British hegemon

Chapter 66 Loan Startup Capital

Roger's identity was sensitive. Although Irish and Scots looked alike due to their shared bloodline, this was, after all, an English-controlled area, and the Isle of Arran was a "rebellious force" that the English rulers hated.

So Jeffrey abandoned his plan to show Roger the magnificent castle, telling him to finish the loan matter as soon as possible and then leave.

The carriage traveled through the streets of Dublin, where the cobblestone streets were still covered with mud, rotten fish and shrimp and sewage. Pedestrians moved about among the shops and stalls lining both sides of the road.

Amid the coachman's angry shouts and rebukes, the people and animals blocking the way pushed aside to make way for the gentlemen in the carriage to pass smoothly.

About twenty minutes later, the carriage passed through the bustling streets and arrived at the main gate of Dublin Castle.

Many people came and went from the castle, including merchants, craftsmen, officials, knights, monks, and scholars.

Jeffrey's carriage passed through customs without inspection, but the English soldiers guarding the castle gates did not bow down and pay their respects to the carriage, and the guards behind the carriage were required to remove their swords and spears and enter the city empty-handed.

The carriage bypassed the throne room, the St. Patrick's Hall (banquet hall), and the Great Hall, and arrived at the church under a round tower on the left rear side of the castle.

This place was indeed originally a church, but several larger churches and monasteries were built on the other side of the river outside the city, so God moved away from here and merchants moved in.

Of course, the merchants paid God a lot of money for moving.

The people entering and leaving this building were all dressed in fine clothes and were either rich or noble. If it weren't for Jeffrey leading the way, a rustic country lord like Roger wouldn't have been able to get through the gate at all.

On his way there, Roger had already told Jeffrey about his plan to postpone loan repayments and take out additional loans. Jeffrey assumed that Roger wanted to use his limited funds to expand his estate, so he agreed to plead on Roger's behalf and provide a guarantee.

The money for Milk House Estate was borrowed from two gold and silver merchants who were also members of the guild. They entrusted their secret transactions with the Scots to the Gold and Silver Guild agents under the Merchant Guild.

The guilds of commerce naturally found ways to circumvent the English ban and, of course, profited from it.

At this time, the guilds had already taken the form of banks in later generations. The guilds pooled the idle wealth of merchants or upper-class people, and then lent money to those who urgently needed money by using fixed or mobile assets as collateral. The loan amount, repayment period, loan interest and liability for default were agreed upon in the form of a contract.

Milk House Estate's debt was incurred during last fall's trade and is still a week away from maturity.

Roger didn't directly tell the lender about his idea of ​​extending the loan repayment period, as that would only make them think that Milk House Manor was no longer able to repay on time.

He had the bald man and the man with the ponytail retrieve gold and silver coins worth fifty-six pounds from the carriage, pay off the loan in full, and sign their names on the contract.

However, he did not leave. Instead, he made another loan request to the Gold Bank, requesting eighty pounds. Jeffrey also expressed his willingness to guarantee this substantial loan agreement again.

Jeffrey had enough influence that the vice president, who was decked out in gold and silver, agreed after a slight hesitation.

Roger had just paid off a loan and was about to borrow another large sum. If Jeffrey hadn't been there for him, Roger's ridiculous request would have certainly resulted in him being beaten and driven away.

Merchants are profit-driven and obviously wouldn't lose out in this deal. He readily agreed not only because of Jeffrey's guarantee, but also because Roger raised the annual interest rate on the eighty-pound loan to an astonishing half, or fifty percent per annum.

Roger also used 100 acres of farmland at Milk House Estate and the Seawolf as collateral.

In this era, "usury" has always been a "wicked thing" suppressed by the church. Although the dogma has loosened in recent years and merchants have adopted many ways to circumvent the "usury ban", the general interest rate is still between 20% and 30% (note). Only when lending to high-risk investments such as the Scottish "rebels" will the interest rate exceed 30%.

Last year, Milk House Manor borrowed 40% of the money from here at an absolute "usurious" interest rate in order to better profit from the war.

Now Roger has raised the interest rate to an astonishing 50 percent, and businessmen cannot refuse such profits.

Because of Jeffrey's influence, the "loan sharking" went very smoothly. Roger signed a secret loan agreement on the spot, with Jeffrey as the guarantor. Then, the Gold Bank delivered eighty pounds to Roger in the time it takes to drink two glasses of wine.

Eighty pounds is no small sum, and it would be inconvenient to carry if it were all silver pennies, so in addition to silver pennies, there were also gold coins worth fifty pounds in that iron box.

The guild employees brought a high-precision balance, checked and weighed the iron box on the spot, and then carried it to the carriage parked outside the door.

"Although I don't know what methods you intend to use to make a huge profit, I must warn you not to get any funny ideas. Not to mention that I have guaranteed your loan agreement, the power of the Merchant Guild is not something you can afford to offend. Even if you hide in the Scottish Highlands, it won't do you any good." Jeffrey knew that the young lord in front of him had been a playboy, so he had to speak up to warn him.

Roger said seriously, "I may not be a good person, but at least I am an honest person."

Jeffrey was slightly relieved and shook his head with a smile: "To be honest, I'm even a little tempted by half the interest."

Roger immediately chimed in, "You can also lend me money, and I'll give you half the interest as well."

Roger certainly wouldn't mind acquiring more capital to start his business.

Jeffrey simply smiled faintly, "'Always only earn limited profits' is the O'Neal family motto."

"You have a group of wise ancestors, which is why the O'Neill family is one of the oldest merchant families in Ireland." Roger's praise of his uncle's O'Neill family was not entirely flattery.

A business family that can stand strong for a century deserves high regard, let alone one that can navigate between various forces with ease, profiting from both sides and enjoying favorable circumstances.

Roger was in a good mood after successfully acquiring the initial capital to start his business, even though it was a deadly high-interest loan, and even though Roger felt that robbing pirates for money was more economical.

But even the tallest building starts from the ground up, and you always need stepping stones to stand on.

Outside Dublin Castle, Roger broke away from the group.

He sent the bald man and the ponytail man back to Skylis in Jeffrey's carriage to escort the huge sum of money, while he himself returned to the Seawolf to keep it safe.

Roger himself, dressed lightly and accompanied by a black dog that looked like a bodyguard, stayed in Dublin to wander around.

Roger chose Blackie to accompany him for two reasons: firstly, the huge sum of eighty pounds required the escort of two reliable trusted men, Baldy and Ponytail; and secondly, compared to the loud and boisterous Baldy and Ponytail, the taciturn Blackie was less talkative.

This is "enemy-occupied territory," and Scottish Gaelic has a stronger accent than Irish Gaelic, so speaking too much will only lead to mistakes.