Roland passed through several tightly guarded doors and entered the inner chamber of the treasury in the castle area.
When he was still in Border Town, all the Golden Dragons were not enough to fill up a few boxes, but the basement of the castle was enough to keep the entire town running. Ever since he started selling the steam engine and other magic products, his income had increased to an astonishing level. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was raking in money every day.
As the territory expanded, so did the expenses. To make it easier for the Administrative Office to access the funds, he ordered people to build a special treasury between the castle and the Administrative Office. Although it was strictly guarded, as long as the procedures were in line with the regulations, the department heads could enter the treasury to withdraw funds, which caused a heated discussion at that time. After all, almost no noble would take out all their "own money" to build a territory, let alone allow outsiders to enter and leave.
However, at that time, apart from Barov, no one else knew that Roland did not take these hard coins seriously at all. It did not matter how many coins there were, as long as they could keep up with the needs of the city's development. For a long time, the income of Neverwinter was greater than the expenditure. It had been a long time since Roland heard the report that the savings were running low.
"Your Majesty." Barov, who had been waiting in the treasury, stepped forward and saluted. "Look... we only have the last 12 boxes of Golden Dragon left."
Generally speaking, there were about 2,000 Golden Dragons in a box, and the total amount was about 20,000. Compared to the past, when the treasury was full, it looked a little empty.
As for the silver wolves and copper eagles scattered in the corner, they were piled up like small hills, but they were of little use.
"How long can it last?" Roland asked.
"Based on the current trend... two months at most."
"That's faster than I thought." He raised his eyebrows. "Is it mainly used on the salaries?"
"Yes, it accounts for more than 50% of the expenses. The population is growing too fast, and the expenses of the engineering team and the smelting team are the most obvious. In addition, you need to hire a large number of ships from the Fjords Chamber of Commerce, which costs about 4,000 to 5,000 Golden Dragon every month. If you stop this part, the Administrative Office will be able to hold on until the next sales share of the Joint Chamber of Commerce — "
"You can stop everything, but you can't stop transporting people." Roland interrupted the old butler.
"Then …" Barov rubbed his hands. "I remember you said in the last meeting that there was a way to solve this once and for all … Is it true?"
"So you haven't forgotten." Roland smiled and looked around the vault. Perhaps it was expected that such a day would come, the vault was quite spacious and clean. After removing the iron railings and the shelves in the room, it was basically no different from an ordinary house. One would not feel depressed even if they stayed for a long time. It was a good place to print money. "When is the next payday?"
"One week later."
"Store these Golden Dragon, don't touch them for the time being." He nodded. "Come with me to the office. I have a new department to set up. We'll talk about the specific rules there."
Although this day came earlier than expected, he had started to prepare for it more than half a year ago. The token issued to the Witch Union and Sleeping Spell was a test. If even the witches could not find a loophole and counterfeit the paper money, the foundation of replacing the metal currency with paper money had been established and could be put into official use at any time.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Barov seemed to be relieved. It was obvious that he still had a lingering fear of the days when he had no money. Now that he had obtained Roland's approval, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes eased a little. "By the way, Your Majesty, what's the name of the new department?"
"Bank," Roland replied.
…
Five days later, the bulletin board in the Central Square of Neverwinter was replaced with a full page of new notices, which caused a great stir among the residents. The Administrative Office once again sent a person to give a speech, which was a rare sight after the universal education.
The Graycastle Weekly also published the details of the notice on the most eye-catching front page — His Majesty will issue new coins to replace the Golden Dragon, Silver Wolf and Bronze Eagle.
For a time, the streets and alleys were filled with discussions about the currency reform.
Victor's hotel was no exception.
He had originally planned to return to the Port of Clearwater after watching the magic movie, but the sudden appearance of the Bloody Moon disrupted all his plans. Panic caused the order to become unstable, so he immediately changed his plan and decided to stay here for a while — not because of his loyalty to the King of Graycastle, but because he believed that if the Bloody Moon really represented the end of the world, other places would only be worse. When the disaster came, Neverwinter was probably the safest place on the whole continent.
The King and Queen appeared to appease the people, and the police and garrison cracked down on crime. The order soon stabilized. As a witness of the "Phantom Mutation", Victor was also called to investigate many times. It could be said that he was more scared than hurt. Just when he was about to get rid of the gentleness of the maids and set off for the south, he received the news of the reform.
The announcement of the new policy shocked him even more than the Crimson Moon.
Neverwinter was going to abolish the gold coin, the currency that had been used since the birth of the human kingdom!
As a businessman, Victor's first reaction when he heard the news was that it was absolutely impossible. He thought it was the crazy words of a drunkard. In the Four Kingdoms and even overseas, as long as there were people, gold was a precious thing. How could it be so easy to abolish it?
However, the newspaper bought by the maid, as well as what he had seen and heard outside, all confirmed the authenticity of the news.
The first clause of the reform was: "Neverwinter will issue new paper money to replace the existing currency. It has the feature of compulsory circulation. When used according to its face value, no one can refuse to accept it. "
This meant that the King could use a piece of paper to buy all the goods of the merchants who stepped into the territory of Neverwinter. In a sense, it was not a problem to say that it was a robbery.
"When I came back, I saw some people fleeing the city with their goods," Tinkle said in a low voice while lying on the soft couch. Her tone was a little worried. Roland did not know whether she was worried that the clothes of the Rainbow Stone would be forcefully bought or that he would run away like the others.
Victor smiled bitterly. The maid did not know that he was actually closely tied to the King of Graycastle. Without the seeds provided by Miss Leaf, there would be no Rainbow Stone today.
No matter what happened, he could not easily abandon the industry in Neverwinter.
Moreover, based on his understanding of Roland Wimbledon, these policies would sooner or later spread to all parts of the kingdom.
In addition, the King's business acumen was not inferior to any of the big merchants in the Kingdom of Dawn. The current situation was not so bad that they had to rely on robbing to maintain the situation, so they should not suddenly have this idea. Thinking of this, Victor calmed down and continued to read —
The second and third clauses were related to the livelihood of the people.
"Work in Neverwinter will be paid in the form of paper money. "
"Materials sold in the Administrative Office and the Convenience Market, including but not limited to food and shelter, will only be traded in paper money. "
The fourth clause obviously took into account the issue of the amount of new coins.
"The Administrative Office will provide a long-term exchange service between the new and old coins. At any time, residents can exchange their Golden Dragon, Silver Royal, and Bronze Royals for paper money of the same value. They can also exchange the latter for the former. When the new coins are exchanged for the old coins, the Administrative Office will charge a 5% handling fee. "
Victor vaguely realized that there seemed to be something more hidden in this clause …
The last clause seemed to be specially set up for foreign merchants.
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