As a result of the vote, the seven counselors unanimously agreed to mint gold and silver coins. Guo Song did not participate in the vote. He had no voting rights in the Counselor Hall. His power was to finally approve the resolution of the Counselor Hall. In fact, the plan of the Counselor Hall was discussed with him before the vote.
After communication, we will vote after getting his consent.
The principles for issuing gold and silver coins had been set, and everyone began to discuss the details.
"Let's talk about the first question first!"
Pan Liao smiled and said: "How are we going to price gold and silver money? Should we set it according to the official price or the market price?"
After a pause, Pan Liao added: "If we go by the official price, one of our silver coins is worth a hundred wen, and one of our money is worth the same. If we go by the market price, the price will be increased by 20%. What do you think?"
Zhang Fengyi said: "When we were casting gold and silver coins in Hexi, something happened. Some businessmen got the gold and silver coins and then melted them again to pretend to be official silver coins. They exchanged the old coins on the black market in Chang'an, and once they changed hands, they got two coins.
This is one of the reasons why there are very few gold and silver coins in Hexi. I suggest that we issue them at market prices and not let those businessmen take advantage of them."
Du You pondered for a while and said: "I have also learned about the specific situation of the gold and silver coins issued in Hexi. At that time, the government sold them directly, and anyone could buy them. Some profiteers took advantage of the loopholes. How about we find a few big counters with good reputations?
The dealer sells it for me, we sell it to them at the official price, and they sell it at the market price, and the difference in price is the profit they make from selling it for us."
Du You's plan received unanimous support from everyone. Even Zhang Qianyi admitted that this plan was more effective than his idea. The key was to prevent local governments from profiting from it.
The issuance plan has been solved, and then there is the problem of preventing counterfeiting. This problem has appeared before, mainly to reduce the content of silver. The official silver currency is nine silver and one copper, and counterfeiters use silver seven, copper three, or even silver six and four copper, which is somewhat malicious.
Some even directly use white copper as a counterfeit.
Pan Liao knocked on the table and said: "Everyone, counterfeiting is inevitable. As long as it is profitable, someone will definitely take the risk. Even counterfeit money is made, let alone gold and silver money? We must use strict laws to punish those counterfeiters.
, they will all be sentenced to death, their heads will be displayed to the public, and all their property will be confiscated. I believe that under severe punishments, ordinary counterfeiters will think twice. Now the key is what should Zhu Si or Tian Yue do if they make fakes?"
Wen Ji said: "Can the use of gold and silver money be limited to the Jin Kingdom, so that merchants in the Central Plains will generally not accept gold and silver money."
Zhang Qianyi said: "Wen Gong's idea has some truth, but we are afraid that Zhu Si will send people to bring a large number of fake gold and silver coins to Chang'an to buy goods. Now we don't conduct inspections in various places. It is easy to bring them in. How to prevent it? I think the key is
We still make a fuss about anti-counterfeiting.”
Du You shook his head, "It's difficult. Most merchants' imitations are rough and easy to identify, but if it's an official imitation, they can make it exactly the same, making it difficult for ordinary people to identify."
There was silence in the lobby. This issue was indeed a difficult one.
At this time, Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "I have a little trick that can distinguish real and fake gold and silver coins to a certain extent."
Everyone was refreshed and said quickly: "Your Highness, please tell me, what can I do?"
Guo Song said calmly: "Fake is always fake. As long as it is fake, no matter how it looks like it, there will be flaws. Zhu Si's counterfeiting is nothing more than reducing the content of gold and silver. In this way, there is no difference between real silver coins and fake silver coins."
The weight is different, has anyone thought of this flaw?"
Pan Liao hesitated and said: "There is indeed a difference, but the difference in money is so small that it is difficult to feel it."
Guo Song said calmly: "You can't feel one silver coin, but what if it is ten or a hundred silver coins?"
Everyone suddenly realized, and Du You said excitedly: "Your Highness is right. Zhu Siyun came here under false pretenses. He couldn't have paid one by one. He must have paid in large quantities or exchanged them on the black market. At that time, as long as hundreds of coins were compared, the flaw would be discovered immediately.
."
Guo Song added: "Actually, we can use copper to make a batch of models. What does that mean? The weight of this copper model is exactly the weight of ten or twenty silver coins. Basically every businessman will be equipped with one and carry it with him.
, just find a store and use a weighing scale to weigh it, and you will know whether it is genuine or fake."
This method is indeed more practical. The density of silver is greater than that of copper. If more copper is added, the weight will be different. The difference may not be big for one silver coin, but it will be more obvious for ten silver coins. Experienced people even weigh it with their hands.
You can feel it as soon as you weigh it.
The atmosphere in the lobby was lively, and as you spoke to others, basically all the details were gradually perfected.
At this time, Guo Song said again: "I suggest setting up a department to investigate counterfeit money. In addition, the black market should be closely monitored. Once counterfeit money appears, the black market will be the first to know."
...........
At night, Guo Song sat in his study and played with twenty Hexi silver coins in his hand. The coins were entirely made of Kaiyuan Tongbao money molds. On the front were the four characters Kaiyuan Tongbao and on the back were the four characters "Hexi silver coins".
It is the handwriting of Yan Zhenqing, with vigorous brushwork, full texture and excellent workmanship. Guo Song carefully weighed it and found that the weight of each silver coin is almost the same, and the difference is extremely small.
This was a batch of gold and silver coins minted in Hexi. At that time, 500,000 silver coins were minted and 20,000 gold coins were minted. However, they disappeared from the market that year. Of course, some of them were taken advantage of and melted down.
, but most of them are still collected.
Although they have enough gold and silver in stock, Guo Song is still somewhat cautious when it comes to issuing gold and silver coins. The root cause is still the source of gold and silver. There are not enough sources of gold and silver. It is undoubtedly a bit risky to launch gold and silver currencies rashly.
, so Guo Song only agreed to gradually introduce gold and silver as currency, and only introduce gold and silver coins worth about three million guan each year. This would give him at least twenty years to create a stable gold and silver mine source.
At this time, Xue Tao walked into the study with a cup of tea. She put the tea on the table. Seeing that the table was piled with gold and silver coins, she smiled and said, "Are you going to cast gold and silver coins again?"
Guo Song nodded, "The amount of gold and silver in the library is huge. Pan Changshi thinks it should be used. We discussed it for a long time this afternoon and almost reached a consensus. However, some details still need to be perfected. Does the lady have any good suggestions?"
Xue Tao pursed his lips and smiled and said: "I live in the palace, so I don't have any good suggestions. My husband should ask the eldest sister, she will have the right to speak."
This sentence immediately reminded Guo Song that he really should go to the market to find out more. Businessmen have the most say. You can also ask the eldest sister. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up and smiled: "This is my wife's best advice!"
........
Early the next morning, Guo Song came to Xi'anmen Street with several entourages. Xi'anmen Street was still bustling with people, on foot, on horseback, and in carriages. Many shops had just opened, and waiters were there.
People yelled loudly at the door.
Guo Song's carriage stopped in front of Meishou Liquor Shop, and he saw his eldest sister Guo Ping sitting in the shop chatting with a fat middle-aged woman.
Guo Ping's identity is closely guarded. Guo Song has issued strict orders not to reveal Guo Ping's identity to anyone. Even Min Qiu dare not tell her brother and sister-in-law. Until now, few people know Guo Ping's identity. In addition,
Guo Ping is kind and enthusiastic, and likes to help others, which makes her very famous and popular in Xi'anmen Street.
At this time, Guo Ping also saw her brother's carriage, and she smiled and said: "Okay, it's time to start work. Let's talk tomorrow. If you have any difficulties next time, just tell me. If I can help, I will help. If you really can't help me, I won't."
Will come up with ideas."
The middle-aged woman stood up and said goodbye. Guo Song got off the carriage and walked into the shop. Guo Ping came up to him with a smile and said, "Why are you here, little brother?"
"It's a small matter that disturbed the eldest sister's chat."
"It's not just chatting. She has some difficulties and wants to ask me for help. In fact, she just wants to borrow money. I have many similar friends. They are all the female heads of nearby shops, and we are very familiar with her."
"Sister, be careful if you borrow money, someone will run away!"
"Your eldest sister is not that stupid. I will lend them money without guarantee? The woman's husband's surname is Liu. She is the wife of Liu Hongtao, the proprietor of Liuji Tea Shop. She is among the top three tea shops in Chang'an. They want to go
Bashu was buying goods, but he didn't have enough money, so he asked me to borrow 50,000 yuan for six months at two cents of interest, using two of his ancestral calligraphy and paintings of famous people as collateral. If the money is not paid, the things will be mine."
"What kind of celebrity calligraphy and painting is it?" Guo Song asked with great interest.
"It seems to be Yu Shinan's calligraphy and Yan Liben's painting. You know that my eldest sister is illiterate. I specially asked someone to authenticate them. They are genuine and very precious."
Yu Shinan's calligraphy and Yan Liben's paintings are not something ordinary businessmen can own. Guo Song couldn't help but frowned and asked: "Who did the elder sister ask for appraisal?"
"Your father-in-law Xue Zizheng appraised it. He suggested that I'd better buy it directly. He said that even if you have money, you can't buy such large hall calligraphy and painting."
Hearing that it was his father-in-law Xue Xun who authenticated it, Guo Song became even more interested and asked quickly: "Where is the thing?"
"Where is it at your father-in-law's place? He is fascinated, so I simply put it at his place."