King-Chapter 1409 - 277: Paper Money

The chaotic situation in the Papal State has made the continental landscape increasingly clear. Those who initially hoped for the clergy’s rebirth are now becoming pessimistic.

As various nations began competing for resources, vast territories of what was once a prosperous Papal State have directly turned into no-man’s-land.

The most immediate impact is the continuous dip in slave trade prices in international markets.

Those Noble Lords lacking manpower resorted to seizing it themselves, sharply shrinking the usual clientele for buying slaves.

In Snow Moon Territory, while others were busy in the Papal State, Hudson, hidden in the shadows and making a quiet fortune, was leisurely sunbathing at home.

Recent times have brought a flood of good news to the Kingdom.

First, the Orcs voluntarily retreated, giving up vast stretches of pastureland, allowing the Kingdom’s Army an easy advancement of 800 miles eastward.

Of course, these lands are only nominally under control. In practice, as soon as the Kingdom’s Army withdraws, the Orc tribes return to graze.

Without completed fortifications along the defense line, the Kingdom cannot truly control these regions.

Nonetheless, even nominal control marks a remarkable strategic victory, signaling a reversal in the offensive and defensive positions of both sides.

The Orc tribes now flee at the sight of the Kingdom’s Army—a scenario unimaginable in the past.

If these gains are considered long-term benefits, then the actions of the Nobles’ Private Armies in the Papal State yielded immediate returns.

A massive haul of loot was swiftly transported back to the Kingdom—ship after ship.

In just two months, the Near East Development Bank issued over 15 million in collateral loans based on physical assets.

The Kingdom Government’s purchases from nobles came cheap, and the collateral was even cheaper—typically priced at only 40-50% of market value, with certain antique artworks going for as low as 10% of their worth.

This wasn’t Hudson deliberately undervaluing items; it’s just that these goods genuinely lacked market demand, making them hard to sell within the Kingdom.

Highbrow art currently appeals only to certain nobles from the South Continent and Central Continent.

The Kingdom’s aristocrats most enjoy collecting weapons, flaunting sets of armor at banquets—a greater crowd-pleaser than any antique artwork.

After deducting costs, selling off these items still yielded several million in profit effortlessly.

However, the sales cycle is expected to be lengthy.

Short-term, the prices of many goods across the continent have plummeted. Aggressive dumping would only exacerbate the decline.

While Hudson was profiting, the nobles stationed on the frontlines were earning handsomely too. Some Major Nobles’ revenues even rivaled his own.

Only the small- and medium-scale nobles needed to liquidate stolen goods at rock-bottom prices. Major Nobles with well-connected networks would never resort to such measures.

Even when occasionally liquidating assets, essential items like population and grain remain off the table.

A glance at the surging bank deposits indicates that over twenty new account holders now possess balances in the millions—half of them residing in the Kingdom and the other half from the Five Nations Alliance.

The clergy’s immense wealth has exceeded many people’s expectations.

Even inconspicuous mid- and lower-tier clergy members have been found with five-digit amounts of cash during home raids.

Certain Regional Bishops possess net worths in the seven-figure range.

Undoubtedly, this money was plundered by the clergy from various parts of the continent. As long as their ancestors held positions elsewhere, they amassed wealth abundantly.

If not for their habit of storing gold coins in cellar vaults, the Papal State’s prices would have skyrocketed to absurd levels.

Judging by the figures, a single county within the Papal State holds more cash than many provinces within the Kingdom.

Aside from cash, the other seized assets were even more plentiful.

These are merely what was confiscated; the wealth hidden in secrecy remains anyone’s guess.

After all, storing all assets at home is the choice of a minority—more people understand the importance of diversifying risks.

While everyone else is making a fortune, only the clergy are grieving. Reviewing the compiled reports, Hudson’s grin stretched into unconcealed delight.

Adhering to the principle of profiting through harmony, Hudson has friends spanning the continent in the Human World, with the clergy being the only major force he has offended.

As for the Big Five Families of the North—placed across the continent, they amount to no more than second-rate powers at best, and they no longer pose any threat.

If they fail to seize opportunities in the Kingdom’s subsequent expansion, their decline will simply be a matter of time.

Indeed, such decline has already reached an irreversible trajectory.

Having missed two consecutive rounds of territorial expansion, they have fallen behind among the Kingdom’s Major Nobles.

Joining now, under the calculated obstacles laid out by Hudson and the King, would make any chance of growth slim.

For Noble Lords, the fate of their fiefdoms is half-determined the moment their territories are assigned.

Among the Noble circles spreads an old saying: "If the fiefdom is abysmal enough, no matter your skills, there’ll be nowhere to apply them."

For example, if the fiefdom is located in the Cursed Land—no matter the developments, it wouldn’t survive a single destructive outbreak.

Of course, the targeting usually isn’t that blatant. At the very least, surface-level fairness must be preserved to avoid accusations of "uneven reward and punishment" from the Kingdom Aristocrats.

Surviving the "small obstacles" is merely the beginning; countless larger traps lie in wait thereafter.

In earlier years, the Big Five Families of the North greedily imposed exorbitant "transit taxes," offending nearly all neighboring nobles, effectively locking up land-based trade.

Although sea transport remained accessible to everyone, the Big Five Families of the North were known for their lack of maritime expertise.

In recent years, they have annexed several pirate fleets and spent a fortune buying military ships, only to find their progress stagnating due to financial constraints.

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