Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 700 - 699: On Currency

With a sense of unease and a hint of curiosity, Maji, led by Rebecca, arrived in front of a large building known as the "Magic Guide Technology Research Institute."

It is said to be the highest research center for Cecil’s magic guide technology.

It is said that those incredible ancient magical devices, which exert great power and function and were once called "perfect symbols that luck cannot explain" by members of the former Royal Mage Association, were mostly created within this research center and its affiliated facilities.

Maji had previously visited the southern borders with Victoria, but at that time she didn’t have the chance to visit this technological sanctuary. Today, however, she was invited here to become part of a great project. This could be considered a wondrous arrangement of destiny. Driven by strong curiosity, Maji couldn’t help but take in everything around her with her gaze: everything here was completely new to her.

The Magic Guide Technology Research Institute was not as luxurious and decorated as the Royal Mage Association she was familiar with (which, in her mind, was the closest facility in nature to this sanctuary), but this large multi-story building had a unique beauty and solemnity. It consisted of a main building and three annex buildings. The foundation of the main building was supported by neatly arranged pillars, while the tops of the annex buildings had three strong and straightforward words:

Curiosity; Rigor; Persistence.

This perhaps illustrates part of the attitude Cecil’s scholars have towards research.

"These three words were proposed by Master Kamel and are said to be the guidelines that scholars of the Gondor Empire adhered to back in the day. The ancestor found them very reasonable, so he had us put these three words on top of the research building," Rebecca said happily beside her, "Keep curiosity about the world, discover the unknown within curiosity; maintain rigor when facing the unknown, find the direction of research within rigor; persevere during research, verify results through persistence..."

The tone of the Imperial Princess was light, always with a smile on her face. She finally had the chance to abandon the ornate yet cumbersome court dresses and switch back to simple and practical clothes. Maji noticed that she truly seemed happy after leaving Silver Castle and coming to this research facility.

This "Princess" belonged here.

With a slight smile on her face, Maji followed the chattering Rebecca alongside a group of men and women working at the institute, walking into the mysterious building.

Upon stepping through the door, she was greeted by a spacious and bright hall, illuminated by magic crystal lamps. Corridors and staircases led to different parts of the institute, and the most striking in the hall was a statue located at its center.

It was not of any hero or god Maji was familiar with, nor of the current ruler of the Cecil Empire. It merely depicted an ordinary-looking middle-aged man in a humble magic robe, holding the hand of a thin little girl. They stood in the center of this sanctuary of knowledge and technology, illuminated by a designated magic crystal lamp. The man’s gaze was gentle and calm, as if watching over everyone who entered, and every magic technician or runemaster entering the institute would first bow deeply before the statue before leaving.

Maji looked at the statue in surprise and couldn’t help asking, "Who are they?"

"They are the founders of modern magic technology and his daughter, Annie." Rebecca had put away all her playfulness and, with a serious expression Maji saw for the first time, spoke as she also came to the statue and bowed deeply in respect.

Maji felt a bit at a loss, but she too followed suit and bowed, then she noticed the inscription at the base of the statue: To the Pioneer.

"Does he have no name?" Maji asked surprised and curious.

"No...we only know he was a Wild Mage who might have stayed at the Royal Mage Association," Rebecca said regretfully, "But we searched all the records of the Royal Mage Association and found no name for this Wild Mage...he might have been just an assistant to a grand Mage, or his name might have been completely erased by the association. You know, in the traditional mage community, leaving one’s heritage is a very serious matter, names would be removed from all the records, and about a quarter of the mages of St. Soniel died in the city defense battle, so perhaps the last person who knew his true name died on the walls as well."

Maji was momentarily speechless, but Rebecca smiled brightly again, facing the statue of the man, "But it doesn’t matter, his creations have not been forgotten, as long as we continue to strive, the ’Magic Web’ will be remembered by everyone."

Maji was stunned, but there was a hint of contemplation deep in her eyes. Rebecca, however, had already started walking towards a nearby staircase, "Keep up, keep up, I still have so many people to introduce you to..."

...

In the city center, on the square in front of the "Feudal Lord’s Mansion," a team of sentinel towers guarded the avenue leading to the mansion, and several workers were busy next to the guard post at the junction of the main road.

A short, stout worker, with the help of an elevator, reached the top of a metal lamppost where road signs were hung, and dismantled a few rivets holding a fixed sign with the assistance of a Magic Transmission Terminal. After a bit of shaking, he took down the metal sign reading "Cecil feudal lord’s mansion" and handed it to a colleague nearby.

A new sign was brought over and installed on the steel framework on the side of the lamppost, bearing the fresh words: Cecil Palace.

Beside the lamppost with the road signs, a Mage Technician looked up at the words on the sign and couldn’t help shaking his head, saying, "That’s quite a straightforward name..."

"His Majesty has always liked straightforward names. A vehicle powered by magic becomes a Magic-guided Vehicle, the energy track made of steel is called railroad, and a tower that broadcasts signals is called broadcast tower," another fellow Mage Master laughed, "Anyway, I’m used to it."

"Why don’t you explain what the ’electric’ means in ’Magic Capacitor’ then..."

"Now that’s where you’re wrong!!"

...

"Ancestor, new signage and map changes have all been completed," Aunt Heidi reported to Gawain in the study, "The news about the Cecil feudal lord residence being renamed ’Cecil Palace’ will soon appear in the newspapers and broadcast programs."

"That’s good," Gawain exhaled and laughed, shaking his head, "It’s a bit embarrassing, I nearly forgot this detail earlier... It was only after seeing the ’feudal lord’s mansion’ sign that I remembered the name of this residence must be changed. Fortunately, the Administrative Office’s preparatory committee remembered this matter."

"Considering all the details is the basic work of the preparatory committee, while your precious energy should be focused on bigger issues," Aunt Heidi said seriously, "But on another note... the name ’Cecil Palace’ really lacks distinctiveness."

Gawain looked at Aunt Heidi, half laughing, half crying.

The "Grand Governor" is always a calm and serious person, but occasionally, when there are no outsiders, she will turn into a playful descendant confiding in an ancestor. Besides using all kinds of schemes to cheat for holidays, finding opportunities to mock some of the new terms Gawain has created and jokes nobody understands is one of her few hobbies, a fact Gawain is quite familiar with, but it sometimes leaves him quite helpless.

"I can’t think of any other names - we can’t just cover the house with silver foil and call it ’New Silverhold’," he said with a smile, shaking his head, "A name is just a code, as long as people can immediately understand what it means without any distinctiveness—it becomes naturally accepted over the years."

"Actually, there’s nothing wrong with Cecil Palace itself," Aunt Heidi slightly raised the corner of her mouth, "But Gordon raised a point during the meeting the day before yesterday—whether this ’palace’ needs expansion, or should be rebuilt altogether. Even though it is still very sufficient, its scale is somewhat disproportionate for a palace..."

Gawain shook his head: "No need, as you said, this residence is still quite sufficient, no necessity for expansion. Its scale seems large to me—just by land area it is no less than a small castle, and it’s very new. Rebuilding purely for pomp is a waste of precious resources and manpower—we still have so many cities and roads in the Plains of the Holy Spirits that haven’t been rebuilt yet."

"I knew you would say that," Aunt Heidi said helplessly, "But for an Empire, a royal palace is not just a residence, it’s a facility for royal office work and for part of governmental functions to operate, and it’s a symbol of showing national power and prestige, this aspect you also need to consider."

This time Gawain thought carefully, contemplating as he slowly spoke: "You have a point, as the Supreme Administration Office’s scale expands, and the Empire’s management restructuring occurs, some offices will need to be moved here... But this won’t happen immediately, even if it does it won’t immediately exceed what this residence can bear. The expansion can be planned ahead, but actual execution should wait, at least until we no longer have to worry about feeding so many people in the Plains of the Holy Spirits."

Aunt Heidi lowered her head, "Yes, I understand, ancestor."

Gawain hummed, then said, "What’s the progress on the ’New Currency promotion’ led by Patrick?"

"It’s going relatively smoothly at several pilot points, relying on the Administrative Office’s appeal and the sufficient prestige you inherently bring, the populace can accept appropriately using ’paper money’ as a daily transaction voucher, but most have not completely abandoned traditional metal currency and merely regard paper money as a convenient supplement. Additionally, based on survey visits results, some small merchants view ’paper money’ as a special ’contract voucher’."

Gawain raised his eyebrows: "Contract voucher?"

"Yes, like a proof of loan or an exchange voucher for gold and silver, they believe the paper money is ’issued by banks’ as a proof of wealth, each piece being a note that can buy things because the note could ultimately exchange for gold and silver from the bank..."

Listening to Aunt Heidi’s words, Gawain couldn’t help but sigh slightly: "...we ultimately have faced this stage."

"’This stage’ referring to substitute currency?" Aunt Heidi asked curiously, "Is there a problem with it?"

"Exactly, substitute currency, the plan Patrick is attempting. Each banknote corresponds with verified gold and silver, the total amount of currency circulation determined by the amount of precious metals reserved in banks—a clear and straightforward currency rule with clear and straightforward drawbacks," Gawain explained seriously to the curious Aunt Heidi, "Its greatest danger lies in the factories multiplying societal total wealth, while the mining and production speed of gold and silver is limited, and currency capable of circulation will be limited too, investment and trade scales constrained by the amount of currency banks can issue... eventually forming a contradiction.

"When the contradiction between societal total wealth and currency issuance escalates to a certain extent, it may result in one of two outcomes: either development stagnates, industry enters into a winter, the economy starts to shrink—because societal development is ’rapid or regressive’; or banks are forced to over-issue debt-natured tokens, no matter what form these debts appear—special currency or bonds alike, they will lead to the circulating currency’s value far exceeding the value of reserved precious metals.

"Once this situation begins it won’t stop, deteriorating further, as soon as the society experiences slight turmoil, when people want to convert the substitute currency back into gold and silver, our economy will face catastrophe... since the bank system’s reserved gold and silver won’t match the social total wealth produced by industry long ago, nor match the paper money amount in people’s hands, failing to exchange the substitute currency, even the strongest Empire could collapse overnight."

Gawain’s explanation was as simple and easy to understand as possible and Aunt Heidi was not a fool, having been involved in various new policies for so long, she was able to understand the principle of the entire process almost immediately, her face instantly fell: she realized this was an almost unsolvable trap.

As long as the population increases, people’s survival needs will rise, and society must continue to develop, whereas as long as factories operate, society’s development speed will far exceed the addition rate of gold and silver and other precious metals, "paper money" that can directly exchange for fixed gold and silver surely unable to keep pace with the increase in total social wealth.

With this contradiction appearing and accumulating to a certain stage, development stagnation-regression and currency oversupply must choose between one.

No matter which chosen, disaster follows.

And if no currency reform is implemented at all... it will similarly face the trap of development stagnation, in this neither peaceful nor stable world, it would also be a disaster.

"Patrick appeared worried when reporting these matters to me," Aunt Heidi frowned, slowly saying, "He said when simulating currency circulation, he vaguely felt there was a fatal problem within, yet couldn’t pinpoint it... could it be this trap he detected?"

"He actually sensed it?" Gawain exclaimed, eyes wide open, but soon returned to calm and natural, "Indeed... Such laws are originally summarized by people..."

"This ’trap’ is terrifying," Aunt Heidi said, heart filled with apprehension, "Is there really no way to resolve it?"

"There’s another form of currency... but it’s hard to say which is worse," Gawain frowned and slowly shook his head, "Yet rarely anything in the world is perfect, especially man-made things. Anyway, currently still in the stage of gathering data and societal validation, let’s first see Patrick complete this phase of pilot acceptance, simultaneously wait for Daniel to gather further information on Typhon’s currency reform, once all information is consolidated, we’ll discuss subsequent matters."

After experiencing the Longwind Defense Line clashes, Gawain nowadays has lost psychological burdens over following Typhon’s steps crossing the river, it’s said they have already entered the phase of paper money application, that valuable social experimental data can’t be missed.