Iron Powder and Spellcaster

The trading of head tickets is the most prosperous speculative business in Gevaudan at the moment.

The official name of the head coupon is [Tiefeng County Military Merit Land Replacement Certificate in 559 Imperial Calendar]. This name is so difficult to pronounce, no matter who hears it for the first time, the reaction is: "Huh? What?"

Therefore, in most cases, people use its common name - head coupon.

There is no public exchange for capitation coupons, so there is no generally recognized real-time price.

But whether it is a physical head or a paper certificate, except for the fluctuation in price during the initial period of circulation, the price has generally increased in the remaining days until today.

After the results of the "Blood and Mud War" were reported back to Gévaudan, the fortunes of those speculators who immediately made the most of their fortunes and acquired the leader's assets quadrupled or even tripled.

Businessmen who react more slowly and have a more conservative personality will not lose money even if they don't bet much.

In a business that can only make big profits or small profits, and with commodities that are always rising in price, even the most calm and restrained person will have greed deep in his heart.

For a time, head coupons occupied the living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens of the Gevaudans.

In front of the fire, at the dining table, and on the bed, everyone from wealthy merchants and gentry to traders and servants was talking about head coupons.

Talk about why the price of head coupons will increase, talk about how long the price of head coupons will increase, and talk about whether to buy some heads of coupons.

…

Old Preskin's study.

"Tell the truth." Old Priskin knocked on his pipe and asked slowly: "How many heads of tickets have you collected?"

"Not much," hummed little Priskin.

"How many?"

Seeing that he couldn't escape, little Priskin said a number.

A big, big number.

Little Priskin shrank his neck, preparing for Grandpa's thunderous wrath.

Unexpectedly, Old Priskin just filled his pipe and said flatly: "It's your ability to get this amount with that little money."

After saying that, Old Priskin motioned his grandson to sit down: "Go ahead and explain it to me from beginning to end."...

A father may be strict with his son, but there is nothing he can do to his grandson.

Probably because there is often invisible competition between father and son, and after a generation there is only "love".

When the younger Priskin was caught plotting a rebellion, the elder Priskin was so angry that he wanted to break his legs.

After a while, the old man's anger subsided, and little Priskin became his grandfather's precious grandson again, but he was not allowed to participate in the family business anymore.

Pricekin did not spend much money on "prime speculation," but it was one of the first sellers to acquire the principal.

As early as when the good news came back to Gevaudan, the old Priskin called his grandson into the study, gave the latter a small bag of gold coins, and asked him to buy a few heads.

Little Priskin counted the money and looked confused: "Grandpa, is this all?"

"This is not a business." Old Priskin reminded his grandson: "Just expressing your attitude is enough."

"Oh." Little Priskin said reluctantly.

The reason why he didn't make a big bet was not because the old man didn't see the business opportunities, but because the Priskin family was one of the richest businessmen in Gevaudan and they couldn't afford to take risks.

The old man knew it in his mind: As long as the Blood Wolf fulfills its promise, the price of Hart's head will definitely rise to the sky; but if he wants to make money, he must lower the purchase price.

And "purchasing the first level at a low price" is a naked attempt to exploit those soldiers with military merit, which is tantamount to poaching the blood wolf's foundation.

If it were someone else standing in front of the table, the old man wouldn't say a word. But the biological grandson, the son of the deceased eldest son, has to teach.

"You have also been on the city wall. How dangerous is the battle? You don't know. The arrows of the Hud barbarians can kill people in one go." Recalling the experience of defending the city, Old Priskin was also a little moved:

"A soldier has to risk his life to get a head, but you spend a few small coins to buy it easily. Is this fair? It's a small fight, and your tribune may still be able to grit his teeth. Bear with it. If you go too far, the blood wolf will overturn the table! Never forget, he is holding a knife in his hand."

Little Priskin said "Oh" and looked quite depressed.

There were only two people in the study, grandfather and grandson. Old Priskin asked: "Do you know why I don't let you do business again?"

Little Priskin's voice was so quiet that it was almost inaudible: "Because I got into big trouble."

Old Priskin asked again: "Do you think I'm punishing you?"

Little Priskin lowered his head and said nothing.

"Your father passed away early. I am the person who loves you the most in the world. Why would I punish you in this way? Not allowing you to do business, letting you idle around, and eventually becoming a pig in captivity?" Old Priskin looked at Sun. Son, the more he looks at him, the more he looks like his deceased eldest son: "Don't you understand? I won't let you do business anymore because I have a more suitable arrangement for you."

Little Priskin raised his head in confusion.

"Your uncle is timid and cautious by nature. If you leave Priskin's firm to him, it will not be defeated." Old Priskin sighed: "Don't you like to take risks? Like to gamble on luck? After thinking about it, I still think it's something else. This business is more suitable for you."

"Wha... what kind of business?" Although little Priskin was reckless, he was not stupid. He quickly reacted: "Grandpa, are you asking me to go..."

Thinking of the sentence "Don't cry, laugh" burned into his mind, little Priskin shuddered subconsciously and refused with all his body language: "No, no, no, no... I won't go, just let me Become a pig in captivity, I am willing to be a pig in captivity...or let me be an apprentice to my uncle, anything will do..."

"You are right." Even if his grandson wanted to become a pig in captivity, old Priskin could not allow it: "I just want you to go to the tribune of Montagne."

…

After receiving the errand from his grandfather, little Priskin began to wonder where and how to buy the head.

At that time, the siege of Gévaudan had just ended, and the head of the Herd barbarian was chopped off by the militiamen who defended the city of Gévaudan.

Some militiamen had brought their families with them and could not wait to exchange for land, so they wanted to sell their heads for emergency purposes;

There are also militias where many people share the same title. They don’t know how to distribute the land in the future, so they simply exchange it for money.

There are many militiamen willing to sell their heads, but few are willing to buy them. There are two reasons:

First, no one knows whether Blood Wolf will keep its promise.

After all, it is the traditional culture of gentlemen to "appoint an official and make a wish before achieving the goal, and turn your back and deny the person after the goal is achieved."

If the blood wolf turns his back and refuses to recognize anyone, then the head will just be a smelly, twisted human head, not worth a single copper.

Secondly, even if the Blood Wolf fulfills its contract and fulfills its first-level merit, when the new land reclamation army quells the rebellion, the land distributed will definitely be taken away, and it will still be in vain in the end.

Therefore, even if they smell business opportunities, most people still choose to wait and see. He was ready to make a move, but he didn't dare to act rashly.

However, for young Priskin, these two problems are not problems at all.

Little Priskin has met the blood wolf, and although they don't get along well with each other, he is sure that the blood wolf will never break his oath easily.

In addition, little Priskin walked beside his grandfather and came into contact with a lot of "insider information."

For example: the decisive factor in the Battle of Blood and Mud was a hussar charge - but there were no hussars in Tiefeng County;

Another example: Mrs. Ronald, who still lives in the garrison residence, dismissed her cook and servants;

Another example: Grandpa is counting the number of goods backlogged by various merchants. It seems that he wants to negotiate a big deal at once.

Various signs gave little Priskin a bold idea: Is it possible... is it possible that the New Reclamation Army intends to recruit the Blood Wolf rebels?

If so, then the issue [of land legality] is no longer an issue.

Little Priskin is also convinced that Blood Wolf will definitely add the requirement of "legalizing land granting" in the negotiation conditions.

That guy is that kind of person, cruel and violent but he will never just wipe his ass and leave - little Priskin has this strong feeling.

The God-given opportunity was right in front of him. Little Priskin could not suppress his inner excitement and suddenly had endless energy.

…

Gevaudan, goldsmith's workshop in Ire.

"Two to eighteen." Little Priskin grabbed Iler's arm and wouldn't let go.

"No, no, no, no." Yiler shook his head like a rattle: "It's impossible."

"Two for seventeen!" Priskin Jr. raised his voice.

Iler was helpless: "Master Priskin, you'd better go to another workshop and ask."

Little Priskin let go of his hand and slammed the table: "Then two to sixteen!"

"Now it's two to fifteen on the market." Yiler's expression was extremely uncomfortable.

"But I want to redeem more!"

"That won't work either. I'll lose one for two. I can't do this business."

"The price of gold coins will definitely continue to rise, while silver coins are depreciating every moment. There will be no way to exchange them for you by then."

Goldsmith Yiler sighed: "Then we have to check the quality of the gold coins first."

"Don't worry! Can I still lie to you?" Little Priskin happily took out the money bag he got from his grandfather: "They are all the best Dukat."

"Master Priskin, it's because you said you wanted to redeem a lot at once that I reluctantly agreed to exchange two for sixteen." Yiler's face immediately dropped, and he weighed his money bag: "This can't be called 'a lot' .”

"There's more!" Little Priskin quickly took out a wooden box from his backpack.

When I opened the wooden box, I found gold and silver necklaces, earrings, buttons, knives and forks...

Yiler's face turned ugly: "Master Priskin, are you going to abscond?"

"Of course not." Seeing that goldsmith Yiler's face was so dark that he was about to drip with ink, little Priskin quickly calmed down the atmosphere: "Just give these gold and silverwares at a rate of 2 to 15."

"Two to fifteen?" A few dull hums came from the depths of Yiler's nose: "It takes fire to melt the utensils into coins."

"Then treat me as a pledge to you, and I will redeem it after a while." Little Priskin picked up his backpack and asked tentatively: "By the way, do you want to buy a sword? The best steel mouth, the relief is Weisinbei The craftsmanship of a top-notch master craftsman...or do you know anyone who wants to buy a sword?"

…

Gevaudan, the house of Megan the potter.

A young man about the same age as little Priskin walked into the living room holding a clay pot: "What on earth are you doing? Are you in such a hurry to borrow money?"

"Don't worry about it." Little Priskin was already impatient with waiting: "I promise to pay you back."

The pottery pot was brought outside. Little Megan, the potter's son and little Priskin's playmate since childhood, raised the gavel and stood there stupidly for a while. Finally, she looked back with a sad face: "I can't do it. "

"I'll do it." Little Priskin took the mallet and swung it hard, breaking the belly of the clay pot.

Silver coins flowed out "clatter".

…

Gevaudan, the home of builder Tom.

"Aunt!" Little Priskin pushed open the door and said, "Can you lend me some money?"

…

Recently, there has been an "exchange difference" in the value of Gevaudan's gold and silver coins.

2 gold plates or 12 silver plates can buy a malt of flour, but it takes 15 silver coins to exchange for 2 gold coins.

This is because the haze of the war has not yet dissipated, and people are generally more willing to collect gold that is conducive to preservation and has a stable currency value.

Little Priskin tried his best and finally got six thousand silver plates - silver coins minted by the Republic of Plato.

With this start-up capital, little Priskin did not directly use the money to buy the head. Instead, he first purchased a batch of flour at a low price from the Gevaudan grain merchant in the name of Priskin Trading Company.

He played a trick and first hired a few homeless people to carry the heads of barbarians and sell them in the streets of the slums. The price was extremely low.

But no matter how low the price is set, slum residents cannot afford it, let alone dare to buy it.

After successfully lowering the value of the head in people's hearts, little Priskin began to trade flour for the head.

In the beginning, Priskin Jr. acquired the first level in Gevaudan.

But he soon discovered that because the Blood Wolf allocated military rations to supply civilians, the civilians of Jevaudan did not have a large demand for flour, unless they were families with many children.

The supplies that the common people of Gévaudan actually need most are non-staple foods, such as bacon and vegetables. Some are even willing to trade a head for a bottle of wine.

In contrast, those villages and towns that were more seriously damaged by the war have a greater need for food, and the distribution is extremely balanced.

In some villages, the grain cellars were so well stored that the Hurds gained nothing;

In some villages, all the grain stocks were looted, and farmers returned to their homes and had to flee again.

Little Priskin smelled an opportunity.

The civilians of Jevaudan are not short of food for the time being, but the army is very short of food. Because the military has to consider the future, not the immediate future.

On the one hand, Little Priskin exchanged grain for horse corpses, used the trading company's convoy to bring back horse corpses in batches from the battlefield, and then exchanged the heads from the Gevaudan militia.

On the other hand, he spared no effort to hire people to promote the "theory of the uselessness of heads" in Gevaudan and tried his best to lower the purchase price of heads.

Things were going well, but little Priskin soon discovered a problem: he had no money.

Buying food, sending carriages, hiring manpower, everything costs money.

The heads have been collected a bit, but the money bag has also bottomed out. Because Priskin Jr. tried his best to lower the first-level price, the purchase price became lower day by day, and there was no channel to withdraw funds.

Logically speaking, things should end here.

But at this moment, other speculators entered the market.

From "dare not to buy" to "have the courage to buy", there are many reasons that affect the mentality of Gévaudan businessmen.

For example: the garrison office issued several announcements reaffirming the validity of the "head-cutting order".

Another example: Priskin Commercial Bank's aggressive acquisition of capital deeply stimulated speculators who were ready to take action.

Heads became a hot commodity in Gevaudin for a while, and speculators with gold and silver poured into the slums and military camps, pestering the militiamen to exchange for the twisted, green heads of the dead.

Little Megan came to find little Priskin: "You borrowed money from me to buy a head?"

"right"

"Then how much have you bought now?"

Little Priskin said a number.

Little Megan almost dropped her jaw: "This...you...then didn't you make a lot of money this time?"

Little Priskin was a little listless: "Maybe."

"Then can you pay me back the money first?" Little Megan asked pitifully.

"What? Are you in a hurry for money?" Little Priskin knew that his friend was not a jealous person.

"The price of first-class heads has risen very high recently." Little Megan fiddled with her fingers: "I want to buy a few too."

Little Priskin suddenly had an idea and took a breath: "I'm afraid I can't pay back the money. My money has all turned into heads and I have no cash."

"Oh." Little Megan was a little disappointed.

"But I have an idea."

"What?"

Little Priskin patted his good friend on the shoulder and said, "How about I buy you a stake?"

…

Gevaudan, goldsmith's workshop in Ire.

"Mr. Iler!" Little Priskin pushed open the door: "Do you know what I did to change the money?"

…

Gevaudan, the home of builder Tom.

"Auntie!" Little Priskin ran into the house angrily: "Do you know what I borrowed the money for?"

…

Old Preskin's study.

Old Priskin had no criticism, no approval, and no surprise. He slowly smoked his pipe. He didn't ask the first question until he heard this: "Is this how you borrow the second capital?"

"I borrowed some, but not much." Little Priskin did not dare to show any pride.

"Go on."

…

As more businessmen began to participate in this speculative business, the price of the first class in Gevaudan increased.

It has become very difficult to exchange grain and non-staple food for heads as before, and the cost is also rising.

The idea of ​​Little Priskin's partners was to "sell the principal and then go to remote villages and towns to repurchase it. The principal outside Gevaudan should be very cheap, and they can make a profit on the price difference."

"It's okay to buy a head from a village or town, but it's not okay to sell a head." Little Priskin flatly refused: "The head is not a dead head, but a hundred acres of land. How much is a hundred acres of land worth? Now How much does a first-grade head cost? The price of a first-grade head will definitely rise even higher in the future, and it would be a huge loss to sell it now!"

"What should we do?" Little Megan spread her hands: "We only have so little money."

"Maybe... there is another way."

…

Gevaudan, goldsmith's workshop in Ire.

There are three precious metal craftsmen in Gevaudan, and the other two have been invited to the workshop by Iler at this moment.

Precious metal craftsmen often make a little investment because they have a lot of gold and silver deposited by customers.

"Wait, what do you want to do?" A square-faced goldsmith asked with a frown.

Little Priskin repeated calmly: "Please buy in."

"Buy shares?" Another long-faced silversmith glanced at Yiler: "Buy what kind of shares."

Little Priskin talked about his little business.

Of course, the goldsmiths and silversmiths also knew about the heads of the Huds.

But the square-faced goldsmith quickly shook his head: "In business, there are profits and losses. It's easy to talk about when we make money, but if we lose, we can't afford to lose everything."

After that, the square-faced goldsmith stood up and seemed to be leaving.

The long-faced silversmith nodded in agreement and got off the chair.

"I can't buy shares." Little Priskin asked loudly, "What about taking out a loan?"

"How much to borrow?"

"a lot of."

"What's the mortgage?"

"Head's head."

The goldsmith flatly refused: "No, who knows whether the heads of the Huds will be worth tomorrow?"

Little Priskin said an interest, a very high interest.

The square-faced goldsmith fell silent.

The long-faced silversmith asked: "If you can't pay back the principal, what's the use of setting the interest rate high?"

"Do you know who I am?" Little Priskin asked, "Will I not be able to pay you back?"

"Mr. Priskin." The square-faced goldsmith's attitude softened obviously: "What you are doing now...is your grandpa's intention, or are you making your own decisions?"

"Of course it's my grandpa's errand." Little Priskin simply explained, and then put forward a more attractive condition: "I can double the interest for you - but there is a requirement."

The long-faced silversmith did not refuse directly, but asked hesitantly: "What is the request?"

"I can pay you high interest, or I can use my family's property as a mortgage." Little Priskin proposed boldly: "But when you repay the loan, you must allow me to repay it with my head."

…

Old Preskin's study.

"They agreed?" Old Priskin asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No." Little Priskin replied sadly.

"Not too stupid."

Little Priskin swallowed hard: "But in the end they agreed to lend me a sum of money - with the head and Megan's house deed as collateral."

"oh?"

"Firstly, it's for your sake, and secondly... something happened the next day."

"What?"

"The county government issued an announcement saying that all heads should be exchanged for [head coupons]."

…

In the days that followed, little Priskin's actions became very simple.

On the one hand, he purchased grain from villages with surplus grain and transported it to those villages with famine to replace heads.

On the other hand, he simply used money to buy head coupons from the soldiers stranded in Shengke Town. The hussars were his big customers.

The hussars brought by Geza were guest troops. Even if they cut off more heads, they would not be able to settle directly in Tiefeng County.

Therefore, most of the hussars exchanged their head coupons for drinks. Of course, some hussars secretly hid a few head coupons.

During this period, Priskin Jr. sold part of his capital, but took out more mortgages.

Relying on the methods of "buying, mortgage, and re-buying" and "attracting shareholders", Little Priskin's speculation business was prosperous until Old Priskin, who heard the news, called him into the study for questioning.

…

Old Priskin put down his pipe, and little Priskin suddenly stood up.

"You have gotten into many troubles since you were a child, and I rarely blame you. Do you know why?" Old Priskin asked.

"Because you love me." Little Priskin whispered.

"Because your great-grandfather said something to me." Old Priskin slowly repeated his father's words: "Only those who can cause great trouble can accomplish great things."

Old Priskin paused for a moment and continued: "However, people who can do great things can also cause big troubles. There is often a dotted line between doing big things and making big troubles. Sooner or later, I will die. You have to learn to grasp the difference yourself.”

Little Priskin was silent for a long time, then whispered: "I know, grandpa."

"It's useless for you to know now." Old Priskin sighed longly: "You can go to the blood wolf yourself and ask for forgiveness."

…

Single officer's apartment, drawing room.

Three knocks on the door.

"Please come in."

Little Priskin opened the door uneasily and saw the blood wolf wearing an ugly knitted coat, half lying on a bench with a relaxed posture, and a fat, round-faced middle-aged man speaking in a language he couldn't understand. Chatting in dialect.

Seeing him walking into the room, Xue Lang sat up straight.

"Do you have a guest?" The fat middle-aged man said goodbye wisely: "Then I will avoid it first."

"No, you have to keep it. This is the person you want to see." Xue Lang also smiled and glanced at little Priskin: "He is the [strange pronunciation of Hailan dialect]."

Little Priskin saw the fat middle-aged man looking him up and down, and suddenly laughed: "It turns out it's our little mouse here!"

[I don’t know how to pigeon, I don’t know how to pigeon, I must update, I must update, coo coo].jpg

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