Lübeck Times

The chubby Baron and Uncle Muller discussed among themselves before ultimately agreeing to let Edward take the lead and manage the operations, with 20% of the profits stipulated in the contract, to be drafted by their lawyer.

With the decision made, Edward breathed a sigh of relief. His three thousand gold coins were nothing compared to these two, and it was better to trade his management skills for a 20% share of the profits.

"The night is deep, so tomorrow morning, Uncle and little Baron will go out to buy all the cannonballs and rent sufficient warehouses for storage. This task is yours," Edward ordered.

He knew that with neither connections nor enough capital, he wouldn't be able to buy the cannonballs himself, but Uncle Muller and the little Baron surely could.

"I'll go and remodel my headquarters, converting the first floor into a trading post, using the cannonballs in the inventory as contract collateral and transforming them into paper cannonballs for easier trading."

Uncle Muller was surprised. "Paper cannonballs? What is this new concept?"

Edward smiled, knowing he had unveiled one of his signature tricks.

"Paper cannonballs? Not futures, but physical commodities. You know about paper gold, right? Paper cannonballs are the same. Never mind, just know that the cannonballs in the warehouse will be turned into paper. It's all to make transactions easier."

"I still don't understand, how can cannonballs become paper?" the little Baron asked.

"Paper is a wonderful thing. It can hold writing, so it can become money, cannonballs, gold, anything really. Eventually, you'll understand," Edward replied cryptically.

Uncle Muller shook his head in admiration. "This is Edward's magic. If I hadn't seen it myself during the Beer War, I wouldn't have believed it. A few simple contracts can dominate and control the future production of entire breweries."

"Is this how you find high-level buyers? For easier trading… I think I understand now," the Baron muttered.

"No, you don't quite get it. Finance is a sophisticated science. Perhaps, if you watch me operate, you'll begin to grasp it. But then again, maybe not. No worries though, I'm your boss; I'll make sure you profit."

With the knowing expression of an experienced man, Uncle Muller advised the little Baron, "Just sit back and enjoy the magic. Edward's operations, no matter how many times you watch, are nothing short of wizardry."

"Alright, boss. I'll enjoy your magical operations," the little Baron replied enthusiastically.

...

The next day, Edward assigned Tools 2 through 5—four of his helpers—to set up the first floor of their headquarters.

A sign for the Lübeck Stock Exchange was hung at the entrance.

Edward himself went out again, seeking an appropriate office space.

He had a new venture in mind: to start a newspaper.

Why did the Jewish community dominate the financial sector and, next, the media?

Because finance and media are complementary industries.

Of course, in the era of artists, the media was controlled by them. Media and the military are also interlinked.

Thus, it's clear how vital the media is in the strategic landscape of human society. Those who control it—like Murdoch or Zuckerberg—are crowned as the "uncrowned kings."

Edward planned to set up a newspaper, and it wouldn't be costly.

War reports about Lübeck and Denmark, daily charts of paper cannonballs, serialized novels, and advertising space would fill the pages.

Each newspaper would sell for a single copper coin.

Moreover, there would be market analysts offering opinions on the war's progress and future trends of the paper cannonballs—perfect for Edward to manipulate prices.

Control of the public's mind is key. The power of the Jews lies in their ability to spread favorable information and influence the masses.

Thus, whatever they want to rise will rise, and whatever they want to fall will fall, with global assets under their sway.

Of course, their ratings agencies have always kept their integrity intact. Were they to lose trust, the market would treat their agencies as contrarian indicators.

Edward was determined to walk the path the Jews had paved, leaving them no room to maneuver.

In this life, the one who establishes the Federal Reserve and controls global assets would be Edward.

Why? Simply because Edward was born earlier—after all, it's still only 1370.

The game of capitalism had just begun, and Edward was essentially a beta tester.

...

Edward found a small building on the second ring road of Lübeck, a somewhat obscure location near the city walls.

The building was three stories tall and rented for a mere 100 gold coins for three months—just one-fifth of the price of the central city office.

Edward paid the rent and directed his helpers to start recruiting educated workers for the new newspaper.

The newspaper would be called "Lübeck Times."

To his surprise, Edward discovered that the printing press had not yet been invented in this era.

He was left with no choice but to use movable type printing.

However, movable type was controlled by the church, so Edward would have to deal with them...

The newspaper would definitely be launched, with the first two floors dedicated to the printing workshop and the third floor for editorial work.

Edward organized everything, assigning the tasks to his helpers.

The helpers: ...

"The boss speaks, and we run ourselves ragged."

It was the busiest time for Edward. Thankfully, he had brought his team with him, or he would have been overwhelmed.

But fate had smiled upon him. A massive opportunity had appeared.

To his surprise, the stock exchange was established before the bank, something that Edward had not anticipated.

However, with the cannonballs as reserves, Edward easily turned them into securities.

If he didn't establish the stock exchange now, it would be a missed opportunity for a liberal arts time traveler.

A traveler from the sciences might bring steam engines and single-handedly build an industrial system.

But a liberal arts traveler? They position themselves to seize the fortune of one country after another.

Some became British civil servants, others became German Emperor William III (the son of the last emperor, William II).

And Edward had made it his life's mission to build the Federal Reserve from scratch.

...

Later that evening, Edward returned to the Night Pearl Tavern.

The three big bosses were exhausted.

Though the tasks had all been delegated to their subordinates, they still felt drained from their luxury.

Edward began, "Let's review everyone's progress today."

Reports came in from all sides.

Edward shared updates on his stock exchange and newspaper ventures.

Things had gone smoothly for Muller and the little Baron, but Muller was furious.

It turned out that many in high society had already learned of the impending war between Denmark and Lübeck.

So, it wasn't just the little Baron and Muller stockpiling cannonballs.

Muller bellowed, "Traitors! Germany has no hope! Even I am a traitor!"

Muller was truly shocked to learn that many Hansa merchants, who normally appeared as gentlemen, had resorted to hoarding cannonballs and speculating on supplies during this time of national crisis.

Edward reassured him, "Don't worry. They're just opportunists. We'll outbid them later, and those cannonballs will come back to us. Let them make a little money."

The little Baron asked curiously, "Are we going to collect all the goods?"

Edward smiled, "Yes, the secret of finance is having both money and goods. Only then can we manipulate prices. We must make sure the price is contrary to what most people think, so when they lose, we profit."

"When most people are bullish, we will be bearish?" the Baron asked.

"Not yet. It's too early for that. Right now, everyone is naturally bullish, and we are too. But when the price reaches a high, divergence will form."

"Both views are valid. The war has started, so the bullish view makes sense. But prices are already high, so the bearish view is also rational. That's when we act."

"If more people are bullish, we push the price down. If more people are bearish, we push it up. Either way, the others are wrong, and we are right."

Muller's eyes widened, "You can do it like that? Even I, who runs casinos, can't match your moves!"

"There's more fun to come. Once we establish credibility, we can issue ten times more paper cannonballs than the reserves we hold. If we have 230,000 gold coins' worth of real cannonballs, we can issue 2.3 million gold coins in paper cannonballs."

"How... how do we operate this?" the Baron asked, still stunned.

"Just watch me. First, make sure the opponent is using 10x leverage, and we can press the price down endlessly, forcing them to liquidate."

"Too... too black-hearted!" the Baron gasped.

"Meanwhile, we maintain contact with Lübeck's navy. The real cannonballs can't stay in the warehouse forever. They must go to the front lines to protect Lübeck, securing support from the navy."

"Ah, so you are patriotic? I thought you didn't care for your country."

"Of course, I love my country more than anyone else. But we need the market to believe we have 230,000 gold coins' worth of real cannonballs sitting in the warehouse. That way, we can print paper cannonballs and sell them to speculators."

"Understood, black-box operations."

"God, you are my god. How did you come up with this operation?"

"I learned it all from the Federal Reserve, it's nothing special."

"What's the Federal Reserve?"

"Never mind..."