousand Tala, a tax collector for one hundred thousand Tala, and so on, were all clearly priced with no deception for young or old. If you had enough money, you could even buy the position of captain of the palace guard—Tala was the currency of the Gangtu Empire, with an exchange rate close to one-to-one with the Fuso.
If he could present these two bottles of wine to His Majesty the Emperor, Jean Jolly felt he would surely receive the emperor's favor and rise to prominence.
However, even after offering the high price of seven hundred thousand Fuso, the Viscount of Lanwan shook her head and refused. Disheartened, Jean Jolly left the Lanwan Viscountcy.
"Phew..." Seeing Charlotte decisively reject the strange merchant, Cecilia let out a long sigh of relief. "It's a good thing you refused him. That merchant didn't look like someone who could produce seven hundred thousand Fuso." It turned out Cecilia suspected the other party was a fraud.
"Mm," Charlotte nodded. "I also don't think he looks like he can produce seven hundred thousand Fuso."
In fact, Charlotte had other reasons for refusing the deal, such as feeling that seven hundred thousand was still not high enough. Jean Jolly's appearance proved that there were indeed buyers for this wine, and the real big buyers wouldn't appear in a small place like the Lanwan Viscountcy. At least, the casinos in Elm Tree Town didn't have that much appeal yet. Charlotte's public display of the wine at the award ceremony was just to spread the news, not to sell it on the spot.
After the awarding of merits ended, Herman Green was about to lead the army back to the barracks when Charlotte hurriedly stopped him.
"Sir Herman!"
Herman Green approached Charlotte with a puzzled look and bowed respectfully. "Your Excellency, do you have any other instructions?"
"Give the knights and squires a five-day leave," Charlotte said.
"Another leave?" Herman blurted out. Realizing his impoliteness, he quickly bowed to apologize.
Charlotte waved her hand to show she didn't mind and explained with a smile, "The knights and squires have received money and honor. We must give them some time to share it with their families and friends. Otherwise, they probably won't have the heart to stay and train properly in the barracks."
After hearing this, Herman nodded thoughtfully, feeling that what Charlotte said was reasonable.
"Also, I have another task for you," Charlotte said, having Cecilia take out a letter. "This is a victory report I have written. Please deliver it to my father, the Duke of Green Plains, as soon as possible. Also..." Charlotte reached for a bottle of "Sea Serpent" and handed it to Herman as well. "Take this bottle of wine to my father, too. Tell him it's a gift from me."
"Yes!" Herman accepted the task without hesitation, showing no dissatisfaction at having to work overtime while others were on leave.
After arranging these matters, Charlotte boarded her carriage and returned to her castle.
On the way, Cecilia couldn't help but say, "The patrol team found several knights gambling in the casinos while on patrol in Elm Tree Town yesterday. As soon as you give them leave, these knights can't restrain themselves."
Charlotte said, unsurprised, "Mm, I know. Otherwise, why would I give these knights and squires leave?"
"Eh?" Cecilia was puzzled.
"This time, I distributed over six hundred thousand Fuso at once. This amount of money is too large for a small place like the Lanwan Viscountcy," Charlotte patiently explained to Cecilia. "When too much currency appears in a local market, it will cause prices in that place to skyrocket. This is called inflation. It will make life difficult for the local people who haven't had time to earn more income. To mitigate this negative impact, I need to recover a portion of these six hundred thousand-plus Fuso in the shortest possible time."
"So you deliberately gave the knights and squires leave to give them time to go to the casinos to gamble?" Cecilia quickly understood Charlotte's line of thinking. All the casinos in Elm Tree Town were the Viscount of Lanwan's properties, so the money earned by the casinos would naturally flow back into Charlotte's treasury.
"Yes," Charlotte nodded. "I also sent Sir Herman away. This way, those knights and squires should feel more at ease going to the casinos."
"But you clearly stipulated that knights are not allowed to go to casinos," Cecilia said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Rules are rules," Charlotte said nonchalantly. "When enforcing them, there's no need to be so rigid. We can be lenient and strict as needed. When they're on leave, just let them visit the casinos. In an era with such a lack of entertainment, you have to give the warriors some opportunities to relax."
"What if the knights and squires cause trouble in the casinos again?" Cecilia asked. "Should the patrol team just arrest them directly?"
"Mm," Charlotte nodded. "After they are arrested, they can be charged with illegally entering a casino, and all the prize money they received can be confiscated as a fine!"
"In short, you are determined to take back the money you just gave out." Cecilia commented, seriously committing Charlotte's words to memory, especially Charlotte's explanation of the relationship between currency and prices. This was something Cecilia had never heard or thought of before.
After thinking for a while, Cecilia applied the lesson and asked, "There are many gold and silver items and jewelry captured from Ambratu and Dorukocha in the warehouse. They are all valuable things that ordinary people can't afford. Although these should all be considered your property, it seems you don't want to use them. Could we sell them at the market in Elm Tree Town? This might also help recover some of the prize money from the knights and squires."
"Of course, that's a good idea." Charlotte readily agreed. This was what Charlotte appreciated most about Cecilia. She had a quick and open mind, was good at accepting and applying new knowledge, and was one of the very few girls in this world who could keep up with Charlotte's thinking.
Upon arriving at the castle, just as Charlotte got out of the carriage, the little maid Linda ran out hurriedly to greet her.
"Miss..." Linda's big eyes were filled with tears.
"Why are you crying?" Charlotte pinched the little maid's cheek and asked with a smile. "Linda, who bullied you?"
"They all said Miss went to war, and people die in war. I was so scared. But I didn't know what to do. I cleaned Miss's room every day, waiting for Miss to come back, but Miss didn't come home for so long..." As Linda spoke, large teardrops rolled down her face.
Charlotte smiled and hugged the little maid's waist, comforting her, "Don't cry, am I not back now? In the future, there will probably be more wars in the territory. If you're so timid, how can you be my handmaiden?"
Hearing this, Linda tried hard to be strong and hold back her tears.
At the side, Cecilia secretly rolled her eyes. Who was it that, after a triumphant return, didn't go back to her own castle but stayed at her house for three days?
"Mr. Jonathan Hackman is waiting for you in the reception room." Nina reported to Charlotte. After Cecilia moved out of the castle, Charlotte had handed over the management of miscellaneous affairs in the castle to Nina, the older of the two slave girls. Nina could read a little, had a gentle but not weak personality, and was sufficient to manage the trivial matters in this small castle. Cecilia went home at night but usually came to the castle to work during the day. Charlotte's castle was not only her own residence but also the administrative center of the Lanwan Viscountcy.
"Please show Mr. Hackman to my study." Charlotte let go of Linda, patted the little maid's head, and said, "Go prepare some tea and snacks for me."
"Yes," Linda said, wiping away her tears.
Soon, Charlotte met the current governor of Ambratu County, Jonathan Hackman, in her study. As soon as they met, Jonathan Hackman respectfully bowed to Charlotte, "Congratulations, Your Excellency the Viscount, on the great victory at Dorukocha."
"You already congratulated me three days ago in Ambratu," Charlotte said with a smile, making a gesture for him to sit. "Today, let's talk about the results of your work."
"Yes." Jonathan Hackman took out a stack of official documents and handed them to Charlotte. Charlotte took the documents and briefly flipped through them. They recorded criminals who had been executed for various crimes or sentenced to decades of hard labor.
"In the past three months, Ambratu County has sentenced a total of one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four people to death and two thousand five hundred and fifty-two people to hard labor for over thirty years. Without exception, these people were all former citizens of Ambratu," Jonathan Hackman explained to Charlotte.
Charlotte was not surprised by the numbers. Instead, she asked, "Is that enough?"
Jonathan Hackman nodded and said, "The most influential Ambratu citizens who were keen on participating in politics have all been executed. The remaining Ambratu citizens, even if they return to Ambratu, will be like a pan of loose sand."
"That's good." Charlotte put down the documents with satisfaction, picked up a pastry Linda had brought, and took a bite. It was soft and sweet. It seemed the little maid's dessert-making skills had improved again.
"The three-month labor period is about to end. I have no reason to detain those Ambratu citizens any longer," Charlotte continued. "Although you have confiscated most of their manors, mines, and fields, most of these people will still return to Ambratu. For the sake of order in Ambratu County and for your own safety, I don't think you are suitable to continue serving as the governor of Ambratu County."
Jonathan Hackman had long anticipated Charlotte's words. He bowed and said, "I will respectfully abide by your decision." Charlotte had placed Jonathan Hackman in the position of governor of Ambratu County to use him as a butcher's knife. Once Jonathan had killed all the people who needed to be killed, he was to make way for the next governor. Jonathan was well aware of this, and he did not regret it, because killing those main culprits was what he had wanted to do.
"I hope someone organizes a petition, writes a petition signed by at least ten thousand people, begging me to retract my promise of 'Ambratu governed by the people of Ambratu' and to replace you," Charlotte said bluntly.
"Yes, I will deliver the petition to you within these two days," Jonathan replied.
"Do you have any recommendations for the next governor?" Charlotte asked.
Jonathan thought for a moment and said, "John Rice is a pretty good choice."
"John Rice?" The name sounded familiar to Charlotte, but she couldn't remember who it was at the moment.
"John Rice was originally an elder of the democratic faction in the Ambratu city-state. Due to health reasons, he did not follow Antanas on the expedition against Little Sassinian. But later, after Sir Harvey Sherwin died, he represented Ambratu in negotiations with you. He should be digging canals at Fairy Lake now," Jonathan said.
"Oh..." Charlotte nodded, though she still didn't really remember the person. "I didn't expect you to recommend a former Ambratu elder."
"John Rice is different from other Ambratu elders. This person has almost never achieved any decent political accomplishments in the Senate, nor is he particularly keen on participating in political affairs," Jonathan explained. "But he has been incorruptible his whole life and has a fairly good reputation among the city's citizens and freemen. If you arrange for him to take over my position as governor, it should greatly appease the dissatisfaction among the people of Ambratu that I have caused."
"Alright, I'll consider it." Charlotte jotted down the name and then said, "After you step down as the governor of Ambratu County, you will represent me and visit each of the six city-states on the North Sokea front."
"Visit the North Sokea city-states? Is there a mission?" Jonathan asked.
"A mission? Of course, it's to claim compensation from these city-states," Charlotte said righteously. "Dorukocha, Badan, Carmela, Little Sassinian, Sudaman, Kaoluo—these city-states colluded with each other, bullied others with their power, and brazenly launched a war, causing irreparable and huge losses to my Lanwan Viscountcy. Isn't it only natural that they should make some compensation for this? If they really don't want to compensate, then I'll just have to let my Griffin Knights go to Badan and reason with them again."
Hearing this, Jonathan Hackman's mouth was slightly agape, at a loss for what to say.