Alternative currencies are paper-based gold and silver, which are bills of equal value to 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 "commitment" of the state.
In this day and age, the biggest question is whether the promise of the state is enough to convince people that a pile of paper can replace money, and even make it recognized by international trading partners.
"Your Majesty, maybe you don't need to worry about this," Patrick knew what Gawain was thinking, "We have data and samples. And in my opinion, if we want to issue credit currency, it might be best now Opportunity."
Gawain looked at Patrick: "...you mean..."
"You once taught us the concept of a country's subject, so I know what you are worried about—frankly speaking, the new empire does not have enough prestige and appeal to promote a new currency decoupled from precious metals throughout the country, because our large Most of the people don't even have a clear national concept, and they don't have enough trust in the government affairs office, let alone awe of 'imperial power', but... you can."
Gao Wen was stunned for a moment, and suddenly couldn't help but want to laugh: "You mean that my personal prestige as the founding emperor is enough..."
Before he finished speaking, he stopped after the second half of the sentence.
Maybe... that's enough.
Because those who have just got rid of Ansu's royal power are still kneeling now—even though the government affairs department passes laws to force their bodies to stand up, their knees are still nailed to the ground in their hearts.
They may not understand what a "motherland" is, they may not understand the concept of a government office, and they may not understand national power, but they still fear the "monarch" unconditionally from the bottom of their hearts, accompanied by unconditional obedience.
This blind and backward status quo has always been regarded by Gao Wen as the biggest obstacle to the establishment of 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 imagined, not only because you established this empire, obtained the oath of all nobles, and are the co-owner of all the citizens of Cecil today, but also because of the past seven hundred years. The almost deified propaganda of the first generation of pioneers," Padrik further said, "in order to maintain the stability of its own status, and to strengthen the 'legal basis of noble blood', for seven hundred years, any Ansu king and The nobles are sparing no effort to strengthen the glorious image of the first generation of pioneers, and this has a particularly great impact on ordinary people. Even among some superstitious and ignorant people, your resurrection is regarded as a kind of "miracle". 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 to replace the old monarchy and enfeoffment system with the government office and the concept of the country, so that the people will change from blindly obedient 'untouchables' to honorable and dignified people. 'citizen', but this is not something that will happen overnight, and since it will not happen overnight, we might as well take advantage of this situation a little bit before the ultimate goal is achieved, without affecting the construction process."
Gawain looked at Patrick's burning eyes, and after a little hesitation, he said in a deep voice: "There is some truth - but we must also respect the laws of nature. Maybe my prestige and appeal are enough to forcefully promote the new currency, but the nationwide implementation is still There is a risk of chaos, how do you plan on that?"
"Gradually implement," Padrik said immediately, obviously he has been thinking about this answer for a long time, "First of all, promote it in the three regions of the southern border, the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain, and the eastern border. Among these three regions, the southern border is the most stable, and the transformation is also very important." Relatively successful, the public recognized the Office of Government Affairs, coupled with the demonstration role of the pilot, there is no problem in promoting the new currency; the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain is undergoing post-disaster reconstruction, which is tantamount to establishing a new order on the ruins, and there will be almost no problems with the old forces, and All commercial activities in the eastern part of the plain revolve 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 economic structure based on the new currency; the last is the east... The east is three The place with the highest risk in the region, because there are still a considerable number of old nobles in it, and the old currency system is still very stable, but in any case, the Eastern Territory must be broken."
Gawain nodded slightly. Although Padrik didn't continue, he knew the reason in his heart:
Due to the destruction of the East Territory Legion, the disappearance of the Loren family, and the increased pressure on the Changfeng Fortress, the Eastern Territory...has been essentially under full military control by the Cecil Legion, strong control, and the full surrender of the old nobles. Compared with the Western Territory, the difficulty of breaking the game has been reduced to the lowest.
Now is the best time to completely reform the Eastern Realm, further disintegrate the influence of the old nobles in the Eastern Realm, and promote the new currency.
After the East is broken, it will become the best "sample" for the reference of the North and West, and will also become the best "anchor" for further promotion of the new currency.
"After completing this step, we will gradually reform the currency system in the western and northern borders," Padrik continued, "The people will have a buffer period, and the nobles will have time to recognize the reality. As a demonstration, the possible resistance to currency system reform will be minimized, and at the same time, due to the reference experience, the possibility of chaos in these two regions will be greatly reduced.
"While the empire is reforming the currency system, we will still use gold and silver for commercial settlement with the Ogure tribal countries and the northern countries. Considering the special nature of credit currency, our international business partners accept the new currency It will be more difficult, so for a long period of time, we will maintain this method of gold and silver settlement, even for a long time after the empire fully popularizes credit currency. After that, we will use the powerful industrial strength of the empire and the scale of trade to gradually establish the credit of the new currency... ”
"You can put it more bluntly," Gawain looked into Patrick's eyes, "let neighboring countries become dependent on our industrial products, let the entire settlement area implement the Cecil standard uniformly, let our alchemy potions, Rune substrates and basic industrial facilities became the basis for the social operation of the entire settlement area, and then we began to use new currency for settlement. In the process, we will also maintain the most powerful military strength within the settlement area to ensure everything' controllable'."
"If it's Typhon, they will definitely take advantage of this process to seize the wealth of half the continent. This is their usual style..." Patrick couldn't help but sigh, "It's crazy to exchange paper for money."
"But it will also concentrate all the risks and payment pressure on yourself, and turn all the countries that have been 'sheared' into your enemies. Once those 'traps' break out, every gold and silver you grab will be Become a 'bomb' like Rebecca's crystal," Gawain shook his head, "We want to make the whole world stronger, instead of standing alone in the ruins, we must always remember this."
Patrick bowed his head solemnly: "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then there is another question," Gao Wen took a long breath, "What do we use to calibrate the purchasing power of currency?"
The purchasing power of the substitute currency comes from the exact gold and silver. Gold and silver are valuable, so the purchasing power of the substitute currency is easy to measure, but the credit currency needs an artificially specified "anchor point". This anchor point is very critical.
In short, it is to find a commodity that has a relatively stable value, is indispensable in social activities, and is widely used, and then the country will come forward to regulate how much such a commodity can be purchased with a basic unit of currency.
In the initial stage of issuing credit currency, an anchor point must be used to specify its purchasing power.
"Use food." Patrick said.
"Food?" Gawain frowned slightly, "It's not very suitable as an anchor..."
"But we couldn't find a more suitable one," Padrik said. "I initially considered using the 'magic web emergy' as an anchor, but magic power is a ubiquitous energy in nature, and superhumans can rely on their own As an energy-gathering device, the magic net does not have the qualifications to be an anchor point, and various forms of magic materials cannot be regarded as "necessary commodities". In many areas, especially the relatively In a closed area, people can even live without contact with magical creations, but only food... is a necessity in any era and any area, and what we have to do is to maintain its price stability."
"...In the final analysis, food is the key link," Gao Wen pondered for a long time, and sighed as if talking to himself, "Then let's tentatively decide on this plan, and you will be responsible for the specific statistical calculations."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After taking a deep breath, Gao Wen felt that his high-speed mind finally gradually cooled down.
Even if this special and crucial negotiation has ended here, as the starting point of currency system reform, what he and Padrik discussed is still only a superficial framework, and the revision and specific application of this framework may It still needs more people and a longer period of time to perfect it, but in any case, Gao Wen was greatly relieved to successfully take this first step.
After he breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxed a lot, his eyes returned to the desk, and he glanced at the few "bills".
"How is the current anti-counterfeiting technology?" He asked casually.
"The special ink formula has a very good effect," Padrik bowed slightly, "According to Master Kamel's suggestion, we mixed a small amount of special mixed crystal dust into the ink, and under strong sunlight, Or near the obelisk of magic energy, the banknotes can release a specific floating effect. In addition, we also got Typhon banknotes, and their anti-counterfeiting method is also worth referring to-their banknotes are made of specially treated fabric The base material has two magic threads that are intricately woven to create specific shaded patterns in the sun. Perhaps we can combine the two techniques when minting coins.”
"No matter how clever the anti-counterfeiting measures are, there will always be people who will take the risk," Gao Wen nodded. "In addition to strict laws and punishments, it is also important to update anti-counterfeiting technology. We must try our best to ensure one thing: let most people The costs of counterfeiting far outweigh the benefits of their counterfeiting."
"As you said," Patrick said, "in fact, if a great magician concentrates on counterfeiting currency, he can completely create counterfeit currency that deceives everyone, but according to our calculations, most of this level The energy expended by magicians in the process of counterfeiting banknotes can make them more than three times the income in legitimate industries-so it is unlikely that sane transcendents will do such thankless things. And if they establish If the team secretly purchases equipment and materials for mass production, it will greatly increase the exposure risk of criminal behavior, which is also thankless. At this stage, our anti-counterfeiting ideas are basically based on this logic.”
Gao Wen hummed, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face: "One more thing... let's make our banknotes as beautiful as possible."
"Of course," Patrick also smiled, "Exquisite currency itself is a display of technical strength, although they can no longer represent real money... But at least, people can still feel happy when they get them."
Patrick left.
Gao Wen turned his head and glanced at Amber who was standing behind him.
Unsurprisingly, the half-elf lady (at least she looks like a half-elf) is wandering in the sky, and her eyes have been stunned for an unknown amount of time.
But just as Gao Wen turned his gaze away, the goose woke up in a jerk and stared at Gao Wen: "Hey, are you finally finished?"
Her ability to turn off her brain at any time and stop fishing and return to work at any time is really unique.
I don't know how to practice it...
"Oh my god, I can't understand your brains more and more, especially yours." Amber was greatly relieved after confirming that Patrick had really left, and then bbed loudly with her hips on her hips, "I really don't Knowing that there are so many secrets hidden in these 'banknotes'... That Patrick is a talent, it is rare to see someone who can discuss with you in this field... "
"Padrik is indeed a talent, the degree of excellence is far beyond my imagination. I just told him some concepts before, and he can understand and apply them to this level. I think there are probably few people who can do this. "Gao Wen glanced at Amber with a half-smile, "But you can see that there are 'so many ways'... This means that you understand a lot."
"I don't understand!!" Amber screamed almost jumping up, "Don't lie to me and add..."
"Don't be nervous, this part of the work is not yours in the first place," Gao Wen shook his head helplessly, "I just want to say that you have collected information on the Gaoling Kingdom and the Silver Empire in a timely manner, and keep paying attention to that direction— Because the Typhonians are looking in the same direction."
"Oh, don't worry, leave it to me," Amber patted her chest, showing a smug look, "Although there is no way to send the officers of the Military Intelligence Bureau so far away, intelligence collection is not just as simple as espionage, as long as If there is information exchange between the north and the south of the mainland, there will always be intelligence.”
Hearing Amber's confident answer, Gao Wen smiled slightly, and slowly looked out the window.
In the leaden sky, snowflakes were falling.