Two soldiers swaggered past the alley where the little beggar was hiding, their conversation filled with hearty laughter.
"Hey, though we've earned the money easily, it's still so hard to believe that there are really such fools in the world who just give away their money like that."
"Isn't it? Thanks to that foolish rich merchant, we made a good profit! His 'generosity' made this dead town lively in such a short time! Where should we go for a drink tonight? How about we visit Marianne?"
"Haha, missing your sweetheart again? Be careful, don't give all the money you earned to that prostitute, at least, don't let your wife know this, or your wife will yell and kick you off your house. Hahahaha."
The Idiot had his back to the main street, and the soldiers' conversation entered his ears without missing a word. They didn't realize, and they never would, that their words had planted a seed named "collapse" for the town's destruction…
The slight figure moved through the crowd fast, as snowflakes began to fall gently from the sky, but gradually became heavier and denser.
Following the crowd, Idiot arrived at the town center's square. It was packed with people looking towards a temporary stage in the center. Several tables were set up on the stage, with balances on them. About twenty people in black stood by the balances.
People lined up to go on stage, handing over bags filled with gold coins and then leaving with smiles as they received bags full of silver coins from the men in black.
What was happening here?
No need to ask, one of the men in black shouting through a magical stone amplifier explained everything to Idiot's question.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I represent my master, the wealthy Baron Flod, to tell of his misfortune. Everyone knows that while our town nominally belongs to the Crystal Ice Republic, However, in reality, this town on the border of the Republic, with no special products or strategic location, has become a zone without the Republic's attention. "
He explained patiently.
"As a result, two powerful countries surrounding us forced the Crystal Ice Republic to have passed an extremely unfair agreement against our town's development already. It states that a high tax of fifty percent must be paid on any amount of gold, silver, or goods that are going to leave our town, be traded, or be exchanged with the outside. Moreover, the minimum tax amount is required to be no less than 1,000 gold coins or 6,204 silver coins in other normal areas. It's outright robbery!"
The man continued with a little anger and dissatisfaction.
"The two countries want to use this method to restrict the currency circulation and development of the town, so as to restrain each other in this place and prevent this place from becoming harmful to one of them if it develops and contributes to the other country. "
Suddenly, some tears slipping off from the man's eyes.
"But my master, the wealthy Baron Flod, didn't expect such an agreement to come into effect so swiftly. Poor Baron Flod had not anticipated that the agreement would demand such high taxes to transport goods to other towns for trade. This unexpected tax left him unable to deliver his goods on time, leading to a failure in his business dealings and the need to pay a huge penalty for the contract… To pay off his debts, Baron Flod had to liquidate his assets, finally managing to gather just enough funds needed for the penalty."
Here, the man in black puffed out his chest and shouted fiercely.
"However, it seems the other party, having perhaps been bribed by political rivals of my master, refuses to accept silver coins. They will only take gold coins as compensation for the contract! This is a massive blow to the Baron who has a large amount of silver. If he can't deliver the required gold coins on time, Mr. Frode might lose his baronial title. For a noble, there's no greater humiliation than being stripped of his title!"
The man took a bow deeply to the crowd and still continued.
"In desperation, my master has no choice but to turn to kind citizens. He hopes to exchange the silver coins in his hands for the gold coins in yours. Whatever amount you have will do! Of course, my master will not ask you to exchange for nothing. The current market rate between gold and silver coins is 1:6.204. My master is willing to exchange at a rate of 1:7! Please help my master. please, lend a hand to my master!"
Inspired by the man in black, the crowd became even more generous. In truth, they weren't interested in the misfortunes of the baron; what really interested them was the exchange rate of 1:7. Those with gold coins eagerly pushed forward, eager to exchange all their gold coins, confirming the numbers and weight on the scales, then receiving the silver coins.
Every face was lit with a smile for getting a beneficial bargain.
After the exchange, some said words of comfort like "Your master will surely succeed," but privately, most probably thought the baron was a complete idiot.
The idiot hid on the edge of the square, silently listening to the man in black's explanation over and over again. After confirming that there was no more information, he glanced coldly at the scale on the high platform, and then slowly retreated into the dark alley.
"So, what are you going to do?"
The devil's voice sounded very confident and casual. Maybe, it already knew the reasons for something strange from the information just now. For its "interest", it started idiots with expectations.
Idiot squatted on the ground, looking at the snow in front of him indifferently.
Seeing this, Blood Extinguisher sneered again.
"A ticket of 50 gold coins, exchanged at the market price of 1:6.204, is 310.2 silver coins. You have 13 gold coins in your hand. Even if you exchange it at that high exchange rate, it will only be 91 silver coins. Then Including the 2 silver coins you own, the total is 93 silver coins. The money is still far from enough."
The idiot was silent for a long time. After that, he pulled out the Blood Extinguisher, but not to kill anyone, but just to start drafting mathematics on the snow.
...
Sometimes, desperation, destruction, and massacre don't need to rely on violence, especially in an age full of data and information.