Chapter 1310: Year-End Assembly (Part 7)

Yulong scratched his head: "Father, but if you put it that way, the same currency can buy more grain, doesn't that mean the value of the currency is higher? How is that devaluation?"

Baifeng froze for a second, realizing he had misspoken for a moment, but it was no big deal: "Right, that would be appreciation. But, if you can buy more grain with one unit of currency, what should you do if you want to buy a very small amount of grain? Do you tear that currency in half to use it?"

"Of course not. In that case, you can continue to issue currency. It is best if the quantity of issued currency is equal to the quantity of new grain added that year. The new and old currency combined equals the total amount of new and old grain that year, so the value of the currency will always remain fixed and unchanged."

"The devaluation you mentioned, Father, means that too much currency is issued while the grain increase is a bit low, leading to the same currency being able to buy less grain. Is that what you mean?"

Baifeng suddenly laughed, laughing very happily: "Good, good, Yulong, what you said is not wrong at all, and you even said what I didn't ask you. You haven't wasted your training in the Ministry of Revenue."

"To rule a country, military and agriculture are of course very important, but the economy is equally important. Although it is said that relying on the barter system can also sustain life, and such a life can last for many, many years."

"But after all, it is not as useful or convenient as currency. Only with currency can the economy of an entire country have vitality, and the circulation of goods be faster and more rapid. In this way, the development of a country can be faster."

"But currency is also a very troublesome matter. If handled well, it can allow our country to develop faster; if you do not handle it well, the country could even perish."

"Since you have now understood the basic principles, I feel that you will have no problem handling the issuance of such small units of currency in the future. I am at ease handing Huaxia over to you."

Yulong was also very happy to receive his father's approval. He rarely had moments where he could explain everything thoroughly before his father had fully explained it. If he could explain it thoroughly, he would certainly receive affirmation and praise.

Baifeng turned his spear toward Changle: "Changle, you cannot be an exception either. Huaxia is our family's, not just your brother's alone, so you also need to understand these things to assist your brother. If you are stronger than your brother in this aspect, I might even hand over the responsibility of Huaxia's finance to you in the future."

Changle said in confusion: "Father, didn't you say you wanted me to be in charge of Science? I think I have no problem handling finance as well."

"He may not necessarily be able to handle everything single-handedly. You also cannot just stare at your own affairs. You two are brothers, so you should help each other. Sitting in my position, besides power, there is pressure and responsibility."

"To put it on a small scale, my position concerns our family's power, wealth, and future. To put it on a large scale, the future of the entire Huaxia relies on my brain. A small mistake of mine could have a huge impact on Huaxia."

"Therefore, it is difficult to let one person be in charge of many things at the same time. One must learn to delegate power appropriately. The most important thing is the checks and balances of power."

"If you do not have enough ministers you can trust, then hand the power to your clever brother. Military, finance, and law—these three great powers must be held in your hands in the future, at least two of them."

"Law, because it is formulated by me, I will try my best to formulate everything in a direction favorable to our family. Even if the entire kingdom perishes, or your power is overturned, you must ensure the interests and status of your more distant descendants."

"You must establish that the law is supreme, and there are some laws that are rules that cannot be changed. This is a guarantee."

"You must grasp military power and finance. With these two, even if the power to select and dismiss Clerks is taken away, you don't have to be afraid. Your fist is bigger, and you pay them their wages, so they will always listen to you."

"With grain and people, you can do everything you want to do."

"Changle, you working in the scientific field can allow you to have a good name passed down in history, which is also a great thing. However, in many things, as long as you make a start, the honor is basically yours."

"People are more willing to remember the first, and will not remember the second, unless the second also has sufficiently great achievements."

"For some subjects, you just need to propose a concept and carry out some practice; you don't need to devote your whole heart and soul into it. Occasionally, pay some attention to the family as well."

Changle was even more confused: "Father, but this is the path you arranged for me before. You wanted me to stay away from politics and focus on researching Science. Why do you want to pull me back now? Aren't you afraid that I will compete with my brother?"

Baifeng really wanted to touch Changle's head, but Changle was already quite grown up: "In the past, I was always afraid of this and that, and thought about things too far ahead. Actually, I should have looked a little closer."

"I trust you two brothers. Yulong was also chosen by me. Even if Yulong's ability is not as good as yours, this King must be him, because this is for the sake of future stability, and also to control those Nobles."

"If you have more children in the future, just like those Nobles, especially you, Yulong, you don't need to worry now. Take Qihu for example; if he also has a dozen children in the future, will his children compete?"

"Even with a Legitimate Son, it is not necessarily stable enough, so elders need to arrange a relatively suitable path in advance to stabilize people's hearts."

"I only have you two sons. Miaoyin, although I do not reject women participating in politics, and I have not set a rule saying that a woman cannot be King, I still hope that the King is a man. It is not that women are not as smart as men, it is just that they are not as suitable. Giving birth to a child would delay half a year of work; it is simply inconvenient."

"Women ruled humanity for who knows how many years, but now it is the era of men. You two brothers have a good relationship and will not fight."

"Regardless of whether you, Changle, have any thoughts of being King, you cannot be one anymore. The contribution you have made in Science alone is enough for people thousands or tens of thousands of years from now to remember you. You can go and develop more disciplines and become the patriarch of various disciplines for future generations."

"This is the honor I give you. Your brother does not have such honor, only power. If he can make sufficiently great achievements and be sufficiently wise, he can be like me and obtain the title of a similarly wise monarch in history."