、、、、、、、、、、

If you insist on exchanging gold and silver, it is clear that you do not trust the imperial court, and it will be difficult to take over the procurement projects of the imperial court in the future. But if you don't exchange it, I'm afraid that these banknotes will really become a piece of waste paper.

The merchants of the Central Plains were hesitating and wanted to wait and see for a while. The merchants of the Western Regions and the South Seas couldn't manage so much, they didn't have the same deep feelings for the Zhou Dynasty as the people of the Central Plains, and they didn't have the psychology of gaining and losing. As a result, most of them appeared in the long queue at the entrance of the exchange office of the Ministry of Finance.

The ordinary surnames of Luoyang City have not yet come into contact with paper money, and all walks of life, as well as servants, guards, soldiers, etc., receive salaries of gold, silver and copper coins. On the surface, it seems that paper money is still some distance from their lives. But who knows if the imperial court will suddenly announce a few days later that the whole city can only be settled with paper money. Will the wages and salaries they receive become colorful pieces of paper when they arrive?

So they have been praying in their hearts that it will never be the day when paper money will become their salary.

However, the more I am afraid, the more I come. Five days later, Yuming issued a decree, saying that paper money would be fully implemented in the Luoyang area, and all the salaries of the imperial court's employees, including officials, soldiers, guards, servants, government servants, and land security, as well as merchants and people who had dealings with the imperial court's yamen, were settled in paper money.

In his decree, Yu Ming solemnly promised that the Ministry of Finance would ensure that all issued banknotes could be exchanged for gold, silver and copper coins at any time, with the "gold and silver sea" placed in the treasury as a guarantee.

In order to convince merchants and the public of the imperial court's exchange power, the Great Zhou court hereby opened the treasury compound of the Ministry of Finance for the public to visit for ten days.

After hearing the news, the whole city exploded, they didn't expect this day to come so soon. Your own salary is really going to turn into paper money. As for the emperor's announcement that there was a whole "sea of gold and silver" as a guarantee for the exchange of paper money, they were skeptical.

In particular, some big businessmen who have accounts with the imperial court are even more unbelieving. Because they know very well that the officials of the Ministry of Finance have to bargain for a long time for every purchase money, especially the Minister of Finance, the Imperial Concubine Sun, who is like an iron rooster, using the money of the court as if it were his own private money. This Great Zhou court doesn't look like a rich lord no matter how you look at it! How can there be a "sea of gold and silver"?

Xie Changfeng, as a Jiangnan businessman with a large stack of banknotes in his hand, often had procurement transactions with Zhou Jun, so he naturally cared about it. Especially when he was provoked by Mubashaf to give up the exchange that day, and after returning home, he also regretted it a little.

Now that he heard that the imperial court was going to display the "gold and silver sea" in the treasury, he naturally rushed to the compound of the Ministry of Finance as fast as he could, wanting to see what was going on. If it is really as Yuming announced, there is a large "gold mountain and silver sea" as a guarantee for the exchange of paper money. Then he doesn't have to rush to exchange it, after all, it is much more convenient to carry and count banknotes.

When he arrived at the compound of the Ministry of Finance, he saw that it was already crowded with people, and almost all the merchants and surnames of the city had come. And Mubashaf, the messenger and merchant of the Great Eater, was a narrow rival, and the two bumped into each other at the door again.

"Haha! Thank you, I didn't expect to meet you here again! It's really a place in life where we don't meet! Mubashaf burst out laughing.

Xie Changfeng was obviously not as happy as Mubashaf, and after a few words of greeting with a blushing face, he set his eyes on a solid iron gate in front of him. This iron gate is fifteen zhang high, ten zhang wide, and the door panel is about two feet thick, which is larger and stronger than the gate of Luoyang City.

It goes without saying that this gate is the gate of the treasury.

At this time, twenty guards pulled the winch above the iron gate, and finally opened it after a long time of "creaking" sound.

When they looked up, they saw a hill-like object standing in the empty treasury, but with a canvas on its surface, so they did not know what it was.

"Open it! Let everyone see my gold and silver sea! At this moment, a loud voice rang out.

Everyone looked back, but saw Yuming wearing a dragon robe, accompanied by Empress Shumeng and the imperial concubine and Minister of Finance, Sun Wujian, and walked into the treasury.

"Welcome to the Emperor!" Xie Changfeng reacted the fastest, and immediately knelt down and said loudly.

"Long live our emperor! Banzai!! Hooray!! All the surnames and businessmen present also reacted and knelt down and kowtowed.

"Didn't I say that? The prostrations have long been abolished! No matter who it is in the future, you don't have to kneel when you see me! Seeing this, Yu Ming also sighed lightly, and then shook his head.

Although he abolished the prostrations for several years. But it was only the DPRK and Chinese officials and officers and men who began to get used to bowing down and clasping their fists. Those merchants and surnames, still like the former Sui, knelt down when they saw them, and it would take time to reverse the thousands of years of submissiveness and panic of the surname to the emperor.

At this time, Yu Mingfang said to Yan Zhi, the director of the Ministry of Finance who was standing beside him: "Lord Yan, you are the director of the Exchange Department of the Ministry of Finance, so you can uncover this canvas and show you my Da Zhou's 'Golden Mountain and Silver Sea'!" ”

Yan Zhi nodded, and then personally led a few guards to run over the small mountain-sized object and violently lifted the covering canvas.

And when he opened it like this, it dazzled everyone present.

I saw an unprecedented huge pool and rockery, which appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

"OMG! Such a big mountain of gold, and a silver pool? Xie Changfeng gasped.

In front of him was a pool ten zhang long and eight zhang wide, but there was no water in this pool, and it was full of melted silver nuggets, forming a real silver pool.

And on top of this silver pool, there is a huge cone-shaped golden mountain with a diameter of five zhang and a height of five zhang.

This dazzling golden light and silver made everyone dazzled and dumbfounded.

"Is it really a sea of gold and silver?" Mubashaf stood next to Xie Changfeng and kept repeating. He could barely believe his eyes.

The other businessmen and surnames present were not much better than him, looking at such a large "gold mountain and silver sea", everyone had a stunned look on their faces.

At this time, Yan Zhi Fang explained solemnly: "Everyone, please take a closer look! This is the 'gold and silver sea' of my Great Zhou Ministry of Finance...... The silver nugget below is the pedestal known as the 'Silver Sea', which is ten zhang long, eight zhang wide, and two zhang deep. According to the current calculation method, the total weight of such a large 'silver sea' is 75,680,000 catties! ”

"And above the 'Silver Sea' is the 'Golden Mountain'. It is five zhang in diameter, high in length, and conical in shape, according to the current method of calculation. The total weight of such a 'gold mountain' has reached more than 17.04 million catties! ”

Everyone was stunned when they heard the volume and weight of the "Golden Mountain and Silver Sea" reported by Yan Zhi. Such a large "gold mountain and silver sea", I am afraid that the total value is already a sky-high price.

And Mubashaf secretly calculated in his heart, according to the total weight of this "sea of gold and silver", multiplied by the current market price of gold and silver. The total value of the "sea of gold and silver" should be more than 18 billion yuan.

Although there is no carving and manufacturing process in this "gold and silver sea", it is almost pure silver and gold nuggets. But in the face of such volume and weight of gold and silver, all carvings have lost their meaning, and the value of gold and silver alone gives it infinite attraction.

There is so much gold and silver as a guarantee reserve for the issuance of banknotes. Why didn't the Ministry of Finance immediately launch a comprehensive and rapid exchange process? And send a shriveled old man to grind foreign workers there. What's the point? Xie Changfeng, as a Jiangnan scholar, has been in business for many years and has honed a keen political sense. He smelled a smell of conspiracy in it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the banknotes issued by my Great Week. You can exchange gold and silver from the Ministry of Finance at any time, and you don't have to worry about not being able to exchange it! Some time ago, because of the issuance of new currency, the imperial court was understaffed, and the exchange staff of the Ministry of Finance were too busy, resulting in the failure of everyone to exchange gold and silver in time, which is indeed the Ministry of Finance did not do a good job! Therefore, I and the eldest grandson and the princess solemnly apologize to everyone! Yuming and the eldest grandson Wujian shook their heads together to apologize.

The surrounding merchants and surnames all felt a little unreasonable. After all, it is not surprising that the Ministry of Finance is too busy to issue such a big currency as a new currency. And now that I see such a large pile of "gold and silver seas", I am afraid that it will be no problem to exchange them for decades. It seems that he still underestimated the financial resources of the Great Zhou court!

Yu Ming saw that everyone's expressions had eased, and he was happy in his heart, and then continued: "This golden mountain and silver sea. It is the best proof that my Great Zhou country is rich and the people are strong. It will remain forever in the treasury of our treasury as a guarantee for the issuance of our banknotes! I swear to heaven as Emperor of the Great Zhou. Whatever happens in the future. As long as you still have Da Zhou banknotes in your hands, if you can't exchange enough gold and silver at the exchange point outside. Feel free to come to the treasury of the Ministry of Finance. I allow you to knock down the gold and silver from this "sea of gold and silver" and make up for the shortfall in the exchange points! ”

Yu Ming's words can be regarded as establishing the Great Zhou banknotes based on the whole world and the unshakable monetary status in the next few years. In the history of the world, the issuance of the Great Zhou banknotes is also a historical symbol of the shift of currency from gold and silver to paper banknotes.

For years to come, the Da Zhou banknotes remained the only hard currency other than gold and silver in the transactions of merchants around the world.

"We believe in Your Majesty! Long live our emperor! ”

"That's it! Your Majesty has done so many good things for our old surname, how can he lie to us? ”

"I think there should be gold and silver in the treasury, otherwise how can the Ministry of Finance have so much confidence to keep opening up the exchange!"

After listening to Yuming's assurance, the merchants and surnames all talked about it, saying that they must believe in the Great Zhou court, believe in the emperor Yuming, support the occurrence and use of new banknotes, and everyone should take the lead from themselves. Whether it is the settlement of the wages of the helpers or the shopping of their own taxes, they are always carried out with paper money.

These people, in their eyes, only have this "golden mountain and silver sea" that indicates the wealth of the Zhou Dynasty. Visionaries understand that this is a new monetary revolution that will change the trading habits of everyone in the world in the future.

...