1942 Happy Tonight
The rain is getting heavier.
There was a crackling knock on the window.
The spring rain tears away the chill of winter, allowing people to breathe a sigh of relief.
This spring rain brought a chill to people's hearts.
The finance minister looked at his son and thought of many things in a daze.
"You go out for a while..."
He stood up and took out a piece of paper and a pen from a short distance away, returned to the sofa and wrote something quickly.
The chancellor's son had no idea what was going on and could only sit and watch.
"This is a very good friend of mine who lives in... the province. You go find him and he will tell you what to do."
"If nothing else happens..."
The finance minister fell into silence and did not recover for a long time.
It took about two minutes for him to look up at his son again, with something more in his expression.
He reached out and held his son's shoulders. The middle-aged man bent down and told the address of the family treasure in his child's ear.
Any noble will have a place to store treasures.
Not everyone trusted banks, especially the nobility.
They would keep their money in banks because those things did not represent wealth in the eyes of some nobles.
The only things that can truly represent wealth are gold, silver, jewelry and various precious works of art.
Where each family's treasures are kept is passed down through word of mouth.
This is a way to strengthen family cohesion and to prevent traitors from stealing wealth.
Only the noble clan heads and heirs know.
The middle-aged man looked at his father in surprise and confusion.
"There are still some things in the safe in the storage room. You can take them with you. These are enough for you on the road."
"You know the password."
The middle-aged man was a little embarrassed. As a child, he had stolen things several times and sold them for money.
Now that I'm older and have taken over part of the family business, I don't "patronize" that safe that much.
At this time, the finance minister spoke out without hesitation, which not only embarrassed him, but also made him realize that the matter might be much more serious than he thought.
"Father, did something happen?"
The finance minister nodded, "Even you know that they are transporting things to the imperial capital. How could your majesty not know?"
He sighed softly, "Go now, otherwise it will be too late."
"Remember, no matter what happens, don't look back, and don't refuse that person's request, he will not harm you!"
The middle-aged man wanted to ask something more, but was forced back by a look from the finance minister.
He quickly ran to the storage room, moved a box on the shelf, and pushed aside a wooden board behind it, revealing a one-foot-square safe.
He knew the password by heart, and the moment he opened the safe door, a small light came on inside.
Gold and jewelry are neatly stacked.
He picked up a cloth bag, stuffed it into it, and rushed back to his room.
He seemed to have guessed something.
Although he is not very smart, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, his father, made it so clear that if he doesn't know it yet, then he is really a fool!
coup!
The terrible word throbbed within him, affecting his breathing and heartbeat.
He quickly packed up everything, and when he returned to the living room, he wanted to ask the old man in front of him who had taken care of him all his life if he wanted to go with him.
Without speaking, the old man waved his hand.
He walked up to the middle-aged man and hugged him.
The body that he could only look up to in the past has become old and decayed.
"I can't leave. You should leave first. Leave quickly. If you wait any longer, it will be too late."
"If we're lucky, we can meet again..."
He pushed his son away and watched him ride away in the car.
The Chancellor returned to the living room and sighed heavily.
The Pengeo Empire is not the Gefra Empire, and the power and influence of the royal family only exist in the palace.
In Pengeo, the influence and power of the royal family are unparalleled!
With so many cars coming and going, it’s impossible for His Majesty the Emperor not to know this!
If he knew, why didn't he do anything?
Have you accepted your fate?
No!
Combined with his previous request for donations from nobles and the uprising of the survivors of the Bollie Dynasty, the finance minister had actually guessed something.
Infinitely close to the truth!
A spring rain came down harder and harder, and the whole city seemed to be cleaned.
The next morning, the bright sun was shining brightly, and people took off their thick coats. Now that the temperature has returned to above freezing, people are wearing much less.
There are also a lot more pedestrians on the street.
It's just that the faces of pedestrians are not very good-looking. During the war, they could only get a small salary.
The current situation is so bad that the rationing system cannot provide enough food for everyone. The only people who can feed each family 70% of the food are the labor force.
The remaining women, the elderly, and children can only ensure that they do not starve to death.
The Minister of Finance asked to see the Emperor early in the morning. After waiting for more than half an hour, His Majesty the Emperor summoned him.
There were only two of them in the empty hall, and His Majesty the Emperor sat indifferently on the high throne.
He looked down at the Chancellor of Finance who was kneeling at the foot of the stairs and just looked at him.
"Your Majesty..., I am guilty."
The emperor said nothing.
The chancellor shouted louder, "I'm guilty!"
After a short while, His Majesty the Emperor sneered, "Why do you all say that you are guilty? What crime do you have?"
When he heard this sentence, the finance minister felt a little relieved, "Someone premeditated..." There was a snap, interrupting his words.
His Majesty the Emperor brushed the armrests of the throne and said, "Go back..."
The Minister of Finance breathed a heavy sigh of relief, bid farewell to His Majesty the Emperor and left the palace.
From His Majesty the Emperor's words, he heard some other meanings.
He was not the first to expose the coup, which was a huge relief.
For two days, it seemed as if nothing had happened. The palace was also making preparations for a dance to raise military expenses.
Everything was so peaceful.
The Chancellor of Finance attended the event dressed up in luxurious traditional aristocratic clothes. He looked much more noble and much younger.
He arrived outside the palace in a carriage. At this time, many carriages had stopped. As soon as the Minister of Finance got off the carriage, he saw the Minister of War.
The smiling look of the Minister of War made it difficult to tell where he stood. The Minister of Finance felt that he should be from the royal family, but he was a little... uncertain.
Now everything is shrouded in fog, and the finance minister does not dare to test easily.
Their eyes met in the air, and after nodding to each other, the Minister of Finance entered the palace first, while the Minister of War remained outside the palace.
Time passes by, and everyone wears a mask of hypocrisy on their faces, making it impossible to see their true thoughts!
The Chancellor of Finance stood in the corner, dealing with some of the nobles who came forward to chat with some absent-mindedness.
Before I knew it, the bell rang.
It's eight o'clock sharp!
His Majesty the Emperor appeared in the palace, and the atmosphere in the palace reached its peak!
After a brief introduction by the royal steward, the donation began.
The eldest prince donated their share on behalf of the royal family.
But then, the dance scene became extremely quiet.
No second person came on stage to donate!
Donations of hundreds of millions of assets cannot be in cash, but must be in materials, precious metals and jewelry, not even works of art!
These requirements are too harsh!
The emperor didn't seem surprised when faced with this situation. He seemed to be back to his usual self, not caring about anything.
My eyes were half open and half closed, as if I might fall asleep at any moment...
The eldest prince stood aside obediently, but the smile on his face did not seem friendly.
The nobles stood quietly, as if waiting for something.
At this time, outside the palace, groups of nobles' private soldiers had completed their final preparations.
As a firework took off, they started running towards the palace.
This firework seemed to be a signal, and more smiles appeared on the faces of the nobles in the palace.
"I donate..."
"I will also donate..."
The originally weird and dead atmosphere suddenly became active, and those little nobles shouted with all their strength!
"I'll donate fifty tons of gold!"
The originally lively atmosphere was suddenly suffocated!
Fifty tons of gold, according to the current international gold price, is worth approximately 250 million federal soles!
In fact, this amount of money is not much.
For nobles, the artworks they collect are worth at least hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of federal soles.
It is normal for some rare treasures to be worth millions!
Two hundred and fifty million is just the price of hundreds of top-quality works of art. Penjiao's nobles have a longer history and they can afford it.
But the problem is, he is talking about gold!
Although gold was precious before the war, the price of gold was actually not high.
No noble would hoard so many precious metals that are inconvenient to transport. They are more interested in works of art.
In fact, in international transactions, art works during non-war periods are also one of the important "currencies".
Compared with currency, which is inconvenient to carry and difficult to settle, and barter, which is even more difficult to calculate the value, it is most common to trade with internationally famous works of art.
Therefore, aristocrats and big capitalists from various countries have been particularly fond of art for a long time in the past.
A little gold is enough.
Donating fifty tons of gold at once...can he really get it?
The brief moment of calm also caused the little nobleman who shouted these words to show an indescribable ugliness, with a red face and staring eyes, like a clown!
After a brief calm, the emperor took the lead and laughed, maybe because he thought it was funny, or maybe because he was satisfied with the small nobleman donating so much gold.
The eldest prince also laughed, and his laughter became louder and louder.
After a brief moment of astonishment, the little noble also began to laugh.
Almost everyone was laughing, laughing at the little noble's loyalty to the empire, laughing at the preciousness of the fifty tons of gold, and laughing at all the ridiculous things!
At this time, a firefight began outside the palace!