Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 386 Fighting at Sea
The sand casting method of money in the Tang Dynasty was very mature, and His Majesty the Emperor personally designed the style.

Compared with copper coins, which are round on the outside and square on the inside, silver coins are much less difficult.

The reason is simple. Silver coins are large and have no holes in the middle.

The composition is [-]% silver and [-]% copper.

The front of the silver coin is a three-masted sailing ship, surrounded by the words "the 11th year of the reign of the Tang Dynasty", and the back is a pattern of Tai Chi Palace, surrounded by wheat stripes and a circle.

It is an inch and a half in length, about the same thickness as the back of the knife, round in shape, and engraved with patterns.

"Your Majesty, the outer tooth edge may not be so fine. Why not just cast it into a smooth edge?"

Li Ye smiled and said: "Silver is precious, one silver coin or a thousand copper coins. If someone scrapes the silver off the silver coin, wouldn't it mean that the silver coin becomes smaller and smaller over time?"

"These patterns on the front and back, as well as the tooth lines on the sides are made for this purpose. When the time comes, I will issue a decree that all silver coins with worn patterns that cannot be seen clearly and the tooth lines are blurred can only be regarded as ordinary silver and will no longer be recognized as consistent. currency value!”

"But if the people receive such coins, will they..."

His Majesty the Emperor said: "If the people knew that damaged silver coins cannot be used as money, would they still accept these damaged silver coins?"

"..."

There was no shortage of skilled craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty. In half a day's work, the pattern made by Li Ye was made into a wooden model by the craftsmen. Li Ye looked at it and made some modifications.

The sand was turned into molds on the same day. The blacksmiths put the mixture of silver and copper into a pot made of fire clay, and put it into the blazing stove. Several strong men pulled the bellows and whirred. After a while, the metal The material turns into a pot of silver-copper alloy metallic liquid.

The craftsman carefully poured the liquid into the sand mold. After a while, he opened the sand mold. The silver coins inside had been solidified and formed. He chiseled away the overflowing silver and polished it with tools.

The craftsman first looked at the tooth lines. Although they were not very regular and not as detailed as the wooden mold, they were still there.

"Your Majesty, the silver coins have been minted. They are almost one tael, and the error is no more than half a cent!"

His Majesty the Emperor weighed it with his hands and found it to be substantial. The coin was brand new and bright, with a clear color. The sailboat and palace were well restored. Although the surrounding tooth lines were still slightly rough, it should be enough to prevent the silver from being scratched.

"How many can you make in a day?"

"Your Majesty, a workshop should have two thousand pieces a day."

Li Ye nodded. Two thousand coins a day, 72 coins a month, and 60 coins a year. Without considering losses, 10 taels of silver and [-] taels of copper are needed.

The folk silver in the Tang Dynasty was estimated to be only a few million taels!

This is based on facts. During the Qinhui period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin soldiers went south and invaded Kaifeng.

The Jin army asked Song Qinzong for 1000 million taels of silver, but Song Qinzong only collected a few million taels with the strength of the whole country.

"It's still not enough!"

Li Ye looked in the direction of the little devil.

The little devil's Iwami Silver Mine made His Majesty the Emperor extremely greedy.

"First build three workshops in Nancheng and set up the Tang Dynasty Foundry Bureau. How will it be managed in detail? Set up a charter for me to review!"

"promise!"

……

Jingxiang entered the Yangtze River and sailed all the way down the river. Seventeen sailing ships sailed on the river against the fierce cold wind. These seventeen sailing ships were different in shape, style and size. In fact, even the positions of the masts and ship towers on the ships were different. There is a difference.

These ships followed the mature watertight warehouse design of the Tang Dynasty. Although the shapes were different, the smallest ones were forty or fifty paces long.The width of the ship is very narrow, the belly is widened, and the height is taller.Dozens of boulders were packed in the bottom warehouse. Each boulder was as tall as a person, and they were tightly fixed on the wooden frame with ropes.

These ships are sea-going ships that have just been built by Jingxiang Shipping Supervisor.

There were people from the shipping superintendent and people from the Michigan Navy.

Whether a ship is good or not, the Michigan Navy has the most say. Wang Yanzhang led the navy to train in Michigan for four or five years. The sailors still have ideas about what kind of ships they need.

In accordance with the emperor's order, the Mizhou Navy sent a team of 200 people to the Jingxiang Shipping Supervision.

"Young Master Liu, let's start!"

There is a tidal flat at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and there is a navy camp on it. After taking a short rest and replenishing food and water, these seventeen ships are going to sea. This round trip will take a month. They are going to face the test of wind and waves. of.

Liu Shaojian's calves were really trembling, but he had to bite the bullet. This time, the shipping supervisor also sent more than thirty people, two people on one ship, to find out the problem and discover the problem.

"go!"

Before boarding the ship, Commander Jin Changhe of the Michigan Navy warned: "Every ship must keep a close eye on the flagship, and be sure not to lose it. The water is cold now. If the ship capsizes and no one is rescued, do you think it will happen?" How about it?"

"Commander Jin, you can see it during the day. What if it's foggy or at night?"

"If the weather is calm at night, we will naturally hang lanterns and candles on the mast. If it is foggy or there are wind and waves, we can only leave it to fate!"

"..."

In fact, each of these seventeen ships is equipped with telescopes, simple light signal towers, and three survival fireworks. But in this era, this is all that can be done. extent.

Everyone hopes for calm seas, but this time it was obviously not for a smooth sailing.

Three days later, when the sun was about to set, a storm suddenly arose on the sea, which suddenly scattered the fleet.

All the crew members became nervous.

Seeing that the waves were getting fiercer and fiercer, some of these huge waves were rolled up higher than the boat.

"Lower the sail...lower the sail, quickly, quickly turn the rudder to the left!"

The most fearful thing about a ship is being hit by wind and waves from the side. Often a wave will capsize the ship.

What the helmsman has to do is to let the stern of the boat face the wind and waves and rush down the diagonal angle.

"Hu San, you don't want your life. Tie yourself to the mast quickly. Everyone, either in the cabin or on the deck, must tie themselves to the boat. Those who want to walk must also tie themselves to the boat with ropes. !”

When a wave hits the boat, if a person is taken into the sea, he will be completely dead.

Liu Shaojian's face turned pale. He did not need to go to the deck and tied himself directly to the bed. The wind and waves seemed to have capsized the ship. Sometimes the angle of the bed with the ground could reach [-] or [-] degrees, almost standing upright.

Many people vomited, and the physical condition was bearable, but the psychological fear made many people tremble nervously.

Everyone hopes to escape the storm tonight, and no one pays attention to other ships. They are too busy taking care of themselves to have other thoughts.

Some people were swept into the sea, while others struggled and knelt on the ground, begging Grandpa Dragon King to calm down.

The sea is unknown, and the emperor cannot change the fear in their hearts at will.

(End of this chapter)