Chapter 170 Issuing Small Coins
As the conversation went on, Shen Baiyi became interested and said that he had already passed the first half of his life and would spend the second half building a city in Fengxiang.
Zhao Yulin told him that the Shenwei Army had already taken Lanzhou in the west, and there were better ways to make a living. They could transport goods to the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and their business would surely grow bigger in the future.
Shen Baiyi immediately stared at him with wide eyes and asked: What's your business? What big business is there?
Damn, he is really a businessman who only cares about money. Zhao Yulin cursed in his heart and said, "Money shop. Let's open a money shop together."
Shen Baiyi had already stood up, but after listening to what he said, he immediately sat down again.
Obviously, he was not interested in the money house that Zhao Yulin mentioned.
In the Song Dynasty at that time, money was everywhere, and the money in circulation was even more varied. In Guanzhong, there were also coins from the Jin Dynasty and the Mongol Empire, which made people dazzled. The exchange of paper money and money notes was like a roller coaster . If you didn't pay attention, the boss would jump off the building and commit suicide.
Zhao Yulin took two sips of tea, and Ma Ling had already taken out an exquisite wooden box from the house and gave it to Shen Baiyi's concubine. When the little woman opened the box and saw what was inside, she was immediately stunned with surprise.
Seeing his concubine's happy expression, Shen Baiyi snatched the box to have a look. As soon as he saw it, he fell in love with the money house.
It turned out that the box contained newly-made coins that Zhao Yulin had asked Jiading Fengyuanjian to make. There were small steel coins worth one cent, fifty cents, one hundred cents, five hundred cents, and one string of coins; there were also silver coins worth five strings of coins, ten strings of coins, and twenty strings of coins; and there were also gold coins worth fifty strings of coins and one hundred strings of coins.
A coin is beautifully crafted and sparkling.
Zhao Yulin told him that this was a new coin made by the Shenwei Army, and he planned to gradually unify its use in Guanzhong, Qinlong, and reduce the risk of merchants holding coins.
At present, the currencies circulating in the market are too chaotic. The Shenwei Army will unify the currency and issue new small steel coins, which can be freely exchanged for silver coins and gold coins according to the currency value. How about the money houses reducing the deposit and withdrawal fees by one point according to the industry regulations?
Shen Baiyi nodded immediately.
He said, let's first deposit enough silver and gold coins in Chang'an, Fengxiang and Lanzhou, and open the Shenwei Army's money house.
The guy's eyes immediately turned red, like a hungry wolf seeing a rabbit dangling in front of him. He immediately agreed to Zhao Yulin, saying that he could not handle such a big business by himself, and would go back to contact the wealthy businessmen in Chang'an to do the job together.
Zhao Yulin was happy and said that he had only two requirements: the shares could not exceed half and the business must be legitimate, and he would never tolerate any violation of the law.
Shen Baiyi rubbed his hands cheerfully and made repeated assurances, saying that he was very timid and only did legitimate business for a living.
Zhao Yulin knew that he was timid, otherwise how could he be bullied by the fake monks in Dingjun Mountain. Shen Baiyi went back to spread the word, and the two businesses of city building and money houses were enough to keep him busy.
Zhao Yulin originally planned to directly produce paper money to unify the currency market. However, the Lin'an court issued a large number of Guanzi and Qianyin, and the people gradually began to lose confidence in paper money and abandoned it.
Therefore, he still had to save his financial resources and planned to wait until the banknotes became rotten for a while before selling them.
The two were slightly tipsy and took a rest. Zhao Yulin went into Wu Yuqi's room to busy herself with farming. The couple plowed their own land three times and fell into a deep sleep.
When it was daybreak, Yuqi happily bumped into him and said, "It's time to wake up, lazy guy, get up."
Zhao Yulin had already woken up. He hugged the woman and said that the Shenwei Army was going to set up a money house and build a city in Fengxiang. These were big things and nothing could be lost. They had to keep a close eye on the place that was right beside them.
The woman smiled and said, "I know, lazy guy, get up quickly."
Zhao Yulin was very happy. After breakfast, he sent Shen Baiyi and his wife away and went to the study to think about the military reorganization. The battle in Gongchang Prefecture was equivalent to mobilizing the reserve troops of the Shenwei Army. The overall situation was not bad.
He planned to expand the army again and convert the reserve troops into regular troops to cope with the growing demand for territorial defense and possible retaliation by the Mongolian army.
He was drinking tea and thinking when information came from Shunfeng.
Miao Gui reported to him in Lanzhou that Gao Jin led his troops across Wushaoling and marched into Wuwei. The local tyrant Zhang Yitang rose up in response. The Shenwei Army easily captured Wuwei City and was already heading towards Shazhou and Guazhou.
Zhao Yulin didn't expect the progress to be so smooth and was in a good mood.
Speed is of the essence in war. Gao Jin is a madman. After joining forces with Cao Youliang, the two of them became even bolder. They led tens of thousands of troops and marched forward triumphantly. Haha, he liked it.
He felt the name Zhang Yitang was familiar to him. He remembered that there was a Zhang Yichao in the Tang Dynasty who guarded Hexi alone for a hundred years. But he was a loyal hero for generations. Could this person be a descendant of the Zhang family?
Zhao Yulin's mind was in a trance for a moment, and he was too lazy to think about it. He decided to go to Chang'an to discuss the reorganization of the army with Cao Youwen.
He got up and went to find Ma Ling'er. This woman was pregnant, so he had to chat with her.
When Ma Linger saw him coming, she said with a smile that he and Yuqi howled all night last night, and no one in the yard slept well. Why don’t you take a nap, brother?
Zhao Yulin knew she was joking, so he reached out and scratched her nose, saying that she couldn't even tell a joke, and that she didn't pay attention to the impact at all. Is Yuqi that kind of person? Even if she just hummed twice, it wouldn't be as loud as her screaming.
Ma Linger's face was broken with laughter, and she asked him excitedly, "Do we really want to open a money house?"
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that there was no other way and it had to be done, otherwise the economy would be ruined by Lin'an's excessive issuance of Guanzi.
He told Ma Linger that Jiading was already producing coins in large quantities, but Lord Ding of the Ministry of Finance was still hesitant, so they should let the new currency circulate in the border areas first.
Ma Ling told him that Si Niang and Xiao Niang had written to him saying that business was becoming increasingly difficult. This time, she and Chen Chen were building streets in Jiading and Yibin at the same time. They were all small courtyards and small houses. She wondered if they would be easy to sell.
Zhao Yulin said confidently while drinking tea that there would be no problem with the sales of small houses. Large courtyards are too expensive and not many people can afford them. We can use new materials and build them according to the standards of practicality and beauty, and it will definitely work.
He stepped on his feet and said that the expansion of Fengxiang should not be too big, it should be similar to the old city.
After the government office bought the land, it first built the city wall, prepared the roads and waterways, and then built houses in different areas. The housing problem of the relocated households was solved first, and then the streets were built.
Zhao Yulin had deep experience in this regard. In later generations, there were cases where people were not resettled for ten years after their houses were demolished, and several generations lived in the same house.
He would never do something that only cared about making money for businessmen and didn't care about the lives of the people.
Ma Ling asked him if Shen Baiyi and the others would have any objections to this.
Those businessmen just want to make a lot of money by investing, right?
Zhao Yulin said that this requires us to keep a close eye on it, and we have to do it whether we want to or not. This is our bottom line, otherwise don't do it.
He felt that it would not happen. Shen Baiyi had experienced the life-and-death ordeal at Dingjun Mountain, so he should have seen through money. As a person who had died once, he should know that there was no point in having money if he had lost his life.
Maybe they just want to do something?
At this point, she asked Zhao Yulin if he wanted to go see Yu Fuming.
This man was the chief logistics officer of the Shenwei Army and a senior general, and he was still imprisoned in Fengxiang Prefecture. The military discipline inspector verified his crime and sentenced him to prison pending execution, waiting for his words, probably wanting to wait for his opinion.
Zhao Yulin said he would not watch it anymore. This person was already a heinous criminal, and even the gods could not save him. It was even more sad to watch, so he beheaded him immediately.
Ma Ling asked him what to do with Yu Fuming's concubine? This person was also guilty of hiding the dirty silver.
He was a little impatient and asked Ma Ling to tell them that they would be punished if they were guilty, but the Shenwei Army would not punish people by association. His wife and children had to be taken care of. He asked the captain of the guard to invite the logistics officer Tan Yousan to come and give specific instructions.
Tell him: Mr. Yu’s merits are merits and his faults are faults. If his family members are innocent, they are the ones who should be taken care of in terms of logistics.
After hearing this, Tan Yousan immediately stated that he would write a letter to Hanzhong and instruct the post behind to get it done.
The next day, Zhao Yulin rushed to Chang'an. When he entered the city and met Lao Cao, Lao Cao said that Gao Jia had just left Ziwu Valley and returned to Hanzhong.
Lao Cao was in a bad mood and asked him hesitantly why he came when they had only been separated for a few days.
Zhao Yulin said that he had something to discuss with the general, and then he talked about the reorganization of the Shenwei Army.
In the past, it didn’t matter whether he said it or not, he would just do it once he made the decision.
Now Cao only has 30,000 soldiers and he is also the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Garrison. The two armies have already merged together. Zhao Yulin thinks he should let him know.
After listening to him, Lao Cao said thoughtfully that they were both tied to the same rope and had to be careful in everything they did. Then he ordered the preparation of food and wine.
The two men sat down at the wine table, and Lao Cao told Gao Jia all the news he had obtained.
It turned out that the emperor had always suspected and worried that Zhao Yulin would split the country and create division, so he ordered the Imperial City Office to give secret orders to Lao Cao and Gao Jia to keep an eye on them.
This time Gao Jia went to Guanzhong, firstly to entertain the troops, but more importantly to check the military situation of the Shenwei Army.
Zhao Yulin laughed loudly and said that he had to thank his brother for his care and for reporting to Lin'an truthfully over the years. It was because of him and Mr. Gao's impartiality that the Shenwei Army was able to gain a foothold in the northwest and achieve something.
Lao Cao told him that after the 30,000 imperial guards went to Lanzhou, someone secretly reported it to Lin'an, and the emperor asked Lord Gao to come and check and verify it.
Zhao Yulin calmly raised his glass to him, saying that if you don't do bad things, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. Cao Yong and his men are coming soon. He told Cao that the Military Control Department should notify the commanders from all places to come back for discussion, and we should expand the army.
Lao Cao nodded with a smile and said that he would be the military supervisor in the future and watch the young man do his work.
Zhao Yulin raised his glass to Lao Cao and told him to rest assured that they would work together. The Shenwei Army has the world in mind and cares about the people, so it will not go astray.
Three days later, Cao Youwen hosted a preparatory tea party for the construction of Chang'an, Fengxiang money houses and Fengxiang New City, and invited wealthy businessmen around Chang'an to gather together to solicit their opinions.
This is the first time that the Northwest has invited private individuals to discuss economic development plans.
Cao Youwen saw that Zhao Yulin attached great importance to making a living and knew that the troops' expenses were high. He publicly affirmed that the Shenwei Army's past practice of establishing cooperatives was correct and would be fully implemented. The Administration Department would strongly support and encourage private funds to enter the money houses to help economic development.
Lao Cao clearly supported Zhao Yulin and asked him to make the arrangements with a smile.
