Daming Military Empire

Chapter 376 The Dragon Coin Comes Out
The calligraphy and painting contest was originally intended to collect materials for the pattern on the back of the new bank notes of the Daimyo Nikko Bank. It happened that when Xu Erjue went to discuss with Xu Guangqi, Xu Guangqi was discussing the promotion of Chinese with Huang Daozhou.

Xu Erjue was born in a scholarly family. Although he has never obtained any fame, he still knows how to respect teachers. Therefore, he did not ask Huang Daozhou to avoid him, but respectfully explained the reason for looking for Xu Guangqi. Unexpectedly, when Huang Daozhou heard it, he would Interest also came.

How could this painting and calligraphy contest be done with just painting? Calligraphy is more conducive to the promotion of Chinese. Therefore, under his suggestion, calligraphy was also added to the competition, and Guozijian and Daming Xinglong Company also joined the ranks of organizers.

It is said that this competition was a complete success, and the award-winning works have been judged. The protagonist of this competition, Luo Yangxing of Da Ming Ri Xing Bank, should be very excited, but at this moment, he looks sad and even a little nervous Look, what's going on here?
Zhu Cijiong finished discussing with everyone about the move of the prosperous age, and finally found that Luo Yangxing's expression was a bit wrong. He couldn't help asking curiously: "Taihe, what's wrong with you, why do you look like this?"

When Luo Yangxing heard the words, he replied in shame: "The emperor forgives the sin, my minister, my minister was negligent for a while, and I miscalculated the amount!"

Zhu Cijiong became even more curious, and he couldn't help asking: "What is the wrong amount?"

Luo Yangxing bit the bullet and explained: "The denomination of the emperor's new bank note should be as small and complete as you want, and the maximum should not exceed a hundred taels. Specifically, it is 100 taels, 50 taels, 20 taels, ten taels, and five taels." Two, two taels, one tael, five cents, two cents, one cent, five cents, two cents, one cent."

There's nothing wrong with that, Zhu Cijiong couldn't help but nodded and said: "Well, yes, that's all."

Luo Yangxing said with a crying face: "Your Majesty, these are thirteen kinds, not twelve!"

Hearing this, Zhu Cijiong counted carefully in his heart, and there were really thirteen kinds. He didn't notice it for a long time, and he couldn't help but said in embarrassment: "It doesn't matter, just add a first prize for painting."

The emperor's golden words, if it is not necessary, everyone will naturally not object, what about the work?

There are [-] second prizes, Zhu Cijiong is really hard to decide, he thought for a while, and simply said: "How about this, let's discuss together, and arrange the twelve first prizes that have been selected by denomination, and see which denomination lack, then make a decision.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Zhu Cijiong asked everyone to work together to arrange the twelve first-prize works in four rows on the conference table, and then thought: "In terms of denomination, the 100 taels should be listed separately. Which one is more suitable for the inner forehead?"

Unexpectedly, as soon as his words fell, everyone looked at a picture scroll in unison.

Zhu Cijiong followed everyone's eyes and looked at it. This is a picture scroll depicting the Forbidden City. It is a scene from the early dynasty. The huge Forbidden City shone golden in the morning glow. Thousands of officials lined up in the square in front of Huangji Hall. Going up, kneeling to meet the emperor's dragon chariot, the guards and eunuchs all around are looming in the clouds, and the scene is extremely spectacular.

The Forbidden City is a symbol of imperial power. Is it true that the Forbidden City is the king of the world? Zhu Cijiong nodded and said: "Well, then this one, who painted it? It is so majestic and vivid, it puts the Forbidden City at the forefront." The painting is done, it should be an official in Beijing who often participates in the early dynasties?"

When everyone heard the words, they showed weird faces, and it seemed a bit difficult to say. Only Xu Guangqi said without hesitation: "Returning to the emperor, it is the masterpiece of Liu Ruozai, the left servant of the Ministry of Officials."

Zhu Cijiong heard the words, smiled embarrassingly, took the picture scrolls handed over by everyone and carefully looked at the signatures, "Chongzheng 12th year in the late summer, Yinping", well, Yinping is Liu Ruozai, since he became his own painting teacher, his position It's like sitting on a rocket, lifting it up with a whoosh, no wonder everyone has this expression.

Is this cronyism?In fact, this is not always the case. This Liu Ruozai is not only talented, but also has a unique vision for talents. He often recommends some talents in front of him, and his evaluation is very pertinent. Therefore, Zhu Cijiong simply mentioned him as the left servant of the official department. Everyone is doing their best. .

Fortunately, everyone was very savvy and didn't mention this, but continued to discuss honestly. Next, the back patterns of 50 taels, 20 taels, and [-] taels were quickly selected, which were the Yangtze River Bridge, the Yellow River Bridge, and so on. There is the Great Wall, the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the Great Wall are all prominent representatives of the Ming Dynasty, and they all wind like dragons, so it is appropriate to classify them into one category.

When everyone discussed the five-two, two-two, and one-two backgrounds, they finally found out what was missing. Everyone agreed that the north and south capitals should be used next. However, the capital and Jinling are only two cities, and there is still one missing. What about pictures of cities?

Zhu Cijiong thought about it for a while. Among the [-] second prize paintings, the one that impressed him the most was a scroll depicting Nandaying, which was drawn by the author standing on a city wall of Nandaying. , Then there are commercial streets, and then there are countless docks and waterways, as well as forts, bastions, and warships on the sea, which are extremely spectacular.

When everyone dug out the painting and looked at it, they all praised the emperor for his wisdom, and the background of the five liang, two liang, and one liang was settled in this way.

Next are the back patterns of five coins, two coins, and one coin, using the treasure ship giant ship, super battleship and Fuchuan battleship respectively.

Finally, there are five points, two points, and one point back patterns, using railways, stations, and trains respectively.

Once the background is determined, the template should be engraved and ready to be printed. This process will take at least a few months for later generations, because the technology of later generations is too advanced, and engraving technicians are hard to find.

The template of this banknote must be carved by hand, and it is still a metal template. With the advanced technology of later generations, there are really not many people engaged in the carving industry.It was different in the Ming Dynasty. I don’t know how many craftsmen specialized in the carving industry. The carving skills are also passed down from generation to generation. Let alone more than ten templates, even hundreds of templates can be carved out quickly.

The paper for making new banknotes has also been finalized. The paper is made of short cotton linters. This kind of paper is smooth and delicate, tough and durable, and is suitable for making new banknotes.In fact, this kind of paper is not newly developed, it has existed before, but due to the high cost, it is generally only used by the super rich, so it is almost difficult to find it in the market.

Think about it, paper made of short lint is almost as expensive as cloth. Although short lint is not a good weaving material, it is still cotton!

Of course, if it is used to make banknotes, then the cost issue is not a problem. It just so happens that Daming’s cotton production has exploded in recent years, and there are plenty of short cotton lint materials. It’s just a banknote, so you don’t have to worry about the supply. The problem.

The paper and templates have been prepared, and the next step is printing. The printing industry in Daming is not too developed now. After a while, each piece of dragon coins will be printed out quickly. The exquisite appearance is impressive. There is an urge to collect.

(End of this chapter)