Picked up a copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 836 Making Banknotes
It was already hot summer, and there was a wave of heat in Luoyang, and not many people dared to go out. Luoyang had never been so hot for a long time, and many ministers were worried that this weird weather would cause them to die in Sili. Droughts were caused in the area. In such a hot climate, the heat in Gongfu has reached the level that people cannot tolerate.

In the backyard of the Gongfu, there are three blast furnaces, each of which is burning with raging flames, and the red molten iron flows out from the furnace mouth and enters the mold. The hammer smashed down, and there was someone holding a jug of cold water beside him, sparks splashed, and thick smoke billowed straight up to the sky.

In the already extremely hot situation, the heat here has naturally reached its peak. Everyone took off their shirts, revealing their astonishing tendons. Their bodies were red like bronze, and their bodies were drenched in sweat. , Seeing that the sun seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, Ma Jun roared: "Take a break for half an hour!!" Many craftsmen below breathed a sigh of relief.

Ma Jun climbed down the ladder, and immediately someone came over and said in a low voice, "Someone is visiting."

"Oh? Who?"

"Yanzhou pastor sent people, saying that they want to borrow some craftsmen, just like Yuzhou."

"Oh, just give it to them according to the situation in Yuzhou."

"There is also the servant of the Shaofu shooting Liu Ba. He has been waiting outside the door for a long time."

Ma Jun was a little puzzled. Recently, this servant of the Shaofu always came to the Gongfu to look for him. Sometimes he came to give subsidies, and sometimes it was just to chat. Ma Jun knew in his heart that he must have something to help him, but Well, this guy is in charge of the finances, and if the government wants to do more research, it can't avoid dealing with this guy, so it's better not to neglect him too much.

Ma Jun walked towards the door, and as soon as he reached the door, he saw Liu Ba with a smile on his face. Liu Ba smiled and walked towards him. The two greeted each other. Wiping his face and wiping off the sweat, Liu Ba looked at Ma Jun in front of him, his whole body was red, as if he had been dyed. He was just standing at the door, afraid of the heat wave, so he dared not move forward. It takes a whole day to be busy inside.

Liu Ba couldn't help being touched in his heart, and said, "Mr. Ma is lucky. I think it would be better to do these things at night. It's too hot at this time, and I'm afraid it will hurt the craftsmen." Ma Jun ordered He nodded and said, "Yeah, I can't stand the damn weather anymore, and I don't know why, it's so hot today."

"Is Magong still busy improving iron smelting recently?"

"That's right, the iron smelting of this blast furnace can be regarded as some achievements. We strive to spread it to several major iron mining areas in Dahan before next year. By the way, the previous funding from the Shaofu was not in vain. It was originally The concrete to be used for railroad tracks has been proven and can be used for construction, hahaha, Luoyang’s expansion this year, I’m afraid this brand new material will be used!”

"After these materials are sold, the 300 million supported by the state treasury can be paid back within a year." Ma Jun said cautiously, he naturally didn't want to cut off the support from the state treasury. Light up, his support originally had another purpose, but he didn't expect that there would be other gains. As a servant of the Shaofu, he naturally cared about the revenue of the treasury.

"What's the cost?"

Ma Jun pointed to the distance and said, "Just a bag of that size costs less than two hundred renminbi. I sold it to Yuzhou earlier for three hundred renminbi."

"Hahaha, good, Ma Gong! Good!" Liu Ba suddenly became a little excited, and he said: "If it is promoted to the whole country, the 300 million yuan is really worth it. In this way, for the promotion, Ma Gong Leave it to me! I'll make this mud worth it!!"

Ma Jun just smiled and didn't rush to speak.

Liu Ba immediately understood, laughed and said, "In this way, I will perform at Houde Palace tomorrow, and this month, Shaofu's support to Gongfu will not be less than 500 million yuan. How does Magong think?"

"Hey, Mr. Liu, you and I are as close as brothers, and I'm not trying to support you."

"600 million!"

"Liu Gong, you are out of touch now, the promotion and sales are under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu."

"650 million, if there is more, I'm afraid Houde Palace will not approve it"

"Okay!" Ma Jun said immediately, Liu Ba couldn't help laughing, and the two discussed for a while, before Liu Ba seriously said: "Magong, there is one more thing I need you to help me with."

"But it doesn't matter."

"If you say, I want a piece of paper to be turned into money for circulation, so that no one else can make fake ones, and the real ones can be seen at a glance, just like the bank certificates today, what can Ma Gong do?"

Ma Jun pondered for a long time before he said, "Yes."

"Oh?? Really?? What can I do??"

"First of all, in terms of materials, I recommend you to use Shu paper. Shu paper is bright and white, and it is extremely durable. After that, it is strictly forbidden to circulate Shu paper among the people. Private production is not allowed, and it can only be made by temples."

"The other is the problem of patterns. Nowadays, there are printing techniques. You can find a few famous artists and ask them to design patterns. The more complicated and difficult to describe, the better. Finally, it is here. We have recently developed A kind of dye can make paper blue and white. This dye can be used as a special color for certificates. No one will use it except Gongfu. Also, you can set up a few officials in the local area to distinguish the authenticity from the fake. "

Ma Jun thought about it for a long time before he said: "In addition, when saving money, you can keep two copies of the certificate, one in the bank and one in the hands of the common people. gone."

Liu Ba was dumbfounded. He thought that Ma Jun would only give him some technical advice, but he didn't expect that most of Ma Jun's suggestions had nothing to do with technology, and some of them coincided with him. On the other hand, seeing Liu Ba's sluggish appearance, Ma Jun smiled wryly and said: "I just said casually, if there is anything wrong, don't take offense at Mr. Liu."

"Ma Gong is being modest, Ma Gong can say so much casually, it's really embarrassing."

"If Liu Jun intends to implement these things, such as dyes and paper, I will definitely help with all my strength."

Liu Ba shook his head and said with emotion: "I have forgotten that Ma Gong is Wen Rengong's disciple. There are many talents with talents, and there is no shortage of me, but in Gongfu, I am the only one like me."

"What Ma Gong said is reasonable, but it's a pity that I don't have a chance with Wen Rengong in this life, otherwise, I would definitely worship under his sect."

"Alas", Ma Jun sighed, and said: "I have let Shijun down, and failed to inherit his mantle. I have been good at this since I was a child, and finally became a master craftsman, and he only has me as his disciple. "

"Hey, although Ma Gong is not a young man, but in these years, the income for the treasury has increased more than the past few Sikong. Wen Rengong has knowledge, and he will be happy because of it. Wen Rengong is most worried Yes, it is the income of the national treasury. He expanded his financial resources and saved expenses in the past, but it is not as good as a research and development of yours, Ma Gong. Just this iron smelting technique, hahaha, I don’t know how much wealth can be added gone."

The two chatted for a long time, seeing that Ma Jun and the others were about to start work again, Liu Ba didn't dare to disturb, so he left.

Ma Jun stood up, raised his head, looked at the several blast furnaces in front of him, led the craftsmen again, and continued to work. Heat waves hit his body again and again, and his whole body was soaked in sweat, but Ma Jun was still very happy. , with a smile on his face, he hummed happily.

The days are getting better and better, and the craftsmen have their own status. The support received by the Gongfu is increasing year by year. From the initial tens of thousands of dollars to the current millions of dollars, this life is really good. Ma Jun raised his head, wiped off the sweat in front of his eyes, but showed the most beautiful smile.

After Liu Ba returned to the mansion, he went into the study and did not go out for three days. Later, the officials of the Shaofu became busy. Taixue and other universities found some sacrificial wine, and after more than ten days, Liu Ba finally came to Houde Hall.

Liu Xi was not at all surprised by Liu Ba's coming. Even Liu Xi was clear about the purpose of his arrival. In Houde Hall, however, Liu Xi couldn't show it, only for those restless people, he would put on an attitude of knowing the world's affairs, and beat them. For Liu Ba, this is not necessary.

"Liu Shaofu is here?"

"Hahaha, that's great. These days, I'm talking about you. Come on, come on, sit down, have you ever eaten?" For this fellow clan, Liu Xi was very close, and Liu Ba sat in the emperor's seat. In front of him, he took out the documents he had prepared in the past few days, put them on the case, and took out some unusual papers, and put them in front of the emperor.

Liu Xi picked up these papers in surprise. There are six kinds of papers in different sizes and colors, and the numbers on them are also different. Liu Xi asked suspiciously: "What beautiful paper, what is this?"

"Your Majesty, this is the banknote that I want to promote. This kind, the smallest, is one renminbi, this is five renminbi, this is ten renminbi, fifty renminbi, one hundred renminbi, and the largest is five hundred renminbi Qian, the paper is made of Bashu paper. This kind of paper is produced in Bashu, and the output is not large. Usually, only Yizhou people use it. This dyeing is specially made by Gongfu, and no one can imitate it. Your Majesty will take a look at the pattern on it. .”

Liu Ba began to explain seriously, from materials to various anti-counterfeiting measures, Liu Xi nodded from time to time.

"Your Majesty, next, replace the certificates of the bank with this kind of paper, and only declare the new certificates to prevent forgery. In this way, the people will gradually accept the banknotes. In less than ten years, the banknotes will disappear It will replace today's copper coins and become the circulation currency of the Han Dynasty. The banknotes are convenient. If the circulation can be promoted earlier, it will definitely promote the development of the Han Dynasty's business..The treasury will never be empty again."

"Hahaha, okay, okay, Shaofu Liu is indeed my marquis!"

"You go to Shang Shuling and ask him to be in charge of contacting the rest of the prefectures, and you can do this with peace of mind."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!!"

(End of this chapter)