Huangshi saw that everyone present was whispering in a low voice. This was something that had not happened in a long time, but Lao Huang didn't care about them either. He felt that he would just let them communicate more by themselves, and it would not be too late for him to explain.

However, his failure to speak does not mean that he does not pay attention to the conversation between them. Huangshi's ears are now sharp, and those muttering in the distance are quickly heard into his ears.

"Chi, if the leader said it, then these will become treasure money..."

"Yes, it's Baochao, but this Baochao has disappeared decades ago..."

"If the chief gives us this money, where will we spend it?"

"Yes, yes, what if they don't recognize it?"

On the right side of Huangshi's seat, Chen Youxin and Zhang Chen were also discussing there.

"Brother Yuyuan, I have seen that treasure banknote. It is so wide and long, and the patterns on it are very simple, so how can the leader be printed with exquisite printing?" Zhang Chen said to Chen Youxin. He looked at more than a dozen "bills" one by one. Although they were big and small, the patterns on it were vividly drawn and the colors were extremely bright and dazzling. What's even more peculiar is that the texture was not made of anything. It was cold and smooth when touched, while the patterns and patterns seemed to be embossed on it.

As for Baochao, Zhang Chen heard that it was made of mulberry pulp as money, so the fibers of the banknote were slender and the surface of the banknote was dark blue and gray. There were many unexchanged treasures in his home. He had seen them when he was young. The front had a dragon pattern border, and the banner on the border was six words "Da Ming Tongbao Chao", which was somewhat similar to the money the leader wanted to send.

However, the eight big words "Da Ming Baochao" and "Tianxia" are written in stacked seal script respectively. The middle is written with "Erbaiwen" in the banknote. There is also a money string picture below the banknote, and that string symbolizes one hundred texts.

In the lower layer of regular script, the text is written "The Secretariat of the Central Committee is allowed to seal the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, and it is used in public with copper coins. The counterfeiters are beheaded, and the arrestees are rewarded with 25000 silver, and they are still given property to the prisoners. A certain month and a certain day of a certain year of Hongwu." The text is also covered with a red seal with the seal "Treasure Cash Seal". The upper layer on the back is also covered with a red seal with the seal "Seal of the Seal of the Baochao Bureau". There is also a dragon-patterned border on the lower layer on the back, and the box also has a horizontal picture of the banknote and a money string.

The "bill" that the chief wants to issue is also somewhat similar to "Baochao". Take the largest "bill" as an example. The six big words "People's Bank of China" are written above the front banner. They all know these words, but if you combine them together, you don't know what it means.

Then below the banner are marked "100" and "One Hundred Circles". On the right side is a magic weapon that is unknown to use. Then there are some patterns around them that appear to be clustered, and those patterns are all depicted with colorful lines thinner than the tip of the needle, with no stickiness at all.

Zhang Chen looked at these exquisite "money bills" and thought to himself that this "one hundred round" was worth a lot, otherwise just looking at the painting skills, the material could be considered a treasure.

Although Chen Youxin also thought that these "bills" were exquisite, he had been a maritime businessman for a long time and had profound experiences. Both the Ming Dynasty and foreign countries used mainly gold, silver and copper. Besides, he knew very well why this "treasure money" failed and fell into sand.

Because in the Ming Dynasty, from the Ming Dynasty to the nearly 100th anniversary, only a kind of "Da Ming Tongbao Chao" was issued, and the printing and issuance of the treasure banknotes was always concentrated in the Ming government, and this unity was never seen in the previous dynasties. It was not fulfilled, boundaries were not limited, the region and circulation time were not limited, and the issuance limit was not specified. There was no reserve fund for issuance, and the name and form of the currency were never changed. This currency system was consistent.

However, there was a big loophole in the Ming Dynasty's banknote law, which was its banknote inversion method. In the ninth year of Hongwu, in 1376, the Ming government formulated the banknote inversion method, setting up "trade and use warehouses" in various places to collect and replace "smashed banknotes". By the 13th year of Hongwu, the boundary for replacing "smashed banknotes" was specified in detail. All the face value and text that could be identified can be used, and no price is allowed to be raised for those who buy goods with old banknotes.

But in fact, the execution ability of ancient governments was very poor. The government collected taxes and only collected new banknotes, while the public could only use old banknotes at a lower price or simply refused to use them. This formed a differential price of new and old banknotes, and also caused subsequent inflation.

Of course, the most fundamental thing is the issuance of "Bao Chao", and the policy of only giving out but not getting in is implemented, that is, only giving out money, but not getting back money, or adding more money, and returning less money. When the government issues paper money to pay salaries and military salaries, when collecting materials and gold and silver goods from the people, it only collects a small amount of new money or simply does not collect "Bao Chao".

This book fully exposes the essence of the exploitation of the Ming Dynasty Banking Law. The eyes of the Ming people are sharp. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's "Bao Chao" continued to depreciate during the issuance process. Although measures were taken to maintain the purchasing power of the Baochao in the 20 or 30 years from Chengzu to Xuanzong, for example, in order to promote the Baochao, the "Household Registration Banking Salt Law" was implemented, that is, each household was given one pound of salt and collected money. The "door stall course" means that shop merchants use banknotes to pay for door stall courses. Merchants and ordinary people are forced to use banknotes, but the effect is not very good.

The final result is as Chen Youxin and Zhang Chen said, "Zixi, but no one has used this "baochao" in the end, and the people only use silver and money!"

...

Listening to so many discussions, Huang Shi naturally knew their concerns. He was not Zhu Baba. Although he was not from a financial professional, he still understood the simple economic principles, so he decided to tell them these economic terms.

So he coughed twice, then said, "Everyone, be quiet."

Everyone saw that the leader was about to speak, so they put down the "money" in their hands and listened to what the leader would say.

Huang Shi smiled, turned to look at the people on both sides, and asked them, "I know you have questions of this and that, but before answering your questions, I will ask you what is money?"

"What is money?" Everyone heard that it was not very simple. Isn't money just money? But after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that the chief would not ask such a simple question, so everyone scratched their heads.

Seeing that they didn't say anything, Old Huang asked Li Chengpeng, "What is money? What may be recorded in the scriptures you have read?"

On Dongluo Island, Li Chengpeng is the most talented intellectual. Because he is a scholar and Zhang Chen is just a child, Lao Huang asked him first.

Li Chengpeng thought about it and replied hesitantly, "There is a note in "Shuowen Jiezi", which is called "goods". In ancient times, it was made of shells and treasures. Zhou Taigong established the Nine Palaces Circular Method, and then used the springs to send money to Qin."

"In "Records of the Grand Historian? Book of Pingzhuan" there is also mention of turtle shells and money. Suo Yin said that it was originally called spring, and it was like a flowing spring."

What he said in fact means that the early forms of ancient coins were mainly shellfish currencies. In China, from the late primitive society to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the main currency forms were physical currencies, and the ones circulating were natural shells, but the name was first called "quan". A small amount of metal weighed money and minted coins in the later period. After the Qin Dynasty, the main form of this coins became metal currency, and the name was also determined to be "money".

Huangshi laughed when he heard this, "Haha, everyone heard it. In ancient times, the so-called money actually refers to goods. Without goods, there would be no money. Moreover, this money was not gold, silver, nor copper coins at first. It was originally a natural shell, which was the shells everywhere on our Dongluo Island. So if we think some things are precious, we will call them 'baby'."

Li Chengpeng's words just now were quoted from classics, but except for a few people who could understand them, the others only realized a few words in the past few months, so they just heard them confused. Now, when they heard the leader's explanation, they suddenly realized.

"In the earliest days of ancient times, they always bartered, such as if I had three sheep and one cow, my five pottery bowls and one piece of clothes, etc."

When he heard this, some people below muttered to themselves that the price of this cow is more than three sheep. But when they saw everyone else listening to the leader talking solemnly, they only dared to keep it in their hearts and complain secretly.

"But this kind of exchange may not always happen. What if someone brings only two sheep, or he only brings more than a dozen chickens, but these chickens are not what the cattle seller wants?"

Huangshi paused here, looked at everyone, let them think about it for a while, and then continued, "Then they can only find another item that everyone recognizes to be the equivalent in the middle."

"For example, grains, sheep, cloth, sea shells, bronzes, jade bis, these are equivalents very early. I exchanged a cow for 150 kilograms of grain, and three sheep for 150 kilograms of grain. If only two sheep are there, he can exchange two sheep for 50 kilograms of grain for one cow, or simply sell two sheep to others to get the grain and buy the cow directly with the grain."

"But these equivalents have instability in time. For example, the grains are ripe every year and they have to be eaten. Wouldn't these equivalents become less and less? Furthermore, there are limitations in this region. For example, rice is planted in the south, while wheat is planted in the north. In this way, it cannot adapt to the large amount of goods transactions, and goods transactions cannot be carried out across regions."
Chapter completed!