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Chapter 766 Finale
Time flies, and half a year has passed in a flash.

The time has come to showcase their connections and resources. All the big and famous forces in the human world have sent representatives here this time.

The founding ceremony of the Principality of Snow Moon does not have such a strong appeal, but the auction held in the Principality of Snow Moon does.

In order to build up momentum, Hudson deliberately held the auction two days after the founding ceremony, but the time for prepaying the deposit was set a week before the founding ceremony.

The auction that made a sensation on the continent attracted countless sellers to participate, in addition to the high-end magic potions prepared by Hudson.

The starting price of each of the 100 items finally selected was 100,000 gold coins, and the bidding deposit reached a staggering 200,000 gold coins, directly setting many historical records.

In order to ensure the safety of the auction items, Hudson deployed an army of 100,000 in the newly built Snow Moon City and arranged for the Fallen Angel Team to guard it.

The storage location of the auction items is also the safest magic tower in the territory.

There are a large number of magic circles deployed inside, as well as territory magic guards. Even the strongest people of the third level of the holy domain cannot break in.

February 2nd is the National Day.

The first rays of morning sun shone on Xueyue City, and the founding ceremony began under the attention of the public.

Compared to the empire establishment ceremony held in Canglan City before, the specifications of this ceremony were much lower. The decorations in many places were crudely made.

Seeing this, Hudson glared at Franz.

There is nothing wrong with being thrifty, but saving in these visible areas is a bit too petty.

Franz looked aggrieved when facing his father's reproach.

He really wasn't being stingy. The founding ceremony of the Principality of Snow Moon had to be two levels lower than the ceremony of the Alpha Empire. That was the rule!
The layout of the scene was based on the Imperial Ceremony.

However, the Alpha Empire is a poor place, and the imperial ceremony, which looks bright and beautiful on the outside, is actually just a framed show.

Based on the showpiece, the specifications and grades were further lowered and it became what it is now.

If nothing unexpected happens, most of the supplies on site are disposable products. After use today, they will have to be scrapped.

It is impossible to preserve it as a cultural relic for future generations to admire.

After leading the team mechanically through the process and hastily conferring titles on the heroes, Hudson immediately ordered a celebration banquet.

It can't be delayed any longer!

The right thing to do is to end the event quickly while everyone's attention is focused on the ceremony and has not yet shifted to the rough layout of the site.

If things drag on for too long, some noble with a bad brain will come out to mess things up and break the last window paper, which will be embarrassing.

If this matter were to get out, he would be laughed at for a thousand years in the aristocratic circle.

Fortunately, the worst thing did not happen. The nobles who were able to come to watch the ceremony were all lords of status, and they knew the principle of seeing through but not speaking out.

Even if you want to laugh at the joke, just complain about it in private. If you say it in public, you will only attract hatred.

In the absence of a conflict of interest, the wealthy and powerful nobles would not want to provoke a powerful person like Hudson.

Everything has settled down, and the Xueyue Principality, which has been in need of reconstruction, has been officially established.

The Grand Duchy owns a vast territory, with a territorial area comparable to that of some small kingdoms, but unfortunately more than 80% of the land is uninhabited.

The main focus of the Principality is to build homes and strive to use the limited resources at hand to develop the domestic land as soon as possible.

This time period is destined to be protracted.

“Franz, the Principality of Snow Moon is now handed over to you.

If you manage well, I will pass the position to you in thirty years.

Don't rush to refuse, your task is not easy. In addition to governing the place, you also have to prepare for war.

An economic crisis is brewing within the empire. Once this crisis breaks out, it will inevitably trigger a series of contradictions that have accumulated in the past.

There are two paths before the empire.

Either initiate domestic reforms to resolve long-standing problems and ease conflicts among various classes in the country.

Either launch a war abroad and use the war to divert the internal conflicts of the empire.

As for domestic reforms, you can just watch from the sidelines, there is no need to get involved.

If a foreign war breaks out, you must actively participate in it.

Your three younger brothers are still short of fiefs, and this is just the right solution in the war!"

Hudson said with a smile.

He had already jumped out of the storm vortex of the empire and had no intention of getting stuck in it again.

Unless the empire is faced with a life-and-death crisis, it would be better for him, a retired marshal, not to go out and get in the way.

With the wealth of the Alpha Empire, even if the top leaders of the empire are spendthrifts, it will take time to squander all of their wealth.

The intensification of internal conflicts within the empire may be disastrous for individuals, but it is an opportunity to cure the disease by scraping the bone for the country.

The great nobles scattered across the empire had all just come down from the battlefield and had not yet fallen into the world of decadence and debauchery.

The crisis is most likely to be resolved when it breaks out in the hands of these smart people.

Even if you can't solve the problem, you can solve the person who created the problem.

For example: After the economic crisis broke out, a large number of businessmen and handicraftsmen went bankrupt, and it was impossible to save their wealth.

However, it is very easy to help them find new jobs. We just need to take them to the grassland to open up wasteland.

A similar operation was done once ten years ago.

If the conflict had been more acute, it would have simply led to a civil war among the nobles.

Whoever is stronger, who can attract more allies, and who wins on the battlefield, has more reason to speak.

If you are not satisfied with one war, then fight again.

After being beaten a few times, no matter how angry you are, you will slowly calm down and passively accept the reality.

Aristocratic warfare has relatively limited destructive power.

When everyone is tired of struggling, the empire comes out to mediate and the problem is temporarily solved.

The biggest hidden danger is the military merit system, which can also be solved by foreign wars and will not collapse in a short period of time.

……

Of course, thinking that the imperial crisis is controllable is only for those who have jumped out of the chessboard like Hudson. The nobles who are deeply involved in it dare not think so.

Especially for those in power in the court, once the situation in the empire deteriorates, all the political reputation they have gained will turn from positive to negative.

It would be fine if the problem could be solved in time, but if the crisis cannot be resolved in time, they will be the most suitable scapegoats.

After all, Caesar V was still a child and was temporarily unable to make decisions and was not responsible for the empire.

The disgrace package can only be enjoyed by ministers in the court.

“Father, how can you be sure that there will be problems with the empire?
You have to know that these contradictions have always existed. There have been no problems for so many years, so it is impossible for them to erupt immediately after the empire is established!"

Franz asked with a puzzled look on his face.

The hidden dangers of the empire have never been a secret among the nobles. However, Hudson is the only one who takes it seriously.

The other nobles were relatively optimistic. No matter what, the current situation of the Alpha Empire was much better than when they were beaten every day.

“Because the external pressure is gone, everyone is relieved!
Because the debt leverage of the Near East Development Bank has reached its limit, the excessively issued gold notes have shown signs of depreciation. In order to maintain the bank's credit, some of the gold notes must be recalled.

When you were preparing for the Principality Ceremony, the bank had already sold a large number of assets for cash, including some small local branches.

To date, the Near East Development Bank has collected gold notes with a face value of more than 18 million.

These gold notes will not be circulated again in the short term. With so much money disappearing from the market, it is impossible for the empire's economy not to have problems!

The auction that is about to begin in the territory is actually specially prepared to deal with the bank's cash shortage crisis.

The situation of small and medium-sized banks is even worse. For the sake of performance, they dare to do any business. Without earning enough profits, they choose to follow the example of the Near East Development Bank and distribute dividends lavishly.

The nobles behind the scenes were too greedy. They either distributed high dividends or obtained large loans from banks. Most commercial banks were emptied by the shareholders behind the scenes.

According to the data collected, more than 98 percent of banks on the mainland are now insolvent.

The banking industry, which is not bound by rules, has become a harvesting machine for the rich and powerful. If it continues like this, do you think there will be no problems? "

After Hudson finished speaking, Franz understood instantly. No wonder his father knew that the crisis was about to break out, and he had an ignition device at home.

It is normal to think about it. The war on the continent was so tragic. Among the five countries with poor finances, none of them went bankrupt. This is the charm of debt leverage.

"Father, the Near East Development Bank should be able to hold on, right?"

Franz asked uncertainly.

If you have a golden rice bowl, you can't help but reach out. The rapid development of the Principality of Snow Moon in the past few years was also achieved with loans from the Near East Development Bank.

The total amount of debt accumulated by the Xueyue Principality directly reached hundreds of millions of gold coins. The key point is that these loans do not require interest payments.

Part of it was arbitrage based on the fake accounts made previously, and part of it was additionally printed gold notes.

Due to the lack of effective supervision, the cash-strapped Hudson could not hold back at the critical moment of the territory's development.

The reason why there is a rush to recover gold notes now is that the amount of gold notes actually circulating in the market exceeds the amount printed on the bank's books.

"Don't worry, I estimate that after the auction is over, the recovery of the gold tickets will be basically completed.

After this gap is filled, all the problems will be solved as long as we maintain the value of the gold notes and stabilize the credit of the bank."

Hudson replied calmly.

But he only said half of the story. The Middle East Development Bank can survive, but other banks will be in trouble.

This auction was also the fuse that triggered the crisis. A large amount of funds poured into the Snow Moon Principality, which would definitely have an impact on other regions.

The question now is which country will be the biggest loser if the crisis breaks out first. Lacking the means to deal with the financial crisis, the crisis will lead to the collapse of the credit of the banking industry.

……

Time flies, and everything is just as Hudson expected. The biggest financial crisis in the continent of Aslant started in the Kingdom of Dante.

The cause was that the city of a great noble was looted by the enemy, and the bank in the city was naturally attacked. After the enemy retreated, the residents rushed to withdraw their money, and a bank run crisis broke out directly.

Panic spread and soon affected other banks. First, a run on the bank occurred in the Kingdom of Dante, followed by the Kingdom of Hesse. Soon the crisis spread to the entire Five-Nation Alliance and finally swept across the entire human world.

After the crisis spread to the Alpha Empire, almost all domestic banks went bankrupt, and the powerful Near East Development Bank also suffered an unprecedented run.

After the bank run broke out, the Near East Development Bank sold off a large number of risky loan bills to cash in under the pretext of recovering funds.

With the capital injection from the major shareholder, the bank barely survived the bank run crisis and preserved its reputation, but the bank's cash flow was still mostly consumed, and it had to make strategic contraction.

As a result, a large number of gold notes returned to the warehouse and the currency in circulation on the market decreased sharply.

After the bank failures, the money shortage crisis broke out. All industries in the empire were in decline, and the bankruptcy wave swept across the country.

First, a large number of free people went bankrupt, and then the capital chain of the small nobles was broken. When the crisis reached its peak, many emerging nobles were forced to declare bankruptcy.

Like other governments, the imperial government did not take any effective measures during the crisis and completely allowed the crisis to spread.

After the free people went bankrupt and became homeless, many were forced to sell themselves to the nobles as serfs in order to survive.

The nobles who had soldiers in their hands would directly declare debt default after their finances went bankrupt.

Not only did he not repay the debts he owed, he was also unwilling to hand over the territories he had promised to mortgage to his creditors.

This move angered the creditors. Those who were able to buy up the IOUs during the crisis were all great nobles in the empire.

Some nobles went bankrupt due to their own business problems, but more nobles went bankrupt because they were schemed against by nearby nobles.

These nobles took the risk to get involved, not to make a small profit from the interest rate difference.

From the very beginning, they decided to make the debtor default so that they could carry out land annexation with justification.

Hudson, as a major creditor of the empire, withdrew early. The local nobles who took over directly fought against the bankrupt nobles in order to protect their own interests.

At one time, the war affected more than 30 provinces of the empire, and the sudden "debt collection war" stunned the empire's top leaders.

They wanted to intervene, but were embarrassed to find that they were still the main force in the war.

Identity determines one’s stance. Now it is popular to help relatives rather than others.

Without any hesitation, the imperial government publicly stated its position: It is only right to pay back debts!

There is no doubt that a bankrupt noble with financial difficulties is definitely no match for the great nobles.

Even though they resisted fiercely, they could not escape the fate of defeat.

The imperial annexation movement reached its climax and lasted for three years before the situation gradually stabilized.

The most direct consequence is that the great nobles have increasingly stronger control over the local areas, and the local aristocratic councils have become one-man shows.

The great nobles in many provinces occupied more than half of the local land.

The surviving small and medium-sized nobles were either tough guys, or had strong enough backgrounds, or were their own people.

After the "debt collection war" ended, the conservative government with obvious tendencies left the stage in disgrace amid the public's anger and curses.

But they did not lose out. Although they were burdened with countless infamy, the families behind them benefited from it.

It was a tragedy for several bigwigs in the royal camp. As soon as they stepped to the front, they were blamed for a huge crime.

Regardless of whether the final decision is made by them, since they are in the position, they can only bear the responsibility.

Including the Queen Mother in the deep palace and Grand Duchess Madeleine, who happened to be in seclusion, were also severely scolded.

In order to calm down the public pressure, senior government officials resigned one after another. But the land that was annexed will never be spit out again.

The defeated and bankrupt nobles could only migrate to the prairie with their remaining strength to temporarily avoid the enemy's attack and seek a comeback.

The famous Xueyue Principality became the first choice for impoverished nobles to flee to. During the entire civil war in the empire, the Xueyue Principality received nearly two million people.

Hudson, who was just watching the show, passively became the big winner in the civil war. The noble lords on the prairie also became winners.

The influx of foreign population has injected new impetus into the development of the prairie.

With the rapid development of the prairie, the impoverished nobles, unwilling to live under the protection of others, became the most determined war faction in the empire in order to regain their territory.

The small and medium-sized nobles living in the rear provinces responded immediately.

With fewer and fewer neighbors around them, and realizing that their home was in danger, they had to consider moving to another place to develop.

If you leave on your own initiative, you can still make deals with nearby nobles. If you wait for them to take action, you will just be forced to become homeless.

This is a choice that suits everyone's needs, and the great nobles in each province will certainly support it.

In the year 100025 of the Holy Calendar, the Alpha Empire, despite opposition from the Human Alliance, mobilized troops and forcibly entered the seven grassland countries on the pretext of arresting a cult.

The Principality of Snow Moon, which was close to the water and had the advantage of being the first to get the moon, was naturally the main force in the war. Under Hudson's instruction, Franz personally led 80,000 troops of the Principality to participate in the war.

The war of bullying rookies was completely one-sided. The battle lasted only half a year, and the top leaders of the seven grassland countries once again started the road of exile.

As the only victor, the Alpha Empire ignored the opposition from other countries on the continent and forcibly completed the occupation of the seven grassland countries.

Although Hudson did not directly participate in this war, his existence gave the Empire the confidence to annex the Seven Kingdoms.

With Hudson, the continent's number one general, even if other countries want to send troops to intervene, they have to first consider whether they can win.

Coupled with the contribution of the principality's army in the war, it naturally took a large piece of the pie, and the territory area directly increased by 50%.

Several of Hudson's sons performed well during the war.

According to the tradition of the Alpha Empire, the eldest son stayed to inherit the family business, and the other sons went out to develop the family foundation.

Hudson carved out three provinces from the newly acquired land as fiefs for his other three sons, and conferred the title of earl on them all.

Eagles cannot live in a greenhouse. After sponsoring a sum of resources, you cannot just let them go out and explore on their own.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it’s been thirty years since the agreement was made.

After Franz's diligent efforts and Hudson's advice, the Snow Moon Principality became more and more powerful and became the most powerful vassal in the Alpha Empire.

Looking at the entire human world, it can also be ranked among the top ten, and its comprehensive strength is enough to rival the imperial family.

Such rapid development naturally aroused the royal family's fear.

However, there have been many internal problems in the empire in recent years, and after taking power, Caesar V spent a lot of energy just to sort out the court.

Franz inherited Hudson's caution and focused on stability.

Although the royal family was wary of the development of the Snow Moon Principality, they could not find an opportunity to intervene.

After all, the principality was freer than the local princes. Apart from the obligation to be vassal to the emperor, it was relatively independent in other aspects.

If you want to curb the development of the Snow Moon Principality, you simply can't find where to start.

Caesar V was worried about causing big trouble by deliberately picking on him, so he could only turn a blind eye to it.

It’s February 2nd again, this special day.

At the age of 49, Franz finally took over the crown from Hudson and became the new Grand Duke of Snow and Moon.

“Franz, from today on, you are the king of the Principality of Snow Moon.

Being a king is not only an honor, but also a heavy responsibility! "

……

(End of this chapter)