ps: There is an event in the class today, it's late, forgive me, and finally ask for tickets, ask for collection!

"This is our £5,000 gift to you, and we hope you will laugh at it!"

Edward looked at a small bank in front of him to collect checks, and he felt unreal, he felt that he was underestimating these merchants. 【Fengyun Reading Network. 】

A small greeting gift, you can actually come up with five thousand pounds to bribe yourself, which is really a big deal.

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

Edward had no doubts about the authenticity of the check in front of him, after all, no one dared to deceive the king.

Edward gave a noncommittal sigh of 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 time!"

Edward heard this, this is to see if he has implemented measures, the five thousand pounds are hanging in front of him, after all, in this era, the king sometimes can't be credited!

"Excellent! As the King of England, it is my duty to defend the interests of the people of England! Edward didn't care about the exaggerated expression of the old gentleman on the other side, and said eloquently.

"I think in a few days, you'll see the news of the disappearance of London's steel yards spread throughout London!"

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

Hearing Edward's assurance, even though the probability of Mr. Speaker's belief in his heart was not high, he still pretended to be reverent and said exaggeratedly.

Immediately, the two men had a pleasant conversation about the establishment of the City of London, and after Edward had two cups of tea, Speaker Matthew finally left Whitehall House.

Edward stared at what looked like a bank check in front of him, silent.

In general, historians believe that the world's first bank was founded in Venice in 1407.

Subsequently, the Dutch set up banks in Amsterdam, Germany in Hamburg, and England in London. It was not until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that banks were generally developed.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when capitalism flourished, some commoners became wealthy through business and became a few wealthy merchants at that time.

As nouveau riche, they did not have the castles and mansions of the nobles, and they kept their money in the king's coffers for the safety of their property. At that time, there was no safer place than the king's, and London was controlled by a group of merchants, who were not afraid of the king's misappropriation.

It should be noted here that at that time there were no paper pounds, and the so-called saving money meant depositing gold.

Because at that time, Europe practiced "free casting."

The "freecoinage" system, anyone could take gold bars to the mint and mint them into gold coins, so the mint allowed customers to deposit gold.

Of course, only the king had the right to mint money in England, and the so-called mint was owned by Edward's.

Therefore, the thing that appeared in Edward's eyes that looked like a bank check in the future was actually a voucher for receiving gold in the mint owned by Edward's royal family.

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

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

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

The capitalist bank had to come until the Bank of England, founded in England in 1694, the world's first capitalist joint-stock bank.

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

The Hanseatic merchants' merchant house in London, known as the Steelyard, was located in the west of the city of London, and occupied nearly a hundred acres of land in a lively civilian area.

In contrast to the commercial atmosphere, Hanseatic merchants set up high walls around their guilds to prevent the intrusion of loud noises.

It also established a sense of mystery among the common people, so that the merchants were proud to be able to enter the London Iron Yard.

In this self-contained environment, with their own stacks, measuring offices, offices and residences, etc., it is like a special zone.

I guess this is the origin of the concession in the future, because in this steel yard, not only is it tax-free, but the judicial power is also independent, and it also has its own management body, which is simply a copy of the concession.

Opened in 1282 by King Henry II, the pavilion allowed Hanseatic merchants to mine tin in England and to pass their goods duty-free.

As a member of the Leuz family, Mark. Loiz is proud because he is now in his twenties and has begun to take charge of the family's business in London.

As a member of the Loys family, Mark was favored by his father because of his business talent, and was sent to England, an important place in the family, to purchase sea salt produced in England.

As a member of the Hanseatic League, the Loiz family almost monopolized the supply of the Baltic Sea, and the annual profits went to the sea. England is the family's main supplier of salt.

Walking into this hall known as the Iron and Steel Courtyard, Mark was greeted by a large carriage and goods, and more than a dozen young and strong men in short clothes and short sleeves were constantly carrying, unloading and moving to the warehouse.

Even though it was already spring, their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their faces, which were originally white, were now waxy yellow.

Mark knew that this was the sea salt from all over England that had been acquired since the spring, and was hoarded to be transported to the Baltic coast when the fleet arrived next month.

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

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

As a German-born man, he really couldn't adapt to the weather in London, and it was still raining in the morning, and the sun was rising at noon.

What's more, at that time, he and a Yorkshire businessman were discussing business at a wine table, and he was so hot that he sweated.

But it's always popular in England to wear a hat, whether it's a tall hat or something, but when you go out, you have to have a hat or you'll be ridiculed.

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

He didn't care about anything else, he walked straight towards the residential area, he didn't have any other thoughts, he just wanted to change his clothes.

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

"Vichy! Hurry up and prepare hot water, I want to take a shower! Opening this luxurious room of his own, Mark hung his hat casually on the back of the chair and commanded the maid who was cleaning.

As a merchant, he did not have the same unbearable bathing as conservative aristocrats and clergy.

After all, bathing in the baths was already part of everyday life in Germany, so much so that people living in the cities had to pay a specific fee – bathing fees – which were included in the wages of the handicraft guilds, and a tax levied on the bathhouses was redistributed to the poor for free bathing.

"Yes, sir!" The maid Vichy had been brought by Mark from Steding's hometown, so it was also very convenient to use.

Loyalty is the first priority, and the second is to meet his normal physical needs.

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

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

And the maid Vichy did not hesitate to take off her coat, revealing a bumpy figure wrapped in a thin shirt, a long brown hair scattered on the delicate pink shoulders, and with big stroking eyes, the whole person looked very seductive.

But Mark, who had been tired all day, said that he was not blessed, and closed his eyes and let the hot water surround him, which was very comfortable.

Vichy knelt on his knees and gently beat Mark's shoulders and arms rhythmically with his small rough hands.

"Sir, those London businessmen are still not giving up, and they are probably trying to deal with us again by sending people to Whitehall Palace today!"

With his eyes closed, Mark heard his maid whisper in his ear, and the aroma came into his nose, and Mark couldn't help twitching his nose and sniffing.

"Yes! Today I went to buy sea salt from a Yorkshire salt merchant, and it took me a lot of effort to get it done, and in the end the purchase price was still three pence per pound! ”

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

For Vichy, Marc usually doesn't treat her as an ordinary maid, and he also discusses business matters with her.

And Vichy did not live up to Mark's trust, not only taking good care of him in life, but also helping Mark in business.

"What can I do, even if my brother is here, I can't change the mind of the little king of England!"

Mark opened his eyes and sighed helplessly.

The Loys family had four brothers, each of whom was responsible for a share of the business, and he was in charge of England, the family's main producer of sea salt.

"You can't change His Majesty's mind about the Hanseatic merchants!"

"And you must know that the Hanseatic League is the Hanseatic League, and you, the Loiz family, do not belong to the Hanseatic League!"