"More critically, as a currency based on the credit of the former Soviet government, the master plates for the ruble banknotes are now scattered throughout Europe. If we continue to recognize the old ruble, our risks are too great. Rebuilding and taking over the ruble's credit is also an extremely difficult task, unless governments unite to bail out the old ruble, but..."

Gilderoy Lockhart didn't finish his sentence, a strange expression appearing on his face as he shrugged.

"Let's abandon the ruble. The Russian Federation should have its own currency. A strong and independent Russia doesn't need to keep paying for the laziness and backwardness of the Soviet era. It's time for order to return—"

"Indeed, Mr. Lockhart, we reached an agreement on this point long ago..."

The newly appointed Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia adjusted his glasses, his fingers gently tapping the documents in front of him.

As early as half a year ago, deep commercial cooperation between Destiny Group and the governments of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had already begun. The issuance of a new currency was originally planned for the next year or two.

It was just that the hot money from American and British capital had greatly accelerated the time when the ruble bubble reached its peak.

The middle-aged official knew very well that if it hadn't been for the batch of potatoes from Destiny Group to maintain the ruble exchange rate, the current Russian government would probably be heavily in debt and struggling to import food every day—frankly, with the ruble becoming increasingly weak, the fact that Destiny Group had been able to hold on until now had far exceeded their expectations.

The only thing that still made them hesitate was something that was unrelated to the macro situation but was particularly important.

After pausing for a moment, the middle-aged official glanced at the telephone in the center of the desk. All the discussions in this conference room were transmitted through this dedicated line, without exception, to the Kremlin in Moscow.

"In fact, we don't have much controversy or doubt about your company's proposal to apply for bankruptcy reorganization and merge with the former Soviet Central Bank to form the [gh Russian Central Bank]. Except..."

The middle-aged man searched for words, slowly tapping the wooden table in front of him, and said meaningfully.

"President Yeltsin still has a concern. While the 'redemption coupons' of the potato standard system can allow us to smoothly navigate the gap between the 'old ruble' and the issuance of the 'new currency,' the instantaneous value of the ruble going to zero may be too heavy a price for some hardworking people who have managed to save a little bit of assets."

No politician would yearn for the past glory of the Soviet Union. Destroying the ruble and erasing the traces of that behemoth's existence was something the Russian government would do even without Destiny Group or American bankers.

The change brought about by Destiny Group was just to cover up the process of the ruble becoming worthless paper.

For the politicians who already knew everything, this could be regarded as a sincere gesture of goodwill. Using the time difference of the past six months, the Russian oligarchs had already hoarded huge amounts of assets in advance, waiting to be cashed out.

Compared to those American bankers who eat people without spitting out bones, a company like Destiny that focuses on agriculture is obviously much safer.

Frugal and thrifty? Hardworking people?

Heh—these stupid and greedy Muggle officials—

Gilderoy Lockhart glanced at the official in front of him, dressed in a well-tailored handmade suit, a faint hint of contempt flashing in the depths of his eyes. His smile became even brighter as he took out a pre-prepared document from his pocket.

"Oh, don't worry, everyone. Here are several anonymous international currency exchange permits—holders of these documents can go to the 'cooperative banks' mentioned in the documents and convert their assets into corresponding shares of US dollars and British pounds."

"If you are not in a hurry, it wouldn't be too difficult to add some historical depositor records from the past to the accounting books when the [gh Russian Central Bank] is officially reorganized. If I'm not mistaken, even in this great country, the number of people who are both frugal and have accumulated objective assets shouldn't be too many, right?"

"However, our only request is..."

Lockhart stood up and bowed slightly towards the telephone receiver in the center of the table.

"I hope you can provide assistance as soon as possible and not give Citibank, JPM Bank, and other behemoths too much time to withdraw and respond. At the same time, our group can also provide you with professional tax inspection and audit outsourcing to avoid those shrewd bankers from the United States taking the opportunity to default on loans or even cause some damage..."

Most of the cards had already been played. Apart from potatoes, Destiny Group only had some Muggle currency left in its hands.

According to Eileen's previous sand table deduction process, the Yeltsin government, after dispelling its worries, would have at least a 95% chance of choosing to cooperate with them. The unchanged historical trajectory of later generations had already proven that even when faced with more demanding American capitalists, they would choose to compromise—the current form of cooperation was obviously much better.

A purely financial war victory is meaningless, especially in a negative-sum game.

For Eileen, no matter how terrible the economic losses the Americans or the magical creatures of the Americas suffered, or how much valuable blood-recovering ability they lost, they were all meaningless extras. Her purpose, from beginning to end, was only one thing.

To become the voice of rebuilding the economic and social order in this ruined land when it is most empty.

Unless the Americans or the wizards of the former Soviet Union conjure up potato reserves sufficient to feed billions of people out of thin air, and use US dollars, Galleons, and other currencies to guarantee the tottering ruble at all costs, no one can be her opponent.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, the only difference is the time and form of payment.

Ever since the first "Destiny Group Potato Retail Store" opened in Moscow half a year ago, and the greedy CIS governments and those arrogant foreign capitalists allowed the potato-to-ruble exchange rate to form the closest binding relationship in order to divide the assets of the former Soviet Union, the outcome of this financial war had been determined in advance.

Now... all that remains is a bit of a matter of course profit sharing.

After waiting for a while, a little noise suddenly came from the microphone in the center of the desk, followed by a vigorous and deep male voice. This was the reply from the country's current highest ruler.

Just as Eileen had expected, it was not a difficult choice.

After ensuring that their own property would not suffer losses as a result, and after studying the two proposals in detail once again, the Yeltsin government gave their final answer almost without hesitation:

"Within this week, the old ruble will be completely stopped from redemption and production. According to the advice of relevant economists, the securities market in Russia will be temporarily suspended. The [gh Russian Central Bank] will issue a new currency from today, and each new currency can be exchanged for a specified amount of potatoes at the potato stores jointly controlled by the Russian government and Destiny Group."

"As a central bank independent of the government, the Russian government will use future fiscal tax revenue as collateral to grant the [gh Russian Central Bank] a claim. After purchasing the claim, the bank will issue a corresponding amount of new currency or provide the equivalent amount of potatoes according to actual needs for payment and social circulation..."

"The police system will cooperate with Destiny Group's tax inspection and audit work. Since those greedy bankers have promised high interest rates, they will have to pay the price for it and become Destiny Group's security backing."

"Destiny Group is always a friend of the Russian people. To hell with the Americans!"

————

————

The Goblin Queen's capital war is over, now it's time to go to school obediently~ Gu Ya~ Wuwuwu~

Fat chickens who don't understand can borrow notes from the class representative~