Substitute currencies are paper gold and silver, which are equal bills of real gold and silver. People’s trust in them stems from their trust in real gold and silver.
However, credit currency cannot be exchanged for gold and silver. Its value is decoupled from precious metals, and its purchasing power is entirely derived from the country's "commitment".
In this era, the biggest question is whether the country's commitment is enough to make people believe that a pile of paper can replace money, and even for international trading partners to recognize this.
"Your Majesty, maybe you don't have to worry about this," Padrick knew what Gawain was thinking, "We have data and samples. And in my opinion, if we want to issue credit currency, Then maybe now is the best opportunity."
Gawain looked at Padric: "...You mean..."
"You once taught us the subject of the country. concept, so I also know what you are worried about - frankly speaking, the new empire does not have enough prestige and appeal to implement a new currency that is decoupled from precious metals throughout the country, because most of our people do not even have it yet. He has a clear national concept and lacks enough trust in the Government Affairs Office, let alone awe of the 'imperial power', but... you can."
Gao Wen was stunned for a moment, and suddenly couldn't help but want to laugh. : "You are saying that my personal prestige as the founding emperor is enough..."
He stopped in the second half of the sentence before he finished speaking.
Maybe...that's enough.
Because those who had just escaped from Ansu's royal power were still kneeling - even if the Government Affairs Office passed laws to force their bodies to stand up, their knees in their hearts were still nailed to the ground.
They may not understand what "the motherland" is, they may not understand the concept of the Government Affairs Office, and they may not understand the power of the country, but from the bottom of their hearts they still unconditionally revere the "monarch" and accompany them. With unconditional obedience.
This blind and backward status quo has always been regarded by Gawain as the biggest obstacle to building a new order, but if we change our thinking... this is actually a situation worth leveraging.
“Your Majesty, your prestige and appeal are stronger than you imagine. This is not only because you established this empire, obtained the oath of all nobles, and are now the co-owner of all Cecil citizens. , and because of the almost deified propaganda of the first generation of pioneers in the past seven hundred years," Padrick further said, "In order to maintain the stability of his own status, and also to strengthen the 'legal basis of noble blood', for seven hundred years, , every Anzu king and noble is sparing no effort to strengthen the glorious image of the first pioneers, and this has a particularly huge impact on the ordinary people. Even among some of the more superstitious and ignorant people, your resurrection is regarded as a kind of god. Looking at it from the perspective of traces, among this group of people, you have a very special and unrepeatable appeal.
"Your Majesty, I know that you have been working hard to change this ignorant and backward situation. You hope. Replace the old monarchy and feudal system with the Government Affairs Office and the concept of the country, allowing the people toFrom a blindly obedient 'untouchable' to a glorious and dignified 'citizen', this is not something that happens overnight. Since it cannot be accomplished overnight, we might as well make some use of it before the final goal is achieved without affecting the construction process. Let’s take a look at this situation. "
Gawain looked into Padric's burning eyes, and after a slight pause he said in a deep voice: "There is a certain truth - but we must also respect the laws of nature. Maybe my prestige and appeal are enough to forcefully promote the new currency, but nationwide implementation still risks causing chaos. How do you plan on this? "
"Promote gradually," Padrick said immediately. Apparently he had been thinking about this answer for a long time. "First promote it in the three regions of the South and the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain." Among the three areas, the southern border is the most stable and the transformation has been relatively successful. The public recognizes the Government Affairs Office and the demonstration role of the pilot, so there will be no problem in implementing the new currency; the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain is undergoing post-disaster reconstruction, which is equivalent to being in ruins In establishing a new order, there will be almost no problems with the old forces, and all commercial activities in the eastern part of the plains will be carried out around the joint reconstruction team. Under the complete control of the Government Affairs Department, each pioneering team can just build a complete and brand-new based on the new currency. Economic structure; finally, the East Territory... The East Territory is the riskiest place among the three regions, because there are still a considerable number of old nobles left, and the old currency system is still very stable, but no matter what, the East Territory must be broken. ”
Gawain nodded slightly. Although Padric did not continue speaking, he knew the reason in his heart:
Due to the destruction of the Eastern Legion, the Luolun family disappeared, and Changfeng The pressure on the fortress has increased, and the Eastern Territory... has been essentially under full military control by Cecil's Legion. The strong control and the complete surrender of the old nobles have made the East Territory less difficult to break than the Northern Territory and the Western Territory.
Now is the best time to completely transform the Eastern Territory, further undermine the influence of the old nobles in the Eastern Territory, and implement the new currency.
After the Eastern Territory is broken, it will become the reference for the Northern Territory and the Western Territory. The best "sample" will also become the best "anchor" for further promoting the new currency.
"After completing this step, we will gradually carry out currency reform in the western and northern territories," Padre said. Ke went on to say, "The people will get a buffer period, and the nobles will also have time to recognize the reality. Coupled with the demonstration role played by the three regions, the resistance that the currency reform may encounter will be minimized. At the same time, because of the reference experience , the possibility of chaos in these two areas will also be greatly reduced.
"While the empire is carrying out currency reform, our commercial settlements with the Ogure tribe and the northern countries will still be conducted in gold and silver. Considering the particularity of credit currency, our international It will be more difficult for business partners to accept new currencies, so we will maintain this method of gold and silver settlement for a long time, even until a long time after the empire fully popularizes credit currency. After that, we The empire's strong industrial strength and trade scale will be used to gradually establish the credit of the new currency..."
"You can put it more bluntly," Gawain looked into Padric's eyes, "let the surrounding countries become dependent on our industrial products, and let the entire settlement area uniformly implement Cecil Standards, let our alchemy potions, rune substrates and basic industrial facilities become the basis for the social operation of the entire settlement area, and then we started to settle with new currencies. In this process, we will also maintain the strongest military strength within the settlement area to ensure that everything is 'controllable'. "
"If it were Typhon, they would definitely take advantage of this process to seize the wealth of half the continent. This is their usual style..." Padrick couldn't help but sigh, "Exchanging paper for money , how crazy. ”
“But this will also focus all the risks and payment pressure on yourself, and turn all the countries that are being ‘sheared’ into your own enemies. Once those ‘traps’ break out, you will Every piece of gold and silver captured will be turned into a 'bomb' like Rebecca's crystal." Gawain shook his head, "We want to make the whole world stronger, instead of standing alone in ruins, we must always remember This. "
Padrick lowered his head with a serious expression: "Yes, Your Majesty. "
"Then there is another question," Gawain took a long breath, "What do we use to calibrate the purchasing power of currency? ”
The purchasing power of substitute currency comes from the exact gold and silver. Gold and silver are valuable, so the purchasing power of substitute currency is also easy to measure, while credit currency requires an artificially specified “anchor”. This anchor point is very critical.
In short, it is to find a commodity with a relatively stable value, indispensable in social activities and widely used, and then the country will come forward to stipulate a basic unit. How many such goods can money buy?
In the initial stage of issuing credit currency, an anchor point must be used to define its purchasing power. "Padrick said.
"Food? "Gawain frowned slightly, "It's not very suitable as an anchor..."
"But we can't find a more suitable one," Padric said, "I initially considered using the demon The energy value of the net serves as an anchor point, but magic is ubiquitous energy in nature, and even extraordinary people can gather magic power with their own power. As an energy gathering device, the energy generated by the magic net does not have the ability to serve as an anchor point. Qualifications, and various forms of magic materials cannot be regarded as 'necessary commodities'. In many areas, especially in more closed areas, people can even stay away from magic creations for life, but only food... In any era and any area They are all necessities, and all we have to do is maintain their price stability. "
"...In the final analysis, food is the key link," Gawain pondered for a long time, sighing as if talking to himself, "Then let's tentatively decide on this plan, and the specific statistical calculations will be made by You do it. ”
“Yes, Your Majesty. ”
After taking a deep breath, Gawain feltHis fast-moving mind finally cooled down.
Even though this special and crucial negotiation has ended here, as the starting point for currency reform, what he and Padrick discussed is still only a superficial framework. I am afraid that more people and more time will be needed to complete the trimming and specific application, but no matter what, Gawain is relieved to have successfully taken this first step.
After heaving a sigh of relief, his expression relaxed a lot. His eyes returned to the desk and glanced at the "banknotes".
"How does the current anti-counterfeiting technology perform?" he asked casually.
“The special ink formula has a very good effect,” Padrick bowed slightly. “According to Master Kamel’s suggestion, we mixed a small amount of special mixed crystal dust into the ink. Under strong sunlight, or when near a magic obelisk, banknotes can release a specific glowing effect. In addition, we also obtained Typhon banknotes, and their anti-counterfeiting methods are also worthy of reference - their. The banknotes are made of specially treated fabric, with two magic threads mixed into the base material. The threads are intricately woven and can show specific shadow patterns when making coins. Combining technology."
"No matter how sophisticated the anti-counterfeiting measures are, there will always be people who take risks," Gao Wen nodded. "In addition to strict laws and penalties, it is also important for anti-counterfeiting technology to be constantly updated. As much as possible, make sure that the cost of most counterfeitings is much higher than the benefits of their counterfeiting. "As you say," Padrick said, "in fact if one If a great magician concentrates on counterfeiting currency, he can completely create counterfeit currency that can be hidden from everyone, but according to our calculations, the energy expended by most magicians of this level in the process of counterfeiting banknotes can make them Earning three times more money in a legitimate industry - so a sane transcendent is unlikely to do such a thankless thing, whereas if they built a team and secretly purchased equipment and materials for mass production, they would. It is also thankless to greatly increase the risk of exposure of criminal behavior. At this stage, our anti-counterfeiting ideas are basically based on this logic." Gao Wen hummed, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face. Meaning: "One more thing... let our banknotes be as beautiful as possible."
"Of course," Padrick also smiled, "the beautiful currency itself is a display of technical strength, although they They no longer represent real money...but at least people can still feel good when they get them."
Padrick left.
Gawain turned around and glanced at Amber, who was standing behind him.
Unsurprisingly, the half-elf lady (at least she looked like a half-elf) was wandering in a daze, and her eyes had been blank for who knows how long.
But as soon as Gawain turned his attention, the goose became excited.She suddenly woke up and looked at Gawain with wide eyes: "Hey, have you finally finished talking?"
She has the ability to shut down her brain at any time and end fishing at any time and return to work. It's really a masterpiece.
I don’t know how he practiced it...
"Oh my god, I can’t understand your brains anymore, especially yours," Amber confirmed Padre After Kezhen left, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then put his hands on his hips and shouted loudly, "I really didn't know that there were so many secrets hidden in these 'banknotes'... That Padrick is a talent, there are very few It’s so exciting to see someone who can discuss this with you passionately..."
"Padrick is indeed a talent, far more outstanding than I imagined. I just told him some concepts before. , he can actually understand and apply it to this extent. I think there are probably not many people who can do this." Gawain glanced at Amber with a half-smile, "But you can actually see that there are so many ways. ...This shows that you understand a lot of things."
"I don't understand!" Amber almost jumped up and screamed, "Don't lie to me..."
"Don't be nervous, this part of the work is not yours to begin with," Gawain shook his head helplessly, "I just want to say that you collected intelligence about the Kingdom of Gaoling and the Silver Empire in a timely manner. Keep your attention in that direction - because the Typhonians are also paying attention in the same direction."
"Oh, don't worry, leave this to me," Amber patted her chest, showing a proud look, "Although. There is no way to send Military Intelligence agents to such distant places now, but intelligence collection is not just about espionage. As long as there is information exchange between the north and the south of the mainland, there will always be intelligence."
Listen. Amber answered confidently, Gawain smiled slightly and slowly looked out the window.
Snowflakes are falling in the leaden sky.