Iron Powder and Spellcasters Chapter 140

   Chapter 140 Gold Bullion and Dice

   Among the currencies in circulation in the Republics, the most popular is the Ducat Gold coin minted by the Ocean Blue Central Mint.

  [Note: The original meaning of the word Ducat is "coin minted by the duke", and many regimes have used this word to refer to the currency issued by themselves. But with the popularity of Veneta ducats, the term now refers exclusively to Veneta gold coins. ]

  Vinetta Ducat's fineness is close to pure gold, and the quality is stable, so the currency value is the strongest. Bulk commodity transactions are priced in ducats, and the gold coins minted by other allies pale in comparison.

  Take another gold coin with a large circulation, the Interprovincial Golden Shield, as an example. Usually, ten Interprovincial Golden Shields can only be worth seven Ducats.

  There are slight differences in the value of gold shield coins minted in different years. Generally speaking, the value of gold shield coins is lower as the year is closer. Everyone knows that the amount of base metals mixed into gold shields by the Inter-Provincial Mint is increasing day by day.

   As a result, the golden shield is quite inconvenient to use, and it is even more powerless to challenge Dukat's status.

   Not only in the Senas Alliance, but even merchants in the Empire and the Near East are very willing to use Ducat to trade. Therefore, the annual outflow of gold coins has caused some troubles to the Republic of Veneta.

  For this reason, merchants and craftsmen in the republics directly called Ducats "gold coins", and other types of gold coins were called differently.

   For the vast majority of people in the Alliance, Ducat is equivalent to pure gold, and it is one of the main forms of people's exposure to gold.

   And what Kosa and Anna sent were a whole other kind of gold—whole bars of gold weighing nearly 200 grams, so valuable that Winters couldn't use them at all.

  Each 3.56-gram Ducat is rarely circulated in the market because of its large value, not to mention this kind of gold bar that can hold 56 Ducats.

  Kosa said that Winters could understand what she meant by seeing the gold bars, but the only use that Winters could think of was to take bribes.

   It's just that Winters, who is unfamiliar, doesn't even have a way to bribe, and he can't leave other people at the same time and leave alone.

  After supporting each other in the arduous siege battle, sharing tents and hot food in the cold winter of the archipelago, and experiencing the Battle of Taniria together, the bond of this class of Veneta cadets is far stronger than that of their predecessors.

   Although there is not even a place to spend money at present, gold bars are no different from lead. But after suddenly having a large amount of precious metals at his disposal, Winters' anxiety and stress subconsciously eased a lot.

  Money has such magic power.

  Ciel got what he wanted to stay with Winters, while Gold didn't stay in Wolftown for long.

   The pirate chief left the next day, and Winters took him all the way to the ferry of the Blackwater.

   "I'll leave the rest to you, Captain Gold." Winters gave Gold a solemn salute.

   "Small thing." Gold laughed: "You're not afraid of me running away with money."

   "Then I'm not worried." Winters also said with a smile: "As long as you don't tell Miss Navarre I gave away the golden ticket."

  Gold carried not only Winters' reply, but also a promissory note from Albert, the goldsmith of the castles.

The   Goldsmith's Promissory Note was brought by Ana Tochar, which is essentially a stub that can be exchanged for gold at the goldsmith.

   Coins circulating on the market vary in color, so in the past, people needed to send gold and silver to goldsmiths to be minted into uniform coins.

  Precious metal craftsmen not only have vaults, but also employ guards. Gradually some people discovered that gold was safer in goldsmiths than in their own hands.

  The goldsmith subscribes to the ticket but does not recognize the person, and pays the gold with the ticket. Therefore, the golden ticket has also evolved into a currency in disguise, because it is concealed and convenient to be widely used and traded by merchants.

  According to Winters' request, Gold will first go to the Kings Castle to exchange the promissory note for gold coins, and then bring the map and gold coins to the Veneta ensigns scattered throughout the new reclaimed land.

  The life of the Veneta may not be easy. Now that Winters has no shortage of money, he hopes to help others as much as possible.

   This was a difficult task, as Winters knew neither how many of them had been assigned to the new land during the same period, nor exactly where the others were.

  Andre and Bud, Winters asked Charles to send them four gold bars each. The rest of the Veneta had to rely on Gold to find them town by town.

   "Mr. Gold, I really don't know how to thank you... Really, thank you." Winters thanked the former enemy from the bottom of his heart.

   "No thanks, what's there to thank?" Gold showed his golden teeth: "It's not a white job, I got the money."

   After saying that, Gold laughed and stabbed the horse's ribs and walked away.

   Watching the old man leave, Winters suddenly realized the mood of Lieutenant Mason.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer and Lieutenant Mason were right. In mid-September, a week after Shire and Gold arrived at Wolftown, the Army correspondent delivered three things to Lieutenant Montagne.

The    house newspaper, next quarter's salary, and an order from the New Reclamation Corps.

The content of the    order is very brief, and the specific plans are vague, with only a few words explaining the requirements and time.

   Quote part of the original text:

   "Major General of the Republic of Palato, Commander of the Legion of the New Reclamation, recipient of the Order of the Violet, Kevin J. Adams issues this order in accordance with the glorious and inviolable Told Protocol".

   "Langtun Town, under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth County, is obliged to provide militiamen as auxiliary troops when the New Reclamation Corps needs it."

   Leaving aside the red tape, the specific content is to ask Langtun Town to provide a militia with a full 100-member team, no need to bring their own armed forces, and the selection range is limited to able-bodied men between the ages of 15 and 35.

  The roster must be sent to the Revodan Station before October 15th. The specific assembly location and time will be notified separately.

   The tone of this command does not come from the republic government, but rather like the great nobles of the old era asking their lower vassals to fulfill their obligations of allegiance.

   As long as the person is important, nothing else.

  It should be known that the less the content of the instructions and the broader the restrictions, the more room for the executor to operate.

  This order issued by General Adams has no restrictions except for the quality of the draw. In the hands of some wicked people, it is not difficult for ordinary farmers to destroy their homes.

   Winters was quite surprised by this, but Gillard and the civilians in the villages of Wolf Town were not surprised.

After    read the order in each village, the villagers had no objection to the method of drawing diced, the only thing they cared about was the number of diced.

   Many villagers murmured: "Last time, only 40 people were recruited. Why do we have to recruit 80 people this time?" Some literate villagers dared to read the original order.

   However, the order of the lacquer cover was clearly written in white and black, and although everyone was dissatisfied, they only complained a few words. In the presence of Winters and Gillard, no one has dared to speak out against it.

   Winters did not expect that the people of Wolf Town would naturally accept the situation that they needed to be drawn into service. The process of reading the order was very smooth, and he hardly needed to speak.

   Back at the police station, Winters invited Girard, Father Kaman and Brother Reid to discuss the method of drawing dice together.

   "Don't worry too much, Langtun has experienced many draws before, and everyone is used to it." Gillard saw Winters' unease: "If you want me to say it's the old way, draw lots."

Father Kaman shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't work by drawing lots. In the past, only 40 people were drawn, which is not too many. This time, 80 people will be drawn, all of whom are young and strong from each village. If there is a family drawn In the case of the two of them, it will be difficult for the remaining old and weak women and children in the family. I am afraid some people will escape from service."

  Gillard pondered and said: "The lottery, what about the people who didn't win a little money as compensation?"

   "Maybe it's possible." Father Kaman said while holding the necklace, "But it's a matter of how much compensation is given. Some people are poor and some are rich, so it's best to make a distinction."

  Gillard and Kaman discussed it in one word and one word with me.

   But what Winters is more curious about is what Girard said "Wolfton has been through a lot of **** before".

   "What was the situation with **** before?" Winters asked.

   "Cough." Girard sighed and said, "Every time we fight with the Hurds, no matter how big or small we are, we have to get a dick. We didn't have a town officer here before, so I took people there."

  The new land was not only taxed, but also corvée was more frequent than Winters imagined.

   Seeing Winters frowning, Girard hurriedly added: "It is said that the militia is actually just a civilian man, and there is almost no need to go into battle to kill the enemy. It is mainly to do chores for the soldiers, move things, and **** supplies."

   "Fight with the Hurds? What do you mean?" Winters wasn't paying attention to what Gillard said: "Have you fought many times?"

   "Aren't you talking nonsense?" Reid sneered: "To the east of Palatu are Veneta and the United Provinces, and to the west are the Hurd tribes. If you don't fight the Hurds, is it possible to start a war with the allies?"

   "Why didn't I hear much about the battle between Paratus and the Hurds when I was in the Union Province and Veneta?"

"Does dog bites make everyone talk about it?" said the old monk mockingly: "A man bites a dog. What's so special about a war between the Highlands and the Heards? Especially you Venetas, Venetians. What else do the Tatars care about except money? Haven't they always been indifferent to Plato? If one day Palatu unearths a big gold mine, I guarantee that the Veneta will know all about it the next day."

   Winters ignored the sarcastic tone of the old magician and asked, "I mean...why fight?"

   "Why fight?" Reid seemed to have heard the funniest joke and laughed: "You should ask when did the truce ever stop?"

   He stood up, dipped his fingers in the wine, and began to sketch on the table. With a few strokes, he sketched the general outline of the Palatine Plateau.

"The Hurd people are not a whole. The tribes and the Paratus people have a small dozen in three years and a large dozen in five years. The history of mutual conquests is at least a few hundred years. If we start from the ancient empire's western expedition, then It has been thousands of years. Today's Palauans are actually the imperialized Heds, and they were originally one of the tribes. It's just that the Palauans don't recognize it."

While drawing a picture on the table, the old monk said to himself: "In the past hundred years, the Palatine and the Hurds had victorious and defeated each other earlier. The tribes even fought all the way to the castles of the kings. The Duke of Latour hid in the castle and shivered, letting the Heards burn and loot everywhere."

  The old monk suddenly stopped, pinched his fingers and calculated, and sighed: "It's already sixty years ago."

   Winters, Girard, and Father Carman were all fascinated.

   "And then what?" Winters asked.

"Then the Hurds played themselves to death. Infighting, splitting, and fighting for the position of Khan are the same old ways." The old monk sneered: "But the Palatu people got the weapons of the Union Province and the gold of Veneta. Of course, the Hurds can't bear the changes. The place you are sitting now was originally the land of the Suta tribe of the Hurds, and now it has become a new land for Palatu?"

   The old monk raised his chin towards Father Kaman: "Wolf Town Church is a church built by heretics who preached by the Suta Ministry in the early years, so the murals on the walls are Arian frescoes, don't you know?"

   "What did you say?" Father Kaman was stunned.

"Go back and take a closer look to see if the Son of God on the fresco has gradually progressed from no beard to one with a beard. This means that the Son of God is a human being, which is exactly the teaching of the Arian school." The old begging monk laughed: "Come on. The people who received the teaching property didn't understand, so they took over as they were, and the murals were not modified. I'm afraid that old boy Anthony would be so angry that he didn't have the embarrassment to talk to him about it."

   "Where did Suta go?" Winters asked.

   "Where else can we go? We've all gone to heaven." The old friar pointed to Girard: "Mr. Mitchell also contributed."

  Girard was fascinated at first, but he couldn't help being surprised when he was suddenly called. After a while, he slowly replied: "When we Dusa people first arrived in Palatu, the new land was indeed not new."

   Winters thought of those Heards on Red Sulphur Island who were not afraid of death in order to return home, and couldn't help sighing: "You mean the war between the Land of Galloping Horses and the Heards has never stopped?"

   "That's pretty much what it means." The old monk blinked: "There is a pause, a pause, a pause, and in general, it hasn't stopped."

   Winters recalled the war between Veneta and the Islands: "Are the Hurds rich?"

"No, on the contrary, the Hurd people are very poor. So in the past, the Hurd tribes always attacked, and the Palatine people defended." The old monk pointed at the map on the table and said: "But now it's different, now it's Palatu. People attack, and Hurd defends. The country of galloping horses longs for more land, and it can't attack the United Provinces and Veneta, so naturally it can only go west."

   "Isn't it no man's land further west?" Winters had been to the west bank of the Big Horn not long ago.

"I think what I want this time is this 100-kilometer-wide no-man's-land." The old monk stroked his beard and said, "The Paratus people fight with trophies. The more the war is, the more trophies are needed, and the more trophies are needed, the more they must continue. Fighting is like snowballing... but it doesn't matter to you. Don't worry, the people of Wolftown will definitely support the war with the Hurds. If the compensation is reasonable, it will not be difficult to gather a centurion militia."

   "Why?" Winters became more and more confused: "There are still people willing to fight? I mean poor people... and poor people willing to fight."

   "Boy, you are completely wrong." Reid narrowed his eyes and said inscrutably: "In the Republic of Palatu, the people who most want to fight with the Hurds are what you call the 'poor people'."

   Thanks to the book friends who have voted for recommendation before;

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   (end of this chapter)

Chapter end