Chapter 672: Coins

Tie Dun immediately chimed in: "Me too! I was having breakfast in the cafeteria the other day when I heard there was a patrol mission. I ran there without even putting down my bowl, only to find there were more than twenty people in line."

In the end, I didn't manage to grab any. When I came back, the bowls had been taken away, and I hadn't even had my meal.

Wang Wu spoke up casually from the side: "At least you guys have tasks to compete for. Last time I saw a notice about a task called 'Assist in organizing files,' and as soon as I got to the notice board, Feng Qingyan pushed me away."

She said she hadn't received any tasks for three days, and if she didn't find something to do soon, she'd grow mushrooms.

Feng Qingyan said confidently, "I was just scrambling for a strategic mission! Besides, what's wrong with organizing files? I did it very carefully!"

Feng Qingshuang glanced at her from the side: "You were in such a hurry that you didn't even hear the mission requirements clearly. The lord told you to file the confidential documents by date, but you sorted them by color instead."

Feng Qingyan retorted, "What's wrong with color? Color is also a way of classifying things!"

“Those are confidential documents from the lord’s manor,” Feng Qingshuang said, emphasizing each word. “After you sorted them by color, it took us three days to find them.”

Feng Qingyan shrank back and lowered her voice: "...Then I rearranged it by date again."

Lin Feng smiled and gestured with his hand: "Everyone has a chance. This time there are three Nightmare Knights and fourteen Nightmare Generals available, as well as eight golden energy crystals. Whoever has enough merit points will get them."

As soon as the words were spoken, the expressions of the people in the hall immediately split into two camps.

Zhao Hu, Isabella, Lu Dingchuan, and the others maintained a calm expression, but the corners of their mouths were slightly upturned.

They had accumulated merit points over a long period of time, along with three knight slots and a golden crystal, placing them in the top tier.

Tie Dun counted on his fingers for a long time, and the smile on his face slowly froze.

He turned to look at Wang Wu and lowered his voice: "Brother Wu, help me calculate how many merit points I have left?"

Wang Wu glanced at him sideways: "Why are you asking this?"

"I'm thinking, is that enough to get a general position?"

Wang Wu said expressionlessly, "You just changed to a purple helmet and purple combat boots last month, and you treated the whole battalion to three meals a day recently. With your current merits, you can't even afford to exchange them for a purple crystal."

Tie Dun's face instantly fell: "Then all my savings were for nothing?"

“It wasn’t all for nothing.” Wang Wu said calmly, “The merit points you accumulated have already turned into the equipment you wear and the wine in your belly.”

The iron block fell silent.

He looked down at his gleaming combat boots, savored the taste of the three drinks he had just had, and finally sighed, "...The wine was really good."

"It's alright, there will be other opportunities later. The lord said that the lockdown will not be lifted for another six months. If you treat a few fewer people to drinks during these six months, you can still save up."

Tie Dun slapped his thigh: "Then I'll quit drinking from now on!"

Arrow Eye slowly added, "You said the same thing last time."

This time it's for real!

"You said the same thing last time."

On the other side, Feng Qingyan wasn't much better off. Her face instantly fell, and she muttered under her breath, "It's over... I'll never be able to become a general in this lifetime..."

After the discussions in the hall gradually subsided, Lin Feng turned to Jiang Zhaoyue and asked, "Zhaoyue, have economists from various countries come up with any plans for the issuance of the Beacon Coin?"

Jiang Zhaoyue stood up and opened the document in her hand: "It's already done. After analysis, economists from various countries unanimously believe that issuing paper money is worse than directly issuing copper, silver, and gold coins."

She read out each item one by one: "First, the anchor: the Beacon Coin is anchored to energy crystals and maintains an exchange rate of one to ten with Blue Star Credits."

One gray energy crystal can be exchanged for 100 Beacon Coins, a white one for 1,000, a green one for 10,000, and a blue one for 100,000. The energy crystal serves as the anchor.

"Secondly, storage: all energy crystals within the territory must be deposited into the central bank of the Beacon Fire Territory, and exchanged uniformly by the local branches."

Individuals, legions, and chambers of commerce are not allowed to hoard crystals. When crystals are needed, they can be exchanged for them at local banks using Beacon Coins.

The goal is to centralize the crystals scattered among everyone into a central reserve, and then allocate them for military, construction, and foreign procurement purposes.

"Third, the logic of circulation. The core issue raised by economists is that there is a fundamental flaw in using energy crystals as currency, namely that the production rate of crystals is far behind the expansion rate of the territory economy."

The annual increase in crystal production is limited, but the market trading volume doubles every year. In addition, crystals are being consumed in large quantities and traded directly with crystals, which will soon lead to deflation.

As a fiat currency, the issuance of Beacon Coins can be flexibly adjusted according to market demand, without being subject to the rigid constraints of crystal production.

"Fourth, the withdrawal mechanism: the circulation of Fenghuo coins is counted every quarter. If it is found that the currency is over-issued, the currency will be withdrawn by increasing the reserve ratio, withdrawing loans, and reducing public spending."

"At the same time, all taxes, public fees and wages within the territory will be settled in Feng Huo coins, further consolidating its status as legal tender."

She closed the document: "The economist also noted that the key to this plan is not the paper money itself, but the stockpiling."

Only by concentrating all the crystals in the hands of the central bank can the Beacon Coin have a true anchor; otherwise, no matter what currency is issued, it will ultimately be undermined by the market's crystal trading.

After hearing this, Lin Feng silently complained to himself, "They're actually going to issue banknotes with a face value of 100,000? Will they really become the Gold Yuan later?"

But then I thought, they are economists from various countries after all, so let's leave professional matters to the professionals.

After all, this plan has anchors, storage, and recycling mechanisms, which is much more reliable than printing money on a whim.

He snapped out of his thoughts, tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, and glanced at everyone: "Did you all understand?"

Everyone responded in unison, "Understood."

Lin Feng looked at Li Yuan and several awakened civil officials in charge of finance: "Within six months, Feng Huo Coins will officially replace energy crystals, and crystal trading will no longer be allowed on the market."

His tone grew more serious: "Six months from now, anyone who uses crystals for transactions will have them confiscated."

"Yes!" the men replied in unison.

Lin Feng stood up, looked around at every face in the hall, and said, "Meeting adjourned."

Everyone stood up, the chair legs scraping against the stone slabs with a series of sounds.

Feng Qingyan slowly tidied up the documents on the table, and was pulled by Feng Qingshuang before he caught up with the group.