A mere Night's Watch member, yet he commanded the Hand of the King like a King to draft a written certificate. Aegon certainly benefited from wearing the black, which significantly lowered the other party's guard, but as he walked out of the Prime Minister's Tower with the certificate stamped with the wolf's head seal, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Turns out, as long as you master the method, these high and mighty great nobles are just as easy to deceive as ordinary people.
No wonder Littlefinger could thrive in King's Landing, manipulating the Baratheons, Starks, and Lannisters in the palm of his hand.
Lies, indeed, are useful.
...
By the time they returned to the inn, it was already dark. Aegon didn't drag Yoren around anymore. After resting honestly in the room for a night, he welcomed the second day of his life in King's Landing.
"You went to Eddard Stark yesterday and asked for two people, a room, and a certificate?" Tyrion's eyes gleamed with curiosity. Based on their two months of acquaintance, there must be some trick to this, and Aegon's explanations always broadened his horizons: "I can understand the first two things, but what's the use of that certificate?"
"To swindle money."
"Swindle money?" Tyrion was taken aback: "If Eddard Stark knew you were using the certificate he signed to swindle money... well, he might not have the authority to punish you, but with just a letter, you'd probably be recalled directly."
"Yesterday, when we arrived in King's Landing and passed through the gate, you made some comments about the 'Hand of the King's Tourney', do you remember?" Aegon didn't directly respond to Tyrion's reminder but brought up another matter, "There was one sentence I strongly agreed with – holding these events makes the Kingdom prosperous. The Iron Throne, at the cost of heavy debt, made participants, spectators, and businessmen all happy. The King did spend a lot of money, but this money didn't disappear; in the form of expenditure for holding events, after circulating and stimulating some economic development, it flowed from the Lannister coffers and the treasuries of major merchant guilds into the hands of the people, merchants, and winners. Whether he intended it or not, on this point, the King's act of squandering money was at least not entirely harmful and without benefit."
Tyrion didn't interrupt. He was very curious what unique insights his adventurer friend from China would have on Robert Baratheon's profligacy.
"However, for a large portion of this money, its journey ends there. Westeros people are too fond of hoarding money. The rich hoard golden dragons, commoners hoard silver stags, and the poorer ones hoard copper stars... Unless absolutely necessary, they'd rather keep it hidden until they die or it's stolen than take it out. After the coins are spent by King Robert and enter the hands of the people, at least half of it settles down in the form of savings, slow to re-enter circulation – and this is very harmful to the development of society. I am now going to swindle this money out and make it work."
"I've heard similar statements from a Maester in Oldtown, conveying the same meaning as you – gold piled up in treasuries is no different from stones." Tyrion looked up at Aegon: "Everyone understands that the circulation of currency can make the economy prosperous. But the irregularity of seasons and wars make people full of worries about tomorrow. Unless this situation changes, you cannot persuade people to take out their money and spend it just by reasoning."
"Changing the consumption habits of all Westeros people is a bit of a wild fantasy; I'm not that ambitious. I don't ask them to take out their money and spend it, only that they are willing to lend it to me." Aegon smiled, "People hoard money because they worry they won't be able to earn it back in the future if they spend it. So, what if I tell them that as long as they lend me the money, the money will automatically generate more money?"
Tyrion seized upon the loophole in Aegon's words: "You said 'you tell' them, which means you don't actually have a way to make money generate money."
"Indeed, not yet, at least not for now, but I will be able to as long as I find a way." Aegon said, "And before that, I will first use other methods to make people believe they have something to gain by lending me money – the method is to pay back a little more when returning the money."
"Interest."
"Yes, and the interest is higher than normal lending. For example, one percent per month. If you lend me one hundred golden dragons today, I'll return one hundred and one to you a month later."
"Where does that extra one come from?"
"From those who haven't asked for repayment yet."
"This..." Aegon's words were indeed a bit difficult for the residents of Westeros, a continent where banks are rare, let alone the concept of investment. Fortunately, Tyrion was quick-witted: "But this will eventually be exposed one day. What will you do if suddenly everyone asks for their money back?"
"You've hit the nail on the head. If that happens, it's a 'capital chain break'. Let alone me, even someone as strong and rich as the Iron Bank would go bankrupt instantly. What I need to do is prevent this situation from happening." Aegon said, "By using some small rules or incentives – for example: no interest if the money lent to me is recalled within less than a month; interest increases to one point five percent if the loan exceeds several months; withdrawing once means starting over... and so on and so forth."
"But no matter what you do, if the money doesn't eventually increase, the day the deception is exposed will still come sooner or later!"
"Sooner or later? Plenty of things will happen sooner or later – people will die sooner or later, dynasties will fall sooner or later, the world will be destroyed sooner or later. As long as I can find a way in time to delay this date indefinitely, pushing it into a distant future I can't see, how is that different from it not existing?"
"That's sophistry, Aegon." For the first time, Tyrion showed a nervous and disapproving expression: "Don't do this. It's better to be down-to-earth. If you do this, when the day the matter is exposed comes, no one can save your life. If you just want to complete your task, my pocket money is enough to pay for you."
Aegon felt a bit helpless. He had thought that a smart person like Tyrion would be more receptive to new things, but now it seemed his plan was probably still too advanced for the people of this world. He had to think of another way to persuade him.
"What I've said above is just the initial stage of this plan. You are right, when this 'deception' reaches the intermediate stage, I still have to find a way to truly make the money grow, such as investing in certain merchant guilds, expanding the Night's Watch fleet to make trade between the Night's Watch and the residents of The Gift with those across the Narrow Sea more frequent... using real profits to pay the interest."
"Provided that there are no mistakes in the initial stage of your plan."
"Yes, and there won't be any mistakes in the initial stage either." Aegon said, "Now I have the certificates from the Night's Watch Commander and the King's Hand, and I'll borrow money in the name of the Night's Watch rather than personally. Even if I don't get too much, I won't get nothing... And as long as I repay the principal and interest of the first round of loans once, establishing the investors'... no, the creditors' confidence in me, everything will become smoother and smoother afterward. Tyrion, how much money can you take out at most now?"
"Less than a thousand golden dragons. Four or five hundred of that will be the ransom paid for you to leave the Night's Watch, because what I agreed upon with your Chief Officer and Artisan was the types and quantity of supplies, so I also have to pray that prices haven't risen while I'm away from King's Landing."
"Alright, let's assume you have three hundred golden dragons in cash now. What can that amount of money do?" Aegon still didn't give up persuading: "It's enough to buy a batch of supplies to get me another two or three months of freedom, and it might not even be enough to start dragonglass mining."
"I'll find a way for you. My older brother has some money, and he doesn't spend much. If that doesn't work, I can go to my Father and get a bit more. It won't be too much, but definitely not little..." Tyrion interrupted Aegon firmly, "No matter what, deception is shameful. I will not help you with your plan."
...
Looking at Tyrion's serious and persistent expression, Aegon suddenly realized where the problem was. At the beginning of the conversation, he had jokingly called what he was about to do "swindling money." He had meant it as a joke, but it backfired, and the other party took it seriously.
He cursed himself inwardly, his mind racing, and thought of a way to remedy this mistake.
--
[T/N: If you've made it this far, then the story must be pretty compelling for you as it was for me. If you don't mind giving a few donations, you can do it via PayP@l to @margxsch. ([email protected]/margxsch) Thanks for reading!]