Lingzhou's relatively rich mineral resources are actually coal, which people in the Tang Dynasty called coal. It was mainly used as a local product and used as tribute to the palace.
As the imperial capital, Chang'an is no stranger to coal.
Chang'an was divided into charcoal and Shangdang knot pine heart. Many wealthy families also commonly used charcoal. Starting from the Sui Dynasty, the palace dignitaries in Chang'an mainly used coal, mainly from the Tongguan mining area in Wei.
For example, Lingzhou is rich in coal resources, and the local area has long begun to use and burn them. However, in comparison, the amount of coal mining is not high.
As for copper, there are several copper mines known to the Lingzhou government, such as Qingtongxia, where Li Jingxiao fought last year. There have been copper mines here since the Han Dynasty, and there are also larger copper mines in Zhaobi Mountain in the southwest of Lingzhou.
"If we stop selling money and make utensils, and switch to mining copper, smelting copper, making money, and making utensils, I'm afraid many people won't be willing." Xue Wanche drank wine and finally raised his concerns.
After all, he, as the governor, had just taken office and had no deep foundation, but he also knew his own situation very well. After all, he was not Emperor Yuan Cong's confidant. Jiancheng and Luo Yi, the two people who had followed him, were both executed one after another. Although he could
After being appointed as the governor, he was naturally grateful to the new emperor and extremely loyal, but this did not change the fact that he was not the emperor's confidant.
Moreover, he was new here. Although Wu Huaiyu had made a deal with Li Daozong and others before, so that he took over a good stall as soon as he arrived, but after all, these people were not familiar with them yet.
As the governor, he is neither the emperor's confidant nor has been in Lingzhou for a long time, which means that his control is actually weak now.
Now according to the previous agreement, then everyone will make a fortune together, and everything will naturally be harmonious. But if Wu Huaiyu wants to break the original agreement now, problems may arise.
Mining and smelting copper is obviously a huge investment, but the returns are not as good as the original business, and there may even be some unknown risks.
It would be great to make money just lying down like this.
"At the time of Wude, the imperial court was beyond its reach in Lingzhou. As long as this important military town could be stabilized, the imperial court would let it go in other aspects for the time being. However, the governor also knew that this situation could not always exist.
It's Zhenguan now, isn't it the purpose of the imperial court to send me here to regain Shuofang?"
"After all, there is going to be a change. It depends on whether it is proactive or passive."
"I think it's better for us to be more proactive."
"But what if those people don't agree? You know better than me how deep the water is inside. Everyone in Lingzhou is involved. What if we can control the situation?"
Xue Wanche was very polite to Wu Huaiyu.
Because he is not only the governor of the governor's office, but also the governor of Yanzhou. What's more, he is obviously a confidant of the emperor. His status as a remaining party member makes him more cautious now.
Doulu Huairang was cutting the mutton with a knife. The knife in his hand was also a gorgeous Damascus pattern steel horn knife. After listening to the words of the two people, he smiled and said: "I think what Erlang said is very reasonable. Ren Chengwang
They have learned from the past. After all, we are court officials and we have to consider the overall interests of the court.
Lingzhou’s issue of selling money to make utensils and making private money is indeed a bit serious. Now it’s not that we want to change it, but that the imperial court has stopped releasing money to Shuofang and Longyou. Copper coins cannot leave Longguan, Xiaoguan, etc.
Even if you want to maintain the same behavior as in the past, it is not possible. How long can the money outside the customs be maintained now? It is actually for everyone's benefit to make early plans."
Xue Wanche was in a dilemma. He finally picked up Li Daozong's trap and became the governor of Lingzhou, but he didn't want to be kicked out before his butt was hot.
The intention of the superior must be understood, but the emotions of the person below must also be taken care of, otherwise he will not be able to sit still.
Transformation is actually imperative.
"Captain, the imperial money is prohibited from entering Shuofang. If we don't respond early, then our current prosperous industrial and commercial scene will no longer exist. Although Lingzhou is located in the south of the Yangtze River, the most important reason for the prosperity of this place is
With the help of the Silk Road, border market trade,"
Currency plays an important supporting role in industrial and commercial development. If the currency is insufficient, the market will definitely be severely weakened.
This is not only about political performance and official status, but also about their private interests in it now.
"We can seek more policy support from the court,"
Wu Huaiyu proposed to ask the emperor for a decree, such as allowing private individuals in Shuofang to freely mine minerals, even lowering mining fees, and allowing them to use the copper they mined and smelted to cast copperware for sale.
Copper materials were even mined and copper coins were minted through a joint government-private partnership.
From the original illegal behavior, it was whitewashed into legal.
"Will the court allow it?"
"I have learned that during the Daye period of the Sui Dynasty, there were 76 copper mines in the country, and more than 200,000 kilograms of copper were mined every year. The quantity was too small.
There was chaos in the world after tomorrow, and many copper mines were shut down and abandoned due to the chaos, resulting in even lower copper output.
In the Wude Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty, new money was minted from Yuan Tong Bao. Money supervisors were set up in various places, with a total of 100 coin furnaces. Each furnace could mint 3,000 guan of coins per year, with a maximum of 300,000 guan of coins in one year.
A typical copper coin weighs a hundred taels, of which 80 taels are used as copper material. To cast 300,000 taels, it takes 1.5 million jins of copper."
The annual production output is only about 200,000 jins of copper, but it takes 1.5 million jins to make money. There is a problem here. Although the amount of money minted is still too small, the amount of copper consumed is five or six times the amount of mining.
.
Therefore, although new coins began to be minted only in the fourth year of Wude, and it has only been five or six years now, the actual amount of coins minted is unstable, sometimes more and sometimes less, because there is insufficient copper material. In addition to the new copper mined, it mainly relies on recycling old coins.
Money creates new money.
The imperial court had a huge demand for copper, but the mining capacity was insufficient, especially the official mining capacity.
If Lingzhou could mobilize the private sector to open new copper mines, the imperial court would naturally be happy to see it. After all, although Kaiyuan Tongbao was good, it still needed copper to be cast, and currency was related to the stability and prosperity of industry and commerce.
As for asking the court for permission to mine copper materials, they can cast copper objects, or even allow them to jointly open a mint between the government and the private sector. It sounds unreasonable at first, but from a practical perspective, it is not impossible to make a temporary expediency.
If the imperial court's money does not come out of the customs, then Longyou cannot rely on silk grain transactions. As long as the money can be minted according to the imperial court's standards, it will be a good thing for the imperial court and can solve the problem of a serious shortage of minted coins.
As for the profit from minting, it is not a top priority.
Even from private minting to official minting, it can also combat the situation of private minting of bad coins and even chaos.
The meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and the road must be walked step by step. The current emperor Li Shimin is a man of great talent and strategy, and he is also a very capable emperor. He is not Yang Guang, but he will not be too high-minded and pat his head.
Governing a country is like cooking fresh food, which also involves constant compromise and twists and turns.
Doulu Huairang stood clearly on Wu Huaiyu's side and expressed support for Wu Changshi's plan. Xue Wanche thought for a while, then drank a cup of Erguotou and said with a blush, "Then follow Wu Changshi's plan, but the specifics are
No matter how you do it, Wu Changshi, you have to worry about it. No matter what you say, I will support you."
Although this guy spoke loudly, Wu Huaiyu heard something. On the surface, he was fully supporting Huaiyu, but in fact, he was ready to pass the blame. If he really made a contribution, then he was the governor, so he would naturally have credit.
If something goes wrong, it was all planned by Chang Shi Wu Huaiyu, and the responsibility is naturally his.
Huaiyu didn't care.
In any case, this matter must be done, and it will not work unless it is changed. If it is changed, it will be in line with the trend. Moreover, the change will be beneficial to both public and private parties.
"In fact, it's not just copper. Lingzhou's coal, copper, Yanzhou's salt, and coal are also rich in petroleum. These are very important minerals. We can develop them together. As long as the management is good, I
I dare say that the benefits of mining will definitely be greater than those of private casting now."
Xue Wanche waved his hand and said, "I will listen to Wu Changshi, you can make arrangements."
Doulu Huairang said, "I will contact Lingzhou immediately, and let's negotiate behind closed doors first."
Outside the Dudu's Mansion, Li Sanniang chased her all the way from Yanzhou to Lingzhou, and went directly to the Dudu's Mansion. Wu Huailiang, the deputy of Wu Huaiyu's personal army, knew that the clan brother was avoiding her, so he stopped her and hurriedly made her brother pregnant.
