Chapter 60: Night's Watch Bonds (Part 2)
Aeg, being unfamiliar with the area, relied on Tyrion's knowledge of King's Landing. Despite not knowing the city intimately, Tyrion had no trouble navigating to a shop. Their conversation continued as they walked, and they soon stood at the entrance of the sole professional seal-making establishment in King's Landing, one of the few in all of Westeros.
The Westeros of this era lagged behind the world Aeg had left behind before his time travel. However, with the Seven Kingdoms' unification and development, people were starting to recognize the significance of law and order. This world had standards and format requirements for seals, which couldn't be used just by carving any stone. In King's Landing, only seals crafted by this shop were recognized by nobles and the wealthy across the Seven Kingdoms.
Typically, seal shops catered only to individuals of status or those with certain fixed assets, as seals were useless to common folk. Aeg didn't fit the criteria, but fortunately, he had two powerful documents to validate his identity.
Upon presenting the documents signed and sealed by Eddard Stark and Jeor Mormont, the shopkeeper accepted Aeg's order. Aeg commissioned a seal as the "Chief Logistics Officer of the Night's Watch". a position that didn't exist within the Wall's garrison. However, if his plan succeeded, he would soon establish this department and position within the legion.
Aeg ordered two seals: one for his personal identity and the other for sealing letters with wax. After discussing the seals' design and content with the master craftsman, he turned to Tyrion: "Do you have a seal?"
"No," Tyrion replied honestly. It was unusual for someone of his status from a great family not to have a seal. His distinctive features and the Lannister reputation for always paying their debts meant he didn't need a seal for everyday transactions or to run tabs at taverns and brothels. Nobles of equal status dealt directly with his father, Tywin, or his siblings. Despite his indifferent demeanor, he had his own struggles. "Then make one for me as well."
The famous Imp didn't need proof of identity, and another seal order was quickly settled. Official seals were costly, but compared to their grand scheme, it was a minor expense.
With one task completed, they left the shop, mounted their horses, and continued their discussion en route to their next destination.
Tyrion struggled to mount his horse: "Then what?"
"Paper, ink, wax, and other supplies have already been purchased by your servant. Now we just need to visit the sign workshop."
"A sign workshop? Alright, but I wasn't asking about our next stop. I wanted to know what I'm supposed to do, since you said this plan needs my help."
"A lot. Your involvement has allowed my plan to bypass the most challenging start and proceed directly to the initial phase. Alone, I would have to raise the interest rate to attract attention, fight for every gold dragon, no matter how small, and use any means necessary to secure initial loans from the common folk. With you, I can target the middle to upper classes, set a reasonable return rate, and establish a subscription threshold. This reduces the number of creditors while improving their quality, leading to a more stable financial chain. The reduction in fundraising workload is significant."
Aeg pondered for a moment: "First, you need to convince some of your friends to invest in my bonds. A few will suffice, and everything will start running smoothly."
"Damn, you want me to scam my own people?" Tyrion exclaimed.
"Why would you say that? In this game, the least likely to be scammed are the first joiners, okay!" Aeg emphasized. "Only the entry of the first batch of creditors requires your persuasion. Once this step is taken, the existence of the early joiners will become a source of confidence for the next batch. As long as the total amount of funds is controlled properly, the cycle can continue. Someone has to start. If you're not willing to persuade people you know, then we can only go to the streets to find passersby or sell door-to-door."
"Alright, I'll do it," Tyrion conceded, having prepared himself to cover any losses. He wouldn't dwell on this non-principled issue. At worst, he would fill the hole himself. "How do we operate specifically?"
"It's simple," Aeg explained. "Just introduce me to your friends and vouch for me. With the proof from the Commander-in-Chief and the Hand of the King, it shouldn't require too much persuasion."
"Fine, you mentioned setting a subscription threshold, how much?"
"One hundred gold dragons."
"That much!?" Tyrion was taken aback. "Aeg, King's Landing is indeed where the wealth of the Seven Kingdoms is most concentrated. It's not difficult for the people I know to come up with one hundred gold dragons, but this money isn't being lent to me, it's being lent to the Night's Watch. Many of them have likely only met one member of the Night's Watch in their entire lives, which is you. To get them to throw that much money into a completely unknown pit without blinking is quite challenging."
"It's just rounding up," Aeg clarified. "I plan to issue fixed-interest, simple-interest, registered bonds. Remember the list I made for Moris and Jack to buy supplies? Each bond will be made with the best sheepskin parchment, and I will personally perform a series of anti-counterfeiting processes. In the end, all three of us, including the creditor, will sign, seal, and fingerprint them. After all this trouble, the cost of each bond will exceed a silver stag. If we don't set a higher threshold, we might have to make hundreds or thousands of bonds, which would not only be difficult to manage but also significantly increase costs and labor time, affecting the stability of the financial chain."
"Fixed-interest, simple-interest, registered? What do these mean?"
"Fixed-interest means the interest rate is fixed. Simple-interest means the interest generated won't earn additional interest. Registered means each bond will have the borrower's name on it. The first two points are for easy accounting and management, and the third is for anti-counterfeiting and ensuring the bondholder's ownership of the bond, to prevent theft, loss, and other situations. You'll naturally find out when the time comes."
"It's so complicated."
"There's even more complexity ahead. Now, let's discuss more basic issues, such as what content and design to use for the sign of my Night's Watch office."
***
They arrived at the sign workshop. Unlike the seal-carving shop and the Night's Watch office, which only needed a small street-facing storefront, the sign workshop required a fairly large space for processing and production. To save on rent, it had to be located in a slightly more remote area. The two of them wandered around for a while before finding it, and the sun was already setting.
Dozens of carpenters and workers were working energetically in the semi-open-air yard. New shops opened in King's Landing every now and then, naturally bringing in new sign orders every now and then. Although the power players in the Seven Kingdoms were engaged in undercurrents of competition and struggle, ordinary people were unaware of these. on the surface, Westeros was experiencing an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity, and commerce and industry were developing at an unprecedented rate. Aeg was extremely skeptical: If the War of the Five Kings hadn't happened, and the harsh winter hadn't arrived, cities like King's Landing would likely have begun to see the sprouts of capitalism.
The owner soon came out with a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Making signs wasn't as troublesome as carving seals or locks. As long as you paid, they could make anything of any size. After half an hour of discussion, they finalized the details of the sign's size, content, and other aspects, paid a deposit, and by the time the busy and explosive day ended and they returned to the inn, the sky was already pitch black.
The dialogue between Aeg and Tyrion was filled with the intricacies of their financial scheme and the logistics of setting it up. As they navigated the complexities of their plan, the world around them seemed to buzz with the energy of King's Landing. The setting sun cast a golden hue over the city, highlighting the contrast between the grandeur of their ambitions and the mundane tasks at hand. The sign workshop, with its bustling activity, symbolized the commercial heartbeat of the city, a testament to the potential for growth and change that lay just beneath the surface of Westeros's feudal society.
*****
A/N: I encourage you to take a peek at my other literary endeavors. I'm confident that you'll find them captivating. They're waiting to whisk you away on new adventures.
Also, a gentle reminder: "Don't forget to vote with your Power Stones. It will be a tremendous help in getting my works noticed by a wider audience. Your votes are like beacons in the night, guiding others to the stories we've built together."