After learning that the person causing him trouble was Littlefinger, Tob Mott said nothing, his face turning strange. He neither asked Lynd to intercede with the Prime Minister nor requested Lynd to help him resolve the issues with Littlefinger. It seemed that he was at fault in this matter, and the offense he committed must have been significant.
Lynd looked at the blacksmith before him and asked in a deep voice, "I don't like getting involved in other people's troubles, nor do I like bringing other people's troubles into my territory. You are about to come with me to Summerhall, and I hope you can arrive cleanly. Now tell me, why did Ser Petyr Baelish use his connections at the Prime Minister's Office to deal with you?"
Tob Mott's face was somewhat grim, as if he didn't want to speak, and he secretly glanced at Varys, hoping Varys would speak for him.
Varys frowned and said sternly, "Don't look at me. You'd best be honest, otherwise, you'll offend more than just Ser Petyr Baelish and the powerful figures of the Prime Minister's Office."
Seeing this situation, Tob Mott could only explain how he had offended Petyr Baelish. After hearing his account, Lynd couldn't help but re-examine the man. He suddenly felt that this man was somewhat wasted as a blacksmith, and perhaps after returning to Summerhall, he shouldn't be placed in the position of Chief Craftsman, but rather in another department.
The reason the blacksmith offended Littlefinger was simple: he defrauded Littlefinger of money, not once, but three times. The three amounts combined totaled nearly two thousand Gold Dragons, and what was even more remarkable was that the method the blacksmith used to defraud Littlefinger was very similar to the classic Ponzi scheme.
Although Tob Mott's creation of the armor and Greatsword for himself was done in secret, many interested parties knew about it, and Littlefinger was one of them.
Furthermore, he also saw Tob Mott's potential and wanted to invest in Tob Mott's blacksmith shop, actually intending to find an opportunity to swallow the blacksmith shop and make Tob Mott his exclusive blacksmith.
Although Tob Mott did not see through Littlefinger's intentions, he came up with another way to get something for nothing: an Ice and Fire World version of the Ponzi scheme.
He claimed that he could use connections in Kohor to buy some Valyrian steel scraps. Although they were just scraps, if the quantity was large enough, they could still be melted down and forged into daggers or ornaments. However, a large sum of money was needed for the initial investment, with a huge return rate later on.
Because he had a good reputation from forging armor and weapons for Lynd, no one would suspect him, including Littlefinger, who invested a sum of money and quickly saw a return.
So afterwards, he invested two more sums of money, and after receiving another return, when waiting for the third return, he was informed that the ship transporting the goods had encountered pirates, and all investments were lost.
At this time, Littlefinger still didn't suspect that Tob Mott had defrauded him of his money, thinking that he had genuinely encountered pirates. He even sent people to investigate the matter, to see if there was a way to redeem the goods, but the investigation revealed that there was no such ship at all, and even the previous two ships didn't exist. This immediately made him realize that he had been scammed.
This led to his actions of using connections with the Prime Minister's Office and the Gold Cloaks to retaliate against Tob Mott. Because he himself never directly appeared from beginning to end, everything was done in the name of the Prime Minister's Office, so even if something happened to Tob Mott in the end, it would not involve him, but only fall on the Prime Minister's Office.
From the current situation, it seems that Littlefinger not only wants to get back the money he was cheated out of, but probably has other intentions as well.
To be honest, due to various information from his previous life, Lynd had always considered Littlefinger a person of extraordinary wisdom, and also one of the people he most feared in this world. He had even considered that if Littlefinger dared to scheme against him, he would directly act against Littlefinger without hesitation, completely crushing him and giving him no chance to employ his tricks.
But now, after listening to the blacksmith's narration, he suddenly wondered if his previous apprehension towards Littlefinger had been somewhat excessive.
However, he did not truly underestimate Littlefinger because of this. As the saying goes, even a good horse can stumble. No matter how formidable Littlefinger was, it was impossible for him to be infallible. Being deceived once or twice was not enough to prove that he was not smart enough.
"This method of making money is simple; you don't have to do anything, and a lot of money is delivered into your hands. You didn't just defraud Petyr Baelish, did you?" Lynd stared at the blacksmith with a serious expression, questioning him.
Tob Mott was silent for a moment, then nodded, and then listed a dozen names. Without exception, these people were all powerful figures in King's Landing.
After hearing this long list of victims, Lynd couldn't help but sit down in his chair, stroking his forehead, and then, staring at Varys, he said, "You knew, you knew everything, didn't you?"
Varys nodded and said, "Yes, my lord, I knew everything, but it was after the fact. It was already too late, and I couldn't save him."
Lynd asked in a deep voice, "What about your little birds? Didn't your little birds discover this matter?"
Varys shrugged and said helplessly, "My little birds can only help me keep an eye on things I'm interested in, and making money is one of the things I'm least interested in, just like women are to me."
Lynd turned to look at Tob Mott, who had completely lowered his head, looking as if he was awaiting judgment. What he most wanted to do now was to leave directly, then announce to the public that he had no connection with Tob Mott, and let him be tormented to death by these creditors.
But doing so wouldn't solve the problem, because the blacksmith was acting entirely in his name. Even if he were to withdraw now and state that he had no connection with the blacksmith, people would still attribute this matter to him, not to mention that he had already admitted to the Gold Cloaks of the Gold Cloaks that the blacksmith was his Chief Craftsman.
"Varys, are you scheming against me?" Lynd thought of the reason he came here, then looked coldly at Varys, filled with suspicion about Varys's intentions. In his opinion, Varys's timing in involving Lynd in this matter had ulterior motives.
"Of course not." Varys shook his head, flatly denying it. "Even without me, if something happened to Tob Mott, wouldn't you still step in to save him?"
Although Varys spoke so decisively and sincerely, Lynd did not believe a single word he said.
He always believed that Varys's scheming was definitely involved in today's matter, and as for its purpose, he was temporarily unclear.
However, Varys was right about one thing: even without him, if something happened to Tob Mott, Lynd would still have to step in and save him.
Because Tob Mott is, if not the only one, then certainly one of the few people on the Westeros continent today who understands the Valyrian steel forging technique. Although Lynd already possesses the Lost Knight's Greatsword, he might need Valyrian steel forging skills again sometime in the future, for example, now for forging Ice Dragon Rune necklaces for the giants.
Moreover, it is not difficult to see from the fallen knight armor on him that Tob Mott, in addition to his Valyrian steel forging skills, is also extremely proficient in forging other steel weapons and armor, truly a master.
His forces happened to need such a master, specifically to forge and design the armor and weapons required by the army, because in his plan, unifying the army's equipment was a key task he needed to complete in the next year or two.
"What about the money? What about all that money?" Lynd said in a deep voice, "Don't tell me it's all gone."
Tob Mott looked at Lynd with a bitter expression, not answering.
"It's really all gone?" Lynd was completely stunned. He stood up from his chair, walked over to Tob Mott, and said in a deep voice, "How much money in total? It should be several thousand Gold Dragons, right? Most nobles wouldn't even spend it all in a year. How did you spend it?"
Feeling the invisible pressure from Lynd, Tob Mott shrank his neck and said softly, "My Lord, I used all that money to buy Tyroshi bonds."
"Tyroshi bonds?" Hearing such a familiar term, Lynd's mind immediately conjured up a financial product from his previous life. He was somewhat surprised that such a thing existed in a medieval-like Ice and Fire World.
"This is a form of national gambling invented by the Tyroshi Grand Prince Quellon Tyroshi over a hundred years ago," Varys explained, assuming Lynd didn't know what bonds were. "Every five years, the Tyroshi Grand Prince issues bonds. These bonds are essentially Tyrosh borrowing money from buyers to develop its city. If everything goes smoothly, the bonds will be repaid with principal and interest after five years. But if a war occurs, it's fine if they win, but if they lose, Tyrosh will refuse to pay the bonds, and ultimately, these bonds will be worthless, like dust on the ground."
"Don't those whose bonds are invalidated object?" Lynd frowned and asked in a deep voice.
Varys explained, "The risks were already stated when the bonds were purchased, so those whose bonds are invalidated can only consider themselves unlucky."
Lynd asked with a solemn expression, "Would Tyrosh intentionally engage in small-scale wars with surrounding city-states when the bonds are nearing maturity, and then intentionally lose the wars to seize all the bond profits, because they don't want to repay the bonds? Or, would they reach an agreement with the rulers of other city-states to put on a show and find an excuse to invalidate the bonds?"
Varys was stunned, looking at Lynd with surprise in his eyes, and said, "You actually thought of this just by listening to me. It's truly incredible." As he spoke, he looked at Tob Mott, who was still bowing his head, and said, "That's why I said it's gambling. What you're betting on is the conscience of the Tyroshi Grand Prince, and the Tyroshi Grand Prince doesn't always find excuses to declare bonds invalid. In fact, bonds are redeemed quite often, at least much more often than they are invalidated, so many people still buy them now. After all, as long as they can be redeemed, there's a tenfold return."
After hearing this, Lynd took a deep breath, sat back in his chair, and tapped his fingers on the armrest, appearing to be deep in thought.
And Tob Mott also felt that this was the moment that would decide his fate. He knew that the only person who could save him now was Lynd. If Lynd abandoned him, he would die without a burial place.
After a long while, Lynd suddenly spoke, "Bring out all the Tyroshi bonds you bought."
Tob Mott hesitated for a moment, immediately understanding that Lynd had decided to save him, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then he quickly ran back upstairs, retrieved the box full of Tyroshi bonds from his room, and returned to Lynd.
"Open it," Lynd commanded.
The blacksmith quickly opened the box.
Inside, rectangular pieces of paper, about the size of a palm, filled the entire box. Lynd casually picked up one and examined it. These things, which looked like paper, were actually a type of animal hide. The patterns on the hide were incredibly exquisite and intricate, comparable to any currency from any country in his previous life. Moreover, these patterns were not printed; they were tattooed stitch by stitch, making them extremely difficult to counterfeit.
"The face value of this bond, converted into the currency of the Seven Kingdoms, should be around two Gold Dragons, and this box contains about three thousand of them." Varys roughly calculated and said, "So you spent nearly six thousand Gold Dragons buying these bonds?"
"It was six thousand five hundred Gold Dragons," the blacksmith honestly answered. "Five hundred Gold Dragons were my savings."
Varys looked at the blacksmith and smiled, "I imagine the Tyroshi Grand Prince must be very pleased to have a buyer like you. In the past few decades, it's been rare for a single individual to spend such a large sum of money on Tyroshi bonds. If you take this box to Tyrosh, you will either be hailed as an honored guest by the Tyroshi nobility, or you will end up dead in the street, and these bonds will disappear."
Tob Mott smiled bitterly, not knowing how to answer, because he also didn't know why he had been so impulsive, continuously buying these bonds, and by the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
Lynd asked in a deep voice, "If these bonds are redeemed with principal and interest after maturity, how much will Tyrosh have to pay?"
"Sixty-five thousand Gold Dragons," Varys replied.
"Ten times that much?" Lynd was stunned and said in a deep voice, "This is clearly not right. Would anyone buy them?"
"Of course someone would buy them, isn't there one right here?" Varys pointed to Tob Mott and said, "That's why I say it's gambling, betting on the conscience of the Tyroshi Grand Prince. And the Tyroshi Grand Prince doesn't always find excuses to declare bonds invalid; in fact, bonds are redeemed quite often, at least much more often than they are invalidated, so many people still buy them now. After all, if they can be redeemed, there's a tenfold return."
Lynd hesitated for a moment and said, "So, this bond might also… after it matures…"
"Impossible." Varys shook his head very decisively, saying, "Because the previous three bonds were all redeemed at ten times their price after maturity, so many people bought bonds this time. My friends also bought quite a few. However, he recently discovered that Tyrosh is deliberately concealing the sales figures of the bonds, and he simply tallied the amount of bonds held by people he knows who bought Tyroshi bonds, and the final figure has already reached over three million Gold Dragons. This doesn't even include individual buyers like Tob Mott. If they are included, the total is at least five million."
"Five million Gold Dragons, which means if they redeem the bonds, they'll have to pay out fifty million Gold Dragons." Lynd couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Can the entire Tyrosh be sold for fifty million Gold Dragons?"
Varys feigned contemplation and said, "Perhaps it could be sold. However, invalidating the bonds would be easier, after all, this isn't their first time doing it."
After hearing Varys's words, Lynd seemed to think of something and fell into deep thought. The blacksmith, in turn, felt nervous again, worried that Lynd would go back on his word.
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