"The construction of the new Shu Road is about to start. The budget is three million strings of cash!"
After the court meeting ended, the plan for the new Shu Road swept through Chang 'an like a hurricane.
"The Shu Road is difficult, but it is not false. The Shu Road should have been built long ago. The thousand year dream of the people of Sichuan will finally come true." A merchant in Sichuan said excitedly with tears streaming down his face. From Chang 'an to Hanzhong, the three hundred miles of Shu Road would take about ten days. Once the new Shu Road was built, it could be crossed in a day. The time would be greatly reduced, and the whole journey could be transported by horse and cart. This was the best news for merchants.
The people of Sichuan were naturally concerned about the construction of the new Shu Road, but more of the people of Chang 'an were concerned about the three million strings of cash.
"Three million strings of cash, I'm afraid the national treasury will be emptied!" Everyone was stunned.
"No, the construction of the new Shu Road does not cost the national treasury a single penny." A well-informed merchant kept them guessing.
"How is that possible? Did the three million strings of cash come from the wind?" Everyone shook their heads in disbelief.
The merchant nodded proudly and said, "You can say that the three million strings of cash came out of thin air. It was Mo Jiazi who turned iron into gold."
"Turn iron into gold!" Everyone was stunned. They had only heard of swindlers who turned stone into gold, but had never heard of turning iron into gold. If this matter did not involve Mo Jiazi, they would have thought that they had encountered a swindler. To Mo Jiazi, no matter how miraculous it was, it was not an exaggeration.
"Iron coins!"
When the people of Chang 'an heard how the three million strings of cash came about, they exclaimed one after another.
"That's great. The Tang dynasty does need iron coins. I sell general merchandise. Sometimes, I lose money selling goods for one penny, and no one buys them for two pennies because it is too expensive. If I buy two pennies for three pennies, the people are not willing to buy one more. Many times, my business has been ruined. If there is a fifty or a dime iron coin, it is simply too convenient." A general merchandise merchant sighed.
Many merchants nodded. They often encountered such difficulties. One penny in the Tang dynasty could buy a lot of things. Every time the price had to be adjusted by one penny, it was extremely inconvenient. If there was iron coins, everyone could accept the price adjustment of one or two pennies.
Even though some people knew that the imperial court would earn a lot of money from forging iron coins, no one had any objections. After all, the appearance of iron coins was a happy situation for everyone.
"No wonder Mo Jiazi is called the God of Fortune! He actually discovered the shortcomings of the Tang dynasty's currency twice in a row and made up for them perfectly, "an old man praised.
Everyone nodded in agreement. The first shortage of the Tang dynasty's currency was that it was too troublesome to convert silver and copper coins. Mo Jiazi seized the opportunity to issue banknotes between 100 copper coins and 100 copper coins, which made the Mo's Village Bank famous and firm its foothold.
The second shortage of the Tang dynasty's currency was the iron coin. It was inconvenient for the common people to trade, so Mo Jiazi took the opportunity to introduce the iron coin, which had the least value. However, banknotes were not real money. Every time the bank of the Mo's Village issued one tael of banknotes, it would deposit one tael of silver into the treasury. But iron coins were not the same. They were real money and could be used directly.
"Three million strings of cash! Even the national treasury does not have so much money. Mo Jiazi raised it so easily. "
All the people who heard about it were amazed. The endless ink skills of the Mo's Village were amazing. What was more amazing was that Mo Jiazi could always use the ink skills of the Mo's Village to the extreme.
"The construction of the New Shu Road has changed the history of the Shu region that has been closed to traffic for thousands of years. The iron coins have benefited the people. This matter will be recorded in the annals of history. When Yan Shigu returned home, he took out the Xie Qianchou that he was reluctant to drink and drank it up.
Now that the Tang dynasty had imposed a ban on alcohol, all the wineries no longer produced white spirits. Every bottle of old wine was gone. Especially the Xie Qianchou, which had been discontinued, was very valuable. However, Yan Shigu did not care about the good wine at all. He excitedly recorded what happened today in the imperial court in the history book.
It was not only the plan of the New Shu Road. Mo Jiazi proposed to use stainless steel to make the iron coins to fill the gap of the currency of the Tang dynasty. The secret technique of hydraulic stamping was worth three million strings of cash. Both of them were worthy of being recorded in the annals of history. Suddenly, Yan Shigu wrote as if he was a god and recorded today's imperial court in the history book.
"Iron coins!"
For a moment, everyone was looking forward to the news of the iron coins.
"Ka ka ka!"
Driven by the strong water, the huge hydraulic stamping machine kept running.
"This is the secret technique of hydraulic stamping!"
In the Mo Family Village, the Minister of Works, Zhang Liang, and the Minister of Civil Affairs, Tang Jian, accompanied Li Shimin to inspect the most important part of the iron coins, the hydraulic stamping machine. Looking at the huge machine in front of him, Li Shimin could not help but exclaim.
In just a few years, the Mo Family's machines had become more and more sophisticated. Not only were they bigger and bigger, they were also very delicate. With the help of the hydraulic power, they could operate at high speed without any manpower. At this time, Li Shimin finally believed what Meton said about reducing the cost of casting the iron coins. It was indeed much more efficient than manpower.
"Your Majesty is so wise. This machine was originally used to make stainless steel tableware in the Mo Family Village. It can be used to make the template of the iron coins. Once the imperial court confirms, the Mo Family Village will immediately mass produce the hydraulic stamping machine for the people to use for casting the iron coins." Meton explained.
"Satisfied, why would I not be satisfied?" Tang Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, could not help but smile bitterly.
Casting the iron coins was a cooperation between the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Works. Every year, a batch of copper and silver coins would be cast and distributed to the people, which was also a considerable income for the national treasury. However, the traditional casting of iron coins was done by blacksmiths, furnaces, and molds. The workshop was smoky and the coppersmith's face was dark, so he did not have the heart to step into it.
On the contrary, the workshop of the Mo Family Village was bright and clean, and the craftsmen were clean and tidy. In terms of efficiency, it was much better than the iron coins of the Mo Family Village. Every time it operated, dozens of iron coins were spat out. In a short while, the iron coins in front of them were piled up.
"This is the sample iron coin cast by the Mo Family Village!" Zhang Liang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, who was accompanying them, picked up a sample coin and frowned.
"Yes!" Meton nodded.
"Your Majesty, please take a look." Zhang Liang did not say anything, but handed the sample coin to Li Shimin.
"Why is there no square hole?" Li Shimin took a look at it and frowned.
He had to admit that the sample coins made by the Mo Family Village were indeed exquisite. Every one of them was bright and shiny, and the words "Kai Yuan Tong Bao" were written clearly on the sample coin, which was far better than the copper coins made by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, the traditional Kai Yuan Tong Bao coins were round on the outside and square on the inside, but the sample coin made by the hydraulic press machine of the Mo Family Village was only round without square holes.
Meton explained, "Your Majesty, the reason why the Kai Yuan Tong Bao coins made by the imperial court are round on the outside and square on the inside is that it is convenient for the people to carry. However, it takes time and labor to make the coins this way, and it increases the cost. The cost of the iron coins made by the hydraulic press machine with holes is 10% higher than that without holes."
"Is there such a thing?" Li Shimin could not help being surprised.
"Moreover, the main purpose of the iron coins is for circulation. The people only need to keep a small amount of iron coins, and there is no need to carry and store a large amount. The Minister thinks that the iron coins without holes are the most suitable sample coin. Moreover, everyone knows that one Kai Yuan Tong Bao coin is one copper coin, but the iron coins are different. They need to be made into pentagons and dimes, and the face value can be printed on the square holes. It is clear at a glance." Meton explained.
Li Shimin looked at the sample coin in his hand and found that there was a clear pentagonal word in the center of the sample coin.
"That is to say, two pentagonal iron coins are equal to one Kai Yuan Tong Bao coin." Li Shimin said solemnly. In the currency system of the Tang dynasty, there had never been such a conversion method. Instead, one thousand copper coins were directly exchanged for one tael of silver. As for the broken silver, it was too cumbersome and was only for the people to convert by themselves.
"That's right. Not only that, one pentagonal iron coin can be exchanged for five one-dimes iron coins. In this way, it will be greatly convenient for the people's daily needs." Meton nodded.
Li Shimin nodded. In this way, almost all the prices of the people could be estimated with iron coins. He turned the back of the pentagonal iron coin over. Suddenly, his eyes focused and he was stunned.
"This is … this is the Retired Emperor!" Zhang Liang and Tang Jian noticed the abnormality and couldn't help but exclaim.
On the back of the pentagonal coin, there was a clear side portrait, which was the lifelike portrait of the Retired Emperor.
"Meton, how dare you! How dare you print the Retired Emperor's portrait on the iron coin? This is a crime of great disrespect." Zhang Liang reprimanded loudly. Needless to say, this was the work of Mo Jiazi. In the world, no one except him had such painting skills, and no one had such courage.
Meton admitted straightforwardly, "Lord Zhang, you are making a fuss over nothing. It is not strange to print the King's portrait on the coin. The Persian silver coins from the Silk Road are usually printed with the King's portrait. The Minister saw that the back of the coin was not good, so he wanted to print the Retired Emperor's portrait on it so that the people could admire it and let the Retired Emperor's portrait be passed down forever. If Your Majesty thinks it is not appropriate, the Minister can change it to a peony or a plum blossom."
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "No need. The Retired Emperor has worked hard for the country all his life. He really deserves this honor."
Tang Jian could not help but look at Mo Jiazi in surprise. Mo Jiazi repeatedly caused trouble, but the Emperor's favor did not decline. His ability to figure out the Emperor's heart was extremely extraordinary. After all, the Retired Emperor had passed away. The grudge between him and His Majesty was over. Now, there was only kindness left. If Li Shimin printed the Retired Emperor's portrait on the coin, the people would only remember His Majesty's filial piety.
"Since Your Majesty has allowed it, why don't we print a batch of gold coins in the future with Your Majesty's portrait so that the people can admire Your Majesty's face?" Zhang Liang flattered.
Meton looked at Zhang Liang and shook his head, saying, "Lord Zhang, there is something you don't know. It has always been taboo for people in the world to carve portraits. According to medical research, the world is so big that there is nothing too strange. There can be two people who look alike even if they are thousands of miles apart. If someone impersonates Your Majesty with the portrait on the coin, I am afraid it will cause trouble."
In ancient times, it was very difficult to find the existence of a person who looked alike without a picture. In the future, there were all kinds of imitation shows emerging endlessly. It was simply passing off the fake as the real thing. If Li Shimin's portrait was really exposed, perhaps it would really be used by people with ulterior motives.
"This official has miscalculated!"
Zhang Liang's face immediately flushed red. He did not think that his flattery would backfire.
"Your Majesty, the imperial court's iron coins are made for the convenience of the people. Since the iron coins without holes are convenient for the people, there is nothing wrong with using them. According to the Minister's knowledge, the coins of Persia and other places are indeed without holes. Moreover, they are printed with the King's portrait. Since there is a precedent, there is nothing wrong with Mo Jiu's action."
Li Shimin nodded. The production of the iron coins without holes was indeed very exquisite. Moreover, the iron coins themselves were made to raise money for the construction of the Shu Road. An additional ten percent of the cost was not a small amount. For the new Shu Road, the holes and the holes were not that important. As for printing Li Yuan's portrait, it was a matter of adding flowers to brocade. Li Shimin naturally would not refuse.
"But the material of the iron coins is iron. If in order to save costs, it is made into iron coins without holes, won't it attract criticism?! They will think that the imperial court is exploiting the people. "Zhang Liang had just lost face. He was dissatisfied and once again made a mischievous remark.
Li Shimin suddenly frowned. He attached great importance to his reputation. When he heard that he might be criticized by the people, he could not help but hesitate.
Meton knew Li Shimin's thoughts. He patted his chest and promised, "It's simple. There are two solutions. One is to use copper-zinc alloy to make the five-jiao coin. Zinc ore is not very useful in the Tang dynasty. The cost is very low, even lower than the price of iron. However, it needs 30% copper to make it, which increases the cost a lot. The other way is to use stainless steel to make the five-jiao coin and then plate it with copper. The cost increase is minimal."
Zinc ore was widely used in later generations. However, in the society of the Tang dynasty, the use of zinc ore had not been developed. Only a small amount was used by the Mo Family Village. It was not very valuable at all. It was often left aside together with other minerals after being mined. Meton just used it reasonably. As for the copper plating, the technology in the Mo Family Village was more mature. It was easy to use it on the five-jiao coin.
"What about the one-jiao coin?" Seeing that Meton easily solved the problem he dug, Zhang Liang looked embarrassed.
Meton laughed and retorted without hesitation, "The one-jiao coin is the smallest unit of currency and has the lowest value. Stainless steel is also very valuable. I'm afraid that no one will criticize the use of stainless steel for the one-jiao coin. It doesn't take much effort at all."
Li Shimin and Tang Jian nodded at the same time. The one-jiao coin had the smallest value. It was more than enough to use stainless steel. No one would say anything.
Li Shimin pondered for a while and finally chose to plate the iron coins with copper. First, it could be preserved for a long time. Second, the copper plating would not be criticized by the people. Finally, the purpose of the imperial court's coinage was to raise funds to build the New Shu Road. Naturally, the benefits should be maximized.
Finally, Li Shimin decided to use the sample of the iron coins. All of them were made of iron coins without holes. The back of the five-jiao coin was printed with the profile of the Retired Emperor Li Yuan. The whole coin was plated with copper. The back of the one-jiao coin was printed with the Shu Road plank road to commemorate the difficulty of building the Shu Road.
At this point, the sample of the iron coins was officially decided. They could start to cast the iron coins at any time. Once the iron coins appeared on the market, it was the day when the New Shu Road was built.
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