The tulip coin scam, or rather the legitimate business venture (since it’s not illegal), was a success, and the Rothschild family’s foreign exchange warriors had returned.
"Luca Orsini, at the behest of the baron, has returned after delivering a small gift to the Holy Empire."
The recipient of that gift might not have thought much of it, but I can’t stand bad behavior like rejecting someone’s goodwill.
If you give someone something with a sincere heart, they should accept it with gratitude.
Of course, having received the gift, it would be entirely legal for me to take the corresponding compensation however I see fit.
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‘This should have taught the Holy Empire that coins aren’t always good.’
They will be thankful they learned it cheaply now, instead of having to pay a higher price for the lesson later on.
"Though we’ve already made about 300,000 gold coins in profit, you remember what I said about the final 'pass the bomb' game, right?"
To make money during a bubble economy, where the value of goods is extremely overestimated, the most reliable and profitable method is to short-sell when the value of a particular item peaks.
Of course, it’s not an easy task.
If a beginner tries it, there's a 99% chance they’ll end up diving into the Han River and going through some alternate-world gacha instead.
‘Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly short-selling.’
If it had been true short-selling, I would have had to pay back in stocks or tulips.
What I did this time was simply sell rare tulips that had become worthless in Vienna at gold prices to other regions.
"We sold the remaining stock and the tulips we had in Vienna and made a profit of 500,000 gold coins. I wanted more, but if I pushed further to squeeze out more, I feared for my life. So I decided to stop here."
Honestly, I was tempted to push further, but when someone gets too greedy, they often end up in trouble.
Historically, kings who were called tyrants would have avoided being stabbed with spears if they had been content with 2,000 concubines instead of pushing for 3,000 or 5,000.
They could have lived long lives, but instead, they pushed for more than they could handle and ended up dead in a few years, stabbed to death.
‘If you forget the lessons of history, you end up like the idiots who claim to be the Empire of Japan.’
And with the 800,000 gold coins I had left to spend, that’s enough money to pull off a multi-billion-dollar scam.
I should be content with this.
I stood up and patted Orsini on the shoulder.
"You did well, thanks to you we made a huge profit. I’ll make sure to reward you properly later."
"Thank you!"
A woman will put on makeup and adorn herself for the person she loves, and a man will give his life for the one he serves.
Though I have three wives, to be honest, the love of women is a bit too complicated for me to fully understand...
But how to earn a man’s loyalty is very clear and straightforward.
A large amount of compensation, sincere praise and recognition, and care for their families.
Just by taking care of these three things, they’ll carry straw for you and dive into fire without hesitation.
"Before we talk about rewards, what’s the current situation with the Holy Empire and the Papacy? Even small details will do."
Orsini shook his head upon hearing my question.
"In the capital Vienna and the major cities, there are corpses of those who spent all their wealth buying tulips scattered everywhere. I’ve seen several floating in the Rhine, and many men were seen staring at the sky, crying helplessly."
Whether it’s stocks, coins, or real estate, people who lose their money always react in the same way.
"If we had been able to keep this up for another year, we could have shaken the economy of the Holy Empire itself, but... the realization that tulips are just flowers came faster than expected."
Medieval people may have lacked absolute knowledge, but they weren’t stupid.
Even if I set up everything perfectly, they would’ve realized they were being deceived pretty quickly.
"Seeing the transactions and the number of merchant caravans dramatically reduced, I suspect the Holy Empire’s economy took a massive hit from this tulip craze. For the next few years, they’ll likely be floundering in the mud."
"And how are the ecclesiastical electors, like the Archbishop of Mainz?"
"They’re in an even worse situation."
The ecclesiastical electors were no longer begging for alms, but were rather selling indulgences—selling more than the poor people.
What could they have done in this situation?
Honestly, I’m looking forward to seeing what happened.
"The Archbishop of Mainz and the other ecclesiastical electors made considerable money by selling rare tulips to other electors and noble families. They tasted money."
In stock markets, this is often said:
‘The start of financial ruin is when you taste money for the first time in stocks.’
"They bought up all the tulips we sold, and it was chaos. I heard that they raised enormous sums of money by using church construction donations as an excuse, and they collected funds by any means necessary."
Whenever any religious group asks for "special donations" like for building projects, the members feel the pressure to donate.
The more corrupt the religion, the greater the pressure.
Needless to say, the Church of Deus, which was at the peak of corruption, had even worse practices.
"If they didn’t donate, they would be socially shunned."
They likely collected huge donations, used that money to buy tulips, then resold them to make huge profits, repeating this process.
Of course, the end result would have been the collapse of the church's finances.
"As a result, the church ran out of money and began printing indulgences in bulk."
The Holy Empire was truly in chaos.
Not only had they suffered economic damage or bankruptcy, but now they were demanding massive donations?
If someone refused, the church might not call them out by name directly, but...
Soon, they’d begin a sermon that anyone who heard it would know was aimed at them:
"Brother 00, though God has blessed you, your faith is still lacking..."
"I should make sure to donate to the Church."
The Church of Deus runs with a structure similar to the tax office.
If you pay ahead, you don’t get taxed later, and they won’t come to collect again.
Otherwise, even in the corrupt Church of Deus, there’s no avoiding criticism for not following the moral code.
‘To put it more accurately, it’s all about sustainable donation exploitation.’
"Anything else to report?"
"The rest of the details have been written up in the report."
"Good job. As promised, I’ll give you 80,000 gold coins from the 800,000 gold we made."
Around 50 people had been involved in this operation.
Thus, an enormous bonus of 1,600 gold coins per person was due.
When I think about the hardships these people went through...
Honestly, this is the least I should give them.
They risked being caught, tortured, and possibly killed while playing with tulips—such efforts deserve this reward.
"No, I’ll add 20,000 more and make it 100,000 gold coins as the bonus."
100,000 gold coins—a sum equivalent to the GDP of a small barony.
It’s like the entire income of a small town like Cheongyang County going to bonuses.
"If we spend too freely, people will start questioning the source, so the bonus will be paid over two years."
Imagine someone who earns 10 million a month suddenly receiving 10 billion in their account.
Anyone would be suspicious.
Even if I were completely innocent, there’s a basic investigation by the tax office, and if I’m unlucky, the police or prosecutor’s office might get involved.
Let alone in Tuscany, a medieval society where people would be subjected to warm interrogations involving torture.
"And if any of you start thinking of bad ideas after receiving such a large sum, I’m planning to buy land outside the city and set up a housing area for the Rothschild employees."
In simple terms, I’m planning to create a new town like the housing complexes for Samsung employees in Dongtan.
Of course, it won’t be on a city scale, but more like a small village.
If I become the true mastermind behind this later, it might turn into a real city.
"You’re free to go now. I’ll review the report and distribute the bonuses once everything’s done..."
I handed Orsini a letter of introduction with my seal.
"It’s a restaurant entry ticket supervised by Count Monté. Normally, only certain nobles are allowed, but you can take your staff for a company dinner. If they like it, they can take their families as well. I’ll cover all the expenses when they do."
When I give rewards, I make sure they’re extravagant.
That’s the rule I live by.
If you follow that rule, you’ll survive.