***
All over Daqin, silver coins and related laws are being vigorously promoted.
With the mint working overtime day and night to mint silver coins, the first batch of 200,000 silver coins have been put on the market in Nanjing.
Since the silver coin minted this time contained 90% silver and was exquisitely minted, it was recognized and accepted by the people as soon as it was put on the market.
Also, because there was a dragon wrapped around the outer edge of the silver coin on the front, it was soon called the Dragon Coin by the people.
In the past, because the quality of silver on the market varied and there were also many kinds of copper coins, such as boss money and new coins, ordinary people always suffered losses when exchanging them and suffered greatly.
When the dragon coin was released, it was so fine that if you pinched the center of the silver coin with the tips of your thumb and index finger and blew hard, you could hear a slight rhythmic sound, making it easy to distinguish the authenticity. The people welcomed it very much.
Seeing that the Dragon Coin had a good response in the market, Qin Mu ordered the mint to increase its coin minting efforts. In addition to Nanjing, a mint was opened in Wuchang, Beijing, and Xijing respectively, with the goal of replacing the chaotic currency on the market with the Dragon Coin within half a year.
Although copper coins were also minted this time, the number was very small and they were only used as change for silver coins. Moreover, after the credit of paper money was further consolidated, Qin Mu planned to completely cancel copper coins after a year.
Because as long as there are two hard currencies, there will be exchange problems.
The silver-copper price ratio in the market changes. Sometimes silver is expensive and copper is cheap, and vice versa.
Even if the government enforced a mandatory equal value ratio between silver and copper coins, it would be of no avail.
For example, if the official regulation stipulates that one silver coin is equal to ten copper coins, when the market shows that silver is cheap and copper is expensive, the copper weight contained in the ten copper coins is actually worth two silver coins. Then, the copper coins can be melted into copper blocks and used as a commodity to trade silver coins. In this way, one silver coin can be earned by melting ten copper coins.
On the contrary, when silver is expensive and copper is cheap, you can also melt silver to make copper.
If paper money can be used instead of copper coins, there is no need to worry about this phenomenon. Paper money is a complete credit currency. It is linked to silver coins, which is equivalent to a credit currency issued based on silver. There is no need to worry about the drawbacks of silver-copper exchange.
Since the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the amount of silver flowing into China from the West alone exceeded 100 million taels, and the domestic silver production was also considerable. In the case that large-scale traders were already accustomed to using checks from Huitong Bank, using silver coins as the single currency should not lead to deflation;
To put it bluntly, the silver coins should be basically enough. Moreover, as Daqin further opens up foreign trade, more silver will flow into Daqin.
The benefits of a single currency are unquestionable. Qin Mu hopes to speed up the coinage process and unify the currency of the Qin Dynasty as soon as possible. At that time, the court will issue a decree that has been formulated to prohibit anyone from trading with gold and silver and prohibit private coinage. If anyone violates the decree, the family will be confiscated for minor offenses and exterminated for serious offenses.
Ordinary people can take their existing silver to Huitong Bank and exchange it at the standard of 7 qian 1 fen 5 li for 1 yuan. The dragon coins issued by the court are strictly minted according to the ratio of 1 yuan to 7 qian 2, with 9 silver and 1 copper, so you won't lose much.
It’s good enough to be able to get to this point now.
There are not many gold mines in China. And most of them are difficult to mine in this era;
Therefore, gold could only be used as currency before the Han Dynasty, when the commodity economy was not yet developed. Moreover, it was not a single currency, but had to be used together with silver and copper.
In Qin Mu's opinion, even if the Baguio gold mine and the Rand gold mine in South Africa were dug up, it would be impossible to mine all the gold in the two gold mines in a short period of time. With such a large economic volume of Daqin, it would be impossible for Daqin to use gold coins like small Western countries.
If the industrial revolution can be truly promoted within the next twenty years, the total economic volume will further increase, and the demand for currency will increase exponentially. It will be simply unrealistic to issue gold coins in China.
The only way out at that time is to issue credit currency based on gold.
Credit currency is inevitable sooner or later.
It is better to do it sooner rather than later, so Qin Mu will not abolish the paper money that has been issued, but will try every means to strengthen its credit and make it linked to the silver coin;
When the time comes, the minting volume of silver coins will be gradually reduced, while the issuance volume of paper money will be increased, so that the people can slowly transition from silver coins to paper money in a way of boiling a frog in warm water.
***
These days, in addition to being busy preparing a dowry for his sister, Xu Yongshun also did not forget to speed up the development of the new ship, because he knew that an advanced new ship would be the best dowry for his sister.
There were still three days before the auspicious day for marrying a concubine. Xu Yongshun came to the Meridian Gate in person and invited the emperor to go to the Longjiang Shipyard to watch the launching of the new ship.
Qin Mu said nothing, put down all the government affairs in his hands, left the palace, and went to Longjiang Shipyard with Xu Yongshun.
On the way, Qin Mu heard Xu Yongshun mention that Liu Changzuo wanted to open a cement factory in Nanxiang. Although the quality of cement now cannot be compared with that of later generations, it is much better than other building materials and has a wide range of uses.
The imperial court was preparing to build roads on a large scale, which would inevitably require a large amount of cement. Liu Changzuo wanted to get involved in cement. Of course, Qin Mu believed that Xu Yongshun would also get involved in this emerging industry.
After hearing this, Qin Mu said to Xu Yongshun, "I naturally support you in opening a cement factory, but not in Nanxiang. Cement factories are not allowed to be opened around the capital or around other cities. If you want to open one, find a place with convenient waterways and far away from the city."
Nanxiang is the southern suburb of the capital. The Internal Supervisory Office chose this place for trial production just for convenience. If you are allowed to open a cement factory in the southern suburbs, won’t I have to eat cement dust every day? How can I bear that
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will tell Liu Changzuo as soon as I get back."
There is no doubt that this group of old Ming nobles are the representatives of the capital class that Qin Mu secretly supports.
They have strong capital, hold official titles, and invest heavily in various real economies. They have opened many factories in various industries, which is what Qin Mu is happy to see.
Qin Mu seized the opportunity to say, "Xiao Shunzi, don't blame me for not reminding you. You still have to be honest when doing business. If you are dishonest, even if you can make huge profits for a while, it won't last long. In particular, don't try to get crooked ideas on the tax money from the court, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless."
Xu Yongshun's expression froze, and he answered sincerely, "Your Majesty, rest assured. We know in our hearts that your Majesty's trust is our most important wealth."
"It's good that you understand. I will only say this once. I have given you a lot of conveniences. Once you have problems, the officials in the court will definitely not let me off easily. I will not be off easily, so you can think about your own fate."
"I can guarantee with my head that I will never think about taxes and silver, and will never cause trouble for Your Majesty."
Qin Mu nodded and stopped talking. Qin Mu would never let him promise and really believe that they would keep themselves clean. Whoever is blind, once caught, it will not be too late to kill the chicken.
When the imperial carriage arrived at the Longjiang Shipyard, the whole factory was decorated with red and colorful decorations, and there were drums and gongs, as if it were a grand celebration. The managers and researchers in the factory all knelt at the factory gate to welcome him.
Xu Yongshun was beaming with joy as he led Qin Mu to the dry dock. A ship about 20 feet long, only about 4 feet wide, and about 3 feet high was parked in the dry dock, with red ribbons tied around the hull. The new paint was reflecting light in the sun.
The first impression it gives people is that it is slender, and the overall lines are full of unique beauty. Qin Mu is most concerned about its bow design. Nowadays, the bows of various ships are mostly square;
Like Zheng He's treasure ship, the bow of the ship is slightly tilted inward, but the angle is not large. This makes the bow encounter great resistance when the ship is sailing. Of course, most ships of various countries are similar now.
Xu Yongshun had been staying at the shipyard day and night recently, and he paid great attention to the new ship. He introduced all the features of the new ship to Qin Mu one by one, saying, "Your Majesty, please see that compared with the original ship shape, we have made significant improvements on this new ship. First of all, the proportion of its upper and lower parts has been greatly adjusted, and the proportion of the upper width to the lower width has become larger;
The most important thing is its bow. The bows of the original ships were all square. Your Majesty, please see that for this new ship, we narrowed the bow below the waterline to almost a blade shape.
At the same time, the bow and freeboard are as far out as possible, forming a long oblique line up and down, making the bow like a sharp blade pointing forward obliquely, improving the wave-breaking ability and reducing the sailing resistance;
In addition, the height of the ship has also been adjusted to minimize the superstructure, which not only increases the stability of the ship but also effectively reduces the windward surface. "
As Xu Yongshun explained, Qin Mu watched and was very satisfied. The new ship used Western-style soft sails and had three masts. The height of the mast was as high as three-quarters of the length of the ship. There was a bow with an oblique beam extending outward from the bow. More supporting ropes and triangular sails could be hung at the bow to expand the capacity of the sail.
Its outward-swinging bow and freeboard ensure that the ship will not encounter serious waves when sailing at high speed, and ensure that the ship's powerful power can be converted into high speed to the maximum extent.
Although it has not yet been officially launched for sea trials, in Qin Mu's opinion, the design of this ship has achieved revolutionary improvements in reducing resistance and increasing wind power, and the speed will definitely have a qualitative leap.
More importantly, all of this was done without the guidance of a latecomer like him, and was entirely the result of the wisdom of the shipyard's craftsmen, which made Qin Mu very pleased.
Without further ado, let’s get in the water and see the actual effect.
When the auspicious time arrived, Qin Mu personally presided over the launching ceremony. This is a necessary ceremony for every ship, and this ship is of great significance, so the ceremony is even more grand.
After the sacrificial ceremony, to the sound of enthusiastic gongs and drums, the shipyard workers opened the sluice gates of the dock, and the surging river water poured into the dock, soon flooding the bottom of the hull.
The craftsmen in the shipyard skillfully untied the huge cables that secured the hull. As the water level in the dock continued to rise, the hull slowly floated up, and the craftsmen also unsteadily untied the cables;
This process is simple to say, but it is the most critical part of the launching process. If it is not operated properly, it is easy to cause the entire ship to capsize in the dock.
The craftsmen of Longmen Shipyard were experienced and familiar with the operation, so there were no accidents during the launching process. After the hull was completely floated, the sailors came on board and steered the ship. The sails could not be raised at this time. A tugboat was towing the ship in front. One or two hundred workers stood on both sides of the dock and began to shout slogans, using cables to tow the new ship out of the dock little by little.
Because the dock was a mile long and relatively narrow, the entire towing process took a full half hour before this brand new thing was finally towed into the Longjiang River.
"Raise the sail!"
"Raise the sail!"
"Raise the sail!"
Amid the sailors' loud shouts, huge sails slowly rose up. Qin Mu was fine, but Xu Yongshun was already sweating with nervousness. How was this new ship? It was related to his future. How could he not be nervous
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Xiao Shunzi, relax. I think everything is fine. I don't think there will be any big problems."
"Thanks to your Majesty, everything will be fine." Xu Yongshun scratched his head unconsciously and said, "Your Majesty, you don't know that I have been guarding the shipyard day and night these days. This ship carries my high hopes. To be honest with your Majesty, I was not this nervous when my first child was born."
"Hahaha... ... ."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for making you laugh."
"Alright, I understand that you are nervous, but don't exaggerate. You should know that too much is as bad as too little. I can't do without your contribution."
Xu Yongshun smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty is very observant. I am very humble in front of Your Majesty... Well, I just have a little thought, so I am not afraid of Your Majesty knowing it, hehe..."
This new ship is of great significance. It may bring about a revolution in sailing. Qin Mu was in a good mood and asked casually, "Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"I dare not take credit for it." Xu Yongshun bowed and replied.
Qin Mu looked at him with some surprise, feeling that his words were not false. After thinking about it, he quickly figured out what he wanted.
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ps: The third update, nearly 4,000 words, I have worked hard, please support me, let me get more monthly tickets, I am left behind by others, the monthly ticket award this month is getting slimmer and slimmer, I am anxious, I am a loser author, I only have so little income, 1,000 yuan monthly ticket award is really a huge income for me. I beg for monthly tickets! I beg for monthly tickets!
.(To be continued..)
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