My British Empire

ps: There is an event in class today, it’s a little late, sorry, I’m asking for tickets at the end, please bookmark!

"This is a welcome gift of 5,000 pounds from us, I hope you can accept it!"

Edward looked at a small bank in front of him receiving checks, and felt unreal in his heart at this moment. He felt that he had underestimated these merchants.

It is really a big deal for a small meeting gift to bribe him with five thousand pounds.

You know, a knight's annual surplus is only about 100 pounds, and the standard for a middle-class family in London is 50 pounds of property, and 5,000 pounds is enough for the entire London citizen to buy food for a week.

Edward had no doubts about the authenticity of the check in front of him. After all, no one would dare to deceive the king.

Edward gave a noncommittal grace, and silently watched the speaker's next move.

"These are just deposits, and the remaining five thousand pounds will be sent in the next period of time!"

Edward understood what he meant. This was to see if he had implemented any measures. The five thousand pounds was hanging in front of him. After all, in this age, the king sometimes had bad credit!

"Very good! As the king of England, it is my bounden duty to protect the interests of the English people!" Edward said without paying attention to the exaggerated expression of the old man opposite him.

"I think, in a few days, you will see the disappearance of London's Iron Yard and the news will spread throughout London!"

"Bless you, great king, I think you are the greatest king in the history of England, no, you are the greatest king in the history of Europa!"

Hearing Edward's assurance, even though Mr. Speaker had a low chance of believing it in his heart, he still pretended to be reverent and said exaggeratedly.

Immediately, the two had a pleasant conversation about the establishment of the London City Government. After Edward refilled two cups of tea, Speaker Matthew finally left Whitehall Palace.

Edward stared at the thing that looked like a bank check in front of him, silently in a daze.

In general, historians believe that the earliest bank in the world was the Italian bank established in Venice in 1407.

Afterwards, the Dutch successively established banks in Amsterdam, Germany in Hamburg, and the United Kingdom in London. It was not until the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century that banks developed generally.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, when capitalism flourished, some civilians got rich through business and became wealthy businessmen.

As nouveau riche, they do not have the castles and mansions that the nobles have tightly guarded, and they all store their money in the king's treasury for the safety of their property. At that time, there was no safest place than the king's place, and London was controlled by a group of businessmen, who were not afraid of the king's private possession.

It should be noted here that there was no paper pound at that time, and the so-called saving money refers to storing gold.

Because what Europe practiced at that time was "free casting

Coin" (Freecoinage) system, anyone can take gold nuggets to the mint and mint them into gold coins, so the mint allows customers to deposit gold.

Of course, only the king of England has the right to mint coins, and the so-called mint belongs to Edward's family.

Therefore, the thing that appeared in front of Edward's eyes, which looked like a bank check for later generations, was actually a certificate for receiving gold from the mint to which Edward's royal family belonged.

And what do banks mainly do to make money at this time?

The answer is: loans and currency exchange, these two are the main profit points.

Of course, it was a feudal bank at this time, and it only had the general function of a money bank in Chinese history.

And the capitalist bank has to go to the Bank of England established in England in 1694, which is the world's first capitalist joint-stock bank.

A capitalist bank is a special capitalist enterprise whose main function is to operate monetary capital, issue credit circulation instruments, and act as a credit intermediary and payment intermediary among capitalists.

The business hall of the Hanseatic merchants in London is called Steelyard (Steelyard). The chamber of commerce is located in the west of the city of London, occupying nearly a hundred acres of land in a bustling civilian area.

Compared with the lively business atmosphere, the Hanseatic merchants set up tall and large walls around their guild halls to prevent the intrusion of loud noises.

It also established a sense of mystery among the common people, which made businessmen proud to be able to enter the London Steel Yard.

In this self-contained environment, there are their own warehouses, measuring stations, offices and residences, which seems to be a special zone.

I guess this is the origin of the concession in the future, because in this steel courtyard, not only can tax exemption be made, but also the judiciary is independent, and it has its own management agency, which is simply a replica of the concession.

The shop was chartered by King Henry II in 1282, allowing Hanseatic merchants to mine tin mines in England, and goods were allowed to pass duty-free.

As a member of the Leutz family, Mark Leutz is very proud, because he is now in his twenties and has already started to take charge of the family's business in London.

As a member of the Leutz family, Mark was favored by his father because of his business talent, and was sent to an important place in the family—England, to be responsible for purchasing sea salt produced in England.

As a member of the Hanseatic League, the Leutz family almost monopolized the Baltic Sea's broken promise supply, and the annual profits went to the sea. And England is the main supplier of family salt.

Walking into this guild hall known as the Iron and Steel Yard, Mark saw a large cart and goods. A dozen young and strong guys in short jackets and short sleeves were constantly carrying them, unloading them and moving them to the warehouse .

Even though it was already spring, their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their originally white faces now turned sallow.

Mark knew that this was the sea salt purchased from all over England since the spring, hoarded and prepared to be transported to the Baltic Sea coast when the fleet arrives next month.

Walking on a flat path, Mark is no stranger to such scenes. He knew that after staying for a month, there would be more such busy people.

Holding his black tall hat in his hand, Mark picked up a handkerchief from time to time to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

As a person born in the German region, he really couldn't adapt to the weather in London. It was still rainy in the morning, but the sun came out at noon.

More importantly, at that time, he was discussing business matters with a businessman in Yorkshire at the wine table, which made him sweat all over.

However, wearing hats has always been popular in England, whether it is a tall hat or what kind of hat, but when you go out, you must have a hat, otherwise you will be laughed at.

Therefore, for the sake of business, he endured the scorching heat, and Mark never took off his hat, so now he is like this group of lowly workers, sweating through his underwear.

He didn't care about anything else, he walked straight towards the residential area, he had no other thoughts, he just wanted to have a good change of clothes.

Along the way, he forced a smile on his face and greeted other Hanse traders.

"Vichy! Hurry up and prepare hot water, I want to take a shower!" Opening this luxurious living room that belonged to him, Mark hung his hat on the back of the chair and ordered to the cleaning maid.

As a businessman, he didn't have the same unbearable tolerance for taking a bath as the conservative nobles and clerics.

After all, in Germany, taking a bath in the bathroom is already a part of daily life, so that people living in the city still need to pay a certain fee - the bath fee - which is included in the salary of the handicraft guild, and a fee levied on the bathhouse Tax dollars are redistributed to the poor, who bathe for free.

"Yes, sir!" The maid Vichy was brought by Mark from Stettin's hometown, so it is very convenient to use.

The guarantee of loyalty is the first priority, and the second is to meet his normal physical needs.

Vichy diligently arranged the bathtub, towels, and a change of clothes, and finally brought buckets of hot water from the back kitchen.

Seeing the steaming hot tub, Mark took off his clothes directly under the service of Vichy, and lay comfortably in the tub, not wanting to move.

The maid Vichy also took off her coat without hesitation, revealing her bumpy figure wrapped in a thin shirt, her long brown hair hanging on her delicate pink shoulders, coupled with her big charming eyes, the whole person looks Very tempting.

But Mark, who was tired all day, expressed that he was not blessed to endure it. He closed his eyes and let the hot water surround him. This feeling was extremely comfortable.

Vichy on the side knelt on his knees, and beat Mark's shoulders and arms lightly and rhythmically with his rough little hands.

"Sir, those London businessmen have not given up yet. They sent people to Whitehall Palace today. I'm afraid they want to deal with us again!"

With his eyes closed, Mark heard his maid whispering in his ear, bursts of aroma came into his nose, and Mark couldn't help twitching his nose and sniffing.

"Yes! Today I went to buy sea salt from a Yorkshire salt merchant. It took me a lot of effort to negotiate a successful deal. In the end, I still added three pence per pound to the purchase price!"

"I'm afraid they also got some news, and they want to raise the price one by one!"

For Vichy, Mark usually would not treat her as an ordinary maid, and would discuss with her when encountering business matters.

And Vichy did not disappoint Mark's trust, not only took good care of him in life, but also helped Mark well in business.

"What can I do, even if my older brothers are here together, they can't change the little king of England's mind!"

Mark opened his eyes and sighed helplessly.

There are four brothers in the Leutz family, each in charge of a business, and he is in charge of England, the family's main source of sea salt.

"You can't change His Majesty's thoughts on Hanseatic League merchants!"

"And you have to know that the Hanseatic League is the Hanseatic League, and you, the Leutz family, don't exactly belong to the Hanseatic League!"