Chapter 572 The Boy's Treasure

The reason why the "Belt Canal" has become such a disgraceful situation is entirely due to the defeat of the Holy Ashan Empire on the battlefield.

The anti-rebellion war launched by the Holy Ashan Empire not only failed to eliminate the Far Eastern Korras regime, which was founded by warlords, but was defeated on the battlefield.

The mobilization slogan in the newspapers also changed from "Eastern Expedition to Suppress Rebellion" to "Defend the Enemy at the Gates of the Country".

In the end, they were unable to defend the country's gates, and were driven straight into the capital by the Far Eastern army, all the way to the gates of the Holy City of Ashan, and were forced to sign a humiliating surrender.

As the key bargaining chip of the armistice agreement, the customs of the Belt Canal and the nearby naval base were leased to the Far Eastern barbarians.

At the same time, the headlines of the major newspapers in the Holy City also became like this:

"The noble Far Eastern Prince Roland arrived in the holy city of Ashan today!"

"Roland promised to bring us an era of peace!"

The former overlord of the Vares world was defeated by the newly rising overlord, and even the capital became the stage for the coronation of the enemy's head of state. This tragic defeat not only caused a huge impact on the imperial political arena, but also directly led to the "death" of the old emperor Charles IV and the reshuffle of the cabinet, and also had a profound impact on the fate of many ordinary people in this country.

The Wayne family is a small boat overturned by the tide of the times.

The story starts seven years ago.

In early October 1620, the Far Eastern rebels declared independence and established a country.

Although the imperial government and the opposition did not think that this small rebellious force could become a climate at this time, the reaction in the securities market was extremely sensitive. Overnight, the price of grain futures soared!

In hindsight, this reaction is not surprising.

The Far East Province has always been the most important granary of the Holy Ashan Empire. The grain shipped to the interior of the empire every year accounts for 30% of the city's commercial grain market.

Now that the Far East rebels have declared independence and blocked transportation, the grain that has just been harvested cannot be shipped to the interior of the empire. The spot price of grain will surely soar, and grain futures will also rise simultaneously.

For ordinary people, it is enough to have such hindsight.

But for securities traders who eat this bowl of rice, hindsight is worthless. Only foresight can bring wealth.

Unfortunately, most practitioners do not have the foresight commensurate with their confidence.

Mr. Adrian Wayne, a well-known securities trader in Binhai City, made the wrong bet this time and sold grain futures contracts with a large sum of money, resulting in a liquidation.

Mr. Wayne not only lost his savings, but also the deposits entrusted to him by customers for financial management, as well as the funds borrowed from multiple banks.

Originally wanted to gamble big, but lost everything and had to sell his property to close the position and pay off the debt.

Overnight, the once wealthy family fell into bankruptcy.

The Waynes dismissed their servants, and the mansion was forced to sell to an elderly lady.

On the morning of the day when the Waynes moved out of the mansion, a boy wandered alone in the garden.

The boy's name was Roger Wayne, who had just turned ten and was the only son of the Waynes.

The sudden change in the family brought a great inner shock to this young master who had been living a life of luxury and surrounded by servants since childhood.

Although he did not fully understand what "bankruptcy" meant, at least he knew that he would have to live a strange and poor life in the future and had to give up many things and privileges that he used to take for granted.

For example, this big house, the beautiful garden, and the dog nicknamed "Bernie" who was following him at the moment.

"Rog, we have to go!"

The mother's crying voice urged at the door.

"Mom, wait a minute, I'm saying goodbye to Bernie!"

The boy hurried to a small wooden house in the garden with a toy box and a hound.

The gardener had been fired and the cabin was vacant.

Roger opened the door and walked to the corner of the wall. He skillfully lifted a board with nails falling off, revealing a hole in the wall.

He put the box containing his favorite toys into the hole in the wall, and then stuffed a letter in it.

In this letter, he expressed his sincere greetings to the person who might find the treasure he left behind in the future, and gave this gift to the other party.

I hope that when the other party plays with these toys, he can also experience the same happiness as him.

The boy closed the board and silently prayed that the treasures he collected would be discovered by a kind-hearted person and cherish these little gifts he left behind.

"Bernie, I'm leaving."

The boy squatted down, hugged the hound tightly, and whispered in the hound's ear with tears in his eyes.

"Bernie, I really want to take you with me, but what can I do..."

"My father went bankrupt and had no money to send me to a private school. I had to go to a boarding school founded by the church. I heard that there were many bad kids from the poorhouse there..."

"If I could take you to school, I wouldn't have to worry about being bullied by bad kids. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in boarding schools."

"When my father sold the house, he sold you as a property to the new owner of the house."

"Yesterday afternoon, I saw the old lady in the living room."

"Mrs. Gallup is the widow of a general. She is very gentle and promised me that she would take good care of you."

The boy kissed his dog's forehead with tears in his eyes.

"Bernie, after I leave, you must remember to take care of the treasures hidden in the hole in the wall for me. Don't let mice get in!"

"Goodbye, Bernie, I wish you happiness!"

The boy hugged the hound for the last time, wiped his tears, and turned away at his mother's impatient urging.

The hound barked and chased out until the gate, watching the young master and his family carrying their suitcases into the carriage. With the sound of rolling wheels, they gradually disappeared from sight.

…

(7 years later)

…

On April 4, 1627, on a bright spring afternoon, a luxurious carriage stopped at the door of the former Wayne family's mansion.

Two maids wearing headscarves and aprons got off the car first with suitcases and parasols, and stood respectfully on both sides of the door.

Then, a fair-skinned, beautiful, and slender blonde girl appeared at the door of the carriage.

The girl wore a snow-white corseted long skirt and a wide-brimmed hat with a veil hanging down. She waved her hand to refuse the maid's help and jumped off the carriage by herself.

Her cat-like agile movements and elegant and vigorous steps all showed that she was not a weak rich lady.

This beautiful and noble lady, 18 years old, named Louise Quinn, just graduated from the Imperial Central University Theological Seminary this spring.

Miss Quinn came to Binhai City this time, in addition to visiting relatives and vacationing, there is another important purpose, which is to receive the inheritance left by her grandmother.

Walking into this mansion, Louise Quinn's eyes revealed a hint of nostalgia.