My British Empire

Chapter 116

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"This is a welcome gift of 5,000 pounds from us, I hope you can accept it!"

Edward looked at a small bank in front of him to receive the check, and felt unreal in his heart at this moment. He felt that he had underestimated these merchants.

A small meeting gift, to be able to bribe myself with five thousand pounds, this is really a big deal.

You must know that a knight’s annual surplus is only about 100 pounds. The standard for a middle-class family in London is 50 pounds of property, and 5,000 pounds is enough for the entire London citizen to buy food for a week.

Edward has no doubts about the authenticity of the check in front of him. After all, no one dares to deceive the king.

Edward gave a noncommittal grace, and silently watched the speaker's next move.

"These are just deposits, and the remaining five thousand pounds will be sent in the next period of time!"

Edward heard this meaning, this is to see if he has implemented measures, the five thousand pounds is hanging in front of him, after all, in this age, the king sometimes has bad credit!

"Very good! As the king of England, it is my bounden duty to protect the interests of the English people!" Edward said without paying attention to the exaggerated expression of the old man opposite him.

"I think, in a few days, you will see the disappearance of London's Steel Yard and the news will spread throughout London!"

"Bless you, Your Majesty the Great King, I think you are the greatest king in the history of England, no, you are the greatest king in the history of Europa!"

After hearing Edward's assurance, even though Mr. Speaker had a low chance of believing it in his heart, he still pretended to be reverent and said exaggeratedly.

Immediately, the two had a pleasant conversation about the establishment of the London City Government. After Edward refilled two cups of tea, Speaker Matthew finally left Whitehall Palace.

Edward stared at the thing that looked like a bank check in front of him, silently in a daze.

In general, historians believe that the earliest bank in the world was the Italian bank established in Venice in 1407.

Subsequently, the Dutch successively established banks in Amsterdam, Germany in Hamburg, and the United Kingdom in London. It was not until the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century that banks developed generally.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when capitalism was flourishing, some civilians became rich through business and became wealthy businessmen at that time.

As nouveau riche, they do not have the castles and mansions that the nobles have tightly guarded, but they all store their money in the king's treasury for the safety of their property. At that time, there was no safest place than the king's place, and London was controlled by a group of businessmen, who were not afraid of the king's private possession.

It should be noted here that there was no paper pound at that time, and the so-called saving money refers to storing gold.

Because what was practiced in Europe at that time was "free casting

Coin (Freecoinage) system, anyone can take gold nuggets to the mint and mint them into gold coins, so the mint allows customers to store gold.

Of course, only the king of England has the right to mint coins, and the so-called mint belongs to Edward's family.

So, the thing that appeared in front of Edward's eyes, which looked like a bank check for later generations, was actually a certificate for receiving gold in the mint to which Edward's royal family belonged.

And what do banks mainly do to make money at this time?

The answer is: loans and currency exchange, these two are the main profit points.

Of course, at this time it was a feudal bank, which only had the general function of a money bank in our Chinese history.

The capitalist bank still has to go to the Bank of England established in England in 1694, which is the world's first capitalist joint-stock bank.

Capitalist banks are special capitalist enterprises whose main functions are to operate monetary capital, issue credit circulation instruments, and act as credit intermediaries and payment intermediaries among capitalists.

The business hall of the Hanseatic merchants in London is called Steelyard. The Chamber of Commerce is located in the west of London City. It occupies nearly a hundred acres of land in a lively civilian area.

Compared with the lively business atmosphere, Hanse merchants set up tall and large walls around their halls to prevent the invasion of loud noises.

It even established a sense of mystery among the common people, which made the merchants proud to be able to enter the London Steel Yard.

In this self-contained environment, there are their own warehouses, measuring stations, offices and residences, etc., just like a special zone.

I guess this is the origin of the concession in the future, because in this steel yard, not only can it be exempted from taxes, but also the judicial power is independent, and it has its own management agency, which is simply a replica of the concession.

This business house was chartered by King Henry II in 1282, allowing Hanseatic merchants to mine tin mines in England, and the goods were tax-free.

As a member of the Leutz family, Mark Leutz is very proud, because he is now in his twenties and has already started to take charge of the family's business in London.

As a member of the Leutz family, Mark was favored by his father because of his business talent, and was sent to an important place in the family—England, to be responsible for purchasing sea salt produced in England.

As a member of the Hanseatic League, the Leutz family has almost monopolized the supply of the Baltic Sea, and the annual profits go to the sea. And England is the main supplier of family salt.

Walking into this guild hall known as the Iron and Steel Yard, Mark saw a large cart and goods. A dozen young and strong guys in short jackets and short sleeves were constantly carrying them, unloading them and moving them to the warehouse .

Even though it is already spring, their clothes are soaked in sweat, and their originally white faces now turn sallow.

Mark knows that this is the sea salt purchased from all over England since the spring, hoarded and ready to be transported to the Baltic Sea coast when the fleet arrives next month.

Walking on a flat path, Mark is no stranger to such a scene. He knew that after staying for a month, there would be more such busy people.

Holding his black tall hat in his hand, Mark picked up a handkerchief from time to time to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

As a person born in the German region, he really couldn't adapt to the weather in London. It was still rainy in the morning, but the sun came out at noon.

More importantly, he was discussing business with a businessman in Yorkshire at the wine table, which made him sweat.

But hats have always been popular in England, no matter if they are tall hats or what kind of hats, but when you go out, you must have a hat, otherwise you will be laughed at.

So, for the sake of business and enduring the scorching heat, Mark never took off his hat, so now he is like this group of lowly workers, sweating through his underwear.

Didn't care about other things, he walked straight towards the residential area, he had no other thoughts, he just wanted to change a good clothes.

Along the way, he forced a smile on his face and greeted other Hanseatic merchants.

"Vichy! Prepare hot water quickly, I want to take a shower!" Opening this luxurious living room of his own, Mark hung his hat on the back of the chair and ordered to the cleaning maid.

As a businessman, he didn't have the same unbearable tolerance for taking a bath as the conservative nobles and clerics.

After all, in Germany, bathing in the bathroom is already a part of daily life, so that people living in the city still need to pay a certain fee—the bathing fee—included in the wages of the handicraft guild, and a tax levied on the bathhouse Redistributed to the poor for free bathing.

"Yes, sir!" The maid Vichy was brought by Mark from Stettin's hometown, so it is very convenient to use.

The guarantee of loyalty is the first priority, and the second is to meet his normal physical needs.

Vichy diligently arranged the tub, towels, and change of clothes, and finally brought buckets of hot water from the back kitchen.

Seeing the steaming hot tub, Mark took off his clothes directly under the service of Vichy, and lay comfortably in the tub, not wanting to move.

The maid Vichy also took off her coat without hesitation, revealing her bumpy figure wrapped in a thin shirt, her long brown hair hanging on her delicate pink shoulders, coupled with her big charming eyes, the whole person looks Very tempting.

But Mark, who was tired all day, said that he was not blessed to enjoy it. He closed his eyes and let the hot water surround him. This feeling was extremely comfortable.

Vichy on the side knelt on his knees, and beat Mark's shoulders and arms lightly and rhythmically with his rough hands.

"Sir, those London businessmen have not given up until now. They sent people to Whitehall Palace today. I am afraid they want to deal with us again!"

With his eyes closed, Mark heard his maid whispering in his ear, bursts of fragrance entered his nose, and Mark couldn't help but twitched his nose and sniffed.

"Yes! Today I went to buy sea salt from a Yorkshire salt merchant. It took me a lot of effort to negotiate a success. In the end, I still added three pence per pound to the purchase price!"

"I'm afraid they also got some news, and they all want to sit on the ground and raise the price!"

As for Vichy, Mark usually doesn’t treat her as an ordinary maid, and discusses with her when encountering business matters.

And Vichy did not live up to Mark's trust. Not only did he take good care of him in life, but he also helped Mark well in business.

"What can I do, even if my older brothers are here together, they can't change the little king of England's mind!"

Mark opened his eyes and sighed helplessly.

The Leutz family has four brothers, each of whom is in charge of a business, and he is in charge of England, the main production area of ??the family's sea salt.

"You can't change His Majesty's thoughts on Hanseatic League merchants!"

"And you have to know that the Hanseatic League is the Hanseatic League, and you, the Leutz family, don't exactly belong to the Hanseatic League!"

(end of this chapter)

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