Chapter 1723 - 484: The Structure of the Andes Family

Andes considered it truly a brilliant idea, although he wondered why an Imperial Prince would share such "evil" knowledge with him.

But after pondering, he wasn't so puzzled anymore.

Even a small duchy can be divided into two forces: the Northern Vassals and Duke Edward, let alone an empire whose territory spans the Vast Ocean?

Not all nobles of the empire would stand at Saint Sis' height and overlook the whole situation.

Perhaps in Prince Colin's view, Campbell Duchy has the potential to nurture a future absent in the New World.

Maybe the people there also yearn to escape the control of the Holy City and determine their own fate.

Yet their weakness prevents them from firing the first shot themselves, so they chose to let the gun travel across the ocean, to the Campbell Duchy, separated from Colin Duchy by two seas.

Of course, it might just be him overthinking it.

Perhaps it wasn't that complicated, and Prince Colin simply had deep affection for Princess Erin, thus extending care to her as well.

This speculation is also reasonable.

After all, what waves can a small duchy stir up, even if it finds a new path outside the imperial framework?

This world ultimately belongs to the Transcendents, and transcendent figures are destined to be born only into high-ranking noble families.

Even the Andes Family, with vast wealth, merely hopes to sip some soup from the old nobility, without truly intending to sit at the table.

With countless thoughts gathered, Andes was left with one core question.

"Why silver pounds and not gold pounds?"

They clearly lack gold coins.

"Because it could only be silver pounds."

Looking at the puzzled Andes, Luo Yan patiently explained.

"Campbell Duchy doesn't have the right to mint gold coins; it's an imperial privilege. Everyone knows you can't present that many gold coins nor have that much gold."

"Conversely, Duke Edward has the right to mint silver coins, and can openly back this decision."

"Your path is to establish a 'silver standard' monetary system. After enduring the pain period of asset repricing, you will form a balance with the imperial gold standard."

In times of gold shortage, forcibly pushing "vouchers" to maintain the gold standard is akin to suicide.

Moreover, the ultimate goal of the Campbell people isn't to uphold the exchange rate between gold coins and silver coins for the empire, but to detach from the imperial monetary system and form their own sovereign currency.

In the future, silver pounds will not maintain a 1:1 exchange with imperial silver coins; instead, they will exchange 1:1 with silver coins minted by the Campbell Royal Family.

After all, the silver coin quality minted by various kingdoms is originally a more variable thing compared to the gold coin quality.

Having Campbell's pure silver coins exchanged for the Ryan Kingdom's "iron coins" is openly behaving like a hooligan.

Those "silver coins stamped with various royal crests" are bound to exit the historical stage, and the Campbell people merely foresaw this day ahead of time.

Regarding the depreciation of silver and copper coins, the problem isn't the devaluation itself but the excessively fast devaluation of copper coins tied to people's livelihood.

As long as more liquidity is released on the "silver pound," truly making it the mainstream currency used in everyday transactions by Thunder City citizens, it can actually curb the ongoing copper coin devaluation, once again forming an actual exchange rate of 100:1 with silver pounds, becoming a subsidiary currency to the latter.

As for gold coins, let the value increase as it becomes.

Just like the stocks of the Colin Group, ordinary people don't need such things.

If the liquidity tightens, simply remove it from circulation, allowing it to become a tool for "value storage," which is something the rapidly developing production in Thunder City indeed needs.

Additionally, the minting rights of copper coins held by various vassals must be reclaimed; distributing everything to underlings is a feudal-era vice.

But this matter of Andes' energy can't be talked about, as only Duke Edward has the capability to handle it.

Andes fell into thought.

With the successful foundation laid by stocks and bonds, even if he hadn't realized he was challenging the empire's sovereignty, he perceived the great benefits of "silver pounds."

Now, only some detail issues remain.

He needs the experience of those who have been through it!

Clearly, Prince Colin from the prosperous Gana Continent has seen such things!

"But who will recognize it? And how do we prevent counterfeiting?" Andes asked, eyes shining brightly.

Luo Yan smiled slightly, seemingly expecting this question.

"Credit is your best guarantee."

"As for counterfeiting..."

He extended his index finger, casually drawing a complex rune on the redwood table before him. The rune flashed and disappeared, leaving an imperceptible scorch mark.

"We only need to use alchemy to formulate anti-counterfeiting ink that mortals cannot replicate, solving at least forty percent of the issue."

"Then... what about the remaining sixty percent?" Yang Andes pursued.

"Of course, it's solved during the transaction process."

Luo Yan continued speaking with a relaxed tone as if discussing the weather, smiling.

"Just like the stocks we issued earlier, all transactions will leave traces on our ledgers. The transfer of funds between accounts will naturally be the same. We can roughly understand to whom this money belongs and how it came about... This task can be detached from the bank and a specialized banking regulatory department can be established."

Andes held his breath, unconsciously clenched his fists, and his eyes gleamed as if he had seen a gold mine.