"It's a certificate of deposit from the church bank. It's anonymous and can be exchanged for money at sight."
This world's sea trade was particularly developed, and even the banking industry was prosperous. It was unrealistic to issue paper currency, but things similar to the Song Dynasty's "Jiaozi" had long existed.
However, most of them were large-amount certificates of deposit with real names. The Golden Dragon Bank did not accept more than three, and only the person involved or their designated person was present and signed before the money could be withdrawn.
Of course, the bank encouraged people to use anonymous certificates of deposit, which were almost equivalent to large banknotes.
But it was very unsafe. If Danny was robbed, she would lose 20,000 gold royals at once, but the ransom of a baron was only 100 gold royals …
Therefore, even if Danny took down the three major cities of Gith, she didn't get many anonymous certificates of deposit from the slave merchants.
Stryker's eyes widened, and his fingers trembled as they slid on it, "One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand … Seven Gods above, 20,000 gold royals?"
"It's a small matter," Danny waved her hand lightly, "Tell the big sparrow to use the money immediately. It's best not to buy food in the Seven Kingdoms. Go to the other side of the narrow sea to find a food merchant."
Twenty thousand gold royals is a small matter, are you a billionaire?
Sure enough, no one is perfect. This Miss Knight is kind, beautiful, and good looking, but she loves to brag.
Stryker carefully hid the parchment and asked in confusion, "Why? It's cheaper to buy food from the High Court! "
"Alas, the Seven Kingdoms are short of food. It's difficult to survive this winter if we only consume internally and don't buy externally. Moreover, Tyrell and Lannister are in constant conflict. The High Court will not always support King's Landing. When you all run to the river bend to sell food, the price will definitely rise rapidly.
Even if the cost of foreign profiteers remains unchanged, they will also increase the price of food. In such a vicious cycle, the currency will depreciate crazily, and the economy of King's Landing will inevitably collapse. "
"This …" Stryker couldn't understand at all. He was at a loss, so he suggested, "Why don't you come with me to the Great Cathedral to see the archbishop? If you have any suggestions, you can tell the big sparrow in person. You are kind-hearted. Although I don't understand your suggestions, they are always beneficial to the people of King's Landing. "
"Meet the big sparrow?" Danny hesitated and looked at White Knight.
"You can meet him." Barristan nodded.
Danny asked Stryker again, "Will he see me?"
"Definitely!"
"Alright, I would also like to know more about that legendary archbishop."
The King's Landing was bordered by the Blackwater River to the south and the Blackwater Bay to the east. The city was mainly composed of three hills, named after the names of Aegon the Conqueror and his wife. The Reyneth Hills, where the commoners and the poor lived, was located at the center of the abandoned Dragon's Nest and the Flea's Nest. The Visania Hills, where the artisans and the middle class lived, represented by the Great Cathedral of Saint Belle (the Church of the Seven Gods). The King and the nobles lived in the High Hill of Aegon. The Red Castle was located at the high cliff at the corner of the Blackwater River and the Blackwater Bay.
They went all the way east along the main road. The streets were still dirty and messy, but the buildings gradually became tall and neat. The air was still full of stench and decay, but there was also the smell of liquor, powder, and toast mixed in it … Well, it seemed to be even worse when mixed together.
Along the way, Danny met a naked prostitute leaning on the window on the second floor to solicit customers. She saw a blue-robed woman carrying a basket of vegetables. She took out two copper coins from her pocket and bought five shriveled apples the size of a child's fist from the street vendor. She saw hotels and restaurants with poor business …
After turning to Sister Silence Street, Danny also saw the famous Alchemist Guild.
In such a large black stone building complex, only two or three Fire Warlocks were wandering in and out. The nearby ordinary people seemed to be avoiding the source of the plague, and they deliberately quickened their pace when passing by.
In contrast to the deserted Alchemist Guild, St. Belle's Cathedral was almost overcrowded, mostly with ragged and dirty refugees.
They seemed to have made their home in the Place, with the old and the young, building tents of coarse cloth on the white marble floor, huts of mud beside the altar of Saint Bernard, and on the steps of the pulpit of the Great Cathedral, and then spreading their bedrolls, and lighting their bonfires, and setting aside their pots and pans.
There was smoke in front of St. Belle's Cathedral!!
Stryker walked quickly to a group of brown coarse cloth soldiers and handed the money bag to the one-armed leader. While explaining, he also pointed at Danny on the side of the square.
Soon the group of soldiers came to Danny. They were slovenly, dirty, and sloppy, holding spears and axes, and their uniforms were not neat. Some people wore a bumpy plate armor on their coarse cloth coat, some wore rusty mail armor, and some only had a cracked leather armor, but all of them had the church's seven-pointed star painted on their chests.
Danny understood that this ragged army was probably the big sparrow's' beggar army '– the poor people's congregation.
Of course, the 'poor people's congregation' was what ordinary people called this church's armed forces. In the Church of the Seven Gods, its real name was actually very powerful – the Star Warriors.
The one-armed man first expressed his gratitude to Danny and Barristan, and then asked, "Miss, are you a church member?"
"Well, we all believe in the Seven Gods, and I'm still a member of the church." Danny nodded.
"Well, I'll take you two to see the archbishop immediately." The one-armed man smiled with satisfaction, "Two church members, how should I address you?"
Danny handed the horse to a Star Warrior and smiled, "My name is Keisha Alexander, and he is my knight attendant, Aston."
"Hello, Miss Keisha, my name is Lansel," the one-armed man hesitated for a moment, "Lansel Lannister."
"Lannister?" Danny was shocked.
Suddenly, she remembered who he was. He was Jaime's cousin, the one who climbed into Cersei's bed, and the one who killed Robert.
"I've given up my title and territory, and have decided to dedicate the rest of my life to the Seven Gods." The one-armed man looked weary, and his tone was bleak, like a monk who had seen through the world of mortals.
They walked through the crowd, passing bonfires, carriages, and shacks … The refugees' expressions were dull, gloomy, and numb. Some of them even had a hint of hostility.
Lansel stopped in the middle of the crowd and announced loudly, "This is Miss Keisha Alexander, our church member, a devout believer of the Seven Gods, and she has donated a lot of money to us."
As if suddenly turning on the beautifier and backlight, the refugees' expressions suddenly changed. They looked at Danny with warm, respectful, and kind eyes, and the gray and cold weather seemed to have brightened up.
"So realistic," Danny complained in her mind, but she still put on a smile.
When she got close to the statue of the blessed King Baele, she was shocked to see that the majestic marble statue with a kind smile was filled with bones and skeletons from the waist down, and many of them still had flesh and blood left.
There were white and fat maggots wriggling, buzzing flies flying around, and even a flock of crows sitting on top of them, enjoying a dry meal.
"What are they doing?" Danny asked Lansel, who was beside her.
"They are the church members, nuns, monks, and bishops who died tragically in Hejian, the King's Domain, and the Stormlands in recent years. Some of them were hanged by the Red Gods, some were disemboweled by the Northern Army, and most of them were …"
After a pause, the one-armed man continued with a grim expression, "They were killed by the Blood Troupe hired by Duke Tywin. There were also bandits in Hejian and the King's Domain. They robbed monks, raped nuns, and even killed Silence and her sister. The brothers of the Congregation of the Poor collected their remains from all over the country, hoping that the holy church would bear witness to their deaths. "
The Blood Troupe was the Warrior Troupe, a mercenary troupe whose reputation in Ursos was second only to the Second Sons Troupe (Titan's Bastard Troupe, which was wiped out by Danny).
The stupidest thing Duke Tywin did in his life was to hire the infamous Warrior Troupe from the other side of the narrow sea to do his dirty work for him.
Apart from the fact that his son Jaime's right hand was chopped off by the leader of the Warrior Troupe, this arrangement also completely destroyed the agricultural production in Hejian, but it did not help much in defeating the Hejian warlords.
After the War of the Four Kings, the Three River Basin, as the granary of the Seven Kingdoms, became the biggest burden for the Iron Throne.
The big sparrow, including the little sparrows under his command, were all refugees from the Three River Basin.
Walking on the stone steps in front of the Holy Church, Lansel reminded, "Miss Keisha, according to the Archbishop's order, weapons that are not armed members of the church are not allowed to enter the Holy Church. You and your attendant have to take off your sword belts."
"Yes." Danny took off the sword from her waist and handed it to the white knight. "Wait here."
The old knight hesitated for a moment, then nodded and took "Clear Sky".
Ordinary iron swords could be handed over to the Congregation of the Poor, but Valleglia's steel swords did not look special. Anyone who took them out and wielded them would immediately notice the unusual weight and thickness.
If two Valleglia's steel swords appeared at the same time, it was hard to say whether the Congregation of the Poor would be greedy or cause other trouble.
Passing through the St. Belle Square and a small garden, Danny followed Lansel to the gate of the Holy Church.
The Holy Church was a magnificent marble dome with seven crystal towers standing in the middle. After passing through the gate, there was a long corridor that led to the interior of the Holy Church.
Lansel stopped in front of the corridor, where more than twenty monks in coarse linen clothes knelt on the ground, scrubbing the floor with a cloth in their right hand and soap in their left hand.
While Danny was wondering, a thin old man about 1.5 meters tall got up from the ground and threw the cloth back into the wooden bucket. His wizened face cracked a smile and said, "Keisha, thank you for everything you've done for the people of King's Landing."
"You, you're the Archbishop?" Danny stared at him with wide eyes.
The old man was not as tall as her shoulders, and his body was too thin. His brown robe looked like it was wrapped around a hemp pole, and his bare feet were black and hard like tree roots.
But he was not sloppy at all. His robe was worn and patched, but it was clean. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his thin hair was combed to the back of his head and tied into a knot. He was a very refreshing little old man.
"I'm the Great Sparrow," he said with a gentle smile. "It's not convenient to receive guests here. Keisha, please come with me."
He led her through a corridor full of dirty water and soap bubbles, through a double-opened inner door, and into a spacious hall. Danny's iron boots and the Great Sparrow's bare feet echoed on the marble floor.
There were seven tall statues in the hall. Except for the Stranger, the altars under the other six statues were filled with candles. There were almost a thousand candles, and they were as bright as the stars.
When they came to the center of the hall, seven-colored light shone in from the leaded glass window on the dome. Dust danced in the light, and the air was filled with the smell of incense. A monk led hundreds of Sparrows to pray in front of the statue of the Holy Mother. Their voices were like the waves of the distant sea, ethereal and sacred.
"Which god does Keisha serve?" the Great Sparrow asked softly.
"Maiden," Dani said and walked towards the Maiden's Altar on her own accord.
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