Above the mage!

Chapter 629 Ascending to the Ring!

Once the currency reform is successful, the city hall's primary task will shift from currency issuance to establishing and managing a stable source of fiscal revenue, namely, taxation.

In Gaode's previous version, there was usually a dedicated department responsible for tax matters.

However, the Northern City Hall is still in its initial stages of operation, and there is already a shortage of staff.

Moreover, Gaode also believes that if the departmental setup is too detailed, although the responsibilities are clear, the overall efficiency may be affected by the cumbersome processes and increased coordination costs.

Therefore, his final idea was to open a new department under the city hall: the Finance Bureau.

The Treasury Bureau will serve as the core department of the Northern fiscal system, taking full responsibility for the issuance, regulation, and circulation of currency, as well as coordinating tax collection, supervision, and policy implementation.

Having both functions under its jurisdiction avoids inefficiency caused by departmental redundancy and allows currency and taxation to form a closed loop, supporting each other.

As soon as Gao De finished explaining his idea, Sunafa frowned slightly: "Integrate these two functions into the same department?"

Seeing Sunafa's reaction, Gao De couldn't help but secretly praise Sunafa's innate leadership skills once again.

It's important to know that the North had never had a currency in all those years before.

Under such circumstances, Sunefa's ability to instantly recognize the irrationality upon first contact is proof of her wisdom.

In fact, in Gaode's previous life, there were many precedents that proved with bloody lessons that taxation and currency issuance must be separated in order to safeguard the bottom line of the economy.

Taxes are the government's purse strings, and currency issuance is the printing press.

If the same department were to control both of these things, it would be like having the granary guard hold both the key and the weight.

In Gaode's past, there were instances where regimes, facing financial difficulties, forced tax authorities to over-issue currency.

For example, to cover war expenses and fulfill welfare promises, money was directly printed and paid into the treasury as taxes.

While the fiscal deficit may seem to have been resolved in the short term, the resulting currency devaluation and inflation prove that this is merely a short-sighted solution.

To avoid opening this loophole, countries like the one where Gaode (AutoNavi) operates have explicitly stipulated that the institution responsible for issuing currency should independently formulate monetary policy, free from interference by the government's finance department.

But in this world, in the North, the situation is different.

One is the fundamental difference in the nature of the currency.

In the past, currency was essentially just a piece of paper with almost zero cost, and theoretically it could be printed infinitely.

However, the mage plane is a gold standard world, where coins are made of precious metals and have inherent high value.

Even with the premium from seigniorage, it is far from enough to allow for arbitrary over-issuance, thus naturally constraining the issuance of currency.

Another point is that the North is now under the direct control of Gold and Sunefah.

They can see the long-term benefits and will not make short-sighted moves to cover short-term fiscal deficits.

Of course, it is a major taboo for the system to rely on individuals.

Many wise rulers have built great empires, only to have them destroyed by the greed and shortsightedness of their successors.

In the world of mages, whether it's Goddess or Sunaf, their lifespan is at least over five hundred years, which means that the issue of successors can be disregarded for the time being.

After Gao De's explanation, Sunafa's furrowed brows relaxed considerably.

Elsa picked up her pen and began to write: "In this way, the currency is minted and issued by the Finance Bureau, and the public must use currency to pay taxes, which naturally promotes currency circulation; and the tax revenue is collected and deposited into the treasury by the Finance Bureau, which in turn supports the operation of the municipality, which is indeed a perfect closed loop."

"But this is only a temporary measure."

Gao De frowned, his tone suddenly becoming serious, and affirmed, "The separation of currency issuance and taxation is an inevitable future trend."

"Is it to create checks and balances between the two departments? After all, the goal of taxation is to increase revenue, while the core goal of currency issuance is stability. Since they belong to the same department, they will inevitably prioritize increasing revenue at the expense of stability." Aisha, who had experience in national governance, was the first to understand the key point.

"It's not just about checks and balances, but also about professional division of labor." Gaode nodded approvingly, then added:

"True currency issuance is not simply about how many coins are minted; that's a very crude understanding."

Perhaps this understanding is sufficient for most countries on the continent, but my vision for the North is different.

"Professional currency issuance requires the ability to assess market liquidity, manage foreign exchange, and even cope with financial fluctuations across the entire continent, which necessitates extremely strong professional capabilities."

"On the tax collection and administration side, it requires expertise in industrial structure, the formulation of differentiated tax rates, and the crackdown on complex tax evasion methods, which also requires professional capabilities." He rattled off a bunch of neologisms.

Looking back, he saw Elsa and Sunefa deep in thought and understanding. After thinking for a moment, he gave an analogy: "Assigning these two tasks to one department is like asking a blacksmith to forge weapons and clocks at the same time. It seems to save manpower, but in reality, neither can be done well."

Gao De looked at the two of them and said, "The reason I'm letting the Finance Bureau take charge of these two businesses now is because we're still laying the foundation. We need to use an integrated model to quickly establish a system and build a framework, rather than getting bogged down in internal decorations."

"Integrating the two functions can reduce internal friction in departmental coordination, allow currency and taxation to quickly form a linkage, get the system running, and we will personally balance the conflict between the two."

"But once the North has developed, the two responsibilities of currency issuance and tax collection must be separated. The two should make independent decisions, but also coordinate their directions through regular consultations. This is the only way to ensure long-term success."

Elsa's gaze drifted out the window, sweeping over the newly built official price benchmark, and she suddenly realized: "You're now packaging this expedient measure at the foundation stage as a new model, but you've actually already planned out the future splitting path?"

Gao De smiled and said, "I guess so. If you know why we separated, you can better understand why we are temporarily merging now."

"The path to the North must be taken step by step. First, let currency and taxation take root through integration, and then let them grow into towering trees through institutional separation."

Sunafa spoke up at the opportune moment: "Then we should now lay the groundwork in the responsibilities of the Finance Bureau, reserving interfaces for future splits, such as separating the personnel in the currency minting and taxation departments."

“That’s exactly right.” Gao De nodded in approval.

Then, his gaze fell on Elsa, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips. "Leave professional matters to professionals. In the North, no one is more suitable than you in terms of understanding of economics, taxation, and governance. Therefore, you can only serve as the head of the Treasury for now."

Upon hearing this, Elsa gritted her teeth in resentment.

I was initially "tricked" into coming to the North by Gaode Maps, simply to escape.

Who would have thought that after arriving here, my work would accumulate like a snowball?

Even now, the workload is far greater than when they were in the duchy.

Should we say that Gaode and Sunafa trusted her, an outsider, enough, or that Gaode was ruthless enough to exploit her without reservation?

She looked up and glared at Gao De, but there was no real anger in her eyes, only a hint of helplessness and resignation: "Fine, but you have to provide a framework for the formulation of tax policies."

Gao De nodded in agreement.

Specific tax policies are a very complex matter.

Leave professional matters to professionals. Aisha remains the main force in formulating tax policies, while Gaode only provides a few general directions.

Time slipped away quietly during the initial preparations for the monetary reform.

For Gaode Maps, however, time flows at a different pace.

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the meditation room, Gao De sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing long and steady, and a faint chill emanated from his body.

Within the mana pool, two magic crystals of contrasting colors floated in mid-air, radiating distinct yet equally powerful energies. The silver-blue ice magic crystal on the left was crystal clear, like ancient ice, its surface shimmering with a cold luster.

One hundred and eighty fine lines, like frozen rivers, crisscross yet form a unified whole, each line slowly flowing with the power of the Pure Ice Magic.

The emerald green wood crystal on the right glows with a warm, lustrous light, its patterns resembling intertwined vines, full of vitality.

Both have 180 perfectly formed patterns, which contrast sharply with the coldness of the Ice Magic Crystal, yet they achieve a wonderful balance, neither eroding the other, and they gaze at each other from afar.

"It's finally complete." Gao De slowly opened his eyes, a cold silver-blue glint flashing in them, which was then replaced by a warm green.

He felt the overflowing, pure ice magic power within the ice crystal and exhaled a long breath.

The white aura condensed into tiny ice flowers in the air.

The progress of "The Secret Transmission of Zhenbing" caught up with "The Longevity Scripture of Qingmu" at a steady and exaggerated speed, reaching the late stage of the second ring.

His thinking was clear and straightforward: let the rich get rich first and then help the poor get rich later.

The advantage of the Zhenbing bloodline was almost overwhelming before the fifth ring.

Once the time is right, upgrading your ring will be as easy as going with the flow, without any obstacles.
Therefore, the correct path is to first advance the "True Ice Secret Transmission" to the third ring, complete the opening of the third ring magic star sea, and then begin the ring advancement of the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture".

With the aid of top-tier enhancement potions and the early opening of the Spell Star Sea, the difficulty of enhancing the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" will be reduced to almost zero.

In addition, there is a hidden benefit: it avoids waste.

After the Zhenbing bloodline is upgraded, it will awaken spells of the corresponding level.

Previously, Gao De's progress in cultivating the "Qingmu Longevity Scripture" was significantly ahead of that in cultivating the "Zhenbing Secret Transmission".

Therefore, Gao De had already learned and mastered most of the spells awakened after the "True Ice Secret Manual" was upgraded through conventional methods.

This is essentially a waste.

It wasted both the time and effort spent learning these spells and the military merits earned from exchanging spell recipes.

Because, in essence, these spells will eventually be mastered by the virtuous themselves.

But you can't just avoid learning spells after leveling up and become a weak mage just to save on these expenses, can you?

Previously, there was nothing he could do; the progress of the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture" was far ahead of the "True Ice Secret Transmission," so he could only passively accept this waste.

However, the progress of cultivating "The Secret of Zhenbing" is gradually catching up.

Therefore, after returning to the Northern Territory, Gao De did not immediately choose to upgrade his ring, but instead switched to cultivating the "True Ice Secret Manual" in order to avoid such a waste.

At this moment, the magical power within the Ice Magic Crystal had reached saturation, and every pattern was flashing intensely, as if urging it to advance.

Gao De could clearly feel the Zhenbing bloodline within his body stirring, like a sleeping beast about to awaken.

He can unleash his magic to challenge the third ring whenever he wants.

The Zhenbing bloodline gave Gao De enough confidence, so he didn't adjust his state to the best as usual when upgrading the ring, but directly started the ring upgrade!

In the meditation room, a blue halo suddenly flashed violently.

Gao De did not deliberately adjust his breathing; he simply followed the restless impulse of Zhen Bing's bloodline.

The silver-blue ice crystal that was floating to the left of the mana pool underwent a dramatic change.

The 180 fine magical runes, which had been flowing quietly like a frozen river, suddenly shone with a dazzling silver light.

Every line was trembling wildly, as if trying to break free from the magic crystal's restraints.

The first hurdle in advancing from the first ring to the second ring is the crystallization of magical power.

The first hurdle in advancing from the second to the third ring is the Magic Crystal Fission.

There was no sense of stagnation or any bottleneck or obstacle, just like spring snow meeting the sun or ice melting into water.

The magic crystal fission was initiated in response to the pull of the bloodline.

Click, click, click!

A series of crisp cracking sounds echoed within the mana pool, yet no energy was seen leaking out.

Those shattered fragments of magical runes, carrying immense pure ice magic power, swirled and coalesced in mid-air as if drawn by an invisible gravitational force.

Gao De felt a warm and smooth flow of magical energy within his body, and a layer of mysterious silver-white patterns appeared on his skin, slowly circulating.

This is the True Ice Secret Pattern generated by the power of bloodline.

The power hidden within Zhenbing's bloodline was fully unleashed, transforming into countless fine silver threads that wrapped around the magic crystal fragments.

It is both guidance and support.

Unlike the throbbing pain from the magical impact during a normal upgrade, Gao De felt only smoothness and harmony at this moment.

Bloodline and ice magic are of the same origin; advancement is merely the return of power to its proper form.

The shattered magic crystal fragments fused together as they spun, expanding in size at a visible rate.

Before long, it condensed into a star core magic crystal that was three times larger than before.

This new magic crystal is a deep, dark blue color, and its surface is no longer covered with regular patterns, but with fine, silvery-white dots.

It's like a condensed version of the starry sky, and you can feel the vast energy flowing within it.

But it's not over yet.

The moment the Star Core Crystal took shape, a slender silver-blue light track suddenly lit up inside the crystal, flowing slowly like the trajectory of a star.

This is the core symbol of the Three Rings Mage: the Star Trail of Magic.

A mage in the early stages of the third ring has three star trails in their magic crystal, representing spell condensation, mana storage, and elemental resonance, respectively.

At this moment, the first bright star trail to appear in Gao De's magic crystal was the condensation of magic.

Once it is formed, the speed at which all spell models operate will increase dramatically, greatly increasing casting speed.

Spells that used to take a moment to form can now be created instantly with just a thought.

The star trail that follows is the mana storage.

As it lit up, the maximum amount of mana that the Star Core Magic Crystal could hold increased dramatically.

The originally saturated mana only occupied one-third of the magic crystal, leaving the remaining space like a vast lake, waiting for more mana to fill it.

Immediately following, the third "Elemental Resonance" star trail lit up!
(End of this chapter)