A gasp of cold air. Even Tyrion looked at the speaker with a ghostly gaze: Hey, although the reward was agreed upon earlier, shouldn't such a major decision be discussed in advance?
Tyrion struggled to suppress the urge to object face-to-face, and only after leaving the door did he question: "Brother, that's one-tenth! Although I don't object to using some means to retain talent, have you ever thought about how much investment we'll have to continuously add later if we want to make this factory big? You didn't make any further agreements, just gave them one-tenth to the siblings with a snap of your fingers. God knows how much that one-tenth will grow into in the future! Even if Nina is a lovely girl, you don't need to do this, right? If you want a girl tonight, I'll find you one. Seeing her eyes looking at you with such adoration, it wouldn't be a problem if you were willing to put in some effort to get her into bed. Why did you have to say one-tenth on impulse?"
"Is Nina going to become my Master's wife?" Arya only heard the latter half of the sentence, completely unaware of why the topic changed so quickly. She looked confused: "Don't the Night's Watch swear not to marry?"
"What nonsense?" Aegon also broke free from the illusion of giving a leader's speech at this moment, only to realize that he might have gotten too high and didn't stop the car just now. But words spoken are like water splashed out, they cannot be taken back, so he repeatedly apologized to Tyrion and quickly explained: "Don't be nervous, anyway, I just said it, no agreement has been signed, there is still room for compensation. How about this, when the time comes, change what I said to one-tenth of the profit of 'this' paper mill, which is the paper workshop in the courtyard we just saw. The expanded part is not included, and it doesn't involve the subsequent industrial chain. Stepping back, if the paper produced is not sold externally for a certain period of time and is only supplied to our own printing factory, aren't the paper pricing and profit still up to us?"
"If you deliberately set the price low, they're not fools, won't they find another way out?!" Tyrion thought for a moment and accepted the first proposal: "Okay... if it's just a part of this workshop, then giving them half isn't too much. Let's decide on that."
"Well... what's wrong with giving a little more? We are playing a game of money, and in this game, the best way is to distribute benefits to the direct participants. When the paper mill grows, we can issue bonds to give dividends to the siblings. This way, they get benefits, but most of the money remains in our capital chain. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
"But what if they take the bonds and exchange them directly for money?"
"Of course, give them the money readily. The most important thing in playing finance is credit. Don't worry about whether someone took the money away or not, as long as we control and ensure that the money in our hands is still sufficient, that's enough. Once credit is solid, those who took the money will deposit it back." Aegon said: "Once usable paper is produced, we can start preparing for expansion. In this process, remember to cooperate with wealthy and powerful great families and big merchants in King's Landing and the Crownlands. Don't think about taking all the benefits for yourself. Although the Lannister family has a great reputation, a strong dragon cannot overpower a local snake. The best way to prevent others from snatching business is to turn all threatening people into partners."
"Forming a 'community of interest', you've said it before, do I look that stupid?" Tyrion seemed to be in a good mood, "'Borrowing money' and attracting investment through cooperative projects are much more attractive than Night's Watch Bonds which have nothing. I am now considering whether to open another investment-type bond project."
...
For Tyrion, a core member of the Lannister family, this as yet unformed "community of interest" was probably just a difference between earning a little more or a little less, while for Aegon, this would be a fast track for him to gradually come into contact with the masters of upper-level resources... and squeeze in to occupy a place, striving for voice and influence.
With Arya and the Stark guard responsible for protecting her present, the two were very conservative in their communication on many topics, and when it came to core secrets, they consciously changed the subject.
"That small house over there is where I've prepared for printing. Want to go take a look?"
"Okay, let's go."
So, the group visited Tyrion's "printing factory" again. Since the paper problem had not yet been solved, the so-called printing factory was temporarily just a place rented for two engravers to live and work daily... Here, Aegon saw the already engraved bond printing plates, as well as the ongoing engraving of the content of the seven-pointed star scripture.
"Have you contacted the Church side?" Aegon asked.
"Not yet. If the Church doesn't want them, I'll just sell them myself. Are cheap seven-pointed star scriptures afraid of having no market? That would be truly seeing a ghost."
"That's not necessarily true. What if the Church declares that the printed seven-pointed star scriptures are not devout, or are blasphemy against the gods..."
"Bah." Tyrion spat on the ground: "To hell with his piety! If it really doesn't work, I'll stuff the Archbishop with a solid gold Seven Gods statue, guaranteed to make him loosen up. If that still doesn't work, then he's blocking Tyrion Lannister's path to wealth, and I won't let him live!"
"Okay, okay!" Arya excitedly supported loudly: "If he's killed, let's all believe in the Old Gods together!"
"You cunning little rascal are quite shrewd!"
"Don't lead the child astray." Aegon rolled his eyes at Tyrion, who was pretending to be fierce: "Just print, I'll fully support you anyway."
***
Jokes aside, Aegon's doubts were not groundless. A large number of printed seven-pointed star scriptures flowing into the public would indeed increase the Church's influence in the short term, but in the long run, it would have a negative impact on the Church's ability to control the populace. The reason is simple: the seven-pointed star scripture can generally only be read by mid-to-high-level clergy. Lower-level missionaries and ordinary believers can only fully trust the priests' interpretations of the scriptures and doctrines. Once printed seven-pointed star scriptures circulate, literate people can read and understand the content themselves, making it difficult for the Church and priests to maintain their interests through lies and fallacies. Coupled with the role of various other books in popularizing knowledge, Westeros will soon usher in a huge religious reform.
But he didn't voice these thoughts and speculations. He could think of these not because he was smart but because history provided examples. The people of the Seven Gods Church might not necessarily have this level of divine foresight and strategic vision. Furthermore, the changes that "might happen in the future" are really not very relevant to him. Let the religious situation in King's Landing and the Seven Kingdoms turn upside down; what is important now is to make money for the Night's Watch and himself. Let Tyrion handle it. After the suppression by "Maegor the Cruel", the power of the Seven Gods Church in Westeros is not at all like Christianity in Europe, which could cover the sky with one hand. Even if the Church reacts and realizes the harm of printing to itself, would it dare to roast the Lannisters, or even confront the large interest group that might have already formed by then?
***
Block printing has no technical difficulty at all. Aegon didn't find another opportunity to point out the direction and win admiring glances, so he explained the principle of "movable type printing" to Tyrion and the two Artisans. After some discussion, they eventually abandoned this more advanced technology. The reasons for this are a bit complex: carving letters into small blocks, then painstakingly arranging and assembling them, preparing the plate, proofreading, and then printing... These steps, whether in terms of raw material selection, the skill of the engravers, or the proficiency and knowledge level of the printers, are quite demanding, not to mention the subsequent classification and management...
Given the insufficient level of light and heavy industry, manually making movable type is inefficient and easily causes uneven letter sizes and stroke thicknesses. Coupled with the possibility of uneven typesetting, horizontal or inverted letters during the printing process, the final result of all the effort is very likely to be "consuming a lot of cost, but the printing effect is not as beautiful and neat as block printing." Moreover, whether it is a calendar or the seven-pointed star scripture, there are a large number of illustrations and charts, which makes movable type show almost no advantage.
At this stage, his goal is to quickly complete the initial accumulation and dig out the first pot of gold by printing items with huge demand. What is needed is "reliability" and "stability", not the "advanced" that is not clearly understood but feels impressive.
***
Tyrion was shocked by the concept of movable type printing and regretted that his business could not immediately adopt this advanced technology, sighing helplessly.
"Don't sigh, this technology will be useful someday." Aegon comforted him: "When funds become abundant, you can print all kinds of science, technology, and literature books you've dreamed of. At that time, movable type printing will have a place to be used."
"Well, let's talk about it then. The most important thing now is to make money."
The two adults were busy with serious matters all day, while Arya, the carefree girl, ran around and had a great time shopping and also had her eyes opened. Seeing that it was getting dark, urged by her own guard, the girl reluctantly said goodbye to her Master and the Little Imp and returned to the Red Keep with her bodyguard.
Aegon and Tyrion also returned to the inn afterwards. They dismounted and handed the reins to the inn's attendant, preparing to end the busy day.
Walking inside the door, they were greeted by the attendant Jack, who had already closed the office and was waiting in the inn lobby: "Aegon, someone from the Red Keep came and brought you a letter. It seems to be from Castle Black."
A letter from Castle Black? Aegon took the roll of parchment with black wax seal, frowned, and opened it. The agreed time to provide the second batch of supplies was still early. What could be good news in a letter at this time?
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