The capital of the Lowland Republic, Antwerp.
In the Senate, which represented the true center of power in the country, all eighty members of the Senate had arrived.
But just like every day for the past six months, these well-dressed bigwigs had no smiles on their faces.
The streets outside were bustling with people. It seemed like the economy was gradually returning to normal, but only they knew that many things had changed.
In the last tulip bubble and the subsequent wave of bankruptcies caused by the "monetary tightening", a large number of high-quality assets in the country, such as mines, plantations, shipyards, factories, trading companies … were all plundered.
Especially under Elvin's leadership, the Tulip Alliance, which had long been prepared, managed to bite off the biggest piece of meat.
Faletis, who took advantage of the opportunity, even bought the largest Halliburton Iron Company in the Lowlands at a price that was almost one-twentieth of the original price.
The value of these assets would not be less than the wealth that Elvin directly harvested from the Lowlands.
Blowing bubbles, aggressively shorting, and extreme bottom-hunting … Elvin's entire set of tactics had indeed taught them a good lesson.
The only fortunate thing was that the big bankers and capitalists of the "Eye of Wealth" had assets in various countries, and they were all powerful transnational capital.
Although they suffered a lot in the financial crisis, it was not to the extent of being unable to recover.
The most important thing was that their "credibility", which was the foundation of their business, had once again passed the test. Their savings business in various countries was gradually rising, and the past six months had allowed them to catch their breath a little.
Whether or not they could make a comeback would depend on today's decision.
Everyone was looking forward to it.
The speaker of the Senate, the chairman of the executive committee of the Netherland Bank, Saint William Orange, walked briskly to the rostrum.
He raised his arms high and announced the final news to everyone in an excited tone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, rejoice. The Senate and the government have unanimously passed the" Central Bank Act ", authorizing us to establish a private central bank. We have obtained the only right to issue currency in the Lowlands!"
Phew —!
The entire venue breathed a sigh of relief, as if there was a gust of wind. A relaxed smile finally appeared on the faces of the bigwigs.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Then, the warm applause drowned everyone in the room.
It was all because the significance of this decision was too great for them.
Since last winter, a large amount of wealth in precious metals had been harvested in the "Tulip Bubble".
The shortage of metal currency and the inconvenience of replacing physical currency (cloth, food …) had seriously affected the normal operation of the Republic of the Low Countries.
This also prompted them to jump out of the traditional thinking that had lasted for thousands of years and start a brand new attempt, which was to print and issue paper money by the government as the unified and standard legal tender of the Low Countries Republic.
The biggest difference between this kind of paper money and the gold notes that had been in circulation for a long time was that it did not have any gold or silver as collateral. It was a completely government credit currency.
Because everyone in society had to pay taxes to the government, and as long as the government accepted this paper currency as proof of tax payment, it had the basic elements to circulate in the market.
Buying and selling based on credit allowed merchants to settle the credit balance between each other on a monthly or yearly basis. This would greatly reduce the inconvenience of the original transaction.
And when these private banks replaced the government and took control of this floodgate, the benefits they could reap from it would be far greater than the losses they suffered in the "tulip bubble".
There were no fools among the big bankers, they were limited by the era and vision that made the previous major mistakes.
This time, the "Tulip Bubble" also provided them with a new idea, which was to take the initiative to trigger a financial crisis and harvest leeks!
All they had to do was to play the role that Elvin had played before.
Opening the gate to release water, raising fish in the pond, tightening the monetary system … or overissuing the currency, inflation, reasonable robbery, no business without capital would be so straightforward.
As long as they had the right to issue money, they did not need to care who made the law!
"Everyone, the first batch of sample money has been produced.
Now, not only do we have the government's national debt backing us, but the great 'God of Capital and Wealth' will also endorse it with his divine power! "
William Orange clapped his hands and a staff member sent a portion of the yellow-green banknotes to each member of parliament.
On the front of the first banknote, there was a compass with its feet open and a square ruler with its mouth facing upwards. In the middle was a pure golden eye. That was the emblem and code name of their association — the "Eye of Wealth."
On the back was the sacred emblem of the "God of Capital and Wealth".
It looked like a sharp sword that had been erected. At the two ends of the sword were gold, land, factories, raw materials, and other combinations of currency and production materials. At the other end were countless humans who were working hard.
The overall meaning was "New World Order" and its name was Florin.
"Then, Mr. President, Florin can of course be used in the Republic, but the Republic of the Low Countries is still too small. How can it be widely recognized internationally?"
"That's right, the currency should be linked to the corresponding commodity. Although the Republic of the Low Countries is already a commodity exporter second only to the 'Tulip Alliance', its influence is still not enough."
“.....”
This was related to the great achievements of the international bankers, they could not help but be cautious.
Everyone's vision was not limited to the small Republic of the Low Countries. Instead, they looked at the whole world and did not exclude the possibility of using their own influence to replicate in other countries for profit.
Because the real "Republic of the Low Countries" was a "deep state". In other words, the "Eye of Wealth" was the real master and ruling class of the country.
In other words, no matter how turbulent and depressed the "Republic of the Low Countries" was, it would not affect the strength of the "union."
Even if the land and population of the Low Countries were no longer there, the "union" could still find a new host and continue to maintain the new order.
Capitalists had no motherland!
Now they had control of all the economic lifelines of the country, including the central bank. They were the real richest group.
Among them were industrial trust giants, banking and financial oligarchs, military oligarchs, investment giants, agricultural giants, business giants, media tycoons, and the big capitalist families that had been in the world for hundreds of years.
When the "Republic of the Low Countries" was just established, the secret of great influence and potential power was not its system or national strength, but the real union itself was a supranational organization of the ruling class.
To put it more directly, the real national strength of the Republic of the Low Countries was in the form of "multinational corporations". Multinational corporations were the real national departments of the Low Countries.
For example, among the big shots in the House of Lords.
The private banks led by the Nederland Bank Group belonged to the Ministry of Finance; "Caterpillar Industries" was similar to the Bureau of Industry; "Maxson Pharmaceutical" was similar to the Medical Administration; "Philip Morris International" was similar to the Bureau of Agriculture …
Raytheon Military was the national defense department. The institutions of higher learning led by the Henry Business School in Reading were all private enterprises. They were equivalent to the Ministry of Education, training and recruiting talents for the company consortium.
In turn, the government agencies were only the representatives and executive agencies of these "de facto departments".
Everything was for the sake of maximizing the benefits!
"Haha, that's a good question. Here is another proposal. Let's invite Mr. Strauss, president of the National Democracy Foundation to explain it to everyone."
William Orange gave the rostrum to another middle-aged man who looked harmless and artistic.
If Elvin was here, he would be able to recognize at a glance that this was the "Performer" Strauss under the "God of Music and Opera".
He bowed elegantly to this group of rich people and then explained the next step of the plan in a voice that seemed to be born with a bewitching tone.
"Our next plan is called 'The Flower of Freedom and Democracy' …"
The eyes of the councilors lit up as they listened.
The plan was not complicated.
Next, with the advantage of a multinational organization, they would make a high-profile announcement:
Within five years, provide loans to 200,000 factories in various countries; train 300,000 factory owners and financial elites; increase the literacy rate of the people of various countries; help train more than 100,000 excellent teachers in various countries in three years; reduce illiteracy by half in the next ten years.
The external support was mainly divided into two directions.
One was the "Federation of Golden Palms" formed by the Nimanstes, Atleans, and Anumar in the south of the New World.
Of course, the loans to the "Federation of Golden Palms", which had vast potential, would not be shipped over. Instead, they would be exchanged for various equipment and supplies in the Republic of the Low Countries …
Not only did they support their brother countries, but they also boosted their own economy.
It was equivalent to using the national debt of the "Republic of the Low Countries" and the "Federation of Golden Palms" to support "Florin", allowing these "waste paper" to break through the country's gates.
The other direction was the many small countries on the Source Continent.
These measures sounded like great things that would benefit the country and the people. No country would reject them.
But at the same time.
The "National Foundation for Democracy" would start to march in the name of democracy and freedom. It would turn newspapers, poets, singers, politicians, students … All of them into leading parties, advocating the current civilization and wealth of the Republic of the Low Countries.
To put it bluntly, these support were all dog food and fodder.
From the three directions of political ideology, economic lifeline, and culture and education, every knife was fatal.
The "Federation of Golden Palms" that had already been secretly controlled was relatively better. It would slowly pass "peacefully".
When the people of the various countries on the Source Continent were overjoyed and thought that they would be able to make a fortune with this new commercial country, they did not know that what awaited them was a boundless abyss.
This was because when the fortress was truly breached from the inside, it would be the time for the "Eye of Wealth" to push the torrent of capital to sweep through everything. It would control their economic lifeline as quickly as possible and swallow everything with endless greed!
On the surface, everyone had a sacred vote. They could choose the democratic leader they liked and decide the fate of the country.
For the sake of votes, the democratic leaders naturally had to work hard to improve the national welfare after they came to power and seek the well-being of every voter.
However …
As a matter of fact, "democracy and freedom" had nothing to do with wealth at all. The most fundamental problem was still the contradiction between limited resources and unlimited population.
"Seconded! It is our mission to let the countries bloom with democracy and freedom! "
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
Heh, freedom, how many sins have been committed in your name?
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