Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 632: Military Scrip 1

TL: Rui88

“Next month, I plan to return to Northwest Bay.”

Paul said to Catherine and the others while wrestling with a steak on his plate with a knife and fork.

He was currently dining with his fiancée. Since their engagement was announced, the two had been seeing each other more often, sometimes sharing a meal, sometimes taking a walk, which could be considered a way of cultivating their relationship.

Gradually, the two had become more familiar with each other, not as formal as when they first met, although a thin veil still remained between them.

“Next month? So soon.”

Catherine looked up, slightly surprised.

“Really? Paul, I will go back with you.”

Eileen, on the other hand, was very excited. She truly missed the days in Northwest Bay, where there were none of Crystal Shine’s elaborate formalities and annoying social engagements.

“Nonsense!” Catherine looked at her sister reproachfully.

“What is the matter, sister?”

Eileen wheedled Catherine. “Why do you not come with us?”

Catherine glanced at Paul and saw that his eyes also held a trace of expectation.

“I… still have some things to attend to here in Crystal Shine.”

“What things could you possibly have in Crystal Shine?”

Eileen asked with dissatisfaction. She was not completely clueless. Had that fellow Gerd not married her sister off to Northwest Bay precisely so she would not meddle in affairs?

“Matters concerning the army,” Catherine said in a low voice.

“Father in Heaven!” Eileen touched her forehead and said helplessly, “You are still managing these things? Does His Majesty not mind?”

“Ahem!” Catherine said with a solemn expression, “Since our king has not yet made any clear new arrangements, I must continue with my previous work.”

Paul nodded in approval. “To be in a position is to manage its affairs. Very good!”

Catherine glanced at her fiancé. Paul could always say some concise and pointed phrases that hit the mark. Whenever this happened, her impression of him improved a little. Ř𝘈ΝοᛒƐＳ

“Jars is building up his strength, so we cannot fall behind. The establishment of the factories has greatly improved our finances, so the long-delayed plan for army formation should be implemented as soon as possible.”

Speaking of this, Catherine complained with some frustration, “But what we can accomplish now is still a far cry from our envisioned goal.”

“His Majesty’s intention is to first invest most of the resources into the construction of the Special Economic Zone. Only a small portion can be allocated to the army…”

Paul picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “In the end, it is still a matter of money.”

Catherine nodded. “Yes!”

Seeing his fiancée’s troubled expression, Paul said, “Regarding this issue, I happen to have some immature ideas!”

Catherine looked at him. “Let me hear them?”

Paul smiled. “They have not been thoroughly considered and might not even be feasible in the end.”

Catherine said, “That is alright. Perhaps an immature idea can transition into a mature one?”

“Alright!” Paul nodded. “Then I will speak.”

“Catherine, Eileen, first I want to ask a question…in your understanding, what is the essence of money?”

“The essence of money?”

The two princesses exchanged a glance, with confusion on both their faces. It was a strange question.

Eileen said, “Money is money!”

“Then let me ask you, why do people love money so much? In our world, money is just some metal. Although the metals they are made of…gold, silver, copper…are rare, can these metals be used to fill one’s stomach or to keep warm?”

Eileen said, “But these metals can be exchanged for food and clothing, and these things can satisfy the needs you mentioned.”

“Well said!” Paul clapped his hands in praise. “Eileen, you have already touched upon the essence of the matter.”

“That is to say, what truly satisfies our survival needs is not money itself, but the items they can be exchanged for.”

Eileen and Catherine nodded as a matter of course.

Paul summarized, “Therefore, money is a vessel of credit. What is this credit? I use a small piece of metal to get the items I need from you, and I can guarantee that you can use this piece of metal I gave you to get the items you need from someone else. Money is the proof of this credit. Our entire human civilization endorses this proof, artificially endowing it with value.”

Hearing this, Catherine felt very strange. Although what Paul said was knowledge she had never encountered before and was very novel, he seemed to have gone off-topic. Were they not just discussing the matter of army building?

But she also had a faint feeling that Paul was laying the groundwork for the “immature idea” he had mentioned earlier. It was just that this groundwork was a bit long.

She decided to keep listening. Besides, what Paul was saying was indeed quite interesting.

At this point, Paul asked again, “Then, ladies, now I ask you, as a proof of credit, is it better to have more and more money in this world?”

“What is there to doubt about that? Of course, the more, the better!”

Eileen answered first, her face beaming. “Is the kingdom’s government not troubled by a lack of money? With more money, can they not do more things? For example, in the military, recruiting more soldiers and forging more weapons.”

“Yes.” Paul nodded. “For an individual, it is natural that the more money, the better. But I was asking about the entire world, the entire human society. Is it really the more money, the better?”

Catherine slowly shook her head. After Paul’s “popular science” explanation, she already had some vague, abstract understanding in her mind, but she did not yet know how to express it in concrete language.

Paul asked, “Should we not think that, within a limited scope, the total material wealth of society…that is, the food, clothing, and other things we all depend on for survival…and the money circulating in society should have a dynamic balance?”

Eileen asked, “Balance? What do you mean?”

Looking at the little princess’s curious gaze, Paul thoroughly enjoyed himself. He liked this feeling of being a teacher, even though his own understanding of economics was merely superficial.

Looking at Catherine, this princess who had always been proud now had a faint hint of appreciation, even… admiration, in her eyes as she looked at him.

Paul gloated inwardly.

“Let us first set up a simple model. Suppose the material wealth of our human society is ten loaves of bread, and there are only ten gold coins in human society. At this time, one loaf of bread corresponds to one gold coin.”

“But one day, the Lord of Light suddenly performed a miracle, and the gold coins held by human society suddenly doubled to twenty gold coins. At this time, how many gold coins does one loaf of bread correspond to?”

Eileen shot him a look. “Naturally, two gold coins. Hmph, even a child could calculate that.”

“That is to say, you could originally buy one loaf of bread with one gold coin, but now you have to spend two gold coins to buy one loaf of bread.”

“Uh… it seems so. The money… is not as valuable.”