In the Piazza of Florence, some people were cheering wildly as if they had lost their minds.
“The Baron Rothschild is the Apostle of God, and the stock is the grace bestowed by the Lord!”
If Fabio had seen this, he would have thought it was as absurd as a bunch of terrorists shouting "Allahu Akbar" while launching RPG-7 missiles. But for the people here, they were simply expressing their deep gratitude in a rather extreme form.
It was sincere praise, spoken without any pretense or deceit.
“Stocks are always right! If you trust stocks, your money will multiply!”
“I left my stocks with them, and this year’s dividend was 30%!”
To anyone watching, or to anyone who would have witnessed this scene, it looked like Baron Rothschild had planted these people as a publicity stunt.
However, the people in the square were all singing the praises of stocks voluntarily, from the bottom of their hearts.
Having bought stocks, they immediately received 30% of their principal, and every year, they would continue to receive 10% dividends without fail.
Anyone who didn’t praise it would have been a fool.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Of course, depending on the business performance, the dividend might decrease, or the stocks might be delisted.
‘But Baron Rothschild will never fail.’
And of course, Baron Rothschild did not miss out on this flow.
“Chicken skewers! How about some chicken skewers? These are made from chickens raised in Baron Rothschild’s poultry farms!”
“Share your happiness with the citizens here!”
“Chickens are always right!”
Baron Rothschild issued stocks with his entire estate, including houses and workshops, as collateral.
As a result, a simple craftsman bought 250 gold coins worth of stock and made a profit of 75 gold coins.
“Chickens are always right. How much for one?”
“One skewer costs ¼ gold coin.”
¼ gold coin—it was quite expensive for a chicken skewer. However, considering the large pieces of chicken stuffed on it, this price seemed reasonable.
“I’ll take 50 skewers, no, 60 skewers! Pack them in 30 each.”
Natanael paid the price and immediately started distributing 30 skewers.
“Long live Baron Rothschild! May everyone eat their fill and become rich!”
Although he told them to eat as much as they wanted, he only gave one skewer per person at a time. Nevertheless, those receiving the skewers bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Thank you, thank you. May you be blessed with much fortune!”
When Natanael finished distributing the skewers, a craftsman from nearby rushed over to him.
“Would you consider investing in my new workshop? I’ll offer a 13% dividend on the investment.”
“Does that mean you plan to raise the funds for your workshop through stock issuance?”
It was quite an innovative idea.
It made sense because, in his youth, Natanael had borrowed money with low interest to open a smithy in Florence... but he had to pay over 25% interest every year, and he had struggled for ten years to repay the principal and interest.
To think that someone would consider saving expenses by issuing stocks and providing dividends.
‘The young lad is sharp.’
However, coming up with a brilliant idea and actually investing money were two different things.
Baron Rothschild himself gave a 10% dividend on his stocks—how could someone expect to compete with that by offering 13%?
If you’re going to be mad, at least do it in a cute way.
Natanael smacked the young man’s head with the skewer.
“Who would invest in a 13% dividend? Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten that Baron Rothschild prints money?”
“Why are you hitting me?”
“If you had said that to another noble, your head would have been cracked right on the spot. Consider yourself lucky.”
As he looked around, Natanael saw that similar words were being met with a brutal response from other craftsmen and merchants.
“Crazy fool! Do you think your idiot stock is the same as Baron Rothschild’s?”
“Get lost before I call the guards and have you arrested for fraud!”
Of course, some more reasonable individuals arranged trade agreements on the spot, but...
In most cases, the outcome wasn’t so pleasant.
With a sense of pity for the young craftsman, Natanael gave him his final piece of advice as if throwing him a lifeline.
“Make sure you offer a dividend of 16-18% if you want people to lend you money. As for me, I’ve already invested all my wealth in Baron Rothschild’s stocks.”
The stock trading initiated by Baron Rothschild.
After the first dividend payment, stock trading spread not just throughout Florence, but across the entire country.
Like an uncontrollable wildfire.
“I've received word from my family, may I speak with you for a moment, dear?”
Erika's family was the Visconti Ducal House.
And the conversation that was about to unfold was as predictable as daylight.
If the poultry farm is giving out 30% dividends, I should get my share too.
Why did you give it to everyone else?
I helped you grow to this point, aren’t you being a little too harsh? Give me my share of the stock as well.
“Alright.”
“My grandfather and father mentioned they would like to buy more stocks. They said, ‘Who are you going to sell 500 gold coins worth of stocks to?’”
Normally, I would sell 500 gold coins worth of stocks to each direct male family member. Therefore, the Visconti family would receive a dividend of over 3,000 gold coins this year.
Having tasted the benefits of stock dividends, they would probably go wild with greed now.
Next year, I won’t distribute dividends like this again...
But once you experience the drug that is stock trading, there’s no turning back.
Of course, I plan to show them even bigger returns soon, as per the principles of self-governing to rule the nation.
“Tell the Duke that I will give him something even greater in the future.”
Having introduced the concept of stocks to these primitive people in this world...
Now I will show them the methods that many of history’s geniuses have devised.
We’ll have to establish an East India Company, won’t we?
“And there’s something far more urgent than that. I need to tell you about it first.”
“An issue more urgent than stocks, what could it be?”
Ah, by the way, this issue has nothing to do with our Rothschild family.
Why? Because after issuing stocks, I’ve slowly dealt with everything, profited, and cut losses.
I’ve already informed the Duke that the land price would not fall, but he reacted passively.
“You need to sell all the land, fields, buildings, and estates that you’re holding as assets for speculative purposes. If you don’t, something very serious will happen.”
Erika tilted her head and asked.
“Hasn’t land value been rising rapidly for hundreds of years? My mansion in the suburbs of Florence has increased by 50% since I bought it 16 years ago.”
To Koreans who have lived in a fast-rising real estate market, that increase might seem slow.
But this is a medieval fantasy world.
In a world where the actual inflation rate is less than 10% in 100 years, saving money is always beneficial.
From that perspective, the rise in land and property prices is actually happening at a crazy pace.
‘Of course, it’s all because capital is flooding into the market for speculative purposes.’
“Erika, do you know why your family bought that mansion? No one even lives there.”
Erika’s mansion is something like buying a small building in Pangyo or Bundang in Korea.
“Because it’s a good investment. The value will rise over time.”
Real estate speculation has always been done for the same reason, whether in the medieval period, the early modern era, or the present day.
You buy property, and eventually, it becomes money.
“Everyone thinks that way and trades at high prices. But now that I’ve introduced stocks as an alternative, where do you think all that money will go?”
It’s impossible to explain this to uneducated serfs. They won’t even understand the basic concept of supply and demand.
But Erika, having learned a little about economics from Sebastian and Chris, understands the situation well.
Erika covered her mouth with her right hand and opened her eyes wide.
“Everything will flow into stocks. Then land prices will definitely drop.”
As soon as she said that, Erika immediately called for her servant.
“I’ll head to the Visconti Ducal House now. No time to waste, call a carriage immediately.”
Noble families, including the Viscontis, primarily accumulate wealth in land.
And if that land turns into scrap?
A major disaster will ensue.
I also informed my people immediately.
“Tell His Majesty that Baron Rothschild wants to discuss something regarding the royal finances. This could be overstepping my bounds, but...”
After hearing me out, the royal family will probably want to entrust the management of their finances to me.