Suddenly, Zhang Liang, the Minister of Works, who had been silent all this time, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the cost of casting coins is very high. The face value of the iron coins is too small. Let alone making money, it's already good enough to break even. However, for the convenience of the people, the Ministry of Works is willing to cast iron coins for the people at a fair price."
"Break even!"
Suddenly, all the civil and military officials were in an uproar. They all looked at Zhang Liang in disbelief.
"Break even! How is this possible? Is Lord Zhang joking? Since when can casting coins only break even? " Feng Guan, the governor of Yizhou, was shocked. We finally have a way to raise money for the construction of the Sichuan Road, but we can only break even. Isn't this a big joke? "
"Lord Feng, don't worry. Let me calculate for you. There's no need to mention the value of stainless steel, not to mention the charcoal needed to smelt steel and the labor needed to cast iron coins. … But the face value of the iron coins we cast is only 50 cents and 1 cent. We may make some money from the 50 cents, but we're doomed to lose money from the 10 cents." Zhang Liang, the Minister of Works, calculated the cost of the iron coins one by one. The cost and the wages were almost equal, which made the original idea of making a lot of money from casting coins completely fail.
Feng Guan's heart was getting colder and colder. Stainless steel had just been introduced and was popular in the Tang dynasty. Its price was not low, not to mention the cost of casting coins. In this way, he was afraid that he could not make much money.
The scholarly official immediately revealed a knowing smile. The son of Mohism was indeed extraordinary, and he had almost succeeded. Unfortunately, man proposes but the heavens disposes. He had never thought that the money would only be able to cover its costs, and that it would be impossible for him to use this opportunity to raise much money.
Zhangsun Chong sneered in his heart. This time, he wanted to see what other tricks Mo Jiazi had.
However, Meton was not in a hurry and said, "Your Majesty, the secret skill of stainless steel is the ink technique announced by the Minister. Naturally, it is not the ink technique mentioned by the Minister. The secret skill mentioned by the Minister is the latest hydraulic press secret skill of the School of Mohism."
"The secret technique of hydraulic pressing!" Li Shimin was surprised. Could it be that this ink technique could allow the imperial court to smoothly raise three million strings of string of money?
"That's right. The Secret Hydraulic Stamping Technique is the latest secret forging technique of the Mo Family. It is specially made for the forging of stainless steel by the Mo Family. It doesn't require manpower and only requires water power to drive it. Moreover, the process is advanced. The stainless steel objects produced are not only exquisite but also cheap. If the imperial court uses the Secret Hydraulic Stamping Technique, it will be able to reduce the cost of casting coins by 50%. In addition, the Mo Family will supply the imperial court with stainless steel at a fair price and the cost of casting iron coins will be reduced by another 20%." Meton waved his hand and said.
The cost of forging iron coins was first reduced by 50%, then by 20%. Originally, the imperial court's iron coins could barely break even. Now that they were using the secret technique of hydraulic stamping, wouldn't they instantly become profitable?
"Really?" Li Guomin was pleasantly surprised. Although the face value of the iron coins was small, they were superior in quantity. Once they were profitable, three million strings of cash would not be impossible.
"That's right. Moreover, the secret technique of hydraulic stamping is the most advanced forging secret technique of the Tang dynasty. It's impossible to imitate it. Once the iron coins are issued, there will never be any fake ones." Meton guaranteed. The iron coins forged with ordinary techniques could only break even. Naturally, no one would take the risk of imitating the iron coins for the sake of making money.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. With the secret technique of hydraulic stamping, the Tang dynasty will gain a huge amount of wealth out of nowhere. However, the Minister still opposes using this money to build the Shu Road. Now that the Tang dynasty has a lot of things to do, with the infusion of three million strings of iron coins, we will definitely be able to benefit the people of the world." When Yu Zhining saw that Mo Jiazi had unexpectedly turned the situation around, he immediately knew that this matter was not going to work. His heart moved and he immediately thought of the iron coins.
"I suggest that we first control the Yellow River. The Yellow River endangers tens of millions of people. It is more urgent than the Shu Road." Zhangsun Wuji suggested.
"I suggest that we take the opportunity to build more brick roads. The use of brick roads is well known. Once we build more brick roads, the economy of the Tang dynasty will definitely surge again. At that time, we will naturally have the money to build the Shu Road." The Minister of Works, Zhang Liang, suggested.
"I suggest that we use this money to popularize compulsory education. This is a long-term plan. …"
… … …
For a moment, the profits of the iron coins were still on paper, but the officials in the imperial court actually had ideas. Every one of them was dignified and had a long way to go.
The Governor of Yizhou, Feng Guan, could not help but be furious. He said, "This is ridiculous. In order to prevent the construction of the new Shu Road, you all took the money in advance from the national treasury. Now that Merton has found a way to raise money, you all actually dare to come out and snatch it. This is too much."
Yu Zhining said righteously, "Lord Feng, please don't be angry. There are priorities. Now that the Tang dynasty is about to reach its golden age, we urgently need funds to build the new Shu Road. I can guarantee that at most fifty years, no, thirty years, the imperial court will definitely be able to gather the money and successfully build the new Shu Road."
"Thirty years, even if it's three years, I can't wait that long. The people of Shu also can't wait that long!" Feng Guan was furious. The people of Sichuan had been waiting for thousands of years. Now that they had to wait another thirty years, he was afraid that when he returned to the land of Sichuan, he would be severely scolded by the people.
"Your Majesty, please make a decision for this official!" The Governor of Hanzhong suddenly had an idea and asked Li Shimin for help.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
The officials also asked for help.
Li Shimin could not help but fall into a dilemma. Once the three million strings of cash were invested in the construction of the Tang dynasty, there was no need to say much about the benefits it would bring. However, the strategic position of the new Shu Road was also very important.
"Your Majesty, there is a saying in the School of Mo that good steel should be used on the blade. Whether it is to control the Yellow River, compulsory education, or building brick roads, they can all be pushed forward step by step. However, the new Shu Road must be built in one go. In the future, there will be no more opportunities to raise three million strings of cash without affecting the national economy and the people's lives." Meton solemnly bowed to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin was suddenly shocked. According to the current situation of the Tang dynasty, it could be said that the annual national treasury income had its own uses. There was not much money to be used. Now, the expected surplus of three million strings of cash for the iron coins was almost out of thin air. Even if it was used, it would not affect the established plan of the Tang dynasty. In the future, the national treasury income would certainly increase, but the expenditure would also increase. At that time, it would not be easy to use three million strings of cash.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin made up his mind and said, "Since the idea of casting iron coins was Minister Mo's idea for the new Shu Road, the surplus will naturally be used on the new Shu Road."
"Your Majesty, …" Yu Zhining still wanted to remonstrate.
"If you have the ability to earn three million strings of cash for the imperial court, you can also decide how to use it. How about that?" Li Shimin countered.
Suddenly, all the Confucian officials were speechless. They silently swallowed the bitter fruit. They worked together to besiege Mo Jiazi, but they were defeated by Mo Jiazi again. This made them feel somewhat dejected.
"Mo Jiazi is indeed Mo Jiazi!"
The civil officials could not help but take a deep breath. They looked at the back of the young man in the Taiji Palace. They felt like they were looking up at a tall mountain.
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