Water Margin people

Chapter 1414: Disappearing Coins

The waiter quickly came up with a jar of wine.

Wu Song couldn't wait to take it and took a big bite.

"What kind of wine is this?"

Wu Song smacked his lips and found that the drink was not very strong, but it had a unique flavor.

"Sir, this is the most famous Yunye wine in Yangzhou. In the past, Su Daxueshi drank it and wrote a poem: Yangzhou Yunye is like butter. There is also: Baijiu pours Yunye in front of the flowers! Yan Yuanxian also wrote: Fairy wine pours Yunye, fairy songs linger on the beams. This is a good time to celebrate the reunion. Celebrate the reunion, be happy and calm."

The shop owner quickly introduced the dishes with a smile.

"It really has some flavor. Bring me a few more jars. Some of it is too bland!"

Lu Zhishen also became interested after taking a sip. They were not interested in the poems of Su Dongpo and Yan Shu, they just thought the wine was okay.

"Huainan's glutinous rice wine is really good!"

Sun Lei drank a glass and said, Yunye wine is a kind of rice wine.

The shop owner was delighted to see that everyone was enjoying their meal. He could tell from the way these people were dressed and behaved that they were either rich or noble. He could earn two days' worth of money in just one morning.

"Store, check out!"

Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Zhu Wu went to the counter to settle the bill. This was what he should do as a butler.

"Sir, a total of fifteen taels of silver!"

The store owner said with a smile.

Zhu Wu did not bargain. Fifteen taels of silver was indeed not a lot for a dozen tables of people.

Zhu Wu took out two gold coins and slapped them on the counter.

When the shopkeeper saw the gold coin, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly reached out to take it. This coin was the most popular coin on the market today. As dynasties changed, coins would also change. Merchants were very sensitive to this.

After receiving the gold coins, the shopkeeper immediately helped Zhu Wu weigh the five taels of silver as change. The silver plate behind the counter was filled with various sized and broken silver coins, and the shopkeeper specially selected those with good quality for weighing.

"Hey, I gave you gold coins, why are you giving me change? You want silver coins!"

Zhu Wu looked at the shop owner and said.

"silver?"

The shopkeeper looked at the small change with some pain in his heart, and then reluctantly took out five silver coins from a separate box.

"It's all about money, why are you acting like you've suffered a loss?"

Zhu Wu looked at the shop owner and asked.

"Sir, you are from the north, so you naturally don't know the situation in the south of the Yangtze River. Money is in short supply in the market right now."

The shop owner said helplessly.

"Didn't the imperial court release a batch of coins? Why are they still in short supply? They don't even need money?"

Zhu Wu asked nonchalantly.

"I don't know about this. I heard that the court released hundreds of thousands of coins, but there are still not many on the market! Look at my box!"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said that the people he did business with were all ordinary people and they could only feel the scarcity of coins. He had only ten silver coins after collecting for so long, and now there were only five left as change.

Zhu Wu took the silver coins and went upstairs, and whispered this to Sun Lei.

“Are all the coins issued according to regulations?”

Sun Lei looked at Zhu Wu and asked, the coins were not released for free, but were distributed to the market in the form of wages, salaries, purchases, etc. "There are people watching over them, and they must be distributed according to regulations! The majority of them are the salaries of soldiers from Yangzhou, with the least being a dozen silver coins and the most being dozens of gold coins!"

Zhu Wu nodded and said that the soldiers of Qi State had started taking turns to take leave a month ago. Yangzhou was close to Liangshan City and had convenient water transportation, so the soldiers should have returned with the money long ago.

Those soldiers who returned with rewards would definitely spend the money first. Whether it was building a house or marrying a wife, it would cost a lot of money.

"That's strange. With so many coins dumped down here, why can't we see any trace of them in the market?"

Sun Lei touched his chin and said, Li Ying also said that there are no coins on the market in Quanzhou, and now it seems that the whole Jiangnan area is like this.

"These coins should have been collected by some wealthy people. After all, coins enter the market to be exchanged for corresponding goods. Ordinary people simply don't have the financial resources to do so!"

Zhu Wu said that even a shop owner only had ten silver coins, and an ordinary family would probably find it difficult to save even one silver coin.

"Interesting, it looks like someone is against me! They don't dare to go to the battlefield so they use such tricks!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that the first national policy after the founding of his country was to promote the new currency. This was very important for Qi. The degree of promotion of the new currency represented the degree of Qi's control over the world. After all, everyone needed money, and using Qi's money meant eating Qi's food.

"Are you all ready?"

Sun Lei looked at Zhu Wu and asked.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. The banks in various places are ready. The exchange of gold, silver and copper coins will begin immediately!"

Zhu Wu nodded and said that this matter had been prepared for a month ago. Jiangnan was the most troublesome place in the world right now, and Sun Lei's southern tour was also to solve the currency issue.

"Well, let's get started! Let me see how much financial power they have! I intervened too early, and these gentry and wealthy merchants in Jiangnan didn't suffer!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that the Jiangnan region supported the Southern Song Dynasty, which shows how prosperous the Jiangnan region was.

"Let's go walk around the streets!"

After having morning tea, Sun Lei took his family to tour Yangzhou City. The rest of the families also went on their own, otherwise a group of more than a hundred people would have looked like a large tour group and would have been too eye-catching.

Yangzhou is located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, and is a must-pass place for people traveling from the south to the north.

After a day of strolling around, we saw a lot of new things. The wives liked to go to the silk shop to buy beautiful fabrics, the children liked to eat all kinds of food and watch street performances, and Sun Lei just followed them around.

"Yangzhou is a prosperous market!"

Sun Lei walked around and then exclaimed with a smile.

As the lights come on, the streets of Yangzhou become even more prosperous, with many people coming out for a stroll.

Sun Lei and his family were already tired from shopping, so Sun Lei carried his child on his back and returned to the inn they had booked.

"The two little ones are tired too!"

Hu Sanniang and Cheng Wan'er were also feeling tired after holding their children. They had been walking with their children all day. Hu Sanniang was fine as she had some experience in martial arts, but Cheng Wan'er, a lady from a wealthy family, could not bear it. However, she still held her son tightly and refused to let go, because he was her son.

"I've already told you that the child is still young, but you insisted on coming along! If you want to go out and play, you can do it next time!"

Sun Lei held his son in Cheng Wan'er's arms. Looking at his son sleeping obediently with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but give him a kiss.

"Humph, I have to go see my father. This is also considered a visit to my parents. If I fail this time, I will never have the chance again in the future!"

Cheng Wan'er patted Sun Lei in dissatisfaction. Her father Cheng Wanli was now the prefect of Hangzhou. How could she not come when Sun Lei went on his incognito tour to the south this time?

"Visiting your parents? Isn't your family in Liangshan City? Your father-in-law has only been sent out for a few years. If you miss him, I can transfer him back!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that he always had to take care of his father-in-law.

"No, my father said when he left that he wanted to achieve something on his own."

Cheng Wan'er shook her head and said that Cheng Wanli had never been successful in the Song Dynasty before. Now that he had the opportunity in Qi State, he must want to realize his ambitions, govern a place and become an able official who would go down in history.