Like everyone else, Li Er picked up the gold coins first.
The gold coin is very beautifully made. On the front is a profile of the emperor's head wearing a crown, and on the back are the words "Zhenguan Seven Years System".
Although he knew the answer, Li Er couldn't help but ask, "The picture on this gold coin?"
"Of course it is Your Majesty."
Li Yunze knew and understood Li Er's thoughts, "No one will think that he is the Supreme Emperor."
These words made Li Ermei smile. After he launched the Xuanwu Gate Revolution and became emperor, his only wish was to prove that he could do better than his father and brother.
Now that his face is printed on the currency, when people all over the world use money, it will be him, Li Er.
There is no doubt that this is an endorsement.
Li Er, who was in a good mood, weighed the gold coins and asked uncertainly, "One or two?"
"Yes." Li Yunze nodded in agreement, "One weighs one or two, and the error is controlled within a very small range. And because gold is soft, some other metals are slightly added to increase the hardness."
Li Er expressed his understanding about adding metal.
In the past, when copper coins were minted, tin and other metals were added to make the coins cheaper.
After looking at it, he touched the gear mark on the edge of the gold coin with his fingers. "What does this mean?"
"To prevent anyone from filing gold dust."
Li Yunze is talking about a very practical topic.
Don't think that the moral level of the ancients could be that high. Just think about the fact that weird stories like "Lying on the Ice Seeking Carp" that completely violate the laws of biology and physics were written by Confucianists, and you will know that those people can do anything.
come out.
If a round edge is used, someone will definitely use a file to file a circle of gold powder from the outside to make a profit.
And their technology is so good that you can't even tell it.
Then file it down in circles, which is undoubtedly a trick.
It's easy if the saw teeth are left. If you have the skills, you can file the saw teeth. Even a blind man can tell by taking a look with his finger that this thing is lacking.
Li Er greatly admired this anti-counterfeiting design, and he also knew what the evil things were.
There is not much difference between the silver coin and the gold coin. It also has the profile of Li Er on the front and the year of manufacture on the back. It also has some metal added to improve the gloss and hardness. It also has serrations to prevent counterfeiting.
Li Yunze still explained, "The reason for using His Majesty's portrait is to prevent gold and silver coins from being cut directly with scissors. Another reason for adding various metals is to avoid being melted."
It was common in the Ming Dynasty for gold and silver to be cut up and used. After all, the chance of using whole coins was far less than using small change.
With the emperor's head, whoever dares to cut it is deceiving the emperor, which is a serious crime according to the law of the Tang Dynasty. If you take it out for use, others will not dare to take it away, so I simply stopped thinking about it.
Adding sufficient amounts of various metals, in addition to the fixed use, is also very important to make those who want to melt it feel unprofitable, or even lose money.
Copper coins are not that troublesome. They are the most standard Zhenguan Tongbao. They are very beautiful in appearance and very thick and durable in texture.
Of course, the copper content of copper coins is also controlled within a certain level to prevent them from being melted and made into copperware in temples.
After looking at several sample coins, Li Er nodded with satisfaction, "How many can be produced in a year?"
"The basis of how much we produce is how much raw material can be provided, not productivity." Li Yunze simply said, "As long as there are enough raw materials, we can make as many as we have."
Simple stamping devices can be made here in the Tang Dynasty, and there is no need to go to the modern world to make them.
Speaking of raw materials, Li Er also fell into deep thought.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Bring some more of your big ship."
The ten large-scale ships owned by the Tang Dynasty at this time were all scissor-type Galen ships provided by Li Yunze.
Their work schedule is very full, including transporting spices to the Spice Islands, transporting food and sugar to Lingnan Champa Kingdom and other places, transporting minerals, food and population to Luzon, etc.
Traveling from south to north, up and down the Yangtze River, full of goods are constantly rushing around.
Now Li Er covets the gold and silver of Japan, but even though Japan is close, he still has to cross the sea.
There were not many ships in the Tang Dynasty, but those ships that could only travel along the coast were far inferior to Li Yunze's ship in terms of safety, carrying capacity, and speed.
Li Er now wants to expand his fleet.
"There are no current ships." Li Yunze responded simply, "But the shipyard can have it."
"shipyard?"
Li Er was overjoyed. For him, it was better to buy than to make.
"Various facilities in the shipyard are directly transported to the Yangtze River Estuary, where the shipyard is built so that ships can go directly to the sea." Li Yunze explained with a smile, "There are countless treasures and heavy objects overseas, as well as countless food items. Needless to say, sea fish.
enough to satisfy
The people of the entire Tang Dynasty have a demand for eating meat every day.”
"Sea fish is good." Li Er sighed, "But it needs salt."
There was no advanced cold chain transportation system in Datang in this era. Marine fish needed to be pickled as soon as possible after landing, otherwise they would quickly become rotten and smelly.
Moreover, there are so many marine fish being caught that transportation is also a big problem.
"The sea is the largest salt field. Setting up a salt drying field on the shore can produce a large amount of salt, which is more than enough to meet the needs of the Tang Dynasty." Li Yunze simply gave the benefit, "The corresponding technology is very simple, I can provide it. Your Majesty can
by sea salt
Specialize in business to increase revenue for the court."
"As for transportation, just build the railway."
Li Er was slightly surprised, "Giving it away for free?"
"The shipyard wants money, but the salt technology will be given away for free." Li Yunze's smile did not diminish, "But your Majesty must agree to my request."
"It doesn't matter what you say."
"The price of salt must be limited to what the people of the Tang Dynasty can afford." Li Yunze explained, "Selling salt at a high price may seem like a huge profit, but it affects the livelihood of the people of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, the quality of the salt
It is also very important. If there is a black-hearted official,
Add dirt, sand and gravel to make a profit."
"They dare!"
Li Er, whose face turned dark immediately, shouted angrily, "Whoever dares to do such dirty things, I will kill him!"
"Guarantee the quality, ensure the supply, and limit the price." Li Yunze said slowly, "As long as we can confirm these, making sea salt is a matter of benefit to the people, so what if it is given away for free. But we must be clear, and no private individuals are allowed to get involved."
Li Yunze knew very well how unconscionable the salt merchants of the past dynasties were. He had killed countless salt merchants in the parallel world.
We know very clearly what kind of disaster this kind of livelihood product will bring if it falls into private hands.
That is to say, Li Er treated the people well, and could at least say, "The people are the water, and the king is the boat. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it." Only when Li Er was able to say this, was he willing to help him.
If it were someone like Li Longji, he would not be able to do anything to the people of the Tang Dynasty unless he was killed with one sword.
Li Er has great trust in the technology provided by Li Yunze. Since Li Yunze said that there are advanced shipyards and a salt-drying method that can provide large quantities of salt, then there must be such a thing.
This is the trust that Li Yunze has brought with his repeated successes over the past few years.
Soon, as the prime minister, Fang Xuanling personally took a large group of people and supplies and left Chang'an City all the way east, heading straight for Jiangdu.
He will supervise and control the construction of the shipyard and salt field there, and at the same time inspect the railway line from Luoyang City to Jiangdu along the way to make preliminary exploration preparations.
In return, Li Erfa issued an imperial edict to upgrade Li Yunze's title from Lantian County Son to Lantian County Bo.
Everyone knows that Li Yunze doesn't care about this, otherwise Li Er would have made him the founding father long ago.
However, the necessary steps must still be taken.
When the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, the two Tang armies that went on an expedition to Tuyuhun and Gaochang were also as powerful as a rainbow.
The Tang army, with the Fu soldiers composed of Liangjiazi as the main force, was indeed very powerful in combat.
Especially after receiving the technical and material support from Li Yunze, the combat effectiveness has exceeded the skyline of this era.
The people here in Tuyuhun and Gaochang are already living in such a state that they cannot take care of themselves.
Just like Fuyun Khan of Tuyuhun, when the Tang army came to kill him, he still wanted to fight a decisive battle with the Tang army.
He thought that even if he couldn't defeat them, he could take advantage of his large number of horses and leave to fight guerrillas at any time.
However, as soon as the two sides opened up and started fighting, Fuyun Khan was frightened to the point of peeing.
Li Jing, who kept a very low profile in Chang'an City, turned into a god of death when he went to the battlefield.
As soon as the battle began, the cuirassiers were sent to the battlefield.
These cuirassiers, who rode Don horses, wore plate armor, were equipped with stirrups, saddles and three-piece sets of horseshoes, were also wearing horse armor and holding long spears. They defeated the main force of the Tuyuhun people with overwhelming force.
When the Tuyuhun people began to flee, the Tang army cavalry riding Don horses, waving steel horizontal swords in their hands, leisurely pursued them for dozens of miles, killing almost all the Tuyuhun people on the battlefield.
Fuyun Khan, who had a lucky escape, broke down and cried when he returned to the camp. He collapsed on the ground like a child who had not finished his summer homework the day before school started.
According to Li Jing's plan, the next step is to sweep all directions, wipe out all the tribes in Tyuhun, and completely eliminate the hidden dangers.
That is to say, a telegram from Li Er came over, asking him to capture as many people as possible and send them to work in various mines, which saved the lives of the Tuyuhun people.
When the desperate Fuyun Khan was chased by the Tang army's cavalry, he had no way to go to the sky and no way to the earth. When the horses under his crotch were so tired that they fell to the ground and foamed at the mouth, looking at those who kept
The approaching Tang army cavalry, the great Khan of the Murong tribe, was full of
In despair, he chose to surrender.
"What kind of horse is this?"
After being captured, Fuyun Khan's first question was to ask the Tang army what kind of horses they were riding.
Not only was the impact terrifying, but the endurance was also extremely frightening, and he seemed to be able to chase him for hundreds of miles with ease.
Naturally, the Tang army ignored him and just tied him up on horseback and took him back to the camp.
While camping on the road, Fuyun Khan saw the sturdy and durable tents of the Tang army and felt that they were no worse than his own royal tents.
I also saw Tang Jun cooking in an iron pot that could be exchanged for a cow in Tuyuhun, and using kerosene to light the fire. I was so shocked that I was speechless.
When he saw Tang Jun take out dried meat and cheese and throw it into the pot as food, Fuyun Khan became numb.
Later, he saw the Tang army taking out large buckets of oil cakes as feed for the war horses. Fuyun Khan looked up to the sky and screamed, tears streaming down his face.
He could no longer envy the Tang army's equipment. The entire Tuyuhun could not muster hundreds of sets of armor, but everyone in the Tang army was equipped with extremely sophisticated armor.
Tang Jun's logistics directly caused him to collapse.
Tuyuhun's horses could only eat grass, but Tang Jun's horses ate bean cakes and fried pancakes, which even ordinary herders could not eat.
The Tang army used iron pots to cook, but the herdsmen in Tuyuhun could only use cow dung piled up with stones.
The Tang army ate dried meat and cheese and drank wine. The herdsmen in Tuyuhun did not have enough to eat all year round.
The Tang army sprinkled salt directly in buckets, and sprinkled it with spices that were so expensive that even Khan Fuyun did not dare to eat them casually. Many of the herdsmen in Tuyuhun had never even seen spices!
Under such a sharp gap, Fuyun Khan was heartbroken.
You deserve not to win!
Unless the Confucians of the Tang Dynasty took power and destroyed the Great Wall!