Lao Zhu caressed the banknote paper with his fingers and sighed: "This paper is really good, better than any other rice paper. Not only is the paper tougher than rice paper, it is also lighter and thinner. This piece of paper is probably worth a lot of money." "
That is!
I don’t even know what the raw material for making banknotes is, it’s cotton. Ordinary paper is only made from hemp stalks, mulberry bark and the like. How much is it worth?
But cotton is not cheap. It is an expensive thing in itself. In addition, when Handu bought it, he bought it at a high price. As a result, the cost of this piece of banknote paper is naturally not low.
But no matter how expensive the price is, it is nothing to Handu. Han Du did not use banknote paper to write and draw, but to print treasure banknotes. As the saying goes, those who block the road are not as good as those who steal money, and those who steal money are not as good as those who print money.
Although the cotton in Handu is very expensive, only 200 yuan per pound. But when cotton is made into banknote paper, there is no loss. One pound of cotton can be used to make one pound of banknote paper. And how much does one of the treasure notes made by Han Du weigh? The usual treasure notes are larger, and the total amount is only one gram. One pound of treasure notes can be used to make five hundred coins.
Exchange two hundred coins for five hundred strings! This is a 2,500-fold increase in value.
"It's okay, it's okay." Han Du explained with a smile, "If you only count the cost, it's cheaper than ordinary rice paper."
In fact, Han Du's answer to Lao Zhu was not considered trickery. If you only count the cost of cotton, then this banknote paper is really cheaper than rice paper. The most valuable part of this banknote is actually the method provided by Han Du to make cotton pulp, and the rest is insignificant.
Although the price of rice paper is not low, the raw materials are actually ordinary materials, and the high price lies in the production method.
If Han Du's method of making cotton pulp is added, then the price of this banknote paper will naturally be sky-high. But since it is used by Han Du himself, it doesn't matter. After all, no matter how high the price is, can it still fall into his pocket? This is obviously impossible.
When Lao Zhu heard Han Du's words, his eyes lit up, and an idea emerged. Asked Han Du: "Since it's cheaper than rice paper, can we take some away?"
Han Du was stunned when he heard this. He didn't understand what Lao Zhu wanted to do with the banknotes. Then he asked in a low voice: "What does the emperor do with the banknotes?"
Lao Zhu did not expect that Han Du did not agree directly, but asked him the purpose of taking the banknotes. Is it possible that I, an emperor, have spent my whole life fighting in the north and south, going through life and death, and finally ruling the world? Now that I see something I like, I can’t even ask you to ask Han Du for it?
Lao Zhu suddenly felt a little unhappy, his face suddenly turned cold, and he asked in a deep voice: "I saw that the banknotes were good, and there might be unexpected benefits in using them to write on, so I wanted to take some back to try."
Use it to write and draw?
Han Du said he couldn't understand.
Although papermaking has been around for thousands of years, the papermaking process has not improved much. Even the best rice paper of this era still has a huge gap compared with the paper of later generations, let alone compared with banknote paper.
Although Lao Zhu came from a farmer's background, he herded cattle when he was a child and had no chance to be exposed to things like studying. But this does not mean that he does not like reading. On the contrary, Lao Zhu loves reading very much. When I was a child, I had to give up because I didn’t have the conditions to study. Later, when conditions were met, Lao Zhu relied on his extraordinary talent and hard work, and his achievements in reading were no worse than those of ministers who had read poetry and books.
Otherwise, Lao Zhu would not have left so many popular poems. If Lao Zhu really had no literary accomplishments, would history have allowed his poems to be passed down just because he was an emperor?
Go ahead and dream!
Have you ever seen an emperor who claimed to be a perfect man and wrote more than 40,000 poems, but in the end not even one of them could be remembered?
With Lao Zhu's literary accomplishments, even if he were to take part in the imperial examination, it would be more than enough to become a Jinshi. Just because he is the emperor, he is the only one who tests others, and no one dares to test him. Although Lao Zhu's literary accomplishments are modest, that doesn't mean he doesn't have them.
As a senior literati, Lao Zhu was naturally unable to avoid the common problem of literati: he couldn't walk when he saw good pens, inks, paper and inkstones. Now that I see this flawless white banknote, I really can't help but kiss a beautiful woman. Just now, Han Du could see clearly how Lao Zhu's fingers caressed the banknotes. It felt gentler than touching a woman's skin.
But no matter what, Han Du couldn't agree.
Mao Xiang stood aside and saw Han Du frowning. I wonder why Han Du is like this? The emperor finally agreed. How dare Han Du refuse to agree? Unless Han Du is crazy.
Of course, Han Du was not crazy, but he still shook his head and refused: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for my rudeness. You cannot let your Majesty take this banknote away."
It's crazy.
Mao Xiang took a deep look at Han Du and lowered his head.
Huang Lao had already lowered his head. He didn't know why Han Du didn't even give the emperor a few pieces of paper. Isn’t the emperor the most wealthy and powerful person in the world? Who dares to resist the imperial edict? Unexpectedly, the Lord actually dared to refuse in front of the Emperor.
"Why?" Lao Zhu's face was cold and his voice was cold and stern.
"Your Majesty, the money paper is of great importance. I don't want any money paper to leave the money paper bureau." Han Du said with a clasped fist and a salute. He looked up at Lao Zhu and explained sincerely: "In order to prevent the banknotes from leaving the banknote bureau, I have to watch them burn to ashes one by one, even if they are cut off scraps."
Although Han Du has a firm grasp of the formula for making cotton pulp, Han Du does not believe that anyone can reversely deduce the formula through a few pieces of paper. But since it is to be kept secret, it must be done to the extreme. Even a small note cannot be spread. Only in this way can all possibilities be blocked. It's not complicated anyway, it just takes a little more effort.
Lao Zhu was silent after hearing this.
Regarding the confidentiality of treasure notes, he had heard Han Du mention it more than once, but never once could it give him such a big shock. In the past, I heard that Han Du said that he would strictly guard all the materials, processes, and formulas of treasure notes, but even Lao Zhu did not expect that Han Du would be so cautious that even if he asked for it, he would be refused.
However, Lao Zhu felt relieved that Han Du was able to accomplish things to such an extent.
