Chapter 1240 Secret Mission
Although Yin Anguo is only a supervisor from the seventh rank, he also brought a secret mission here. In front of everyone, he was not in a hurry to explain the mission, but after Qin Lang announced that he would clean up for the Qian Jian Jian Zhu, the Shi Bo Si judge, and the supervisor from Luoyang, he proposed to say a few words alone.
Qin Lang smiled and took Yin Anguo's hand into the inner hall of the Governor's Mansion, and the two sat down as guests and hosts.
At this moment, Yin Anguo first took out a piece of jade.
This jade is extraordinary at first glance.
A jade unicorn.
"His Royal Highness ordered the officials to bring this and give it to Eleven Lang."
Qin Shishilang Qin Yu, the eleventh son of Qin Lang, is also the eldest son of Princess Taiping. He was granted the title of Wei Guogong's son at birth, and was added to the fifth-rank official rank of Chaosan Doctor.
This time the prince gave another jade unicorn.
"This is the best Khotan jade, carved from the jade collected by the Khotan royal family for generations, and carved by the most famous jade carving master."
This jade unicorn is lifelike, miraculous and flexible. Not to mention that the material of the jade is only the work of this master, it is worth a thousand gold. In addition, this piece of jade is indeed of excellent quality, a rare treasure.
"Qin Lang's son-in-law thanked the Crown Prince for the reward."
In the past few years, Qin Lang has added a few more sons. The princess gave birth to a son and a daughter for him, and almost all the other concubines and concubines gave birth to one or two children, which made Qin Lang's heirs prosperous. , Now I have eighteen sons.
Also settled down in the past few years, Qin Lang has been in Luzon and Taiping Port for a long time, and even brought several concubines to Luzon, adding a few children every year.
Even the youngest son is younger than his grandchildren. For example, Qin Jun is now 20 years old, and his eldest son is almost four years old, and there are already eight or nine grandchildren.
Yin Anguo took out another golden roc with spreading wings. Although it was not very big, it was also superior in dexterity. This was his gift to Qin Yu.
After starting with this gift, the atmosphere is good.
Yin Anguo also mentioned another secret mission of his own.
"The imperial court heard that Duke Wei now has many large copper mines jointly exploited by the Japanese in the country of Japan. I heard that many large mines have also been discovered in Luzon. Now the copper output is astonishing, several million taels a year?"
"It's not much. Last year Luzon sold about 3 million catties of Japanese copper from Japan, and we produced more than 800,000 catties of Japanese copper in Luzon. This year, both Japanese copper and Luzon copper are expected to increase."
Yin Anguo was amazed.
"Unexpectedly, this Japanese country is really full of silver and copper, and there are more than three million catties exported to Luzon a year."
During the reign of Wude of the imperial court, more than 200,000 catties of copper were mined a year, and the imperial court had more than 20 money supervisors. There were nearly a hundred coin casting furnaces in total. There is not enough copper at all, and the main thing is to make money by recycling five baht coins and privately minted coins.
During the Zhenguan period, in order to solve the problem of shortage of money and copper, the imperial court strengthened the management of Tongshan and raised the tax of copper tax, but this was not the fundamental solution. Later, a wave of powerful banning Buddha policy came, destroying the monastery. A large number of bronze statues and Buddhist utensils have been built, and the management of folk bronze utensils has been strengthened.
Ordinary people were not allowed to use copper ware other than small bronze mirrors, and officials at all levels were also strictly restricted in using copper ware. During the Zhenguan period, basically all the copper in the folk was used to mint money, and the astonishing number of coins minted each year at that time was maintained.
However, the copper material obtained by destroying Buddha statues and melting copper vessels is limited to cast money after all.
The imperial court has also continuously strengthened copper mining in recent years, relaxed mining restrictions, and allowed private mining, but it has only strengthened management and implemented a monopoly system for the copper obtained from mining, which means that the government purchases it after the imperial court collects taxes.
With such a multi-pronged approach, the amount of copper mining has also increased a lot, but the output of copper is only more than one million catties a year. This amount of copper is about 300,000 copper coins.
The Qin family's Lusong coinage can actually get three or four hundred and four catties of copper material a year, which is several times more than the million catties of copper mined by the imperial court. Not even that number.
The Luoyang court was very jealous.
They want to know if the Qin family has mastered any more advanced prospecting and mining technology, and they also want to share some of the copper materials of the Qin family.
"The imperial court is willing to buy at the market price, one hundred and sixty Wen per catty."
Qin Lang smiled slightly.
Yin Anguo was a little embarrassed, and knew that the price was set by the imperial court, and it was the price when purchasing private copper mines and copper wares, but in fact, because of the copper restriction, the copper price is actually much higher.
"No matter how high the price is, the imperial court will not be able to bear it. After all, although minting coins is beneficial, the condition is that the copper material is 160 Wen per catty. No matter how high the price of copper material is, minting coins will not be profitable."
Qin Lang can get several million catties of copper a year, and he didn't intend to make copperware to resell. It is mainly used to make money. The Qin family has this technology and strength, and consumes millions of catties of copper a year. It is possible to cast millions of coins. In other words, the copper that Qin Lang obtained was actually not enough for himself. But when the court opened his mouth, Qin Lang had to think about it.
"If the imperial court is short of copper, as a subject, I am of course willing to share the concerns of the imperial court. I propose two mitigation methods. One is to increase cooperation with the Japanese and increase some copper mines for exploration and mining, so that the output of Japanese copper will increase. The increase can increase the amount of copper sold in Tang Dynasty."
'Secondly, the Qin family can distribute the copper in their hands to the imperial court in batches every year. "
"How much can you share?" Yin Anguo asked expectantly. Making copper is his first priority when he comes to Luzon, and casting supervision is only secondary.
"How about 800,000 catties, per year?"
"Can you have more?"
Yin Anguo mentioned the difficulty of the imperial court’s money shortage and copper shortage. The imperial court hoped that at least three to five million coins could be minted every year, so as to alleviate the increasingly serious money shortage problem. Otherwise, I'm afraid that the common people and merchants in the world will start to return to the old days of carrying money and silk.
Go out to do business, and you have to load a carload of silk for trading.
"I'm afraid Duke Wei didn't know something, but now the transfer envoy even proposes to issue iron coins, especially in the southwest roads of Jiannan, Xichang, Central Guizhou, and Yunnan."
The roads in the southwest are remote and backward, the roads are difficult to travel, and transactions are inconvenient. If copper coins flow into the past, it will be a black hole, and there will be no return. The imperial court was short of money, so it proposed to ban money from entering the Southwest.
Copper coins, an important currency, have insufficient circulation, and the hinterland of the Central Plains cannot satisfy them, so how can they be wasted in barbaric land.
Now I have the same opinion on the southwest region, all because of lack of money. It is also difficult to transport money in the past, and it is even more difficult to transport it out.
Copper production in Sichuan and Yunnan is small. Although copper is produced in Yunnan, it is said that the copper in Yunnan is not suitable for making coins. However, iron is produced in Sichuan and Yunnan, and the iron ore reserves are high, so some people say that it is better to build iron coins there. Use local iron cast iron coins, which are specially issued and used in the southwest.
The use of iron coins is also a big problem. First, the value of iron coins is definitely not as good as copper coins. Copper coins are inconvenient to trade. Copper coins are usually six catties and four taels. The iron coins worth the same value as copper coins are estimated to be more and heavier. Everyone goes out To buy things, you really have to use sacks to carry iron money or carry it in baskets. This will seriously affect the lives of the people and the market economy.
The transshipment envoy made another supplementary suggestion, to cast iron money in the southwest first, use the iron money as a reserve, and then issue iron money coupons specially used in the southwest.
This iron money coupon is equivalent to a voucher. Everyone carries this paper or silk coupon on their body to avoid the problem of too heavy iron money. The iron money coupon can be exchanged for iron money at the bank at any time.
Since iron money coupons are issued, why cast iron money?
Because coupons are not money, but vouchers, they must be bound to a real currency. The Southwest is short of copper coins, so iron coins are cast, and then iron coupons are issued for circulation. This is to implement the iron standard.
This can be said to be a very helpless way, but there are still many problems.
Therefore, this plan is now opposed by many people. After all, there are many dynasties in history that use iron as money, and even use cloth and silk to use grain as currency transaction circulation, but it is not a good way, and there are too many problems.
Over the years, the imperial court had various banks, money houses, bank notes, etc., each of which issued many silver notes, money notes, village notes, etc., but these are not currency, but a kind of note, which must be cashable at any time out of currency.
Once the credit cannot be fulfilled, the credit will go bankrupt, and it will inevitably be over.
The biggest problem in the southwest region is precisely the lack of money. How can you play bills and certificates if you lack money? You cannot guarantee exchange at any time, then these bills are simply waste paper.
So these bill business, which is very developed in the Central Plains, will not work in the Southwest, because there is not enough money.
It's a vicious cycle.
Back to the fundamentals, it is to strengthen currency circulation, how to strengthen it? Increase the amount of coinage, but the materials are insufficient, so now the imperial court strengthens the minting and distribution of gold and silver coins, and even produces small silver coins and precious coins, in order to be able to use less materials to mint more money for circulation.
In the final analysis, the main reason is the lack of materials, especially copper.
After all, as precious metals, gold and silver coins have little to do with the vast majority of ordinary people.
"Almost all the methods available to the imperial court have been used. The copper ban is now so strict that non-officials are not allowed to own bronze wares other than bronze mirrors. It is also forbidden to hoard money. Ordinary people are forbidden to hoard more than 10,000 copper coins, even middle-class landlords , nor more than 50,000 yuan. Merchant firms are also strictly limited according to their size."
"For transactions of more than ten strings, copper coins are prohibited, and gold and silver coins or bills must be used as proof."
"I have a suggestion. My Qin family produces glass, and we can also use glass to make glass mirrors. Glass mirrors are smaller than copper mirrors and can illuminate more clearly. The Qin family can increase the production of glass mirrors, and then replace them with ordinary people. The bronze mirror in the house."
Bronze mirrors are almost a must-have item in every family, and bronze mirrors generally cost more copper, often weighing a few catties or even more than ten catties, and some large bronze mirrors even weigh hundreds of catties.
Before, the imperial court banned the private ownership of bronze wares, and also allowed ordinary people to own bronze mirrors weighing less than three catties as a special case. This is also because bronze mirrors belong to the daily necessities of the people. We must not let the common people comb their hair and look in the mirror, right?
Now Qin Lang says he is willing to replace it with a glass mirror.
"Glass mirrors are more expensive, right? I remember that the Qin family's full-length glass mirrors cost a thousand pieces?"
Qin Lang smiled.
Glass, in fact, is really worthless in terms of materials. What is valuable is the exclusive glass burning technology. In the past, some merchants in Thailand and West had mastered some poor glass production technology, and the quality of the glass produced was mediocre. , so when it is shipped to the Central Plains, it is sold at the same price as jade.
But the problem is that glass is even simpler than firing porcelain.
Glass mirrors require higher technology, which is unique to the Qin family, but what is special is only the technology, not the material.
Mirrors were expensive before, which was also part of hunger marketing. They deliberately took the route of luxury goods. Like the Qin family's perfume, they didn't intend to popularize it to the public, so of course they had to sell less.
Moreover, these glass mirrors are inlaid with gold and silver and are full of jewels. The frames are made of precious wood, and even exquisite lacquer is used. In addition to marketing and publicity, a full-length mirror can often sell for thousands of pieces, and each mirror is exclusively customized. , unique, and the annual total amount is also strictly controlled to ensure scarcity.
But no matter how scarce things are, more and more are produced every year, so after 20 years, the prices of the Qin family's glass products have also dropped, and things like large glass mirrors are mainly sold by brands. Now, there are even mid-to-high-end products for the small rich and middle class, and they are no longer all luxury goods.
The market will always be saturated. The glass and mirror products of the Qin family have now become an important commodity exported by Datang. Qin Lang believes that producing a batch of small mirrors used by ordinary people will not affect the reputation of the Qin family glass mirror too much. After all, the positioning is different.
A full-length mirror and a small mirror are two completely different things.
Yin Anguo became eager.
"I heard that glass mirrors are very difficult to produce, can they be mass-produced?"
"It is indeed very difficult to produce a large mirror, but it is easier to produce a small bowl-sized mirror."
"Then can we place an order to purchase this kind of glass mirror from Wei Gong's mirror workshop? How much will it cost?"
If Yin Anguo can purchase a large number of small glass mirrors from Qin Lang, and then transport them back to the prefectures and counties by the imperial court to replace their bronze mirrors with the common people, then this is a great achievement for him.
Those are millions or even tens of millions of copper mirrors, and you can get more than ten million catties of copper materials at once, which is equivalent to the amount of copper mined by the imperial court for more than ten years.
The imperial court is actually not short of money, that is, there is no shortage of income, because there are many financial resources in various fields, but the currency circulation is insufficient, which has always caused a serious problem of money shortage, which always restricts economic development.
The Southwest has been brought down by the imperial court in recent years, and its control has become stricter and stricter, but the problem of lack of money there has also become more and more serious.
Already relying on the small tea horse trade, the heavy money and lack of money are even more troublesome and affect them.
This also affects the imperial court's control over the southwest.
If the Qin family’s glass mirrors were not expensive, the imperial court would purchase glass mirrors for copper mirrors, and use these copper mirrors to mint coins, which would increase the mintage by several million guan at once.
(end of this chapter)