In a rural village near Colmar, Pierre, a serf who had been rooted there for generations, felt like his life had become a living hell lately.
"Back then, I felt like I had the world in my hands."
Pierre had successfully managed to acquire a suit of armor worn by the knights of the Holy Empire during the last war.
Thanks to that, he had dreamed of becoming a free farmer, buying cattle, a house, and land after the war ended, feeling his heart race at the thought.
‘But no one bought the armor, right?’
No matter how good or expensive an item was, it was only worth something if someone bought it...
Due to the Lyon Kingdom’s unexpected defeat in the last war, no merchant from the kingdom would buy the armor.
To make matters worse, food reserves had been plundered, and all the fields were burned, leaving nothing but the armor.
Pierre and his family were left worrying whether they would starve to death after the war ended.
"Still, when I sold the armor, it felt good..."
Although he sold it for half the price, he managed to get three gold coins for it.
With that money, he thought he could just barely survive this year, buying cattle, a house, and land to live a better life than before.
Pierre’s wife sighed as she entered the room.
"The price of flour has gone up again. Just last week, a 10kg sack cost four donghwa coins, but now it’s gone up to five. At this rate, by next month, it might reach ten donghwa coins."
People can’t live on bread alone, but without it, they will starve to death.
So, even if they have to wear torn rags, find ways to cut costs elsewhere, and do everything possible to reduce expenses, they still need to eat bread regularly.
If they don’t eat, they’ll die.
"Back when the war ended, I sold the armor, and sent Leon and Henri as mercenaries, I was so excited thinking our family could finally own land and become free farmers."
"Other people in the village are the same, you know. The price of flour has gone up five times since before the war."
Fabio had flooded the region with a massive amount of gold and silver.
This money had only flowed to the rich, and if they had kept their vaults locked tight, this sharp rise in prices wouldn’t have happened.
Inflation occurs when money is distributed widely and in excess, but if money isn’t circulating at all, how could inflation take place?
Yet, Fabio flooded the region, and as a result, the money became so common that inflation was inevitable.
"At this rate, I wonder if the whole village is going to starve to death. Should we just pack up and emigrate with the remaining money?"
In medieval fantasy novels, movies, and dramas, serfs who try to escape their homeland are often depicted as being killed or heavily punished by their lord if caught.
But in reality, nobody stops them if they try to run away openly.
If someone escapes, it usually means they are giving away the right to farm the land to their children or acquaintances.
From the lord’s perspective, it doesn’t matter whether Fabrizio or Andre pays the taxes.
If someone is prepared to be a beggar and lives without any close relationships, with no concept of law and order in the slums...
Then, if they can survive for just 365 days in the city, they can escape serfdom.
"With this money, if we moved to a faraway city and settled there, we could live a new life."
Five gold coins, the equivalent of five years’ income for a serf family.
If things had been different, this could have been a large sum that would not only help rebuild Pierre's family, but also completely change his life.
"Come to your senses. What are you going to do with that money in the city? Don’t you know how expensive city living is? What job would you even get, and where would you live?"
The problem was that five gold coins were simply not enough to start a new life in the city.
Even without money, one could somehow find a job if they had connections...
But how could a lowly serf like Pierre possibly use any connections to find a job?
Even if he did find a proper job, it was clear that he’d have to bribe his way in with all five gold coins just to get in.
"We’ll just live here."
Just as medieval people weren’t less intelligent than modern people, serfs knew exactly how to manage their survival.
‘If the prices go up and we go to the city, we’ll die.’
"My children are starving, and the fields might never be rebuilt... and now the price of flour is rising..."
"I can only hope that the Baron lowers the taxes."
"It’s too bad, Maria. In the end, no matter how much I risked my life fighting in the war... the merchants are the ones who take all the money."
As he said, all the money was going to Fabio.
But the people living in the borderlands of the Lyon Kingdom had no choice but to fall victim to his tactics.
**
In the stock market, there’s a saying called "beginner’s luck."
Sometimes a beginner, who doesn’t know anything, buys a strange stock, only to find that it’s manipulated by a syndicate and suddenly skyrockets, allowing them to sell it for a profit.
Or someone might invest in a company like Samsung Electronics, and because of a rights issue, their money multiplies...
Sometimes, people who know nothing end up making better results than the professionals.
And right now, before my eyes, stood someone who seemed to be the embodiment of "beginner’s luck."
"Ha ha ha, Your Lordship! Thanks to you, our Florin family has prospered greatly! We've even paid off the debts passed down through generations!"
"Is that so? Congratulations."
"Why are you acting so distant with me, Your Lordship? I know you’re being considerate because I’m older than you, but we’re practically family, having invested together, even if we never entered a marriage contract."
In my opinion, the craziest noble in the Toscana Empire is Baron Caroni de Florin.
His madness is truly overwhelming, even for me.
He established the Dongindika Company to engage in Ifriquia trade, and used all the territories he could dispose of as collateral to raise capital for investment.
This time, he even persuaded his relatives to pledge their lands for investment and took a big risk.
He’s the kind of crazy guy who would buy an apartment in Gangnam and leverage it ten times over...
Normally, such a person would end up bankrupt from bad investments.
"Thanks to Your Lordship, I’ve made a profit of 40,000 gold coins! In one shot, I raised the taxes for our territory for two years! All of this is thanks to Deus’s ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) grace and Your Lordship’s foresight."
"I’m truly grateful for your trust, Baron."
Because of the atmosphere the Baron set at the last investment seminar...
Other nobles also dared to invest with me.
Of course, unlike the Baron, none of them pledged their territories or properties as collateral.
"Our Florin family is willing to cooperate with anything you do, Your Lordship. I wouldn’t make such reckless investments unless you encouraged me to."
Even if you leverage all your assets and invest recklessly, as long as you keep succeeding, you're seen as a beast-hearted person. If you fail once, you’re just criticized as someone who went too far.
But this Baron was following my investments...
And he’ll likely make a name for himself in history.
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
The most reckless investor, but also the wisest.
I can’t tell my kids to follow his example though.
"Thank you, Baron."
"If another opportunity arises, please give our Florin family a chance."
You could pull together all your assets for a leveraged investment, but if you succeed once, it’s all skill.
Soon, the Baron will become something of an investment YouTuber among the imperial nobility, and people will rush to buy the same stocks he invests in.
And another noble came to speak with me.
"Thanks to Count Rothschild, I made a great profit. If I had known, I should have pledged my territory like Baron Florin."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Do I look like someone who would joke like that?"
I, on the other hand, gather all the preliminary information and only invest when I’m 120% sure.
You people are only investing because you trust me.
"...If there’s another opportunity, I’ll bring the money I was going to use for my daughter’s dowry and invest it."
This is starting to look like the Japanese bubble economy.
Back then, commoners would buy a house, and the price would rise insanely...
Everyone bought houses like crazy.
Products like 50-year mortgage loans were even introduced back then.
"But speaking of which, the Holy Empire and the Lyon Kingdom’s border region is becoming chaotic. Later, the Kingdom might protest. How will you handle that?"
"We’ve only been selling food and buying materials at their proper price. What’s the problem with that?"
Of course, if we end this here, they might eventually figure out the truth...
I guess I’ll have to play another trick.