Even half of the single line that is laid today consumes more than 20,000 tons of steel. For this reason, at the beginning of the preparation for the construction of this railway, Ben Gongzi had already asked Chang'an Iron and Steel Plant to increase investment and expand the plant's capacity.

By the middle of this year, the Chang'an Iron and Steel Plant had built a total of four 50-ton and two 70-ton open-hearth furnaces, plus the original two 50-ton open-hearth furnaces, and seven 10-ton and 20 30-ton open-hearth furnaces, and the total daily output of the Chang'an Iron and Steel Plant had reached 1,100 tons.

Similarly, two 70-ton open-hearth furnaces were added to Ma'anshan in Bashu, and the daily output reached 440 tons, together with the original ten 30-ton open-hearth furnaces

Finally, the need to build a double line from Yan'an to Chang'an was temporarily met, and if one was repaired first, and then the train was used to transport materials to build the double line, the speed of construction could be increased.

After all, trains can transport much more volume, and there is no need to spend horse-drawn carriages and manpower to transport materials. It saves a lot of manpower and material resources.

In addition, the use of the steam engine is indeed extremely extensive, in addition to being used in transportation, it is also used in mechanical improvement, in addition, the first textile factory in Guanzhong has two steam engines, using the steam engine to drive the textile machine, the effect is indeed much better.

Because, after all, hydraulic machinery depends on water to eat, and the flow rate and size of the water flow will affect the operation of the machinery. The steam engine does not have this disadvantage, although the cost seems to increase, but the problem is that it can greatly improve the work efficiency.

In addition, with the steam engine, you can build a larger hydraulic press, and with this thing, you can forge better machinery. Anyway, it's a virtuous circle of process.

"Isn't it pretty?" I looked at the civil and military ministers with almost green eyes, and easily took out a gold coin from the box, and then looked at it carefully.

The pattern is very exquisite, the numbers on it, and the Chinese characters are so clear, and in the center of the gold coin is a beautiful and delicate peony flower. As for the back, it is the outline of Chang'an City.

"Such a coin, weighing fifteen grams, contains eight percent gold, and two percent copper...... It can be used as ten pieces of money. Fang Xuanling spat and stard, and explained to everyone present who stretched out his hand to the gold coins in the box.

"In addition, this silver coin, which weighs fifteen grams, contains eighty percent silver, and another one-two is copper...... Each silver coin can be used as money. There is also this one that weighs seven and a half grams and is half a piercing, and another one is worth two hundred dollars......"

"Your Majesty, such a well-made and very beautiful coin, I'm afraid the labor cost is not low, right?" Wei Zheng looked at it for a long time, and asked me after reluctantly putting the golden gold coins in his hand back into the box.

"Dean Wei, the cost of this kind of coin is very low, and the cost of each coin is about one tenth of five baht." Fang Xuanling smiled and gestured his fingers and explained. "The cost is the same whether it's gold, silver or copper."

"It can't be that low, right?" The old man couldn't help but stammer. "Minting money is not a money-making business, when the previous dynasty was casting, the cost of casting a hundred guan was nearly fifty guan, how could this be so low?"

"Uncle, don't you know, we use steel plates to engrave and then press them out, so you don't need to be like in the past, every coin can only be minted. Instead, it is directly pressed out with large pieces of copper, silver, and gold. ”

"As long as there are enough materials, and then you need a press and six people to work in two shifts, and you can produce more than 100,000 coins a day." Fang Xuanling's words made everyone grin, and they quickly caught up with the hippopotamus who was hit with a musket in his ass. More than 100,000 pieces, which is definitely not a small number, and only six people are needed in two shifts.

“…… The labor cost is quite low, so Your Majesty, this kind of well-made, very beautiful coin can definitely circulate on the market. Ma Zhou frowned after squeezing it. It's just that the weight is too light. ”

"That's fine, I'm going to decide on a currency system in the near future." Ben Gongzi waved his hand very impassionedly and said. "That is, to establish the Huaxia Empire's own bank."

With my gesture, Li Yuanfang took out a large stack of materials for distribution.

Banks are special financial institutions that can support the state in implementing monetary policy, carrying out macroeconomic regulation and control of the national economy, and supervising and managing financial institutions and even the financial industry.

A financial institution that undertakes credit intermediary through deposits, loans, exchanges, savings and other businesses. Commercial banks are one of the financial institutions, and they are the most important financial institutions, and their main business scope is to absorb deposits from the public, issue loans, and handle bill discounting.

These businesses can be carried out, and during this period of time, because of the prosperity of business exchanges, money has begun to appear, that is, the predecessor of foreign exchange, which soon fell into my eyes. It reminds me of another extremely lucrative business: the financial system.

To put it simply, what I know is the most basic business of deposits, loans, and foreign exchange. However, with these few basic businesses, it is sufficient. If you have more money at home, you can keep it in the bank, and if you have less money, you can take out a loan, and if you want to withdraw money in a different place, we can also do it.

Anyway, Ben Gongzi's heart, coupled with the surge in the production of precious metals now, has given me the confidence to do this. The country's financial system is not just about making money, but also about stabilizing the country's economy.

At the same time, a national credit system will also be established. In the period of primitive accumulation of capital, national credit is one of the powerful levers. Under capitalism, government bonds are issued mainly through large capitalist banks or on the open financial market, from which banks can not only receive large rebates, but also provide the bank's joint-stock companies with a large amount of fictitious capital and an important object of speculation.

Moreover, with the deepening of the capitalist economic crisis and the fiscal crisis, the income obtained through state credit has become an important source of state fiscal revenue and the main means of making up for the shortfall. In modern western developed countries, national credit is no longer simply a means of obtaining fiscal revenue, but has also become an important economic lever for regulating economic operations.

With the development of capitalism, national credit has also developed from domestic to foreign, that is, a country's government borrows from another country's government or private enterprises and individuals in the name of the state, and issues government bonds in the international financial market, which has become a means to make up for a country's fiscal deficit, and has also become a powerful lever to regulate the balance of payments and foreign trade.

Now, naturally, it is not the time to issue bonds, but to use banks to control and promote economic development. Moreover, it can also suppress the usury of the people.

In addition, the five-baht coins used in the Chinese Empire have been used since the Han Dynasty, and the money minted from the beginning of the Han Dynasty to the previous dynasty is all five baht, but the size and weight are inconsistent, which makes people really speechless.

The re-establishment of the monetary system was conducive to the development of the Chinese Empire, and the trade currency used by the surrounding countries was the five-baht coins minted by the Huaxia Dynasty. Even Goguryeo, who was strangled to death by the former Sui, used five baht coins in circulation.

What does this amount to? It is equivalent to the currency of the Chinese Empire is equivalent to the dollar of later generations, super hard currency, so why can't the Chinese Empire learn from the United States of later generations? The current Chinese Empire is fully capable of creating free trade zones.

Large-scale dumping of its various products to neighboring countries. There is also the reliance on the currency of the Chinese Empire to control the economies of neighboring countries. Where can you find such a good thing?

After a good analysis and explanation with these guys, these people finally understood a little bit, as the suzerain, they could have so many benefits. Not only can it control the economy of the surrounding countries, which is conducive to the import of the commodity economy of the Chinese Empire, but also can directly control these neighboring countries through economic means.

The notion of controlling the lives and deaths of neighboring countries through the economy, or even through money, is refreshing, and it is not bragging, but it can actually do so.

This is a thought that has never been thought of before, or rather, no one has ever thought of. In this regard, these civil and military ministers were deeply shocked by the shocking talent of Ben Gongzi, or rather, they really couldn't imagine that Ben Gongzi could be despicable to such an extent.

However, in this way, the economy of the Chinese Empire can completely take off, and a large number of goods will not be unmarketable in the future, and more importantly, the currency of the Chinese Empire completely controls the economy of the surrounding countries, so to speak, the Chinese Empire sneezes, and they all have a cold and fever.

This approach is indeed a bit unauthentic, but the question is, the vassal states of the Chinese Empire originally recognized Huaxia as their ancestor, why is that? Still not because I hope to get enough benefits. Now, we can do you good.

But the problem is that you have to take resources, you have to exchange special products, in addition, the currency of the Chinese Empire is so beautiful and durable, so that your kingdom can no longer use bark and grass roots as currency, can be clothed in silk, use porcelain, these benefits are not enough?

Excitement, shame, contempt, and self-blame are intertwined in the hearts of these pillars of the Chinese Empire, but they all know very well how much benefit the formation and advancement of the financial system can be for the Chinese Empire.

Think about it, every year, the rich people of the Chinese Empire deposit their money in the bank, so the interest alone ...... Well, of course, there is a fee, which is levied at one percent per year for less than 10,000 yuan. Between 10,000 and 100,000 yuan, it will be levied at 0.7 percent. If the amount is more than 100,000 yuan, the annual interest will be levied at 0.5%.

No matter how small the mosquito is, it is also meat, not to mention the story of accumulating a lot, no matter how low the interest is, it is also money.