Darkstone Code-Chapter 752 - 0750 Accomplice
The true people influencing this "storm" are actually not Lynch, but the Prime Minister and the Emperor, these two key figures.
Lynch merely discovered some issues among these people, and incidentally ignited the displeasure stemming from the Noble Group towards the Emperor and the ministers’ policies that the Emperor and the ministers had been suppressing.
In the end, the nobles lost money in the war, and they lacked sufficient means to earn it back. The dissatisfaction towards the war and the Imperial Family could not be vented under the suppression of the ministers and the Emperor. This conflict grew deeper until it inevitably exploded one day.
In the Emperor’s eyes, as long as the Amelia Region develops, offering the nobles opportunities to earn money, their grievances will dissipate.
The ministers’ views are largely similar. Although they also invested a lot of money into the war and did not recoup their costs, they would not harbor much resentment because they are ministers.
They still hold power in their hands, and in fact, their investment in the war was to secure the power they held.
However, the development in the Amelia Region is not as smooth as people imagine. Not mentioning the fierce conflicts and armed resistance before, even now, nobles find it difficult to discover business opportunities there.
An entirely open and free market simply doesn’t suit those merchants who are accustomed to leveraging power to gain wealth; they have grown accustomed to resolving competition through noble means.
Just like in the movies, several nobles sitting around the round table in the afternoon, some arrogant, some unyielding, some silent, some disdainful.
Ultimately, after possibly fierce or not fierce discussions, everyone delineates their own "territory," stating who will run what business where, with no interference allowed.
Such monopoly-like exclusive businesses indeed flourish domestically; merchants need not worry about competition, and only consider how to squeeze the last bit of value from the market.
The remaining matters are all handled by the nobles, who negotiate, discuss, and compromise, allowing merchants to earn money without needing to rack their brains.
But now in the Amelia Region, the Federation’s competitiveness is too formidable even if they’re not making money, their intent to capture the market has made the domestic nobles of Gafura a bit overwhelmed.
They only want to make money, not continue to suffer losses, and the Emperor and the ministers have once again "stabbed them in the back," not fulfilling their promises, making them increasingly dissatisfied.
The marginalized noble community, neglected, became the only group harmed by this war. Some even felt betrayed by the Imperial Family and ministers.
We agreed to fight together for profit, yet I alone suffered losses...
Lynch took advantage of this. He is the world-renowned "Billionaire," disregarding that this billion is now like waste paper, yet he possesses such a resounding title.
People’s impression of Lynch is simple: young, handsome, wealthy, and adept at making money.
After being ennobled, Lynch actively participated in various noble events, bonding with some marginalized nobles—the mainstream group within the Secretariat, the hereditary major nobles, who besides being incredibly seasoned, have solid foundations.
They wouldn’t miss meals due to supporting a lackluster war, hence they’re not easily approachable, and essentially, they don’t quite esteem Lynch.
Those who bonded with Lynch were always those eager to get rich, they were damn poor like some barons, viscounts, and a few unlucky counts. These individuals with not-so-solid foundations hoped to quickly earn some money to improve the current situation.
Noble life is very luxurious, with many spots needing money, such as hosting various balls, banquets, events, where each occasion demands significant money, and some activities remain unavoidable. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
To avoid embarrassment, they have already squeezed themselves to the limit just short of pawning family assets and making national headlines—"xx sells family industry to survive."
While giving them this opportunity, Lynch also set off the precarious balance between the noble group, the minister community, and the Emperor within Gafura, igniting it!
What seemed like a simple matter was the critical issue indeed.
The nobles’ anger led them to ignore so-called national interests, following Lynch in short-selling, meanwhile redirecting their hatred towards the Minister of Finance.
If the Minister of Finance’s people hadn’t taken bribes to allow Yuanrong Capital to go public, this major issue wouldn’t have emerged, and even if they had thoroughly scrutinized it earlier, they might have already impeded Yuanrong Capital’s continued plundering of public wealth.
Under attack, the Minister of Finance, Lynch, made these nobles short-sell the Empire’s financial index, and the unnoticed Prime Minister immediately seized the opportunity and would attack the Minister of Finance, shifting Emperor’s attention away from Lynch.
The entire issue evolved from "Lynch short-selling the Empire’s financial index" to "a struggle around national fiscal authority," where they continued battling and Lynch continuously made money, while also rallying a batch of nobles to align with him.
When Lynch first entered a small room, he had a decent relationship with a big shot who asked if he knew why he was involved.
At the time, Lynch expressed some personal insights, roughly believing that he went too large-scale, causing too bad an impact, ultimately exposing himself.
But the big shot informed him he was wrong.
His involvement wasn’t due to operating at a too large scale, as many operated even larger, nor due to too significant an impact, considering some individuals or organizations have more significant influences.
His real mistake was failing to clarify the benefit issues; some people who deserved to gain benefits didn’t receive benefits, while others who didn’t should get benefits somehow ended up with undeserved benefits.
Thus some people became dissatisfied while some grew greedy, and these people surrounded him, ones he couldn’t escape.
Dissatisfaction and greed, inciting and swelling each other, eventually exploded in him, the core!
The same issue represents the current predicament within Gafura Empire; Lynch reenacted events that occurred to him back onto Gafura Empire.
He now even feels that Emperor Gafura should thank him because he prematurely ignited a potentially disastrous problem within a controllable scope.
This isn’t a crime, this is a service to the state!
So long as the struggle between the Prime Minister and the Empire’s Emperor over fiscal authority concludes, the financial index will stabilize—redefining fiscal authority’s ownership is indeed favorable for the Empire’s financial ecological environment.
Especially if this authority rests with the Prime Minister, then the noble group and Imperial Family possess the ability to struggle, which promotes societal stability, increasing people’s confidence in the country.
"Mr. Lynch...then what should we do next?" asked a noble who seemed to be around thirty-one or thirty-two, extremely handsome.
"What you mentioned has already happened, the conflict between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance has erupted, from some channels I understood, previously the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister at the imperial palace gates had some... friction."
"Their conflict will inevitably spill over onto us here, then, how should we manage these issues, we certainly need to take a stand?"
Perhaps Lynch’s success in making money earned these nobles’ trust, or maybe his demeanor, he appeared not quite like a mere twenty-two-year-old, as the nobles in the room started seeking his opinions.
Some of the nobles also focused on Lynch. Sometimes having a "leader" is a blissful matter, meaning people need not exert their minds.
Lynch did not avoid this issue, smiling and said, "Certainly, it’s about choosing sides, gentlemen."
"So-called politics is about uniting those who can be united and attacking our enemies; victors will write history, becoming the righteous side, while losers can only vanish, becoming the evil side on history books."
"We need to choose to support either the Prime Minister or the Emperor, and then help them achieve victory."
The nobles nodded; such views indeed matched the aristocratic political ecological environment.
The term Noble Group also emerged from choosing sides, not alien to them, merely restructuring a new noble group or erecting new edifices on the old noble group.
"Who do you favor?" the inquirer continued to probe, understanding the benefits of choosing the correct side goes without saying. This is Gafura’s tradition.
Victors take all, losers return home, licking their wounds, waiting for the next chance.
Lynch sat in a chair, fingertips of both hands touching each other, smiling serenely, "Which side we stand on doesn’t hinge on our ideas, rather who can offer better benefits!"
His statement made some nobles in the room... somewhat uncomfortable, nobles are esteem-focused entities.
Their choice to stand in line often revolves more around esteem; say someone is on good terms with oneself, another someone on decent terms with the third someone, hence it’s appropriate to stand with that third someone.
They don’t ponder issues of win or lose, they are nobles after all; the Emperor holds no power to execute them, which sometimes renders them somewhat obstinate on certain issues—bluntly speaking, foolish.
Lynch’s proposal to base decisions on benefits diverges from their traditional ways, akin to merchants’ pragmatic approaches, whom nobles look down upon the most.
Yet thankfully, no one voiced objections, currently they are not qualified to raise them, Lynch is the one in the know between them.
Even this time, following Lynch, they benefited from the "national crisis," which excited them a bit; they only need to exert tiny relations, and numbers in their accounts continued to climb, far more dignified than facing off with other nobles at negotiation tables.
Moreover, making money proved more abundant, more leisurely, and easier.
This is the noble way to earn fortune!
