Overlord

The treasurer and the chancellor were walking down to the barbican from the Cannongate in the pre dawn cold. The night sky was clear and full of stars. The avenue was well lit by lamps all the way down the length. At least the city watch was keeping order in the upper town. The treasurer was fuming against the cannon, and and the chancellor was providing amused comfort as he carried on. "Your mother is looking forward to this" the treasurer said. "She spent the whole day with your sisters looking over bolts of silk. Your sisters came over and discussed patterns. And now I am a villain because that pig headed useless excuse of a cannon sticks his heels in and tries to prevent it."

The treasurer gave his son a pitying look. "Your mom may be many things, but silly is not one of them. Especially with the five of you plus the grandchildren running around. They chose a nice pale rose colored silk with yellow trim. Very tasteful." He looked both pleased and thoughtful for a moment. "Your mom was always eminently sensible. It has always been one of her most attractive features. However, women love weddings, and she always felt cheated of hers. Now that she sees herself as entitled to one she is going to have it, though the heavens may fall. And she sees it as my fault that the cannon is a pig headed old jackass lacking the sense of a baby duck. How long has she known that fool? And his incompetence is my fault?"

"Well, it will make her happy" conceded the treasurer. "And I do owe her that. Her good sense is part of the secret to my success. Not that I tell her that. With her good looks she has reason enough to be conceited."

The Chancellor said "The Cannon will have more reason to be upset today. I have a proposal for the king that will add another crown of sorrow to his brow."

"Oh the king. Such a disaster this new king" the treasurer complained. "The old one was bad enough. But as bad as it was we never had such a disaster as yesterday. I had hoped we could control the damage but yesterday was a forest fire in a swamp. Apparently he is adamant about not paying on Neftchika's bonds. Of course all the bond holders worry about the other bonds that are out there, and he just sits there serenely surrounded by his bootlickers and his ignoran boobs and tries to bring the whole kingdom down on our heads. I was too worn out to continue yesterday, so I fled the whirlpool of my office to the comfort of your mom only to find your sisters and her in a perfect storm over the cannon.

They passed through the Barbican square and noted the stall sellers setting up in the square under the careful supervision of the watch. The stall sellers quarreled frequently over location and the size of their pitch, but today they were just setting up their booths with a stolid calm. The chancellor looked them over and noted there were fewer than usual.

"These are the ones that are always at their pitch no matter what the emergency." the Treasurer said. "In the ultimate battle between heaven and hell, between God and the Devil, these are the ones who would try to sell sausages and biscuits to either side."

They arrived at the door of the Merchant's gate. After they gained admittance to the sally port the guard was feeling in a gossipy mood. "Quite a to do down in the ghetto last night" the guard said. "Some Severnian merchant popped in and began buying up the Neftchika bonds with diamonds. It was a circus with a thousand clowns. He wound up buying 20 of them for something like 20 in the 120. Idiot Severnian wasted his diamonds. No way is the king going to paying those.

The treasurer leaned against the wall of the sally port. "I think I am going to be very ill" he said. "The state of our credit has fallen so low in one day that the merchants are reduced to barter. We are undone."

The chancellor led him through the door. He was at a loss as to how to console his father. "It was not so long ago you were facing the new king chasing you through the throne room with a partisan. You survived that, we will get through this." The treasurer had no response. They both navigated their way across the icy and slick cobblestones with extreme care. They were silent till they reached the chancellor's office in the palace, where the king was waiting for them while watching the unlit fire in the fireplace.

The King directed a piercing stare at the Lord Chancellor. He said, using consonants that sounded like an axe chopping through oak, "How is it you presume to give orders to my leiutenents?"

The Chancellor was alarmed and said "I did but prepare him for what I thought you would have him do this morning." He took a scroll out of his coat and handed it to the king. "I prepared the order for your signet. The house of Refuge is a prison, not a sanctuary. I believe the women the bishop consigned there should instead be transferred to our keeping in the tower. When the Bishop is tried for blasphemy, the testimony of the women will be important. "

The king looked at him angrily. "Common women testifying against the Lord Bishop? Are you drunk already at this hour?"

The Chancellor stood his ground. He said "It is true that women can't be sworn. But the testimony of twenty might count for something. Also there is the testimony of comparing the children's faces with that of the lord bishop. That would be more compelling than any words either the women or the bishop might say. Having them in the tower means they will be available when we want them."

The king took the scroll and reviewed it quickly. Then he took his seal and some wax, put the wax over a taper and impressed his seal onto the scroll. Then he called to a servant standing in the hall "Quickly take this to my lieutenant Porokh and tell him I want it complete by noon." Then he called to another servant and told him to light the fire. Then he turned to the chancellor and said "Where did you get those names?"

The chancellor reached into his pocket again and brought out the petition slips from the day before. "They were on here. I am sure there are more. But these are the ones whose families promised to take them in."

The king next glared at the treasurer. "I have heard that you made some seditious comments about my decisions."

The Treasurer let loose an irritated sigh. He figured the death warrant was probably already signed for his remarks. As the expression was, when you on your way to Hell, let the devil know you belonged there. "Which specific remarks did you object to, Sire? That you were an incompetent nincompoop bent on destroying the kingdom, or that you were a petty narrow minded idiot who was bound to hurt himself and all around him, or that you were a headstrong jackass determined to bring down the barn on all the other animals? There were, I am sure, several more, but I have forgotten the details. And after I heard the news this morning, I have quite a few more fighting for precedence on my tongue. "

The king stood up and swung his sword back and forth experimentally. It was long and wide and probably weighed 15 talents. He gestured for the treasurer to kneel, which he did. Then he placed the point of the sword against his collar and said "Really, the one I objected to the most was that I liked to surround myself with ignorance and bootlickers. It is important that people people tell me what I need to know and they talk to me honestly. We have had this discussion before, if you recall, when I appointed this gentleman" nodding his head at the chancellor "in his current position." The king squatted down, still with the sword pointed at the treasurer. "It is important to me that I get the best information. I t is also important to me that I have men of courage around me, not 'silly ass-kissing boobs' as you expressed it." Holding the tip of the sword steady, he leaned forward to that he was nose to nose with the treasurer. "If I am to survive the adventure I have begun I need to have people who will tell me the truth no matter what the consequences. You understand this?"

The treasurer looked cross eyed at the sword under his chin and said as loudly as he could "Yes."

The king sat back and then stood up. He said "Good. Now, you need to realize that when you are with me, you have perfect freedom of speech, and I will listen attentively to anything you say. However..." He swung the sword at a block of cedar that was standing in front of the fire, which split in two "freedom of speech outside this room is restricted. "

The king sat down with the sword on his lap. "Explain to me" he said, gesturing for the treasurer to rise "in terms understandable, as you expressed it, 'to a concussed baby duck' just what is wrong with not paying debts that have been fraudulently imposed on the kingdom."

The treasurer stood up well aware that the king was out of patience with him. This was going to be a hard discussion.

The treasurer inhaled and straitened his shoulders. "First" he said "A promise to pay is a promise to pay. You break your promise to pay back, you can no longer get another loan."

Several of the kings lieutenants began to drift into the office. The treasurer and the chancellor looked at them nervously. One of the lieutenants interrupted. "He never said he wasn't going to pay back the other loans. Just the ones for the Neftchika bitch. She robbed the kingdom up down and sideways and there is no way of getting any of it back, the kingdom got no use out of it."

Another one agreed. "Yeah, you make a loan at knifepoint, it really isn't a loan, is it?"

The chancellor raised his hand for attention and said "In this case, there is an element of that, true, but the loans were granted to the king by several merchants and the entire ghetto being obliged to make them at sword point. In this case the kingdom coerced, but it was not coerced. We really owe the people who were forced to make the loans to pay them back."

"That might have been the case, many of them sold out to this Severnian sailor." responded another.

The chancellor said "They took a loss of 80 in 120. That makes them a lot less likely to loan in the future. Even if they had the funds."

The treasurer said "We need to convince people that when they loan to the kingdom, they will get paid back."

Captain Povrschan, looking especially angry, said "We don't have a problem with the regular loans. Just the ones for the Nefchika bitch's estate."

"Why just those?" the chancellor said. "They were legal when made and according to regular form The people who made the loans, many times under coercion, had no idea that there would be a revolution over them. They were made in good faith under the regular laws of the kingdom. And as I understand, your grievance is with her, not with the people who made the loans. Many of whom are as unhappy about the way the money was spent as you are."

Captain Molodoychen, who was the youngest one said "Why do we have to pay this Severnian guy the full value anyway? He only paid at a rate of 20 out of 120. We could maybe pay him 25 out of 120, we get out from under the debt and he makes a very healthy profit. Everybody's happy."

The Chancellor said "We will be asking for loans again soon. The way taxes work in this kingdom is the land taxes get paid in Hallow's month, excises on cider are collected at the same time. We collect the taxes on beer and wine in Vernal, the excises on tallow are collected in baking, when all the pigs are slaughtered and we can keep track of the fat. We get no customs during the winter when the storms close the ports and prevent shipping from overseas. Customs are the largest part of the tax collection, followed by the land tax. We have to borrow often during the year to make the payroll, especially now that the military payroll is going to be so large. In order for you and your men to get paid, we have to borrow frequently. And in order to borrow, we must have a good record of paying. If we don't make the payments, we won't get the loans. And don't forget that we are collecting no taxes at all until the Sabor Naroda approves them. Under ordinary circumstances that would be no problem. But now that we probably can't borrow, we will have to face up to your troops in three or four months and explain to them they can't get their pay. And we know how they will respond to that."

Captain Grubo, A gruff elder one in the front row said "We have them under good discipline. They will follow orders."

The chancellor looked at him closely. "Maybe four months ago, but now? They have overthrown one king. Once you do that, the next king goes over so much more easily."

Captain Karandashen, A tall morose looking man standing next to the fire place said "Most of my men are new levies. Their loyalty is to the paymaster."

Captain Molodoychen still looked at the treasurer plaintively. "But that Severnian.... It is like he played a lottery and walked away with everything!"

The Treasurer looked at the Captain Molodoychen in distaste. "That is hardly his fault. He played the lottery in good faith, and I think we should honor his ticket. It is not his fault that the honor of the kingdom was in doubt. He seems to have had more faith than most."

The chancellor said "I don't believe any of you realize how important the kingdom's loans are."

The Treasurer said "The kingdom's debt is the kingdom's greatest treasure. And the kingdom's good word is what gives it value."

Loud laughter echoed around the room. The king looked displeased "Are you making fun of us? That is a very tasteless joke" he said.

The Chancellor took a silver talent from his purse and held it up. "How much does this weigh?" he asked. Catcalls rang across the room, but he got a few to say "One talent, of course." When the room had settled again he asked, "How many talents can a man easily cary? I have heard some of you carry a sword of 5 talents. And you all wear those heavy cuirasses. But a regular person, how much does he really want to carry? Then there is the fact that this is so very valuable. For most of your men, this represents four months wages. The usual wage in town during the summer, this counts as nine weeks wages for a casual laboring man. Your regular merchant, how much does he want to carry such value on his person along the more dangerous roads in the kingdom? " He reached over to a book shelf and took down a volume, then opened it up. Inside were several notes attached to each page by a staple. He worked one out from under the staple and held it in his hand. "We sell these to merchants in denominates of 20 and 50 silver talents three times a week. They are about seventy three out of 120 of the total debt of the kingdom. We sell large denominations, up to five gold talents and for longer terms. What was the big circus yesterday was those 12 year five gold talent bonds. We were unable to sell any fresh notes yesterday. All we did was redeem them for coin. Usually the amount going out and the amount coming in are about the same."

"If you examine this note, you will see it has been endorsed five times. Sometimes we have notes come back that have been endorsed more than a dozen times as merchants have traded them back and forth."

Captain Molodoychen looked confused "Why would they do that? What is the point?"

The Chancellor held up the coin. "This can be used by anyone, it is heavy and is easily stolen." He held up the note. "This can only be used by the person to whom it is endorsed. It can be hidden in the lining of your hat and it is very light and there is no point to stealing it. It can't be used if it is."

He held up the note again. "This one was first purchased by a coal merchant here in the upper town. The next person on the endorsement list is a barge broker in Mezhduozeranye. He endorsed it to a lumber dealer, who endorsed it to a local landowner, who endorsed it to a local silversmith who turned it in to the sub office of the treasury in Mezhduozeranye. "

Captain Karandashen said "So you are saying that merchants use this scrip as a safer form of money. They can trade it around and buy expensive stuff without worry of getting robbed."

The treasurer nodded. "It is the way we move large funds around the kingdom. We have a special code system that prevents people from making their own. Most of the people who trade in this know each other, so it is hard to introduce fakes. Instead of sending coins from place to place we send ledgers listing open notes. It is not perfect, but it is a lot more secure than lugging around the coin."

Captain Molodoychen said "So because they don't trust us to pay them, they are just cashing in the notes? And that means doing commerce between towns will be harder?"

The treasurer shook his head. "It is far worse than that. Even trade within the town is harder. Plus there is the fact that there is all this coin in people's houses now. The brigands are going to be rejoicing over this, as the number of people they can rob has sky rocketed."

Captain Grubo one said "I have been storing my money with a goldsmith for years. I pay a bit for the service, but he is solid."

The Treasurer turned to him and said "And what do you think he does with all that coin? Do you think he just lets it lay in his vault collecting dust and being a target for every burglar with a bit of initiative? He loans it out at high interest. People who have their money with smiths almost never call for it from month to to month, When things are quiet the smith has at most 30 of 120 of the money. When things are dangerous like now they keep 60 of 120 or they have more in their vaults. we would like them to keep no more than 24 of 120, but that isn't going to happen. "

Captain Povrchan said "I don't care what this word merchant says, I detest, hate, and never will be reconciled with paying that no account bitch Nefchika's loans. "

Captain Molodoychen said "Is there nothing we can do about the money spent on her manor? That was such a lot of money. Is none of it recoverable?"

The chancellor said "That is very unlikely. As the saying goes 'the kitten you drown today will catch no mice tomorrow.' We will of course sell off the property and see what we can recover. I toured the place as she was having it done. The best we can do is hope the land sells at a good price." He paused for a moment and decided to give the knife an extra twist. "Of course, the usual thing would have been to parcel it out to veterans of the campaign as rewards for good service. But after yesterday, we will be in a huge need of cash. We won't be able to do that with this property. Or the property of Lyubovnochka either. Until we can convince the people that all bills will be paid at par we will have trouble raising funds. And large sectors of the city will just freeze."

the Chancellor said "Don't forget we aren't collecting the taxes until the Sabor meets. We are surviving on the loans"

The king said "It bothers me that we still have to pay for Neftchika and Lyubovnochka's greed and vanity."

Captain Povrchan said "All the money she stole during her life isn't enough for that bitch she is going to continue robbing us when she is dead"

The treasurer pointed out "They have been dead more than six weeks. It is so much spilt milk and is of no concern any more. We have to worry about the living. "

Captain Molodoychen said "It really won't play well with the troops. Especially given the Truscans and the ghettoites were the former owners of the loans, and now this Severian has skinned them."

The Treasurer said "I thought you said you had your troops under good discipline." Captain Molodoychen looked uncomfortable at this.

Captain Karandashen one said "Anger over these loans was a huge motivator for recruitment. We can browbeat them, but they will still be sullen. We will be bleeding over the interest for years to come, if what you say is true."

Captain Karandashen nodded and continued. "Running troops also depends on keeping promises. You made a big point of that concerning our obligations to the merchant class. We need to keep our promises to the troops as well."

The Treasurer said "Captain Karandashen, you were the one who pointed out they were mostly loyal to their pay. If we can't get the loans, they can't get their pay".

the king said "My first day here you said we would be fine financially for months."

The treasurer gave an exasperated look. "That was before you turned 1/3rd of the kingdom's money into waste paper overnight. I spent years building up this system. We did have a large coin reserve because we just finished with the land taxes. If the word gets out that we are paying at par or even a little over we may weather this. But with all that debt outside the cash transaction system it may not matter. Plus the fact that everyone that took a loss is that much poorer."

Captain Molodoychen said "It shouldn't be that much of a worry. The town is all still here. The docks are still here. The trees and the fields are still here."

The treasurer said "That is true enough, but now much of the money is missing. Out there people are working as butchers and brewers and bakers and smiths and so on. The money only exists to change hands as people need to trade. The baker buys wheat from the farmer, who buys a sickle from the smith, who buys some bacon from the butcher, who buys some beer from the brewer, who buys some hops from another farmer and the dance goes on. The same coins will change hands as many as four times a day in a large city. The total value of the coinage is traded every month. And a large portion of that trade occurs in the kingdom's negotiable bills. So when we remove the bills, we remove the trade."

The Chancellor said "I think it is important to note here that the extent of your power here is dependent on the size and discipline of your army. And that is dependent on the amount you can pay them, which is dependent on the amount you can raise in taxes, which depends very much on the state of trade. And the state of the trade is dependent on whether they trust us to pay our bills. "

"So do I, it disgusts me" The king stood up and addressed his lieutenants. "It appears for reasons of state that we will be paying full par value on all the loans, much as I regret it. We will even pay a premium on bills turned in after today that are more than two weeks past their due date of 2 doxies per week for all notes issued before today. Pass the word to your men. Those who have problems with this can do extra drill."

He dismissed the lieutenants and motioned the Treasurer and the Chancellor to be seated. "Have you discussed the marriage with your woman?" He asked the Treasurer.

The treasurer gave a rueful smile. "Yes Sire" he said. "She is very grateful to you for you assistance with the Bishop. She is also arranging her trousseau. My daughters came by yesterday and helped her choose the cloth and the pattern. When I left this morning she was like a kitten. She was playing with her new ribbons and threads. It will be a welcome event. I feel it is not dignified to have one's grand daughters as brides maids. However, she is planning dresses for them as well. "

The Chancellor said "The Cannon refuses to countenance the marriage. He also said that he will oppose the ordinances on regularizing the status of the church lands where the chantries and abbeys have fallen into abeyance. "

The king said "Why are we even dealing with this sorry excuse for a mule? Isn't the Dean of the chapter of priests the next in line in authority?"

The Chancellor reminded him "One of the charges against him is the holding of multiple offices when by church statute that is forbidden. The Bishop is also the Dean. "

The chancellor Looked through his paperwork for a moment. "I reviewed the requests from the petition box that you gave to my attention yesterday. As you ordered, I have prepared what I believe are the appropriate responses for your review. " He handed the papers to the king.

The king looked through the papers quickly. He got out his signet ring and the as the Chancellor applied the wax, he applied the seal to several of them. A few he put aside. As he read through the refusals, he asked questions about several of them.

The Treasurer tried to excuse himself, but the king waved him down. "You and I still need to talk" he said.

The conversation with the Chancellor continued. Letters had been dispatched to the Holy Metropolitan at Punicia. The Chancellor said "From what I read while a clerk in this office, the Metropolitan was as upset you are sire over the management of Church offices and the behavior of the upper clergy. However, since we are so distant and our performance is orthodox, they didn't interfere. They may even view the Bishop's arrest as an opportunity to resume control over Church affairs here, as the late king essentially ignored them. I made a suggestion that sending a church commission to try the bishop would be acceptable to you, as you were more interested in exact performance by the bishop rather than connivance with royal transgressions. The king protected the Bishop from Punicia, and the Bishop granted him the same latitude. If we go through with this prosecution, it may mean that we loose secular authority over our domestic church affairs that we have enjoyed."

"It is a risk we will have to take. The support of the church in the current political settlement is one of the chief supports of the state. If the church is rotten, it threatens the whole state. The current state of the Church is so thick with termites and fungus it makes everything unstable. A pillar that is out of our control, but sound is preferable to one that is totally ours, but will crumble at the touch. There is also the fact that the state of the church is seen as the responsibility, or to be more precise, the fault of the king"

"Which brings me to my next question" the King said. "I am wondering if I should require all the clergy working in the state apparatus to resign their church positions. It made sense to have only clergy working as royal clerks way back in the day when only the clergy were literate. But I believe it brings the church into disrepute in these modern times to have all these ministers and curates of the various departments doing exclusively state business. It seems a large number of men take holy orders and have a long career in the state service, and never preach a sermon the whole time they are priests. And of course, " here he gestured at the treasurer, "The whole issue of so many priests, sworn to celibacy, raising large families while on state service. I wold be inclined to fire the lot of them for failing to keep their oaths, but they do seem to be the more steady and useful contingent of vicars of the kingdom's interest." He turned to the chancellor. "You are only 19, so there might come a young lady of shapely foot and proud bosom for whom you would like to exchange vows in a church and give up your vows to the church. I don't believe it is compassionate to require my servants to give up their vows if they intend to keep to them, but for most, I believe it will be compassionate. I would like you to draw up a statue to that effect."

The chancellor bowed and said "It will be a fundamental change to the laws of the kingdom. The Sabor Naroda would have to approve it."

The king smiled and said "It will give them the feeling they have some sort of power in the kingdom. They can debate it and play at having real authority over the matter. They will approve it, however."

"We may have to grant them a lot more authority. Your main point of your assumption was that Oscar was traducing the ancient liberties of the kingdom. You will have to give them some authority"

The king had a far away look. "You have a dream and you act on it, and it turns into a series of nightmares. I can't go back. I have to keep going forward. The path behind me is a long series of burning bridges"

"You can count on my father to struggle to keep things on an even keel. I have no love for chaos either"

The king looked at the Chancellor hard. "None for me either then. Very well. You and your father keep chaos at bay. I intend to get the ship of state to a better harbor. And when I do, the two of you will be looking for new jobs

Let me know what you think

The fallow season

Darkness comes