With the popularity of brick roads and four-wheeled carriages, the convenience of transportation and transportation further stimulated the business of Chang 'an. Now Chang' an, with the advantage of being the capital city, attracted numerous business travelers to make a fortune.
All the business travelers who came to Chang 'an would go to the Mo's Village to have a look without exception. On the one hand, they came for the products of the Mo's Village, and on the other hand, they wanted to see the famous Mo's Village.
All the people who came to the Mo's Village were shocked by the magic of the Mo's Village. Not to mention the well-known ink skills of the Mo's Village, what was more amazing was the banknotes of the Mo's Village.
A piece of paper as big as a palm could be exchanged for shining silver, which was extremely convenient. In addition, the Mo's Village directly put 300,000 strings of money in the imperial treasury for the banknotes, which made the reputation of the banknotes spread far and wide.
"Shopkeeper, here are three taels of banknotes!"
In Chang 'an, a business traveler skillfully handed the banknotes of three taels of banknotes to the shopkeeper. After the shopkeeper took the banknotes and looked at them carefully, he felt relieved and put them in his pocket.
Such transactions were everywhere in Chang 'an. Banknotes were not only popular in the Mo's Village, but also gradually appeared in the extremely open Chang' an. The convenience of the banknotes and the reputation of the royal family directly cleared the obstacles for the banknotes. Some bold businessmen also openly accepted the banknotes. Anyway, they could exchange the banknotes for fine silver in the bank of the Mo's Village.
However, what the shopkeeper didn't know was that outside the shop, an ordinary-looking idler shook his head imperceptibly and turned to leave. When he saw an old woman about 50 years old selling cloth, his eyes couldn't help but light up.
"Auntie, how much is your cloth?" The idler asked.
Seeing the business coming, the old woman's eyes lit up and she said, "Young man, eight copper coins per foot."
"Give me three feet, but I don't have copper coins. I only have the banknotes of the Mo's Village. Do you take them?" The idler's eyes flashed.
The old woman laughed and said, "Young man, I'm old and don't know anything about banknotes. Let alone banknotes, I don't even know the silver."
Hearing this, the idler immediately encouraged, "Auntie, the banknotes were made by Mo Jiazi. Each banknote can be exchanged for shining silver, and it is guaranteed by the royal family. You don't have to worry about it at all."
Idler immediately turned into an expert in promoting banknotes, sparing no effort to promote banknotes.
"This … But this old woman only knows copper coins." Mo Jiazi's banknotes had spread like wildfire in Chang 'an, even to the imperial court. This news had already spread throughout Chang' an. Naturally, the old aunty had heard of it, so she didn't reject it so firmly.
When the idler heard that there was hope, he continued to encourage her, "Auntie, I really do like your cloth, but I don't have any cash on hand. If you agree to accept these three silver notes, you don't have to give me the change for the extra six copper coins."
The old woman's heart skipped a beat. She didn't make much profit from selling cloth. If she could get six more copper coins, it wouldn't be a small amount.
"Alright, I'll trust Mo Jiazi this time." The old woman thought for a long time, but in the end, she didn't give in to the temptation. She handed the three feet of cloth to the idler and took the three silver notes from him. However, she didn't have the slightest intention of checking the notes.
The idler held the cloth in his hand and couldn't help but smile proudly. He walked to a corner and saw an exquisite carriage parked at the side. He hurriedly went forward and bowed, "Second Master."
"Hmm! How's it going? "The voice of the Second Master of the Qian Family came from the carriage.
"Second Master, many shopkeepers are very smart. They will check the banknotes when they receive them, so it's easy to be exposed. However, some fools and old women who haven't seen the world are the best targets." The idler bowed and said.
"Well done." The Second Master praised, "Go and do it immediately. Gather as many people as possible and spend as much of these fake banknotes as possible. Once Mo Jiazi is alerted, I'm afraid it won't be so easy."
"Yes!" The idler immediately accepted the order.
As the idler left, the members of the Qian Family began to spread throughout Chang 'an City. An inescapable net for the banknotes was quickly cast.
"What? You don't accept them? These are Mo Jiazi's banknotes. Even the Emperor vouched for him." At the entrance of a dessert shop, the old woman and the shopkeeper of the dessert shop were arguing. The old woman had earned some money and wanted to buy some desserts for her granddaughter, but she didn't expect the shopkeeper to refuse to accept them.
The shopkeeper of the dessert shop frowned and said, "Old Woman, it's not that we don't accept the banknotes, but the quality of your banknotes isn't right!"
"The quality of the banknotes isn't right? What do you mean?" The old woman was stunned and asked.
"These are real banknotes. These are the banknotes you accepted. Compare them and you'll know." The shopkeeper of the dessert shop took out a real banknote and placed it in front of the old woman's three fake banknotes.
"How can this be?" The old woman looked at the banknotes in front of her in disbelief. Even if the craftsmen hired by the Qian Family could achieve an eighty percent similarity to the banknotes, as long as she carefully compared them, she would definitely be able to discover the difference.
"Not to mention that the quality of your banknotes isn't right, Mo Jiazi's banknotes all have a unique serial number, but your three banknotes all have the same serial number." The shopkeeper took out the serial numbers of the old woman's three banknotes. Indeed, they were exactly the same. In fact, this was the first time the shopkeeper of the dessert shop had seen a fake banknote. He wasn't sure at the time, but when he saw the same serial numbers on the fake banknotes, he was sure that the banknotes in front of him were fake.
"And your banknotes don't have a watermark! And … "The shopkeeper of the dessert shop picked up the real banknotes and explained to the old woman how to distinguish between real and fake banknotes in the Mo Journal. Only then did the old woman gradually believe that her banknotes were fake. She couldn't help but cry bitterly.
Thirty copper coins wasn't much in the eyes of ordinary people, but in an extremely poor family, it was ten days of living expenses. This was not a small loss.
As time went by, the fake banknotes were exposed one by one. Most of the victims were elderly people, but there were also many merchants who received the banknotes but didn't check them at all.
Soon, the news of the fake banknotes spread all over the city of Chang 'an. Everyone was afraid of banknotes like snakes and scorpions. The reputation of the banknotes of the Mo Family's Village fell to the bottom in an instant.
"Fake banknotes!" Meton took the fake banknotes in his hand with a gloomy face.
After the fake banknotes were exposed, the bank of the Mo Family's Village received the news immediately and reported it to Meton immediately.
"The banknotes were just issued by the bank not long ago, but the other party could make fake banknotes in such a short time. It can't be done by ordinary people." Shen Hongcai said with a gloomy face.
He had seen with his own eyes how precise the process of making banknotes was, and the secret skills contained in it were even more extraordinary. However, he didn't expect that the other party could copy 80% of the banknotes in such a short time. Although this 80% was only on the surface and couldn't fool the bank, most of the ordinary people who had never come into contact with banknotes were fooled.
"Who on earth is it? Who is targeting the Mo Family? " Meton frowned. He led the Mo Family to rise. Although he advocated for a peaceful rise along the way, he inevitably offended many people. He recalled his opponents over the years one by one, but had no clue at all.
"No matter who is targeting the Mo Family, the most important thing now is to stop the spread of fake banknotes." Shen Hongcai took a deep breath and said.
Once the fake banknotes were spread, the people would suffer heavy losses. At that time, even if the Mo Family was not responsible, they couldn't answer to the imperial court, and the credibility of the banknotes would be greatly damaged.
Meton nodded solemnly and said, "This time, the most affected areas were Chang 'an and Luoyang. The person in the dark saw that the people in Chang' an didn't recognize the fake banknotes, so the people in Chang 'an were deceived. He immediately spread the anti-counterfeit method of banknotes in Chang' an and Luoyang. He asked people who can't distinguish between real and fake banknotes to refuse to accept banknotes."
Shen Hongcai nodded and said, "Although the fake banknotes this time are 80% similar in appearance, the watermark and micro-carving secret skills of the Mo Family's village have not been cracked. As long as you observe carefully, it's not difficult to distinguish. The biggest reason why so many people were deceived this time is that they didn't check the fake banknotes for the first time, so they were deceived."
"Second, put a big reward on the Mo Family's magazine. Whoever can provide clues about the fake banknotes will be rewarded with 100 coins, and important clues will be rewarded with 1,000 coins!" Meton said sternly. This time, he was really angry. It was not that the other party hurt the interests of the Mo Family's village, but that the fake banknotes hurt many people who trusted the Mo Family's village, which was the foundation of the Mo Family.
"When there's a big reward, brave people will be attracted. I believe that the other party can't be completely flawless." Shen Hongcai said coldly.
"What about the deceived ordinary people?" Uncle Fu, who was beside him, said worriedly. He had experienced the poverty of the Mo Family's village. Sometimes, a penny was precious, let alone a banknote that was worth at least one cent. Many people who were deceived only had one tael of banknotes. It was too cruel for a family.
"Since the Mo Family's village is not considerate, then we will pay for it!" Meton said firmly.
"Absolutely not!" Shen Hongcai said hurriedly, "If the Mo Family's village pays for the full amount of the fake banknotes, we will fall into the trap of the people in the dark. The other party can easily cheat a lot of money from the bank of the Mo Family's village.
I'm afraid that the people in the dark are watching every movement of the Mo Family's village. If the Mo Family's village spreads the news that they will pay for the full amount of the fake banknotes, the other party can easily cheat a lot of money from the Mo Family's village with the fake banknotes.
Meton suddenly frowned. If the Mo Family's village did not pay for the full amount of the fake banknotes, the reputation of the banknotes would be damaged. If they did, they would fall into the trap of the people in the dark.
"Now, there is only one way, that is to ask the Chang 'an County Government to calculate the losses of the ordinary people and make a record. If the case is solved in the future, the losses will be compensated." Uncle Fu thought of something and said.
"This is indeed a way." Shen Hongcai nodded in agreement. In this way, the deceived people would have the hope of recovering their losses.
Meton thought for a while and said, "That's good. If the owner of the workshop vouches for the deceived people, the bank will compensate directly."
"Young master, you are so kind!" Uncle Fu was moved. In fact, most of the poor people were deceived by the one-cent banknotes, plus someone vouches for them. In this way, the people in the dark could not do anything bad.
Shen Hongcai thought about it carefully and agreed to the plan. It would not cost too much to compensate the people under the one-cent banknotes. Moreover, although the Mo Family's village was also a victim in this matter, it would not be justified if they did not pay a penny.
"Even so, the enemy is in the light and we are in the dark. Since the other party can imitate the banknotes 80% similar, it is possible that they will continue to crack the banknotes." Shen Hongcai was restless. The strength of the person who spread the fake banknotes really made him feel like a fishbone was stuck in his throat. He did not expect that the person could imitate the fake banknotes to such a degree in such a short time.
Meton frowned and asked, "Where is the paper used to make the banknotes this time?"
"Young master, the banknotes are made of the best Chu paper in Chuan." Uncle Fu replied. Chu paper was the best paper in the Tang dynasty. It was one of the few papers that could be used to make banknotes.
Meton shook his head and said, "Although Chu paper is precious, there are a lot of them in the market. Change the banknotes immediately. Abandon the Chu paper and use mulberry paper, which is a tribute to the royal family. I will ask His Majesty personally about this."
Shen Hongcai could not help but feel happy. Mulberry paper was a tribute to the royal family. It was not circulated in the market at all. It would be much more difficult for the people in the dark to counterfeit it.
"The mulberry paper is just a transition for the banknotes. The Mo Family's village must control the lifeline in their own hands and make the unique paper for the banknotes." Meton said seriously.
"Unique paper?" Uncle Fu was puzzled.
"Cotton paper!" Meton said word by word. Although he did not know the technology of making banknotes in the future, he knew that the paper used for banknotes in the future was cotton paper.
Cotton had just appeared in the Tang dynasty. It was unheard of to use cotton pulp to make paper. If cotton paper was really made, it would be the end of the road for the fake banknotes.
"In addition, no matter the banknotes are one-cent banknotes or one-cent banknotes, all of them use the highest anti-counterfeiting skills. Everyone will be very cautious with one tael of banknotes. The banknotes of one-cent banknotes really make people let down their guard. It is not enough for me to make the fake banknotes of one-cent banknotes." Meton said proudly.
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