The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“Captain Hyman, Captain Elaine, you are both too kind.” Kirk the Good Master looked at the two full boxes of the finest furs and handicrafts from foreign lands, and specially made smoked meat, his face full of enthusiasm.

The three sat down as host and guests.

Elaine said, “Respected Good Master Kirk, we are about to leave Astapor and go to Qarth.”

“Oh? You’re going to Qarth?” Kirk was genuinely surprised.

“Good Master, during our time in the port, a captain from Qarth invited us to visit Qarth, saying there are many exquisite tapestries, monkey wine, prostitutes, and inexpensive high-quality spices that we have never seen before.”

Kirk blinked several times and said with a dry laugh, “Which captain?”

“The great merchant Clark who just left Astapor, he has a very beautiful wife named Cherry.”

“Oh!” Kirk showed a look of realization.

Clark is a great merchant from Qarth, personally owning more than a hundred large ships. He is one of the Thirteen in Qarth. Kirk and Clark know each other and have had many business collaborations. Many of the spices, silks, and porcelains that Slaver's Bay provides to the western cities and Westeros come from Qarth. Clark is one of the main suppliers.

Captain Hyman said, “I heard that Good Master is also familiar with Lord Clark, is this person reliable?”

Kirk said solemnly, “The city of Qarth is home to the Thirteen, and Clark is one of them, owning his own palace comparable to royalty. The wealth of the Thirteen is accumulated like the stars in the sky, but those dazzling riches are said to be accumulated from human bones. In Qarth, there is a saying that the foundations beneath Qarth's three-layered high and solid granite walls are buried with the bones of countless foreigners.”

Captain Hyman and Captain Elaine's expressions changed slightly.

“The foundations of the city walls are filled with the bones of foreigners? What does this mean?” Captain Elaine asked with a heavy expression.

“Foreigners who go to Qarth to do business often disappear completely with their ships,” Kirk the Good Master said slowly, word by word, “Unless you have trusted friends or proven business channels, foreigners who venture to Qarth often encounter misfortune. And those misfortunes, the people of Qarth attribute to storms or pirates. On the sea, no one can avoid storms and pirates, but the storms and pirates of Qarth are often not real storms and pirates.”

Captain Hyman and Captain Elaine's expressions became even more solemn.

“Captain Kirk, you…”

“We Astapor have long established safe and stable business channels with the Thirteen of Qarth. Our Astapor Good Masters once led a legion to Qarth, and the two sides, at the port, invited blue-lipped wizards of the Undying, and under the witness of the gods, concluded a trade agreement. If you also want to do business in Qarth, unless the King of Westeros takes the navy to Qarth, and then the two sides, under the witness of wizards and priests, sign a trade agreement in the name of God, otherwise, if you go like this… hehe, for safety, I advise you to give up.” Kirk the Good Master looked sincere.

Hyman and Elaine exchanged glances. Their eyes revealed obvious caution and vigilance.

“Good Master, even if we give up going to Qarth, it is time for us to leave Astapor.”

“Oh? As far as I know, most of your goods have not yet been unloaded.”

“Yes, we came to see Good Master this time, hoping that Good Master can unload the goods for which you paid the deposit and complete the transaction,” Captain Hyman said.

“Completing the transaction is not a problem, but we heard that you require us to use Clegane banknotes?”

“Yes, we are Westerosi, and King Gregor Clegane has ordered it, we have to comply. Good Master only needs to go to the Clegane Bank to exchange gold and silver for banknotes of equal value, and we can complete the transaction.”

“I am very sorry, my two most respected friends, I cannot do this.”

“Oh? Why? Whether you use gold or banknotes, you will not lose anything, the price is the same as agreed before. Does Good Master not want to do business with us?”

“We Astapor oppose King Gregor Clegane's Clegane banknotes, because in this way, Clegane's banknotes are equivalent to our gold and silver, which is not fair.”

Captain Elaine said, “Supporting the Clegane Bank's banknotes is the Iron Bank, the Iron Bank lacks everything, except gold. As long as the banknotes in hand can be exchanged for equivalent gold at any time, it is more convenient and faster to actually use banknotes. In Westeros, banknotes have gradually replaced gold. Our continent is not as vast as Essos, the gold in the ground is very limited, and the gold consumed can never be found again. The Westerlands, belonging to His Majesty the King, is the most gold-producing place in the country, but gold mining has also reached the final stage.”

“Two captains, we will definitely not use Clegane Bank's banknotes. You are busy going back, we can complete the transaction today, but, we will not pay banknotes, we will only pay you gold and silver, or barter.”

“Good Master, can you not help us this time for the sake of our many years of friendship? If you are unwilling to exchange it for banknotes at the bank, we dare not trade with you. We are the people of Westeros, and we must obey His Majesty the King's orders. Violating orders, deceiving the king, is a capital crime,” Captain Elaine said, “Good Master, please help us this time, in the name of the Harpy.”

“I am very sorry, two captains. If I let go and help you this time, I will be killed by the Good Masters of Astapor.” Kirk the Good Master looked sad.

Hyman and Elaine's faces turned pale. They sat in silence on the brocade stools for a long time, and Captain Elaine said in a deep voice, “Good Master, since we cannot reach this cooperation, please allow me to return your deposit to you.”

Kirk looked at Elaine, “Captain, you are going to leave here with the goods?”

“Good Master, you are unwilling to help us, we can only leave, otherwise, what is the point of continuing to stay?”

“You are going to Qarth?” Good Master Kirk was worried about this. If Westerosi merchant ships go directly to Qarth, bypassing Slaver's Bay, this will be a very serious trade risk for Slaver's Bay. Slaver's Bay plays a very important transit station in the trade between East and West, and the Good Masters and great merchants earn a lot of wealth as a result. Ninety percent of the Easterners' silks, porcelains, wines, tapestries, and spices are transported to Slaver's Bay; and almost all of the goods from the western cities and Westeros are transported to Slaver's Bay.

“We will not go to Qarth, we do not want to become the bones under the walls of the Thirteen of Qarth,” Captain Hyman said.

Good Master Kirk's hanging heart suddenly landed.

In the past, they would not have been afraid of Hyman and Elaine sailing east. With just a signal, the warships of Slaver's Bay could disguise themselves as pirates to block the sea route, rob the goods on these ships, and then drive the people away. Once pirates on the sea have robbed wealth, they will basically not kill the captain and sailors, they will only kill the mercenaries and knights who dare to fight. This is the consensus of the pirates. If the pirates want both money and life, they will soon find that the number of ships that can be robbed on the sea will be greatly reduced. Their days will become more and more difficult.

But now it is different. Her Majesty the Queen rules Astapor and has won the loyalty of the Unsullied Legion. The navy is also under the jurisdiction of Her Majesty the Queen. The Good Masters do not have the power to mobilize the navy, and the conventional way of letting the navy disguise themselves as pirates to rob foreign ships daring to trade in the East no longer exists.

Kirk said, “Two captains, we really want to complete the goods transaction with you, but this situation is too special. Our Good Masters have united, as long as you accept our gold, we can complete the transaction immediately, if you insist on using banknotes, I am sorry, we cannot complete this transaction.”

Hyman and Elaine's faces became even paler, they stood up, and asked their men to take out a bag of gold, Elaine gently put the gold on the table, “Good Master, this is your deposit, we are now returning it to you. Sorry to disturb you, we will visit Good Masters Kristin and Achilleon, if they also insist on not using banknotes for transactions, then we will have to return the deposit to them as well.”

“Two captains, we need you to stand with us and oppose Clegane Bank's banknotes,” Good Master Kirk said sincerely, “Think about it, if you compromise this time, what about in the future? Give up trade in Slaver's Bay?”

“Good Master, we cannot consider the future, we have to consider this tricky problem first,” Hyman said.

The two captains said goodbye and went out, Good Master Kirk sent them to the door, watched them walk away, and walked into the shadow of the Kristin family's pyramid before returning to the pyramid with peace of mind, and asked the guards to close the door.

*

Three days later.

Good Master Kirk was lying by the pool at home enjoying the services of a prostitute, hurried footsteps came from outside, he opened his eyes and saw Good Masters Kristin and Achilleon coming quickly. Kirk hurriedly sat up, the two guests looked unkind, and their expressions were a little exasperated.

“What's wrong?”

“The goods,” Kristin said.

“What goods?”

“Hyman and Elaine's goods.”

“What's wrong? Didn't we already agree that as long as they insist on us paying banknotes, we would rather not do this trade. As long as we persist a few times, Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King will have to make concessions to us.”

“We lost,” Achilleon said, panting.

“Lost? Did a Good Master exchange banknotes to trade with Hyman and them?”

“Not a Good Master, the small merchants.”

“How dare they?” Good Master Kirk sat up all of a sudden.

“Behind those small merchants, there is the support of other Good Masters,” Kristin said fiercely.

“Those Good Masters don't want to live? Who are those guys?”

“They are all small Good Masters.”

“Oh?! Then how dare they? Small Good Masters dare to betray us?”

“Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the King are supporting them. The Mountain himself went to threaten them one by one. He intimidated those small Good Masters. But that's not the most important thing, Captain Hyman and Captain Elaine, in order to let the small Good Masters and small merchants exchange banknotes for transactions, lowered the price by half. The price for all transactions using gold remains our original price, but as long as you are willing to use banknotes for transactions, the price of his goods will be half lower than our lowest price, half-selling and half-giving away.” Kristin said hatefully.

Kirk's face changed suddenly.

They have inventory in their warehouses, so they are not afraid of competing with the Mountain and Daenerys, but if there are the same goods on the market that are half the price of theirs, their profits will be immediately damaged.

Achilleon said, “In addition to the merchant fleet from Westeros lowering the price of goods, the merchant fleets from the Nine Free Cities have begun to lower prices, as long as they trade with banknotes, they will lower the price.”

Kirk was stunned.

“Currently, only the merchant fleets from Qarth and Asshai in the East and the merchant fleets from Sothoryos have not lowered prices, but they have all begun to require us to trade with banknotes. Otherwise, the navy will refuse them to dock in the port and will never be allowed to enter the Slaver's Bay waters for any commercial trade. Once they enter, the navy will seize their ships and goods and kill the captain.”

Kirk suddenly felt his breath stagnate!

The two major sources of exorbitant profits for the Good Masters and wealthy merchants of Slaver's Bay are, first, the slave trade, which was strictly prohibited by Her Majesty the Queen on the day she regained the throne; and second, trading with merchant fleets from all over the world, but if merchant fleets from all over the world require trading with banknotes, and trading with banknotes can also get the goods at half the price, they will be completely marginalized.

No matter where the merchant fleets come from, as long as they enter the Slaver's Bay waters, they will not dare to disobey the jurisdiction of the navies. If they do not require the Good Masters to trade with banknotes, they will lose even the right to enter the port, let alone do business.

Hyman and Elaine took the lead in lowering prices, and the Mountain and Daenerys used the navy, these two moves combined are too powerful.

Either the Good Masters go to the Clegane Bank to exchange banknotes to continue to maintain their commercial advantages and maintain their wealth and status, or, they become poorer day by day, and finally turn from Good Masters into real poor commoners, and some small merchants and small Good Masters will rise rapidly and replace their status, reputation and wealth accumulation.

“We should not have accepted Hyman and Elaine's refund of the deposit at the beginning, so that we could have dragged on, and Hyman and Elaine would not have dared to sell the goods to other small merchants and small Good Masters at a reduced price,” Achilleon said.

“It's useless to say more, we have to go to the port now,” Kirk said decisively after being stunned for a while.

“What are you going to do?”

“Go to exchange banknotes and take back our trade power. Those merchant fleets have long-term trading friendships with us, those small merchants and small Good Masters don't even think about taking away our status and wealth,” Kirk said.

“But we will be killed by other Good Masters.”

“No,” Kirk said.

“Why?”

“Her Majesty the Queen's Unsullied and His Majesty the King's Dragon will protect us. The Good Masters who have lost their troops, all that is left are the Sons of the Harpy, but if the Sons of the Harpy dare to come forward, the families of the Good Masters and the Harpy warriors will be killed by the Mountain.”

“But we…”

If we hesitate any longer, we'll lose everything. Christine, Achilles, we lost to the King, but the price was only a single gold coin. But if we win, we're about to lose everything. Don't you understand? That Demon Mountain has already shattered our united front.