Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

"Eel Alley".

He then gave a brief instruction, and the coachman nodded in response. The wheels then rolled and the carriage headed towards its destination.

Eel Lane is located in the Visenia Hills, which is also named in honor of the former Queen. The Visenia Hills is a commercial district in King's Landing, lined with shops and mainly inhabited by middle-class and lower-middle-class families.

The Tyrell family's carriages attracted the attention of the residents of Eel Lane, because everyone in King's Landing knew that despite their hardships, the Tyrell family was still very wealthy and powerful, and should not be underestimated.

This was the effect of Miss Margaery Tyrell's extravagant spending, which was also the idea of ​​Lady Olenna, the Queen of Thorns.

“If the Tyrells don’t pretend to be strong, those jackals will be unable to resist pouncing on them.”

However, the residents of Eel Lane merely watched the Tyrell family's carriage with admiring eyes, unlike the poor people of Flea Nest who swarmed around it demanding tips, because the residents here had a relatively good income level compared to other cities in King's Landing.

The Tyrell family's carriage stopped in front of a decent-looking shop in Eel Lane, and Velas, leaning on his cane and supported by his servants, jumped down from the carriage.

"Where did this wind come from that brought Lord Velas here?"

"I could smell the roses from a great distance."

A young man with brown hair, leaning on a cane, dressed in well-fitting clothes with a golden rose embroidered on his chest and a ruby ​​ring on his finger, walked into the wool products store. A plump old man with half-white hair hurriedly came out to greet him.

He was a wool merchant from White Harbor, responsible for reselling wool products from the North to King's Landing. However, business was not good these days. The North was originally a place rich in wool, but due to the invasion of the White Walkers, the North fell. Therefore, Old Linman was forced to import wool products from the expensive trading city-states to process them himself.

Money became worthless, prices rose, and people ran out of money. These three factors weighed on Old Linman like a mountain, causing him to lose all his savings.

Old Linman has been running this shop in King's Landing for decades, starting from the time of the Mad King Aerys II. He has accumulated a considerable fortune and has continuously expanded and strengthened the business.

At that time, the Mad King was infamous for burning down nobles, and old Linman also felt deep hatred for him, denouncing him as a tyrant. However, when the rebel army he supported stormed into King's Landing and engaged in burning, killing, and looting, most of old Linman's property was instantly taken away.

Robert Baratheon, the leader of the rebels, then became king and became a tyrant, indulging in tyranny and debauchery. After collecting taxes for thirty years, old Linman's fortune was completely squandered, and he almost hanged himself.

However, things are only gradually returning to normal now, but the wool production bases in the North have not yet recovered, and they still need to import wool from the trading city-states at high prices.

Although the market has largely returned to normal, every little bit helps, especially considering I paid taxes for thirty years back then...

Old Linman was unwilling to give up, but still held onto a sliver of hope. Now that there were no tax farmers causing trouble, he actually felt a little uneasy.

When the tax farmers were targeting the merchants, the merchants' way of fighting back was to hire mercenaries, use magic to fight magic, and fight against the mercenaries with thugs and ruffians.

Therefore, this time he also spent a little money to hire a few mercenaries, and every time the tax collectors came, he used unreasonable means to drive them away.

However, this time, with Lord Velas of the Tyrell family, the Imperial Tax Commissioner, arriving in person, old Linman still dared not play any tricks. He could only have the mercenaries hide aside while he braced himself and went out to greet him.

When Velas entered, he didn't exchange pleasantries but went straight to the point. Old Linman's expression immediately changed, and he looked aggrieved. He then poured out his grievances, hoping that the tax chief would take pity on him and exempt him from his taxes, given how pitiful he had paid.

“I really have no money left, Lord Velas.”

"I didn't lie to you."

The old man with half-white hair looked aggrieved, then took out his account book, clearly indicating that he would rather die than give up his money.

"You really have no money left?"

However, Velas nodded slightly as he watched old Linman's exaggerated performance, and then asked in a serious tone.

"Um...yes."

"I really have no money left."

Old Linman didn't know what Velas meant by confirming again, so he could only scratch his head and nod as he repeated it.

"I have a way to get you a loan at a very low interest rate."

Do you know what a bank is?

However, Velas immediately spoke up.

Chapter 690 New Currency

It was midday.

The morning passed quickly, but when Old Linman walked out of a very luxurious 'shop' across from the Alchemist's Guild, he still looked completely bewildered.

Everything changed a few hours ago, after he met Lord Velas Tyrell's sincere gaze and nodded heavily.

He was brought here by the Empire's Chief Tax Officer, and then signed a series of contracts, ultimately securing a substantial loan for his business operations.

The funds were nominally for...promoting economic development or trade relief.

In the end, old Linman successfully borrowed a sum of gold dragons at a very low interest rate. However, before these gold dragons even reached his hands, the tax chief, Lord Velas, seized them to pay his taxes for the following year. He also didn't receive the rest of the gold dragons, as they were supposedly all deposited...

Old Linman lowered his head slightly to look at the thin black metal card in his hand. It was engraved with a giant dragon with its wings spread and roaring to the sky. On the right was Old Linman's name, and in the lower right corner was a numerical code.

"0173."

Old Linman held the metal card and read it aloud. According to the young lady who had greeted him, he was the 173rd customer in the entire empire to hold an Imperial Bank savings card, which would have high commemorative value in the future...

However, old Linman immediately shuddered and his mind cleared up considerably. It wasn't that he hadn't heard of this form of storage and lending before, because it was said that the Iron Treasury in Braavos across the Narrow Sea operated in this way, but this was the first time he had seen it.

The merchant with half-gray hair had always traveled the route between White Harbor and King's Landing. He had only made contact with people from trading city-states in the last two years, but he had never gone to sea. He would just transport the goods to King's Landing, then buy them, hire workers to process them, and sell them as finished products.

"The empire also built its own iron treasury?"

It wasn't until he stepped outside and felt the cool breeze that Old Linman's mind cleared up considerably, and he realized that this was the operating mode of the Iron Vault.

However, Old Linman felt no joy. Instead, he shuddered as he thought about the series of contracts that had just been signed.

Although he was from the North, he had lived in King's Landing for far too many years. He knew the rulers of the Iron Throne all too well, and any idea he came up with on a whim could plunge the entire country into chaos.

He suspected that this Imperial Bank was probably also a half-finished project, destined to fail and disappear, leaving his money gone, while the outstanding loans and interest would still have to be repaid in full...

His previous payment of taxes for thirty years during King Robert's reign is a prime example.

"no!"

"I want my money back!"

After shivering, Old Linman hurriedly ran back to the very luxurious Imperial Bank building, which was located in the very center of King's Landing, squeezed together with the Great Cathedral of St. Baelor, the Imperial Theological Seminary, the Imperial Medical Academy, the Alchemists' Guild, and others.

In the future, this area will inevitably become the economic and cultural center of King's Landing's urban planning, while Aegon Highlands will continue to be the political center, where several mansions for the Lord Chancellors are under construction.

Today, although the facade of this Imperial Bank is extremely luxurious, with a main hall as tall as a three-story building, dozens of stone pillars supporting the dome, and royal guards of the Unsullied standing guard outside, there are no plaques or signs. Ordinary people have been curiously inquiring about this building since it was first built, but they have not been able to find out anything.

Even now, after the building is completed, it is still not open to the general public, but those who come and go here every day are all prominent and influential people in King's Landing.

This aroused the curiosity of many ordinary people, who all wanted to know what this place was. There were even many different opinions, with some guessing that it was a place for nobles to enjoy themselves, and others guessing that it was a palace.

However, as soon as Old Linman came out of there, ignoring the strange looks from the dignitaries around him, he ran back again.

Fortunately, the Imperial Bank has only recently begun its trial operation and is one of the key projects of Chancellor of the Exchequer Illyrio, so not many people in King's Landing know about it, and there are many vacant offices.

Old Linman ran back to the window where he had just processed his deposit. Inside, a well-dressed red-haired woman was eating dried fruit. When she saw Old Linman return, she quickly put away her snacks and sat up straight.

"Sir, is there anything else...?"

"Withdraw the money!"

"I need to withdraw money!"

Old Lin Man, panting heavily, spoke as if afraid that if he was even a step too slow, the young girl would run off with his money.

"Oh?"

The red-haired girl sitting by the window blinked slightly, as if she had a sudden realization and knew what the other person was worried about.

The Imperial Bank is currently in its trial operation phase, and those coming and going are all prominent and influential figures from King's Landing. They may be skeptical, but they don't care about a little money.

This old man was personally led in by Lord Viras Tyrell, the Grand Inspector of Taxes; he shouldn't have been qualified to enter...

However, though she was aware of the other person's concerns, the girl maintained a polite smile on the surface, which was part of her secret training.

How much would you like to take?

"Uh..."

However, this question stumped old Linman.

He was just worried that the money he borrowed would disappear, but now that he thought about it, since Lord Velas had introduced him to this place, if he withdrew it all as soon as he deposited it, wouldn't that be a clear indication of his distrust of Lord Velas?

This person comes from a prestigious family and is the empire's tax minister. If the other party finds out about this and tries to make things difficult for me...

Thinking of this, Old Linman's expression shifted between light and dark. Finally, he couldn't help but stomp his foot and make up his mind.

“Take...ten golden dragons.”

Ten gold dragons would be a considerable fortune for an ordinary family in King's Landing, but Old Linman, a businessman who had been in business for so many years, could certainly afford it, especially since he had just borrowed much more money than that.

"Ok."

However, the girl in the window did not hesitate. She took the metal card from Old Linman's hand, checked the number on it, found the ledger that started with a three-digit number, and finally deducted ten gold dragons from the ledger for Old Linman.

Then ten brand-new, gleaming golden dragons were placed before him.

Please keep this safe!

"Walk slowly!"

The girl inside the window nodded politely.

Chapter 691 The Mint

Old Linman stood in front of the counter window but did not leave, staring blankly at the gold coins in his hand.

Firstly, the fact that he could actually withdraw the money reassured him a lot, and secondly, it was because of this brand-new gold coin.

This is a golden dragon that old Linman has never seen before. Its front still bears the three-headed dragon emblem of the Targaryen family, while the back of this golden dragon depicts the profile of a silver-haired young man wearing a crown, looking dashing and heroic.

"This is..."

Old Linman hesitated slightly as he held the gold dragon coin. Based on his many years of business experience, he knew the coin was genuine just by looking at it, without even touching it.

However, despite doing business in King's Landing for so many years, he had never seen this golden dragon before.

But the lady at the Imperial Bank counter quickly cleared up his doubts.

"This is the new money the empire is preparing to issue."

"You should be able to tell whether this is real or fake."

Old Linman hesitated for a moment, then touched it again and nodded slightly. It was indeed a genuine coin, he could confirm that. However, he did not expect His Majesty to issue a new batch of coins.

After weighing them, they seemed to be about the same weight, and since he couldn't find any fault with them, Old Linman still put the ten new coins away with some skepticism.

However, upon closer examination, it's not surprising at all. His Majesty has already changed the country's name to Valyria, passed a resolution to rebuild Valyria, and ascended the throne as Emperor, so naturally, he has to make a series of changes.