Water Margin people

Chapter 1427: The Despicable Nature of Humanity

"Your Majesty, this plan is good, but it still has a fatal flaw!"

Cheng Wanli hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

"Father!"

Cheng Wan'er pushed her father in a coquettish way. How could such a bad thing happen again?

"Father-in-law, let's hear what he has to say!"

Sun Lei looked at his father-in-law and asked, when it comes to being an official, then his father-in-law must be an expert, as no one in Liangshan has ever held a higher position than his father-in-law.

"Your Majesty, you underestimate the meanness and shamelessness of those merchants! Merchants have always been the representatives of cunning. Not all merchants are cunning, but if they want to make quick money, they must be cunning and shameless!"

Cheng Wanli spoke.

"Oh, I'd love to hear the details!"

Sun Lei nodded repeatedly. Businessmen are cunning because they are driven by interests, and no one is an exception when it comes to interests.

"Your Majesty has opened a silver bank to exchange the people's copper, silver, and gold into new coins according to their purity. This is a good intention, but it is very likely that merchants will interfere. They will use their huge financial resources to exchange all the coins on the market and prevent the circulation of new coins."

Cheng Wanli spoke.

"They are already doing this, it doesn't matter, look at how much money they have!"

Sun Lei said that the merchants in Jiangnan were already doing this, and he believed that he could definitely crush the merchants in terms of money.

"Your Majesty, what if they melt the exchanged coins and continue to exchange them? Minting coins consumes a lot of fire, and our Qi coins are exquisite and complex, so the cost must be huge. If merchants really want to destroy the coins, they can completely make the new money lose circulation."

"This happened in the Song Dynasty as well. The Song Dynasty was short of copper, and there were not enough copper coins circulating among the people. Many unscrupulous merchants collected copper coins and cast them into copperware to sell overseas, causing the Song Dynasty to be short of copper coins all the time."

Cheng Wanli explained that Sun Lei still underestimated the meanness of businessmen, who would do anything to achieve their goals.

"Destroy the coin?"

Sun Lei's face darkened. He had not thought of this. If this was true, then his strategy of using money to deal with merchants would be a complete failure.

"This won't do them any good!"

Cheng Wan'er spoke.

"Harming others while not benefiting yourself, this is a common tactic used by businessmen in competition!"

Cheng Wanli spoke.

Sun Lei fell into deep thought. It would be really difficult to deal with if merchants used this trick.

"Father, do you have any solution?"

Seeing that Sun Lei was in trouble, Cheng Wan'er shook her father's arm and asked.

"There is a way, but it may be too late, and it may be too late!"

Cheng Wanli asked with difficulty.

"any solution?"

Cheng Wan'er asked quickly, she wanted to listen first.

"Coins don't need to be that pure. For example, copper coins are not made of pure copper, but are mixed with a lot of lead to reduce the metal value of the coins."

"But your majesty has issued a new coin, and the ratio of gold, silver, and copper is extremely high. Although it is beautifully minted, the metal value of the coin itself has also increased."

Cheng Wanli said helplessly that if the new money was not circulated, it would still be time to re-cast it now, by adding lead to copper coins, iron and nickel to silver coins, and copper to gold coins.

But the exquisite new coins have already begun to circulate, and people all over the world have already become familiar with them. If they change it at this time, they would be slapping themselves in the face. The credit of the coins will plummet, and there will even be a situation of "money grabbing" among the people. The whole country will be in turmoil. After all, coins concern everyone.

"Is there still such a thing?"

Cheng Wan'er also had a worried look on her face. This matter seemed to have reached a dead end. "My daughter, you don't know that when the Song Dynasty was short of copper, iron coins even appeared in Shuzhong. This currency is really... Alas..."

Cheng Wanli said helplessly.

"It's not that there is no solution. Merchants are profit-driven and are not a monolithic group. We can divide them and defeat them one by one. We can also issue a currency law and impose heavy penalties on those who destroy the currency."

Sun Lei said with a smile.

"My husband, do you have a solution?"

Cheng Wan'er was overjoyed and started rocking Sun Lei's arm.

"Of course, the silver exchange is not only a place to exchange coins, but also a chain of coin networks. You should know about the Jiaozi in Shuzhong and the later Qianyin!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that Cheng Wanli mentioned the iron coins in Shuzhong. The iron coins were heavy and stable for transportation and payment, which led to the emergence of paper currency such as Jiaozi in Shuzhong.

"Jiaozi, Qianyin?"

Cheng Wanli was a little confused. He knew these things, that the Jiaozi in Shu was first guaranteed by sixteen local wealthy businessmen who used their personal worth as collateral, and only then was it accepted and trusted.

Later, the government set up the Jiaozi Office, and this paper currency became officially issued. In the first year of Emperor Huizong's Daguan reign, "Jiaozi" was changed to "Qianyin", and "Jiaozi Office" was changed to "Qianyin Office".

However, in the late Song Dynasty, this type of money notes had lost its credibility. The government issued money notes indiscriminately, resulting in many money notes being unable to be redeemed. In the end, they chose to trade in gold and silver.

"Yes, the bank is also preparing to continue issuing notes, but not only for merchants, but also for ordinary people. If you deposit money in the bank, you can get some interest every year. Although it's not much, it can be regarded as money making money!"

"The biggest trouble for merchants traveling around is that it is inconvenient to carry money. They can't carry a carriage of money all over the world. The quotation marks spread across various state capitals provide them with great convenience."

"They just need to bring some money notes and exchange or pay at the place. Just a few pieces of paper, so simple! And if they pay in different places, they will naturally charge a corresponding amount of money as a handling fee according to the region!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

Cheng Wanli's eyes lit up. Merchants were profit-driven, and this silver bank provided them with great convenience. Merchants could do business wherever the silver bank was, no matter how far away it was.

This is a convenience that merchants cannot refuse. Even if a high handling fee is charged, merchants can accept it because the farther the goods are from, the higher the profit.

"Haha, I have to thank my father-in-law for reminding me, otherwise I would have almost made a mistake!"

Sun Lei smiled and raised his glass.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. This strategy of the bank can completely deal with those unscrupulous merchants."

Cheng Wanli raised his glass with a smile. He only raised the question, but Sun Lei came up with a solution in a moment. His wisdom was unparalleled.

Cheng Wanli then introduced the various forces in Jiangnan and did not leave until midnight.

"Father, why don't you stay here today? There are plenty of empty rooms!"

Cheng Wan'er looked at her father and said.

"Father said that I was going out to drink and visit the people privately. If I don't go back, people will be suspicious!"

Cheng Wanli shook his head and said, if he didn't go back, the people in the government office would probably come out to look for him, and then the emperor's secret visit might be discovered.

"My daughter, His Majesty will stay in Hangzhou for a few more days. I will come back soon!"

Seeing that his daughter was about to cry, Cheng Wanli said to her in a comforting tone.

Before leaving the inn, Cheng Wanli deliberately spilled a glass of wine on himself, making himself smell of alcohol.

"My father-in-law is really a talented person."

Sun Lei said with a smile that he only now realized that his father-in-law was really not a simple person.

"Zhu Wu, you heard what I just said, right? Qian Yin's matter has to be brought forward!"

Sun Lei looked at Zhu Wu beside him and gave the order.