Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 290 Exchange
By listening to the conversation of the crowd, Adrian understood what had happened. It seemed that Count Mancini's textile factory had made a management mistake, causing heavy losses to the shareholders.

The master and servant were greatly shocked by this. "How could the Earl lose money in business?"

They squeezed into the exchange and found many blackboards hanging on the walls, listing various information. Dozens of brokers wearing badges walked around, holding ledgers to record buying and selling intentions, occasionally shouting out prices for their clients, extremely busy.

With Adrian's introduction, Cavatu focused his attention on the blackboards, each recording the current stock price of listed companies, the most prominent being the West Sea Fur Company.

In recent years, Westsea Fur Company has established partnerships with almost all tribes in Greenland, selling a steady stream of furs, whale oil, and whale bones to Britain, generating annual profits of over £1,800 and a company market value of over £26,000.

Next are the Canary Sugar Company and the Harry Wool Trading Company. Turning our attention to the blackboard on the right, Cavatu also spotted his son-in-law Hosa's Iris Trading Company.

On a shelf in the corner of the exchange were many brochures. Adrian picked up the top one, which was a promotional booklet by Hosa for his own chamber of commerce and the Grey Dove Islands, detailing the company's current profit model and dividend ratio.

After Adrian finished explaining all the brochures, Cavatu exclaimed, "This is the kingdom's most profitable business?"

Adrian shook his head. "No, the royal family's businesses do not issue stocks, such as iron mines, breweries, shipyards, and paper mills. Some wealthy businessmen have tried to invest, but were refused. The king has no shortage of funds and does not want to be bound by shareholders."

Suddenly, the noise in the hall intensified. Adrian noticed that the stock price of Count Mancini's factory was still falling. An angry merchant stood on the counter and gave a speech with a flushed face.

The next moment, he led the crowd to the west of the city, all the way to the Earl's upscale mansion.

Most of the time, Leonard was on Manchuni's fiefdom, and the mansion was vacant. An agitated merchant climbed over the wall into the courtyard and opened the gate from the inside.

"We demand our compensation!"

To Adrian's astonishment, the merchants stormed into Leonard's mansion, brutally beat the two guards, and looted the silverware, expensive carpets, fine clothing, and furniture inside, quickly emptying the mansion.

Immediately afterwards, whistles sounded from the nearby streets. Adrien knew something was wrong and dragged the Baron away from the chaotic scene, only to be blocked by the city guards at the intersection.

“My master is a baron under the Earl of Canary Islands, and this is his identification!”

By invoking the Baron's name, Adrian and Cavatu were able to extricate themselves from the situation, but the others were not so lucky.

When the situation escalated to the point of openly storming the Earl's mansion, Vigé personally intervened, ordering the detention of those involved pending trial.

Having dealt with the situation, he stretched and headed to the restaurant. During the meal, Frode was very interested in the afternoon's events and repeatedly asked about the details.

Vig picked up a piece of clam meat with his fork. "You think there's something wrong with this? You guessed right. According to the intelligence system, Leonard's textile factory has serious problems. This guy deliberately released good news to boost the stock price, and then secretly sold his own shares to make a profit. Haha, I didn't expect him to be so creative."

Upon learning the details, Frode mentally calculated that the Earl had earned at least five hundred pounds. "The profits are too high. No wonder he broke the rules. This will surely lead to imitation. What do you plan to do?" Vig put down his silver cutlery and explained his views in detail:
In the future, a securities regulatory commission will be established to audit company accounts and prevent such scandals from happening again. Furthermore, exchanges will raise entry barriers, allowing only wealthy businessmen or gentry to trade, thus reducing the scope of the impact.

Regarding the incident itself, those who led the storming of the Earl's mansion will be exiled, while the rest will be fined. As for the falsified accounts at the textile factory, Vigée ordered Justice Minister Om to immediately travel to Manchuni to investigate.

"Om?"

As time went by, Frode heard that the count's personality had become increasingly stern, almost unrecognizable from his former self. "With him personally involved, Leonard is in big trouble this time."

Viggo: "It won't come to that. The nominal owner of the textile factory is Leonard's steward. Assuming Leonard is willing to compensate for the losses, this matter will be over and he won't be held accountable. But if he doesn't see the situation clearly and goes beyond my tolerance, then things will be very difficult."

After talking for a long time, Vig realized that his eldest son was quite interested in this, so he let him stay with Om for the time being.

Suddenly, Helgef glanced at the father and son, then lowered her head and continued peeling shrimp for her younger son.

Frod guessed what she was thinking.

“Are you worried that Count Mancini will do me a disservice? Well, I don’t think so. For ordinary people, this case is serious, but the status of a nobleman is special. Even if it is serious, it will not affect their title. At most, they will be summoned and reprimanded in person, and then made to pay a fine.”

Vig picked up another piece of clam meat with his fork. "The Fourth Infantry Regiment is building a permanent barracks near Manchuni. I'll send another squad of Imperial Guards for security. That should be enough."

The following day, Frode went to the military academy to ask for twenty days' leave, then packed his bags, selected a docile grey mare in the stables, and met Earl Orm at the North Gate at eight o'clock in the morning.

In appearance, Om was tall and larger than the rest of the hunting squad, resembling a walking brown bear. Unfortunately, he was rigid in his personality and his command abilities were far inferior to those of Ivar, Vig, and Gunnar, so he was never qualified to lead troops independently and therefore lacked any commendable achievements, and his reputation remained obscure.

However, as the Minister of Justice, his rigid personality was actually a rare advantage. According to Frode's observation, his father was extremely satisfied with Orm's work, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would continue to hold this position.

The journey from Londinium to Mancuni is about 200 miles. The ancient Roman road connecting the two places has been largely restored. The group traveled on horseback and expected to arrive in five days.

Along the way, Frode happened to see a two-horse carriage with a company sign hanging on the carriage.

During the rest, Frode asked the coachman for information. With the road from Londinium to Mancuni nearing completion, the coach company planned to open a passenger route between the two places. This trip was currently in trial operation and was expected to take ten days.

At the end of the conversation, Frode looked slightly disappointed; the carriage company's fares were too high, serving only gentry, merchants, and nobles.

Suddenly, he thought of the railcars in Londenium. If wooden tracks were laid in both places, it would greatly increase transport capacity and reduce time. However, the initial investment would be too large, and he estimated that his father would not agree.

(End of this chapter)