It is already hot summer, and there is a heat wave in Luoyang. Not many people dare to go out. Luoyang has not been so hot for a long time. Many ministers are worried that this weird weather will affect Sili.
A drought has occurred in the area. In such a hot climate, the heat in Gongfu has reached an intolerable level.
In the backyard of the Gongfu, there were three blast furnaces. Each one was burning with blazing flames. The red molten iron flowed out from the furnace mouth and entered the mold. The craftsman quickly took these and raised his hand high.
The hammer came down, and there was someone holding a pot of cold water. Sparks flew out, and thick smoke billowed straight into the sky.
Under the already scorching heat, the heat here naturally reached the extreme. Everyone took off their shirts, revealing their amazing tendons. Their whole bodies were as red as bronze, and their whole bodies were soaked with sweat. Ma Jun took the lead and was busy.
, watching the sun seem to be getting bigger and bigger, Ma Jun yelled: "Have a rest for half an hour!!", and many craftsmen below breathed a sigh of relief.
Ma Jun climbed down the ladder, and immediately someone came over and whispered: "Someone is visiting."
"Oh? Who?"
"Yanzhou Mu sent people and said they wanted to borrow some craftsmen, just like Yuzhou."
"Oh, just give it to them according to the situation in Yuzhou."
"There is also Shaofu servant Liu Ba. He has been waiting outside the door for a long time."
Ma Jun was a little confused. Recently, the servant of the young master always came to the government to see him. Sometimes he came to send financial aid, and sometimes he just chatted. Ma Jun knew in his heart that he must have something that he needed help with, but
, this guy is in charge of the finances. If the government wants to conduct more research, it cannot avoid dealing with this person. It is best not to ignore him too much.
Ma Jun walked towards the door. As soon as he reached the door, he saw Liu Ba with a smile on his face. Liu Ba walked towards him with a smile. The two of them greeted each other. The official on the side handed over the cloth. Ma Jun
Wiping his face and wiping away the sweat, Liu Ba looked at Ma Jun in front of him. His whole body was red, as if he had been dyed. He was just standing at the door, afraid of the heat wave and did not dare to move forward, but he still
You have to be busy in there all day.
Liu Ba couldn't help but feel a little touched in his heart, and said: "Mr. Ma is so sorry. I think it would be better to do this at night. It's too hot at this time, and I'm afraid it will hurt the craftsmen." Ma Jun nodded.
He nodded and said, "Yeah, I can't stand this damn weather anymore. I don't know why, but it's so hot today..."
"Is Mr. Magong still busy improving iron smelting recently?"
"Yes, this blast furnace for smelting iron has achieved some results. We will try to expand it to several major iron ore mining areas in Dahan before next year... By the way, the previous funding from the Shaofu was not in vain.
The concrete that was originally intended for railway tracks has been proven to be suitable for construction. Hahaha, Luoyang’s expansion this year will probably require the use of this brand-new material!”
"After these materials are sold, the three million yuan supported by the national treasury can be repaid within one year." Ma Jun said cautiously. Naturally, he did not want to cut off the support from the treasury. Liu Ba's eyes widened when he heard this.
A light suddenly lit up. His support originally had another purpose. Unexpectedly, there were other gains. As a servant of the young master, he naturally cared about these treasury income.
"What's the cost?"
Ma Jun pointed to the distance and said: "A bag of that size costs less than two hundred yuan. I previously sold it to Yuzhou for three hundred yuan."
"Hahaha, OK, Mr. Ma! OK!" Liu Ba suddenly became a little excited, and he said: "If it is promoted to the whole country... the three million dollars are really worth it. In this way, promotion
Ma Gong will leave it to me! I will make this mud worth every penny!!"
Ma Jun just smiled and didn't speak in a hurry.
Liu Ba understood immediately and laughed and said: "In this way, I will report to the Hall of Houde tomorrow. This month, the Shaofu's support to the Gongfu will not be less than five million yuan. What do you think of Ma Gong?"
"Hey, Mr. Liu, you and I are as close as brothers, and I'm not trying to support you..."
"Six million!"
"Liu Gong, you are out of touch now. Promotion and sales are under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu..."
"Six and a half million, if there's any more, I'm afraid Houde Hall won't approve it..."
"Okay!" Ma Jun said immediately, and Liu Ba couldn't help laughing. The two discussed for a while, and then Liu Ba said seriously: "Mr. Ma, there is one more thing I need you to help me with..."
"But it doesn't matter."
"If I want to turn a piece of paper into money and circulate it so that no one else can fake it, and the authenticity can be seen at a glance, just like the credentials of banks today, what can Mr. Ma do?"
Ma Jun thought for a long time and then said: "Yes."
"Oh??Really??What can I do??"
"First of all, in terms of materials, I recommend you to use Shu paper. Shu paper is bright, white, and extremely durable. Then, we must strictly prohibit the circulation of Shu paper among the people. Private production is not allowed, and it can only be made by temples."
"The other thing is the problem of patterns. Nowadays, with the printing technology, you can go to several famous artists and ask them to design the patterns. The more complex and difficult to describe, the better. Finally, here, here, we have recently developed a
A kind of dye that can make paper appear blue and white. This dye can be used as a special color for certificates. No one except the government will use it. Also, you can set up a few local officials to distinguish the genuine from the fake.
"
Ma Jun thought for a long time and then said: "In addition, when saving money, you can keep two copies of the voucher, one in the bank and one in the hands of the people. In this way, if you can distinguish the authenticity from the fake, you will know by comparison.
Already..."
Liu Ba was stunned. He originally thought that Ma Jun would only give him some technical suggestions, but he did not expect that most of Ma Jun's suggestions had nothing to do with technology. Some of them coincided with him, and there were even some that he had never thought of.
On the other hand, seeing Liu Ba's dull look, Ma Jun smiled bitterly and said: "I just said casually, if there is anything wrong, Liu Jun should not be offended."
"Mr. Ma is so humble. He can say so much just casually. It's really embarrassing..."
"If Liu Jun intends to implement these aspects of dyes and paper, I will definitely give my full assistance."
Liu Ba shook his head and said with emotion: "I forgot, Ma Gong was a disciple of Wen Rengong. Ma Gong was in Gongfu, and he was so talented that he was so talented..." Ma Jun said disapprovingly: "In the temple
, there are many talented people who are more talented than me, and there is no shortage of me, but in Gongfu, I am the only one like me."
"What Ma Gong said makes sense. It's a pity that I have no chance to meet Mr. Wen Ren in this life. Otherwise, I would definitely worship under his disciples."
"Alas..." Ma Jun sighed and said: "I disappointed my master and failed to inherit his mantle. I have been good at this since I was a child, and finally became a great craftsman... He also
I am the only disciple..."
"Hey, although Ma Gong is no longer a young man, he has added more revenue to the national treasury in these years than the previous Sikong. Wen Rengong knows that he will definitely be happy because of it. Wen Rengong is most worried
Yes, this is the income of the treasury. When he expanded his financial resources and saved expenditures, it is not as good as your research and development now. Just this iron smelting technique, hahaha, I don’t know how much wealth it can add.
Already..."
The two chatted for a long time. Seeing that Ma Jun and the others were about to start construction again, Liu Ba did not dare to disturb him, so he said goodbye and left.
Ma Jun stood up, raised his head, looked at the several blast furnaces in front of him, led the craftsmen again, and continued to work. The heat wave hit him again and again, and his whole body was soaked with sweat, but Ma Jun was still very happy.
, with a smile on his face and humming a tune happily.
Life is getting better and better, and craftsmen have gained their own status. The support received by the government is getting more and more year by year, from tens of thousands of dollars at the beginning to millions of dollars now. This life is really good.
Ma Jun raised his head, wiped the sweat from his eyes, and showed the most beautiful smile.
After Liu Ba returned to the mansion, he entered the study and did not go out for three days. Later, the officials of the Shaofu became busy. Some people contacted the officials of Yizhou, some contacted the Gongfu, and others
Taixue and other schools found some sacrificial wine. After more than ten days, Liu Ba finally arrived at the Hall of Houde.
Liu Xi was not surprised at all by Liu Ba's arrival. Even the purpose of his arrival was clear to Liu Xi. Yuan Shang had already noticed the changes in the young master's office, and the relevant content had been sent to him a long time ago.
When he arrived at the Hall of Houde, Liu Xi could not show it. Only to those who were restless, he would act like he knew the world's affairs and beat them. For Liu Ba, this was not necessary.
"Master Liu is here?"
"Hahaha, great. I've been talking about you these days. Come on, come on, sit down. Have you ever had a meal?" Liu Xi was very close to this fellow sect, and Liu Ba sat on the emperor's table.
In front of him, he took out the documents he had prepared during these days and placed them on the case. He also took out a few unusual pieces of paper and placed them in front of the emperor.
Liu Xi picked up these papers in surprise. There were six types of paper, with different sizes, different colors, and different numbers on them. Liu Xi asked doubtfully: "Such beautiful paper, what is this?"
"Your Majesty, this is the paper currency I want to promote. The smallest one is one coin. This is five coins, this is ten coins, fifty coins, one hundred coins, and the largest one is five hundred coins.
Qian, the paper is made of Bashu paper. This kind of paper is produced in Bashu. The output is not large. It is usually only used by people in Yizhou. The dyeing is specially made by the Gongfu and no one can imitate it. Your Majesty, look at the pattern on it.
..."
Liu Ba explained carefully, from the materials used to the various anti-counterfeiting measures, Liu Xi nodded from time to time.
"Your Majesty, next, the bank's vouchers will be uniformly replaced with such paper, and the new vouchers will only be announced to the outside world to prevent them from being forged. In this way, the people will gradually accept the banknotes. In less than ten years, the banknotes will be
It will replace today's copper coins and become the currency of the Han Dynasty. Paper money is convenient. If it can be promoted and circulated early, it will definitely promote the development of the Han Dynasty's commerce... The national treasury will no longer be empty..."
"Hahaha, okay, okay, Mr. Liu is indeed my Marquis Feng!"
"You go to Shangshu Ling now and let him be responsible for contacting the other governments. Then you can handle this matter with peace of mind."