Fu Tang

The old man Gongshu started to work at an astonishingly fast speed. Li Congjia only said that if he didn't have anything to say, he said that he was satisfied. The old man Gongshu began to check all kinds of tools, and by the way, Li Congjia and Shi Xueting were thrown out of the yard. The reason is that they are afraid that they will not understand anything and break the tools?

Li Congjia stood outside the moon gate in the courtyard and didn't know what to say for a while, Shi Xueting stood beside him and said: "Since he agreed, I will let those two boys come over tomorrow."

Li Congjia pondered for a while and said: "Let him sign a document and directly buy the patent of the loom, which will benefit both him and us."

Shi Xueting nodded, looked back at the yard and said, "The loom was made by the old man Gongshu without my knowledge, relying on the limited tools in his hands, now everything is complete , the progress should not be slow."

Li Congjia was a little puzzled: "You don't know? You don't know why he wants to help you?"

Shi Xueting led him outside and said: "Where is he helping me? He is helping those weavers. When I recruited skilled weavers, because of the limited number of places, those weavers almost fought."

Li Congjia frowned: "Has Chang'an City become like this?"

Shi Xueting shook his head: "Only in Xinghua Workshop, the weavers in other workshops have a stable source of customers or they themselves weave for large cloth companies. Many of the weavers in Xinghua Workshop are older and have better craftsmanship. If you don’t go outside, your natural income won’t work either.”

Li Congjia nodded, but he didn't think Shi Xueting had any problem finding these people. After all, cashmere spinning is a brand new thing. In fact, as long as you are familiar with the loom, you don't need any special skills.

Li Congjia looked at the sky and said: "I hope the old man Gongshu can act faster, so that the cashmere spinning can increase the production and recruit more weavers."

Shi Xueting said: "Mr. Gongshu will not be able to use this thing this year, so we can only push it next year."

Li Congjia smiled and said, "Who said that? Datang is so big, there is always a colder place, isn't it a good place to promote?"

Shi Xueting thought about it too. Spring comes early in the Central Plains, and it gets colder the further north you go. He felt that if Khitan hadn't been worried that cashmere could keep warm, Li Congjia would even want to promote it in Khitan first.

Li Congjia plans to open up the market in about two years, but all of this must be based on sufficient cashmere. Now it depends on whether Honglu Temple is strong enough!

Li Congjia, who hoped that Honglu Temple could negotiate a price with Khitan and prepare for the introduction, was filled with malice as soon as he returned.

"What? Khitan doesn't agree? Why don't you agree? The price you gave is too low?" Li Congjia was a little surprised. What kind of wind is Khitan doing?

The Minister of Honglu Temple said with a bitter face: "I don't know, the Khitan's attitude is very firm, they just don't agree."

Li Congjia frowned, always feeling that it shouldn't be, did Ye Luxian think that after signing the document, he would go with Datang?How can it be?They are not children anymore. Which country does not have a smile on his face and a knife in his hand?

When it is necessary to turn your face, you will turn your face. The contract is just a superficial harmony.

Li Congjia thought for a while and said, "Don't worry too much."

Anyway, I haven’t planned to fight Korea yet. It’s winter after all. Because it is located at the junction of Bohai Bay and the outer sea, the sea will freeze when the weather is very cold, and such a cold day is not suitable for war. Even if you don’t care about Korea People, Li Congjia still loves his own people.

After Li Congjia went back, he discussed with Shi Xueting, and Shi Xueting suddenly said: "Maybe they will agree when the spring comes."

Li Congjia looked at him blankly: "Huh?"

Shi Xueting said: "I'm just guessing that things like wool are not very useful to the herdsmen, it can even be said to be waste, but if you go to collect wool now, the herdsmen will only think that Datang wants them to use it The wool was all shaved off, which indirectly caused the sheep to freeze to death. Such a blow was too great for the herdsmen, and no matter how powerful the Khitan was, they could not resist it."

Li Congjia: =口=!

He didn't even think of this!Thinking about it carefully was also the same reason, so he directly asked Chunsheng to notify the Minister of Honglu Temple, asking them to sign a document with Khitan first, and the delivery time of the wool could be delayed until the weather warmed up next year.

Honglusi was a little surprised why Li Congjia added such a piece. In his opinion, such a piece is actually very insignificant, because until now there is no finished product of wool and cashmere, and they didn't plan to buy it in large quantities immediately.

Honglu Temple sent people to discuss with Khitan again, but what surprised Honglu Temple was that Khitan agreed this time. When signing the contract, they unexpectedly added a sentence: "Your Majesty said, this time the Tang Dynasty and Koryo The Khitan will no longer intervene in the disputes between the two."

After Li Congjia heard this, he couldn't help but smile. He knew that the Khitan people would be suspicious if he went to buy wool and looms there for no reason. It's a hindrance, so I'm bribing with money - buying some useless waste wool to go back, what is it if it's not a bribe?

The most important thing is that the price is very high in the eyes of Ye Luxian and others, and there is a feeling that Datang is giving them money.

Li Congjia was not in a hurry to ask for wool, but first asked Khitan to bring the loom over, and then sent it directly to Zhuangzi, and handed it over to the old man Gongshu.

The old man Gongshu is currently researching the looms for weaving cashmere yarn. The two types of looms are different. Li Congjia is also worried that he will be unhappy if he abandons his research to ordinary looms. No matter who is interrupted in the middle of his work, he probably will not would be so happy.

However, the old man Gongshu was very talkative, and after accepting it, he said cheerfully: "I haven't seen this kind of loom before, let me study it first."

Li Congjia was relieved now, and then he began to prepare for the Eastern Expedition with peace of mind.

This Eastern Expedition is different from the previous ones. It used to be on land. After all, this time is a naval battle, so special attention must be paid to the preparation of supplies. The only advantage is that it saves the logistics team in the later stage. After all, the food and grass have gone with the ship.

Li Congjia specifically said when they were preparing food and grass: "Prepare more green oranges."

Hubu Shangshu looked at Li Congjia very suspiciously, and Li Congjia said: "If you wear it for a long time, you will easily get scurvy. Although Goryeo is not far from us, let's prepare some, and the navy spends most of their time wearing it. This will be counted as a military necessity in the future.”

Hubu Shangshu habitually asked the doctor again, and learned that there would indeed be pregnant blood disease, but they didn't know whether the green orange would work.

Hubu Shangshu knew that he would be pregnant with blood, so he decided to do what Li Congjia said. The only thing to worry about is the green orange...now there is no such thing.

After Li Congjia found out, he thought for a long time and said, "If not, Apple will do."

The reason why he said he wants green oranges is mainly because citrus fruits have more vitamins than other fruits.

The preparations for the Eastern Expedition to Korea are in full swing. Large quantities of grain and grass are transported from the south to the north. Li Congjia simply used sea transportation. Because it is a military supply, it does not affect the water transportation of ordinary people, so no one reacted at first, or Said no one paid attention to this.

Li Congjia looked at the data from the newspaper below and said: "This speed is faster than walking the canal or the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, so we can prepare to start publicity."

Li Congjia's so-called propaganda is actually the simplest way to spread all kinds of rumors, and they are all kinds of rumors. To be honest, Li Congjia is actually not very familiar with public opinion warfare, but as far as he knows, it is enough to get this era He guided the public opinion in the direction he wanted.

So when it’s time to stock up on New Year’s goods, the entire developed areas of the Tang Dynasty know that sea transportation is more convenient than land transportation, especially those coastal prefectures. Of course, Li Congjia’s main target is the coastal prefectures. After all, no matter how much he talks about sea transportation to the inland people They only have a superficial impression of the convenience, and they don't have a deep understanding.

But the people in coastal prefectures are different. Sea transportation can transport things from the south to the north. Besides food, there are many foods and fruits they have never seen before. The rest will have to wait until after the battle is over.

Goryeo and Datang face each other across the sea, but they don't know that Datang now has powerful warships, and they are still proudly issuing letters of credence to Datang.

Wang Zhao even wrote to Li Congjia himself, saying: "As long as you cede the Shandong states to me, Goryeo, I can forgive your sins."

When Li Congjia saw this sentence, he threw the letter aside without even reading it. He really wondered where the self-aggrandizement of the Koreans came from, and how could they be so ignorant?

Knowing Li Congjia's question, Shi Xueting said, "Maybe Khitan sent them wrong information about this matter."

Li Congjia looked at Shi Xueting with some doubts: "Khitan?"

"Our act of ordering wool from Khitan was misunderstood by them as Datang's fear of Khitan's meddling. Khitan may have told Goryo this news, so Wang Zhaocai thought we were afraid of naval battles."

Li Congjia felt that this might be the case. If so, there was room for manipulation.

Li Congjia picked up the pen and wrote a letter that looked very strong but capable. Shi Xueting smiled as he watched from the side: "What are you going to do?"

"What else can we do? Make Wang Zhao more inflated and make him feel that we are more afraid of them, so that the navy they send may not be many."

Shi Xueting was a little disapproving: "According to our current equipment, how can we show weakness to the enemy?"

The word equipment was learned by Shi Xueting after hanging out with Li Congjia for a long time. After hearing this, Li Congjia said: "It is always good to reduce some losses, even if it saves some shells."

Shi Xueting was amused by Li Congjia's miser-like tone, so he could only say, "Are you sure Wang Zhao will believe you?"

Li Congjia handed the letter to him and said: "If it is a letter of credence, he will definitely not believe it, but if it is a personal letter, then he will definitely believe it."

Shi Xueting has no objection to this. Anyway, Li Congjia's letter is actually quite strong, but different people see different information. They think it is the truth, but if it is changed to Korea, they may think it is. bluff.

This year's New Year, Li Congjia issued some extra banknotes as usual, and Tang officials are very used to it. As for the taboo of issuing banknotes during the Chinese New Year, it is naturally gone. Now banknotes are almost replacing Tongbao in the upper class, but among ordinary people. It hasn't been widely promoted yet.

When Li Congjia was thinking about how to promote it among the common people, Arong suddenly came to him and said that he had something important to do. Li Congjia was very surprised by this. Arong was very shy. Although he said he admired Li Congjia, he usually would not come to him. Following Shi Xueting, she would not say anything superfluous except for the work report. If Li Congjia said a few more words to her, she would blush.

Li Congjia immediately realized that there must be a big problem, otherwise Ah Rong would definitely not have come to the palace to see him.

Li Congjia asked someone to bring her in immediately. As soon as Ah Rong came in, Li Congjia found that she was sweating, and couldn't help asking: "What's wrong?"

A Rong took a breath and said: "Your Majesty, there are counterfeit coins in Yuan Xi coins!"

Li Congjia was slightly surprised, but felt reasonable: "Don't worry, it's no big deal. Where are the counterfeit coins? Show me."

A Rong felt a little ashamed, feeling that he was making a fuss over a molehill, and the idol was calmer.

Li Congjia looked at the counterfeit money that A Rong handed over, and smiled for a moment: "This counterfeiting technology is not good."

It can be said that Yuanxi coins are printed with the most advanced printing technology in the Tang Dynasty, and the paper is also very particular. Of course, this kind of banknotes is still called "ti currency", after all, it has not yet become a real currency that can be circulated.

Now this counterfeit banknote is actually printed with the simplest engraving printing, the paper is so poor that you can almost tell that the banknote is fake at a glance.

However, when Li Congjia looked at the counterfeit currency, he seemed to see a peerless beauty. A Rong looked at Li Congjia in surprise, not understanding why Li Congjia was so happy when the counterfeit currency appeared.

Li Congjia asked: "Is there anyone below who can't tell the difference?"

Arong replied immediately: "I have arranged for special personnel to train the shopkeepers in various places so that they can master the method of distinguishing the authenticity, but at present, it seems that this kind of banknotes cannot deceive our people. There are counterfeit bills that are more like, indistinguishable."

Li Congjia didn't mind this at all: "Don't worry too much, our technology is always at the forefront, and they can't imitate it even if they want to."

A Rong couldn't help asking: "Why are you laughing?"

Li Congjia said: "Because I think everything is going in a good direction."

Ah Rong didn't understand, but she didn't ask again, she just thought that she didn't understand because she had learned too little, and there were still many things she hadn't learned.

In fact, someone else may not understand why Li Congjia is so happy, the only person who understands him is probably Shi Xueting.

When Shi Xueting saw the counterfeit money, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Huh? It's earlier than I expected."

Li Congjia smiled and said: "So your vision is really good, Arong is a very good kid."

Shi Xueting said: "Now that counterfeit money has appeared, it proves that the number of people who use withdrawal currency has increased, and the day when withdrawal currency becomes an orthodox currency is not far away."

Li Congjia stroked his chin and said, "Tell me, what if the minister's salary is changed to Yuanxi coins in the future?"

Shi Xueting pondered: "I'm afraid this matter has to be discussed in the long term."

Li Congjia didn't dare to act hastily. Now the officials' salaries are still being distributed with food, of course the food is old food. Generally, officials who are a little bit more will sell the old food and buy new food to eat.

If it is exchanged for banknotes, these old grains will have to be found out.

Li Congjia felt that it would be impossible to think on his own, so he turned around and went to the cabinet and dragged the Minister of the Ministry of Households to a meeting. The central topic was whether to use banknotes to pay salaries.

Fan Zhi asked very frankly: "If your Majesty wants to use this kind of banknotes instead, how will the amount be calculated? We must not let everyone suffer."

Li Congjia has never seen such an open and aboveboard request for benefits, but this is their right. Li Congjia said directly: "The grain they originally deserved will be exchanged for banknotes of equal value according to the market price. Of course, this market price refers to the market price of refined grains. "

After hearing this, Fan Zhi and others knew that Li Congjia was actually increasing the salaries of officials in disguise, perhaps for the promotion of banknotes. However, at their level, they would definitely not be happy just because of a little salary. They need to consider more comprehensively .

"I don't know how much this banknote is printed? Can it keep up with consumption?"

Li Congjia said: "Banknotes are in circulation and are not considered consumables. Although they will be issued in a certain period of time, how to issue them should always be discussed. What I mean is that they cannot be issued casually."

No matter what kind of currency, if it is issued in the event of an economic crisis, there is no other possibility except to depreciate the currency and start inflation in the country.

Fortunately, currency in this era has not yet become a digital game, and it is not that difficult to supervise.

Wei Renpu asked, "What about Tong Bao?"

Because gold and silver are not the main currency in circulation at all, they are just used as a unit. People still use Tongbao more often, so Wei Renpu is more concerned about this.

Li Congjia said: "Gradually recover, or the two currencies run in parallel, but gradually reduce the value of Tongbao."

To be honest, Li Congjia hopes to recycle Tongbao a little bit. After all, they are all copper coins, and reducing the value of Tongbao is inflation in another sense. lead to massive bankruptcies.

Now that Datang has not recovered his vitality, in fact, he cannot withstand such a shock.

However, the recycling of Tongbao will lead to a situation where rare things are more expensive, which will greatly increase the value of Tongbao, especially when the imperial court no longer issues Tongbao. At this time, Tongbao is likely to exceed its own value.

Li Congjia was worried about this. He himself did not study economics. When he studied history, he had some understanding of ancient economy, but he looked at it from another angle. He never studied it as an economic characteristic.

The Minister of the Household Department said: "This matter... I'm afraid it will be discussed in a long-term way. Your Majesty, don't act too hastily."

Li Congjia said: "I know, so I just let you know that it is better to use banknotes than Tongbao."

After all, Tongbao is made of copper. There are people who privately cast Tongbao these days. As long as there are models, the imperial court strictly prohibits it. If someone has a copper mine and casts Tongbao in the deep mountains and old forests, who can control it?

However, the banknotes are different. No one can print this banknote except those in Li Congjia's hands, or the printing tools in his hand!

After all, no one knows where the pigment that can change color in the sun comes from. Only the one that can change color is the real banknote. This patented technology has been bought by Li Congjia, and the person who mastered it has also sold himself to it. Li Congjia, anyway, no one would have the opportunity to print banknotes privately.

Fan Zhi and others began to ponder. Everyone knows that the appearance of coins will be changed throughout the dynasties, and the proportions will generally be changed. After all, copper coins are not really made of copper, and are usually mixed with some other metals. But over the years The appearance of copper coins is similar, and now it is an unprecedented challenge to directly replace the currency with one form.

However, the latter made the cabinet very excited. These people did not catch up with the founding of the Tang Dynasty. If they want to be famous in history, they must make greater achievements. The current currency replacement is something that allows them to influence future generations.

When the cabinet diligently studied how to replace the currency at the lowest cost, the spring breeze had already blown, and the day after Li Congjia changed his sable fur, he sent Li Hongji away.

Li Hongji led tens of thousands of sailors to prepare for the eastward expedition to Korea. Even though Li Congjia knew that his side was advanced in everything, he couldn't help worrying about it.

It's just that this kind of worry put Li Congjia's heart in his stomach when the first good news came.

In the end, he was not finished being happy yet. Ye Luxian actually sent a letter of credence at this time. Li Congjia intuitively thought that it must have something to do with Korea, but he opened it... At that moment, Li Congjia really wanted to send troops to fight against Khitan together. Come down!