After reading the first edition of the Ming Dynasty Dragon Coin, Zhu Kezang played with the newly minted silver coin.

This silver coin looks familiar, it is a replica of "Yuan Datou".

I saw Zhu Kezang’s big head on the front!

The full name of this silver coin is "Jiahe Silver Coin on the Back of the Statue of the Ming Emperor", or Shenwu Tongbao for short.

Each Shenwu Tongbao weighs 37.3 grams, which is the same weight as the Spanish silver dollar.

The back is a Tuanlong totem, the center of the front is the currency value, the two sides are wrapped by wheat ears, and the upper and lower edges are printed with the small characters of the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty and the first year of Shenwu respectively.

Silver coins look very delicate, but given that people always like to use their teeth to identify the authenticity of silver coins, it seems that a law prohibiting the destruction of silver coins must be issued.

The style of the entire set of new coins was finalized by Zhu Kezang. Chen Weiguo did a good job and his aesthetics are online.

He just drew a sketch for him before, but he didn't expect that the sample would come out in just a few days.

"That's right. In the future, coins must be minted like this sample. The materials must be sufficient, the appearance must be exquisite enough, and there must be a certain degree of difficulty in casting. They must not be easily copied!"

"Silver coins represent the face of the Ming Dynasty. You must not be sloppy!" Zhu Kezang told Chen Weiguo who was standing aside. He was reliable in his work, but he was too young and needed more training.

"So our Ming Dynasty silver coins don't need to be pretentious, they only need 70%. Of course, for better circulation, we need to have standard Shenwu Tongbao with a face value of one tael of silver each, as well as five coins and one coin of silver coins for easy use. ."

Not to mention treasure money, if they set up a bank, their account department would be in trouble!

Minting money will definitely make money, but he doesn't want to do something like squandering the benefits.

"Your Majesty, this silver dollar cast by the Spaniards is the most recognized currency among merchants in current trade. However, in the past few days, Wei Chen discovered after calcining it that it was not pure silver."

"Please speak!" Emperor Zhu stopped playing with coins and followed the good example.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The ministers will definitely keep an eye on the mint!" Chen Weiguo, the envoy of Fusi Town in Jinyiweinan Town, bowed and said.

Zhu Kezang minted coins to make money, not to engage in charity. Once the silver coins of the Ming Dynasty were too high, those shameless Westerners would naturally not miss such a good opportunity to make a fortune.

Therefore, the scholar-bureaucrats, businessmen and people of the Ming Dynasty had an innate fear of treasure money.

On December 10, the first year of Shenwu, Emperor Zhu, who had not been in court for a long time, rarely went to court!

Since the establishment of the Council, he often did not come to court. The officials thought: The emperor must be doing something big.

With various doubts, the ministers opened the pamphlet given by Zhu Kezang.

I have a general understanding. The Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty is responsible for issuing currency and controlling the financial industry of the Ming Dynasty. It can also deposit and withdraw money. Isn't this a bank?

"Weichen believes that the Ming Dynasty's Shenwu Tongbao does not need to be made of pure silver, and the quality of Shenwu Tongbao is far better than the Spanish silver dollar, and it will definitely replace its status!"

Zhu Kezang's eyes lit up. If this silver coin was minted, it would represent one tael of silver, and lead and other cheap metals were mixed into it during the minting process.

Zhu Kezang nodded to express his relief.

Chen Weiguo also put forward a very good suggestion, which is to mint silver coins with lower face values. This is possible, but will it seize the paper currency market?

Therefore, Zhu Kezang did not agree to his proposal.

Chen Weiguo flipped through his notebook. He had a habit of writing down any thoughts he had in his notebook. A good memory is not as good as a bad pen!

"Your Majesty, according to what I have seen, the Ming Dynasty's foreign trade is gradually increasing, and the people along the coast or ports are also making a lot of profits from foreign trade. It is really inconvenient to use broken silver at the moment. The imperial court has issued new coins, which will be beneficial to the people.

It’s said to be beneficial and harmless, even if it’s a little silver, it won’t be a big deal.”

No, we can't give them this kind of opportunity to make a fortune. Then Zhu Kezang also followed the times and finalized with Chen Weiguo that the Shenwu Tongbao would also be three-cent lead and seven-cent silver.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report to you!" Chen Weiguo took out a notebook, obviously well prepared.

"And some silver coins can't even reach the ratio of seven cents of silver, or even only six cents of silver, and the lowest is only five cents and five cents!"

Then this collected silver is forged into mixed silver coins.

When the time comes, they discover that the silver coins of the Ming Dynasty are pure silver. Then they only need to buy a large amount of the silver coins of the Ming Dynasty, melt them and fill them with lead. Wouldn't they make a fortune!

The most critical one is the silver issue.

Chen Weiguo can be said to have spoken to Zhu Kezang's heart. After all, the higher the silver, the cost of minting coins will also increase accordingly.

"According to Aiqing, how should the silver color of this Shenwu Tongbao be determined?"

By minting bad coins to make money, you can indeed make some money for a while, but in this way, it is easy to destroy the credibility of Ming Dynasty's new coins!

Once your credibility is gone, it’s not easy to build it back up!

Sure enough, Zhu Kezang said as soon as he went to court: "My dear friends, I am planning to open a Ming Dynasty Royal Bank, which will be supervised and managed by the cabinet!"

Is it possible to issue coins?

"Wei Chen weighed it and found that a Spanish silver dollar contains three cents of lead and seven cents of silver. The craftsmen who cast these silver coins seem to have relatively average skills. They did not use a unified mechanical coinage, but used a pouring method to cast the coins. The edges

It’s a little uneven.”

And the cycle can be repeated. Seven thousand taels of silver can now be worth ten thousand taels after forging.

"Your Majesty, we can't issue any treasures, otherwise we will be punished by God!" Out of a sense of justice, Yang Ying, the Minister of Revenue, spoke decisively.

Wait, the ministers saw a word, issue currency, and they all thought of the notorious treasure banknotes of the Ming Dynasty!

The value of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes depreciated thousands of times in a hundred years, and in the later period they were no more than useless paper. The recognition of the treasure banknotes by the people was almost zero.

He was moved.

But before that, Zhu Kezang, as the emperor, had to set a main tone for this new batch of silver coins.

Therefore, too much lead cannot be incorporated.

The sudden new term confused all the ministers of the new Ming Dynasty.

Even if we look at it based on 70% of the money, the gross profit is still as much as 30%.

Then, he asked Chen Weiguo to leave first, as he still had things to think about.

"A bank is in charge of money. This is the charter for establishing a bank and its functions. Each of you should take a look at it first." Zhu Kezang was already prepared.

"Your Majesty, what is a bank?" the newly minted Prime Minister Chen Yonghua was the first to ask.

Because he just saw in the articles of association that from now on, the wages of Ming officials, the army, and the imperial factories will all be distributed by the bank!

This greatly weakened the power of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Yang Ying felt very uncomfortable.

This bank should be managed by the Accounts Department, not the Cabinet!

She thought so in her heart, but Yang Ying didn't dare to speak out.

"My dear friends, don't be afraid. In addition to banknotes, we also have silver coins, which are coins made from silver!" After saying this, Old Eunuch Li brought a plate to Zhu Kezang's eyes.

On the plate was a sample of the new Ming Dynasty coins!
Chapter completed!