***
Xu Yingjie picked up a sample banknote and showed it to Qin Mu against the light coming from the window.
Qin Mu suddenly discovered that there was a dragon-shaped watermark inside the paper, and there was a thin silver thread sandwiched between the ticket layers.
It’s not surprising that there is a watermark. It is said that Jiaozi in the Song Dynasty had a watermark.
The production of watermarks is difficult to say, and it can be divided into two types: light and dark:
The first method of printing bright flowers is similar to woodcut watermarks. It uses threads to weave patterns of flowers, birds, insects, fish, landscapes and figures on the paper curtain, which is slightly convex on the curtain surface. When making paper, the pulp on the convex areas is thin. Therefore, the pattern is transparent and appears on the paper;
The second method of printing hidden flowers is to press wet paper between two models with concave and convex patterns on the front and back, press the paper with force, and print one by one to make the pattern appear hidden on the paper.
When the paper is laid flat, the transparent pattern cannot be seen. When the paper is held up to the light, the pattern is clearly visible, which is now known as a watermark. Generally, the hidden flower printing method is used on banknotes.
Qin Mu was surprised that the banknotes Xu Yingjie brought not only had a slightly plastic texture, but also had a silver thread sandwiched between them. This was definitely an incredible feat.
Xu Yingjie explained to him in detail: "King Qin, this paper is actually made of two layers. After filtering the first layer of paper film with a cloth curtain, press it with silver thread, and then filter a layer of paper film to cover it. This kind of silver thread is not All silver is the platinum paper used to cross the silver."
Qin Mu burst out laughing after hearing this. He thought it was really made of silver and pressed into a thin thread. If that were the case, it would take an unknown amount of man-hours just to make such a thin silver thread.
Xu Yingjie continued: "King Qin, the silver thread for the watermark is actually secondary. The key point is that this paper is completely different from the folk production method."
"Xu Qing, tell me what's different about this."
As far as Qin Mu knows, the method of making paper these days is to first take out the boiled raw materials. Place it in a stone mortar and grind it into a paste;
Then mix it with an appropriate amount of water to completely separate the fibers and soak them in water to become a suspension of paper fibers;
Then pour it into a paper trough, and then use a thin bamboo curtain to filter the pulp. The paper fibers will stay on the bamboo curtain to form a paper film, and then dry to become paper.
The main difficulty of this production method is that if the paper is too light, the paper will be too thin. If the paper is too heavy, the paper will be too thick. This depends on the experience of the craftsmen. Ordinary people will make paper that is either too thin or too thick. Or the same piece of paper may have different thicknesses.
Xu Yingjie said with some complacency: "King Qin, according to the old drying method, we can't get such a texture. I don't need to dry it to make this kind of paper. Instead, I made some hollow iron cylinders. Steam is introduced, Create high temperature on the surface of the iron cylinder;
After picking up the wet paper film, roll it directly onto these iron cylinders, and use high temperature to fully dissolve and penetrate the resin in it, so that the existing texture can be formed. Moreover, the proportion of the resin is also very particular. If it is less, the effect will not be obvious. If it is too much, the paper will be too hard and easy to break. "
"Drying with steam heat?"
"Yes. King Qin."
Qin Mu felt that he had to re-evaluate the wisdom of the ancients.
He even believed that it was true that Luban could make flying wooden birds;
As for Zhuge Liang, he made wooden oxen and flowing horses to transport food for a hundred thousand troops. It is estimated that it is indeed true.
"Isn't this paper cheap?"
"Going back to the King of Qin, I made an estimate and found that all the banknotes under 50 Wen are at a loss."
Qin Mu picked up another piece of paper money. It was two inches wide and four inches long. The cost was fifty cents
It’s really “money”!
If we just print banknotes of less than 50 yuan, wouldn't we be losing money by printing each one
"King Qin, this kind of paper is difficult to make, it is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and the raw materials are hard to find, so it is much more expensive than ordinary paper."
"Very good, I am very satisfied. Let's print it according to this method. When the Third Department formulates the banknote law, I will issue an order to promulgate it. The Ministry of Revenue must also be prepared. This time, two million pieces of paper will be printed. At least four million taels of silver must be deposited as reserves to cope with the run on the people.”
"Yes, King Qin."
***
Coincidentally, in Beijing, Dorgon and his advisers were also discussing the issuance of treasure banknotes.
Among these confidants were Fan Wencheng, a bachelor of the Internal Secretariat;
Shi Ning Wanwo from Nei Hongwen University;
Feng Quan, a bachelor of Neihongwen Academy and the Minister of Rites;
Chen Mingxia, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Bachelor of Science in Hanlin;
Guarjia Ganglin, a bachelor of the Academy of Chinese History;
Academician Hershey Xifu and academician Feng Guozhu of the Neihong Academy of Arts and Sciences, etc.
What I want to mention directly is that Xie Sheng, the Grand Scholar of Jianji Palace, was over seventy years old. Last time he suggested that Dorgon postpone the order to shave his hair. Dorgon was scolded by the angry Dorgon. He was frightened and frightened. He was so frightened that he was sweating profusely and went back. Later, he fell ill and couldn't afford it. The oil lamp was about to dry up, and it was no longer possible to make suggestions for Dorgon.
Now Fan Wencheng and other Han ministers are having an extremely difficult time, and Dorgon is even more difficult. After Aji's defeat, Hong Chengchou's entire army in the south of the Yangtze River was wiped out. This was an almost fatal blow to the Qing Dynasty.
Of the 100,000 bannermen, 40,000 were lost, and nearly half were killed or injured;
Moreover, among the 40,000 flag soldiers lost, two white flags accounted for a large proportion, which can be said to be a serious loss of vitality;
The biggest reliance of Dorgon and the three brothers Duduo and Azig were the two white flags. This almost killed the three Dorgon brothers.
Now more and more people in the court are clamoring to retreat outside the customs. Even Prince Zheng Jierhalang has expressed support for retreating outside the customs, which has put heavy pressure on Dorgon.
Anyone can retreat, but Dorgon knows that he has no way to retreat.
Once he really retreats outside the customs, it will be equivalent to admitting that he has completely failed. His prestige will be ruined, everyone will blame the defeated army, and his political career will basically be over.
Now I can only hold on, only in this way can I still have a chance of survival. But the terrible thing is that Duduo fell ill at this time, which made Dorgon even more worried.
At the same time, what made him almost turn gray with worry was the problem of lack of money and food.
Li Zicheng took the lead in Yanjing City and robbed everything.
Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces are devastated and famine is widespread due to years of natural disasters and wars.
If Duduo hadn't grabbed a lot of money and food when he conquered Jiangnan, the Qing army would have been unsustainable.
But now, Jiangnan, who could be counted on to provide blood transfusions to the seven northern provinces, has also been lost.
Dorgon now has to face tens of millions of hungry people. Even if he doesn't care about the life or death of these hungry people, the army's food and salary must be raised.
Now, including the Green Camp troops, the Qing army still has more than 100,000 troops. They are all stalled due to lack of food and grass, and it is difficult to launch a large-scale offensive against the Qin army.
Looking at the provinces occupied, only some large households in Beizhili, Shandong, Shanxi and other places still had grain in their hands. Therefore, Dorgon wanted to imitate Taizu of the Ming Dynasty and print treasure banknotes to purchase grain.
As soon as this plan was proposed, it was immediately opposed by Ning Wanwo, Fan Wencheng and others.
After finishing Ning, I straightened my sore back and said: "Your Majesty, printing treasure banknotes to buy grain now is tantamount to open robbery and must not be used. Our army has just suffered a heavy setback, and the hearts of the provinces under our rule are already unstable. The undercurrent is surging. If we continue to print treasure money to forcefully purchase food, I am afraid that many people will take risks. Now there are hungry people in all provinces. Those big households have food in their hands. They can gather countless troops with just a shout. Your Majesty, if we really get there. "
Dorgon was still high-spirited a few months ago, but now he looks ten years older, with furrowed brows and gloomy eyes.
He was silent for a while and said: "In May, Prince Yu led his army to attack the south of the Yangtze River. Many of our flag soldiers got sick due to the hot weather and unaccustomed climate and soil. Now the weather has turned cold, which is suitable for our large army to fight.
Qin Mu had just conquered the south of the Yangtze River, but his foothold was not yet stable, and he was at loggerheads with Zheng Zhilong of Fujian. If our army could counterattack quickly, Zheng Zhilong could also help. If Qin Mu could wait for Qin Mu to gain a firm foothold, pacify Fujian, and conquer all the southwestern provinces, he would Then there will be no worries, and it will be even more detrimental to our Qing generals. "
Fan Wencheng replied: "What the King said is absolutely true. No matter what, Qin Mu cannot be allowed to successfully occupy Fujian. Your Majesty, my servant suggested sending people to Fujian by sea to consolidate the offensive and defensive alliance with Zheng Zhilong;
In addition, you can also send people to contact Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu in southern Sichuan. With these troops to restrain Qin Mu, Qin Mu will always be attacked from both sides. When the Qing Dynasty recovers, it will not be difficult to destroy Qin Mu in one fell swoop;
As for the current shortage of money and food, the slave thought that we could learn from the Ming Dynasty's method of exchanging salt for money and food.
The output of the Changlu Salt Farm in Cang County is huge. As long as illegal salt is strictly investigated, considerable money and grain can be exchanged in a short period of time with the salt from the Changlu Salt Farm;
Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yongfa are the eight families on the right side of this mountain. Most of them started out as salt traders and have close ties with the Qing Dynasty. I believe they will be happy to transport grain and grass for our army in exchange for salt. . "
"Fan Aiqing is truly the pillar of the country." Dorgon frowned and immediately said to Fan Wencheng, "Fan Aiqing, draw up a decree to summon the eight families from Shanyou to Beijing."
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ps: Congratulations to Long Yinyue for becoming another leader of "Ming Yang Tian Xia".
The history category is unpopular, and I can’t compare with those great masters. It’s very precious to have a helmsman, let alone an alliance leader. This book has more than one million words, but only half a million hits. This shows how miserable the subscription volume is. My bank card was stolen last month, and now I am struggling with the borrowed two hundred yuan. Even a reward of one hundred points is a timely help for me. Thank you for your support. You are all my parents, and with your support, I will definitely keep going!
.(To be continued...)
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