Chapter 476: Chapter 344: About Money
"Sending people to the Greek City-States to hire scholars as teachers is certainly no problem." Maximus first thought of the pirates led by Karsipengpas, as they were currently the most powerful channel connecting the Nix Tribe to the Mediterranean World.
"But in the eyes of the Greeks, our place is a barbaric and backward wasteland. Would those Greek scholars be willing to come here?" Maximus did not hold much hope for this.
"Leader, you should know that a few hundred years ago, in the eyes of the Greeks, Macedonia was also representative of barbarians. Yet Aristotle still accepted King Philip’s invitation to become Alexander’s teacher, eventually educating Alexander into a great Conqueror!" Kefisofon said excitedly. "There will always be some Greek scholars with ideals, hoping to integrate barbarous and backward places into the world illuminated by civilization!"
"Such as you, Kefisofon!" Maximus interjected with a smile.
Kefisofon was a bit ashamed; he had initially stayed in the rebel army out of necessity, but after arriving here and being entrusted with important duties, he could finally showcase his talents, and that was when he began to genuinely serve the Nix Tribe.
After slightly adjusting his emotions, he continued, "Leader, I studied on Rhodes Island for many years, met quite a few classmates, and kept in touch with some of them after returning to the City State. In the past few days, I carefully analyzed their situations and felt that a few of them might be willing to come here. So, I wrote them letters individually; the addresses are on the envelopes.
Leader, you can send someone to deliver the letters first and then send out invitations. I am sure it will succeed."
Rhodes Island... Maximus had heard of this place while in Italy. It was a well-known academic center in the Mediterranean region, where many Greek and Roman youths went to study. According to memories from a past life, it seemed Caesar also studied there.
Seeing Maximus not speaking, Kefisofon quickly said, "Rest assured, Leader, I haven’t disclosed any of our tribe’s secrets in the letters. You can check them."
What secrets of the Nix Tribe should not be disclosed? It was, of course, the fact that this tribe was established by a rebel army of slaves, who had once fought alongside Spartacus’ forces in Italy and defeated multiple Roman armies.
"Kefisofon, you’re the Ritual Officer of the tribe, one of the tribe’s most important members, always diligently working for the tribesmen. How could I not trust you!" Maximus said with firm conviction and sincerity, then softly asked, "What paper did you use to write these letters?"
"Of course, it’s the paper produced by the Paper Making Workshop—" Kefisofon suddenly realized his mistake and stopped speaking abruptly.
Maximus gently reminded, "Thanks to the Danu Goddess’ protection, we’ve made magical paper that other City States and nations don’t have. To avoid attracting the Romans’ attention, we should refrain from distributing this paper for now."
Kefisofon said sheepishly, "Leader, that was my oversight. I’ll rewrite the letters using papyrus instead, but this papyrus—"
"There’s still some papyrus left in the warehouse. I’ll have my subordinates deliver it to you later." Gaius interjected.
Kefisofon thanked profusely.
"Once you’ve rewritten the letters, I’ll send someone to take them to Karsipengpas and commission him to handle this matter for us," said Maximus.
"Thank you, Leader!"
"In the future, don’t mention thanks lightly. What you’re doing is for the tribe, hoping to invite a few knowledgeable teachers to better educate the children!"
Maximus smiled encouragingly, yet he thought to himself: Before sending out these letters, it’s best to have Casius thoroughly review them to ensure there’s no information on crucial tribal secrets that might attract external forces’ attention...
This thought flashed through his mind as Maximus looked at everyone and said, "Today’s meeting of the Political Affairs Hall will conclude here. After returning, according to our previous plan, start taking over the northern territories."
"Leader, our Commerce Department currently has a problem that urgently needs the Political Affairs Hall to discuss and resolve." Pigeris said loudly.
"What problem?"
"Our Commerce Department is in charge of managing the market, and most shops within the market are also under the Commerce Department’s control, selling goods produced by various workshops, with only a small portion being used by tribesmen for bartering..."
Pigeris spoke elaborately, obviously well-prepared. "Due to the tribesmen not having gold and silver coins, we initially stipulated when establishing the market to use wheat in place of gold and silver coins, and even set approximate prices for exchanging wheat for other goods.
For example, an ordinary clay bowl is eight pounds of wheat, a pair of straw shoes two pounds of wheat, a common wooden stool four pounds of wheat, a kitchen knife ten pounds of wheat...
Aside from some tribesmen preferring bartering, the shops under our control strictly adhere to this regulation.
Initially, our tribe was small, with limited territory, not many tribesmen came to buy goods, and the market was built within Snowdonia and Westeni Village, making it easy for the Commerce Department to manage. But now the situation is different—"
Pigeris emphasized his tone, complaining, "Now the tribe’s territory has expanded several times, and the population is nearing 200,000. These new tribesmen, like the old tribesmen, have gradually grown fond of the ceramics, furniture, and ironware produced by our workshops...
The market has become extremely busy, and now the old tribesmen, whose family situation has improved, also want to purchase more expensive goods like the Curved Plow, which is priced at seventy pounds of wheat! According to our statistics, more than thirty people have requested to buy it, and some also wish to purchase stone bricks to renovate their homes...
To facilitate tribesmen purchasing goods more conveniently, our Commerce Department has not only established markets within towns but also between villages, such as the market near Lin Pass Guard Station, the market east of the Sava River close to the mountains, and the market soon to be built near the barracks by the southeast river—"
Maximus frowned slightly, "Pigeris, I’m aware of all the efforts your Commerce Department has made for the tribe. Just say directly what difficulties you’re facing now?"
"Yes, Leader." Pigeris spoke earnestly, "The difficulty our Commerce Department faces is — the number of trades in the tribe is rapidly increasing, trade volume continues to grow, but using wheat in place of gold and silver coins for purchasing goods is beginning to hinder trade development in the tribe, even holding it back."
"Oh!" Maximus immediately became alert, "Explain specifically."
"Village tribesmen wanting to buy things at the market must bring enough wheat with them since most don’t have Carriages, they have to carry it themselves and walk many miles. Once at the market, they see so many goods, wanting to buy this, wanting to buy that, but finally realize they haven’t brought enough wheat...
Not only is it troublesome for tribesmen to buy things, but our Commerce Department’s subordinates responsible for managing the market and operating the shops find it burdensome too. We’re already short-handed, and selling a single good requires repeatedly weighing the wheat to avoid penalties for receiving too little. They work from morning until night with little rest, and not many transactions are completed because half the time is spent collecting wheat.
In two days, the wheat collected in the market is piled into small mountains and must be promptly sent to the Finance Department; the market doesn’t have a dedicated grain storage warehouse, and it would be troublesome if it rained.
Yet, after delivering it to the Finance Department, they have to spend time weighing the wheat again; every time, the Finance Department officials would complain about discrepancies between the sent wheat quantity and the records. But can they blame us?
Tribesmen hand over wheat to our shops’ subordinates, who then move the wheat to the market’s temporary storage, then from the temporary storage to the Carriage, and finally to the Finance Department’s grain warehouse, before weighing again...at each step there’s potential for slight loss, adding up quickly to a significant discrepancy—"
"Pigeris, your Commerce Department finds it troublesome, and our Finance Department feels aggrieved too!" Gaius interrupted loudly, "Leader, every two or three days the Commerce Department sends a batch of wheat, and our limited staff in the Finance Department must carefully weigh, record, file, then store the wheat securely in the warehouse...this costs half a day each time, meaning our Finance Department spends half the month dealing with these things from the Commerce Department.
At the end of the month, we also have to distribute salaries to officials, artisans, and other personnel of the tribe, reaching thousands of people! We need to weigh, verify, sign, and record the wheat given to each person...just finishing this task takes the Finance Department seven or eight days.
Our Finance Department isn’t less busy than your Commerce Department; over half a month is spent dealing with wheat, affecting our ability to focus on other matters!..."
Gaius was both complaining and expressing grievances.
"Since using wheat to purchase goods has severely affected the normal operation of both the Commerce and Finance Departments, and it’s also inconvenient for tribesmen buying things...Leader, how about issuing a decree to allow tribesmen to resume using gold and silver for transactions?" Capito suggested.
"That’s impossible! Whether old or new tribesmen, none have gold or silver coins at home; how could they use them for trading?!" Volenus objected.
"Without gold and silver coins, they can gradually obtain them." Capito raised his head, "Just have the Finance Department give departmental officials, artisans, and other personnel their salaries in gold and silver coins next month instead of wheat, and restore the use of gold and silver coins for purchasing goods...
Over time, other tribesmen will realize the benefits of using gold and silver coins and will try to obtain them from the tribe to buy goods in the market. Thus, solving the difficulties of both the Finance and Commerce Departments."