Too arrogant.
Seeing Corleone speak like this, Grand Maester Pycelle, who was already pretending to doze off, almost hit his head on the table.
Looking back on those days, the young Pycelle entered the palace at the age of only forty-two, and served kings ranging from Aegon V, Jaehaerys II, the Mad King, Robert, Joffrey, and now Tommen. It is not an exaggeration to call him a veteran of the Six Dynasties.
But since Tywin became Hand of the King, he has never seen anyone dare to speak to Old Lion like this in the Prime Minister's Tower.
But then again.
Secretly glancing at Corleone, who was standing upright, Pycelle suddenly felt that his waist, which had been pretending to be stooped, was becoming more and more curved, as if there was some kind of heavy force pressing on his back.
He didn't know when he started to notice that this young man from the Riverlands always had an inexplicable sense of oppression, and it had become stronger recently.
He had only seen this kind of momentum once or twice when Robert had just won the battle of the usurpers and ascended the throne with high spirits.
Forget it, it's none of my business.
Having lived for almost ninety years, Pycelle no longer cares about power struggles.
Having seen so many changes of power, he knew that the more he got involved in the vortex of fighting, the faster he would die.
I go to prostitutes and read books every day. Isn't it delicious?
Thinking of this, Pycelle once again half-closed his eyes and stared at the table without saying a word.
Huh.
Today's table seems to be extremely flat.
"You are so rude, Master Corleone."
However, although Pycelle does not intend to take this initiative, there are always people who cannot see what Corleone is doing.
As Tywin's younger brother and die-hard loyalist, Kevan was the first to stand up and accuse righteously. "During this period, the adults in the Royal Council are all thinking hard about the survival of the seven the Seven Kingdoms."
"Lord Mace Tyrell rushed back to the Reach to put down the rebellion last night. Lord Varys spent all night sorting out intelligence from various places. Grand Maester Pycelle went to give lessons to King Your Majesty every day before dawn..
"Even I have to deal with a mountain of cases and complaints every day!"
"If you really don't have time, get out quickly. If you don't do it, Minister of Finance, someone else will!"
"Is your time the only valuable thing?"
Kevan's voice became louder, and his face turned slightly red with anger. "If you really don't have time, get out quickly!"
"If you don't do it, Minister of Finance, there will be others who will!"
Hearing this, Corleone glanced at him in surprise at first. The original evaluation of Kevan was that he was a loyal and reliable man, but always lived in the shadow of his brother.
He is not smart, but stubborn enough, not cunning, but honest enough.
In this place full of conspiracies and calculations, Kevan Lannister can be regarded as a rare "good guy"
It's a pity that good people don't live long here.
"Okay."
Corleone smiled, then turned around and walked towards the door without saying anything.
Everyone was surprised by this. After all, no one expected that he would not miss this place where the power center was at all.
"Wait!"
Just when Corleone was about to step out of the conference room, the Prime Minister's voice finally came from behind.
Corleone stopped and turned around.
"Sit down, Kevan."
Tywin spoke again, this time to his brother.
Kevan opened his mouth to say something, but Tywin just raised his hand and waved it gently, and he sat back down in his chair angrily.
Kevan never questions his brother's orders.
"Sir Corleone." Tywin looked at Corleone again, his voice softer than before. "Sit down, the meeting hasn't started yet."
But Corleone still hasn't moved.
He just stood there with one hand on the doorknob.
"Lord Tywin, as you heard just now, it was Lord Kevan who asked me to get out."
"I don't like to cause trouble to others. Since Lord Kevan thinks I shouldn't be sitting here, I'll leave."
He spoke very decisively and showed no sign of repentance at all.
Seeing this, Tywin curled his fingers slightly, but he still tried to persuade him nicely, "Lord Kevan is the Minister of Justice, and you are the Minister of Finance."
"You are both members of the Imperial Council. No one in this room can expel you without my order."
Hearing that Tywin was so easy to talk to, Corleone raised his eyebrows in surprise.
However, he was not in a hurry to express his position, but looked at Tywin and waited for the next step.
Immediately afterwards, Tywin looked around and said in an unquestionable tone, "Master Corleone's Ring of Order makes a lot of money every day. Everyone here knows this."
"It is normal that his time is valuable. Didn't we all propose to King Your Majesty that he be the Minister of Finance because of his ability to make money?"
After the Prime Minister finished speaking, no one here expressed any objection. After all, everyone can see how much money Corleone has made these days.
Corleone also listened, his expression did not change, but he was laughing in his heart.
Are you interested in his ability to make money?
That's really nice to say.
Isn't it because the treasury is empty, the Lannister family's gold mine is almost finished, and they want to find someone who can make money to fill the hole?
But Corleone didn't break it.
"It's like a human saying." He nodded, but he didn't mean to step forward again. Instead, he looked directly at Tywin: "So, if you have anything to do, just tell me, Prime Minister."
Corleone's tone is not like a subordinate reporting to a superior, but more like an equal opponent negotiating.
"But let me reiterate, don't talk about Roose Bolton or Targaryen. I am only responsible for things within the scope of my responsibilities."
Hearing this, several people present exchanged glances again, and the atmosphere in the conference room became more subtle.
Kevan couldn't help it anymore. "You..."
"Kevan." Tywin's voice interrupted him, just a name and no other words, but Kevan shut his mouth again.
"The Iron Bank has sent someone again."
Regarding Corleone's rudeness, Tywin still did not get angry, but simply said, "They demand the immediate return of the Gold Dragon loaned by King Robert Baratheon."
Hearing this, Corleone's thoughts turned out to be true.
He had already guessed it.
It can be said that Robert was extravagant at the time. When he was alive, he completely wiped out the Iron Throne's treasury. Just holding a tourney would cost a large amount of Gold Dragon.
It is said that the prize money alone for the tourney held to celebrate Ed Stark's arrival in King's Landing exceeded one hundred thousand Gold Dragon.
The winner of the joust, forty thousand.
The next best, 20,000.
The winner of group close combat, 20,000.
Archery winner, ten thousand.
This is just the bonus, as well as the food, accommodation, entertainment, and rewards for the knights and nobles...
In order to fill this hole, it is said that Robert borrowed more than two million Gold Dragon from his father-in-law, Tywin, and the Tyrell family, several Tyroshi merchants, and even the church borrowed over nine hundred thousand.
Total debt... over six million Gold Dragon!
Corleone Every time I think of these numbers, I feel itching with hatred.
Robert's prodigal thing, if you give yourself so much money, all your skills can be upgraded to Iv5!
Forget it, don't think about it anymore.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
Among these debts, the Braavos Iron Bank also accounts for a large part.
Now Robert is dead, Joffrey is dead, and Tommen is only eight years old, but these debts cannot be repaid.
Lannister debts must be paid, and the same goes for the Iron Bank.
Those capitalists who are sitting on an unknown amount of wealth will not send troops to fight you, but they will make all businessmen refuse to do business with you, and then spend huge amounts of wealth to support the new the Seven Kingdoms elsewhere.
According to the plot of the original book, the gold mines in the West have been almost exhausted, and after lending Robert two million Gold Dragon, his family can hardly survive.
Therefore, after seeing Corleone's method of making money, Tywin decided to make him the minister of finance.
"Tiejinku's Emissary, right? I understand.
Although he knew that Tywin was interested in his own money, as the finance minister, Corleone did not shirk, but nodded. "Let him come to House of Order to see me tomorrow, and I will settle things."
His voice was very calm, as if he was saying "Let him come for a cup of tea tomorrow", and he didn't seem to take this huge debt seriously.
"If there's nothing else to do, I'll leave first."
"Please."
Seeing that Corleone readily agreed, Tywin didn't hold back too much.
"Oh, right."
Just when Corleone was about to step out of the conference room, he turned back and glanced at everyone in the conference room.
Pycelle, Varys, Kevan, and finally Tywin.
"I hope that next time, the imperial meeting will be held at Throne Room instead of here."
The voice was not high, but every word fell clearly into everyone's ears.
"Why?" Tywin narrowed his eyes.
Corleone smiled casually, "I hate walking the most. The Prime Minister's Tower is really too far."
"If the next imperial meeting is not held at Throne Room, please don't send anyone to notify me again, my lord."
After saying that, he opened the door and walked out, leaving a few people standing there looking at each other.
The conference room was quiet for a long time.
Seeing that Tywin's face was very downcast, Varys said strangely, " Lord Corleone is really high-spirited."
"But it's not surprising, Farmer became the Minister of Finance, haha.
11
The implication is that Corleone is a nouveau riche.
After hearing this, Kevan's angry expression calmed down a little. Then he glanced at Varys, and it was rare that he felt that what this dead eunuch said actually made some sense.
However, Tywin raised his head and stared at him coldly. "How about you become the Minister of Finance?"
"You go and deal with the debts of the Iron Bank and fill the deficit of the national treasury."
As soon as these words came out, Wallis suddenly stopped talking, his fat face turned pale slightly, and there seemed to be beads of sweat on his shiny forehead.
Although he was once a businessman, in terms of his ability to make money, he had to admit that he was far behind Corleone.
The debt of nearly six million Gold Dragon is enough to crush a eunuch like him who is not very strong.
"Let him be."
Tywin withdrew his gaze and knocked on the table. "Let that guy settle the debt of the Iron Bank first."
"Let's talk about the next topic."
Corleone walked out of the Prime Minister's Tower, and the sun shone on his face, bringing with it the unique coldness of early winter.
Taking a deep breath, the air was mixed with the salty smell of Blackwater Bay and the remaining fragrance of flowers in the Red Castle Garden. The fragrance was already very faint, like the last sigh of autumn.
Six million Gold Dragon...
This number sounds incredible, but as the finance minister, Corleone's footsteps are not heavy because of this, but appear to be very brisk.
Nearly half of this amount was Lannister debt, which could be delayed indefinitely as long as Tywin was Hand of the King.
There is also the church's 900,000. For now, the relationship between the archbishop and him is pretty good, and the few Archbishop in red are more or less asking for their help.
Not to mention the Tyrell family. Just the day before yesterday, Marga li had officially become Tommen's Queen. Perhaps it was because Little Rose's previous two weddings were not so... smooth, so this ceremony was kept simple and very low-key.
But fortunately it was completed successfully.
In other words, the most important debt at present is the one million Gold Dragon that has expired from the Iron Bank.
This is undoubtedly a very large amount of money. With Corleone's current financial resources, he cannot afford to pay it back even if he sells it, but he is still not worried at all.
After all, this is money owed by the Iron Throne, not by him.
As he walked, he was thinking in his mind.
According to previous information, all the debts on the Iron Bank were handled by Petyr Baelish, the then Chancellor of Finance.
With so much money, even if you think about it with your buttocks, you can guess that with Petyr's character of being a thief, at least 30% of the 1.5 million ended up in his own pocket, and maybe more.
Now that guy has just patted his ass and gone to the valley, leaving behind a pile of bad debts.
Why should Petyr pay back the money he borrowed?
Corleone The corners of his mouth raised slightly.
However, he Vito·Corleone never speaks big words. He promised that if Tywin wants to settle the matter, then he must settle it.
Corleone I was thinking as I walked, but my steps became lighter and faster.
Suddenly, a slightly exaggerated voice was heard not far away.
"Oh~~Dear Queen Your Majesty!"
"Your dress today is a perfect match for this garden. If you ask me, even Rose, which is the most splendid in the High Garden, is not one ten thousandth as good as yours!"
The voice wasn't very familiar, but the pretentious emphasis was a bit disgusting.
Corleone frowned slightly and looked around.
I saw two people standing next to a pavilion in the garden not far away.
One is Queen Marga li·Tyrell.
She wore a dark green skirt with golden vines and Rose embroidered on the hem. Her hair was combed into a complicated bun, with a few strands of curly hair hanging down by her ears, glowing softly in the sunlight.
I also know another person, Corleone.
Osney·Kettleblack.
The third eldest brother in the three Kettleblack brothers, Osmun Kettleblack, the eldest brother, is in the Kingsguard, and Osfryd Kettleblack, the second brother, works in the Golden Robes. He and Black Hand Mafia occasionally interact with each other. They usually get a lot of money, but they always push back when doing things.
Once, Bronn, the money-added knight, mentioned to Corleone that Onis and his second brother had never even been on the battlefield in Battle of the Blackwater Rush, but they were still canonized as knights. This made Bronn very dissatisfied and called them "Counterfeit Knight".
After all, he risked almost his life by raising a chain net on the Blackwater River to stop Stannis' fleet, and only then was he canonized.
At this moment, this Counterfeit Knight stood in front of Marga Li, leaning forward slightly, with a smile that he thought was charming on his handsome face, but the three scars on his cheeks somewhat ruined the overall image.
He stared straight at Marga Li, his eyes moving up and down her body, as if he wanted to peel off her skirt with his eyes.
However, facing the aggressive eyes of this "Counterfeit Knight", the smile on the young Queen's face was very elegant and impeccable as always.
"You are so good at talking, Kettleblack Ser."
Marga Li covered her mouth and giggled. "But, do you say that to every woman?"
Hearing this, Osney's smile froze for a moment, and he hurriedly explained, "You have really wronged me, Queen Your Majesty, I am sincere to you!"
"Oh?" Marga Li looked at him, her eyes curved into crescent shapes.
"If I remember correctly, at the wedding banquet between me and the king the day before yesterday, you praised my grandmother and said that she looked younger than me."
"Do you mean this sincerely, or do you mean that Ser also admires my grandmother very much?"
"It just so happens that my grandmother has been a widow for decades. If she could be pursued by a handsome young knight like you, she would definitely accept it happily."
As she said this, Marga li's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she thought this was a good idea. She immediately lifted up her skirt to leave, and excitedly said to Osney, "I'm going to tell my grandma right now!"
"Please be prepared, Osney Ser, maybe I will have to call you "grandfather" in a few days!"