Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 170 Minting Power

Since the Ministry of Public Security was abolished two years ago, the words printed on the new banknotes have been changed from Ministry of Public Security to Ministry of Revenue. When people see that the new and old banknotes are different, they can't help but worry that the old banknotes will become invalid. This phenomenon is even more serious. Many people are in a hurry to exchange for new banknotes. Even if the old banknotes in their hands are not old, they will deliberately break them and exchange them for new ones.

When the imperial court could not produce enough new banknotes, the discount of old banknotes became more and more serious, which also gave rise to the phenomenon of reselling old banknotes.

In fact, this is caused by the lack of currency credit. Although the imperial court has issued an order to use the same regardless of whether it is the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Revenue, due to the excessive issuance of currency during the BC Yuan Dynasty, every time new coins are issued, the price of the old coins is reduced. Therefore, the common people don't really believe in the imperial edicts. Anyway, if they can get new ones, they will replace them as soon as possible. If they can't, they will sell them at a discount.

When Li Wei listened to Laifu explain these things clearly, his heart couldn't help but a word appeared in his mind, that is, the right to mint coins!

Now the minting power of the Ming Dynasty, banknotes are in the Baoyuan Bureau of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and copper coins are in the Baoyuan Bureau of the Ministry of Industry. They are issued according to Zhu Yuanzhang's whim, mainly through the payment of salary rewards to officials and the expenses of the court. , all in all, it’s a mess.

If he could integrate these and create an institution like a central bank, he would be able to control the financial lifeblood of Ming Dynasty!
For a country, finance is more important than taxation. As long as finance is done well, money can be printed even if there is no money. On the contrary, no matter how high fiscal taxation is, it cannot make up for the financial hole.

This is an extremely important power!
Li Wei's eyes changed. He wanted to get this power. As long as he mastered this, it would be an extremely important help whether he used it as a life-saving talisman or invested in doing things in the future!

"In this case, then you can charge more old money and keep the price lower."

Li Wei gave meaningful instructions.

"Good sir."

Laifu was slightly stunned. Although he didn't understand, he didn't ask any more questions. Anyway, it was profitable to exchange old banknotes for new ones. It would be better to collect more.

After Li Wei finished his instructions, there was a sneer of disdain on his face. Even the trash like Xu Hui from the Ministry of Revenue probably don't understand the real reasons for the depreciation of treasure banknotes and the dumping of banknotes by the people. As long as he gets more old banknotes, the price of treasure banknotes will be lowered. If he comes down, he, the Minister of Household Affairs, will definitely not get any good results. Then he will take action and seize both the minting and issuance rights!
After giving orders to Laifu, Li Wei left the Ordnance Bureau again and brought Lu Ti over.

"I have seen the son-in-law."

Luti said respectfully.

Li Wei frowned slightly. To be honest, he didn't like the title Prince Consort. It sounded like he was barging in the door.

"Just call me Mr. Li."

"Uh, okay, Mr. Li, do you have any orders for me?"

Luti asked respectfully.

After what happened to Xu Yong, he and the two stewards who had seen the opportunity early were now completely on Li Wei's side. Li Wei also valued them very much. In addition to promoting Lu Ti to the Ambassador of the Arms Bureau, the other two All of them were promoted to deputy envoys in various departments.

Li Wei thought for a while and then ordered: "Send someone to purchase some cotton and linen, and recruit some craftsmen who know how to make paper. I want to use it. Also, find some craftsmen who are good at carving and painting."

It is impossible to make the kind of banknotes of later generations, but it is still possible to make a banknote that is stronger than the current treasure banknotes and easier to preserve.

The three main things used to print banknotes are acid-free paper and color-changing ink gravure printing.

Acid-free paper is easy to say. As long as cotton is used as the raw material for papermaking, it does not contain lignin, and some flax is added to increase the toughness of the paper.

Color-changing ink is difficult to make, but printing ink can be done. The main thing is to add resin as a connecting agent to the pigment, and then roll some auxiliary agents and ethanol solution, dissolve and mix them.

The advantage of the ink is that it does not smudge when wet like the current inks, and the acid-free paper can preserve the banknotes for a long time and is not easily damaged.

As for intaglio engraving, it depends on the craftsman's skills, but he thinks it should be no problem. There are so many craftsmen in the Ordnance Bureau, and some of them are quite skilled.

"Okay, sir, I'll do it right now!"

Luti agreed and went out to find someone.

Li Wei sat down and pondered for a while.There were a lot of things going on now, but there was nothing wrong with the artillery. It was cast using the clay mold method, and the craftsmen were very familiar with it, so he didn't need to worry about it.

He had to make preparations for printing banknotes in advance. In addition to these raw materials, he also had to make a gravure printing machine. Now that there is no power such as a motor, it can only be made manually.

All these things in the Ordnance Bureau have been arranged, and they are waiting for the craftsmen to finish and make the finished product to open Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.However, he still needs to worry more about the Minghuang Chamber of Commerce. This chamber of commerce is not only about making money, but will also have a greater use in the future, so there must be no problems.

The next day, Shen Jing followed Li Wei's instructions and brought dozens of shopkeepers to the headquarters of the Minghuang Chamber of Commerce.

"Master Li, this is Shopkeeper Han from the cloth shop, and this is Shopkeeper Wang from the grocery store..."

Shen Jing introduced these people to Li Wei one by one. These people also knew that Li Wei was in a high position, and they all bowed respectfully to meet him.

Li Wei responded with a smile, and waited for Shen Jing to finish the introduction before he started to talk to them: "Everyone, I am here to see you today. I have a good business deal, and I want to make a fortune with you all!"

As soon as Li Wei's words came out, the shopkeepers all showed surprise.

In their eyes, it’s good that these officials don’t ask for money from them. How can they make a fortune together with them?
Li Wei asked softly: "Recently, there is a chamber of commerce. Like our Minghuang Chamber of Commerce, it also distributes goods to various stores. Everyone should know about it, right?"

"I know, I know, but we have always gotten our goods from the Minghuang Chamber of Commerce. Please be aware of this!"

"Yeah yeah!"

Everyone quickly explained that Li Wei was a dignified third-grade boss and they could not afford to offend him. They were afraid that Li Wei thought they had switched to another chamber of commerce and wanted to settle a score with them.

Li Wei smiled and continued: "Don't worry, everyone is doing business. Everyone is here to make money, so naturally they will go wherever it is advantageous."

Hearing Li Wei say this, they were slightly relieved.

"I called everyone here today because I hope everyone can purchase goods from Shen Bin's Chamber of Commerce!"

Everyone was surprised when they heard this. Shopkeeper Han took the lead and asked, "What do you mean by Master Li's words?"

Li Wei said calmly: "Don't worry, everyone, just go to him to get the goods. The humble merchants brought these goods in, and our Minghuang Chamber of Commerce will buy them at a high price. However, how much goods are purchased each time depends on my arrangement."

Shopkeeper Han, Shopkeeper Wang and others looked at each other, not knowing what he was going to do, but with this in and out, they made a profit for nothing and had no reason to refuse.Moreover, they did not dare to refuse Li Wei, a high-ranking official and consort.

"Master Li, just give us your orders, and we will just obey."

"it is good!"

Li Wei nodded with satisfaction, and then began to make arrangements for them.

In fact, his method is also very simple, which is to let these merchants gradually increase the amount of goods purchased, and then when Shen Bin finally believes it, he suddenly purchases a large amount of goods and then returns them to him. Anyway, Shen Bin gave the merchants a lot of money in order to seize the market. For a large credit limit, you can return it even if you can't sell it.

When the time comes that there are so many goods in hand that cannot be sold, Shen Bin will have to work hard even if he is rich.

When the time comes when he is in a hurry to ship goods, Minghuang Chamber of Commerce will get it at a low price. After the whole package, these shopkeepers will also make money, Minghuang Chamber of Commerce will also make money, and Shen Bin will bleed a lot.

The distribution model must control the capital flow and distribution volume, otherwise problems will easily occur. Although Shen Bin learned this model from the Minghuang Chamber of Commerce, he did not know the risks involved. He just relied on his deep pockets to give these merchants With such a large credit limit, Li Wei was going to teach him a lesson this time. Even if he couldn't defeat him at once, it would still hurt him and make him pay the price.

Now the Minghuang Chamber of Commerce is no longer just starting out. The capital flow in the Chamber of Commerce is sufficient, enough to kill him!

(End of this chapter)