Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Seeing everyone bidding for his new words, Zhao Kai was very proud at this moment.

You can not only make money to alleviate economic difficulties, but also show your sincere support for the Ming Dynasty.

In this poem, he wildly flattered the emperor and the prince, and even told lies, praising the new dynasty's Bianliang for being more prosperous than before.

It had only been a year since the military disaster. How could it be compared?

One of Zhao Kai's lyrics sold for a high price of 60 yuan.

This is when the really rich people are afraid of getting involved with the old Song emperor and choose to watch silently without taking action. Otherwise, his calligraphy and lyrics could sell hundreds of copies!

Zhao Kai gave the stall owner some money to cover the cost of providing paper and pen, and then wrote two new lyrics in a row.

The contents of the poems are similar, but they all share the tone of Dasheng's poems.

With the strong support of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, several templates of this kind of word have appeared.

For example, in the template used by Zhao Kai, the upper column focuses on describing wealth and prosperity, while the lower column praises the emperor's wisdom and prowess. There are similar words and phrases over and over again, and new words are used to describe them from another angle.

Perhaps because it had lost its freshness, the price of the second poem was very low, and it was bought for less than 30 coins.

Zhao Kai was a little anxious, so he picked up the third poem and said: "I only filled in three poems today, and now I have the last one left..."

Sure enough, the bidding enthusiasm was aroused, and the third poem sold for a high price of nearly 80 pieces!

Copper coins were too heavy. Now that silver coins are available, many wealthy people carry silver coins with them when they go out. They use silver coins to pay for slightly expensive goods.

In the past, it was not very convenient. Whether it was silver collars or broken silver, the quality had to be checked before weighing. For silver that is not very good, you still need to estimate its value. How can silver coins be so simple and clear?

"What is this?" Zhao Kai received the silver dollar but didn't understand the situation.

The person who took the first poem was a local businessman. He became even more proud at this moment. He held his head high and said: "This is the Ming Dynasty silver dollar. One dollar is one tael. It is very convenient to use. It is also called one yuan or one yuan. In fact, it is still There are gold coins, which are rare on the market and have been hoarded by wealthy households."

Zhao Kai was immediately ashamed. After one year of managing the farmland, he fell behind the times and didn't even recognize new coins.

It’s very shameless and will be looked down upon by others!

Under the light of the lanterns at the crossword puzzle stall, Zhao Kai carefully observed the silver dollar pattern and felt that this thing was indeed very good.

The merchant took out another silver dollar and said, "Yun... you don't know, but there is a good way to identify silver coins. Blow it like this and put it to your ear to listen. The sound of the real silver dollar is very pleasant. The fake silver dollar There is also a sound, but if you add too much copper, the sound will be shriller, and if you add too much lead, the sound will be deeper!"

Zhao Kai tried blowing money to hear the sound, and there was indeed a sound when he put it to his ear.

Zhao Kai felt even more embarrassed that a businessman had to teach him about this kind of thing. He said to his wives and concubines behind him: "It's so easy to take the money home with you. Stay close to those military masters, and don't let the gangsters steal it!"

The wives and concubines were very happy. They usually complained that Zhao Kai didn't work, but now they felt that Zhao Kai was really capable.

Zhao Kai also kept some for himself and went straight to a nearby clothing store. He wanted to buy something to change into immediately. It was too embarrassing to go to the lantern festival wearing civilian clothes.

The other princes from the previous dynasty were still laughing at the joke at first, but now they have become extremely jealous.

Zhao Xu came close to Zhao Gou and whispered: "Ninth brother's calligraphy is very good and his lyrics are also excellent. How about selling a bunch of new lyrics?"

Zhao Gou was quite moved, but he couldn't lose his face and muttered: "It's better... forget it."

Zhao Xu said: "My calligraphy is okay, but I can't write new words at the moment. How about I contact the buyer, Ninth Brother will write the words, and we will split the money earned half way. How about it?"

Zhao Gou thought the deal was a good deal, but he continued to hold it and said in a low voice: "Don't make any noise, just do the deal privately."

Zhao Xu happily went to make a report. After getting permission, he asked the stall owner to borrow pen and paper. He asked Zhao Gou to fill in two poems, followed by a sergeant, and went straight to Fan Tower and Pan Tower.

These two poems were sold for a total of fifteen guan. Zhao Xu came back and took out four guan of money, handed it to Zhao Gou and said, "The third brother is very famous, and many rich people are fighting for it, so he can sell it for dozens of guan." . Ninth brother, you are good at calligraphy and lyrics, but after all, you are not as famous as third brother, and you can’t raise the price by selling quietly in private. Brother Yu is so good at talking, his words are almost worn out, and two pieces of words can only be sold for eight pieces. "

"That's enough, that's enough, thank you Brother Qi," Zhao Gou happily held the money in his arms and couldn't help but say, "Why don't Brother Qi make another trip to see if he can sell a few more pieces?"

Zhao Xu quietly pointed at the sergeant: "The military commander just now has been walking with me for a long time, and he is quite impatient. I don't want to give him any money. I may not be able to walk around freely today, otherwise I will annoy this military commander." .”

Zhao Gou sighed: "It's a pity."

Everyone continued to visit the lantern market, and the more Zhao Gou thought about it, the more something was wrong. He always felt that Zhao Xu was getting a kickback.

When I came to the vicinity of Zhouqiao, I saw that people did not watch the lanterns, but formed a circle inside and outside to watch the excitement.

Zhao Gou also wanted to squeeze in, but he couldn't.

Suddenly, a group of police officers from the Military and Horse Division came and roughly pushed away the onlookers. The leading officer shouted: "Who is making trouble?"

A stall owner grabbed the small businessman and said: "Master Jun, this man used fake money, catch him and put him in jail quickly!"

The small businessman was from out of town, so he quickly shouted that he was wronged and explained: "I am from Wanting County. I am transporting some goods to Tokyo and want to make a few small bucks during the Lantern Festival. We don't use many silver coins there. , I don’t know how to tell the authenticity from the fake. I got this silver dollar from selling goods, I really didn’t know it was fake money!”

The leading military officer took the silver dollar, blew it into his ear and listened to it. He listened several times and said, "This money is fake. Come back to the Army with me. Don't be afraid. As long as you confess honestly, I won't do anything to you." . I have found a lot of fake money in recent days. I heard that the officials are very angry. If you perform meritorious service, you can still receive a reward!"

"I must confess truthfully. I really did not make this fake money!" The little businessman became more and more panicked as he spoke.

Counterfeit currency has been around since ancient times. Even broken silver can be counterfeited. Jiaozi and Huizi in the Song Dynasty also had a large number of counterfeit banknotes.

Gold and silver coins have been issued in Tokyo for half a year. Although they are mixed with many impurities, they are not as pure as traditional silver collars. However, because they were beautifully made and provided by the court, they were immediately sought after by the wealthy, who took them and stored them in their cellars.

Fortunately, the imperial court was well prepared and did not distribute it on a large scale across the country. It was only piloted in Kaifeng, Luoyang, Chang'an, Hanzhong, and Chengdu.

The major mints across the country are working hard to mint coins. The rich are hoarding a batch this month, and the court will issue more next month.

Due to inconvenient transportation, after half a year of continuous issuance, the trend of collecting new money in several major cities has finally eased.

Gradually, due to the relatively large circulation of silver coins, more silver coins were circulated on the market. Gold coins were still unable to circulate. No matter how many were issued, they all went into the cellars of wealthy households.

With the amount of circulation available, fake silver coins also appeared.

From New Year's Day to now, hundreds of people have been arrested in half a month, and the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Kaifeng Prefecture have jointly set up a special task force.

Zhu Guoxiang didn't say anything, but the prince had already stated his position. The people who produced and shipped the product were all from the Yi tribe, and the accomplices had their homes confiscated and were exiled to the northwest!

To be honest, it was a little difficult to try the case.

When tracing the source of counterfeit money, A often confesses to B, but B denies that he has used counterfeit money. Even if B admits and confesses to C or D, the latter two will not admit it.

It's hard to tell who is biting randomly, or who really can't remember.

Now, torture has begun, and some suspects have even been beaten to death.

The royal family also watched the lanterns on the city tower, and Zhu Guoxiang also waved to the people from afar, attracting waves of official and long live shouts.

Zhu Ming held his daughter Zhu Xiang in his arms, and someone ran to the city to report.

Soon Bai Sheng came to Ju Ming: "Your Highness, the case of counterfeit silver coins has come to light. Many people pointed out that their counterfeit money came from the 'Zao Wang Family Gold and Silver Shop'. The Bingma Division sealed this shop yesterday. They knew it was a capital crime. , no matter how tortured he was, he refused to admit it. Today, the gold and silver shop clerks were interrogated separately, and they were told that the first one to confess the crime would not only be exempted from guilt, but also receive a reward. Soon six of the clerks confessed truthfully."

Ju Ming sneered, some people are really tired of living.

Bai Sheng continued: "Those six guys didn't know much, and they didn't know where the counterfeit money den was. They only knew that it was outside the city. They let the guys come in and out every day and brought the fake silver dollars into the city in batches. Here. The person who gave them counterfeit silver coins was the 'Wei Family Silver Shop' on the outskirts of the city. The two silver shops inside and outside the city did business in the old Song Dynasty, but we did not give them such business in the Ming Dynasty and the New Dynasty."

Ju Ming asked: "Have the people from the Wei family silver shop been arrested?"

Bai Sheng said: "The Wei family fled last night, only some servants are still there, and now the interrogation is intensifying."

That is, only two companies were found to have shipped the money, and one of them even ran away after hearing the news. The real person who made the counterfeit money still does not know who it is.

Since they had engaged in courtship business, it must have involved powerful people from the previous dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty had the Kaizhong method, and the Song Dynasty also had the Zhongzhong system.

It was too troublesome to rely on the Xiang army to transport military rations and other supplies to the frontiers, so merchants were encouraged to help.

No matter where you are a merchant, as long as you transport the supplies urgently needed by the border army to the designated location, you can get "Xiaoyin".

After merchants obtain "cross-introduction", they can negotiate goods in the capital in exchange for real gold and silver, scarce commodities or tea and salt banknotes.

In order to prevent fake receipts or fake referrals, Quego has asked shops with strong backgrounds in the capital to provide guarantees for these merchants.

Why should a shop in the capital provide guarantee for merchants entering China?

Of course it is profitable!

Gradually, these valuable certificates such as Jiao Yin, Tea Yin, Salt Yin, and Banknote Yin were all turned into futures, and few people actually transported food and grass for the border army.

In the Song Dynasty, most of the trading business was done by gold and silver shops, which turned into futures trading centers.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has been established, the salt introduction and tea introduction systems are still in effect, but everything is done according to the rules, breaking the middleman link of the powerful, and the cross introduction system has been temporarily cancelled.

Those gold and silver shops inside and outside the city have lost their most profitable business and are taking risks to sell counterfeit currency in bulk!