I was the richest man in Da Song

Chapter 105 Banknotes
After much deliberation, He Shao finally decided to return to Kaifeng Mansion. He was the one who knew the best and the worst, and this matter had to be reported face to face, and the prosperity of the market could not be separated from those wealthy merchants in Kaifeng City.

These people are staring at Kaifeng City every day to compete for one-third of an acre of land, and take money out of the pockets of the people of Kaifeng City in different ways. It is better to let them use their ingenuity to make a fortune in Liao Kingdom.

He Shao took He Anwen, who was reluctant to leave, back to Kaifeng City because He Jing wanted to go to county school.

After there was no war on Hedong Road, the road went much smoother, and he returned to Kaifeng City in less than two days.

After resting for the night, He Shao went to Xiuzhengfang early in the morning of the next day, and met with Li Hang and Xiang Minzhong's uncles.

After being free, Li Hang's spirit is getting better and better. He even looks younger than before, and his steps are much lighter. Seeing himself as a student, Li Hang is more and more pleasing to the eye.

"Feng Lang, the commander sent me a letter. The letter is full of compliments for you. The old man is very comfortable. Is there something else to do after leaving the East Road?" Li Han asked with a smile.

"Mr. Mingjian, I want to see Tianjia and Kouxiang"

He Shao knew that although he had a personal relationship with Kou Xiang, he was still a merchant after all, and his status and status were not equal. Therefore, Li Han needed to come forward to invite the two most powerful people in Da Song together.

"Is there a problem?"

"The stakes are high"

Seeing what He Shao wanted to say, Li Hang waved his hand to interrupt

"The old man is alone now, don't tell me, when Tianxia and Kouxiang come, you can discuss with them, I will only help you to invite them to the house"

It didn't take long, and Zhao Heng's white dragon fish suit and Kou Zhun also came to Li Hang's mansion in regular clothes.

Now that Li Hang has no official status, the emperor and Kou Zhun naturally don't need to dress too formally.

"The old man has seen His Majesty"

"Mr. Li is free"

"Grandfather Taichu, why is it important for you to find Tianjia to come with me?"

The Song-Liao war had just ended, and Kou Zhun's desk was full of government affairs to be dealt with. If it wasn't for Li Hang, he would not have come here.

"It's not me, it's Feng Lang"

"He Shao? Where is he?"

Zhao Heng took a look, and the entire Li family came out to greet him, but they didn't see He Shao.

"I can see that this child is very preoccupied and is sorting out his thoughts in the study"

"Come on, let's go directly to the study"

Today's He Shao is not only a merchant, but Zhao Heng regards him as a confidant and trusts him, not only tolerated He Shao's refusal to accept the imperial frame, but even condescended to go to the study.

He Shao looked at the bank notes in his hand and was thinking hard about whether there were any flaws. It took five or 60 years for the Jiaozi Huizi in the Song Dynasty to circulate, and it took nearly 700 years for the truly complete bank notes in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Time is perfect.

Even from the perspective of a latecomer, he can't guarantee that the advantages of paper currency outweigh the disadvantages. Currency is the foundation of a country, and even if there is any small problem, it will be infinitely magnified and even become a black hole. Therefore, He Shao had to Caution.

The bank note in his hand was suddenly taken away from his hand, this action startled He Shao, he stood up and saw that Zhao Heng and Kou Zhun had come to the study at some time.

"Grass people..."

"It's all right, get up"

Zhao Hengrao looked at the piece of paper in his hand with interest. It had fine lines and exquisite landscape patterns.

"That's why you asked me and Kou Zhun," Zhao Heng asked.

"Heavenly family is wise"

"One hundred guan? Are you going to use this paper with one hundred guan as money?" Kou Zhun turned it over and over again several times.

"good"

"How can paper replace gold and silver?" Kou Zhun asked.

"Gold, silver and copper have no value in the first place, but were given by power as an intermediary for barter.

Now that my Great Song Dynasty has developed commerce and trade, after the opening of the market, the circulation of wealth in my Songjiahui will be more frequent. For example, when I want to do business in Liao Kingdom, I need a convoy to transport the capital of [-] guan to Hedong Road.

I earned 20 guan from my business in the Liao Kingdom. It would take a lot of energy just to transport the money to Kaifeng City, and it would cost a lot of transportation and manpower. Besides, there are many thieves on the road. Instead of 100 million sticks, you can carry it with you”

"You can write a hundred guan on a piece of paper, and you can also write a thousand guan or even [-] guan. If you write [-] guan, there will be no poor households in Song Dynasty. Isn't this a bit of a joke?"

"I opened a money shop in Kaifeng City and Taiyuan Prefecture respectively. When merchants came to the bank, they deposited money into it, and some banks issued bank notes.

After merchants carry this bank note to Taiyuan Mansion, they can use this bank note to conduct transactions directly, or they can go to the bank of Taiyuan Mansion to take out all the money.

Therefore, the numbers on the bank note are not filled in randomly, but based on paper money. "

"So what if someone forged it?" Zhao Heng thought of the key point.

"That's why I paid my respects to His Majesty and Prime Minister Kou. The banknotes are made of mulberry paper. I hope that Your Majesty can control this kind of paper from source to circulation, and use it strictly among the people."

"That's not a problem. The Chu parchment is produced in Shu and most people can't afford it, and there are many substitutes." Zhao Heng nodded,

"Secondly, I want to call the master craftsman who will be the supervisor. Your Majesty, look here."

He Shao pointed to the patterns of flowers, birds, fish and insects on the bank notes.

"These patterns also have the function of anti-counterfeiting. If you can find the most brilliant painters, and then ask the best craftsmen to engrave them on the template through micro-carving, this is the second layer of protection.

The template is updated every few months. Even if someone makes a template, our template has been replaced by a new one at that time, and the old version has expired.

Fourth, using the anti-counterfeit seal, the bank will leave a special mark on the seal.”

When he was serving as the third envoy, he heard He Shao say that coins can only create value when they are in circulation, and after deduction, he found that the real prosperity is to let wealth circulate, and this kind of bank note may have an incomparable impact.

"With this four-fold guarantee, I think I can give it a try, but I think it will still be unsatisfactory. After all, not many people are willing to exchange [-] real gold and silver for a piece of paper."

Although Kou Zhun thinks he can try it, he is still not very optimistic about it.

"This involves two other most important prerequisites besides the quadruple protection, which requires your majesty to come forward." He Shao looked at Zhao Heng. In this feudal dynasty era, the emperor possessed supreme majesty.

"Tell me." Zhao Heng didn't agree or refuse.

"Mr. Kou, if I tell you that this piece of paper is worth a hundred guan, you will not believe it. What if Your Majesty tells you that this piece of paper is worth a hundred guan?"

"Then this piece of paper is without a doubt one hundred strings," Kou Zhun said with certainty.

"If this kind of paper currency is to be circulated on a large scale, it first needs a strong reputation guarantee. Your Majesty said that if there is a royal guarantee, this paper is more precious than gold and silver."

Kou Zhun, Li Hang, and Zhao Heng all had some understanding in their hearts. This is to make the merchants and common people all over the world trust this banknote through the emperor's guarantee.

"Didn't you say there were two premises? What about the second one?"

"Include the circulation and issuance of banknotes in the laws of the Song Dynasty, and fix them in the form of laws. If there are counterfeiters, regardless of their master and slave, they will be executed, and the possibility of counterfeiting will be cut off from the root."

"I don't know much about this kind of business management, but you two are the smartest people in Song Dynasty. Since you both think it's feasible, it's worth a try," Zhao Heng said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)