Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Fatty Shi looked inquisitively at Spear, who was sitting on the sofa in the study. He wondered if something had gone wrong, which made Laurist so anxious that he sent Wade to drag him here. During this period of time, not only was Lollister busy, but he was also extremely busy. There were a lot of things waiting for him to deal with in the family territory.
"It's like this. Spear said that you told her to stop using the old imperial gold coins in the family territory, and to only buy them and not spend them. Currently, there are more than eight million of them. After destroying the Madras Principality, we seized nearly ten million old imperial gold coins. At the same time, we also found out that the Duke wanted to use these coins to forge gold coins. Unfortunately, he died before he could fulfill his ambition, and it's impossible for him to complete this pirated mission. I asked you to come here to ask if we can forge gold coins. After all, the exchange rate of three to one is too much of a loss … "Laurist went straight to the point.
"Your Highness, the document regarding the Madras Grand Duke's intention to forge gold coins is with me. I've been thinking about how to deal with the gold coins of the empire's elderly, but I haven't come up with a good plan yet, so I didn't bring this matter to you. My personal opinion is that forging gold coins is not a good idea, "Fatty Shi said after some thought.
"Why? Gold coins have become the most widely circulated and widely used currency in the Galinthia Continent. It's also the most reassuring currency. Even though the countries around the Trade Union had implemented the strictest precautions against the Trade Union, the currency circulating in their countries was still the Gold Ford currency. As long as we forge gold coins from the old imperial gold coins into gold coins, we can spend them immediately, "Laurist said.
"Sir, do you know which chamber of commerce in the Commerce Alliance issues the gold coins?" Fatty Shi saw Laurist shake his head and continued, "Gold coins are the largest chamber of commerce in the Commerce Alliance. They are issued by the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce, which is led by the seven giants. However, the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce only takes 60% of the profits. The other six chambers each take 5%, and the remaining 10% is used for the daily administrative expenses of the Alliance.
"Since all the gold coins have the same material formula, and they have to go through the gold exchange test before leaving the factory, the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce's profit model is the wastage rate. In other words, forging 100 Gold Fords would require 110 sets of materials. After the casting was completed, the remaining materials were the profits. The Twin-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce basically issued ten million gold coins a year, with the highest being thirty million gold coins a year.
However, the 10% wastage rate referred to the distribution within the Trade Alliance. In reality, the profit from the distribution of ten million Gold Fords per year was not that high. It was only about 8%. After deducting dividends, labor, molds, and other expenses, the net profit from the distribution of ten million Gold Fords was only two to three hundred thousand Gold Fords. What really made the Twin-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce rich was its external processing, which was to forge Gold Fords for other countries.
The wastage rate of Gold Fude for external processing and casting was 30%, and for those with a good relationship, it could be reduced to 25%. Your Highness, do you still remember the Chigda Kingdom? Marquis Roffi Fausta of the Chigda Kingdom had escorted a batch of gold and silver to Morent City to forge gold fords. The Twin-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce stated that the wastage rate was 25%, but in reality, it was only 20%. The other 5% went into the Marquis' pocket. At that time, the Chigda Kingdom commissioned the Trade Alliance to forge 15 million Gold Fords … "
Chigda Kingdom … Marquis Roffi Fausta … The middle-aged nobleman who held the elf-like girl under the moonlight and had a golden emblem with a firebird on his chest … A long memory surged in his mind, and Laurist's expression became absent-minded …
Fatty Shi was very understanding and shut his mouth. He signaled Shihuard, who was standing in the corner, to bring him a bottle of fruit wine.
After a while, Laurist came back to his senses. Fatty Shi was already pouring himself a second glass of wine.
"How do you know so clearly?" Laurist's voice was a little hoarse.
"Back then, I had a foolish brother who fell out of love. His lover was with this Marquis Roffi. So I specially went to investigate, and found that this Marquis was rich and powerful. I couldn't do anything to him, and I couldn't help my brother even if I wanted to. That was one of the things I regretted the most. But at the same time, I found out about the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce's contract to forge gold coins. I became interested and learned more about it. I found out that there was something fishy about the gold coins of the empire's old heads, and I wanted to resell them to make some money. But then I found out that the people who bought the gold coins of the empire's old heads were all from the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce, so I gave up on the idea. "
Laurist laughed. "You're such a failure. You can't do two things well."
Fatty Shi said, "It's all nonsense. That Marquis is a Gold Knight, and I was only a two-star Silver back then. I was asking for trouble with him. I wasn't his match at all. As for the fat meat that the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce was targeting, I was just a deputy director of the Dawn Academy's law enforcement department at that time. Trying to take a bite of it was pure suicide. "
Laurist took the bottle of wine. He didn't use a glass, but directly knocked the neck of the bottle against Fatty Shi's glass. "To the years and youth we spent in the Dawn Academy …"
He raised his head and gulped down the wine.
Sitting on the armchair, Spear shook her head helplessly. This young duke of hers didn't care about the dignity of the Grand Duke of the Northern Region at all. He wasn't a farmer or a mercenary in a village tavern. How could he drink like this?
After downing half a bottle of fruit wine, Laurist wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "I have a question. What casting method does the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce use to issue gold coins? How can they issue more than ten or even thirty million gold coins in a year?"
Laurist remembered that the gold coins issued in various countries on the Galinthea Continent used the plaster casting method. First, the design of the gold coins was engraved on the metal, and then the thickness and the marks on both sides of the gold coins were printed on a soft gypsum board. After the gypsum board hardened, the two sides were closed, and the gold liquid was poured in. After it cooled, the gypsum board was broken, and the gold coins were trimmed and inspected. Only then would a gold coin be cast. However, using this method to cast gold coins had a high failure rate. In terms of labor, cost, and wear and tear, it wasn't worth it.
"Your Highness, the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce uses the metal casting method. They have a secret alloy. They use this alloy to cast three molds, the base plate, the middle plate, and the top plate. After they fit, they pour in the gold liquid and pour water on them to speed up the cooling process. After removing the base plate and the top plate, they use a wooden hammer to lightly knock on the middle plate. The cast gold coins will fall off, and a simple trimming will be done. One mold can cast 100 gold coins at a time. And a foundry has dozens of molds. If needed, they can cast nearly a million gold coins in a day.
I once accompanied Dean Levins to visit the foundry of the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce. They don't mind inviting people of status to visit. According to a manager of the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce who accompanied me, their method of casting gold coins with metal molds is the most advanced in the Galinthea Continent. The cost of casting a gold coin in other countries is 1.3 to 1.5 times, but the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce can keep the cost below 1.1. This is the main reason why all the countries have entrusted the business of casting gold coins to the Trade Alliance. The Trade Alliance has also used this to expand the use of the gold coins, slowly making it the common gold coin on the continent. "
Laurist raised his head, "You mean to say that we don't need to privately cast gold coins, and can just entrust it to the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce?"
Fatty Shi pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "Your Highness, I don't recommend this. The biggest possibility that the Duke of Madras wanted to privately cast gold coins was that he couldn't transport the accumulated gold coins of the Empire's elderly to the Trade Alliance. The roads were blocked, and he couldn't exchange them even if he wanted to. In addition, the exchange rate of 3: 1 was too much of a loss, so he thought of privately casting gold coins. The manager in charge of this matter confessed that the few gold and silver craftsmen recruited by the Duke spent a lot of time but still couldn't make the molds.
Privately casting gold coins was easy to say, but it was actually very difficult. Although the materials used to make the gold coins were the same, because of the characteristics of the gold coins made with this formula, the patterns were clear and resistant to wear and tear. Therefore, the privately cast gold coins had to be exactly the same as the ones issued by the Trade Alliance. The positions of the patterns on the front and back sides couldn't be the slightest bit different. And this was the most difficult part of privately cast gold coins. Because the foundry of the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce used the metal casting method, all the gold coins that left the factory were exactly the same. If it was privately cast, there wouldn't be the same alloy mold, so they could only use the plaster casting method.
Perhaps the first batch of gold coins that were cast using the plaster casting method were very similar to the gold coins, but if they continued to be cast, it would be easy for the lines to be blurred, and the positions of the patterns on the front and back sides to be different. It would be very easy for people to find out that this was privately cast gold coins. This would require constant modification of the mold, and the labor and cost would greatly increase. Once discovered, according to the common practice of the various countries on the continent, the value of the privately cast gold coins would be automatically reduced by half even if they passed the gold exchange test. That would be even more of a loss.
The Duke of Madras had no choice but to privately cast gold coins. The Norton Family doesn't need this. It's very convenient to send these old heads to Morent City by sea and entrust them to the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce. Also, through the Peterson Chamber of Commerce's introduction, we can even reduce the wastage rate to 20%. This is much more economical than if we were to privately cast them. "
"But …" Fatty Shi was a little hesitant.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Loriste was a little puzzled. Since it was better to entrust the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce to do the OEM than to privately cast them, why didn't Fatty Shi suggest doing so?
"Your Highness, I don't know how to define the North. The relationship between the North and the Peterson Chamber of Commerce is friendly and cooperative. But we are flying the flag of the Andinac Kingdom, and the Andinac Kingdom is currently ruled by the second prince, who has a hostile relationship with the Chamber of Commerce. So I'm very worried that if we rashly send the gold coins of these old heads to the Chamber of Commerce to be cast into gold coins, even if the Peterson Chamber of Commerce endorses us, I'm afraid that if someone with ulterior motives provokes the Chamber of Commerce, it will be very easy for the Chamber of Commerce to set their sights on this huge sum of money.
The current Chamber of Commerce is no longer the one we knew in Dawn College. I found that the Chamber of Commerce that has implemented a system of nobility is even more despicable than those kingdoms and duchies that have a feudal system of nobility. The encounter you had in Morent City last time proved this point. In addition, I also have doubts about the Peterson Chamber of Commerce. They still owe our family nearly five hundred thousand gold coins. Although they pay a part of it every year, it's already very disappointing for a chamber of commerce's credibility.
I've already instructed my family to not touch anything other than the fur from the Peterson Chamber of Commerce every year. Unless they pay off all the money first. Although they emphasized the difficulty of the trade route being blocked by the surrounding countries, it has been several years since the glass war, and the relationship between the Chamber of Commerce and the surrounding countries has not improved. This makes people doubt their sincerity. Under such circumstances, I don't think it's a good idea to hand over the gold coins of the old heads of the Empire to them to be cast into gold coins. "
Loriste tapped his fingers on the desk. What Fatty Shi said was very reasonable. In the current situation, it was indeed not suitable to send the gold coins of the old heads of the Empire to Morent City and entrust the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce to cast them into gold coins. Although he wasn't afraid of the Chamber of Commerce's plans for this batch of gold coins, it was better to avoid trouble. If something really happened, he would have to fight the Chamber of Commerce. With the powerful Norton Family armed forces, the Chamber of Commerce would regret their greed. However, he would have to go on a long journey. Even if he defeated the Chamber of Commerce, he would still suffer a lot. The happiest person would be the second prince. He would sit back and enjoy the fruits of the battle, then swallow the fruits of the battle with a smile …
"Then should we continue to store this batch of old heads of the Empire and wait for a while …" Loriste stopped tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Your Highness, I've been thinking about whether or not our family should issue our own gold coin." Fatty Shi said.
"Issue our own gold coins?" Loriste, Steward Spear, who was sitting on the sofa, and Howard, who was standing in the corner, were all stunned. Fatty Shi's imagination was a little wild.
"Yes, Your Highness. Our family's territory currently has a population of 1.3 million. When the territory exchange is completed, the entire Northland will belong to our family. If the southern and eastern parts of the Northland are developed, we can settle at least seven Fengle Plains. As long as there are enough immigrants, the Northland can easily reach a population of 3 million, which is more than the population of some kingdoms and duchies. We can issue our own Norton Family gold coin. Let's call it the Angry Bear Coin and circulate it in the Northern Lands and the territories of our three allies. As long as we stipulate that all transactions must be done with Angry Bear Coins, we will be able to drive Jin Fude out of our sphere of influence … "
"Alright, stop dreaming." Loriste looked at Fatty Shi, who was spitting saliva everywhere, and laughed. "It's not realistic to want to issue our own gold coins. First of all, the second prince will never allow a family to issue gold coins in the Andinac Kingdom. This concerns the reputation of the kingdom. Second, there are no gold mines in our family's territory. Without an endless supply, we can't meet the increasing market demand. This is a fatal weakness for the issuer. Third, what method are you going to use to cast the gold coins? Using plaster casting? "
"No, Your Highness," Fatty Shi replied seriously. "We are not going to issue gold coins immediately. We don't have to worry about the second prince for now. In the next few years, he will have to worry about how to deal with the trade union and the four central duchies. Perhaps he will even have to thank us for issuing gold coins to replace the Old Imperial Head Gold Coins and Kinford Coins.
As for the gold mines, I have also thought about it. After the family takes over the entire Northland, Master Sid will organize a team of professional prospectors to explore the entire Northland. In the eastern part of the Northland, there used to be a small gold mine in the territory of the Kenneth Family. Although it has been mostly mined, Master Sid believes that there must still be a gold vein. There is no reason for a small gold mine to exist alone.
Also, even if we don't find a gold mine, the Old Imperial Head Gold Coins that our family has accumulated, as well as the horseshoe gold and the gold sand that Earl Kenneth paid us, are enough for us to issue more than 20 million gold coins with the same weight as Kinford Coins. This amount of gold coins is enough to handle the transactions within the family's territory and sphere of influence. If there is a shortage of gold coins, we can also urgently purchase the gold mine or use the Kinford Coins to cast the family's gold coins.
Lastly, I hope to use the same metal casting method as the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce to cast the gold coins. I have specially asked Master Yu Lian of the Darksteel Refinery, and he is willing to experiment to see if he can make this alloy. As long as we have this alloy, we can also make the metal mold, and then we can produce a large number of Angry Bear Coins with the lowest loss, just like the Double-Headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce's gold coin foundry. "
Hearing that the gold coins could be cast with the lowest loss, Steward Spear also stood up. "Your Highness, I agree with Sir Shredder. Our family should issue our own gold coins."
Laurist silently pondered for a while and slowly nodded. "Shredder, write down your idea and give it to me. I will learn more about the situation and have a meeting to discuss it later. Let's stop here for today. "
"Yes, Your Highness."
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