Chapter 310 - Foundation Of Settlements And Economic Decisions
Evaristus, who was somewhat annoyed by the island's first snow, drank some pine tea while watching all the slaves at work.
"How many towns do we have to found in order to reach Fort North?"
One of the seated warriors looked at Evaristus with a smile on his face.
"We need to found three more villages, although for the last one we have to find a way to get to the top of the mountain because it is impossible to climb.
Unless King Einar allows us to use an elevator or allows us to build stairs, we can only seek an alternate path. "
Evaristus stroked his beard "We can use wooden ladders and rope to climb, temporarily, while we look for an alternate path.
That two soldiers climbing the slope using the rappelling techniques that King Einar taught us, that way they can try to find a way in the mountain.
Remember that they must not do things without caution, because the last thing I want is to have deaths among our soldiers."
The soldiers made a Roman salute and withdrew. For his part, Evaristus came out of the tent and watched as they all worked.
"Work harder to build the houses, the road, and the drainage system.
If we take longer, the winter will be too harsh and we will not be able to finish on time.
You have to work until you are extremely tired. "
The slaves and second-class citizens gave a cry and worked harder as they wanted to finish their houses quickly. "
While this was happening in the island's north, things were different in the south, as the priority was only to create tents in areas where the towns would be founded.
While all the slaves work non-stop with the construction of Asgot's road.
A road that would encompass the entire southwestern region of the island, Einar had named it after his father-in-law in honor of his work as Godi of the tribe.
The road would have two separations. The first was a road that would be on the coast and would serve as a method of sending troops and maintaining a stable trade.
The second path would be one that would go through the innermost part of the island, something that Einar considered for the construction of that path was the arrangement of the volcanoes.
So, avoiding an event like what happened in Pompeii, Einar left a space of 20 kilometers as a security perimeter between each volcano.
He also created a forbidden zone, which he protected using barbed wire on the ancient volcano that had erupted months before.
This is because he had created a gem field that had miles of land filled with valuable gems.
Even one artisan was sent to check the place. He returned with an emerald the size of an adult dog.
Einar almost fainted upon seeing the precious gem.
'This thing in the modern world would be worth a few hundred million dollars and could cause some people to die of greed.
I think it's best to keep it in the bank and use it as a deposit from the imperial family to earn interest.
In this way, the stone would not belong to the imperial family and would be a property of the bank of the Nordic nation.
With that, I would prevent some insane from wanting to kill just to have the gem in his possession.
But if I see that it can cause harm to my family, the best thing is to sell it to the Muslims of the Hispanic peninsula.
I think the emirate of Córdoba would like to have such a large gem in their possession, although that leads me to another problem.
Emeralds in a large quantity will lose their value, so I think it is best to make jewelry with them.
With jewels, it is easier for them to have an added value so it will not depend on the fluctuation of the value of the gems.
Otherwise, it would only create a devaluation event like when the sultan of the Mali empire introduced so much gold that it ended up devaluing its value to a level that is remembered in the future for that alone. '
After receiving the emeralds, Einar ordered the bank to take over the emeralds as imperial property.
With this measure, the imperial family would get dividends and control the economy while the nation favored itself.
Because the emeralds backed the Nordic Smaragd currency, with that more money could be printed, avoiding a devaluation of the currency.
Taking advantage of the fact that he could already have a very well-backed currency, Einar held a conference the next day in the center of the city of Asgard.
"Citizens and members of the Nordic kingdom, how do you know the bank has already been in operation for a few months and I know that many people already have saved savings.
But yesterday the kingdom received news that allowed me to advance the process of creating a more stable financial system.
From now on, a gold and silver exchange process will begin to obtain Smaragds, the banknotes of our nation.
This piece of paper has the same value as the gold and silver coins. The equivalence table will be placed in all the places of the kingdom.
You must remember that the Smaragd is an anti-counterfeit coin as it uses a secret method to make it.
It also uses unique materials as well as unique colorants, so don't fear the Smaragd is a fake.
To avoid problems throughout the kingdom, sample tickets will be placed in all public places.
The theft or counterfeiting of the currency is a crime that is paid with death. I hope you can remember it because each bill has a special number to know where it was got.
So the kingdom knows at all times if a counterfeit is among the real bills.
The exchange between coins and bills will be made until April.
I hope that everyone takes this data into account because after that day their coins will be bought at half price and those who trade using them will be penalized.
They should not worry about foreigners as they will be obliged to exchange their money at the bank branch in the port.
If they do not do so, they will be punished and could lose their freedom. I hope they can enjoy this new monetary system that is the banknotes.
There is also a royal edict, and it is in the constitution that a bill regardless of the year of issue will have value.
The value will depend entirely on inflation and other related issues, so remember to take care of your bills.
The bank will also receive banknotes in poor condition and with some damage, as long as they have the important parts visible.
They can be exchanged for banknotes in terrible conditions as long as they enroll in a research program.
Where will it be analyzed if you have a real ticket or a fake one, in case you come across a fake bill, you will have to say where you got it from?
If you cannot do it, the penalties will be forced into slavery or death. I hope you remember my words.
Well, from today, a new era begins for all of us. "
Everyone applauded Einar's words, as they were eager to be able to change their coins to the new bills.
During the following days, the citizens exchanged their gold and silver coins for banknotes.
With the help of Einar and some soldiers who could write, the prices of meals and all the products sold in the kingdom were updated.
One of those who was most surprised was Yaasir, who looked curiously at a bill in his hand.
'It is made of soft material and has an immense quality in details, even a true counterfeiter would have trouble trying to counterfeit this Smaragd.
Not only that, but the idea of using paper money instead of gold and silver coins is revolutionary.
Well, there is better control of what is sold and bought within the kingdom. If the emirate of Córdoba did this, it would guarantee that foreign merchants will pay taxes.
Also, the emirate could have control of how many banknotes can be manufactured, so in theory, there should be no problems ... '
Placing his hand on his chin, he stopped as he read a small book that Einar had given him, in which he mentioned what he wanted to do.
'When a nation creates a currency, it must make it backed by some material, such as gold or precious goods.
If a nation has a gold-backed coin and each banknote is worth one gold coin, the nation cannot print 10 banknotes if it only has one gold coin.
This is because if you do it that way, the currency will be devalued as more people will have bills, which means that if a fish was sold in one bill, it was sold in two bills.
So everything immediately goes up and the coin loses value.
Although citizens and merchants are forced to maintain the price of products, inflammation will occur.
If the population does not feel comfortable using the banknote, they will start using gold and silver as secondary currencies.
But if that is prohibited, then citizens could demand from the bank that issues the currency to give the value of gold that the note is worth.
That would create a deficit in the event of a devaluation since the state only has to pay 5 bills, not 10 bills.
The economy is better than regulating itself, always avoiding monopolies which are power groups that sell products at the price they want because they have no competition. '
Yaasir sighed and stroked his beard "This is very complex. I think I will ask King Einar for help to better understand the handling of the economy.
If I can master it, I could apply it in the emirate of Córdoba. "