Guangzhou.

The water of the Pearl River is surging wave after wave, rushing to the east.

Walking along the Pearl River to the east, until you reach the mouth of the Pearl River, it is not so densely populated, prosperous and rich. It's just that some people's homes are scattered along the river.

A few children who picked up river slag carried bamboo baskets on their backs, laughing and jumping from their homes to the mouth of the river, hoping that they would have some good luck today, and that the fishing nets laid on the riverside last night could have a good harvest.

However, before he could see the riverbank, he was stopped by several soldiers with tiger faces at the intersection.

"There's something going on here today, and no one is allowed to enter!"

Aji, the head of the children among the children, saw that those soldiers were holding fire guns in their hands, and the sharp guns were flashing with cold light, and knew that he couldn't come hard, so he blinked his little eyes and led a few friends back the way he came.

However, these twelve or thirteen-year-old teenagers were at the age of going to the house to uncover the tiles, and when they were on vacation in the school, they were curious when they saw such a big event happening at their doorstep. After a few people squeezed their eyebrows, they walked through the grass and trees, and reached the woods not far from the river, intending to get a glimpse of what was going on, and return to the school to brag to others.

However, outside the woods, on the embankment, there were also soldiers patrolling back and forth, looking at their skin colors and clothes, several teenagers were a little timid and did not dare to move forward.

"Brother Aji, there is a naval division and a battalion, as well as soldiers from the Guards Brigade!"

"Those guys don't look like Han Chinese, they're probably naturalized barbarians, these people are tendons! Shall we go any further? ”

The eyes of the young men were quite sharp, and they could see at a glance that the soldiers who came and went to patrol belonged to the Navy Army Battalion and the Guards Brigade, and from the skin color and appearance, they could tell that many of them belonged to Miao Yaoxitong and other ethnic groups. Once you touch this moldy head, I'm afraid it's not as simple as being hung up and beaten by my father.

"Don't go any further. Go up the tree! ”

Under the leadership of Aji, several teenagers each chose a big tree like apes and climbed it.

Ascending high and looking into the distance, I saw that on the water surface at the junction of the river and the sea, dozens of large and small ships were parked sparsely. At the front of the fleet, two dilapidated sand boats were moored on the water, but opposite them were more than a dozen wolf-like rocket ships.

In the eyes of these rocket ships. These two dilapidated sand boats were two old but fat buffaloes, and the wolves, who were already hungry and thirsty, were eager to swallow them in one gulp.

"My lord, Lord Admiral, the rocket ship has entered the launch position." Chu Tianlei, the commander of the naval division in charge of the exercise, looked at the waving flags on the signal ship from afar and told Li Shouhan and Zheng Zhilong.

"Now that it's in place, let's get started! You don't have to ask for everything. ”

As the small flag in the hands of the flag whisperers waved, more than a dozen rocket boats suddenly soared into fire dragons, and they rushed towards the sand boats in the distance with their teeth and claws. Although the wind on the river was quite strong, the flight trajectory of the rocket was skewed. Several rockets were even blown down into the river, and there was no sound after an unwilling muffled sound. However, most of the rockets still pounced on the slightly forward sand ship in a general orbit.

However, the accuracy of this rocket can be described as a pit father, although it flew towards the sand ship, but some grazed the hull of the dragon, some passed over the mast, and some skimmed over the deck. Columns of water exploded on the water around the sand boat.

There was a constant muffled sound from underwater, and flames flickering on the surface. Aji and the others, who were peeping at the trees in the distance, were excited, but they didn't dare to shout, and their little faces were flushed.

Although many rockets deviated from the target, there were also a few rockets that landed on the deck of the sand ship, and the bursts of explosions and flames hit people's eyes and ears, as these rockets hit the target. Subsequent rockets also exploded around the sandboat, and the flames and explosions shrouded the sandboat in a cloud of fire.

"My lord, the first sand ship has been solved. Now for the second sand ship attack! ”

Putting down the telescope in his hand, Li Shouhan snorted at the attack effect of the rocket ship in front of him, which was quite satisfied.

"My lord. The range of this new rocket is indeed much longer! Zheng Zhilong was also a little happy. The day before yesterday, the naval division and the land battalion also tested this new rocket on land, and the average range was increased by one and a half to two percent compared with the previous rocket. What does this mean? In other words, an area that was originally safe could also become a place for rockets to wreak havoc.

The shape of these rockets has not changed much, but the black fire @ medicine used for propulsion has been revolutionary. Taken the compression technology!

After years of design and exploration, the military industry department of Nanzhong has developed a medicine column press powered by water and animal power, which can output pressure steadily and slowly - it will explode directly if it is too strong

The charge column of different shapes and uses can be solved by changing the mold and adjusting the pressure, which can not only be used for blasting charge, but also for rocket propellant -- and the charge column with the same shape and density is an important guarantee for the consistency of the rocket trajectory, which is of great significance.

Add 2 taels of strong soju to each catty of ingredients and stir well. After pressing and molding, it is naturally dried in the shade in an environment where the temperature is not higher than 40 degrees, and it can also be forced to dry by ventilation, but it cannot be blown directly on the medicine column - it will be deformed and broken.

In the entire Nanyue Army, only Tamna Island is the most suitable, both in terms of natural environment and safety and security conditions. Because when the medicine column is pressed, the humidity and temperature requirements for the environment are relatively harsh, and the temperature cannot be higher than 20 degrees - it is easy to have safety accidents if it is high.

These black fire @ drugs made on the low-temperature wet pressing process assembly line can theoretically increase the power of the same weight of black fire @ medicine to more than 60%, but Li Shouhan requires craftsmen and professors to ensure that these black fire @ can be stably guaranteed to have an improvement level of 3 to 40%.

At the suggestion given by Li Shouhan, the craftsmen and professors began experimenting with the compressed black fire for artillery shells, to see if it could be used in artillery shells and grenades.

In Li Shouhan's memory, the explosion of a 12-pounder grenade during the American Civil War was more than 20 fragments, but the lethality caused to the North and South sides, which also adopted the tactics of lining up to shoot, had already caused headaches to their respective generals. Doubling the number of fragments is enough to make the opponent miserable.

However, the road ahead for science has always been bumpy. At a time when grenade improvements were successful and the fragmentation effect was exciting, the progress in creating flowering shells was not complimentary.

The reason is very simple, there is no suitable fuse!

"You can't make a flowering bomb. Then you'll have to try the shrapnel! ”

People are not content animals, the so-called Long Wangshu, after he can already increase the range of his artillery a lot, Li Shouhan began to hope to increase the lethality. If he could throw those cannonballs filled with countless small steel balls over the formation of the Dashun army and the Liao thieves at the infantry and cavalry that were attacking, causing them huge casualties, Li Shouhan would almost laugh out loud when he thought of that beautiful scene.

"Lei boy, I will give you money to give you, and my son has also explained to him. Full cooperation with you. Dignitaries ask for money, give money. But you've got to get me something decent. ”

Li Shouhan deliberately gave a lesson to Lei Lie, the leader of the second generation of the Lei family who was standing aside.

"Lord, please rest assured. Saying anything will not lose the face of our Perak Hall, and it will not make you lose your prestige. Lei Lie also smiled at Li Shouhan.

The so-called Perak Hall is a temporary spoof of Li Shouhan. When the old man of the Lei family, whose family members are all in the military industry, celebrates his 70th birthday, he also sent a full post to Li Shouhan and invited him to come. Although Li Shouhan did not go, he also gave the old man of the Lei family a hall name.

"Thunderbolt Hall", this is which martial arts novel he can't remember which martial arts novel he saw. It is said that this company also specializes in the development of firearms. It's just right at this moment. So, he took it as a doctrine. It was used to give the Lei family's hall number. For this hall name, the Lei family praised it in unison, thinking that it was the best birthday gift for the old man. not only cut to the surname of the Lei family, but also pointed out the profession engaged in by the Lei family, and it sounded loud and majestic. After receiving this title, it was immediately made into a gold plaque and hung high. As the name of the Lei family to the outside world.

Although Aji and the others in the treetops in the distance were enthusiastic and excited, in the eyes of Li Shouhan, Zheng Zhilong, Chu Tianlei and others, the launch of the rocket was not satisfactory. At the very least, after the range went up, the shooting accuracy did not keep up.

After a few words of explanation with Zheng Zhilong and others, Li Shouhan sailed upriver to the sound of military music and went back to Guangzhou City, leaving Zheng Zhilong, Chu Tianlei and others to continue testing rockets at the mouth of the Pearl River.

In the Yuexiu Building, Liu Junlin, the general office of the Nanyue Officers' Silver Horn, had been waiting for Li Shouhan in the mansion for a long time.

Guan Yin has officially moved its headquarters from Hue to the city of Guangzhou, ready to open in Chie.

Seeing Li Shouhan's carriage and horse driving into the gate of the palace, Liu Junlin, who was waiting in front of the second gate, immediately hurried up to greet him.

"Your people have arrived?"

"If you go back to the lord, everyone is a good picker, and the place of work has also been chosen, so I only have a word from the lord."

"Okay, come with me."

Li Shouhan had read many lessons from Mr. Ma about the failure of the Paris Commune, and one of the important reasons for the failure was that he did not take over the Banque de France in time and allowed him to support the Thiers government with money. It was with the large sums of money provided by the Banque de France that the Thiers government ransomed tens of thousands of French prisoners of war captured in Sedan, and at the same time recruited rogue rangers to launch a general assault on Paris.

After learning from Liu Junlin that the Jin merchants and Zhejiang merchants had begun to operate the exchange business, issue silver bills, and have begun to circulate in the north and south, Li Shouhan decided to expand the business scope of the official silver account, which originally only had the function of minting and issuing metal currency, and to move north to Guangzhou to conduct business.

The economy is the foundation, and finance is the key. How can Li Shouhan let these guys absorb deposits on their own one-third of an acre of land, issue money indiscriminately, and quietly plunder wealth? Not to mention that the Jin merchants were still suspected of being traitors and enemies at this time, even if it was an ordinary Jiangnan merchant group, Li Shouhan could not tolerate their financial plundering in his own jurisdiction.

What are you kidding, you issue silver tickets and money tickets on my territory to make a special business, earn foreign exchange, make profits, and in the end it is my people who pay the bill. How can there be such a good thing in the world?!

Walking all the way, while thinking about Liu Junlin, he asked about the business projects that the Jin merchants and Jiangnan businessmen had done in the financial industry.

According to the survey statistics conducted by the Division of Business Intelligence. At present, in the area under the jurisdiction of the Nanyue Army, from Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Jinan in the north, through the Shanghai Business Zone and the surrounding Songjiang Prefecture and Hangzhou Prefecture, and in the south to Guangzhou and other places, Shanxi merchants and Jiangnan merchants have opened a total of foreign exchange business. There are more than 160 large and small money banks, pawnshops, tea ticket houses, silk ticket houses, and cloth ticket houses that absorb deposits and lend money to the outside world.

"They mainly take deposits, exchange money in other places, and make profits through these. But the biggest source of profit is still obtained through the issuance of money and silver tickets. After the silver bills issued are guaranteed by the money bank and the ticket number, they can purchase all kinds of goods on a large scale and transport and sell them for huge profits. There are many buyers and sellers who take the buyer's deposit and pay for the goods with a silver ticket, and seek profits on both sides. ”

"In addition to these, many of the money and silver bills they issue are beyond their ability to pay. Said the brothers of the Department of Business Intelligence. At least more than 20% of the merchants have less than 100,000 silver dollars, but they have issued more than 200,000 tickets. This is to rely on the fact that they are all open in Dengzhou, Jinan, Laizhou, Shanghai, Songjiang, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, which are in good prosperity in the market, they can move around and deal with them without any mistakes. That's what the group of birdmen are still talking about, ten jars and eight covers. Cover and cover without goofing is the ability. Judging from their subordinates, they are afraid that there will be no eight lids. Five would be nice! ”

"Five lids? I'm going to make it impossible for them to take out the four lids! Li Shouhan sneered and stopped, "Junlin, you will draw up a charter tomorrow, and anyone who does similar business in the territory of my Nanyue Army, whether it is a pawnshop, a money bank, or a ticket number." Even the temples and Taoist temples are the same, and they all give me 20% of the face value of the deposit reserve to be paid, so that I can have sufficient solvency in the event of a sudden withdrawal of a large amount of deposits. If they are unwilling to pay or are unable to make the reserve, post a notice immediately. Inform the depositors and merchants that there is a problem with the position scheduling of this account, and if something happens, the official does not dare to guarantee that the depositors and the interests of the counterpart will not be lost. ”

"The lord is so ruthless!" Liu Junlin sighed in his heart. In this way, those merchants who issue money indiscriminately will be immediately exposed! And in this way, at least 20% of the funds circulating in the market have become interest-free deposits that can be used for a long time by the official bank!

"Junlin, tell me how our official silver account should be operated." Walking to the door of the back garden, Li Shouhan stopped slightly, and took a good time to raise his plan for the future business development of Guanyin to Liu Junlin.

Liu Junlin already had some eyebrows before receiving the notice that Li Shouhan wanted to summon him, and after receiving the notice, he summoned several good people in the official silver number to study it carefully, and felt that he was confident.

"When the lord was in Ha Jing, he used to issue money stamps of 500 wen, in order to make it convenient for people to carry them, and they did not have to carry a lot of copper coins when they bought goods in business and commerce. The subordinates felt that they should still follow the path of the lord. It is not only convenient for business transactions, but also to protect the interests of the small people in Shengdou. ”

"How, you say?"

"Ordinary people, soldiers, civilians, etc., still use silver dollars and tongbao, whether it is to pay military salaries, wages, or daily expenses. As for the silver notes issued by the official bank, the subordinates planned to use the denomination of Wu Baiyuan as a starting point. For all commercial transactions, trade of more than 500 yuan is good to use these tickets. Moreover, these tickets are obliged to be redeemed by local banks, ticket numbers, and pawnshops. In fact, they are also happy to collect these tickets, try to ask who else in the world is thicker than our capital? They received these votes, which also increased their capital invisibly. ”

This is invisibly adding dozens of joint accounts to the official silver account in various places, so that these people can maintain the credibility and create prestige for the official silver account, which is also expected.

"And the subordinates also have a rule, although they do not collect any water, but anyone who uses silver tickets must store enough silver dollars or equivalent gold dollars in the official silver number. This avoids the indiscriminate issuance of money bills and repeats the mistakes of the Ming Dynasty banknotes. With this rule, I think it will be quickly recognized in all parts of Jiangnan. ”

The Ming treasure banknote made of mulberry paper, because of the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, there was a serious shortage of copper, so the treasure banknote lifting division was set up, and then set up papermaking, banknote printing two bureaus and treasure banknotes, two libraries. It is issued in the name of Nanjing, Zhongshu Province, and is divided into six grades: Yiguan, 500 Wen, 300 Wen, 200 Wen, and 100 Wen. It has always been equal to a thousand copper coins or a tael of silver, four through a tael of gold, and the upper end of the ticket is six Chinese characters of "Daming Pass Treasure Banknote". When the treasure banknote was first issued, the value of one stone meter was consistent. At the same time, the use of gold and silver in private transactions is prohibited. But the banknotes soon began to depreciate. During the Hongwu period, in Jiangxi and Fujian, the two banknotes can only be exchanged for copper coins of 500 Wen, and during the Yongle period, it was a stone of rice to the point of dozens of treasure banknotes and 100 yuan. In the Zhengde period, it was simply abolished.

Treasure money is because there are no reserves and are completely promoted by the authority of the government, while the official silver ticket is similar to a cash check, which will only be issued when you have enough cash. Therefore, Liu Junlin will not make the mistake of treasure money.

"Since the issuance of treasure banknotes in the Hongwu period, most of the great emperors of the past dynasties have only issued treasure banknotes and not recycled. Even if it is recycled, there is an additional cost. While only allowing the people to use treasure money for trading, those who collect taxes or something still only recognize silver, copper coins and various physical objects. At the same time, before the Jiangling Xiangguo came out to rectify, my Ming Dynasty's annual fiscal revenue was only about one million guan (two), and the circulation of treasure banknotes was conservatively estimated to be more than 10 billion yuan. ”

Li Shouhan sat under the pillar and talked to Liu Junlin, pointing out to him the possible drawbacks of issuing banknotes. While talking about the treasure money, his mind was also spinning rapidly, "Do you want to talk about the classic passage of carrying a sack of money out to buy a pack of cigarettes?" Or is it the wealthy citizens of Nanjing and Shanghai who use 10,000 yuan bills to make wallpaper? ”

"In addition to not issuing paper money indiscriminately, it is necessary to do a good job of anti-counterfeiting means, all kinds of paper, codes, codes, secret marks and the like must be considered a few more. In recent years, the reason why our Tongbao and silver dollars have been able to travel freely in the north and south and be accepted by the merchants and ordinary people is because the fineness and workmanship of the silver dollars and Tongbao issued by us are too fine, the technical content is too high, and the cost of counterfeiting is too great, so it is impossible to counterfeit at all. ”

Moreover, the cost of making imitation silver dollars and tongbao is too high, not to mention, it is also to make wedding dresses for others. However, making fake silver tickets is not the same. The profits are staggering!

"Subordinates can save it." Liu Junlin nodded yes. (To be continued.) )