The officials were amazed. Not long after entering the room, they felt warm. Xie Jin sighed: "A Nuanchunfang is worthy of its name. If all the people have this furnace, why worry about spending the cold winter?"
Huang Zicheng listened to the "whining" sound of the water boiling and watched the young man take off the kettle. Before it could cover the stove, he came closer and said, "Come to think of it, there seems to be a mystery to this coal."
"Good regular coal."
After Zheng Ci saw it, he exclaimed.
Qi Tai sighed and said: "Just now I was thinking about what kind of coal can cost twenty cents a day. Now look at such a large coal, with holes and holes, and it burns even warmer. I'm afraid the price is still safe."
Huang Zicheng walked towards the old lady and asked with concern: "Old man, do you have any money left at home? Will buying coal affect your life?"
The old woman smiled, and lines like knife cuts piled up, and said: "If there are any, my son and daughter-in-law are working, and they received four or five taels of silver last month. This is because the emperor is considerate of us people, so he gave it to us." A way to survive. Thinking about the people who have not moved here and say bad things about the court, I wish I could go back and spit on them."
Huang Zicheng turned around and looked at Zhu Yunwen.
Relief with work and relocation of the victims was a policy that the emperor listened to Yao Guangxiao's words and implemented against all opinions.
Facts have proved that the emperor was right. The entry of these victims into the capital not only saved the court's disaster relief expenditure, but also brought more cheap labor to support the grain depot, Baoen Temple, the Monument to the Martyrs, and the Dongshui Pass Commercial Road...
At present, the people are safe and peaceful, have no worries during the winter, the elderly are happy, and are grateful to the court. Isn't this the best kind of civilized governance?
The foundation of the literati should be to bring peace to the people and the world, rather than to compete with the military.
At this moment, Huang Zicheng reflected on and criticized his past and corrected his ideas.
"Twenty cents a day is a bit high, but based on my income, it's still affordable. One cent is enough for a month and twenty, and it won't be much use until spring comes."
Lian Zining thought about it and said.
Just when Qitai and others nodded, the old lady sighed and said, "One tael of silver can't last a month and twenty, it's just a month's expenses."
"Why?"
Qi Tai asked with some confusion, and other officials were also full of doubts. They said before that the cost of twenty cash a day was not six hundred cash a month, and one tael of silver, one thousand cash, could not be used up in a month.
The old lady shook her head slightly and said somewhat sadly: "I don't know why now. People welcome you to buy things with copper coins, but if you use broken silver to buy things, people are picky. One tael of silver can only be used for six or seven hundred." Wen Yong can’t even cover a thousand Wen.”
Huang Zicheng frowned. As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he knew what the old man said. Although the imperial court issued many orders, one tael of silver was equivalent to a thousand cash, but it had no effect in commercial transactions.
"Copper is expensive and silver is cheap. This is not a good thing. The Ministry of Revenue needs to come up with a strategy."
Zhu Yunwen said softly.
Huang Zicheng responded quickly and said, "After I return, I will convene the officials for a meeting."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said: "Arrange someone to see the exchange of money for silver and money for copper, and report it after the discussion."
Huang Zicheng nodded.
After walking out of one house, he went to other houses. Many families did not buy a new Nuanchunfang stove.
There was no stove, not even coal, so they lived a cold life.
Frugality and simplicity are the normal life of these people. Even if the indoor and outdoor temperatures are the same, they are not willing to spend so much money to install a stove.
There are even some families who received a new stove for free from Nuanchunfang, but they resold it at a low price. The old man said, if you are cold, wear two more layers, as long as you don't freeze to death, and save some money.
Zhu Yunwen held a pair of cold and old hands and said to Huang Zicheng: "The wind is strong outside the city, the winter is wet and cold, and the rain is constant. We cannot let the people suffer. The Ministry of Household Affairs will fund it for the elderly who are over sixty years old." How about purchasing a new stove and three months’ worth of coal for disaster-stricken households with children under ten years old?”
Huang Zicheng thought for a while and then agreed: "They have suffered a disaster and should receive more care from the court. I will allocate special money to purchase stoves and coal in Yilu Nuanchunfang."
Approximately 20% of those who moved to the capital due to the disaster were accompanied by elderly people and young children. When divided into households, the number of households should be less than 2,000. Even if it were 2,000 households, the cost of purchasing a new stove would only be 10,000 taels. Money, the overall cost will not be too much.
Zhu Yunwen nodded with satisfaction, and on the way back, he said to the accompanying officials: "I think the new stove is good. It does not have choking coal smoke and can also keep people warm indoors. If the household department is strong, new stoves can be purchased for the six government offices." , and it will save all officials from having to worry about working in the winter. If the Ministry of Household Affairs is unwilling to contribute the money, then let it go."
Huang Zicheng stared depressedly, the emperor was so unkind, wasn't he just putting the household on the shelf to bake?
If the Ministry of Revenue agrees, wouldn't it be an opening? When officials apply for money and food one by one, wouldn't they have an excuse? They can buy stoves for the six departments no matter what they say. Why don't they have money...
If he doesn't agree, then it's over. Hu Bu will definitely not have a good life. It is estimated that Hu Bu's coal will be robbed by others, thinking that his coldness is the fault of Hu Bu.
The same goes for Your Majesty, if you make a decree, the Ministry of Household Affairs will do it. It would be a bit harmful to leave it to the Ministry of Household Affairs to decide...
Before Huang Zicheng could think of how to respond, Zhu Yunwen strode away with a smile, leaving only a group of people staring at Huang Zicheng.
Zhu Yunwen ignored how Huang Zicheng dealt with it. This guy had recently become a "villain", standing opposite him and waving flags and shouting. He was very positive. It didn't hurt to create a little trouble for him.
When we returned to Kunning Palace, it was as warm as a spring day.
Taking off his coat, Zhu Yunwen said to Ma Enhui relaxedly: "Has the queen prepared the invitation?"
Ma Enhui smiled and said: "It has been sent out, and there will be a banquet at Kunning Palace in the evening."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said: "Soon, the imperial court will purchase a batch of new stoves. The concubines, maids, and eunuchs in the harem should also buy a batch. The incident of concubine Shu's poisoning must not happen again."
Ma Enhui took an account book and handed it to Zhu Yunwen, saying: "The purchase of the harem has been arranged, but Your Majesty, the treasury of Kunning Palace is full. If this continues, the place will have to be changed."
Zhu Yunwen took the account book, turned it to the end, looked at it, and said: "With these funds, the preparations for the central bank can also be put on the agenda. Today's visit found that silver is cheap again. One tael of silver can only cost more than 600." Wen copper coins."
Ma Enhui said worriedly: "Then if we continue to collect cash, won't we suffer a lot?"
Zhu Yunwen put his fingers on the table and said softly
: "Currently, silver is cheap and copper is precious. If a central bank is established, the exchange of silver and copper will be back on track. At that time, the one tael of silver in the queen's hands will be worth three or four hundred yuan out of thin air. How can we lose money? Tell Yilu Nuanchunfang , both copper coins and silver will be charged, but less treasure notes will be charged."
Ma Enhui's eyes lit up and she said with some confusion: "I didn't do anything, so I made money out of thin air?"
Zhu Yunwen took out a tael of silver from his sleeve and said: "This involves the issue of currency depreciation and appreciation. Silver is cheap and copper is expensive. Silver depreciates and copper increases. If we appreciate silver and depreciate copper, then this tael will Silver can naturally be exchanged for more copper coins and can also be used to purchase more goods. One hundred thousand silver will become 130,000 or 40,000 silver in the blink of an eye..."
Currency speculation was common in later generations, and there were even people who specialized in shorting a certain country's currency to cut leeks.
It’s not that businessmen in the Ming Dynasty couldn’t see this business opportunity, but because there was really not much copper in the Ming Dynasty, the growth of the total amount of copper coins flowing in the market could not keep up with the increase in commercial demand, especially after the implementation of new business strategies, the depreciation of copper coins, The problem of silver depreciation has become even more prominent.
Zhu Yunwen knew that the currency problem must be solved, and the conditions for solution are becoming more and more mature.
Jiangxi, Raozhou, west side of Pojiang River.
Several tall hydraulic turbines were built. The water flow hit the turbine gears, and the gears meshed and rotated, driving a heavy iron rod to rise. After reaching a certain height, the iron rod rolled along the circle and fell vertically. With a clang, the iron rod fell vertically. The raised part at the bottom of the stick has been smashed into the small groove at the bottom.
After the iron rod was raised, Wu Dasheng, the head craftsman, took out the round copper coin from the shallow groove and respectfully handed it to Ningyuan Marquis He Fu. He Fu held the slightly warm copper coin and looked at the four clearly marked "Hongwu Tongbao". He asked solemnly: "Is it done?"
A smile appeared on Wu Dasheng's dark face, and he said: "According to the drawings given by the Lord, after testing nearly five hundred times, it is finally done."
“Can it be scaled up?”
He Fu asked.
Wu Dasheng nodded and said: "You just need to add iron rods and water wheels. This method uses stamping to mint coins, which is very different from the previous method. I wonder which craftsman came up with such a fantastic idea?"
"Craftsman..."
He Fu looked at Wu Dasheng and was extremely confused. The person who gave him the drawings was Emperor Zhu Yunwen of the Ming Dynasty, but how could the emperor understand these mysterious things?
Wu Dasheng is an old craftsman who casts copper coins. Looking at the stamping and preparation equipment, his eyes are filled with wonder.
In the currency casting of the previous dynasties, the mold casting process was mostly adopted.
Mold casting started with flat mold casting, that is, two molds were made, put together and then cast. This was also the earliest coin casting process in ancient times.
At the beginning, clay tablets were used, on which money shapes and sprues were carved. One or two money shapes were carved on each clay tablet. However, the clay tablet material was not easy to use and could only be used once.
You can't just play in the mud every day for a piece of money, right?
Later, copper molds were used to cast money. However, the copper mold itself had insufficient air permeability and the thermal stress problem was difficult to solve. After only a few uses, the copper mold deformed and could no longer be used.
It’s not a cost-effective business to spend copper coins just to get copper coins at the same time...
As a result, the wise ancients changed the flat mold casting and proposed the far-reaching stack casting method. This technology has become the protagonist of coin casting technology since the Western Han Dynasty...
