Blackstone Code

Chapter 153:

"Mr. President, we're facing quite a few problems at the moment..."

The principal aide of the cabinet looked somewhat embarrassed as he glanced at the report in his hand. "This time, the victorious alliance has refused to honor our war bonds, citing a lack of funds. The defeated nations have indicated that they need time, possibly several months, to pay up."

The President's stern expression softened slightly. He considered this a piece of good news. "Several months? That's not a problem. As long as they are willing to honor the debt, it's not an issue."

However, the principal aide wasn't as pleased as the President. He forced a thin smile. "But some intelligence suggests that several key defeated nations are printing more money to cope with their current financial difficulties."

The President's face turned serious again, even somewhat resentful. He understood the implications of this statement all too well. No one knew better than him the repercussions of printing more currency. Undoubtedly, these defeated nations also planned to default, though their methods differed from those of the victorious nations.

Suppose the Baylor Federation's government purchased ten billion in war bonds from a defeated nation whose currency was once on par with the Federation thor. After the war, the defeated nation would honor these bonds based on their issuance value, say two hundred billion thor or another amount of their currency.

However, now these defeated nations were printing more money, causing their currency's value to plummet in the international market. This, coupled with their "defeat," could mean that a currency once valued one-to-one with the thor could devalue to one hundred-to-one or even one thousand-to-one amid negative news and inflation.

By the time their money became worthless, a hundred billion in war bonds might only be worth less than one million thor!

The victorious nations could sternly refuse to honor the debt, and the defeated nations had their ways to avoid further losses. This left the President and his entire cabinet with headaches.

This wasn't even the worst part. They had received information that some of the victorious nations' war bonds had already been redeemed. Some smaller nations that had taken a stance and allied themselves without being on the front lines of the war were the first to receive payment.

If no one had received any payments, the federal government could claim that this was due to the internal situation of the victorious alliance, that they couldn't come up with so much money in a short time. After all, compensating the deaths of millions would already be a headache for them, not to mention the destruction of cities.

But since some payments were made, Baylor Federation's international standing became very awkward. This gave a very direct impression that Baylor Federation was being targeted.

With this comparison, the domestic situation could deteriorate rapidly. Worse still, all this was due to the Conservative Party's long-standing isolationist policies. If people believed the President's policies caused the current situation, the Conservative Party and the President's cabinet would be under immense pressure.

What they previously deemed the most suitable policy for the Federation in the international community could instantly become the biggest blunder of this administration due to these international relations.

The citizens of the Federation, who had enjoyed peace and tranquility, wouldn't sympathize with the President's cabinet. They might turn against them, blaming the administration for the current dire trends. The unemployed might also accuse the cabinet, claiming the isolationist policies turned the Federation into an "island," causing the myriad problems they now faced.

The will of the people was never stable, always shifting to meet their selfish and narrow demands.

Thinking of the countless people demonstrating outside the presidential palace, the President's head throbbed. "For now, don't let this news leak out. Also, have our diplomats continue negotiating with them. Even if we can't get full payment, any positive response will do."

At this point, the Minister of Foreign Affairs coughed lightly. The President looked at him with some displeasure. The Minister smiled wryly and asked, "Mr. President, on what grounds should we persuade them?"

One sentence turned the President's displeasure into a pained expression. He began to doubt the isolationist policy himself. Though it seemed fine a few years ago, now he wasn't so sure.

The contents of the small meeting at the presidential palace soon leaked. In the Baylor Federation, the higher the level of the secret, the less of a secret it actually was. This was common and realistic.

Every official likely had different financial backers or major capitalists behind them compared to the President. Their rise to power was due to the President's favor, but more so due to agreements among tycoons, conglomerates, and major capitalists.

They helped the President win the election, so naturally, they placed their agents in the cabinet.

Having given the sweetest rewards to the key people, asking for ministerial or deputy positions wouldn't be opposed, right?

Thus, no news within the cabinet could be kept secret. Soon, major conglomerates became aware of these issues, though they didn't immediately execute their plans. Instead, they began coordinating to adjust their industrial structures.

Jumping the gun was unacceptable because many large conglomerates hadn't yet withdrawn their steps. If they acted prematurely, it could cause them to stumble. So, they needed time to shed some unnecessary parts before waiting for the signal to act.

On Saturday afternoon, Lynch was set to attend a small consultation meeting hosted by the Sabin City Hall.

The city hall had invited the city's social elites to discuss how to improve the current situation and the city's future.

This naturally included Lynch and bank workers like Joegleman. Due to the unified request of the Baylor Federation's Ministry of Finance, the six major banks had begun piloting a new business of "credit loans" to address the current situation.

Everyone would receive a credit score based on their social insurance contributions, past performance in society, and their current assets and wealth. Based on this score, they could obtain different levels of unsecured credit loans from the banks.

This policy aimed to help those unemployed, facing difficulties, but who had a good past record and some savings to get through tough times.

As for the homeless or those with nothing, they were not included in this plan.

Before the meeting, Lynch was talking about his club to other people. Kane had already found a relatively professional coaching team for him, and they had started recruiting new players. This reignited some people's interest in the club.

People liked to see the blooming flowers, and of course, some people also liked the buds that were about to bloom. However, not many people wanted to understand the steps it took for these flowers to grow from seeds to full bloom, or how each step was performed. They only wanted to enjoy the result, not bear the process and responsibility. The same went for rugby.

People actually hoped that their city had a professional sports team, whether it was rugby, baseball, or any other sport. They also wanted to have a reason to take off their hats and wave them while watching these sporting events.

Previously, they were unwilling to take on this responsibility themselves, but now they could start enjoying it because someone else was handling the trouble for them.

While chatting about whether the club had a chance to join the professional league next year, Joegleman approached the group. He greeted everyone, then clearly looked at Lynch. "Smoke?"

Lynch nodded. "Of course..." He apologized to everyone and then walked with Joegleman to a corner outside the meeting room to smoke.

This was not a meaningless "appointment." As both lit their cigarettes, Joegleman looked around before speaking softly. "If you need a loan, you'd better do it before October. After October, the bank will raise risk and approval criteria, and it won't be as easy afterwards."

Banks were highly sensitive to policies, national conditions, and international situations. They had more than one research department dedicated to these matters.

After the news from the President's cabinet leaked, the banks quickly reached a frightening conclusion. They decided not to approve loans easily after the third quarter and to lower all loan amounts to ensure the bank's assets' safety.

Joegleman also received a separate notification. Starting from the fourth quarter, his approval authority would be monitored.

The separate notification wasn't because the bank regional division didn't trust him but because he had already secured this year's business award. The division's message was if he had any irregularities, he should smooth them out quickly. Additionally, some people were making sarcastic comments, so to show fairness, his approvals would be reviewed from the fourth quarter.

As for when this would end, either he'd get promoted, or the current situation would improve. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any changes in the short term.

"The previous ones..." Lynch took a drag of his cigarette and looked at him.

Joegleman shook his head. "Those have already been reported to the division and headquarters. So, if you need anything, solve it now while I still have some influence. I won't be able to help later."

He spoke somewhat self-deprecatingly, but it was a helpless situation. In just over two months, he went from being mediocre to topping the charts in performance. Both within and outside the system, there were suspicions that he achieved this through illicit methods.

After all, even the board of directors at the headquarters mentioned his name. Some even suggested that he could bypass the standard procedures of working in both the regional division and headquarters roles under observation for two years, and be directly appointed as a bank manager at a regional level. How could anyone not be driven to jealousy or madness by this?Please vote for this novel at /series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 7 Advance chapters Link

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