A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 644 Silver Yuan
Wang Dou looked at the white and round thing in his hand, it was a silver coin.

On the whole, it is very exquisitely made, with natural and clear patterns, delicate and rich colors, with "Made in Xuanfu Town of the Emperor Ming Dynasty" on the top, "one or two folded gold flowers and silver" on the bottom, and "Chongzhen Tongbao" in the middle, Qian Wenxiuyi, The strokes are dignified.

On the back, there are two big characters of "One Yuan", followed by the pattern of sun, moon and waves, and on the side, there are several small characters of "Containing [-]% of silver".

Wang Dou gently stroked it with his fingertips, feeling the pattern on it and the tooth pattern on the edge, and grabbed a handful of the silver box next to it, and let it fall down, making a pleasant sound. Inside the silver box, there was a white luster. dazzling.

There is no hole in the middle, and these silver coins that came to Daming early, almost all of them have the same shape, color, and weight, and one can be used as another. The value is measured by weight, and cannot be valued by piece, so as to prevent the loss of the circulation meaning of silver coins.

Moreover, the silver content of these silver rounds is still [-]% silver, which is about the same as that of Daming folded silver, which can be described as very high quality.

Although it is not possible to use machine stamping at this time, there are slight differences between some silver coins, but it is already very good to achieve such exquisiteness and standards, and it will not be a problem for people to accept and popularize it.

"Wow!"

"Wow..."

Wang Dou looked at Du Xun and Zhu Zhifeng who were beside him. They were playing with each other fondly. Du Xun was holding a handful of silver coins in his hand, and from time to time he dropped his left hand to his right hand, and his right hand to his left hand. pleasant voice.

Zhu Zhifeng grabbed a few silver coins and looked left and right, experiencing the feel repeatedly, and imitating Wang Dou from time to time, blowing on the corner a few times to listen to the sound coming into his ears.

Although the silver coins in his hand are the same size, each denomination is different. There are [-] yuan, [-] cents, [-] cent, [-] cent and [-] denominations.

The first three grades are silver rounds, classified according to fineness and color, the silver content is different, and there are marks on the back, while the last one is copper rounds.

It is copper-colored and purple-red, and its size, pattern and text are similar to a silver coin, except that on the lower front, there are big characters "Each coin is worth ten coins" and two big characters "One Fen" are written on the back, which are also cast. Exquisite and high quality.

Zhu Zhifeng stroked the copper coins, looked at the words "Each coin is worth ten coins" on it, felt the weight again, and sighed: "Such good money, not to mention that each coin is worth ten coins, is twenty coins. The little people are also willing to change."

Du Xun nodded and said: "In the capital, such a copper coin can be exchanged for at least 25 to [-] Xiaoping coins."

In the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was only in charge of the Baoyuan Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, at that time, there were not many coins minted every year, and the policy of treasure banknotes was vigorously pursued, and the control of copper coins was strictly controlled. , so although private casting was rampant at that time, generally speaking, copper coins were very valuable.

However, during the Wanli period of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, due to the war to aid Korea, the household department, which had obtained the right to cast money, vigorously set up money casting furnaces, and all parts of the country followed suit. In the end, it was impossible to count how much money there was in the whole Ming Dynasty, especially a large amount of private money, light and inferior The money was mixed with official money to make up the number, which caused many official furnaces to close their doors.

During the reign of Tianqi and Chongzhen, there was a flood of private money, and various money-saving bureaus were abusing money and evil money to make profits. Near collapse, not long after, did not sustain.

The official money minted later was all small and frivolous, so it was nicknamed horse racing money. At that time, the money system was the most complicated. The money bureaus in various places minted wantonly and private money flooded across the country. There were more than a hundred kinds of money.

As in previous dynasties, Chongzhen Tongbao mainly uses Xiaoping coins, which are small coins with a face value of one penny. Of course, there are also big coins such as two coins, three coins, five coins, and ten coins. Ten Wen and other money to use.

The Ming Dynasty stipulated that to be a tenth-class big coin, the weight of the coin should be at least one or two, and the copper content should be as high as it should be. However, it was rarely done. It was cast, and the silver was issued by the imperial court, and it was recovered as ten coins.

The copper coins in everyone's hands are of good quality, beautiful appearance, high copper content, and sufficient weight. As Du Xun said, it is easy to exchange 25 coins for one point of face value copper coins.

As for the shape of the silver, Zhu Zhifeng and others didn't think much of it. Da Ming always only considered the color and weight when calculating silver taels, regardless of the shape, just like broken silver, which is cut from an ingot of silver. Scissors down, what shape?
The Ming Dynasty's official silver was folded into colored silver and cast into ingots, just for the convenience of statistics.

On the contrary, I feel that such a piece is easy to use, no need to weigh it, and it is convenient for the people to see the color.

"Grandpa Zhu, now that the Ming Dynasty has made too much and bad money, and the people are suffering from it, let them take advantage of it, what's the point?"

Wang Dou said seriously.

Zhu Zhifeng nodded, Xuanfu Town also has a money bureau, minting coins is not illegal, and the silver and copper coins produced by Wang Dou are exquisite and have great benefits for the people. It is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. When they quarreled, they got Zhu Zhifeng's strong support.

He knew that once the silver coins came out, someone might scold Wang Dou again.

He scolded him for inviting people to buy people's hearts, plotting evil things, etc. Anyway, the bones must be picked out of the egg. Thinking of this, he also felt aggrieved for Wang Dou, and felt that many people in Daming were already hysterical, which was not good for Guochao.

Of course, Zhu Zhifeng didn't know how many silver coins and copper coins should be made. Now all the money bureaus in Daming are rushing to make, so there is no overall plan.

In Zhu Zhifeng's mind, the more coins the better, so that more people can enjoy the benefits of fine coins. Finally, he found a way to hand over the Xuanfu Town Money Bureau to the imperial court.

Only Wang Dou knows that the issuance of coins is not a simple matter, too much or too little is not good, especially too much, the Daming banknotes are a lesson from the past, so, just like the issuance of food stamps, all members of the Bank and Money Department have carefully accounting.

At this time, the new ambassador of the Department of Banking and Money was Tian Changguo, the former head of the commercial department of the Department of Civil Affairs. Because of his outstanding performance, he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Wang Dou. Many military officers in the Ming Dynasty were not good at fighting, but they were good at farming and business, and Tian Changguo was one of them. represent.

Everyone in the hall is optimistic about the prospects of the silver and copper coins. Of course, after the issuance, there will be problems, such as fire consumption, and the flood of private money in Xuanfu Town and the outside world. For Wang Dou, the fire consumption within the jurisdiction The problem is easy to solve, private money, as well as the fake money that will be faced, need to be hit hard.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was a common phenomenon to make huge profits from casting coins. At this time, copper was used to cast coins, and every [-] catties of copper materials could be sold for at least [-] yuan. However, the cost of [-] catties of copper materials was less than half. The profit rate is almost tripled. If the coin minter is even more malicious and casts inferior copper coins, the profit will be even higher.

Therefore, starting from Ming Taizu, there have been more and more people who minted coins privately among the people. Although the capital crime daily, it can't stop. It has developed to the present, and it has become more and more rampant. Business power is growing.

Although in order to reduce resistance to some extent, and because the amount is large and requires a lot of copper materials, and took the opportunity to open the way for the passage of food stamps with small denominations, Xuanfu Town does not issue Xiaoping coins with a face value of one penny, but high-quality silver and copper coins. Damage to the interests of these private money dealers is inevitable.

Faced with the temptation of huge profits, many people may start to counterfeit again, issuing fake silver coins and fake copper coins.

This is the big aspect, and the small aspect, those who sell silver scales and silver scissors, because silver coins do not need to be cut and weighed for calculation, may feel resentful.

In addition to Wang Dou coordinating with Wang Pu, Shanxi Governor Cai Maode, Datong Governor Wei Jingyuan and others to crack down on Xuanda's counterfeit money, more importantly, let the newly established Sanjin Commercial Bank participate in the crackdown.

They have a special force in the firm, although there are unavoidable people with different thoughts inside the firm, most of them are standing with Wang Dou.

Xuanfu Town, especially the noble gentry and generals in the town area, Wang Dou asked Du Xun to handle the issuance of silver coins, etc., not without the credit of the Coin Mining Bureau, and in addition to the prior discussion, the issuance of silver coins and copper coins, Du Xun and others, will There is a certain profit sharing benefit, so Du Xun is quite enthusiastic about it.

Playing with the silver coins in his hand clatteringly, after hearing what Wang Dou said, Du Xun remained calm, and looking at his hands again, those silver coins had disappeared, and he didn't know where they went.

He said sharply: "You don't need to say more, Marquis Yongning, our family is obliged to serve the country and the people! Who dares to make a noise and make a fake? Carefully, our family peeled his skin!"

The recent rectification of the city's appearance and official roads, although many big officials and gentry resented Du Xun, Du Xun also made a lot of money because of it. For the money, Du Xun thought that he could not even die. What is the mere resentment?
Zhu Zhifeng lowered his head, stroked the silver coins in his hand, and thought: "If one day, the Ministry of Households also issues silver coins and promotes them to the whole Ming Dynasty, then the court's money system will be worry-free."

……

Three days later, in Xuanfu Township, in the silver treasurer's room next to the Zongbing's mansion, the tall and thin Tian Changguo looked at the silver boxes in the warehouse, and he took a deep breath: "Open the warehouse, move the silver coins to go out."

Boxes of white silver coins were continuously shipped out, and began to be exchanged in the whole town, which caused a sensation. I heard the benefits of the silver coins early, but after seeing it, it turned out to be true.

Even on the East Road, there are many soldiers and civilians who exchange silver and copper coins. Although food coupons are generally accepted, from generation to generation, silver is still very important in the hearts of everyone. It is always right to exchange a few at home.

Especially if you go out of town, the use of silver and copper coins is even more important.

And these silver and copper coins, one is just one, easy to use, clear and clear, and the quality is very good, why not exchange a few and keep them at home?

On the first day of March, Baoanzhou City on East Road. Over the past few years, the place has changed even more.

In the courtyard of a street-facing house in Huiminfang, a man with a bushy beard, a square face, about fifty years old, wearing a tunic collar shirt, and looking at the state residents waiting in line to exchange silver coins, his hands On the bed, also holding a few silver coins.

A few people dressed as literati also stood beside him and looked around.

(End of this chapter)