Chapter 168 (1)

Chapter 168 (1)

The skyrocketing price of beer plummeted at the same time, and countless nobles and wealthy commoners who had speculated on beer fell into debt overnight.

In particular, a certain lord who had bought beer recklessly, like the Montefeltro lord, had most of his territory pledged to guilds and banks.

And that's not all.

The majority of investors who had speculated on beer, including such lords, became debtors in an instant, and the status of the Rothsmedici family, who had lent them money, rose another notch.

After the beer bubble.

The citizens of the empire began to rank the Rothsmedici family, who had amassed immense wealth, alongside or slightly higher than the empire's three great families.

Even as the status of the Rothsmedici family grew day by day, the Gold Vein War continued, and Rockefeller, who had enjoyed the beer bubble, began to paint the next picture.

'The finale of this fight will probably be the goblins taking back the national bonds they bought.'

At some point, the goblins who had taken the bonds would demand debt repayment from the empire.

And in doing so, they would cause problems in the background to prevent the empire from repaying the debt, and it was highly likely that the empire, facing the repayment deadline, would issue more bonds in haste and give them to the goblins.

'In the end, the empire will only be heavily indebted. Even if they win the war and own the gold mines, the wealth will inevitably return to the goblins.'

Thus, the goblin bank's goal was to continue issuing bonds to the empire and ultimately become the empire's largest creditor.

'I have a favorite saying. Everyone has a plausible plan. Until they get hit.'

'That tax will ultimately come back to us.'

This was the final picture Rockefeller had in mind.

Obtaining the bonds issued by the empire at a low price and using them as a basis to make the entire empire a slave to him and his family.

'In the end, if things go as I want, my family and I can live without worrying about money for the rest of our lives. We won't have to work because the debtor nation will feed us.'

The taxes paid by all citizens of the empire, whether nobles or commoners, would ultimately return to the Rothsmedici family and fatten them further.

And this was the most beautiful ending Rockefeller could hope for.

'So, shall we make the bonds issued by the unknowing empire worthless?'

Bonds issued by a country could not be repaid until the redemption date, not even the principal or interest.

So if someone needed cash urgently, they could sell the bond to someone else and raise money, which is why bond prices were not fixed and could fluctuate.

To give an extreme example, if country A, which issued bonds, suddenly collapses due to an invasion by country B, the bonds issued by country A will become almost worthless at the point of collapse, because they won't be able to repay the principal or interest even when the redemption date comes.

Rockefeller knew this well, so he knew exactly what position the empire needed to take for the bonds they issued to become worthless.

'First, we need to pretend to be on the verge of collapse.'

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