Holy Roman Empire

Berlin, this international metropolis, had suddenly become desolate. It was almost past 11 o’clock, and row upon row of shops were still shuttered.

A familiar yet strange term entered Hans’s mind—"strike".

As if realizing something, Hans immediately sprinted toward the telegram company.

Watching the protest march approaching him, Hans couldn’t help but stop, and upon seeing a few familiar figures, he turned and left immediately.

It was useless; the employees of the telegram company were all out protesting; sending messages back was no longer possible at this time.

At the Frankfurt Securities Exchange, Flores was intently observing the constantly refreshing trading data analysis.

This was also one of the perks that came with renting the office—there was no need to go into the hall to see the data; a person could be sent to get the sheet printed from the back end.

Recently, the stock market had generally been stable, except for a few stocks that were trapped; the others were slowly growing.

At that moment, a middle-aged man entered with a smile; the newcomer was Ferren, the owner of another securities company in the office.

As colleagues, for three companies to share office space, there was no need to elaborate on their relationship.

In this stock market of big fish eating little fish, and little fish eating shrimp, forming a bloc was also a survival strategy for small securities companies.

Showing concern, Flores asked, "Ferren, you seem in a good mood, what good news have you brought?"

Sharing information was also part of the cooperation. For securities traders, keeping constant attention on market fluctuations and collecting intelligence was essential.

Large securities companies had specialized teams responsible for this; Flores, with his small company’s limited financial resources, couldn’t afford such a team, so they had to gather intelligence together.

First-hand information was also a key factor for securities traders to outpace retail investors. Those who knew nothing and dove headlong into trading would mostly be cleaned out without a penny to their names.

Ferren laughed, "News from Berlin; the Prussian Government has decided to compromise. Our trapped stocks will soon be released."

Flores frowned, seemingly unimpressed by this "good news".

"How is that possible, given the Prussian Government’s finances, they have no power to undertake so much debt, what will they..."

The rest of Flores’s words were involuntarily swallowed. He didn’t believe Ferren was lying about this issue; verifying it would simply be a matter of sending a telegram.

Ferren confidently stated, "Don’t worry, the Prussian Government might have no money, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get some.

I’ve heard that Deutsche Bank, Austrian Bank, Bank of England, and several other major banks are forming a banking consortium, currently in negotiation with the Prussian Government. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

An initial agreement has already been reached; all parties will jointly establish a new bank to issue bonds worth 200 million Divine Shields for the Berlin Government, and in return, they will handle Prussia’s note-issuing business."

At this point, Ferren’s eyes revealed a hint of envy. Controlling currency issuance was definitely a dream business for financial professionals.

Everybody knew that the closer one was to money, the easier it was to make money. As long as banks had the right to issue notes, funding would never be a concern.

Flores was aware of the consortium’s affairs, but not because it was negotiating with Prussia; what drew his attention was the "shorting of Marks".

Having just taken advantage of others, and then starting cooperation, was the norm in the financial world.

After a moment of contemplation, Flores said, "What do you plan to do, you’re not thinking about bottom-fishing, are you?"

Before Ferren could answer, an employee hurried in: "Mr. Flores, good news, our trapped stocks have started to rise."

Ferren’s face turned pale: "Damn, the news has leaked. We must act fast; if we’re any later, there won’t be anything left for us."

...

Many people made the same choice, turning the securities exchange bustling with noise.

What they didn’t know was that on the roof, the top four securities dealers at the pinnacle of the food chain were beginning to withdraw.

An elderly man sitting on a sofa, puffing on a cigar, asked, "How long can we contain the news?"

The middle-aged man in green clothing replied, "Mr. Will, we can hold out for at most two days, but it might be exposed today.

Although we’ve used the telegram company to disseminate false news, the sudden interruption of telegrams between the two places will still attract the attention of the discerning."

This was inevitable. Both Berlin and Frankfurt were major cities, with frequent commercial exchanges. Hundreds of telegrams were sent back and forth daily, so a sudden disruption would indeed be noticeable.

A line check might fool the average person, but there had never been a signal interruption lasting over eight hours since the start of telegraph service between the two places.

Yet not interrupting the telegram contact posed even more of a problem, as that risked immediate exposure.

Will nodded, "That’s already very good, it’s surprising that we can buy so much time.

We don’t have much time left, everyone, go and make arrangements; square our positions in the shortest time possible, and try to recoup our losses as much as we can."

There was no choice; the Berlin Government’s sudden upset had caught them off guard.

```

Unlike those playing with stocks down below, they were shorting the Mark this time, and if they didn’t exit quickly, the losses would be substantial.

...

Compared to the gloomy atmosphere surrounding Will and his associates, the Bedford Securities Company next door was buzzing in a much more harmonious manner.

Everyone was shorting the Mark, it’s just that not all people are the same. Bedford Securities wasn’t so greedy and had pulled out after making a good profit.

Thales lamented, "That old fox Will finally took a hit, but if he cuts his losses now, it should not hurt his vitality too much."

Nothing stirs naked hate more than competition among peers. Despite the frequent joint actions of the Frankfurt’s four big securities firms giving the impression of an alliance, in reality, these allies are the ones who most wish to see each other fail.

Phyllis chuckled, "That’s not necessarily true. The damage is done by standing aside, and the situation now is different.

All signs indicate that an economic crisis is imminent. Without sufficient cash on hand, who knows what might happen next?"

Scavico, the CEO of Bedford, interrupted his two capable assistants, "Alright, both of you, it’s too soon to gloat over Will’s misfortune. It’s not good for our image if word gets out."

"Mr. Scavico, a call from Vienna!"

"I’m coming!"

With those words, Scavico hurried over.

...

A short while later, Scavico emerged, his face expressionless.

"Gentlemen, your job is here. From now on, sell off all the stocks and bonds we hold as much as possible.

We need cash, a lot of it, right now."

Phyllis queried with puzzlement, "President, the domestic economy is still in good shape. Even if impacted by this event, it shouldn’t collapse.

In the recent period, we have already cashed in eighty million Divine Shields, which should be enough to handle any crisis.

Did something happen that we don’t know about, or is headquarters running short on money?"

As a successful firm, Bedford Securities had become one of Frankfurt’s top four without ever being sidelined by extraneous influences, which spoke to the strength of their backing.

They have fostered close cooperative relationships with multiple Austrian banks economically, and have never lacked for funds, all thanks to headquarters’ efforts. Phyllis didn’t believe headquarters would be strapped for cash.

After hesitating for a moment, Scavico nodded, "Alright, I’ll tell you since you’ll find out eventually.

This time, we’re going after a big catch. Headquarters has decided to short the Franc, and you are among the traders.

Not just us, but half of the world’s top twenty securities companies will participate.

This is a joint action by the Anglo-Austrian capital. You may have heard about the international banking consortium that’s been making waves recently.

As for the details, I’m not clear on them. Just be mentally prepared, that’s all."

"Short the Franc," even with their nerves of steel, the two were stunned by this news.

The Franc is not like the Mark. France’s economy is much larger. There had been attempts to short the Franc internationally, but they had all ended in failure.

This time, with such a large-scale organization, even using Prussia as a cover, it couldn’t be as simple as it seemed on the surface.

Thales waved his hand, "Shorting the Franc seems rather difficult. Can I pretend I didn’t hear anything?"

Scavico smiled faintly, "I’m sorry, but it’s too late for that.

I suspect it won’t be long before people come to ensure our safety. You could try talking to them.

However, I’d personally advise you to keep your mouths shut. If you mess things up, people will die."

Left with no choice, the two nodded reluctantly. Curiosity killed the cat. If they had known nothing, they might have had a chance to refuse participation.

Now that they knew about "shorting the Franc," opting out would mean leaving horizontally.

The noisy international banking consortium, anyone with a bit of common sense knew, could be regarded as a financial alliance between England and Austria, consisting of thirteen major banks.

Seeing that the two were not in high spirits, Scavico consoled them, "Don’t be so pessimistic. It’s just shorting the Franc, not a demand for your lives. Is this necessary?"

Regaining composure, Thales quickly recovered and exaggeratedly expressed, "No, Mr. President.

With such a big deal on the line, and who knows how many important figures involved, if things go south, who can guarantee we won’t bear the brunt of it?"

...

```