Survival Three Kingdoms

Chapter 431 Currency Reform
Knowing Zhou Cang's habits, Zhang Jiong started with the most basic ones, and immediately said: "The most worrying thing at present is the lack of officials. Most of the officials are transferred from Xuzhou, and there are very few local officials. I once talked with Mr. Bing Yuan For the big exam, Mr. Bing Yuan said that the people in Liaodong are completely literate, and now the name of the big exam does not match the reality.”

Zhou Cang sighed slightly, Bing Yuan is a pragmatic person, and he prefers Quewulan. It seems that Liaodong College has been mainly engaged in literacy in recent years.The population is expanding rapidly, and the shortage of officials will inevitably become the bottleneck of development. This issue must be discussed with Bing Yuan later.

"Yuan Shao, tell me about the situation in the army."

"In honor of my elder brother's orders, the battalions have been reorganized. Excluding old soldiers and wounded soldiers, only [-] people were re-recruited, all of whom are capable soldiers. However, my elder brother first ordered Tai Shixiang and Chen Da to go along Hebei, and then sent Yuanba Come on, what are your plans?"

"We'll discuss this matter later. You and I will go to Xuantu together in a few days." Zhou Cang turned to Su Yang, "How is Liaodong business?"

"I thought Liaodong was barren, but now I realize it's a treasure." Su Yang sighed, "We opened the market with Xianbei's Kebi Neng Department, and Shanyu Budugen also participated in it, and obtained countless cattle and sheep. The furniture given by the lord was shipped to In exchange for silk and grain, Liaodong harvested a lot.”

These are all expected. Zhou Cang wanted to hear the existing problems the most. Before he could ask any questions, Su Yang said: "The biggest problem now is the lack of money. Liaodong's foreign trade is mostly barter exchange, a small amount of money, but in the This cannot be done in Liaodong. The copper coins used are still old coins, not to mention the low quality, the key is the small quantity."

Currency, as the general equivalent of commodities, plays a pivotal role in economic development. It is okay to say that when the economy is backward, the lack of currency is undoubtedly a major problem when the economy is developing rapidly.There is no shortage of gold in Zhoucang now, but gold is too expensive, how can it be widely used among the people?
"Then what's your opinion?"

"The subordinates thought that the only way to reset the currency system in Liaodong!" A bold idea, since the first emperor unified the currency, any emperor who can allow his subordinates to establish their own currency value is a crime of beheading.

"How to reset?" Zhou Cang said calmly.

"One is to collect bronze wares and cast new coins. I'm afraid I'm short of copper in Liaodong, but the new coins are hoarded." Su Yang sighed, "The second is to cast iron coins. Although I don't lack iron in Liaodong, the price of iron is too high." Low, hard to be of great use."

It's hard for Su Yang to come up with two ideas, but they are both too difficult, which shows that he spent a lot of brainstorming.Zhou Cang fell into deep thought, he wouldn't think out of his mind to use Jian'an paper to make paper money, that would become the laughing stock of the world.Under the current economic conditions, people's ideology will not accept banknotes.Zhou Cang has the guts to mint coins by himself. As long as the new coins are controlled within the territory of Liaodong, even if someone attacks him, he will not be able to cause too much trouble. Collecting bronze wares will be boycotted, and iron coins are too cheap. What can we do?
silver?Yes, mint silver coins.Where does the silver come from?Zhou Cang's geographical knowledge told him that the largest silver producing area in China should be Yunnan. Just kidding, how to get to Yunnan from the northeast, not to mention that Yunnan is still a land of barbarians.It's better... It's better to go abroad. The silver in foreign countries seems to be the largest in Mexico, right?Japan!
Zhou Cang's eyes suddenly brightened, it seems that the process of going east to Japan will be accelerated, and after returning from Xuantu, he needs to go to Jeju to meet Gan Ning. "Su Yang, according to your wishes, make iron coins first, three years, at most five years, I have another way to solve it."

"Using iron money for three to five years can solve the urgent need, but no matter how difficult it is for a long time." Su Yang is still full of worries.

"You just need to find a way to overcome the difficulties of the past few years. You go out to make iron coins, and find someone else to develop casting molds and prepare to make new coins."

"Ah? A new coin? I don't know what material it is? What kind of experiment? And what size?"

"The material is silver, round, and each weighs one tael. As for the style? Get a pen and paper."

Zhou Cang draws two circles on the paper. "On the front is a silver dollar in the middle, and on the bottom is the 15th year of Jian'an made in Liaodong." Zhou Cang hesitated for a moment, "on the back there is a picture of Changbai Mountain."

Before the ink was dry, Zhou Cang tore up the paper. "The matter of casting silver coins is classified as top secret and cannot be disclosed. Su Yang, you have a few things to do: one is to cast molds, including copper coins and silver coins, and gold coins will be made in the future. My handwriting is not good, so I will write it by someone who is good at handwriting." Bar."

Zhang Jiong said suddenly: "My lord, this is very similar to a medal."

Zhou Cang never thought of this connection at all, but said with a smile: "I was also inspired by it. The second thing you do, Su Yang, is to formulate the price comparison between copper dollars, silver dollars and gold dollars, which seems simple. But it is extremely complicated, and I can’t explain it clearly. You need to study it. The third thing is to prepare for the establishment of the mint and the bank. Needless to say, the mint has more knowledge, and the banker has more knowledge, so we might as well start from the easy to the difficult.”

The more Su Yang heard it, the more frightened he was. The value of Zhou Cang's currency was unheard of. Although he didn't understand the price comparison, he still knew what to do. What was the bank?

"The bank, as the name suggests, is dedicated to managing money, but it only manages the circulation of money. One is to determine how much silver and copper dollars are needed. If there are too few, the money in the market will not be enough; if there are too many, the prices will rise. Therefore, we need Grasp the quantity and speed. The second is to be responsible for the collection of old money and the exchange between copper and silver dollars. The third is to build accounts, keep the books sound and clear the accounts.”

It is easy to understand the exchange of money, that is, to exchange the common people with the corresponding coins according to the price comparison. This amount and degree are really difficult to grasp.Su Yang asked: "I'm afraid that the new money will be made, and the people will hoard it one after another. How much is not enough?"

"It's hard to say. It's back to the previous step from easy to difficult. After the opening of the bank, its role will be far more than that. The scope of business will become larger and larger, and you need to find out. As for your worries, it will be natural when the time comes." There will be a solution.”

Su Yang wrote them down one by one, frowned, and rushed to the pressure.Zhou Cang saw Su Yang's difficulty, "Don't worry, take your time. I know you are short of manpower here. Fortunately, Xuzhou's mathematics has been booming in the past two years. I have transferred [-] people from Xuzhou each from mathematics and business to help."

Su Yang felt a little better.But Zhou Cang wondered if he had discussed with Ge Jun, Lu Ji, and Kan Ze after returning to Xuzhou, and used Arabic numerals to calculate to reduce the calculation?
After the political, military, and financial reports were completed, Wang Lie asked a question, "My lord, the imperial court has granted you the Marquis of Liao, but you have not established a mansion in Liaodong..."

Another complicated question, Wang Lie was right, the Marquis of Liao should be built, but where should it be built?It can be built in Xiangping, Pingzhou, or in Seoul, Jeju. No matter where it is built, it will become the political center just like Yedu.

Zhang Jiong and Pei Yuanshao glanced at Wang Lie and each other with weird eyes, then fell silent.But I was thinking in my heart, how dare you bring up such a sensitive issue without Zhou Cang talking about it.

The location of the mansion is not the key point, the key point is that Zhou Cang is now in charge of the overall situation in Xuzhou. Wang Lie proposed to build the mansion, did he want Zhou Cang to come to Liaodong?That is to say, Wang Lie is upright and selfless in his heart. If Zhou Wen finds out, the consequences... Hehe.

(End of this chapter)