Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 434 Cooperation Agreement Economy
When it comes to crossing the line, there's never just zero times, but countless times.

That's how it is for Rainbow Holy City now. In the process of negotiating with the Vast Ocean Territory, the principles and bottom lines that were previously required to be strictly adhered to have been broken time and time again without anyone noticing.

There was no other way; the vast ocean territory gave them just too much.

Wealth, followers, fame, and the significant increase in Rainbow City's status within the Divine Court due to the acquisition of these things.

In principle, highly confidential matters involving the Divine Court should never be leaked to the Vast Ocean.

However, since it is stated as a principle, there must be situations that exceed the principle. Furthermore, the things defined by the preposition "in principle" are mostly for raising prices when the principle is broken in the future.

The bishops all understand this.

Therefore, when Ryan Tsukuyomi Crown raised this issue in a private meeting, all the bishops chose to remain silent.

There were no raised hands, no words, not even expressions... only the silent exchange of glances and the rustling sound of the magical flames flickering gently on the lampstand.

If no one objects, then the matter is considered approved.

That's right. If you don't speak up about things that are allowed in principle, it's considered opposition. If you don't express your opinion on things that are not allowed in principle, it's considered tacit approval.

Is it hard to understand? Look at it from another perspective: if you're pursuing a single girl and she doesn't say anything, it probably means she doesn't agree. But if you're flirting with a married woman and she doesn't scold you, it basically means she doesn't reject you.

Thus, with the unspoken understanding among the higher-ups of Rainbow City, Chen Mo successfully obtained a large amount of information about the "Twilight Tower".

In addition to historical data, it also includes information on the current approximate size of the "Twilight Tower," its main activity areas, the situation of its leaders, the strength of its members, etc., which are "of questionable authenticity and for reference only."

Xia Yuanfeng, holding the document, went back to search with satisfaction. With this annoying troublemaker gone, the lord and the bishops of Rainbow Holy City finally entered the next stage of negotiations in a pleasant manner.

During the five-day visit, both sides reached a series of in-depth cooperation agreements in the fields of economy, trade, culture, security, and information. The HanHai Daily reported on this on its front page with the following news from its on-site correspondent:

In a harmonious atmosphere of long-term friendship, mutual trust and understanding, and joint development, the delegation from the Summer Moon Alliance's Vast Ocean Territory and the high-ranking officials of the Rainbow Holy City of the Mist Moon Divine Court recently completed a series of historically significant in-depth consultations...

Both sides reviewed the fruitful achievements made over the years in the areas of faith dissemination, trade exchanges, and mutual learning among civilizations, and reached several important consensuses on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination...

Blah blah blah...

The full text is several thousand words long, but it can be broken down into three main parts.

Firstly, in the economic and trade field, the two sides formally signed the Rainbow Free Trade Agreement, granting each other special treatment of zero tariffs and no checkpoints.

In the first phase of the trade agreement, the share of goods traded by both sides was an astronomical figure, with 95% of it flowing from the Misty Moon Divine Court to the Vast Sea White Deer.

This is easy to understand. After all, Bailu Plain is currently in a very dilapidated state. The territory has just been established, everything is in ruins, and there is no industrial base. How can it resist the dumping of goods by such an old empire?

In the past, one could sell slaves, but now that avenue has been blocked by the lord's new policies...

When they heard Chen Mo nod and say "good," all the bishops of the Holy City were stunned.

They were just habitually asking for exorbitant prices to leave room for negotiation later, but they didn't expect the other party to actually agree to such an outrageous price so casually.

Could it be that this lord's sharp mind really relied on the guidance of that little mixed-race boy beside him, and that Chen Mo became stupid as soon as Xia Yunfeng left?

As long-standing religious and secular leaders, these bishops are well aware of what will happen if both sides fully implement the agreement and completely open up the market.

For Rainbow City, its vast resources, civilian products, and other essential goods will, thanks to its proximity and the low prices with no tolls, allow it to dominate the market in the Han Hai controlled area.

You should know that in the past, there were hundreds of tribes of all sizes on the Bailu Plain, which meant hundreds of checkpoints. Every time a caravan passed through a checkpoint, it had to pay a toll. Ninety percent of the cost of the goods was the toll.

Compared to this kind of "local tax," what is an entry tax?
If what Lord Chen Mo said is true, and the Han Hai truly implemented this policy without fail, abolishing the toll checkpoints between the various counties of the Bailu Plain, then it would be equivalent to opening the doors of a unified supermarket to the Divine Court.

Standing on the border between the two countries, you will see this spectacular scene.

Clothing made from radiant fabrics and saintly linen from the City of Radiant Light, pious bread and blessed cheese from the Plains along the river, wooden furniture and pure icons from the Oak Forest, metal ores and memory amber from the Valley of Blooming Flowers... as well as exquisite paintings, musical instruments, books, daily necessities, and so on, will all be swept into the market of White Deer Plain like a torrent by the rumbling carriages of the Dwarf Merchant Guild.

Next, the meager amount of universal gold coins on the White Deer Plain was quickly depleted, leading to a currency shortage. In order to obtain hard currency for purchasing supplies, people had to borrow money from the Divine Court, and from then on, they were shackled by the dwarfs with various ingenious economic shackles.

Farrell felt a little reluctant.

Of course, it's also possible that this lord is worried that if the economy of Hanhai really collapses, he might turn against the Divine Court, since the military strength of Hanhai Territory is widely recognized!
Farrell carefully chose his words and cautiously reminded him, "Lord Chen Mo, your territory will probably need to save up a lot of money in the future."

Chen Mo smiled and nodded.

"Uh, right, Han Hai doesn't have that many gold and silver coins. In the future, our transactions will probably have to be paid for using Han Hai's own currency."

Ryan Yueyong chuckled silently.

How can this be?

After taking control of the White Deer Plain, Chen Mo issued a set of paper money to alleviate the shortage of basic currency in the entire territory, replacing the traditional gold, silver and copper coins. The official name was "Summer Moon Alliance Paper Money", which was usually abbreviated as "Xia Yuan" or "Han Hai Yuan".

Using flimsy paper to replace precious metals, without sufficient collateral, is something that ordinary people usually won't easily believe.

After all, once paper money is issued, prices can skyrocket and the currency can depreciate wildly.

However, the special feature of Bailu Plain is that, firstly, it was in a state of semi-military control after being conquered, and ordinary people had no choice.

In the past, you worked with the whips of the lords; now you work with paper money issued by the lords. As long as things were bad enough before, any progress now is progress.

Secondly, a supply and marketing cooperative system with a material distribution system was established in Bailu Plain.

The supply and marketing stations that have been established in each village not only undertake the function of recycling various basic materials, but also regularly receive basic living materials distributed by the head office and sell them to the villagers.

As long as the prices at the supply and marketing cooperatives do not change significantly, the prices in Bailu Plain will remain stable, and the currency of Hanhai will have a sufficiently high value.

However, this approach works in the White Deer Plains, but it won't work in the Rainbow Holy City.

"My lord, as you know, for cross-border transactions, we only accept common gold and silver coins. We don't even accept copper coins, because if too many of those are minted, the market could collapse at any time."

"Besides, this is just paper money!"

“We can’t persuade the caravan to accept something that has no guarantee.”

Faced with the archbishop's refusal, Chen Mo continued to smile and nod.

"It's alright, the caravan won't accept it, you can exchange your gold coins for these paper notes..."

"Ok?"

"Just use Xia Yuan banknotes to buy [Morning Star] from us, won't that solve the problem?" "???"

At this point, Hanhai's complete solution finally came to light.

For Hanhai, this trade agreement will be divided into two phases.

In the first phase, the Han Hai Territory will follow the path of the Bald Eagle, using its own currency to purchase resources and primary industrial products from the Divine Court, in order to restore the devastated Bailu Plains to its former glory as soon as possible.

So why would the Misty Moon Divine Court recognize the currency of the Vast Ocean Territory? Of course, it's because Lord Chen Mo said that if you want to buy the [Morning Star] Starry Sky Special Edition Multifunctional All-in-One Machine, you have to use Vast Ocean currency.

【Morning Star】 is the anchor of HanHai Currency.

Do you think the lord agreed to sell [Morning Star] just to exchange for some data on "Twilight Tower"?

No, that was just an appetizer; the real feast is yet to come.

As long as the Misty Moon Divine Court continues to crave more [Morning Star], they will have no choice but to actively collect "Han Hai Yuan" from the market. To ensure that caravans are incentivized to collect this paper currency from Han Hai trade, the Divine Court may even have to issue official missions or provide exchange guarantees, effectively using the Divine Court's national credit to endorse the circulation and value of "Han Hai Yuan"!
In this way, "Han Hai Yuan" will form a wonderful trading system—within Han Hai, it can be used to purchase living and construction materials through the supply and marketing cooperative system; in the Misty Moon Divine Court, it can be exchanged for gold and silver without any obstacles, because the Divine Court needs it to purchase [Morning Star].

Once this model has been in operation for a period of time and has become a recognized practice for caravans, the "Hanhai Yuan" is very likely to transform into a new, cross-border "quasi-universal currency"!
This tactic is exactly the same as how bald eagles on Earth anchor their currency in oil and then buy up assets worldwide by printing more money.

Of course, if such a trade deficit is maintained for a long period of time, the debt situation will be similar.

However, the biggest difference between Han Hai and the Bald Eagle is that Han Hai's unlimited issuance of currency has led to fiscal deficits and continuous borrowing. The major creditor is Lord Chen Mo himself, or rather, the Eastern Xia behind Chen Mo.

Dongxia used the [Morning Star] to harvest wealth from the Divine Court, then lent the harvested wealth to the Hanhai Territory, which in turn purchased resources from the Divine Court, thus forming a large economic cycle.

Or, to put it another way, Dongxia used its own "Morning Star" to guarantee Hanhai, allowing Hanhai to issue bonds indefinitely and continuously print money.

Then what other questions are there? Print it however you want!
Naturally, this distorted system, which heavily relies on a single high-tech product as its monetary anchor, will eventually reach saturation and become unsustainable. The market for [Morning Star] will eventually fill up, and the Divine Court's purchasing desire will eventually decline.

But it doesn't matter, Dongxia has designed at least nine different solutions for the development path of Hanhai!
More likely, no contingency plan will be needed. After further development, the productivity within the Han Hai territory will be fully unleashed, basic workers who have received intensive one-year and two-year training will graduate, various industrial production lines will be gradually established, and industrial products inheriting the Dongxia system will begin to resurface on the continent...

At that time, Dongxia's high-tech products will be harvested for the first time, and Hanhai's industrialized products will be swept up for the second time.

It's unclear how long the Misty Moon Divine Court can withstand this Free Trade Agreement!
Of course, as the most important part of this agreement, Lord Chen Mo agreed to fully open up the supply of the [Morning Star] Starry Sky Special Edition Multifunctional Integrated Intelligent Robot to the Misty Moon Divine Court.

The price was set quite high, but for Chen Mo, the transportation cost for this kind of interstellar transport directly exceeded the interstellar threshold, so he would lose money no matter how he sold it.

Moreover, the machines sold to the Divine Court have much higher configuration requirements than those used by HanHai itself.

For example, Dongxia needs to be asked to add a remote control system to the machine, as well as matching high-power signal transmission and reception equipment, so that it can continue to function even without a base station.

For example, Dongxia's factory will also install modules that can record sound, images and videos, supposedly to prevent them from being lost or damaged during use.

Furthermore, there's the fast charging function that requires payment to unlock, the system upgrades that can only be performed by paying for regular factory repairs, the self-destruct protection that activates if the core is illegally disassembled, and the repair modules that require special tools and specified consumables...

According to rumors, back in Dongxia's hometown, there are some unconventional technicians who, inspired by certain countries on Earth, suggested equipping the [Morning Star] with a remote-controlled explosion module for unforeseen circumstances. They were thoroughly reprimanded by the [Compassionate Voyage] commander-in-chief.

In short, with the agreement in place, the Divine Court was overjoyed, feeling they had made a huge profit. They had obtained the coveted [Morning Star] and gained a golden channel to dump goods into the Vast Ocean.

Han Hai also benefited; by releasing the Morning Star to gather various information about the Divine Court, he also secured a floor for his own currency, taking a solid step towards the internationalization of Xia Yuan.

After careful evaluation, it turns out that only Lord Chen Mo suffered a loss.

On paper, the total amount of interest-free loans that the Han Hai Territory has borrowed from its own lord is almost exceeding that of the Bald Eagle…

To give a simple example, the gold coins in the early stages of the game were borrowed from the lords, and they are still borrowing now.

In past wars, the air force, navy, communication and reconnaissance equipment of the Hanhai Territory were all borrowed from the lord. The only things it could produce on its own were a small number of "Hanhai-made" firearms, some artillery shells and bullets, and even the industrial equipment for producing these weapons were borrowed from the lord.

Even the model worker factory manager of the restoration plant was lent to the territory by the lord...

The lord's kindness can never be repaid!

After the agreements in the trade and economic fields, the next step is the cultural field, which is much simpler.

After patient communication and exchange, Bishop Ryan and Lord Chen Mo jointly named this year, which has just begun, the "Misty Moon-Summer Moon Year of Civilization Dialogue and Exchange".

The two sides will launch a series of cultural collaborations this year, including but not limited to—

The Seven-Eyed God's Great Temple, presided over by the Divine Court and supervised by the Vast Ocean Territory, serves as a display area for the Divine Court's miracles, divine grace, and divine power.

The Han Hai Territory made a clear demand: Rainbow Holy City must provide at least 10,000 books to the Great Temple's library, and Han Hai Territory personnel must be allowed to freely borrow, view, and copy them.

Both sides will also arrange for performance teams to tour in staggered fashion. The Holy City's choir will arrive in the main cities of various counties in Hanhai to complete more than ten large-scale performances, while Hanhai's cultural troupe will also go to Wuyue to present stage plays.

Of course, both parties will cross-check the specific performance content to avoid any major misunderstandings.

It's unclear how highbrow and esoteric things are in the Divine Court, but things in the Vast Ocean are certainly down-to-earth.

It is said that the lord's primary requirement for the performing arts troupe was that the performances be so clear and understandable that even illiterate ordinary slaves could see and hear them!

The play that will soon premiere at the Divine Court is also the work of the lord. It is the highly acclaimed and breathtaking "The White-Haired Mountain Girl" in the Vast Sea Territory.

In addition to the core projects mentioned above, there are many other projects such as "Folk Customs Exhibition", "Historical and Cultural Research", "Joint Investigation of Relics", and "Folk Art Exchange". In short, both sides believe that they can exert significant influence on each other through this "Year of Dialogue and Exchange among Civilizations".

Regarding security cooperation, the two sides established a dedicated military communication hotline, defined a strategic mutual trust window, and stated that they would regularly exchange views on "regional stability issues of common concern".

In addition, both sides reached agreements, either substantive or tentative, on matters such as the rapid passage of personnel, the mutual exchange of intelligence, the joint defense against orcs, and even the joint crackdown on mobile crimes, especially the cooperative capture of members of the "Twilight Tower" terrorist organization.

Finally, in addition to the explicit agreement, the two parties also had an unwritten agreement.

The specific details are unknown, but it is known that in later generations, this agreement was secretly satirized by some people with ulterior motives as "believers exchanging slaves"!
The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely, and the cooperation negotiations between the Divine Court and Xia Yue, or more accurately, between Rainbow Holy City and Han Hai Territory, went very smoothly.

Before parting, the bigwigs of Rainbow City saw Chen Mo off for a long distance, all the way to the edge of the border, before reluctantly separating.

"Your Excellency Chen Mo, may the light of the Seven Eyes illuminate your path and our shared future!"

"Okay, I'll allow you to take pictures for a while!"

According to the established itinerary, Chen Mo's next stop is the Xiyue homeland, which is nominally under the lord's command.

There, countless eyes, filled with complex and indescribable emotions, eagerly awaited the arrival of the newcomer.

They await their Chairman's arrival at his loyal Xiyue.

(End of this chapter)