King of The Wall

2021-10-15

Chapter 662 The Battle Between Eagles and Pigeons (Part 2)

Stupid or Bad?

The hat is a bit big, and it's even more lethal from a well-respected Old Senior. The main war faction in the house was suddenly full of arrogance, while the main and peace faction suddenly became dumb. It was not until after a long time that the dove faction calmed down and fought back with a stab at the neck.

"The information from both sides of the Narrow Sea will go back and forth in a matter of weeks, but the advance of Night's Watch and Queen is so fast that our regular operation of 'supporting the opposition to contain it' is completely lost. The time and space for the display - it has been twice in a row, we have just selected the agent and are ready to start fully funding, he has already been defeated on the battlefield. According to the information, the reason is that the Land Granter has a formidable power in the hands Amazing new weapon: it fires with thunderous sound, has a range that can cross the Blackwater Rush, and has formidable power enough to penetrate a wooden city gate...Night's Watch has even flexibly equipped it on the ship in the decisive battle with Iron Fleet, only More than ten doors, it helped the Targaryen fleet to defeat the Royal Fleet of Baratheon and the new Iron Fleet of 'Crow's Eye' at the same time. At this moment, Arsenal outside King's Landing is fully producing this new weapon. After analysis and evaluation by Braavos scholar and think tanks Judging, our fleet is completely unmatched - this, we didn't make it up!"

"It's not made up, that's right, it's just true to the old saying - long-term malpractice Gordon sneered, "Braavos has been peaceful for too long. These scholars and so-called analysts have pedantic thoughts and single brain circuits, so it is understandable that they can't turn a corner, but in this room, how can the elite of the Keyholders Society be Is there such a voice? When I, Braavos, when deciding foreign policy, only consider whether the army can beat the army? When the city-state was first established, did we beat Valyria? One hundred and seventy years ago, Viserys Targaryen II When we married the daughter of Roger Bank, who challenged the status of the Iron Vault with the strength of Lys and Westeros, can we beat the alliance of these two countries? Do we compare the army's battle strength every time and see that there is a high probability that we will not be able to beat the two countries? , we will raise the flag to surrender and surrender the financial status of the Iron Vault?!"

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With a sudden sound, he slapped the table heavily: "Yes, we probably won't be able to beat the Queen and her gang of Night's Watch, eunuch soldiers, barbarians from beyond the wall, and a fleet of miscellaneous artillery pieces. But war is never the only way to fight... let alone: even if only considering War, at least for the moment, we have Rea, the top of the other eight Free Cities and Seven Kingdoms ch is in the same camp. Now we just 'probably' can't beat it. After a while, we will wait until the Queen has pacified Reach and then conquered Vale, integrated the resources of Westeros, defeated Volantis' Alliance Against the Dragonmother, eliminated all potential allies and finally forced to Braavos' door. How should I be recruited? This battle, either don't fight, or fight early, fight immediately! "

Suppressing the lively debate atmosphere, Gordon changed the subject.

"However, don't think that if I said 'either don't fight', it means I still stand. Undecided. On the topic of fighting or not, I have to give some people in this room a good brainwash today! A dangerous trend of thought is growing and spreading in Braavos, corrupting the lifeblood of this city-state—short-sighted! There is nothing wrong with weighing the pros and cons when making decisions, but the 'pros' and 'cons' in this are certainly not wrong. "Gordon rebuked in the tone of hate iron for not becoming steel," to give the simplest example - when we find that the cost of recovering a debt exceeds the debt itself, we can decisively give up recovering the debt. Debt? "

"For individuals, it may be a wise choice to stop losses decisively, but the Iron Vault is an organization that makes a living by lending. "Immediately, the main war faction took over the words knowingly." If the target is a force, a country, if the debt recovery is too difficult and the cost is too high to give up recovery, then we will lose more than just debt. In itself, and the iron rule of 'Iron Bank will have its due', in the future, there will continue to be monarchs who have some confidence in oneself's strength to try to renege on a debt - and the latter point, in the long run, is more important. Big disadvantage! "

"I totally agree with this, but—" Someone immediately asked, "What Queen is doing now is not to owe money, but to negotiate an acceptable repayment plan with us?" "

"Well said! Gordon tapped on the table with his fingertips, and after regaining everyone's attention—he raised his arm and pointed at the questioner, "Okay, everyone, if you say 'the advantage of the enemy's weapons is to fear the battle', it is either stupid or bad 'stupid' In the first, the one that jumps out into everyone's field of vision now is the second! "

Ignoring the confused, inexplicable, surprised and angry expressions of the named person, the old man kept gushing: "Is the invisible benefit of the Iron Vault only the prestige of 'no default'? No, there is also credit and financial dominance! This kind of power illusory, which only exists in the human heart, is invulnerable, indestructible and impregnable from some perspectives. Today that dwarf Tyrion Lannister offered to pay off the Iron Vault with Targaryen bonds, does anyone really think that this is just 'repayment in another form'? "

"It's stupid! ”

After taking a breath, he suddenly drank it suddenly, which startled everyone.

Probably because he scolded the phrase with too much force, Gordon coughed several times. , and slowly resumed his breathing rhythm under Maiden's pat on the back next to him, before continuing.

"The essence of the Targaryen bond is a financial product, and its effectiveness and credibility are still not widely recognized. As long as you pay a little attention to the information, you can know that so far Queen has been promoting it by forcing it to heroes and following the family. At this time, our Iron Vault readily accepted Daenerys' proposal to offset the debt with bonds. What is this? You could say 'Queen paid the debt in the form of bonds', but I'd say - it's 'The Iron Vault used the millions of Golden Dragons paid up front - to buy the Westeros Bank's bonds'! This move is to advertise and endorse the legitimacy and credit of a potential competitor on the other side of the narrow sea as a world financial center! "

"If Westeros Bank paid a large price for this endorsement, we might have a discussion around 'is the price enough' - although I can't say how much is enough. But now, they are using the money that should belong to us to coerce us to accept the conditions? The decision makers who are counting on the iron vault are all in the water, and will they foolishly hand over their most valuable wealth to their competitors? We lend money, when did we become philanthropists? ! ”

This truth is not complicated, nor is it new—it can be said that in the debates and quarrels of the past ten days, the main war faction has already analyzed these contents in an orderly manner... It's just that when there is no authority to come forward, the debate between the eagle and the dove is often a chicken-and-duck talk, each speaking its own way, and no one should calm down and carefully listen to and analyze their own views.

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"I have long said that this is self-destruction, but some people just don't listen! "

"It's more than that! Bonds can be exchanged for the purchase of gunpowder weapons, but at what price and when will they be delivered... There is no commitment to these key information, which is equal to how much our more than two million Golden Dragon can buy, and when can we get it - all Let the other party have the final say, how sinister and vicious the calculation is! "

With the support of the big guys, the main battle faction, which already has an advantage, has an overwhelming upper hand. The room of neither too big nor too small is filled with everyone talking at once. Echoing the accusations of "hit a person when he's down", those who are not strong-willed in the Lord and faction have already changed their positions, and those who were originally ill-considered are also listening to Gordon Gallonier's detailed and multi-angle speech After the analysis, it was shaken, and the voices of opposition were almost inaudible: "But these contents can be agreed upon when signing a formal agreement, no matter how bad it is, can we declare that we only accept cash payment? "

"Okay, stop!" Opponents are either stupid or bad, but pig teammates are sometimes annoying. Garonnell frowned irritably and glanced at the juniors who were still muttering, "Don't go off topic! In this case, whether the bonds are repaid with arms or cash is not the key at all! The key is - the debt-to-bond issue itself, only itself! As long as we were paralyzed and chose to accept it, Westeros Bank got into our solid gate like a mouse, made a hole in the invulnerable, indestructible and impregnable credit gold mountain of the iron vault, and secretly transferred a part of our invisible wealth. - Financial influence. This transfer and blood-sucking will be silent and non-existent for a long time, until we came back to his senses with hindsight, and we are surprised to find that Braavos' economic foundation has long been like wood that has been eaten by termites. It is also riddled with holes, and the situation will rot to the extent that the reincarnation of twenty-three first generation Keyholders will not be able to save it! Gordon glanced around with his sharp eyes. "Do you think that when the later "Braavos Decline History" describes this period of history, which time point will be the beginning of our decline? "

After a three or two second halftime pause, more than one person answered.

"Braavos Iron Vault - From the moment Daenerys Targaryen I accepted the bond for debt ! "

The obvious answer, Gordon nodded approved the answer: "What is stupid? That is, when others are staring at your capital, you are still thinking about the income he promised; when others are thinking about your belongings and business behind you, you are still thinking about the arrears lent to him; when others come to ask you When you die, you are still full of business! Back to the Targaryen bond itself - exchange paper for real gold, white silver, use something other than precious metal to anchor the currency value, and make finance more than ten times more efficient. This is what countless bankers, including me, have already done. Thoughts, dreams... or delusions, it's a pity that I haven't been able to find a way to take this step after exhausting half my life. Who would have thought that when he was old and buried half of his body in the ground, he unexpectedly saw someone across the ocean trying to turn this idea into reality! "

"Emotionally, I even kind of want to be in the game." Gordon sighed with some melancholy, and his previously intense tone also became low and steady. "Unfortunately, reason told me: the other party is impossible to give me a partner seat to sit for me, and firearms are far from reliable ideal anchors that can replace precious metals. Stuff, this is not very reliable. However, judging from the incredible lives and victories of Daenerys and Igor these two people, I dare not arrogantly conclude that they will fail..."

His tone was lifted and became firm and cold again: "But , at least one thing I can confirm, that is: the little Queen and the black clothed prime minister across the narrow sea want to do a major event that reshapes the entire Westeros and even the world pattern, and we Braavos as the biggest benefit of the existing world order It can be said that what they want to shake is precisely our foundation, the core interests of the city-state that are more important than anyone present. Westeros Bank and the second dynasty of Targaryen behind it are not simply a 'competitor', but our mortal enemy! It is here to kill us. Two million Golden Dragons are actually not worth mentioning in this matter. In the competition and confrontation with the mortal enemy, as long as the final victory is achieved, the enemy will be hurt by one thousand and one thousand will be lost. Acceptable, this is the last moment, and it is stupid to think about problems with a businessman's mind at this time! "

By this time, the Lord and the faction have completely shrunk into the corner, but Gordon's pursuit is still not over.

"Those who sincerely think we should accept Bonds, people making peace talks with the new Targaryen Dynasty, I call them stupid, so bad? He paused, watching the strange and awkward atmosphere permeate the room, and then continued after a long while, "There are quite a few people in this room who can clearly see that something is not right, and realize that this is not good for Braavos." The profit is detrimental... but because of receiving a certain dwarf's rich property, he speaks for the little Queen against his conscience. There are more important things at the moment, and I will not propose or agree to investigate and settle this matter, but I also ask those guys who know it well to do it for themselves! "

After sweeping a circle of participants with cold eyes, he finally turned his gun on his teammates: "As for those who are firmly opposed to this matter, don't be too proud Too early! You clearly judge the benefits, you can see the long-term future, and you have an absolute advantage, but why did you waste more than half a month in useless debates and quarrels with a small group of people who are either stupid or bad? Come to your senses - do something first with the resources at your fingertips if you can't reach an agreement - like electing a temporary Sealord agent to break the game? We've missed the best opportunity to support and play with Reach against Daenerys, and we've also lost the second round after losing the first round with the opponent! I'd even venture a bet that within a month - 'Reach returns, lineage of Greenhand's lineage falls' will come from across the Narrow Sea... Scales of Victory is rapidly tipping the enemy's side, and we haven't even begun Get ready to fight!"

"In view of this, I, the retired Old Guy, with unparalleled love and loyalty to Braavos, will overstep the dictatorship here today: don't go, issue Just go from 'Should we fight the Queen' to 'How to subvert the old dynasty restored by Mother of Dragons'!"

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(end of this chapter)

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