Substitute currencies are paper-based gold and silver, which are equivalent bills of real money and silver, and people's trust in them stems from their trust in real money.

However, credit money 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 state's commitment is enough to convince people that a pile of paper can replace money, even for international trading partners to buy in.

"Your Majesty, maybe you don't have to worry about that," Padraic knew what Gawain was thinking, "we have data and samples. And in my opinion, if we want to issue credit money, now is probably the best opportunity. ”

Gawain looked at Padraic: "...... What do you mean......"

"You've taught us about the concept of the subject of the state, so I know what you're worried about - frankly, the nascent empire doesn't have the prestige and appeal to implement a new currency decoupled from precious metals across the country, because most of our people don't even have a clear sense of the state, and they don't have enough trust in the government office, let alone the 'imperial power', but...... Yes, you can. ”

Gao Wen was stunned for a moment, and suddenly couldn't help but want to laugh a little: "You mean that with my personal prestige as the founding emperor, it is enough......"

He didn't finish speaking, and the second half of the sentence stopped.

Maybe...... That's enough.

Because those who had just escaped the power of Ansu were still on their knees—even though the government department forced their bodies to stand up through the law, their knees were still nailed to the ground.

They may not understand what the "motherland" is, they may not understand the concept of the government department, they may not understand the power of the state, but they still unconditionally fear the "monarch" from the bottom of their bones, accompanied by unconditional obedience.

This blind and backward status quo has always been regarded by Gawain as the biggest obstacle to the construction of a new order, but if we think about it differently...... In fact, this is also a situation worth leveraging on.

"Your Majesty, your prestige and appeal are stronger than you think, not only because you have built this empire, you have received the oath of all the nobles, and you are now the co-ruler of all the citizens of Cecil, but also because of the nearly deified propaganda of the first generation of pioneers of the past seven hundred years," Padraic further said, "in order to maintain the stability of your position, and to strengthen it" For seven hundred years, any Ansu king and nobleman has spared no effort to reinforce the glorious image of the first pioneers, and this has had a particularly great impact on the common people, and even among the more superstitious and ignorant people, your resurrection is regarded as a 'miracle', and in this part of the population, you have a very special and irreproducible appeal.

"Your Majesty, I know that you have been working hard to change this ignorant and backward situation, and you hope to replace the old monarchy and feudal system with the concept of government affairs and the state, so that the people can change from blindly obedient 'pariahs' to glorious and dignified 'citizens', but this is not an overnight thing, since it can not be completed overnight, we might as well take advantage of this situation a little before the ultimate goal is achieved, without affecting the construction process."

Gawain looked into Padraric's burning eyes, and after a slight groan, he muttered, "There is some truth to it—but we must also respect the laws of nature." Maybe my prestige and appeal are strong enough to force the new currency, but there is still a risk of chaos in the whole country, what do you think about this? ”

"Gradually," Padraic said immediately, apparently he had been thinking about the answer for a long time, "first in the south, the eastern and eastern parts of the Whitsunday Plains. Among the three regions, the southern border is the most stable, and the transformation has been relatively successful, and the public recognizes the government affairs department, coupled with the demonstration role of the pilot, there is no problem in implementing the new currency; The eastern part of the Whitsunday is undergoing post-disaster reconstruction, which is equivalent to establishing a new order on a piece of 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, which is under the full control of the government department, and the various pioneering teams can build a complete and new economic structure based on the new currency; Finally, there is the Eastern...... The Eastside is the riskiest of the three regions, as it still has a fair amount of old aristocrats left and the old monetary system is still robust, but in any case, the Eastside must break the game. ”

Gawain nodded slightly, although Padraic did not continue, he knew the reason in his heart:

Due to the fall of the Eastern Legion, the disappearance of the Loren family, and the increased pressure on the Long Wind Fortress, the Eastern Frontier ...... It has been essentially fully controlled by Cecil's legion, strong control, and the full submission of the old nobles, which makes it easier to break the game in the east than in the north and west.

Now is the best time to completely reinvent the East, further dismantle the influence of the old aristocracy in the East, and implement new coins.

After the East breaks, it will become the best "sample" for the North and West to reference, and will also be the best "anchor" for further implementation of the new coin.

"After this is done, we will gradually carry out the currency reform in the west and north," Patrick continued, "and there will be a buffer period for the people, time for the aristocracy to come to terms with the reality, and with the exemplary role of the three regions, the resistance to the currency reform will be minimized, and the possibility of chaos in the two regions will be greatly reduced thanks to the lessons learned."

"While the Empire is reforming its currency, our commercial settlements with the Oguray tribes and the northern kingdoms will continue to be conducted in gold and silver. Considering the particularity of credit currency, it will be more difficult for our business partners in the international community to accept the new currency, so we will maintain this method of gold and silver settlement for a long time, and even continue until the empire fully popularizes the credit currency for a long time, after which we will gradually build up the credit ...... of the new currency with the strong industrial strength and trade scale of the empire."

"You can put it more bluntly," Gawain looked into Padraic's eyes, "let the surrounding countries become dependent on our industrial products, let the entire settlement area uniformly enforce the Cecil standard, let our alchemical potions, rune substrates, and basic industrial facilities become the basis for the social operation of the entire settlement area, and then we start to settle in new currency." And in doing so, we will also maintain the strongest military strength within the settlement area to ensure that everything is 'under control'. ”

"If it was Typhon, they would definitely take advantage of this process to grab half the continent's wealth, which is their usual style......" Padraic couldn't help but sigh, "How crazy it is to exchange paper for money." ”

"But it will also focus all the risks and payment pressures on yourself, and turn all the countries that are 'sheared' into your enemies, and once those 'traps' burst, every piece of gold and silver you grab will become a 'bomb' like Rebecca crystal," Gawain shook his head, "We want to make the whole world strong, not stand alone on a ruin, and we must always remember that." ”

Padraic lowered his head with a serious expression: "Yes, Your Majesty." ”

"Then there's the next question," Gawain exhaled a long time, "what do we use to mark the purchasing power of money?" ”

The purchasing power of the proxy currency comes from the exact gold and silver, and gold and silver are valuable, so the purchasing power of the proxy currency is also easy to measure, while the credit currency needs an artificial "anchor", which is very crucial.

In short, it is to find a commodity with a relatively stable value, which is indispensable in social activities, and which is widely used, and then the state comes forward to determine how much of this commodity can be purchased with a basic unit of money.

In the initial stages of issuing credit money, it is necessary to use an anchor to define its purchasing power.

"With food." Padraic said.

"Grain?" Gawain frowned slightly, "It's not very suitable as an anchor......"

"But we couldn't find a more suitable one," said Padraic, "I initially considered using the 'magic net energy' as an anchor point, but magic is the ubiquitous energy in nature, and there are even more transcendents who can gather magic power with their own power, and the energy generated by the magic net as a kind of energy gathering device does not have the qualifications to become an anchor point, and various forms of magic materials cannot be regarded as 'essential commodities', and in many areas, especially in relatively closed areas, people can even go without contact with magical creations for the rest of their lives, but only food...... It is a necessity in any place at any time, and all we have to do is maintain its price stability. ”

“…… In the final analysis, take the grain as the key link," Gao Wen pondered for a long time, as if sighing to himself, "Then tentatively decide on this plan, and the specific statistical accounting will be carried out by you." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After taking a deep breath, Gawain felt his high-speed mind finally cool down.

This special and crucial discussion is preliminarily over, but as the starting point of the currency reform, what he and Padraic discussed is still only a superficial framework, and the refinement and specific application of this framework may need more people and a longer time to perfect, but in any case, the successful first step still makes Gawain greatly relieved.

After breathing a sigh of relief, his expression relaxed considerably, and his gaze returned to his desk, sweeping over the "bills".

"How is the current anti-counterfeiting technology performing?" He asked casually.

"The special ink formula has worked well," Padraic bowed slightly, "At Master Carmel's suggestion, we have mixed a small amount of special mixed crystal dust into the ink, which can release a specific floating effect when exposed to strong sunlight or near the magic obelisk. We've also got the Typhon banknotes, and their security methods are also worth reference - their banknotes are made of specially treated fabrics with two magic threads mixed into the base material, which are intricately woven to take on a specific shadow pattern in the sun. We may be able to combine the two technologies when we mint coins. ”

"No matter how clever the anti-counterfeiting measures are, there will always be people who take risks," Gawain nodded, "In addition to strict laws and punishments, it is also important that the anti-counterfeiting technology is updated from time to time, and we must ensure one thing as much as possible: the cost of most counterfeiting is much higher than the benefits of their counterfeiting." ”

"As you say," said Padraic, "in fact a great magician could have made a counterfeit that would have been hidden from everyone, but according to our calculations, the energy expended on the counterfeiting of money by most magicians of this level would have allowed them to reap more than three times the benefits of their legitimate trade—so it is unlikely that a sane transcendent would do such a thankless task." And if they build teams and secretly buy equipment and materials for mass production, it will greatly increase the risk of exposure to criminal behavior, which is also thankless. At this stage, our anti-counterfeiting ideas are basically based on this logic. ”

Gao Wen snorted, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face: "There is still a little ...... Let's make our banknotes as beautiful as possible. ”

"Of course," Padraic smiled as well, "fine currencies are themselves a display of technical prowess, though they no longer represent real money...... But at the very least, people can still be in a good mood when they get them. ”

Padraic left.

Gawain turned his head and glanced at Amber, who was standing behind him.

Not surprisingly, Miss Half-Elf (at least she looks like a half-elf) is wandering into the world, and her eyes have been stunned for I don't know how long.

But as soon as Gawain turned his gaze, the goose woke up suddenly and stared at Gawain: "Hey, you're finally done?" ”

Her ability to turn off her brain at any time and return to work at any time is really a must.

I don't know how to do it......

"Mom, I'm getting more and more incomprehensible about your brains, especially yours," Amber breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Padraic was really gone, and then crossed her waist and shouted loudly, "I really didn't know that there were so many doorways hidden in these 'bills'...... That Padraic is a talent, and it's rare to see someone in this kind of field that you can discuss with you in a hot ......"

"Padraic is indeed a talent, far more than I thought, I just told him some concepts before, and he can understand and apply them to this extent, I don't think many people can do that," Gawain glanced at Amber with a smirk, "but you can tell that there are 'so many doorways'...... This means that you understand a lot of parts. ”

"I don't understand!!" Amber almost jumped up and screamed, "Don't lie to me about ......"

"Don't be nervous, this part of the job wasn't yours in the first place," Gawain shook his head helplessly, "I just wanted to say that you're very timely in gathering intelligence on the Kaolin Kingdom and the Silver Empire, and keep an eye on that direction - because the Typhonians are also looking in the same direction." ”

"Oh, leave this to me," Amber patted her chest, revealing a triumphant look, "Although there is no way to send MIA agents to such a far place now, intelligence gathering is not just about espionage, as long as there is information exchange between the north and south of the mainland, there will always be intelligence." ”

Listening to Amber's confident answer, Gao Wen smiled slightly, and slowly cast his eyes out the window.

In the lead-gray sky, snowflakes are falling.