Game of Thrones: I am Dothraki, not a barbarian

Chapter 133 I'll scrape together three million for you

Pentos, Commander's Palace

Inside the reception hall, sunlight streamed through the stained glass of the dome onto the white marble table, casting colorful dappled patterns.

Matthew Rogers was sitting at the table, the young major shareholder of Rogers Bank wearing a blue fitted top and a jacket embroidered with the Rogers family crest, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as he listened to Laharo speaking across from him.

“Rogar Bank will obtain an exclusive franchise for the Pantos financial business, and Iron Vault will be excluded.”

“This is a win-win situation. Iron Bank really went too far this time,” Matthew laughed, “which gave us an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.”

At this moment, Nana poured two glasses of Summer Red wine and served them to the two of them, then tactfully stepped aside.

Lahalo glanced at her, then looked away. “Not only our local business in Pentos, but also our business partners, whether upstream suppliers or downstream retailers, regardless of which city-state they come from, are entitled to loans from Roger Bank.”

Matthew took a sip of red wine, and after a moment, nodded. "I have heard about Lord Kao's actions here; they are of noble character and admirable. This is also in the bank's interest. I agree."

The two clinked glasses, and this part of the negotiation was successfully completed.

“Mr. Matthew, I have another proposal,” Rahalo said, a glint in his eyes. “I would like to acquire a stake in Roger Bank.”

The wine glass stopped at Matthew's lips. He paused, put down the glass, and scrutinized Rahalo.

"Lord Kao, are you forcing me to take sides?"

"You've already chosen a side, haven't you?"

Lahalo laughed, "The old order is crumbling, and new powers are rising. Westeros is at war. Guess who will be the final victor?"

“I never expected that Prince Doran would stand with Lord Khalil.” A flash of admiration crossed Matthew’s eyes. “However, without the Stark family getting involved, it’s hard to say who will emerge victorious.”

"They'll be on the field soon."

"Oh?"

A look of surprise flashed in Matthew's eyes. He hadn't expected that this Kao would be so certain, and he immediately guessed the general idea.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Rogar Bank can sell up to 15% of its shares for three million. This is a reasonable price after asset valuation."

I have to go back in three days to deal with Reese's mess. I need to see your sincerity before I get back. No more waiting, sorry.

"three million?"

Too much?

“Not much,” Rajalo shook his head. “As for the payment method, I can use Pentos’s fiscal revenue as collateral.”

“Hahaha.” Matthew laughed. “Lord Laharlo, I admire your business acumen, but banks need tangible things. Who can guarantee that you will always have the power to allocate fiscal revenue?”

The negotiations reached a stalemate, and both men fell silent.

After a long pause, Rahalo broke the silence: "Okay, I'll scrape together three million for you before you leave!"

Leon Prestan, who had been sitting silently next to Laharo, looked surprised when he heard this.

He helped Laharo raise 600,000 to resolve the economic crisis, which has already exhausted his savings. Now he hasn't seen a single penny back, so why is he causing trouble again?
The father-in-law whispered in Rahalo's ear, "You'd better think this through. Where are we going to get that much money?"

"If you don't have it, I'll get someone else to contribute!"

Matthew had already figured out Laharo's background before he came, and his words just now were not without the intention of testing his abilities, but Laharo's words really piqued his curiosity.

"Three million gold dragons is no small sum. Has Lord Rahalo thought it through?"

"Yes, have you thought it through?" Leon asked as well.

The Iron Treasury is the most powerful bank in the world. Through debt, they control countless small states and large conglomerates, and can even support feudal lords against the monarchy. Their power should not be underestimated.

The Iron Treasury imposed economic sanctions on the three sisters of the disputed lands, leading to the decline of the three free states, countless families torn apart, and deaths. This was a war without gunfire, yet more devastating than any war.

Even Tywin Lannister, who owned gold mines, was obligated to pay his debts to the Iron Bank, knowing that debt was not just a financial issue, but also a matter of power.

If it weren't for Lajalo's intervention through marriage, the Iron Bank probably wouldn't have survived the first round of economic blows. Now that they've offended the Iron Bank, they have to tie Rogers Bank to their side.

Roger has money and troops; he has both carrots and sticks. If he wants to dominate the world, he needs to have both hands firmly on his side.

“I’ve made up my mind.” Rahalo turned to Harry Strickland. “Let’s do it.”

Harry nodded and left the room.

...

As dusk fell, the "Drunken Sailors" tavern in the slums was brightly lit.

This is the most chaotic area of ​​Pentos, a melting pot of all sorts of people, from impoverished dockworkers to down-on-their-luck mercenaries, even wanted criminals and small merchants hiding from debt collectors.

The tavern reeked of cheap alcohol and sweat, and a crowd of people huddled around a bard in the center of the dilapidated table.

After singing the popular ballads, he began to sing Lahalo's poems, but he was immediately booed off the stage.

"Who does that barbarian think he is?" A burly man spat, revealing a mouthful of uneven teeth. "Those merchants are already rolling in money! Why don't they just give us poor bastards some aid?"

“Exactly!” another man exclaimed, his face flushed and reeking of alcohol. “He distributed millions of gold coins in Victory Square, but I didn’t get a single copper coin!”

"Didn't the Commander-in-Chief give you bread?" someone muttered under their breath.

"What did you say? Damn it!" The burly man pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the table, immediately silencing any dissenting voices.

Baqu sat in the corner, listening intently to the conversation around him. The conflict between the Iron Treasury and the Kho was now the hottest topic of conversation on the streets.

“If you’re going to give them out, give them out to everyone. Why only give them to the merchants? That’s not fair!” a third person said, looking shifty-eyed.

Baqu felt the time was right, so he stood up and deliberately knocked over the wine glass on the table.

"Damn it!" he yelled, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "We're drinking beer that tastes like horse piss! But those noblemen are drinking the finest wine from golden cups!"

“Lahalo meant well and helped those people,” he said, his voice laced with inflammatory rhetoric, “but I saw with my own eyes that they all went out to buy silk and wine today! And hordes of beautiful slaves! And what about us? We can’t even afford a decent dinner!”

"asshole!"

"unfair!"

Baqu jumped onto the table, raising his fist: "I'll show you what fairness is! Fairness means taking back what's rightfully ours! Those nobles made their fortunes by exploiting us; now it's time for them to pay their debts!"

The atmosphere in the pub was ignited; people began banging on the tables and shouting slogans.

"Buy for zero coins!"

"Zero my ass!" Baqu shouted, his voice booming. "The wronged have their culprits, the debtors their creditors! We've robbed those nobles and slave owners! We've taken back the wealth that belongs to us!"

With Baqu leading the way, although most people sneered at him and secretly cursed him for being ungrateful, they thought he would die in the Forest of Traitors sooner or later.

However, quite a few people still followed him out of the tavern, most of them being idle hooligans and ruffians.

The same thing happened in other taverns, and more and more people gathered along the way, showing a trend of spreading like wildfire.

Baqu led the way with great strides. In just two or three hours, the procession, which looked impressive from afar, had grown to more than three thousand people, carrying torches, sticks, and makeshift weapons, as they marched toward the wealthy district.

A number of people followed far behind, some to watch the excitement, and others to take advantage of the chaos.

Even more surprisingly, many pairs of eyes were watching the group from the shadows, looking on with puzzled expressions.

Why did they act ahead of schedule?

"I don't know, maybe we didn't receive the notification from the Iron Vault in time. We can't wait any longer, or there won't be anyone left to use! Let's follow suit!"

However, none of them noticed that the Shield of Pentos, which usually patrolled the streets, seemed to have disappeared; not a single squad of soldiers was seen along the way, which was nothing short of a miracle.

(End of this chapter)