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#303 - Chapter 37: Plotting against the Iron Bank (I)

Looking out, the towering Iron Bank stood like a colossal cubic fortress. From the outside, there were almost no windows to be found, giving it an unshakable sense of majesty, a style not unlike the currency exchange in King's Landing.

Liu Yuan stood quietly outside the entrance, his eyes keenly surveying his surroundings. What he had told Arya was no lie. In addition to completing the original plan, this trip had another important goal: to visit the legendary Iron Bank, or more precisely, to covet the mountains of treasure within.

In fact, Liu Yuan was not short of money, but the wealth contained within the Iron Bank had surpassed the value of money itself. The history of this treasury was long and could be traced back to the early days of the "Secret City," when Braavos was still in hiding. According to the Citadel's records, "The Iron Bank and the Origins of Braavos," the Iron Bank was founded by sixteen men and seven women. Initially, they simply hid some money in an abandoned iron mine. As their wealth grew, these pioneers founded a bank to take full advantage of this huge asset. The twenty-three founders each held a key to the underground vault, and they and their descendants were revered as "Keyholders."

Today, although the Iron Bank had moved elsewhere, the old mine still served as a vault, carrying endless wealth and mystery.

Liu Yuan was eager to attack the Iron Bank for a reason. After hundreds of years of accumulation, the Iron Bank had taken the form of a modern chaebol. With its powerful financial capabilities, it controlled the economies of many city-states, and even the transition of power.

Using asymmetrical means to eliminate competitors. The once prominent Rogare Bank was brought down by them in this way. Whether it was Westeros or Essos, almost every war had their shadow behind it.

Under normal circumstances, these countries and city-states could not come up with so much money. Usually, they rely on internal exploitation of taxes. They raise funds by issuing bonds to borrow money. If they win, they will naturally have money to repay the people and creditors. If they lose, they will borrow more money to avenge themselves! This is the difference between Eastern and Western cultures.

For example, in Great Britain on Blue Star, after the failure of the New World War of Independence, the national debt was as high as 220 million pounds. The annual repayment of principal and interest was 7.33 million pounds, which is more than 20 million taels of silver, which would scare even Qianlong. The British reformed the tax system and established a debt repayment fund. The famous property tax based on windows was proposed during that period and they managed to survive.

In order to obtain more tax revenue, they developed a modern bureaucratic structure and tax system. In order to borrow more money, they sold more bonds and improved the financial system. Eventually, they developed a complex central bank credit system and financial system, coupled with a developed shipping industry. This money eventually flowed into the hands of weapon manufacturers, soldiers, supply suppliers, shipbuilding merchants, and other related industries. This two-way system of borrowing a lot of money and spending a lot of money promoted the development of the Western capitalist system and the formation of modern nation-states.

The Iron Bank already had this trend. If given enough time, it could even draw nearly a million troops from various city-states and countries. The easiest way to deal with such a behemoth is to drain its cash flow and let it collapse on its own.

Braavos, the island of Rysono, is a small island. The Sun and Moon Mercenary Company chose this place as their base and spent a lot of money to buy half of the island's land in order to carry out various businesses for mercenaries and merchant groups.

Every afternoon, Arya came here for special training. Liu Yuan carefully designed a series of training courses for her based on her characteristics, focusing on perception and reaction speed. With the exquisite assassination skills she learned in the House of Black and White, Arya became more and more skilled in the use of thin blades. To give her even more of an edge, Liu Yuan specially used rare Valyrian steel to tailor a new thin blade 'Needle' for her, and cleverly hid it inside the short sword hilt, forming a pair of mother-child blades.

Today, Arya, as usual, completed a day of hard training and set off on her way back to the House of Black and White, pushing a cart full of oysters. As she passed the west pier, she habitually glanced at the ships on the distant sea. But this hasty glance made her eyes freeze instantly - it was a three-masted sailing ship quite common in Westeros, but what was striking was that the bright red sails were emblazoned with a dazzling golden lion! She was very familiar with this pattern. It was the Lannister sigil.

A small boat slowly sailed towards the shore, not fast, but just as it was about to dock, it suddenly changed direction and sailed to the other pier. Arya's heart tightened. She quickly pushed the cart and hurried towards there.

She never expected to see a Lannister ship in this place. This could not help but remind her of the unfortunate experiences of the past, and the pain and suffering surged into her heart again.

Arya went around two corners and soon arrived at the adjacent pier. At this time, she could clearly see the people on the boat. Among a group of Lannister guards, there was also a Kingsguard in golden armor. The figure gave her a strange sense of familiarity.

Arya walked and thought, her heart full of doubts. She knew that it was no coincidence that the Lannisters appeared here, and there seemed to be a Kingsguard accompanying them. Could it be that some important person was coming?

As the distance grew closer, Arya finally saw clearly what was happening in front of her. It turned out that there were fourteen people standing there. In addition to the six Lannister guards, there were also six guards wearing silver armor. Judging from the emblems on their armor, these people should belong to the Tyrell family of Highgarden. In addition to the Kingsguard, they were all gathered around the fat man in blue clothes in the middle, forming a solid line of defense, closely guarding him. Perhaps because the hot weather made people feel uncomfortable, the Kingsguard raised his hand and took off the heavy helmet on his head.

Seeing this scene, Arya's face instantly became serious. She recognized this person - Meryn Trant, an old acquaintance with whom she had a deep connection. Meeting again now, Meryn Trant had a black eye patch on his left eye socket, but that face was still deeply imprinted in Arya's heart and would never be forgotten. It was this person who personally killed Syrio Forel.