Chapter 352 - 252: Cheap Silver Coin

With that, Nikiforos Brinyos bowed politely to Eric and the other Norman Knights, his bearing quite proper and rather flattering.

"At least ten times the compensation—one hundred thousand Gold Coins." Belem’s interest was piqued at the mention of money.

"No, no, no. I think it should be at least two hundred thousand Gold Coins." Brinyos smiled and shook his head. "In addition to this well-deserved compensation, I believe His Majesty the Emperor will also bestow a generous reward upon the devout Crusader Soldiers, for this is a gift not only to the Crusaders, but to God as well."

Just then, a Silver Coin flew toward Brinyos, who instinctively caught it.

"Are you satisfied with this Silver Coin?" Eric asked, looking at Brinyos.

"Satisfied? Of course, I’m satisfied," Brinyos replied instinctively.

It was an English silver penny.

"Yes, of course you’re satisfied," Eric sneered.

Eric tossed another Silver Coin to him.

This Silver Coin was noticeably lighter, and the bust of an emperor engraved upon it proved it was Byzantine currency.

"And this one? Are you satisfied with it?" Eric asked, staring at Brinyos.

"Satisfied. Of course, I’m satisfied." Brinyos remained unperturbed, smiling as he tucked both Silver Coins into his pocket. "Thank you for your gift, my lord."

Eric laughed as well. He then dismounted and walked toward Brinyos, the distance between them gradually shrinking.

Brinyos grew a little flustered and instinctively took a step back, but he immediately checked himself.

He knew it would put him at a disadvantage.

Soon, Eric was standing right before him. He smiled, tossing the rest of the Byzantine Silver Coins at Brinyos.

"Debasing your currency is a great way to rake in cash. I couldn’t care less how you fleece your own subjects. But to think you can make up the difference with us? Have your brains been poked with a rusty nail, or has the sea breeze blown you stupid?"

After arriving at Vasiliky Port, Eric had been billeted in the outer city, and his men’s commercial activities were restricted to a small area within it.

That district was specifically designated for foreigners. Foreign silver coins were accepted for direct payment, and at first, Eric and his men had marveled at the convenience of Greek commerce. But in less than a week, prices in the outer city began to climb relentlessly.

Today’s incident was just one of many such unpleasant episodes.

What Eric hadn’t expected was that the ones to finally erupt in violence weren’t the Normans, but this group of Greek vendors who had been constantly raising their prices.

While Eric was leading his Knights to drive back the Greek mob just moments ago, some of his Attendants had searched the badly beaten civilians for money. That was when Eric discovered several Byzantine Silver Coins with frighteningly low silver content.

This meant the Greek Empire was suffering from severe currency devaluation.

It was natural for currency devaluation to cause prices to rise. However, Eric and his men weren’t using Greek silver. They were using currency minted in England and Normandy, whose silver content was quite stable.

Yet these Greek vendors, who catered specifically to foreigners, were unscrupulously hiking their prices anyway.

"My lord, raising prices is of course immoral. The greed of the city’s rabble knows no bounds. If you knew them better, you’d know the citizens of Constantinople are unparalleled in this. They would consider replacing an Emperor simply because the free bread on his coronation day was smaller than his predecessor’s," Brinyos said with a smile and a shrug.

"Is that so? It sounds like your Empire is still stuck in the age of city-states, that Vasiliky, like the cities of Northern Italy, has become completely autonomous.

Anyone who didn’t know better might think all these bureaucrats in your city are just decorations.

Especially this one here, Lord Tatikios, the Governor appointed by the Emperor to oversee this region, the city administrator of Vasiliky.

I have an excellent memory, Brinyos. You had better make damn sure your Emperor can offer a high enough price to ransom his life.

I am not as easily fooled as others.

"If the Gold and Silver Coins we receive have a precious metal content as low as this one, we will make sure the percentage of Tatikios’s body that remains intact is just as low." Eric tugged on Brinyos’s purple Cloak, then patted the man’s cheek. "Oh, and by the way, that goes for you, too."

Brinyos was momentarily speechless and looked rather awkward. In the end, he could only bow to Eric and say in Latin, "*Parce mihi, metu contineo, ne amplius me terreatis.*"

"What’s that mean?" Belem asked Eric.

Belem could tell it was Latin, but he didn’t know what it meant.

"It means you’re very handsome. He admires you a great deal," Eric said, patting Belem’s shoulder.

"He’s got good taste." Belem crossed his arms and said to Brinyos, "You’re not bad yourself. You’ve got at least seventy or eighty percent of my looks."

"Your praise delights me. Allow me to emphasize that your Charm is unparalleled. It stems not merely from your appearance, but from your entire bearing. You are like Achilles from the *Iliad*. I believe the battlefield is your finest stage, for your Courage and grace are unmatched. I only wish to learn a thing or two from you," Brinyos said with a smile, bowing to Belem.