Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 144



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 144

26-Noble

When Holden heard the plan, he nodded as if he was possessed, and Arthur continued.

“Automaton Music Box. It won’t sell well, but it will give you a chance to build up your reputation with the Tsuuraz Craft Guild.”

“okay!”

When the Tsuraz Craft Guild introduced machine tools, it would not have been a bad idea to shut up those who were criticizing them for being too skillful and making too few profits.

Of course, this requires that the skills of the craftsmen belonging to the guild be equally outstanding.

Arthur presented an object to the queen, combining a waltz-playing automaton doll and a cylinder music box, as seen at court balls.

“This is… … an automaton.”

“It’s an automaton combined with a music box.”

Arthur wound the mainspring and started the automaton. The doll standing on the box began to dance gracefully along with the sound of music.

The queen opened her eyes wide in admiration. It was not simply because of the combination of the music box and the automaton, but because of the perfection of the combination.

The automaton doll was beautifully carved from wood and painted, and it was so delicate that it almost seemed like a small person. And that wasn’t all? The automaton’s movements were smooth, and its gentle dance moves were in perfect sync with the beat of the music.

“The clothes are very Lydis-like.”

“This is something I asked for from Madame Zeltney.”

Arthur answered. Honestly, he could buy fabric and sew the doll clothes, but why bother doing it himself when there are experts around?

Arthur borrowed Madame Zeltney’s skills in exchange for not receiving a single piece of jewelry. She said she would do it for free, but the closer you are to someone, the more you have to keep your promises.

Anyway, the queen nodded and accepted Arthur’s gift with a satisfied attitude, and perhaps because of that, her tone in the main text that followed was very gentle.

“His Majesty the King is concerned.”

“What are your concerns?”

“Noblesse Bank and Haibon Bank.”

“Uh… … The necessity of a bank established with aristocratic capital has already been reported.”

The logic in the report was as follows. The flow of the argument was to persuade the king that by having the nobles convert their assets into scalons, they could monitor the flow of cash and detect their impure intentions in advance. The logic was that political movements are in line with the flow of capital, so the behavior of impure elements can be detected in advance.

To this the queen replied:

“But His Majesty the King doubted whether it was really possible to control those two banks.”

“How much control do you want to have?”

“… …so that His Majesty the King can induce you to invest in the direction you want.”

Wow… … You’re so greedy.

Arthur knew that there were steps needed to be taken before he could be honest with those in power.

“I have some advice on words and some advice on cold reality. Which would you like to hear, Your Majesty the Queen?”

“I want to hear both.”

The queen looked at Arthur, wondering what he would say. Fortunately, the atmosphere was not bad, and Arthur thought it was fortunate that he had brought a gift today.

“First of all, we will do our best to ensure that His Majesty the King’s wishes come true.”

“What next?”

The queen, realizing that Arthur’s words were just lip service, demanded the following, to which Arthur replied,

“A cornered rat will bite. It is better to relax before you are cornered.”

“So His Majesty the King is impatient?”

“I’m afraid, but that’s right. You have to grind the wheat, knead it, and then put it in the oven to make bread. If you act hastily now, your prey will run away.”

“Prey… … That’s an interesting expression.”

“I apologize if I offended you.”

“No. Keep going.”

At the queen’s words, Arthur softened his expression a little.

“I’m saying this just in case you misunderstand, but by prey I do not mean the nobles themselves, but their rebellion. Wouldn’t it be a true success of the hunt if they were to obey His Majesty’s rule as before?”

“That’s a great expression.”

The queen nodded. The king would truly like to see the nobles bow their heads to absolute monarchy again, rather than purge them.

“The leash isn’t quite on yet.”

“The leash is loose?”

When the queen tilted her head, Arthur gave her a hint.

“Aren’t the nobles of Tsuraz loyal to the king? But if you look at Tsuraz’s past, isn’t that strange?”

“ah!”

The queen let out an exclamation of admiration.

The nobles of Tsuraz had experienced hard times when they were hit by the hammer of absolute monarchy. Why did those who had their lands reclaimed semi-forcibly during the reign of the previous king who established absolute monarchy now become pro-royalists rather than anti-royalists?

This is because the king, who strengthened his royal authority by fostering commerce and industry, ultimately tied it to his own interests.

“Banks are the key to the promotion of commerce and industry. This means that the nobles who have already invested in banks have created a common interest with His Majesty the King.”

“… … That’s great. But why wasn’t that story in the report?”

“Isn’t this a very sinister scheme? If it gets out, it will only make people more wary.”

It would have been more reassuring to them if the King had ostensibly stated that the purpose of establishing the bank was to formalize and monitor the nobles’ hidden funds.

Because the king’s attitude toward the resistance of the nobles has been consistent up to now. Even animals are sensitive to inconsistent changes in attitude, so how much more so must people be?

“Is that what you think too?”

“When many minds come together, various interpretations and thoughts emerge.”

Arthur expressed himself ambiguously. He didn’t want to draw more attention by saying honestly what he thought, but he also didn’t want to lie so blatantly and then have the truth come out, which would be difficult to deal with.

The queen did not bother to ask Arthur whether he was the mastermind behind the scheme, because that was not a very important question to her. She was more interested in the utility of the idea Arthur had suggested.

“So when will the aristocracy be put on a leash?”

“It will be when they become bodies that cannot survive without Scalon. It won’t be long.”

Arthur spoke cautiously.

It wasn’t a lie. The penetration power of capitalism is so great that once you taste money, you won’t want to leave the money market. And by then, you will realize that your assets that depend on scalons will be greatly affected by the scalon issuance rights.

The queen nodded in agreement to Arthur’s words, but then suddenly her eyes narrowed.

“Is it really right for Mato Trading Company to have the right to issue currency?”

The queen’s question, which had been vaguely conceived through her conversation with Arthur, was mixed with doubt. The nobles could not survive without scalons? Then, the authority to issue scalons must be something serious.

Arthur carefully chose his words as he opened his mouth to answer the queen’s doubts.

“Yes, it is the right thing to do, both strategically and practically.”

“How?”

“first of all…….”

Arthur explained the situation when the right to issue currency was returned to the king’s hands. Indeed, if that happened, the nobles’ demands and interference in the issuance of scalons would inevitably become extreme.

It’s not like they’re being held by the king by the neck, it’s like they’re having a sword pointed at their own throat.

And such a feeling could provoke their greater resistance. So, to some extent, they had to be given a breather, and that was done by handing over the power to issue currency to the private sector.

This had another advantage: the credit of scalonization, that is, the responsibility for prices, was shifted away from the king.

If something happens, all you have to do is hold the person responsible accountable. In addition, Mato Trading Company, which had been in the business world for a long time, was much more specialized in controlling the circulation of Scalon than the king, and thus was able to more stably preserve the value of Scalon.

“okay.”

Fortunately, the queen nodded and accepted Arthur’s logic.

Did they actually protect the right to issue currency? One thing for sure is that they avoided having the right to issue currency revoked with just one word. If Arthur had not explained the legitimacy of the Queen’s suspicions about the right to issue currency held by the Mato Trading Company, they would have definitely demanded it be returned.

Anyway, I wasted more time like this. It was just wasting time, but there was no fundamental solution to this problem anyway.

Power was an object of struggle, so even the powerful power of issuing currency will continue to have challengers who want to take it away. In the end, the champion must continue to defeat challengers. Because challengers or competitors who covet the splendid trophy of power will continue to appear.

Samuel was relieved to hear from Arthur the story of meeting the queen.

“I guess I got over it for now.”

“It’s real from now on.”

“Since when has it been fake?”

Samuel frowned. I heard it before that things are going to get tough from now on. So when on earth will things stop getting tough? As someone who was on the front lines of the actual battlefield, he couldn’t believe Arthur’s words.

“Then let’s say it’s real from the next step.”

The board was woven.

In the battlefield of finance, all possible players have been brought in, including the royalists, the aristocrats, the bourgeoisie, and even the church. From now on, it is our role to watch their movements and respond to them.

“The important thing is the economy. We must be very careful not to let the monetary economy collapse.”

Arthur asked Jaran. Jaran was called in as a witness at the People’s Assembly. The reason for calling him was to get advice from the central bank governor on bank interest rates, right?

A member of parliament asked a question to a person who had been summoned to the assembly.

“Chairman of the Central Bank of Skarra, the interest rates of the four major banks are daily. What do you think about this?”

“I think it is a reasonable interest rate.”

“The Central Bank of Skarra is lending Scalons to the big banks at a mere five cents of interest. The big banks are paying twice that amount. Don’t you think that’s too high?”

“As a bank with the right to issue currency, the Central Bank of Skarra has a special status and role that is different from other banks. Therefore, it cannot judge whether the interest rates of commercial banks are appropriate. It does not have the right to do so.”

“Then why are you preventing other banks from being established?”

“I didn’t stop it.”

“People with the right mindset wanted to pool their assets to establish a bank, but they didn’t give us Scalon?”

“They simply did not have enough collateral. Issuing a Scalon with inadequate collateral risks undermining the credibility of the Scalon.”

The purpose of the People’s Assembly members’ call for a resignation was not only to limit bank interest rates. They wanted the central bank to put appropriate pressure on private banks.

Lowering the interest rates of banks. The calculation was that if this was done successfully through the People’s Assembly, the people would like it and support the People’s Assembly.

One lawmaker was explicit about his calculations for such gains.

“Couldn’t the central bank recommend that the big banks lower their interest rates to help citizens suffering from high interest rates?”

To this, Jaran answered calmly.

“It is not only an abuse of power for the central bank to tell private banks what to do, but it is also difficult to see lowering interest rates as being in the best interest of the citizens.”

“What does that mean?”