Chapter 1727 - 484: The Structure of the Andes Family (5)

He grabbed a handful of the Ryan Kingdom's debased coins and slammed them hard onto the ground. They made a dull "thump-thump" instead of a crisp metallic clang.

"You're telling me this is silver?? This is an insult to the Dragon God's intelligence!"

Unfortunately, Taufu wasn't here.

Otherwise she would definitely have gotten angry.

The merchants who had rushed over all froze in terror, afraid this God of Wealth would, in a fit of rage, cancel all trade orders with the Campbell Duchy.

In fact, everyone wanted to go up and persuade him not to overreact, because those silver coins could still be used to buy things at any Imperial port.

Unless they planned to sail back to the Gana Continent with empty holds—but that would be a massive loss!

The Trade Officer wiped cold sweat from his forehead and was just about to explain the Empire's monetary system and its long history, but Sak didn't give him the chance.

The Lizardman envoy raised his voice and announced loudly.

"The Gutaf United Kingdom cannot accept these fakes with wildly different silver content! The silver coins Duke Campbell gave me looked nothing like this! I've had enough of you sly, cheating Humans. If you can't put up the proper amount of gold, the Dragon God would rather take 'silver pounds'! At least that stuff can be exchanged for real goods!"

Sil… silver pounds?

The entire port fell deathly silent.

From the port officials to the surrounding traders, everyone gaped, staring blankly at that Lizardman envoy.

This guy… isn't insane, is he?

They had no idea why this dumb lizard wanted that piece of paper, but if they could use that paper to get corn and iron ore from the Gutaf United Kingdom, it didn't seem like a bad deal…

After a brief silence, the entire Thunder City port boiled over.

"Silver pounds! That Lizardman wants silver pounds!"

"Damn it! I suspect they're in this together!"

"Who cares whether they're in it together, hurry to the Andes Bank! Exchange all my silver for silver pounds! No—wait, let me think, I'll exchange as much as I can!"

Every merchant drooling over that seven-million-square-kilometer market went mad.

Like refugees, they whipped their carriages forward and rushed toward the Andes Bank at all costs, bringing those silver coins Mr. Sak had refused to accept to Mr. Andes instead.

They didn't know what made "silver pounds" different, but as long as they were converted into that paper, it would be like washing the rust off their silver coins.

However, they were still too "young."

Although the Campbell Duchy followed Imperial law and recognized the "junk" issued by other kingdoms as legal tender within its borders, would the Andes Bank really let the King of the Ryan Kingdom use junk to buy "silver pounds" backed by the Duke from its own vaults?

This was a kind of credit money that was nominally anchored to the Imperial Silver Coin, but in essence backed by the Duchy's sovereignty.

In the top-floor office of the Andes Bank, Yang Andes smiled as he looked down at the jam-packed street below.

He knew that the initiative had completely returned to his hands.

"Praise Prince Colin… praise Princess Erin."

He silently traced a cross over his chest, then summoned his assistant and gave a few instructions.

Very soon, notices were hung at the entrances of all major Andes Bank branches. Each one had a clipped newspaper pasted on it, with a single line of fine print prominently circled—

[Only "Campbell Silver Coins" can be exchanged for "silver pounds."]

The moment people saw this announcement, the queues at the bank doors exploded. The shopkeepers watching from the side treated it as a show, while the import-export merchants let out collective wails.

"Campbell Silver Coins? Where am I supposed to find that many coins with the Campbell family crest? How about I give you the money and you go find them?"

"Damn it! Am I supposed to count them one by one?!"

"It's over… the orders from the Gutaf Kingdom are going to fall through!"

There simply weren't enough "Campbell Silver Coins" in the market.

This wasn't because the silver content of Campbell Silver Coins was actually as high as Sak Jifeng had portrayed it, but because the Duchy itself was relatively small, and the total volume of coinage it minted was proportionally smaller.

In theory, the more coins you minted, the more you were taking advantage of "everyone," but the one who swallows the poison first is ultimately yourself, so minting had to be done within one's means.

Newly minted silver coins couldn't all be packed up and dumped into a neighboring country's circulation. Most had to circulate domestically for a while before gradually flowing next door along trade routes.

Crows are black everywhere under heaven. The Campbell Duchy had no silver mines either, so of course it had to mix all sorts of junk into its silver coins.

However, the Gutaf Kingdom wasn't playing fair—

At least Mr. Sak Jifeng only recognized silver coins stamped with the Campbell family crest.

Faced with the merchants' faces twisted by anxiety, Yang Andes walked out of the bank doors with a smile, his managers following behind him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, An Jing… I understand your difficulties. Our merciful Duke did not mint that many Campbell Silver Coins, and I also understand that sorting through that motley mess of coins is no easy task!"

He soothed the crowd in a gentle tone, then threw out an offer no one could refuse.

"But it's all right! Don't forget, we are a bank—and the most powerful bank in Thunder City at that!"

"We don't only offer savings accounts; we also provide loan services denominated in 'silver pounds'!"

"As long as the purpose and destination of your funds are reasonable and compliant, I'll be more than happy to resolve your urgent needs."