After the beggar left the baron's mansion, it was already 10:30 at night, meaning he had only a few hours left to gather 50 gold coins or 310 silver coins to buy a national train ticket for 6:30 PM the following day.
The government's emergency document to restore the exchange rate between gold and silver coins and to not refuse payment in silver was only issued at 9 p.m.
This meant that while people were very happy to think about buying goods they hadn't purchased before, all the shops on the streets had already closed for the night, so they had to wait until the next day to shop.
However, this didn't stop most of the people who knew about the news from having sweet dreams, right? This short but sweet dream was the best thing the townspeople had received in days.
What they didn't know was that in the middle of the night, under the cover of hazy darkness, a well-armed troop of soldiers and several knights, under the baron's orders, forcefully entered all the food shops in town.
Following the latest policy, they used silver coins to buy food, and then they went from one shop to another in a frenzy, buying all the food they could, and continuously transporting the food back to the baron's mansion.
Even though many shops were unoccupied at night and had been locked with heavy iron locks, their doors were still brutally opened with elegant and noble weapons.
The food inside was "purchased," and a large number of silver coins were left on the cash counters of the unguarded shops, along with a notice that read:
"Due to military intelligence, the neighboring border town has been harassed and plundered by another country because of its mineral resources. To maintain the security and territorial integrity of the Republic's borders, we are collecting food from the citizens to serve as military rations, which will be sent to the soldiers in the neighboring border town to prevent a shortage of military supplies. Thanks all warm-hearted citizens."
Many citizens of the small town who were asleep sweetly were still dreaming that life would get back on track the next day. Because of the incredibly rising and unreasonable prices yesterday, most citizens hadn't purchased any food yet for a whole day.
However, most of them didn't have the habit of storing much food at home (Of course, they didn't need to do it in a normal situation), and the remaining food of most families could only feed them one to two days without purchasing.
...
In the early morning, when many townspeople happily brought their easily earned silver coins, now restored in value and trust, to purchase necessities, they joyfully found that indeed items could be bought with silver coins. They excitedly bought things like tissues and clothes, but not a single shop sold food to fill their stomachs.
After discovering the truth, these long-suffering, dream-shattered citizens angrily gathered outside the baron's manor, loudly questioning him. Some even started to hurl uncontrollable insults but stopped after a stern look from the well-armed guards at the door.
"Baron, you bought almost all the food to send to the troops guarding the borders. Do you want us to die?"
"Are only the lives of soldiers and nobles important, and not ours? Give us back our food. Why are you monopolizing the town's food supply?"
…
Countless angry questions erupted at that moment. Thanked to the baron's own well-armed forces, these people might have turned into mobs doing terrible things.
Finally, the baron appeared, with his large belly and a cold smile, his words sounded "fair".
"Dear citizens, due to the urgency of military affairs, I acted a bit swiftly last night without time to discuss with you all. Moreover, the owners who sold the food received quite a bit of silver as compensation. I paid more than the market price for the food in every shop. If you don't believe me, you can ask these shopkeepers."
Before the baron could finish, the crowd erupted with talk of confronting and retaliating against the food shop owners, cursing them as profiteers who cared only about making money and nothing else.
"But as the only noble in this town, of course, I have to be responsible for all the citizens here. After collecting all the food in town, I transported most of it to the neighboring town's troops to ensure they had enough food. There's some left to give back to you, dear citizens, of course."
At this point, the baron paused, but his smile and expression were no longer cold and righteous; they changed into cruel and greedy laughter.
"These foods cost me quite a bit, bought at prices higher than the market prices. Now with the food being insufficient, it's normal that prices are 'slightly' higher, right? If you don't pay, that's not being a citizen, that's being a robber. Killing robbers is rewarded for a part of nobility's honor and glory."
"Oh, the amount of food I can sell to you today is just this much. The border is in a time of war, so everyone should eat less and save more. I'll sell some more to you tomorrow."
...
The townspeople were shocked when they saw the prices at the heavily guarded stalls. Vegetables that used to cost 5 silver coins per kilogram were now priced at 40, an eightfold increase. A 20-kilogram bag of flour, once 65 silver coins, soared to 600. The soldiers explained that flour was more expensive because it prevented being hungry for longer.
The baron had employed hunger marketing tactics. The amount of goods was scarce, only enough for about a quarter of the townsfolk to eat for a day. If these were clothes or jewelry, people could ignore them, but food was essential daily, and now the baron controlled almost all of it, forcing people to buy the overpriced items eventually.
At first, everyone insisted the baron lower the prices and united in refusing to pay. But as time passed, someone gave in and bought a small bag of flour. Then, an increasing number of people, desperate for food, started to pay. Watching the dwindling supply on the stalls in the baron's estate, chaos and panic set in as everyone scrambled for the life-saving goods.
Some of the poorer townsfolk, unable to afford the high prices, tried to steal food and were beheaded by the soldiers when caught.
Women in the crowd screamed as the baron, using a megaphone powered by a magic stone, overpowered all the noise and screams. His voice, painfully loud, boomed:
"Here we have a robber who dared to invade the baron's territory and rob the noble baron. According to the law, my soldiers have rightfully executed him. No need to panic, as long as you pay, you're good citizens and safe."
After a few more "robbers" hoping to get lucky were executed, no one dared to steal again. They all became law-abiding citizens.
When the food at the baron's estate sold out, many who didn't manage to buy any or couldn't afford it left with heavy hearts, not knowing where to go or where to find food next.
Only the baron and his soldiers remained, cheering madly in the mansion now flooded with silver coins.
...
Outside the baron's mansion, some people who had bought food from the baron at prices eight to ten times higher than usual immediately resold it at even higher prices to those desperately in need once they left the baron's grounds, which caused deeper and denser arguments, chaos, conflicts and even bloody fights in citizens.
Even worse was that people found stealing and robbing a baron would be killed by his soldiers, but stealing and robbing from civilians would not. Some desperate and hungry citizens were forced to become rioters, merely to survive. Some even formed criminal gangs, constantly destroying this fragile town on the verge of on the verge of collapse.
Amid the fear of famine caused by the shortage of food, an essential resource, various criminal acts began to arise and reproduce.
In desperation, everyone became fearful of being hurt or robbed, or thought of hurting others or robbing them. Trust and harmony between people had vanished, and the town's safety and order were totally destroyed, gradually falling into complete darkness.
The baron, however, did not care, as the crimes committed for food only proved the importance of the food supply he controlled and further elevated the value of food in people's hearts.
Meanwhile, an unnoticed little beggar took out a few bags of bread he had previously bought. He secretly sold them in different and distant corners of the town in case of being noticed. By around 2:00 pm, his bread was all bought by people worried about a famine.
He turned the 13 gold coins he originally spent on the bread into 320 silver coins. Actually, he could have sold the bread for more, but he couldn't afford the high tax (1000 gold coins or 6204 silver coins) to take the extra silver coins out of town. So, after getting enough money for a train ticket, he and the little baby girl he was holding devoured the remaining bread in a dark corner, not wasting even a crumb.
After eating, Idiot quickly on his way to the train station without any emotion, disappointing Blood Extinguisher. But soon, it shifted its attention from Idiot, to enjoying the "scenery" on both sides of the road.
…
The silver coins the baron had lost to the people at a rate of 1:7 were quickly returning to him in another unexpected way, overwhelming and completely engulfing him.
Exchange rates are ultimately affected by many factors at the national level, and only after a monopoly can one completely control the price of a resource.
The baron's ultimate goal was just to make money. But he was so distracted by the exchange rates that he forgot his goal was simply to earn money, not to manipulate exchange rates, which was just a means to his goal.
What about you? Are you confusing your ultimate goal with the methods you're using to achieve it? Sometimes, choice is more important than effort, unless it's driven by interest.