Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

Chapter 606 Minting coins
In Chang'an City, in Quchifang near the south gate.

It is close to Qixia Gate, the south gate of Chang'an, and it is the place where merchants from south to north settled after entering Chang'an.

Quchi Square is the dirtiest workshop in Chang’an City. It is next to Qujiang Pond. The grain transported from the water to Chang’an will also be unloaded from here. There are many hardworking wharf laborers here.

Quchifang is the most chaotic area in Chang'an City, with mixed fish and dragons. It is also the worst place in Chang'an City. Ordinary Chang'an people will avoid it when they hear that it is Quchifang.

However, because of the mixed fish and dragons in Quchifang, this place has also become the center of the gray trade in Chang'an City, and the ghost market in Chang'an City is set up here.

The ghost market is a place for illegal transactions. Those things that are not allowed to be purchased by the government can be traded in the ghost market, such as poisonous abortion drugs and other commodities.

In a warehouse in Quchifang, a group of people whose clothes look completely different from those of the people in Quchifang are busy in the warehouse.

Dou Shen covered his nose with his sleeve, and there was a stench everywhere in Quchifang. There were stinky gutters on both sides of the street here, and those Lifu's bodies also smelled of sweat.

If it wasn't for the prince, Dou Shen would never have set foot in Quchifang.

A subordinate thoughtfully moved a chair, and Dou Shen sat on the chair, watching his subordinates busy.

It has to be said that this kind of Taishi chair made by Longyou merchants is much more comfortable than Tau. Dou Shen sat on the chair and watched the money stoves fixed to the ground.

This is a furnace for melting copper coins. It is not difficult to melt copper coins. After throwing copper coins in, light the furnace, and then pour copper water into the copper mold, then new coins can be minted.

The money fan of Qianyuan Chongbao had long been donated to the prince by a small official of the household department. Dou Shen had advised the prince at that time, asking the prince to convert all the money he earned from donating to the prison into Qianyuan Chongbao.

Li Chu was a little hesitant at first. Although it is definitely profitable to cast new coins, it needs a workshop to cast them. In fact, it is very troublesome to calculate.

Last time, Donggong made a lot of money. Is it necessary to make such money?
But Dou Shen quickly said to the prince: "Your Highness, the imperial court ordered that one Qianyuan Chongbao be worth ten. When it was just released, all levels of government offices will supervise the handling. At this time, Qianyuan Chongbao must be valuable."

"However, it is impossible for the government to keep an eye on the price of the money, and Qianyuan Chongbao is lighter than ten Kaiyuan Tongbao, so the folks will inevitably forge it privately, and the value of Qianyuan Chongbao will definitely drop by then."

"At that time, maybe Qianyuan Tongbao won't be able to count as ten."

Li Chu asked suspiciously: "Since this is the case, there is no need to make new money?"

Dou Shen said: "Your Highness, if this money is stored in the treasury, it will rust and rot. Money is only valuable when it is used!"

"If all the Kaiyuan Tongbao are cast in Qianyuan Chongbao, and then used all at once, the things you buy will be valuable!"

Now Li Chu understood what Dou Shen meant, and he immediately said: "The matter of recasting Qianyuan Chongbao will be handed over to Dou Canjun! If it is done well this time, the lonely king will definitely go to the court to ask for it for you." official position!"

After eating Li Chu's big cake, Dou Shen personally rushed to Quchifang, came to this secret mint workshop, and personally urged the craftsmen.

When all the stoves were installed, a craftsman poured a basket of Kaiyuan Tongbao into the stove, and when the fire below rose, Dou Shen felt unbearably hot.

This is still a stove in winter. If it is summer, the high temperature in this warehouse will be unbearable.

Dou Shen asked people to move the grand master's chair to the door, and watched the flames rise gradually, and the copper coins put in turned into copper water.

Seeing that it was almost melted, the craftsman opened the mechanism under the stove, and the copper water flowed into the money fan made of stone along the track.

Immediately afterwards, the craftsman waited until the copper water filled the money fan, and the craftsman blocked the entrance of the money fan. When the copper water cooled slightly, the craftsman immediately opened the money fan, took out the new money that was still red, and covered the copper fan again to continue. Put in copper water.

Then the craftsman took the pliers and put the new money, which was still red, into the oil. He heard a sound of oil boiling, and the craftsman took out a new coin.

This new coin was sent to Dou Shen, looking at this newly minted copper coin, which has a structure of outer circle and inner square, and the words "Qianyuan Heavy Treasure" are engraved on the copper coin.

The new money was a lot larger than the original Kaiyuan Tongbao, and Dou Can weighed it in. This Qianyuan Chongbao was only about five baht.

But this is enough, originally it was a privately minted coin, the Qianyuan heavy treasure to be minted by the court is six baht, and the crown prince privately minted one baht less, and when the Qianyuan heavy treasure is issued, it will be mixed in, and ordinary people will not be able to see it.

Or if you feel the weight change, it will not affect the circulation of the money minted by the prince. After all, the money minted by the court is also of different quality, and it is normal for a baht to be lighter.

Dou Shen asked the head craftsman beside him:

"How many old coins do you need to mint a new coin?"

The craftsman beside him said honestly: "Counting the furnace fire money, the craftsman's wages, and the loss, it takes about four old coins to cast a new coin."

Dou Shen frowned, he didn't expect the cost of minting new money to be so high.

But what the craftsman said is correct, so many stoves need to burn carbon, although melting copper coins is much easier than melting iron, but fuel consumption is still a huge cost.

Although these craftsmen belonged to the East Palace, they still had to be paid.

And minting new money may also cause loss. Dou Shen has witnessed the whole process in person, and can calculate this loss.

But the cost is still too high, Dou Shen said to the craftsman: "It's still too expensive, is there any way to reduce it to three coins for one coin?"

The head craftsman scratched his head and said: "If you want to reduce it further, you have to reduce the weight."

Dou Shen shook his head. Now the privately minted money is already one baht lighter than the imperial money. If the weight is further reduced, I am afraid that it will not be able to be spent.

The craftsman continued: "If the weight is not reduced, then other things must be added."

Dou Shen's eyes lit up, and he heard the leader of the craftsman say: "You can add lead to the money, so that less old money will be used, and the price of lead is cheaper than copper, so the cost can be reduced to three coins. A dollar."

Dou Shen quickly said: "This is a good way!"

But the craftsman leader said: "But, but lead has lead poison, this."

Dou Shen immediately said: "When the furnace is finished, you can find some laborers from Quchifang to do the coin casting, and find some people who have no relatives and family members. Even if they are poisoned by lead, it will be fine."

Dou Shen asked again: "Can you see the money mixed with lead?"

The old craftsman immediately said: "Of course you can't see the newly minted money, but the money will turn white after a long time."

"Then it's all right! Just use this method to mint lead money!"

Dou Shen was very satisfied, and exchanged three coins for one coin, so that the new money that was risky and privately minted would not be in vain.

At the same time, King Qi also found a place on the outskirts of Chang'an, and began to cast Qianyuan treasures privately.

King Qi's method was even more simple and rude. The Qianyuan heavy treasure he cast was only four baht, which was the weight of two Kaiyuan Tongbao.

King Qi didn't have enough Kaiyuan Tongbao, but he also found Queen Zhang in the harem, and got in touch with Li Fuguo.

Empress Zhang, who weaves cloth in the palace to supplement the palace, even gave 100 million yuan to mint coins for King Qi.

And Li Fuguo was even more generous. After Li Fuguo in Tongguan received the letter, he directly ordered his godson to take out 500 million yuan from his private house, and handed it all over to the king of Qi to recast new money.

The king of Qi contacted several nobles in Chang'an, and these nobles also took out their own money and handed it over to King Qi to mint new money.

In addition to the Prince and King Qi, the businessmen and players in Chang'an also saw the business opportunities.

However, according to the rules in the game, it is illegal to mint coins privately in Datang, and it will be brought to justice by the Jingzhao government.

It is not impossible to do things that violate the laws of the Tang Dynasty, but if they are investigated by the official uniform, they will also be punished.

Maybe the counterfeit money was privately minted here, and Wang Chengwei, the prime minister of Wannian County, brought officials and players to arrest people there.

Obviously, most players can't find the rich and powerful to take refuge in, so they can't blatantly mint fake money.

However, the players in Chang'an had a discussion and saw new business opportunities.

In the Longyou Merchant Hall, merchants and players gathered together, and one player stood up and said: "Nowadays Chang'an is short of money, many dignitaries and wealthy merchants are buying Kaiyuan Tongbao, and the value of money is getting higher and higher. Shipping to Chang'an is a good opportunity to make money!"

Many players looked at Zhang Leyan, the representative of Wangfu Bank in Chang'an.

Zhang Leyan coughed and said, "President Jiang saw the money shortage problem in Chang'an a month ago, and the copper coins in Longyou are already on the way."

Players cheered one after another, now that money is expensive and goods are cheap, it is a good time to buy in large quantities.

Whether it is food, real estate or other valuables, buying at this time is profitable.

Another player who knows economics stood up: "After the Qianyuan Chongbao is released, the imperial court will definitely use coercive force to maintain the exchange ratio of the Qianyuan Chongbao, but in the long run, the value of the Qianyuan Chongbao cannot be maintained!"

The fineness of the new currency is not good enough. Anyone who has read the history of the Republic of China will understand that the money in circulation with this forced exchange rate is a joke. No matter how much money you can print in the Tang Dynasty, can you compare with the principal who issued gold coupons?In the end, the money was not all waste paper.

Although the Qianyuan Chongbao is valuable, it is a normal value return to fall to three to one in the end, not to mention the decline in the court's credibility caused by the imperial court forcing the people to use the Qianyuan Chongbao, which may further lower the value of the Qianyuan Chongbao.

Players are drooling at the dignitaries and wealthy merchants who privately minted coins, but now it is impossible to blatantly eat the proceeds.

Only the standing players said: "Although we can't make money privately, but the exchange rate market fluctuations of this new coin issuance, there is a lot of room for arbitrage! We are in finance! It is no more technical than counterfeit coins!"

(End of this chapter)