This was a grand game of chess. Albion, Great Elder Vite, and Li Lin were well aware of its intricacies; only Charlemagne failed to understand or, more accurately, to adapt to these changes.
Charlemagne's own country was a silver-producing one, with not much gold output. The precious metals from the colonies they later occupied also predominantly consisted of silver. After occupying the northern part of Castile, they had thought to make a fortune, yet Castile too operated on a silver standard, and upon their withdrawal, most of the gold was moved out. Staring at the diminishing value of the silver pesos left in the treasury, Prime Minister Richelieu was deeply troubled.
