Chapter 463 The consequences of credibility bankruptcy
Su Shuang took out a few banknotes and said, "These are the banknotes used by Daqian!"
Jian Yong looked at the colorful banknotes and said in surprise: "Can these things be exchanged for goods?"
Even Liu Bei was surprised that a piece of paper could be used as money. Money should not be made of brass and gold. This simply violated his three views!
But Zhang Shiping said: "Don't underestimate this blank piece of paper. It is because of its existence that Lei Gong can cast so many artillery pieces!"
"We often transport goods to Hebei. We know that Hebei is more prosperous than Jiangnan and even the Central Plains. Although Lei Gong is a rebellious, I have to say that he is a good hand in developing places. Now in Hebei, Mayi, Yecheng, Jixian and other places The level of prosperity is no longer inferior to that of Luoyang City during the late Emperor's time. Especially in the textile industry, many textile factories in Hebei have more workers than ordinary people in counties."
"Logically speaking, the land of Hebei should be more short of copper coins than we are in the south of the Yangtze River! But it's because Lei Gong came up with paper money! Copper coins are no longer currency. And other uses of bronze have been replaced by steel and glass. To be honest, in Hebei Earth, if bronze cannot be used to cast cannons, it is no different than waste! This is why Lei Gong can make thousands of bronze cannons!"
Yuan Ji said in disbelief: "How is it possible that only copper and gold can be made into money since ancient times? Although white paper is expensive, how can the people accept this kind of thing to make money!"
No wonder Yuan Ji is so unbelievable. Although white paper has been around for a long time, it is not only expensive but also fragile. It has not replaced bamboo slips for a long time.
The paper that can actually be written on was created by Cai Lun decades ago. However, because Cai Lun was born in the eunuch party, even though the white paper is easy to write on, is light in weight, can record a lot of content, and other conveniences, it is still rejected by the noble families in the world. , the blank paper has been shelved on the shelf for decades, and it has not been popularized at all.
What really made white paper popular was the rebellious Lei Gong. I don’t know where he got the formula for white paper, and then he manufactured white paper and books on a large scale in Mayi, which directly reduced the price of white paper and books to their original price. One tenth of the price.
Especially the various books in the hands of Lei Gong. The prices are ridiculously low, and they are also the kind of high-quality books that are hard to find on the market. They record the annotations of great scholars. If Lei Gong hadn't confiscated the homes of the entire Hebei noble family, they would not have been available at all. It can't be spread.
These treasures caused a sensation throughout the Han Dynasty. Every poor family that could afford it would sell a few heirlooms! Paper books became popular, and so did white paper.
But this was only about ten years ago, which means that for the common people, blank paper was still a new thing, how could it be so easily popularized!
Zhang Shiping took out a few banknotes and said: "It is money that can be exchanged for goods. In Daqian territory, one mink can be exchanged for one woolen cloth, three stones of salt and ten stones of grain. Foreign traders can bring out woolen cloth and salt. For Internal trading can be exchanged for food!
Grain, salt and cloth are things that people all over the world need. Thunder God's banknotes can be exchanged for these three things, so of course the people will recognize them as money!"
Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he said: "Can the imperial court follow Lei Gong's example and use banknotes instead of copper coins? This can not only solve the problem of insufficient copper coins in Jiangnan, but also solve the problem of insufficient copper materials for the imperial court's cannons!"
Su Shuang said solemnly: "It is difficult to issue banknotes, and a slight mistake will lead to catastrophic disaster. Lei Gong has a large number of textile factories, salt fields, and three levels of taxation, which ensures that Lei Gong can receive hundreds of millions of shi of food every year.
Therefore, Lei Gong can hoard a large amount of woolen cloth, grain and salt as collateral to issue banknotes. At the same time, because Daqian's finances are so wealthy, everyone does not worry that the banknotes in their hands cannot be exchanged for goods, so Lei Gong's banknotes are favored by everyone. Welcome."
"Now banknotes are not only circulating in Hebei, but also in the deserts, the Western Regions and our Jiangnan area, especially in the sale of bulk goods. Pulling several carts of copper coins to trade is not only difficult to transport but also unsafe, and now we have this banknote , as long as you hide the money, you will no longer have to worry about robbers, and it will be very convenient during transactions!"
Yuan Ji said angrily: "Lei Gong uses banknotes to trade our Jiangnan goods. This is not plundering our wealth. If Lei Gong does not recognize these banknotes, the merchants in Jiangnan will suffer heavy losses. You must know that the court and Lei Gong are now enemies of us. Lei Gong It is absolutely possible to do such a thing! It seems that it is imperative for the imperial court to issue banknotes!"
"Thunder Lord could do such a thing, but he didn't do it. The court said it wanted to protect us, but when Dong Zhuo issued the notice, you didn't see any less greed. Everyone is not worried about Thunder Lord. Instead, they are worried about you unscrupulous people. Bureaucrats." Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping secretly slandered.
When Dong Zhuo launched a denunciation order, almost all the merchants in the Han Dynasty were exterminated by the officials of the Han Dynasty. Although Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping had already taken refuge with Liu Bei, there is an old saying that the king of hell is better than the devil. Although Dong Zhuo knew this It's time to win over Liu Bei, but the officials below don't care whether you are Liu Bei's subordinate or not.
Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping's caravans were originally doing business in Hebei. A large number of their caravans were killed by the officials at the time in the Central Plains. Even the clerks could not be found. There was no evidence of death. Even if the two of them moved out of Liu Bei's The signboard is of no use either.
Therefore, the two of them never thought highly of the conduct of Han officials. It had not been more than ten years since the incident was reported, and merchants all over the world had no trust in the Han court. How could these banknotes be issued? Now the merchants in Han Dynasty The common people would rather use Lei Gong's banknotes than the imperial court's banknotes.
Because everyone knows that if the court is really short of money, it will directly rob it. Who dares to use all their wealth to guarantee that the court will not let these banknotes turn into white paper.
Of course, Zhang Shiping did not dare to say that the merchants of the Han Dynasty were afraid of the imperial court. The imperial court had no credibility at all.
Instead, he said helplessly: "Apart from a little more food, the imperial court has no other collateral at all. Moreover, Lei Gong can guarantee stable prices in Hebei for 10 years, but the imperial court cannot do that here. With what you have in your hands, General." For food, there are not many banknotes at all, so it is difficult to replace the role of copper coins in Jiangnan!"
But Liu Bei said firmly: "Although Lei Gong has a wool textile factory, we also have silk textile factories in Jiangnan. Although the scale is not as big as Lei Gong's, the price of our silk is more expensive than wool. The salt fields are near Danyang County in Jiangdong, and Yunchang also has
Quite a few, plus the tribute salt from Sichuan, the imperial court can use these three goods as collateral to issue banknotes. What Lei Gong can do, we can also do."