-Chapter 83-
-3rd POV-
"As you commanded, I have reduced the taxes on the people for products we have classified as necessities, and we have increased taxes on brothels, alcohol, as well as on the import and export of precious goods," Tywin reported, detailing the recent decisions he had made following my suggestions.
"How much does this bring to the Treasury each moon?" asked the King, leaning lazily on his seat.
"For now, your majesty, it only brings us 200,000 gold dragons per moon."
"And how much can we hope to earn each moon by the end of the year?" he said, toying with a gold dragon in his hands.
"I'm not quite sure, but if we send administrators to all the ports in the kingdom, we could double or even triple that figure."
The king frowned and then said, "That's not enough."
It was at this moment that Monford Velaryon chose to speak up: "Your Majesty, we must keep our objectives in mind, our taxes are already a noose too tight around the nobility's neck. If you tighten this noose further and snatch the bread from their mouths, they might..."
"They might do what?" he said, looking up at Lord Monford Velaryon.
The latter was disturbed by the king's shift from laziness to outright predatory, and he swallowed slightly before saying in a cautious tone, "They might show their discontent."
"And once they know that I don't give a damn if they are discontent with my policy, what do you think they will do? Try to undermine my authority? Try to find someone more accommodating to fill my position or even attempt to rebel?"
"Your Majesty," Tywin tried to say, but the king raised his hand to silence his Hand and said, "Count Velaryon, make no mistake, you work solely to satisfy all my desires. Although your position grants you great power and influence over the kingdom's trade, should you ever forget your mission, you will lose all the benefits and authority you currently hold."
He nodded his head, and the king looked at each person, saying, "I am well aware that each of you holds authority that makes some people want to invest in you or give you gifts to support a certain policy at the Royal Council. But if ever your interests or the interests of donors and friends who support you in the shadows clash with those of the crown, you will become, let's put it nicely... replaceable."
The temperature dropped suddenly in the room, and everyone looked at each other, saying nothing for fear of arousing King Aegon's anger. Seeing that no one spoke, he added, with a furrowed brow, "Have I made myself clear?"
"You have been very clear, your majesty," said Count Velaryon.
"Perfect...I'm not stupid, I know the interests of the nobility are important, but for the nobility's interests and investments to continue to bear fruit, the royal economy must also strengthen. For this, I've found two solutions. I've decided to create a fund into which every noble has the right—no, the privilege—to invest as much gold as they wish. I've named it the Royal Investment Fund."
"What are the specifics of this fund?" asked Tywin, squinting his eyes because he had not been informed of this new measure.
"The specifics of this fund are simple: each noble will place their money in the Royal Bank for a maximum duration of 50 years. Each year the money is locked, the value of your investment will increase by one percent," said Tyrion.
Seeing that some still did not understand, Tyrion said, "Let's take a simple example. I am the bank, Prince Oberyn lends me 5,000 gold dragons and locks it for 5 years. In 5 years, when it's time for me to return his money, I will give him 5,250 gold dragons. Instead of keeping his gold in his vaults, he earns gold without doing anything."
"And how will the royal bank find this gold?" asked Prince Oberyn.
"That's the simplest part; we will invest in high-yield projects supervised while granting the protection, support, and influence of the king to these businesses."
"Not to mention the taxes on products, roads, income, and soon the navigation tax we will install thanks to the territory newly added to the kingdom," said the King.
Everyone frowned, and then the king said, unfolding a message sent by raven proudly:
"Here is a message from your brother, Count Velaryon. Bloodstone has been taken without any resistance, simple, quick, and efficient like the profits we will reap from this new conquest."
"Which ships will we tax?" asked Adrian Celtigar.
"I haven't really thought about it, but what I can now assert is that the taxes will not exceed 20% of the total value of the goods," said the king.
"That seems like a reasonable limit," said Tywin, nodding his head.
"Perfect, we have concluded this meeting. I expect you to have ideas and detailed plans that we can implement to increase the size of the royal coffers by 500% by the next meeting," said the king, ending the meeting.
Everyone stood up in a sign of respect, and once the king had left, Monford Velaryon released a small sigh that was noticed by all the other council members, who then dispersed one after another with a smug smile.
It was no secret that Monford Velaryon had many interests throughout the kingdom due to his house's trades and his new position at King Aegon's court, and unfortunately for him, the fact that he had not been punished for his betrayal against House Targaryen had made him overconfident, a fact the king was quick to crush.