In March 1832, the people of the Holy City were discussing two things.

The first thing was that Queen Royce, in order to go out into the countryside, asked the court governor to raise 12 pure white Bilisian thoroughbred horses for her luxury carriage, for which the queen spent 200,000 louis. Previously, she spent 700,000 gold louis to renovate her holiday villa in the southeast suburbs of Mount St. Helen, which she only lived in for a few days a year.

The second incident was the mutiny of the sailors in Pak Mau Harbor, who seized some of the senior officers because they had not been paid for six months. The mutiny lasted only three hours before being suppressed, killing 70 sailors, including several junior officers, and arresting more than 200 others.

But when two things are put together, it is extremely ironic.

For a time, public opinion was raging, people denounced the extravagance and waste of the royal family, sympathized with the officers and men of the navy, and the liberal newspapers reported one after another, satirizing the royal family and criticizing the discrimination against the navy within the military command department.

Richard Moko had been dismissed from his post at the time of the mutiny, and he had read from the newspaper in a hotel on his way north back to the Holy City.

When he arrived in Gyeonggi Province, the newspapers said that he had been "reinstated" and was still the commander of the Navy. Admiral Moko pretended not to see it and continued to march towards the Holy City as planned, he was originally from the Holy City, the second son of the Marquis of Moko.

The Holy City is still as bustling as it once was, and this drunken city is home to some of the wealthiest people in the country and attracts countless people with dreams.

It's just that the faces of civilians are more anxious, especially with the countless short-dressed laborers who are struggling to find work. The stagnation of maritime trade has also seriously affected the city's economy, which used to be reached directly by sea ships through the wide Osai River, and the lower reaches of the Osera River have been cut off to prevent the fish demon from going up the river.

Billboards are plastered with wanted notices, and it is clear that law and order is deteriorating. There were protests and propaganda that proclaimed the need for bread and equality, until a squad of police arrived and dispersed the crowd.

Moko also had a handwritten leaflet in his hand, as he looked like a foreigner who had come to the Holy City to make a living, with a succinct question:

Is the queen's toilet made of gold?

After entering the Holy City, he read in the newspaper that some bigwigs of the Military Command Department spoke highly of him, believing that his dismissal was not a mistake he had made, but for the purpose of promoting him, and His Majesty the Emperor would personally confer the title of Marshal on him in the White House in recognition of his past contributions. Therefore, the interpretation of the outside world is a complete misunderstanding.

Sure enough, those who bury themselves in work will not have good fruit to eat, and those who will make trouble will be rewarded. It's ironic.

But the mutiny of the trolls was like a fish in the throat, which made him angry and sad.

The Military Command Department sent someone to guard his door and took him directly to the Military Command Department.

He was personally received by Marshal Carl-Lewis, who had previously been in charge of the northern frontier and had been transferred back to the Holy City at the end of last year as head of the Military Command Department.

He is known to be one of the most trusted people of Carlos II. In his early years, he followed the emperor to fight against the Bilisians, and rose to prominence, throwing a good resume and military exploits, he was very prestigious in the army, and most importantly, he was very politically strategic.

"Richard, I finally met you, and congratulations on becoming the first field marshal in the history of the Navy. "Marshal Lewis kindly congratulated.

"Thank you, Your Excellency. Moko expressed his gratitude, but the title of marshal didn't excite him too much, "I wonder what happened to Pu Mao's mutinous sailors?"

Marshal Lewis said: "Their actions are tantamount to treason......"

Seeing that Moko's face was ugly, Lewis said: "Richard, Your Majesty is very angry, but in view of the plight of the navy, Your Majesty does not hesitate to express his mercy and generosity, ten of these sailors will be shots, and the others will be dismissed after three years of hard labor." As for the arrears of military salaries, the Military Command Department has already paid them back before you arrive in the Holy City. Now the country is in financial difficulties, I hope you can understand. ”

Most of the sailors involved in the mutiny were at least spared, which made Moko feel better.

To be honest, he was a bit surprised by the result, and he was going to ask for his life for it. Marshal Lewis gagged him in time for this disposition, well, and promoted him to marshal!

"Your Excellency Minister, I would like to know what is the opinion of the Military Command Department on the shipbuilding plan of the future navy?"

Marshal Lewis smiled: "Of course, this is under consideration, the Empire will not let the admirals row a bamboo raft to fight the fish demon. You know, it's all about money, and you can't do anything without it. ”

"I wonder what the Military Command and the Cabinet think of my proposal to use next year's tea tax as collateral to lend money to the Genoa consortium? Mokodao.

Marshal Lewis said: "Richard, you are a real soldier. But, you're not a financial expert. ”

"Is there any difference in this matter?" Moko was puzzled, "I can understand if the Command Department thinks that ironclads are new and not worth the risk. But there should be no doubt about the armored ship, right?"

"The cabinet feared that borrowing from the Southerners would offend the financiers of the Holy City. Lewis pulled out the future marshal dressed as a civilian in front of him slightly.

Moko's expression suddenly became very distorted: "Could it be that the empire is run by those people?"

"In a sense, isn't it?" asked Lewis rhetorically, "the empire needs money everywhere, and you have borrowed money from the Genoese this time to solve your immediate difficulties, and when you need a loan in the future, you don't need the consortium of the Holy City?" compared to them, the Genoese are simply poor, and of course the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are also poor, and they are planning to issue paper money. ”

"Notes?" Moko was startled.

In Moko's memory, when he was a teenager, he used paper money, and it was a nightmare—an unrestrained overabundance that ended up making paper money like waste paper, and many families went bankrupt as a result.

"Yes, there is a proposal to issue a paper note based on the tea tax in Genoa and the salt tax of the Empire. This kind of banknote is relatively preserved, and as long as the empire controls the issuance, it can help the empire survive the immediate economic crisis. Well, here's the theory. Lewis said, "Richard, the financial things are not for you to think about, not even for me. I promise you, you can buy as many ironclads as you want, but the number must be limited to less than 10, I heard that's Viscount Sean Connery's business?"

"Yes, you've heard of Viscount Connelly?"

Hearing the minister's promise, Moko finally became happy, even he didn't dare to say that the ironclad was the best weapon against the fish demon - it was a safe decision to buy a small amount.

"I've heard of it, but I personally awarded him the Golden Dragon Medal. Marshal Lewis laughed, and he looked up at the ceiling as if to recall, "Well, that's a nice young man." I didn't expect to become a nobleman. ”

In fact, he had long forgotten what Sean looked like, and when he was in Ars City in northern Xinjiang, Sean was just a small sergeant.

It was only then that Marshal Lewis read Sean's name in the newspapers from time to time, first with some comical wine incidents, then with the popularity of tea and the sensation of La Traviata, and of course with the emergence of epoch-making means of preventing smallpox.

This made Marshal Lewis not even remember.

"Viscount Connelly was influential in Genoa. Moko had an excellent impression of Sean, "and he was passionate about the security of the Empire's maritime frontiers." ”

I thought he was going to be a scholar, then I thought he was going to be a family, but now I know that he is a businessman, and he seems to be successful. Lewis was a little impatient, "Richard, I agree in principle that you buy a certain number of ironclads. Tomorrow you will meet Your Majesty at the White House, and after Your Majesty confers you the rank of Marshal of the Navy, I need you to rush back to Pumao Harbor at once, and if there is any more serious incident such as a mutiny, you are the only one to ask!"

"Yes!"

Moko knew that after the mutiny of the sailors, there was also a voice that put the blame on himself, implying that it was his own resistance to being dismissed, and that he was instigating and agitating behind his back.

But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is nothing more than a rebellion against the long-neglected nature of the Navy officers, so this voice is silenced. If the black pot is put on Moko's head, some people may be able to shirk the blame, but the navy will continue to rot, and the situation on the ocean no longer allows for such political manipulation.

The next thing was logical, Moko was promoted to the rank of marshal, and only a few officers from the Navy in the Military Command Department were congratulated, who occupied insignificant positions in the Military Command Department and had no sense of existence.

Lewis's talk of the issuance of paper money also caused a war of words in the Holy City, because people still remembered the nightmare caused by paper money back then, and saw it as an improper act of the empire to plunder the wealth of the people.

The initiative to issue paper money went afloat, but the big loans, secured by a tea tax, were "universally" welcomed, especially by the financiers of the Holy City.

Perhaps for balance, the cabinet borrowed a total of 30 million louis, of which 10 million came from the Genoese consortium.

The 10 million yuan of the Renaye consortium is mainly used to purchase the ironclad ships highly recommended by the newly appointed naval marshal, and the first batch of plans is 5 ships, and if the combat effectiveness of the ironclad ships is high, the navy promises to follow up with additional orders.

This order keeps Sean busy again.

First of all, Kang's Shipbuilding issued shares, a total of 200,000 original shares, of which Sean himself holds 40% of the shares, the Robinson family controls 10% of them, and the main manager and chief engineer Johnson personally holds 5%, which ensures his control over the shipbuilding company.

The other 5% is a collective shareholding of technical personnel, with the right to dividends, but not transferable, once fired or voluntarily resigned, it has nothing to do with the company's shares.

The remaining 40% of the original shares were sold to the public at a price of 100 gold louis per share, raising 8 million funds.

Also for balance, Sean sent an invitation to all the rich people of Genoa to buy up to 100 shares each, tying almost all the rich to their own warships.

Even Viscount Brandon, who had never been interested in investments other than land, bought a lot, and he had his three children, his wife and himself register separately, and by virtue of his good personal relationship with Sean, he was at the top of the purchase list.

As a result, within half a month after the original shares were sold, each share was speculated to 400 gold louis, and there was no market.

As Marshal Lewis said, Sean is now a businessman, but this businessman is doing a good job now.