"How's the exchange going these days?"
On the third day after the new currency was issued, Roland held a council meeting in the castle hall to discuss the feedback on the currency reform.
As someone who had been through the same thing, he knew very well how difficult it was to break a tradition that had been maintained for thousands of years. Any mistake in the process could lead to an avalanche of problems. If the new currency collapsed, the Administrative Office... and even the prestige that he had accumulated over a long period of time would be seriously damaged.
"Less than expected, Your Majesty," Barov said in a relaxed tone. "The exchange quota for the past three days is less than 1,000 Golden Dragon coins. Considering that the initial period of the new policy is usually the most turbulent, the treasury should be able to meet the demand after that."
In order to prevent a run on the bank, the first batch of notes was equal to the total monthly salary. Even if all the notes were exchanged, it could still last for two months. But if that were to happen, it would essentially mean that the plan had already failed.
"I think you worry too much," the old director said with a smile while stroking his beard. "Exchanging the new currency for the old currency is equivalent to a loss. Most subjects won't act rashly unless it's absolutely necessary."
"But we can't assume that the people have accepted the new currency just like that," Sirius Daly, the Minister of Agriculture, said cautiously. "I found that the Convenience Market recently sold a lot more food, dried goods, and seasonings."
"The trade increased instead of decreased?" Roland was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on.
"So that's how it is." Roland could not help but laugh. The subjects were indeed unwilling to bear the loss of handling fees when the situation was unclear, so they replaced the hazard avoidance items with other necessities. And in the past, food was often used as a general equivalent. As for dried goods and seasonings, they could be stored for a long time and would eventually be needed.
A familiar advertising slogan seemed to emerge in his mind: "Paper for food, no loss, no fraud. What are you waiting for?"
But this also made Roland feel relieved.
It was not realistic to change people's minds in just a few days, but the Administrative Office would not feel any pressure if they just turned to buying goods. For example, the output of wheat, eggs, and cheese in Neverwinter was enough to meet the needs of the entire Western Region. Three months later, the treasury would receive a new round of sales from the Joint Chamber of Commerce, and by then, the situation would be set.
"It doesn't matter. Let them buy as much as they like." He instructed Sirius, "You have to keep an eye on the market for a while. There can't be any signs of a shortage in the market. As long as they don't reach the personal limit, they can buy whatever they want."
The goods in the Convenience Market were all daily necessities. It could also be seen as a shop controlled and operated by the state, and one needed to have an ID card to purchase it. As long as those businessmen with large amounts of capital were not involved, short-selling would basically not happen.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"By the way, how did the other merchants react?"
"Your Majesty," Barov continued, "the merchants in Neverwinter are vaguely divided into two factions. The peddlers from all over the continent are still in a wait-and-see state. Many shops have announced their closure. Do you want to..." He made a gesture of dismissal.
If they can't refuse to accept SGD, should they just close their doors? Roland shook his head. "The law doesn't apply. The lease of the shop hasn't expired yet, so it's up to them whether they want to open for business or not. What about the other faction? "
"The big Chambers of Commerce in the Fjords didn't react much and continued their business as usual. However, I've received many letters from the Fjords merchants asking if they can pay for the steam engine and paddle steamer with SGD. I've given them a positive reply as per your request. "
The reception room was instantly filled with whispers.
Obviously, everyone was quite surprised by the situation. In their eyes, it was a disgrace to Graycastle that the peddlers from their country had lost to the overseas merchants in supporting the king.
Roland did not care.
It seemed that the people of the sea were indeed more proactive in accepting new things. When the steam engine was first introduced, it was the Fjords native Margaery who first showed great interest in it and provided the first bucket of gold for the industrial development of Border Town.
"But... there's also an exception." Barov coughed twice. "A clothing store called Rainbow Stone didn't close its business. Instead, it put up a banner saying that it was holding a discount to celebrate the release of the SGD. According to my people, almost the entire long street was filled with residents who went to buy clothes."
Roland blinked and then chuckled. "Is it the Victor Lothar who came to me and asked to cooperate with Leaf?
Should he say that the other party was brave, or did he really comprehend his idea?
"Very well." He looked at Honey, the Minister of Publicity. "Write a special report on this. At times like this, confidence is more important than gold."
"Understood." Honey nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty... confidence is more important than gold," Edith, who had been listening to them, suddenly said. Edith, who had been listening on the side, suddenly said, "Please beware of those deliberately fabricated rumors. I think they will come soon."
"What do you mean?" Barov frowned. "Will there be people who deliberately want to harm the SGD?"
"It's normal. There are people who benefit from the policy, and there are also people who suffer. For example, those merchants who don't want to accept the SGD, or those who simply want to shake His Majesty's foundation... You don't think that the nobles who once caused such a ruckus will really stop after only two years, do you?"
"Uh..." The old director was speechless.
Of course they didn't. Roland knew that they were just temporarily dormant. As soon as he showed weakness, they would show their fangs again.
Even if the demons were already at the city gate.
"Don't worry. Honey and Summer will watch out for me."
"And me. The mines in the Western Region will never have too many people." A cold voice rang out in the conference hall. Although they could only hear the voice and not see the person, no one would think that it was a joke.
Roland looked around and said, "Listen, this is just the beginning. After the first few months of stability, the SGD will be promoted to the whole country as soon as possible and completely replace the circulation of the Golden Dragon. This is very important for us to win the Battle of Divine Will. Everyone still needs to work hard! "
"As you wish!" the crowd said in unison.
"Your Majesty..." Barov agreed and then hesitated. "We need to produce so many SGD in a few months. Can we make it in time?"
"The current quantity is just enough to replace the salary, but it doesn't mean that the production is limited. You don't need to worry about that," Roland replied.
Although the SGD was just a piece of paper, it was the pinnacle of technology in Neverwinter. Considering the huge number of Golden Dragon Silver Wolves accumulated over thousands of years, Roland had never considered letting Soroya carry this burden alone. In terms of paper, the SGD had mixed a certain proportion of rubber worm mucus into the paper pulp, which made it more flexible after drying and not easy to tear.
The SGD had a denomination number made of tin foil, which would be embedded in the paper in advance. Only Neverwinter had the technology to make the tin as thin as a cicada's wing.
The SGD was printed on a brand-new roller printing machine. The pigment was provided by Dark Cloud and Broken Sword. The SGD was bright and durable, much better than the plant and mineral dyes of this era. It could last until the next round of SGD.
It could be said that the SGD was the best in terms of production efficiency and counterfeiting. The witches only provided the raw materials, and the production could be done by ordinary people, so the SGD would not encounter any bottlenecks when it came to mass production.
The smooth distribution of the SGD solved one of Roland's worries. Now that Neverwinter had both the people and the money, the only thing left was to turn these resources into productivity.
"Next, I plan to add a batch of projects, about 20,000 to 30,000 people," Roland said to the director of the Administrative Office, which used to be equivalent to the total population of a main city. "Barov, you can discuss the specific distribution plan with the ministers of the relevant departments."
"Yes."
"First, the Ministry of Chemical Industry —" Roland looked at Kyle Sichi.
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