Chapter 26: The Crash – 1929
The autumn of 1929 was beautiful in Koningstad. The leaves turned gold along the canals, and the stock market climbed to heights that seemed to defy gravity. Adrian watched the ticker tapes with a gnawing unease that no one else seemed to share.
Professor Bergman entered the royal study one October morning, his face pale. "Your Majesty, the New York markets are collapsing. Panic selling. Margin calls. It looks bad."
Adrian set down his pen. "We have been expecting this. How are our banks positioned?"
Bergman consulted his notes. "Meridian Bank is overexposed to American equities. Van Dyck & Co. has limited exposure—they mostly hold bonds. Stirling Partners is heavily leveraged."
Adrian stood and walked to the window. "Call an emergency meeting of the Imperial Bank. I want all three private banks to report their liquidity by noon. And order the Future Trust to buy gold—not stocks, not bonds. Gold."
By the time the New York Stock Exchange closed on Black Thursday, the damage was done. Billions had been wiped out. But Zeelandia's banks, thanks to Adrian's strict regulations, remained solvent. The Imperial Bank extended emergency credit lines, and the panic was contained.
That evening, Adrian broadcast a rare radio address to the nation. His voice was calm, measured. "My fellow citizens, the world is facing an economic crisis. But Zeelandia is prepared. Our banks are sound. Our currency is strong. Our reserves are full. We will weather this storm together."
The speech steadied the nation. But Adrian knew that the worst was yet to come. The depression would spread, and with it would come desperation, radicalism, and war.
In the weeks that followed, Adrian implemented his counter‑cyclical plan. He launched massive public works projects: dams, power plants, new railways, and a nationwide electrification program. The government hired hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers, paying them wages that kept families fed.
John Maynard Keynes, the British economist, visited Zeelandia in 1932. He toured the public works sites and met with Adrian in the palace.
"Your Majesty," Keynes said, "you have done what I have only theorized. You have spent your way out of a depression."
Adrian smiled. "I had the advantage of a full treasury and a cooperative parliament. But tell me, Mr. Keynes, what do you see in Europe?"
Keynes's face darkened. "Germany is collapsing. The Nazis are rising. Italy is already fascist. The democracies are paralyzed. I fear we are only in the eye of the storm."
Adrian nodded. "Then we must prepare for the next one."
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