On the row of tall locust trees outside the courtyard of the governor's yamen on Qingya Street, the cicadas were so hot that they began to make noise.

The June sun, shining through the window lattice, shone on the large case in the signing room, and the few people sitting around the case were still in full official uniforms, sitting upright, staring at the shiny foreign money on the case.

The reason for such a solemn attitude is that what we are talking about today is coinage.

"Sir, please see, this first one, called 'Benyang', was minted by Spain, and the person on the money, I don't know who the subordinates are from Spain, anyway, the people call this silver dollar 'Buddha's head'." Qian Yunqiu, a political participant of the Yamen of the Domain, pointed to the first foreign money and said, "If you weigh it, it is equal to seven coins and two cents of Kuping, and the silver is exactly ninety percent, that is, six coins and five cents, but on the market, even if you take one or two pieces of silver, you can't exchange it for one piece now." ”

Guan Zhuofan, the new governor of Jiangsu, known as the "marshal", sat behind the case and nodded very seriously, but he was thinking in his heart: If I had studied science and engineering, and now I have invented an air conditioner or something, how good would it be?

It's hot! However, he summoned a few people here, and he couldn't show a frivolous attitude first. What Qian Yunqiu said, he generally knows, but in order to show respect, he still has to ask: "Why can't you change it?" ”

"Because the amount is not much, and the people love to use it, everyone collects it, and they are reluctant to spend it." Qian Yunqiu explained, "So there is a premium, and I heard that now Europe has no way to collect this kind of money." ”

Premium, that is, the price is higher than the value of the silver contained in the foreign money itself. Guan Zhuofan calculated in his heart, this kind of Spanish native ocean containing six coins and five cents of silver. Now I can't exchange a tael of silver. Other words. The premium is more than 60%!

This shows one of the drawbacks of China's original monetary system -- the Qing currency system is a double standard system of silver and money, but both silver and copper coins lack consistency. The fineness of the silver is different, and the weight standard varies from place to place, so when trading, it is not only necessary to check the fineness and weigh it, but also to have clips and shears for cutting the silver bar. And the copper coin is customized. The actual weight and quality are uneven, and it is impossible to achieve uniformity. Under such circumstances, all kinds of foreign money poured in, forming circulation advantages in different regions, making the entire country's monetary system chaotic, and the imperial court was helpless.

"This second piece is the 'Eagle Ocean' that we use the most now, also known as Yangdian, which is completely modeled on this ocean and was minted by the State of Mexico. It's just that the pattern on the money has been replaced with an eagle emblem. on the market. Eagle Ocean also has a 10% to 1/2% liter. ”

After Qian Yunqiu finished speaking, he pointed to a few other foreign coins on the case, and then said: "These situations are similar, some are cast in the United States, and some are minted by British businessmen in Hong Kong, all of them want to come in and pick up cheap, but the style is not as exquisite as Benyang and Yingyang, and the weight is different from Benyang and Yingyang, so the people don't like to use it very much, and I heard that they have stopped casting now." ”

The new supreme military governor of Jiangsu, Ding Shijie, was called by Guan Zhuofan to participate in this meeting, and he was still a little confused, but at this moment, he had already listened to his mind, and when Qian Yunqiu finished speaking, he couldn't help but interject.

"No wonder the common people love to use foreign money, the benefits are obvious - the color is the same, the weight is the same, one piece is a piece, how simple is it? It is also very convenient to keep and count, and if it is me, I also use foreign money! ”

"What Ding Junmen said is right!" Qian Yunqiu nodded approvingly to Ding Shijie, "So the marshal took the initiative to mint silver dollars, which is really wise!" ”

Guan Zhuofan smiled slightly and expressed his appreciation for Qian Yunqiu's praise. On this side, Zhao Jingxian, the feudal division, took over the conversation and said with great interest: "It doesn't stop there-as long as the drum casting is successful, there will definitely be a premium when it is issued, even if the cost of opening the casting is removed, there will always be a profit, if you make it 10 million, it will be a net profit of 650,000 taels, and if you can make 20 million pieces, then there will be a net profit of 1.3 million taels!" ”

"If you make 10,000,000 pieces, then you will make a net profit of 6.5 million taels!" Ding Shijie became excited, "If you build 20,000 ......"

Guan Zhuofan was amused by him: "Shijie, have you ever thought about where you got so much silver to make 10,000 or 20,000 pieces?" ”

Ding Shijie was stunned - yes, to make 10,000 pieces, according to each piece containing six coins and five cents of silver, it will cost 65 million taels of silver, and the annual income of the imperial court is not so much.

"Haha, Ding Junmen, you let the marshal go in." Yang Fang said with a smile, "No matter how much is made, it will not be made in a day." As long as it is cast in batches, the previous batch is sent out, and the silver is returned, and the next batch can be cast. ”

So that's it! Ding Shijie suddenly realized.

"However, when Xinyang is created, it must always be sent out through the bank, the merchant or the foreigner's bank, and some profits must be given to others, so it will not be profitable." Yang Fang glanced at Libin and said to Zhao Jingxian. Among them, he and Libin are the only ones who are most familiar with business matters, so they are also the most thoughtful. "About six to seven cents, there's always there."

"Six or seven cents, that's fine, we're not just for profit." Guan Zhuofan said, "It's just that when the time comes, you have to urge businessmen to issue as much as they want, and they can't hoard Juqi." ”

"Don't worry," Liu Xun, who was newly awarded the Jiangsu Gao Division, said, "If anyone dares to disrespect the law, the Gao Division Yamen will strictly investigate and correct the bullets." ”

"Okay." Guan Zhuofan nodded, "In fact, as long as the supervision is tight at the beginning, and then Xinyang continues to be cast, even if someone wants to hoard, it can't be done." Mr. Leigh, have you inquired about it in Hong Kong? ”

This is the whole machine that asks about the minting of silver dollars. Minting silver dollars, using "alloys", in addition to silver, also need to be mixed with copper and lead, if you want to make beautiful, it is not an easy task, you have to use the most haode machine.

Fortunately, Libin had already inquired, so he replied very calmly: "This is what Fang Cai Qian said about participating in politics, the set of machines used by the British businessman Hengdeli to mint foreign money in Hong Kong." Because the casting has stopped, the machine is useless. As soon as we settle down here, I can immediately send someone to Hong Kong to bring a full set of machines with a technician, and if there is a pattern, even the mold can be opened in Hong Kong first. ”

At any time, the pattern of new money is a big thing, so a few people here have opened their brains for a while, only Zhuo Fan shook his head and said: "Don't bother with this, the people are used to Benyang and Yingyang, so the newly minted silver dollar will be done according to the original appearance, only replace the emblem in the middle with a 'Su' word, called Su Yuan, if the people love to call Su Yang, then follow them." As for the year name, it is naturally the second year of Tongzhi. ”

That's the right way to go. Xinyang only wants the issuance to go smoothly, and respecting the habits of the common people is the easiest way, and other considerations can be put backwards.

"Sir," Zhao Jingxian, as a feudal division, thought more than others, "This matter is not a trivial matter, do we need to ask for a decree to handle it?" ”

"The excerpt I asked for your majesty to see has been sent." Guan Zhuofan said quietly, "Although you start to prepare, after I return to Beijing, I will be allowed to play the two palaces in person." ”

Everyone agreed together, and this important matter related to foreign affairs was agreed today. Guan Zhuofan got up to send the guest to the second door, said goodbye, returned to the signing room, took off the big hat and threw it on the case.

"Zhang Shun-!"

Waiting for Zhang Shun to wait for him to change into a light robe, and then he brought a basin of cold water to wipe it off, it was comfortable, and he took a breath and picked up the cold tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"Master, in five days, it will be a happy day." Zhang Shun lowered his eyebrows and reminded him, "Mrs. Aunt is about to enter the door." ”

"Hmm......" Guan Zhuofan chewed tea leaves in his mouth and rolled his eyes, "What do you want me to do?" ”

"The villain doesn't know." Zhang Shun still said very respectfully, "I want to be a groom." ”

“…… Got it. Guan Zhuofan laughed and said helplessly. When Zhang Shun left, he sat on the Taishi chair, took a densely written Xue Tao note, and put a tick on the "coinage" item, and took a long breath.

I plan to use three months to finalize the process of China's modernization, and who will believe it?

Guan Zhuofan said in his heart, even I myself am a little vague,

*

(The new volume is opened, and I ask you for support from a monthly pass~)

*(To be continued......)