"No." Lao Zhu retorted.
"Why?" Queen Ma couldn't understand for a moment.
Lao Zhu smiled bitterly and explained to her: "I had the same idea as you at the time, but Han Du told me that it wouldn't work. He said that in the past few years, the imperial court had issued about 40 million yuan of treasure banknotes. Because the value of treasure banknotes has been declining, most of these treasure banknotes are circulating in the market and kept in the homes of ordinary people."
When Lao Zhu said this, he paused.
The critical moment came, and Queen Ma instantly understood what the emperor meant.
"The people recognize the value of the treasure banknotes because I endorse it. If I stop issuing the treasure banknotes now, it means that I will no longer recognize the value of the treasure banknotes. Then those treasure banknotes that have been issued before, regardless of whether they are in the market What circulates in the market or is kept in the homes of the people will turn into worthless pieces of paper in an instant. The entire Ming Dynasty will return to the ancient times of barter in an instant. The people have worked hard all their lives, The wealth accumulated will disappear in an instant. Girl, can you imagine what this is like?"
"The world is in chaos and the people are in dire straits, just like thirty years ago." Queen Ma finished the sentence with difficulty with trembling lips. Having experienced the end of the dynasty, she is all too aware of the horror of such consequences.
Empress Ma still doesn't want to recall the tragic scene at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. But my feelings back then were not as profound as they are now, because after all, they were aimed at the previous dynasty. Although life was difficult, the emperor later rose up to resist, didn't he also overthrow the previous dynasty?
If what the emperor said happened, it would be the Ming Dynasty that the people wanted to overthrow.
How could this not frighten Queen Ma?
Fortunately, Lao Zhu had already experienced this once, and his reaction to this was much smaller than that of Queen Ma. He continued to explain: "Therefore, the treasure banknotes cannot be stopped, but according to Han Du, they cannot be issued indiscriminately like before. Treasure banknotes must be strictly controlled, and if this can be done, treasure banknotes can actually benefit the country and the people."
After hearing this, Queen Ma asked hesitantly: "Did Han Du say these words?"
Lao Zhu nodded, "Yes, that's why I let him take charge of the treasure banknote lifting department."
Empress Ma finally understood why the young Han Du could directly serve as an eighth-rank official in the capital.
You must know that the treasure bank transfer department is in the capital, and there are plenty of jobs. Under normal circumstances, let alone raising people, even a second-class Jinshi would not be able to take charge of the Baochao Office without strong support.
"To untie the bell, you need to tie the bell. Your Majesty's skill in employing people is truly superb." Empress Ma praised.
"Hahaha, I am helpless. Apart from him, I can't think of anyone else who can untie this knot." Lao Zhu told the truth.
Except for Han Du, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty would only try their best to exchange the gold and silver on the market for their hands when the value of treasure notes depreciated. Who would have thought that this would aggravate people's panic and lead to further depreciation of banknotes.
Of course, they didn't expect this.
And this is also the reason why Lao Zhu did not punish the civil and military officials. After all, he who does not know is not guilty.
Since Lao Zhu couldn't even see this clearly, he naturally didn't dare to hand over such a crucial department as the Baochao Judicial Department into their hands.
Although Han Du is young, his knowledge of treasure banknotes surpasses everyone else. It is more suitable for him to be in charge of the treasure banknote lifting department.
Queen Ma lowered her head and pondered for a long time, then looked up at Lao Zhu and sighed: "Even if we strictly control the treasure money and can benefit from it, its harm has never disappeared. Your Majesty, this is a double-edged sword. Sword!"
After hearing this, Lao Zhu stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked out from the door, as if he saw the whole world.
He sighed: "Why didn't I know that this was a double-edged sword? Unfortunately, the sword has been unsheathed now and cannot be taken back, so I can only hold it like this. You think it's funny or not, I still pulled it out with my own hands. It's sheathed. If Han Du had told me these things about the treasure banknotes before I issued them, I'm afraid I wouldn't have pulled out the sword. Now I can only hope that what Han Du said is true and can turn it into harm. For profit."
Empress Ma walked to Lao Zhu, rested her head on his shoulder, and said softly: "The emperor is so blessed that he will be able to turn disadvantages into advantages. In fact, even if Han Du did not appear, the treasure banknotes would still be distributed. It's time The dangers that exist will also exist. Now that there is Han Du, isn't it just to solve the emperor's problems? This is a sign of the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. Whenever there is a difficulty, someone must step forward to resolve it. "
"exactly!"
When Lao Zhu thought about it, he also felt that what Queen Ma said made sense.
Don’t be afraid if there are difficulties. As long as someone can solve them, it is not a difficulty.
Since ancient times, where have all dynasties encountered no difficulties? Li Shimin, who initiated the rule of Zhenguan, even had the shame of being an alliance under the city. But later on, didn't he rely on the heroes gathered around him to avenge his shame?
And now that Han Du has come to me, isn't this also a sign that Yingjie is gathering towards me?
Lao Zhu grew up as a commoner and became the leader of the world. What did he rely on? Aren't they just the talented people who follow him?
Now, although treasure notes are a big trouble, as long as Han Du, who is proficient in treasure notes, is around, Lao Zhu has nothing to fear.
Han Du didn't know that he had become a hero and a capable person in Lao Zhu's heart. He was discussing matters with Xiong Shi and Huang Lao.
The Baochao Lifting Department now has strong troops and abundant money and food. It is time for a bold sprint.
At Han Du's signal, Mr. Huang was the first to report: "Sir, although the rails have been delayed due to matters at the Ministry of Industry, casting has now begun. According to the current speed, if everything goes well, it will be completed in a few days. .”
Han Du nodded after hearing this, and then ordered: "The road at the coal mine must be smoothed out quickly, and the track foundation must be built first according to the officer's requirements. Once the construction is completed, the rails will be pulled over and started laying."
Speaking of this, Han Du suddenly frowned and thought of a problem. The steel rails were laid in the wild where they were exposed to wind, sun and rain, and rust was inevitable.
In the modern steelmaking process, there are naturally many anti-rust methods, but none of them are what Handu can use now.
After thinking for a while, Han Du couldn't think of a good way, so he had to look at Xiong Shi and the other two.
"Although the steel we make is good, it will inevitably rust when exposed to the outside. Is there anything you can do?"
Xiong Shi and Huang Lao looked at each other.
Mr. Huang nodded with a smile and said, "Sir, this is simple, you just need to apply tung oil."
"Tung oil?" Han Du thought carefully and finally recalled this thing.
Tung oil is an excellent drying vegetable oil. It has the characteristics of fast drying, light specific gravity, good gloss, strong adhesion, heat resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, anti-corrosion, anti-rust, and non-conductivity. It has a wide range of uses.
And although tung oil is very common in China, it is almost non-existent abroad. In modern times, tung oil has attracted much attention as the country's only strategic resource that can be exported. Because a large number of aircraft, ships, and various instruments use tung oil to prevent corrosion and moisture.
Mr. Huang continued: "It's tung oil. Sir, tung oil can not only prevent corrosion, but also prevent rust. It is perfect for smearing on the rails. The soldiers like those who maintain their waist knives use tung oil. Just lightly dip a little linen cloth into it. Wiping tung oil on the waist knife can prevent the waist knife from rusting for a long time.”
Knocking on the table in front of him with his fingers, Huang Lao explained: "Also, these tables and chairs in front of me are all painted with tung oil to prevent corrosion."
Han Du took a closer look at the table. The wooden texture of the table was clear, but it seemed to be protected by a transparent film on the surface.
Han Du nodded, tung oil is indeed a good thing, so use tung oil.
I casually asked Xiong Shi, "What's the price of tung oil?"
Xiong Shi immediately replied, "The price is not low, but it's still acceptable."
Han Du thought about it and understood that although tung oil has many uses, it is a good thing. But since it is something that can be used by ordinary tables and chairs, I think even if it is expensive, it is not that expensive.
The matter of laying rails is generally like this.
After Han Du made arrangements, he continued to talk about the treasure notes.
The Baochao matter has been delayed until now, and there has been no improvement. Lao Zhu sent someone to urge him again, and Han Du felt that if he didn't speed up the production of the treasure banknotes. Maybe that day, Lao Zhu couldn't wait any longer and would question himself.
Looking at Xiong Shi, he asked, "How did you go about purchasing cotton?"
"I harvested more than a hundred kilograms..." At this point, Xiong Shi hesitated and asked: "Sir, because almost no cotton is produced around the capital, and it is not the harvest season for cotton. Therefore, the price of cotton is now much higher than that of new cotton. Should I wait until the harvest season and have the official go out to pick it in person? "
Han Du frowned when he heard that he had just received more than a hundred kilograms of cotton, but he thought that there was very little cotton grown around the capital, and almost all the cotton sold in the capital was sold by traders from other places. In addition, it is not the cotton picking season now, so it is not easy to scold Xiong Shi.
Regarding Xiong Shi's suggestion, Han Du shook his head.
Cotton picking will not be until September in the autumn, but now it is impossible for Han Du to wait until September to start making treasure banknotes. In that case, Lao Zhu might kill him in advance.
"What's the price of cotton now?"
When Xiong Shi saw Han Du frowning, he knew that he had done something wrong. When I was worried about Han Du's scolding, I heard Han Du ask and immediately breathed out, knowing that Han Du was not blaming me.
He quickly replied: "The price is more expensive now than when the new cotton first came out. When the cotton was harvested a few days ago, it was more than 90 cents per catty at first. Later, perhaps because of the harvest, the price increased to 100. Wen, I thought it was a bit expensive, so I didn’t take any more.”
