Chapter 177: line with translation of chapter title

Ding ding ding ding~~

Early in the morning, in Montadania City, the new capital of Weilan, people walked the streets hammering iron rods.

They hammered while shouting.

"Big event~~big event~~~"

"The gold coins compensated by the Lion King are about to be stored~~Those who want to see the excitement, hurry up and prepare~~"

"Countless gold~~This is the most gold you will see in your lifetime~~"

Upon hearing this, the residents of Montadania City instantly perked up their ears.

The word 'gold' naturally has a powerful effect that attracts the heart and mind.

Thus people began to inquire about the details.

With such sounds, more detailed information gradually surfaced.

"Aaron's compensated gold coins have been transported to Montadania, a full 20 million plus Lion King gold coins, equivalent to 180 tons of gold!"

"This sum will be sent into the vault of Weilan Citizen Bank."

"To celebrate the arrival of the huge compensation, the Duke ordered a storage ceremony to publicly display the gold coins to everyone."

"The ceremony will be held at the Lake-view Plaza in front of the bank, in the morning ten days from now."

When the news came out, the new capital city instantly erupted in a huge commotion.

With so much gold, if you don't take a look to feast your eyes, living in Montadania would be in vain.

In fact, this news spread not only in Montadania City but throughout all the prefectural cities of Weilan.

The residents of Montadania City, being close by, stayed at home eagerly awaiting the storage ceremony ten days later.

Residents of other Weilan cities, however, many began preparations early, crossing mountains and rivers, specially coming to Montadania to see the spectacle.

Many even came all the way by begging, practically like pilgrims.

By the seventh night, the Lake-view Grand Plaza in front of the bank was already packed with people.

Anyway, it's still early autumn, not cold, so countless people simply slept on the streets just to secure a good spot to watch the excitement.

As the instigator of the event, Luosen also didn't expect the situation to be so explosive.

He could only explain it as the other world having magic, people's average physical fitness being high, and the hardware for watching spectacles being relatively strong.

To avoid a trampling accident, he dispatched a large contingent of the city guard to enter the Lake-view Plaza to maintain order.

Amidst this chaotic situation, time passed in a flash.

Another day's dawn arrived, the sun slowly rose on the horizon, sending the slightly hot autumn sunlight to the world.

The discussion on the Lake-view Plaza also gradually grew louder.

"When will the ceremony start?"

"Is that the Citizen Bank headquarters? How magnificent."

"Will the Duke appear?"

"Did Aaron really compensate that much money?"

This time someone answered, but it was a resident of Dawn City.

"Aaron really compensated that much money, escorted by several warships, pulling gold coin cart after cart, it took a whole day to finish!"

"The Aaron people are really going to curse now."

"What can be done? Who let our Duke be the nemesis of the Aaron people?"

At this moment, no one noticed that among the countless spectators, an extremely ordinary-looking middle-aged woman was squeezed in.

She hid in a corner, listening to the surrounding buzzing discussion, her deep red-nearly black eyes revealing an extremely interested expression.

When the time came to 8:30 a. m., with the sun about an arm's length above the horizon, a 'woo woo woo' muffled sound came from the edge of the plaza.

Immediately after, the front of the crowd passed along the news.

"Here they come~here they come~~~Several Black Stone vehicles emitting green smoke are coming~~~"

"The rear carriage has a glass-sealed cover, filled with gold!"

"So much gold~~~"

"So bright, the golden light~~~"

With the appearance of the news, the clamor on the plaza surged tenfold, almost becoming a visible sound wave.

As the Black Stone vehicles entered, more and more people saw the gold.

A full twenty Black Stone vehicles, the cargo beds are low; just tiptoeing lets you see what's inside.

The beds are covered with highly transparent glass lids; through the glass, one can clearly see the cargo beds filled with gleaming gold coins.

Sunlight shone through the glass onto the coins, instantly reflecting a dazzling golden light that made people dizzy.

This is 180 tons of gold, over 20 million gold coins.

Just piled like earth in the cargo beds, it made all the spectators' blood surge.

The vehicles carrying the gold slowly drove across the plaza, displaying the endless gold in their beds.

Wherever the vehicles went, the spectators there immediately stood at attention, removed their hats, and paid solemn respect to the endless gold coins.

There were also poets on site who involuntarily exclaimed.

"Ah~~let me die upon the gold!"

A farmer who had farmed all his life had his beard trembling.

"Eh~~this gold is more than the soil in the fields~"

Some mages doubted it, thinking it might be a magical illusion.

Thus they used various detection methods to examine it.

And the Duke had issued an order allowing anyone to use non‑attackive detection spells on the vehicles.

All along the way, the gold was subjected to countless magical examinations.

But the result was only one: this was indeed genuine gold coins! Thus, these mages of commoner origin were each shocked and disoriented.

From the endless gold, they felt the nation's might and also sensed their own insignificance.

Finally, the vehicles crossed the spacious square, entering one after another the headquarters of the Weilan Citizen Bank.

At the headquarters entrance stood a high platform; around the table was a large circle of guards, and on the table stood a Duke in full ceremonial dress.

The Duke's voice, through the Heavenly Voice spell, spread across the entire plaza and reached the ears of every spectator.

"Citizens of Weilan, this sum of money is Aaron's war reparations."

"They will remain forever in the vault of the Weilan Citizen Bank, and will not be used unless Weilan faces a national extinction crisis."

"Because this money belongs to all Weilan citizens!"

"Wuuah~~~~"

A few words ignited the enthusiasm of all spectators, and the people's cheers shot straight through the clouds.

The Duke's words sounded straightforward; everyone thought they understood and felt it was the right thing to do.

This money is stored to deal with Weilan's crises, just like an ordinary family saves daily to cope with life's various uncertainties.

The Duke's voice sounded again.

"We will use this gold as collateral and issue anonymous small-denomination bank deposit certificates to all Weilan citizens."

"I believe you have all already seen samples of the deposit certificates."

"For three months, we have issued a bounty of up to ten thousand Ogres to the entire Natural Alliance, welcoming at least fifty waves of challengers, yet today no one has managed to claim this money."

"It is sufficiently safe!"

Everyone could understand this and agreed.

Because the super-high bounty of ten thousand Ogres had long been ingrained in people's minds, who knows how many paid attention, but the bounty remained unclaimed.

The Duke continued shouting: "Even so, we remain extremely cautious and will do everything possible to prevent Weilan citizens' property from being harmed by forgery."

"For this, we have introduced three measures."

He paused, waiting for the crowd to focus, then Luosen's Heavenly Voice rang out again.

"First, issue the special Deposit Certificate Decree. The decree stipulates that any act of forging bank deposit certificates will be regarded as a provocation against national security and must be punished most severely!"

"For domestic criminals, we will establish a special law enforcement guard to crack down."

"For foreign criminals, no matter who they are, even if they are great nobles or kings! Our navy will surely make them pay a heavy price!"

"Just like Aaron, let him compensate tens of millions of gold coins!"

This remark again provoked a huge cheer.

Weilan citizens were filled with pride, and their worship of this newly appointed Duke reached a new height. The reason is simple: this Duke truly can fight.

He made Aaron kneel and pay reparations; he is practically a war god of mankind!

After the fervent emotions slightly subsided, Luosen continued.

"Second, even with various anti-counterfeiting measures, we will use the deposit certificates cautiously."

"We will issue as many deposit certificates as the citizen bank holds gold!"

"We will never exceed that, causing the deposit certificates to be unable to be exchanged for the full amount of gold at the bank!"

This clause is meant for professional merchants to hear; ordinary citizens just hear it in passing, find it reliable, but do not know what it truly means.

Luosen naturally knows the meaning of this clause.

The reason he keeps talking about deposit certificates is merely to make everyone more accepting; in fact, it is paper money.

He also knows he can completely issue paper money exceeding the reserves of the Citizen Bank.

Because paper money is already so abundant, issuing a bit more would go unnoticed.

And the extra paper money is essentially money created out of thin air.

But he does not intend to do that.

Or more accurately, he does not intend to do it himself.

He believes no one can resist the tremendous allure of money appearing out of thin air.

Soon, someone in the banking system will realize this and bring it to him.

Then he will single out this matter, have the nation's wise people discuss it together, and form a new consensus.

Of course, that is a story for later.

Immediately afterward, Luosen stated the third clause.

"Third, still adhering to the principle of caution, this new-style small-denomination anonymous deposit certificate will be used temporarily only in Mondania City and Dawn City."

"Only when the new deposit certificate is fully mature will it be promoted throughout Weilan, and furthermore, gold, silver, and copper currency will always remain Weilan's legal tender."

"So now, Weilan citizens willing to use the new deposit certificate may go to the Weilan Citizen Bank headquarters and the bank branches set up in various places to exchange."

Having said that, Luosen jumped down from the platform, and under the heavy protection of the guards, he left Lake View Plaza.

Immediately afterward, the headquarters of the Weilan Citizen Bank burst open.

Instantly, a large number of Weilan people streamed inside.

Most were not there to exchange, but just to watch the spectacle.

The bank staff had all undergone strict training.

Whoever it was, they patiently and enthusiastically welcomed guests and gave a detailed introduction to the relevant matters of the new deposit certificate.

Previously, the endless gold coins had truly shocked hearts, and the Duke's personal promise still lingered in the ears; the effect was quite good.

About one-tenth of the people directly took out various metal currencies and exchanged them for paper money at the bank.

From then on, this paper money, a non-full-value credit currency, also formally moved from the noble class into the hands of common folk.

One month later, the bank's relevant statistics were placed on Luosen's desk.

Luosen opened it and took a glance, and a satisfied smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Not bad, very good, much better than expected."

The five hundred thousand Ogre banknotes prepared in advance have all been dispersed among the populace.

Even the 200,000 Ogre notes rushed out this month have all been exchanged away.

700,000 Ogre worth of banknotes have been exchanged out, so the bank naturally now has an additional 700,000 Ogre in full-value metal currency.

At this rate, the metal currency that was initially dispersed among the populace due to Dawn City Bank certificates will soon be gathered back by the bank.

By then, the vault of Weilan Citizen Bank will have nearly 30 million Ogre in gold coins, plus Aaron's compensation of 18 million, totaling 48 million Ogre.

Standing before him was the acting president of the first Weilan Citizen Bank.

He is a Four-ring Peak mage named Nolan, just over forty, originally a branch manager at Dawn City Bank, highly capable, and now he has come to serve as Luosen's acting president.

He also wore a delighted expression: "Your Grace, this new-style certificate is very exquisite; even just for collection it's a good thing, and the populace loves it."

"Every day countless people come to the bank to exchange; however much the mint sends over, that's how much can be exchanged out."

Upon saying this, his voice paused, and he lowered his tone.

"Your Grace, I believe this new-style certificate can completely replace gold and silver currency in market circulation."

"Its production cost is so low; after a while, once the populace gets used to the new certificates, we can slightly exceed the reserve redemption limit to gain extra income."

Luosen secretly smiled: "Well, here it comes."

No one can resist the tremendous temptation of the printing press printing money.

But because the temptation is extremely great, if control slips even a little, it will spiral out of control, leading to severe hyperinflation.

If five hundred thousand Klay's money couldn't buy a single loaf of bread, then his tenure as Duke of Weilan would be over.

Therefore, this matter concerns the nation's fate; it must be handled with utmost caution!

Thus, he glanced at Nolan and spoke in a neutral tone: "Mr. Nolan, credit is the foundation of a bank's existence, and also the foundation of a nation's existence. Are you advising me to betray the trust of all citizens?"

Nolan's face turned pale in an instant, but he persisted, because the stakes involved were truly enormous.

"Your Grace, I certainly don't mean that; I'm speaking from the standpoint of maximizing the utilization of the redemption gold."

"You see, although the agreed certificates can be redeemed for gold and silver at any time, after all it's impossible for everyone to redeem simultaneously."

"The clerks have carefully calculated and empirically verified that as long as the excess is not too great—even if it's up to double—the redemption promise can still be safely fulfilled."

If the bank has 48 million Ogre in reserves, issuing currency up to twice that amount would be equivalent to the government magically having an extra 96 million Ogre.

At first glance, this seems truly wonderful.

But Luosen is very clear-headed.

He wore a solemn expression: "I understand what you mean. Let's do this: don't rush; first stabilize for a year or two, then draw up a mature plan based on practical experience."

"When the time comes, at the first official Weilan Citizen Assembly next year, we'll bring this up for detailed discussion."

"As for the present, just be honest: print as many certificates as there is redemption gold."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Nolan nodded and added: "Your Grace, some foreign merchants also want to use these certificates to facilitate overseas trade, and recently more and more people have been inquiring about it."

Luosen saw this in the statistics table, especially in the port city of Dawn City, where every day over a hundred foreign merchants wish to exchange their gold and silver for certificates.

This is naturally a good thing, because essentially Weilan is exchanging a pile of paper for full-value gold coins, and the mint tax goes directly to foreign coffers.

But Luosen does not intend to let the new certificates circulate abroad just yet, because Weilan's influence, especially its military strength, is not yet fully established.

"For now, let's keep it domestic; after all it's not mature yet. Once the problems surface and we've improved it with no major flaws, we can take the next step."

"Yes, Your Grace."

After the acting president withdrew, Luosen drafted another order, had the orderly deliver it to the Mint Director Ge Si, instructing him to increase production of the new certificates.

Having done that, he stretched his arms wide, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window facing the lake, and gazed out over the water to relax.

"It's not enough to peg the banknote solely to the Ogre gold, after all you can't eat Ogre gold."

"It also needs to be pegged to grain!"

"Now we can large-scale mine the bird guano fertilizer on White Sturgeon Island to boost Weilan's grain output."

As long as the banknote's grain purchasing power remains stable, the prices of other non-essential goods may fluctuate like a roller coaster, but no major problems will arise in the short term.

Currently the entire Natural Alliance is also short of grain, so increasing grain production is a surefire profit.

"Dang paid 18 million Ogre in compensation; that sum is not small, enough to build an industry chain for electric carriages."

Electric carriage means electric car, a superior replacement for the horse-drawn carriages of the old era, several generations ahead of Kao's black stone steam carriage.

This item has enormous market demand; once launched, it will surely bring Weilan a large amount of foreign gold.

While he was secretly plotting future plans, his chief of internal affairs, Ale, walked in to report.

"Sir, a woman calling herself Meidiayana. Anslante wishes to see you."

Luosen quickly searched the database for the surname "Anslante" and found nothing.

That means this person is not a noble of the Natural Alliance nor the Radiant Empire.

He is now a duke, not just anyone can see him; Ale knows this, yet he still brought the person.

"What's special about her?"

"She says she brings a method to turn lowly ability into noble ability, and she has demonstrated power up to five-ring, so—"

Luosen immediately became interested: "Then let her in."

(End of chapter)