Chapter 280: The Mongorte Dynasty's Exclusive Currency
After reviewing the section for the Cult of the Holy Machine, Lucan turned his attention to the part that interested him the most: the platform's commercial functions.
When he opened it, a virtual trading platform materialized before his eyes. Although it was still somewhat crude and had not yet been significantly optimized, all the necessary features were present.
"My Lord!" Pavian exclaimed. "The trading market you mentioned began its trial run in the Expanse... no, I should say the Sector, two months ago. The results have been far better than we ever imagined! You have no idea how happy Governor Rebecca has been lately. Her coffers have become quite full. This is the first time I've ever heard Governor Rebecca praise me! Usually, whenever I go to her to ask for funding, she avoids me. But now, she's finally stopped calling me a money-burning machine.
"In this short time, the resources and profits we've gained through this platform have come in much faster than through normal mining or collecting dues from the other dynasties! I never would have believed that this kind of trade could bring such immense benefits to the Dynasty. When I think back to the Mongorte Dynasty before you became a Rogue Trader... every time, we had to venture into the unknown void, survive countless dangers to return to the Imperium, and then painstakingly search for buyers, only to have them haggle down the price. But now, we can earn a handsome profit without doing anything."
Pavian actually seemed to be reminiscing about the hard times of the past.
Lucan was speechless. He glanced at the still-sentimental Pavian before turning his attention back to the screen. A massive amount of transaction information was indeed spread across the platform. There were everyday supplies, raw metals for manufacturing, wargear, technology, population, and even the Mongorte Dynasty's own listings for SCV repair services. The variety was dazzling. Products from different star systems were listed in such dense numbers that he couldn't scroll to the bottom. Lucan even saw some mercenary contracts for war.
Of course, items that were clearly heretical, or extremely dangerous xenos artifacts, were not allowed to be listed on this platform. The black market still needed to be kept in the shadows. But now, the profits from these legitimate, open transactions were no less than those of the illegal black market of the past. If he wanted to promote this platform, he still had to abide by the basic laws of the Imperium.
The information of the buyers and sellers was also clearly visible next to the products, including not just their names, but also their affiliations and home systems. All of this information was verified by officials of the Mongorte Dynasty.
Currently, access to this trading platform was limited to high-quality members of the Alliance or the Koronus Sector, or to those independent worlds that had a long history of good cooperation with the Dynasty. Illegal criminal organizations like pirates were not allowed access. Lucan could even see the names of official Imperial departments from the Expanse, such as trade orders from the Imperial Navy and the Mechanicus pioneer fleets.
According to the regulations, the platform was not yet open to most individual users. There were exceptions, of course, for people of great prestige. If you were a Cardinal, a high-ranking Inquisitor, or a flag officer in the Navy, you could also have a personal account.
The clear and concise information allowed people to trade more quickly. In a single system, you might have a hard time finding a buyer or seller. But when the scope was wide enough, you could always find someone you needed on the platform, allowing you to trade your surplus resources for the goods you needed most.
"My Lord, the daily transaction volume is astonishing! Everyone is benefiting from this platform!"
As per Lucan's request, the platform did not prohibit the original form of bartering. However, the Dynasty would not guarantee the final success or authenticity of such trades, and it was not conducive to the Dynasty extracting a profit from each transaction.
Of course, was there a safer, more convenient way? Yes, there was.
"Mongorte Credits?"
Lucan continued to browse the transaction information on the platform. As expected, very few orders were for bartering. The purchase price for most goods was already marked in Mongorte Credits. In particular, the various goods from his own Dynasty no longer accepted barter; they could only be traded for Mongorte Credits. Lucan could see that this was a measure taken by Rebecca to promote the new currency. There would surely be some opposition at first, but these goods were a monopoly of the Dynasty. If you didn't accept, you had no choice.
If you wanted to continue to obtain goods from the Dynasty, you had to accept this monetary system. The dues submitted by the members of the Alliance were also required to be settled in Credits, no longer in physical goods.
"That's right!" Pavian confirmed. "After you obtained the rights of a Sector Lord and the status of a High Lord, Governor Rebecca, as per your request, established this currency for temporary circulation within our Dynasty's sphere of influence. It is a currency issued on the credit of you and the Mongorte Dynasty, and it is backed by the military power and vast industrial and material output of the Dynasty.
"Anyone who possesses these Credits can purchase any publicly traded goods and services from the Dynasty. When a transaction reaches a certain size, the Dynasty can even arrange for a transport ship equipped with a warp drive to deliver the goods right to their doorstep! They no longer have to worry about losses or pirate attacks and xenos raids during transport. The real-name verification system you mentioned also ensures that the people conducting the trades are, for the most part, trustworthy, preventing the widespread arming of our enemies.
"And for every transaction, the Dynasty charges a 10% fee in Credits. They have no problem with this fee. Compared to the information blackouts, transportation costs, and potential accidents of the past, this is an incredibly good deal. The fees collected can then be used by us to purchase various needed materials directly from the platform. The Dynasty itself is the biggest buyer and seller on this platform! The amount of resources the Dynasty consumes every day is enormous. These consumed resources will then be converted back into Credits and circulated back into the market, forming a virtuous cycle."
"Tell Rebecca that she must maintain a stable exchange rate between these Credits and the Dynasty's goods," Lucan instructed. "And she is not to engage in the arbitrary printing of Credits."
"I will inform Governor Rebecca."
Lucan nodded as he listened to Pavian's report. In the world of Warhammer, weapons, population, technology, and resources were the hard currency. His Dynasty was using these very things as the backing for the Credit. The tithes collected by the Imperium were also these things; they were the de facto currency of the Warhammer universe. And right now, Lucan had all four in abundance.
Many of the StarCraft technologies and equipment were now best-selling products, especially the powersuits. War was the main theme of this universe, and even after selling them for so many years, the demand still outstripped the supply. As he continued to make breakthroughs in the Stellaris tech tree, the backing for the Credit would become even more stable. Until the StarCraft equipment had completely saturated the Warhammer market, he hardly needed to worry about the Credit losing the trust of its users. The Dynasty's current production capacity could fully support the redemptions of all Credit holders.
For others, possessing Credits would also make trading with Rogue Traders or factions outside the Mongorte Dynasty more convenient. They could complete a transaction with a simple operation on the platform. The rewards the Dynasty paid to the Rogue Traders who had unconditionally provided them with supplies during the war for Cadia were also settled directly in Credits. But if others wanted to obtain Credits, they would need to exchange them for various things the Dynasty needed, such as resources, able-bodied population, and unseen technologies. Especially technology. Who knew what useful tech the explorers in the Expanse might dig up? The technology of humanity's Golden Age was still very powerful. Not only could he use it himself, but it could also fill in the prerequisite tech tree for Stellaris.
And to increase the authority of the currency, Lucan had even had Verre form a special military unit.
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