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Chapter XXXIV – Empire State of Mind – Counterblast
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“Meanwhile, the Germans, too, wanted their gold back. But, since most of Germany’s gold was stored in the Federal Bank of New York, Germany had to call on the Fed to ask for its gold. To everyone’s surprise, they were refused.”
Andrew Green shook his head.
Miller took a long drink of water, eyeing him. So … he keeps going on and on about gold. Was this at the root of everything he was doing? Did he have Peter killed over gold? And what about Bette? What was his interest in her? Is it related to gold, too?
“Was there ever a time when someone had a more accurate picture of how much gold existed?” she asked, intent on keeping him talking.
“There was, actually, and it was a long, long time ago,” he answered. “700 years, to be exact.” He swirled the remaining scotch in his glass, observing the golden-hued liquid as it splashed around the heavy crystal tumbler he held.
“In the 14th century, Mansamusa ruler of the Mali empire, presided over the largest resource of gold ever known to date. In today’s money, his gold holdings would have been worth over $400 billion.”
“Wow,” Miller breathe out.
“Yeah. $400 billion. Hard to imagine the scale of such wealth in today’s world, right? But it was a ruthless time. Thousands toiled away in his gold mines. Bandits threatened his vast rule. To preserve the status quo, he maintained a brutal regime, and had many killed off.”
“It’s said that in 1324, he set off on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which was about 4500 miles away from his place. That became one of the epic journeys of recorded history actually. He decided to use this journey to show off his strength and display his wealth. To do that, he had about 24 tons of gold carried by slaves, and ordered that 80 camels carry 300 pounds of gold each. 72000 staff, slaves, and soldiers accompanied him on this journey, across the treacherous sands of Sahara. Many perished in the sandstorms.”
“Along the way, soldiers handed out gold dust to the poor. After 9 months, the caravan reached Cairo. He spent 3 months there and expended so much gold during his stay in Cairo that the value of gold in the Cairo market fell by 25%.”
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I would like for your next story has more passion and romance, I’d like tina bette conquers again and grow your love, thank you for all your stories you’re the best!
Looking forward to the next book. Thanks, enjoyed them all so far.
Thanks for completing this story. Look forward to more.
The end was a long time coming, but the journey was worth the wait !
Thank you for all your time and effort. Thank you for your gift. The one that was given you, and the one you gave to us in return.
…another chapter perhaps…
A trip to bountiful….. ;)
Love the way you put a story together. Looking forward to your next one.
Oh no, this can’t be the end!
I followed it from the beginning till the end and there is so much more to tell.
Thanks for telling this amazing story.
I hope that you can find the time to write another book.
For now, thank you so much!
You deserve applause !!
Thank you for this wonderful gift
that is: Empire State of Mind, do not want
believe that is the end, only one
break, because there are new empires
which must be explored.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart
for having made us travel with Bette and Tina.
A bear hug
ALL STARS.
Thank you so much for this wonderful story, I cant wait for more from you.
Have really enjoyed writing this story and have truly appreciated your thoughts, comments, PMs, ever since “Let It Happen” in the other site, through “Love Soul Heaven Hell,” and “Empire State of Mind.” You’ve played a bigger role in shaping the whole story than you may have realized and have been patient through all the ups and downs and twists and turns. (does anyone remember the near universal consternation concerning Tina cheating in the first book? And the anxiety about having them exposed to mortal danger in a war-zone in the second book? But then I think you all loved the resolution to the problems they had in the first book via Aristophanes. And enjoyed the party scenes in the second and third books.) I know it was a gamble to take the story in the unexpected direction it took in the third book — but I sensed that, as readers, you were looking for more. Any readership that thought I used Plato at just the right moment of a story like this would appreciate a bold story about the last thing one would expect to find here, right? Gold, of all things. So thanks, again, for the challenge, patience, and appreciation.
All props to Jacky and everyone behind the scenes. You ladies, without a doubt, are gold.
Thanks for the journey. Absolutely loved it. I hope there’s more to come, like maybe “Empire of Gold.” I can see infinite possibilities. Please continue to share your talent–it’s off the charts.