Temple Sword

Chapter 116 Saying "No" the Way of Saying "Yes"
This time, too, he listened silently to Charlie's speech, hoping that the King would have some time to deal with less passionate matters after fully arousing the enthusiasm of his warriors.So he followed the king again with brisk steps.

"Wonderful speech, Your Majesty!" Demeter praised while following Charlie Anjou, "You refused their request, but they worship you for it."

"A king has to say no to some things, but say 'no' the way he says 'yes,'" said the crowned Charlie, without slowing his pace. "That was the first and most important thing I learned from my old Archbishop Thomas, may his soul rest in peace."

"Your Majesty, I have been trying to speak to you for weeks, but..."

"Sorry, Demeter," the king sighed, "too many dark clouds have hung over my head lately."

"I know, my lord," insisted the Chancellor, "but listen to me, it really won't take long..."

"I assure you," Charlie stopped unexpectedly, "I will listen carefully to what you have to say as soon as the burden of the Northern campaign is no longer on my shoulders, but until then, please Be more patient!"

"I only need a short while," Demeter Nexel smiled sadly, "but Your Majesty... how long have you been fighting with the lords of the provinces?"

"21 years ago, I came to this kingdom," Charlie's face darkened, and he walked forward again quickly, "Since then, since I was a child, I have been fighting with them, and it has been It's been 20 years!

So I hope you can understand that I want to end this as soon as possible.But if you want golden lilies to bloom everywhere, you must first water the land with blood. "

"I understand, Your Majesty," said the Chancellor, trying to keep up with him, "I also hope that you can create a peaceful kingdom and prosperity, without thinking about anything other than building... That's why I beg you to listen to me! "

"I'm listening to you now, Demeter."

"Do you know how many currencies are circulating in the kingdom?" Demeter cut to the chase.

Charlie sighed, so heavy that the walls were shaking. "I don't know," he said curtly. "Dinari, Groschen..." He counted for a while, but gave up quickly. "Maybe a dozen?"

"Thirty-six," answered the Chancellor of the Exchequer, "thirty-six currencies, Your Majesty, and these are only the ones I have counted in the past six months! This does not include the coins issued illegally during the Interregnum, and the merchants have been Among the counterfeit silver coins and other rubbish..."

"Damn it!" The king paused again, this time because he had reached the door of his chamber, and he didn't want to invite the people behind him to enter. "What do you mean by 36 currencies? How do I make sense of this, Demeter?"

"Your Majesty," the Chancellor took a deep breath and glanced at the expressionless guards, "There are more problems with your kingdom than you can imagine, and the market is so chaotic that only an arithmetic genius can figure out the value of each coin How much. Merchants cheat ordinary people as they please, I will explain it if you will allow me, it's about . . . "

Charlie never liked arithmetic, it was a real torture for him, and Demeter Nexel was a so-called arithmetic genius.

The Chancellor explained in detail how each coin was traded in the various markets, how chaotic it was, how different it was from town to town, and how the unsustainable situation had worsened from year to year.

It didn't take long for the already bad-tempered king's head to throb.He closed his eyes and massaged his temples vigorously while his Chancellor explained faster and more enthusiastically...

"Speak!" interrupted the king impatiently, "what do you think I should do?"

Demeter paused, as if gathering courage for what he was about to say.He swallowed, cleared his throat, and said without hesitation:
"We should abolish the currency exchange tax," he suggested, "I know it's been around since the Arpads, but believe me, Your Majesty, it's a system so bad that no one can imagine Create a system worse than this!"

He was afraid that Charles would throw a fit at this audacious proposal, or ridicule him, call him a fool, and permanently deprive him of his chancellorship, but the King did not.

"Go on!" said the king.

"Please take back all the bad coins that are circulating in the public environment!" Demeter became bolder under the encouragement of the king, "melt them and destroy them all, every coin must be like this!
Then, a currency of constant value is minted to replace it.Of course, the currency exchange tax can no longer exist, the ruler of the kingdom should not collect money in this way year after year, it is like cutting down the tree under his own feet..."

"A currency of constant value?"

"That's right," the Chancellor nodded, "I've been flipping through the old charter documents, and found some interesting things in them. In the well-known era of King Bella, a man named Esteban Ban Forged its own dinar.

Your Majesty, you can also follow this example and mint the denarius belonging to Charles Anjou so that it will be valued throughout the Christian world and become a currency in circulation..."

"Demeter," the king grabbed his shoulder, "when I was fighting in the north, you have a new task, find a way to cancel the currency exchange tax without emptying the treasury, and then find a way to replenish the treasury new way!
I always knew there was no way I could have found a better match than you, and I believe in you.When I take Mate Chuck's last castle, I need you to have your plan ready, with all the precise details. "

After all, Charlie walked into his bedroom, and the guards behind him were heavily shut.

Demeter Neksey stood there like a stake, and smiled smugly.He had persuaded His Majesty, but he soon realized that the King had said "No" in the same way he said "Yes" in the previous speech.

-

"Stop, my lord knight!"

Felicien Zacher was on his way to his bedroom when a voice in the corridor stopped him.He looked behind him, then turned completely: a bearded, broad-shouldered, sullen man was walking towards him.

As the man got closer, he recognized the dwarf captain who had been following him since he was in Timisoara.

"Are you talking to me, Lakfee? What's the matter?" he asked, even though there was no one else in the corridor but the two of them, "What do you want?"

"I won't bother you because of trivial matters." The Sekai looked up at him carefully, "I'm worried about your health, Lord Felician."

The court knight frowned his bushy eyebrows. "My health?... My little friend, are you kidding me?"

"Oh no, not at all," said Lakfe, who hated being teased about his height but didn't want to expose Felician as a weakness. "It may not seem like much to you, but even from my vantage point it's clear that you've just been sweating profusely in the throne room."

"Stop pestering me, I've told you many times!" Felician's jaw tightened, "There's almost no air in that place, and it's so stuffy, that's why I'm sweating..."

"I don't think it's that hot." The captain gave him a look. "I think you are really sick. You must be very disturbed at the thought of having to go north again and draw your sword against those who are still loyal to your dead master." ..."

"What are you implying?" Felician was furious. "You mean, because I left Martai and sided with the king, I am a shameless oath-breaker?"

"Oh, no," Lakfee grinned, showing a disgusted expression. "That's not what I meant at all. I want to say that you are much worse than those shameless oath-breakers. I want to say that you didn't join the king voluntarily, and you didn't come here voluntarily..."

"How dare you..." Felician said tremblingly, but the captain didn't finish.

"I want to say," he said lightly, "you were arranged here by them. You can visit many places, see many things, and get answers to many questions..."

Felicien Zacher stared flushed at the man in front of him and sneezed.If he was fine before, he feels terrible now.

"You dirty little bug!" He lowered his head and shouted at Lakfee. "How dare you? I am a knight of the court. Who are you? You little soldier, a captain of infantry commanding a pack of pigs?

What right do you have to accuse me in the king's castle?Go back to your tent, you should be glad you would have been hacked to pieces if I hadn't been unable to come in with a sword! "

You should be thankful, Lakfell thought, thanking me for nailing you to the wall with my words, not my spear.

"Don't be in such a hurry, my lord knight." Lakfe took a step back and forced a smile on his face to annoy him, "This is not good for your body. You are not feeling well now, I can tell. Don't Worry, we'll be off soon anyway, and the northern air will do you good."

"The one who should be worried is you!" Felician roared, "People like you who only use their mouths don't deserve to live to see the birth of their children and grandchildren. God is fair..."

"Let's wait and see, Lord Knight." Lakfe turned his back to him, left Felician in the empty corridor, and let him be furious, after he dealt with another bastard, Antal Barto The law stops. "Let's wait and see!"

　Currency tax (lucrum camerae): At the beginning of each year, the people of the whole kingdom gave their wealth to the royal family, and in return they received inferior currency of lower value.This is where the income of the royal treasury comes from.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)