July 7, Upper City
A carriage bearing the crest of the Laval House was traveling along the smooth, wide stone roads of the Upper City.
Inside the carriage, Bernard carefully held a stack of papers that still smelled of fresh ink.
He took a deep breath, and that unique scent gave him a nearly surreal sense of vertigo.
This feeling of unreality came from many directions.
For instance, he—a former merchant and a Viscount who had climbed into the ranks of the nobility through wealth and opportunity—would one day enter the center of the Kingdom’s power to meet with the great figures he once could only look up to.
For another instance, there was the beautifully designed and detailed “Special Inaugural Issue” in his hand.
It was not just a newspaper; it was a meticulously polished political weapon.
It would be the foundation upon which the Laval House built its media empire and the furnace that would forge the hearts of an entirely new political faction.
Just yesterday, under the guise of hosting a low-key noble banquet, Bernard had held a vital secret meeting at his home.
Count Albert du Bernard, who was willing to align himself with the Laval House, several powerful private bankers, and the Robe Nobility who had been strapped to the revolutionary war chariot by Allen, all attended this gathering that would influence the future of the Kingdom.
If the attendees had initially arrived with a sense of observation, suspicion, or their own agendas, the atmosphere in the room reversed the moment Bernard solemnly presented the samples of the Lorraine Gazette (a weekly) and the Lucerne Daily, whose core content had been personally designed and written by Allen.
Everyone passed around the two unprecedented publications. They fell into a long silence as they carefully read the news commentary, business information, and even serialized novel excerpts.
Even if Bernard ultimately failed to be appointed as the Minister of Finance, the potential and disruptive nature shown by these two newspapers alone was enough to prove that the “grand plan” drawn by the Laval House was no empty promise.
This was something that could truly change the era.
Albert might not have fully understood the deep political and social significance of the newspaper, but his sharp intuition told him that this thing could make a lot of money.
He pinched the newspaper as if he were examining a rare treasure and asked curiously, “Viscount Bernard, how much does it cost to produce such a newspaper?”
The figure Bernard gave him almost made his jaw drop.
Before the widespread adoption of movable type, books were undoubtedly luxury goods.
The cost of producing a manuscript of about 200 pages was usually between thirty and fifty livres, or even higher—equivalent to several months or even a year’s income for a skilled craftsman.
Books were symbols of wealth that only nobles, rich merchants, and high-ranking clergy could possess.
Under Allen’s advanced guidance, Bernard had secretly integrated and controlled a relatively mature industrial chain.
After the final calculations, the total cost for the paper, ink, labor, equipment depreciation, and distribution of each newspaper actually came to only five sous — which was a quarter of a livre.
If the price of the newspaper was set at eight sous in order to quickly seize the market and achieve self-sustainability, the price of this daily would be only 1% of the price of a traditional manuscript.
What did this mean? It meant that middle-class families in Leclair City would only need to spend a little spare change every day to buy a reading material full of fresh information and rich content.
As for the commoners, they could pool their money to buy one copy and read it together, thereby breaking through the barriers created by class rigidity and information monopolies.
This was not just a price reduction; this was turning knowledge and information from the privilege of a few into a daily necessity for the masses. It was an outright information revolution.
The terrifying potential contained within the newspaper made Count Albert’s face flush with excitement.
This time, he had truly latched onto an incredible powerhouse!
His worthless son, Hugo, usually seemed unreliable, but his eye for making friends was incredibly sharp.
Generally speaking, Sword-Bearing Nobles, who relied on military merit and the inheritance of the Sigil bloodline, looked down on Robe Nobility who rose through commerce and civil service.
However, Albert did not care about those outdated customs at all.
The way he looked at Bernard was so fervent that it was as if he were looking at his own brother.
And his presence there was, in itself, a massive encouragement to the other attendees — look, even a genuine Sword-Bearing Count is willing to take refuge with the Laval House.
This was enough to prove that the future of the Laval House was immeasurable.
With a Crestbearer as an ally, why should they fear the Sword-Bearing Nobles turning against them in the future?
With this foundation laid, the proposal to form the “United Bank” followed naturally.
The bankers were all deeply attracted by the grand blueprint described by the Laval House.
Compared to guarding the meager profits of traditional money shops, uniting to establish a quasi-central bank that could sway the Kingdom or even influence the global economy was a truly great career that could leave their names in history and make them as wealthy as nations!
In comparison, their past perspectives were far too petty.
The United Bank did not even need a physical entity.
It was an unprecedented financial system, a specter named capitalism.
It would permeate every aspect of human economic life. Even if all its branches were destroyed and all its bankers were hanged, as long as the idea existed, it could be reborn from the ashes.
In the past, if the King owed money, he could renege on the debt or even physically eliminate the creditor.
But the United Bank was different. As a behemoth playing the role of a quasi-central bank, it was closely linked to the economic lifeline of the entire Kingdom; they would prosper or suffer together.
Whether it was the Sword-Bearing Nobles or the King, if they wanted to make an enemy of the United Bank, they were essentially making an enemy of the entire nation’s economic order.
Because by then, even the livelihoods of ordinary people might be closely tied to bank credit.
If anyone dared to touch everyone’s “wallets,” the Laval House wouldn’t even need to lift a finger; countless people with vested interests would tear them to pieces.
If the King nominally controlled the nation, the Crown Prince controlled military power, and the Princess influenced administrative power, then the Laval House was about to control the voice of public opinion through newspapers and influence the financial lifeline through the United Bank.
In a sense, Bernard was no longer an ordinary Viscount at this moment, but had quietly become a pivotal player behind the scenes on the Kingdom’s chessboard.
It was just that, aside from their core circle, few people in the outside world realized how Bernard would shape the new future of the Kingdom.
The Old City District renovation project was moving forward with great fervor.
Sharp-eyed bankers and Robe Nobility had already invested heavily, intending to turn this land of revival into a new commercial and residential center.
The Upper City was certainly prosperous, but they were tired of the heavy shackles of royal power and craved a freer, more dynamic environment.
The Lower City, historically, had been under Church Sanctuary for a long time, making it difficult for royal power and Sword-Bearing Nobles to interfere directly.
Only here could they truly breathe the air of freedom.
When Bernard candidly informed everyone that the Laval House had already obtained the protection of the Church, everyone present gasped.
In history, no noble had ever been able to make the Church break protocol to provide such a level of support. The Laval House was the first!
At the same time, the attending Robe Nobility also knew that the “Dawn’s Children” and the “Workers’ Patrol” led by Allen had already permeated the grassroots of the Lower City until it was as solid as iron.
Once a violent conflict occurred, the King’s army would likely find it impossible to move a single step through the complex barricades and street fighting.
Even if the enemy deployed Crestbearers, they could at least buy precious time to relocate.
As long as they kept their lives and had the United Bank as a backup, they would always have a chance to make a comeback.
They even grew much more indifferent to the consequences of possibly losing their noble titles — in the future, the right to speak in this country would be held by “industrious and brave” “emerging bourgeoisie” like them, who created actual wealth.
Nobles? They were nothing more than antiques about to be swept into the dustbin of history.
The headquarters of the United Bank would be located in the revived Old City District, which was near the docks and had convenient transportation.
Before long, even foreign merchants and people of insight would realize what the United Bank meant and join this pioneering cause one after another.