"Exactly. If my store encounters any problems again, I'll still come to you for a loan. As long as the person who earns my ten thousand golden dragons eventually deposits the gold back into the Iron Bank, this game can cycle endlessly." Aegon grinned slyly, "With ten thousand golden dragons, you can achieve things that would otherwise require twenty, thirty, or even forty thousand golden dragons. There's only one situation that would break this cycle: if too much money is lost in circulation or goes to places outside Braavos and fails to return in time. Now, do you understand why the Iron Bank is so urgent in collecting debts after lending money to King Robert?"
"Because the money Robert spends won't return to the Iron Bank, but will be hidden in the homes of Westerosi people!" Tyrion nearly slapped his thigh, finally understanding something easily. "This is what you call... what was it, 'capital chain rupture'!"
"Exactly." As expected of Tyrion, he learns and applies quickly. "Now, the money the Iron Bank has lent out far exceeds the wealth it has in its vaults, or even in all of Braavos. Repaying the principal is something it doesn't consider and cannot possibly do. Can you say that the Iron Bank is swindling money?"
Had he really been somewhat convinced? Tyrion's eyes widened, still a little unwilling. "But you're just an ordinary person, not a noble, nor a great rich man..."
"I am the Night's Watch's supply officer, the recruiter for King's Landing and the Crownlands, the Dragonglass mining supervisor and image ambassador. I have an appointment letter, and you helped me get it, remember? Not to mention I now have a certificate issued by the Hand of the King. If I borrow money in the name of the Night's Watch, Commander Mormont can't refuse to acknowledge it." Aegon smiled even more proudly, suddenly feeling that being in the Night's Watch wasn't so bad after all. "What is a scam? If I borrow money and then abscond by ship across the Narrow Sea, that's a scam. If I mess up and can't repay the money in the end, that can also be called a scam. But if everything goes smoothly, and everyone who lent me money can withdraw their principal and interest when they need it, can this still be called a scam?"
"Isn't it? At most, it's just a clever scam, right?"
"Sigh... Imagine, if a Westerosi wanted to open a store like this, he would need twenty thousand real, existing golden dragons of his own. But without a store, I absolutely cannot earn that much money, and without earning that much money, I cannot open a store... In this chain of difficulties, Westeros has failed to develop for thousands of years." Aegon said, "If this is also called a scam, then the world I came from—" He almost let it slip, quickly correcting himself, "The entire continent I came from, China, the entire society, is built on scams. Yet, it is precisely such a society built on scams that has developed political, economic, cultural, and technological levels far surpassing Westeros. What do you think about this?"
"This—"
"Not only that, the place I come from has played the money game at a higher level than Braavos." Aegon continued to drop bombshells. "The money the Iron Bank lends out is all real gold and silver, so after a few cycles, for various reasons, it has to slow down its pace to prevent unexpected situations where there isn't enough gold in the vault to return. Therefore, for every gold coin in its vault, it can at most virtually create two or three non-existent gold coins to invest in market development, build its army and cities, or lend for interest. But the banks in China are different. They don't lend out any real gold or silver, but only issue paper certificates, which we call banknotes or 'cash'. It will declare in the name of the China Bank that the person holding this paper owns ten thousand golden dragons in the vault. The amazing thing is that the holder can also use this certificate directly as ten thousand golden dragons... This way, for every gold coin in the China Bank's vault, it dares to fabricate a dozen non-existent gold coins and let this fabricated money flow into the market to build the country. The efficiency of the two is obvious at a glance. Braavos is indeed very powerful, but China is a thousand times stronger. If it weren't for the Sunset Sea, which stretches as far as the eye can see, the Chinese army occupying all of Westeros, Essos, and even Sothoryos would only be a matter of how long it takes the army to travel."
"A piece of paper representing ten thousand golden dragons?"
"It's not that exaggerated, it's just an analogy."
"How is that possible? According to you, the banks in China are playing such a big game. If even one-tenth of the people took the paper you mentioned to the bank to exchange for money, this scam would be exposed!"
"Let alone one-tenth, in reality, no one will withdraw gold coins. Because in the eyes of the Chinese, banknotes and gold coins are already the same thing." This was a bit difficult to explain, and Aegon thought about it for a while before speaking cautiously: "Playing the money game yields a very magical result – although the 'chickens' we fabricate are fake, the 'eggs' they lay are real. We have used non-existent gold coins to prosper society, mobilize people's enthusiasm, and increase productivity, thereby building houses and armies, producing countless food, clothing, toys... Finally, the value of the goods owned by the Chinese has far exceeded the value of the gold and silver coins in the banks and even throughout the entire continent of China. At this stage, trading with precious metal currency has become unrealistic. The Chinese have completely abandoned ancient currency and have turned to viewing banknotes as real money."
"Treating paper as money?"
"Exactly. This is the final stage of the money game. At this point, this 'scam' you perceive is already one of the frameworks and rules of social operation, and it will never be broken." What Aegon didn't tell the other person was that in the true final stage, money would just be a number on a ledger, and even banknotes wouldn't be needed.
***
"The chickens are fake, but the eggs they lay are real... The chickens are fake, but the eggs they lay are real..."
Over the past two months, Aegon had told Tyrion stories about his homeland, China, whenever he had the chance. These stories were basically modern Chinese technology relocated after being somewhat disguised, so they were nine parts true and one part false, almost without flaws. This led the Dwarf to have no doubts about the existence, power, and wealth of "China". Thus, the smartest Lannister in the world was also caught up in Aegon's stories, mumbling the latter's words like a fool, completely losing his usual eloquence.
"The stage of fabricating 'chickens' to lay eggs is still early. What I'm preparing to do now is merely borrow chickens to lay eggs." Aegon finished telling the entire story. It was time to see the results. "Since even the act of fabricating more than ten times the amount of gold coins can be a good thing that promotes social development, then borrowing money in the name of the Night's Watch, using the money to do things for the Night's Watch, and guaranteeing timely repayment of principal and interest, how is that a heinous and unforgivable crime?"
"Let me think, this is a bit confusing."
"Take your time thinking about it. It's still early before I need to report back next time." Aegon stood up. "I have other things to do today. We'll talk about raising funds when I get back. Tyrion, you saved my life when I was in danger. This kindness is eternally unforgettable. I swear by the Old Gods, the New Gods, and all the gods that I will never trick you. But have you ever thought, as a Dwarf, just by reading and cultivating yourself, when will it be your turn to contribute to the family, and when will you get a chance to prove yourself to Lord Tywin?"
These words had a hint of poking at a sore spot. If their relationship wasn't close enough, it could also be considered speaking too deeply too soon, but Aegon was taking advantage of Tyrion being a gentleman. What is a gentleman? Even when offended, he will not lose his reason or hold a grudge, and this precisely touched the deepest desire in Tyrion's heart.
"My suggestion is, try to open the first bank in Westeros. With my status as a Night's Watchman, I cannot achieve this, but with the Lannister family's strong financial foundation and good reputation for 'always repaying debts', if you have an idea, you will definitely be the most likely successful Try it out. And if you consider it afterwards and think it's not feasible, then let's drop it. You can lend me a hundred or eighty golden dragons as interest for the first round of borrowing, and all subsequent operations and risks will be handled and borne by myself. But if you consider it afterwards and decide to give it a try, then not only can you participate in this fundraising with me from start to finish, but when you plan to officially establish a bank in the future, I will also do my best to provide help and advice. So, it's settled, how about it?"
"Okay, I'll study it and give you an answer."
"Good, then for now, I'm going to the Red Keep." The two of them spent some time talking, and the morning passed just like that. Aegon walked towards the door of the room, and suddenly remembered something. "Almost forgot, the money game we were just talking about already has a specific name in China. There is no corresponding word in Westeros, so I've decided to combine 'gold' and 'flow' to call it 'finance'."
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[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!]