King

With Hudson's acquiescence, cart after cart of ordnance was sent to the dock for shipment.

Ever since the Kingdom's magicians started cleaning up the coastal reefs, the smuggling trade has gradually transitioned to the 2.0 era, from the original land smuggling to a parallel sea and land trade.

Compared with traditional land transportation, sea transportation is not only cheaper, but also significantly safer.

It is a common rule not to attack caravans, but with so many orc tribes, there are always a few who don't follow the rules.

As long as things are done cleanly, the smuggler's death will be in vain. No one will stand up for a group of dead people.

The price that needs to be paid is nothing more than a route that often encounters accidents. No caravans will pass through it in the future, which is equivalent to a desperate deal.

Without the caravan coming, it would be extremely difficult to purchase supplies. You would need to trade with other orc tribes, and the price would often be higher.

Usually those who do this kind of thing are small tribes who can't live a good life. In order to survive, they did everything they could and had no time to think about the future.

In contrast, large tribes with stronger risk resistance consider more comprehensive issues. For the long-term development of the tribe, robbing business travelers is usually prohibited.

The flexible orc tribes will even take the initiative to cooperate with caravans and open mutual markets on their own territory, attracting nearby small tribes to trade and extract commissions from them.

With the rise of smuggling trade, many smugglers also voluntarily clean up coastal reefs to facilitate transportation.

Affected by this, the coastal areas that were originally ignored by the orcs suddenly became a battleground for all races.

For their own safety, many smugglers no longer take convoys deep into the interior, but instead choose to transport supplies to coastal areas and trade directly with local tribes.

Some cautious teams even require trading at sea. The boat usually stops a few hundred meters along the coast, and after a deal is concluded, the boat is used to transport supplies to land.

In particular, some sensitive commodities have all been diverted to the sea route, and the trade volume of land transportation has shrunk sharply.

As the Beamon clan bordering the Xueyue Territory, they naturally became the biggest victims. Originally, you could make a lot of money just by collecting tolls, but now you can only stare at the scattered caravans in a daze.

As a good neighbor, it stands to reason that there should be trade convenience. Even if you purchase the materials yourself and resell them back, you can still make a lot of money.

It's a pity that the Behemoth family is suffering just because they are neighbors. Smugglers have no bottom line and are only interested in profit, but they are definitely not fools.

A little inquiry will reveal Mr. Hudson's policy towards the orcs. Due to the need for distant friendship and close attack, the Beamon clan has never been the target of support.

Things that ordinary smugglers know, the Kingdom Intelligence Organization knows even better. So much so that the friends who challenged the four royal families were able to buy weapons at high prices, but the Behemoth clan didn't get any.

"What's going on? Didn't I ask you to contact the human caravan?

Could it be that Behemoth is taking advantage of it and forcing the smugglers to stop doing business! "

Butzweig demanded sharply.

The decline of overland trade is also directly related to the policies previously implemented by the Behemoth clan.

Behemoths, whose thinking is stuck in the previous era, take it for granted that as long as they occupy the traffic arteries, they can make a lot of money.

After migrating here, the Beamon clan directly levied a 50% in-kind tax on the caravans. Later, they were protested by other races in the Orc Empire and were forced to reduce it to 20%.

On this basis, Beamon, who is responsible for the execution, often asks for a benefit fee.

As a smuggler, what you do is to do business with your head hanging on your waist. They didn't want to pay Master Hudson's taxes, let alone pay Beamon's taxes.

High taxes and unsafe routes directly promote the booming maritime smuggling trade.

After the number of passing caravans decreased, the income of the Behemoth clan also decreased sharply at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As a last resort, Butzweig could only clean up the interior and prohibit Beamon from exploiting business travelers in private.

"Clan leader, the situation is different this time. We have contacted many heads of clan caravans, but none of them engage in weapons trading.

It is said that the Alpha Kingdom has strengthened its control over weapons and will conduct inspections every time they leave the customs. Smuggling in small quantities is okay, but large quantities cannot be shipped out at all.

Even though we promised huge profits, these guys still refused to take action. It's like it's killing them! "

Elias complained helplessly.

In a race where all the people are soldiers, it is really difficult to select a few management talents.

Elias is the tall man who is pulled out from the short man. He is responsible for managing the internal government affairs of the Behemoth clan and also supervising external commercial trade.

It sounds awesome, but it actually doesn't have much power. In the tribal era, each tribe was self-governing, and Elias actually managed his own tribe.

Among the many orc races, the Behemoth clan, which was once a royal family, still ranks high in terms of weapons and equipment.

It's a pity that no matter how strong the foundation is, it can't stand up to the fact that weapons are consumables. Just in daily training, the loss of ordnance is not small.

Having lost his royal status, he no longer has a share in the weapons produced within the Orc Empire, so he can only find solutions from the human caravans.

In fact, even if there is a share, it is of little use. His own smelting skills are not up to par, so if he wants to make weapons and equipment, he has to smuggle iron ingots from the human race.

In order to pass the checkpoints, smugglers usually turn the iron ingots into daily necessities such as pots and pans, deliver them to the orcs, and then smelt them.

“Small batch is small batch!

According to the order, all caravans that sell weapons to us will receive corresponding tax exemptions.

Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men.

As long as the benefits are big enough, the smugglers will be able to get weapons for us. Now is not the time to care about interests! "

Butzweig said helplessly.

Even though he knew he was being targeted, there was nothing he could do. Given the relationship between the Alpha Kingdom and the Orc Empire, it is absolutely normal to block them.

At the critical moment when he was fighting for the throne of the royal family, he did not want to provoke a border conflict and cause trouble for himself.

…

In the Snow Moon Territory, Hudson, who was paying close attention to the situation on the prairie, had already sensed the smell of gunpowder.

Following the trend of interests, two major camps emerged in the Orc Empire. It's a pity that these races are not conspiracy materials, and they are linking up with each other in a big way, as if they are afraid that the four royal families will not find out.

It seems that the team is constantly expanding and the situation is good, but unfortunately the internal conflicts of the group are also intensifying.

Standing together temporarily for common interests, no one knows how the future will develop.

Intuition told Hudson that the four royal families would definitely take action to fight back.

It is not clear whether it is to use thunderous means to pick an unlucky person to scare the monkeys, or to use political means to divide and disintegrate.

The situation within the Orc Empire was tense, and military pressure in the Near East was greatly reduced. The Behemoths, who were busy with internal disputes, no longer even thought about causing trouble for the kingdom.

This rare period of peace created favorable conditions for the development of the Near East. Some bold nobles have begun to build fiefdoms with immigrants.

As the leader of the Near Eastern aristocracy, Hudson naturally could not disappoint everyone, and he also developed several ranches.

Forget about farmland for the time being, developing animal husbandry in areas with vast land and sparsely populated areas has more economic value.

In case the situation goes wrong, it is also convenient for strategic shifts. You won't lose much by directly turning livestock into military rations.

Over time, the originally humble Near East Development Bank has become the most eye-catching institution.

It was originally agreed that the three major branches would carry out business at the same time, but the end result was that the Xueyue Ling branch was "overcrowded" with an endless stream of customers waiting in line for review, while the response from the other two branches was mediocre.

The reason was also clear to Hudson. It was just one year after the war ended, and the nobles had already passed the most difficult time.

There may be some nobles who are short of money for emergencies, but most nobles have used their personal connections to raise funds to tide over the difficulties.

Traditional aristocrats don't like to mess around. They are all engaged in ancient agricultural production, and there are not many projects that require investment.

As long as there are no disaster years, wars, or these major changes, there will basically be no need for funds.

After carrying out loan business for more than two months, Wangdu Branch has undertaken a total of 36 pieces of business and issued loans of 200,000 gold coins.

Thirty-three of the businesses were clients of nobles, and only three were merchant loans.

It's not that all the merchants in the royal capital are short of money, but those who are short of money cannot provide corresponding collateral.

It is obvious that under the ancient rule system of noble lords, the development speed of industry, commerce and manufacturing in Aslant continent is very slow.

In addition, banks are a new thing, and human nature is to reject unfamiliar things. Even if you are short of money, you may not dare to come to your home for a loan.

The situation at the Shandi Ling Branch is better. A total of 147 loans have been issued, with a total amount of 860,000 gold coins, and the customers are all noble lords.

If you don't take into account the network base, this performance is already very beautiful. It's a pity that the Shandiling branch's business is all based on the name of Hudson.

Having dealt with each other, everyone knew enough about the Koslow family to believe that Hudson would not cheat them for Wan'er's eight thousand gold coins.

Even if there is a scam in the bank, everyone is related, and if there is a problem later, you can still find a middleman to make peace.

The performance of the two major branches was not as good as expected, but it did not mean that they were no longer making money. At least the interest income on their books was more than 10,000 gold coins per month, which successfully covered the bank's operating costs.

The Xueyue Ling branch had the highest performance, issuing a total of 314 loans with a total amount of 1.86 million gold coins.

There are hundreds of loan businesses under review. Almost all the Near Eastern nobles and most of the northern Xinjiang lords have submitted loan applications to the Near East Development Bank.

Just like when you borrow money, you earn money. When nobles and lords borrow money, if they can borrow more, no one will borrow less.

Everyone was trying to apply with the highest qualifications. If he hadn't personally verified the customer's identity, Hudson would have doubted whether his bank had encountered a "lender party".

More than one-fifth of the more than three hundred loans were taken out by members of the Koslow family. Unknowingly, the Koslow family has taken root in the Near East and Northern Xinjiang.

For the remaining two hundred or so loans, customers can also get involved with him. Either relatives and friends, or old departments from the past, the main focus is acquaintance business.

The money loaned out is flowing like water, but the new deposits are not optimistic. In the past two months, the cumulative increase in deposits at the three major branches was only one million gold coins.

This number is entirely the result of policy guidance. Thanks to the territory's regulations on commodity transfer and payment, merchants opened bank accounts to save money.

“The business of Wangdu Branch and Shandiling Branch needs to be further explored and expanded, which will be an important foundation for the bank to fight risks.

Xueyue Ling's situation is special, there is no shortage of loan customers, and the focus of subsequent work is to attract savings.

The Near East is a financial black hole that can swallow up any amount of money. The loans we issued in the early stage can only be regarded as trial operations.

With the development of their territories, the funding gap faced by these noble lords will only become larger and larger.

Even if you take out an amount of 10 million gold coins, it will be wiped out by the nobles outside.

The current liquidity of bank funds is not high enough. Judging from the data, for every loan of 10,000 gold coins issued, 6,000 gold coins will be withdrawn within a month.

We must add more ancillary businesses to lower this extraction ratio, preferably within 30%.

As long as gold coins are piled up in the warehouse, we will not be afraid of the risk of runs, and our business can continue to expand.

With the cooperation of the Ministry of Government, if necessary, vague and favorable policies can be introduced to guide smugglers to deposit money in banks.

In the future, the territory’s tax and budget revenue and expenditure will also be transferred directly from the bank.

Including government project payment, you can also choose to transfer funds, or settle with gold tickets, allowing them to withdraw funds from the bank themselves.

The daily withdrawal limit for a single account is 5,000 gold coins; large withdrawals of more than 50,000 gold coins must be scheduled five days in advance; large withdrawals of more than 200,000 gold coins must be notified one month in advance; withdrawals of more than 1 million gold coins must be made three days in advance. Monthly notice.

Rudolf, you have a big task ahead. In addition to ensuring the normal operation of banks, we must also maximize bank performance as much as possible.

This year's book gross profit must be 500,000 gold coins, and the net profit must be guaranteed to be 200,000 gold coins. "

Hudson ordered without changing his expression.

The request was not made randomly by him. As an emerging industry, banks have enjoyed considerable dividends from the times.

In addition to the leading business model, the key is that there is no tax. Both the Mountain Territory and the Snowy Moon Territory are Hudson's territory, and whether or not to collect taxes depends entirely on his mood.

At the Wangdu branch, the outside world is unclear about how much money the bank makes. There are multiple branches operating together, and no one understands how the profits are distributed.

If it's ordinary people's transactions, just guess tax. However, as the property of Hudson, the kingdom's marshal, it also used the banner of raising funds for the development of the Near East, so the tax department of the royal capital did not dare to act rashly.

After all, loans are not profits, they have to be recovered.

Whether this kind of long-term, high-risk business model in the Near East can make money is completely unclear to outsiders.

Currently, there are only three branches open, mainly due to lack of talent. If he had enough manpower, Hudson wouldn't mind spreading the network to every big city in the kingdom.

“Duke, it’s easy to increase the bank’s book profits, just increase the loan amount.

However, it is somewhat difficult to accumulate savings on a large scale. It's not that smugglers don't buy it, but they don't have enough cash.

In the last war, the Orc Empire did not grab enough wealth. In trade with the kingdom, their currency has been flowing out.

The output of the mine alone is simply not enough to fill this hole. The current Orc Empire has returned to the traditional era of barter.

Every time the smugglers came back, they came back with loads of goods, but what they harvested was in kind, and they needed to be transported back to the kingdom for sale.

According to our observations, during the recent period, the prices of many commodities in the kingdom have declined to varying degrees, especially the special products of the Orc Empire.

Especially in the past two months, many smuggling caravans have returned with cattle, sheep and horses. In the past, they did not bother selling low-profit products. "

As soon as Rudolph finished speaking, Jacob added:

"Duke, Rudolph is right. The economy of the Orc Empire is indeed experiencing problems.

Years of conquests have made this ancient empire exhausted. If the current situation continues, the future trade prospects will not be optimistic.

The smugglers selling cattle and sheep are actually caused by our efforts to develop animal husbandry and the large-scale purchase of livestock on the market.

It is not only the Orc Empire that is in trouble, but also the Kingdom.

Judging from the data collected, the Ministry of Home Affairs believes that there are also problems with the Kingdom’s economy. The kingdom was also at a disadvantage in its trade with the southern countries.

Coupled with the sequelae of the war, in order to repay international debts, the kingdom paid large amounts of gold and silver to various countries.

The rapid decline in prices after the war may not only be due to changes in supply and demand, but also because there is not enough gold and silver circulating in the market.

This is reflected everywhere. As a new development zone, Xueyue Ling's performance is more obvious.

The crisis did not break out, largely due to the emergence of the Near East Development Bank. Whether it is transfer transactions or the golden tickets we issue, they all play the role of currency to a certain extent.

However, this is limited to Crescent Port. Ancient barter also appeared in some remote noble territories in the kingdom.

Similar money shortage crises occurred frequently in the history of the kingdom. Almost every orc invasion is followed by an appearance. "

Hearing "money shortage", Hudson frowned instantly. He had been vaguely aware of this problem since the last orc invasion.

But the situation at that time was far less serious than it is now. Even if the kingdom has to repay a huge foreign debt, it will not be paid in one lump sum.

The era that was supposed to be restored to strength once again encountered a continental war. The sky-high price of strategic materials once again caused a massive outflow of the kingdom's wealth.

After the war ended, the crisis slowly began to brew. The smuggling trade with the Orc Empire has alleviated the kingdom's money crisis to a certain extent.

With the launch of the Near East development strategy, a large amount of funds were swallowed up by the land of the Near East, and the "money shortage" crisis struck the kingdom again.