Anyone who hasn't had hemorrhoids will never know the pain of taking a shit, just like no one understands the anxiety caused by the turbulence in the Amelia Region better than Emperor Gafura.

After his rage, the Emperor of the Empire had calmed down. He sat in his hundreds of square meters study pondering the Minister of Defense's proposition and no longer felt as resistant as before.

He could tolerate the Federation men defeating his invincible navy in a naval battle. They were nothing but a bunch of villains who adopted despicable tactics to steal the results of the war.

They can only laugh for a while. Once Gafura's submarines and anti-submarine equipment are successfully researched, the oceans will still be the domain of the Gafurans, and he has no doubt about that.

But the stability of the Amelia Region cannot be ignored. It will become a crucial point for Gafura to break through the impasse.

In ten or twelve years, a new war will ignite the entire world again. Only a stable Amelia Region can support Gafura's invincible fleet and his grand ambitions.

But this matter cannot be agreed to so easily. If he agreed too simply and easily, it would make people think that he, and Gafura as a whole, had no other choice, and those despicable Federation villains would take the opportunity to demand more benefits.

He needs to perform a play with the ministers. The ministers must constantly persuade him until they gradually sway his thoughts. He should reluctantly agree to the ministers' request while showing signs of potentially reversing his decision at any time.

Only in this way can those Federation villains understand that it's not him begging the Federation to solve the problem, but the ministers and the Federation villains who moved him with sincerity.

He felt anxious and worried in his heart, but he knew that this was not the right time to show this anxiety and worry.

While Emperor Gafura was contemplating how to leverage the Federation men to resolve the Amelia Region situation, in Nagariel, Mr. Herbs was entertaining his friends.

International bankers have lots of friends, and most of these friends are also international bankers. To call them bankers is somewhat misleading; in essence, they are more like financial companies specializing in big deals, similar in nature to the business done by Fox and Sons, except their capital pools are larger, and they seek more profit.

"It stinks here, Herbs!" complained the last gentleman to arrive in the room. "Do people in this damned place never bathe? I can imagine where this smell comes from. My God, how can they stand it?"

He looked at Mr. Herbs and the others with a shocked expression, "Don't you think it stinks, or has my nose been having problems since I got off the ship?"

Mr. Herbs offered him a glass of wine and comforted him, "Someone once told me that our brains can filter out gases we dislike, but it takes time, you know?"

"See, I and the others here have already filtered out these smells. We can't smell them anymore. All you need is time, relax, it's not that bad!"

Comforted by Herbs, the gentleman took a sip of the wine, and the taste of alcohol effectively cleansed his palate, making him feel a bit better, "I won't try to get used to these smells. The minute you're done talking, I'm leaving!"

"That's your right..." Mr. Herbs returned to his seat and sat down. "I've gathered everyone because I have a big business deal in hand that I can't handle alone, so I hope you can help me."

When it comes to business matters, these bankers settled down, their eyes fixed on Herbs.

Post-war reconstruction and the financial crisis in the Federation have left a lot of capital with no place to go!

Besides some choosing the long-return and low-rate post-war reconstruction, some money has nowhere to go, roaming around but never finding a good project.

These bankers, who are used to seeing massive asset growth in just a few days to a few weeks or months, actually look down on those reconstruction deals because the timeframe for the whole project is too long.

Real banks, big banks, would like those projects. They seek stable returns and don't care about the lengthy periods involved. For them, the longer, the better.

But international bankers are different. Their main business is not savings, which is the biggest difference between them and banks. Banks accept deposits, so low-risk and long-term returns are what they pursue if they don't want to go bankrupt.

But Mr. Herbs and these international bankers mainly deal in capital flow business, like lending, foreign exchange, and other short-term tasks. These tasks bring in money very quickly and aren't overly risky. They find it hard to settle down for construction investments or anything of the sort.

In times with few enough projects, for Herbs to gather everyone together to discuss a project means that the project in hand is substantial indeed. His words were like the long-awaited rainy season amid the dried-up vast grasslands of Nagariel, prompting the animals to rush to the plains and join in the revelry...

No one interrupted, which was good, and Herbs continued, "You may have heard of Mr. Lynch. The rights to develop and build the province beneath our feet are signed under Mr. Lynch's Darkstone Group. He possesses this part of the power."

At this point, someone interjected, "Wait a minute, Herbs, you know we aren't interested in investing in construction projects of that nature. If you're trying to persuade us to invest in Mr. Lynch's company or his construction-related projects, I don't think this is a good idea."

Mr. Herbs showed no displeasure. He patiently listened to the other party and nodded noncommittally. His gentle smile made him look particularly amiable, "I haven't finished speaking. If you let me finish, you wouldn't have that thought."

"... Sorry, please continue."

He nodded and continued, "Not long ago, Mr. Lynch discussed these matters with me. We all know that the Federation's development here will require a massive employment of local workers, which is a clause in their diplomatic treaty with the local government."

"They now need a significant amount of Gallier reserves to pay their large monthly workforce wages, with a substantial amount of Gallier being devoured by these Federation merchants and then distributed into the hands of ordinary people."

"So Mr. Lynch talked to me; he wants to borrow some Gallier from me for certain operations."

"Borrow?" Again, someone interrupted, "Excuse my rudeness, Mr. Herbs. If they need Gallier for company salaries, we can exchange it for them, but why is it a loan?"

This interruption was within Mr. Herbs' expectations. He introduced these elements to provoke questions and keep the topic flowing smoothly, "And this is the real project I want to discuss with you."

"Mr. Lynch believes that Gallier will experience some appreciation in the foreign exchange market in the future. The Federation's development here will drive various industries in Nagariel into a period of rapid growth, plus this place has the world's cheapest workforce."

"In other words, as long as there is enough infrastructure, they can unleash astounding productivity, and Nagariel's national strength will rise, which will be reflected in the foreign exchange market."

"I've noticed in the recent Gallier trend that it maintains a very steady upward trajectory. So Mr. Lynch wants to boost Gallier's value, as his demand is quite large—not merely for paying so little for the company, if you understand what I mean."

Now everyone understood. To put it plainly, it's about currency speculation: on one hand, due to international politics and other major relationships, Gallier will see a wave of appreciation. At the same time, if an organization or individual simultaneously swallows a large amount of Gallier, the circulating Gallier cash will decrease in the international foreign exchange market, leading to a "cash crunch" for regions needing to settle with Nagariel.

Currency itself is a "commodity." It's a form of purchasing power or a value embodiment that also obeys supply and demand and market relationships. Once the market supply of circulating Gallier decreases, and under greater prospects for Gallier, it will inevitably drive its increase in value.

And from the perspective of international monetary trade relations, Gallier's appreciation fits the current comprehensive development needs of Nagariel; they engage in lots of import trade, and currency appreciation will save them more money, which presents no problems.

Upon hearing this, these international bankers became intrigued. Someone asked, "It makes sense, so if Gallier is destined to rise, why does Mr. Lynch want to 'borrow' instead of 'exchange' it from us?"

This was also the confusion of others. If Gallier is destined for a wave of appreciation, exchanging it would be more cost-effective now.

For example, if a hundred Federation Sol can be exchanged for ten thousand Gallier, assuming the exchange rate finally settles at one to eighty, then only eight thousand Gallier is needed to exchange the initial hundred Federation Sol, and any remaining Gallier is profit.

But what Lynch is asking for is a loan, which implies borrowing and repaying.

If Lynch borrows Gallier but repays it in other currencies, and if the interest he pays doesn't outpace Gallier's appreciation, why would these people forfeit a money-making opportunity to someone else?

But if Lynch borrows Gallier and repays it in Gallier while still paying interest, does he have too much money to spend?

Unless Gallier's price remains relatively stable, the "value" of the borrowed sum of money is the same as when returned; only then wouldn't he be foolish.

But is this Mr. Lynch a fool?

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