Chapter 360 Worthless Treasure
Hua Chong actually made a discovery in the cabin of the Zoman. He found more than a dozen boxes of silver coins. These were large boxes. One cubic meter of silver weighs about ten tons, so a dozen boxes meant...
Hundreds of tons of silver?
Since there is no oxygen at the bottom of the Black Sea, these silver coins still sparkle and look very tempting after such a long time.
"Is this Doroshenko's treasure?" Hua Chong's eyes lit up.
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "I can't be sure, but I suspect it's very likely. After all, currency is the best wealth in wartime. What's that saying? Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times! Well, no need to look, this is Doroshenko's treasure!"
"Huh? Boss, how did you know?" Hua Chong asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng pointed at the monitor and said, "See this? On that undamaged box, that's Doroshenko's family crest. We have this information in the offline room. Didn't you take a closer look?"
Hua Chong was excited after hearing this: "Boss! We really made it!"
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "Bullshit!"
Hua Chong then remembered: "Oh, our mission is to find the coordinates of this ship. Salvage is the job of the Russians... Boss, can't we just salvage these silver coins ourselves? Anyway, no one will know!"
Duan Bo said, "Hua Chong, don't give us such stupid ideas. Who knows how many satellites are watching us from the sky? If we salvage it with such fanfare, it would be troublesome if Russia found out! Don't do anything either. Leave the ship as it is. Don't make things difficult for the boss! Don't forget to back up the video footage."
Hua Chong was gloomy after hearing this. "Sigh, we found such a huge fortune but can't salvage it. Boss, how could you agree to the Russians' crappy terms? Finding a shipwreck is no fun compared to salvaging it ourselves. Salvaging all this silver would cost at least 50 million euros! Even if the purity is high, it could be worth hundreds of millions! Sigh. How much money have we missed out on!"
Xiao Peng laughed after hearing this. "Hua Chong, when I said 'bullshit', I didn't mean we're making less money. It's because these things are worthless. These are all Ike silver coins from before 1690! Poor Doroshenko. He was a hetman his whole life, and all he got is this! Even more pitiful are Russia and Turkey, who are fixated on this garbage."
Hua Chong and Duan Bo asked curiously, "Boss, what does this mean?"
Xiao Peng explained to the two, "In 1672, after the Ottomans defeated the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, they completely controlled the Balkan Peninsula and became the veritable little overlord of Eastern Europe. However, this resulted in them facing off against the Russian Empire. Russia and the Ottomans fought fiercely to defend their Baltic Sea outlets. At that time, the Ukrainian regional government was a Hetman regime, divided by the Dnieper River into the Left Bank Hetmanate and the Right Bank Hetmanate. Every once in a while, a Grand Hetman was elected to lead the left and right banks. These two Hetman regimes were also very interesting. They lived in harmony in normal times, but united in foreign policy when faced with difficulties. Therefore, Ukraine has never been annexed by Russia or the Ottomans."
"Then why did Doroshenko run away with the money?" Duan Bo asked.
"In 1674, it was time for the Hetman election again. The result of this election was that the Hetman of the Left Bank would be elected as the Grand Hetman. However, this result angered the Right Bank Hetman Doroshenko at the time, because the land on the right bank of the Dnieper River was more fertile and richer than the left bank. The dominant Hetman in the previous decades was the Right Bank. How could he lose the dominant power at this time? So Doroshenko launched an attack on the Left Bank Hetman. The Left Bank Hetman was unable to compete, so he turned to the Russian Empire for help. When Doroshenko knew that the Left Bank Hetman was looking for Russian aid, he also turned to the Ottoman Empire for help. Unfortunately, Doroshenko was captured alive by Russia before the Ottoman Empire had completed its assembly. The Ukrainian Civil War also turned into a one-on-one duel between the two empires of Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In the end, Russia won and the two countries signed the Treaty of Bakhchisarai. As a result, the two countries divided Ukraine, the left bank became Russia's, and the right bank became the Ottoman." Xiao Peng explained.
Hua Chong said, "We know this because even though Doroshenko was captured, no one found his wealth. Some say he anticipated failure and moved his family and property away. Now that his wealth has been found, how can you say he's worthless?"
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "Do you remember the devaluation of the Turkish lira a few years ago? Let me tell you, Turkey has always relied on foreign investment to maintain the stability of its currency. When their rule encounters a crisis, the Turkish currency will basically depreciate. This is a glorious tradition. I just told you that this currency is called the silver ik. This currency has been the foundation of the Ottoman Empire from its founding to the 15th century. Its value is quite stable. But..."
At this point, Xiao Peng paused before continuing, "Until the end of the reign of Mocamand II, the one who destroyed the Byzantine Empire. He was incredibly warlike. If he were in China, his posthumous title would definitely be something like 'Martial Emperor.' Due to the sheer volume of war expenditures, the Ottoman Empire's finances began to suffer, and from that point on, the Ottoman iké began to incorporate various base metals. It was also during that period that regions including the Balkans, Persia, Egypt, the Crimea, and North Africa began to mint their own silver coins, and the credibility of the iké plummeted. Although the wise Bayezid II later strengthened the Ottoman Empire, the Ottomans controlled the land routes for East-West trade in Eurasia, forcing Europeans to embark on the Age of Exploration. This, in turn, led to the transport of American silver back to Europe, which could then be traded directly with the East without having to go through the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans faced a severe economic crisis."
Hua Chong clapped his hands and said, "I understand. When faced with an economic crisis, taking money out of people's pockets becomes the best option. Devaluing the currency to deal with the financial crisis can be done by injecting water into the silver coins!"
Xiao Peng nodded. "That's right. Back then, the silver ik was constantly being watered down, until it contained virtually no silver at all. The Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire were engaged in a one-on-one confrontation in Ukraine, which coincided with this 'last period.' They signed the Treaty of Bakhchisaray in 1681, and it wasn't until 1690 that they began minting the new kuruz to replace the ik. With the creation of the kuruz, the ik went from being the Ottoman's primary currency to its smallest. Doroshenko had to pay a price to secure Ottoman protection, but he didn't expect to get such a pile of garbage in return! Hua Chong, do you think we should salvage this ship?"
"What the hell!"
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