Moma Liangshan

Chapter 78 Emperor Huizong is shocked, the first discussion of the money shop

Inside Li Shishi's boudoir, Emperor Huizong, his face full of admiration, said, "Minister Wang's ability to make money so easily is truly astounding!" Wang Hao dared not show the slightest pride, saying, "This humble subject's success is entirely due to Your Majesty's trust. If Your Majesty has any other use for what I have gained today, this humble subject is willing to offer it all!" Emperor Huizong shook his head slightly, saying, "I am naturally aware of your loyalty and ability. Let's stick to our previous agreement. I don't want the half-share of the Eight Immortals Winery, but I will send someone to collect the 280,000 strings of cash." The emperor's ability to keep his promise to his subject made Wang Hao look at Huizong with new respect, and he asked, "Does Your Majesty want copper coins or silver?" Huizong pondered for a moment, then said, "Copper coins are too heavy, let's use silver!" At this moment, the sixth auction began, and Huizong casually... Emperor Huizong asked, "In your opinion, will the prices rise again in these last three auctions?" Wang Hao shook his head slightly and said, "Although Jiangnan is wealthy, the price of over 300,000 strings of cash for half a percent of the shares is already inflated. I believe the price is unlikely to rise significantly!" Li Shishi suddenly said, "Why don't we guess the price of the last auction together?" Emperor Huizong was very interested and said, "Shishi's suggestion is brilliant! Let's each write down a number on a piece of paper and put it in a vase. When the auction ends, whoever's estimate is closest to the actual price will win!" Li Shishi said, "If brother loses, he has to give up a painting; if brother loses, he has to give up a jar of wine; if I lose, I have to dance; how about that?" Emperor Huizong said, "Excellent!"

Soon, a maid brought pen and ink. After each person wrote down their estimated price, the paper was folded and placed inside a vase. As the three finished writing, the auctioneer's voice rang out from downstairs, "Five hundred thousand strings of cash, once! Five hundred thousand strings of cash, twice! Five hundred thousand strings of cash, three times!" Everyone was stunned by this announcement. Emperor Huizong hurried to the window and looked down into the hall. He saw a wealthy middle-aged merchant being led to the back hall to handle the transaction. Although people were astonished, the auction proceeded without delay. The seventh and eighth sessions sold for seven hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand strings of cash respectively. Emperor Huizong, his hand resting on the window frame, fell into deep thought: "Has the wealth of Jiangnan truly reached such a level? These wealthy merchants are willing to spend two million strings of cash on the auction of a mere 15% stake in a winery. I, who possess this vast empire, must listen to the complaints of the Ministry of Revenue and be criticized by the censors over a mere ten thousand strings of cash—it's utterly absurd!" Suddenly, he turned to Wang Hao and said, "Minister Wang, you are skilled in making money. If we don't increase taxes, do you have any methods to increase the imperial palace's annual revenue?"

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Wang Hao's mind. After a long while, he said, "Yes!" Emperor Huizong was very surprised, not expecting that his casual question would receive a positive answer. He asked, "What method is it?" Wang Hao said, "Open money shops and mint coins." Emperor Huizong was suspicious and said, "There are more than a dozen money shops in Dongjing (Kaifeng); coins have been minted in the Song Dynasty for more than a hundred years. There is nothing new. How can we make a profit?" Wang Hao said, "Money shops should be spread throughout all the counties and prefectures of the Song Dynasty. A single silver note can be used for remittances throughout the country. As for minting coins, silver coins should be added in addition to copper coins." Emperor Huizong asked, "How can we make a profit if we can remit funds throughout the country?" Wang Hao said, "May I ask Your Majesty, how are the salaries of the hundreds of thousands of border troops distributed?" Emperor Huizong said, "The Ministry of Revenue shall manage..." "Once dispatched, the Palace Guards would send troops to escort them," Wang Hao said. "How much does it cost each year?" Emperor Huizong replied, "The journey is long, and the amount of money is enormous, costing millions of strings of cash." Wang Hao said, "If we had banks in both the border regions and the capital, the court would only need to deposit the huge sums of military pay into the bank in the capital, and then send someone with a silver note to the border region to exchange it for the equivalent amount of cash at the border bank. In this way, the annual cost of escorting the military pay could be almost eliminated." Emperor Huizong understood and said, "And the bank would charge a corresponding fee based on the amount exchanged, is that right?" Wang Hao replied, "Your Majesty is wise!" Emperor Huizong was very pleased and said, "My lucky charm is none other than Xianmeng!" He then asked, "What about minting silver coins?"

Wang Hao said, “Silver is scattered and inconvenient to trade, and the purity varies from mine to mine. If we mix the scattered silver with a small amount of tin, nickel, and other metals, and cast it into a fixed pattern using the same method as copper coins, it will surely circulate smoothly throughout the land.” Emperor Huizong asked, “Why mix tin, nickel, and other metals?” Wang Hao replied, “Although there are no silver coins in the world, there is no shortage of silver utensils. Pure silver is too soft; directly shaping the patterns makes them too easily worn and difficult to maintain. To increase the hardness of the silver and make the cast utensils sturdy and durable, silversmiths must mix in half to one-tenth of tin, nickel, and other metals.” Emperor Huizong pondered for a moment and said, “According to Xianmeng, casting silver coins is not difficult, but how can we ensure that the people…” Acceptance was necessary, but caution was paramount! Reflecting on the period between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, Wang Mang usurped power, his influence so great he sought to conquer the entire empire. However, his arbitrary changes to the currency system caused widespread resentment among the people, allowing Emperor Guangwu to seize power and ultimately restore the Han dynasty. Wang Hao said, “After the silver coins are minted, they will be issued by money shops, first circulating in Jiaozhou. If all goes well, they can then be promoted in Mizhou, Laizhou, and even the eastern part of Jingdong. If things are peaceful in the eastern part of Jingdong, the silver coins will then enter Dongjing (Kaifeng).” Wang Hao's considerations were thorough. Emperor Huizong said, “Both silver coins and money shops are feasible, but I can only give you this order! If anything goes wrong in the future, I will hold you accountable! Are you willing?” Wang Hao replied, “As a subject, it is my duty to share the emperor's burdens! Wang Hao is willing to accept this order!”

Li Shishi, holding three slips of paper, silently observed the conversation between the emperor and his minister. Suddenly, she said, "Younger brother, your two twisted strokes look like half a talisman. What do they mean?" Emperor Huizong, also curious, took the slips of paper and examined them carefully. Wang Hao quickly understood and said, "These are numbers sent by Arab merchants. I wrote thirty-four." Emperor Huizong looked at Li Shishi and smiled, saying, "This is much simpler than our way of writing. Even a three-year-old child could probably learn it easily!" Li Shishi asked, "It seems you've won, brother. I estimated 360,000 strings of cash, while you estimated 300,000 strings." Emperor Huizong didn't care about winning or losing and said, "Use your overseas numbers to write down 36 and 39 for me." Wang Hao picked up his brush and skillfully wrote "36" and "39." Emperor Huizong became increasingly interested as he looked at the paper and said, "Tell me in detail how to use these overseas numbers!" Wang Hao picked up his brush and wrote down the ten numbers "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9" on the paper, saying, "These ten symbols correspond to our 'zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine', and from left to right, they represent the number of digits in 'ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions'."

Emperor Huizong already understood about 70-80% of it and said, "Last year's court revenue was '56382947' strings of cash. Write it down for me using overseas numerals!" Wang Hao picked up his brush and wrote "56382947". Li Shishi also came closer, exchanged a glance with Emperor Huizong, and then picked up her brush and wrote "one" above "7", "ten" above "4", "hundred" above "9", "thousand" above "2", "ten thousand" above "8", "hundred thousand" above "3", "million" above "6", and "ten million" above "5". Emperor Huizong understood immediately and said, "If Xianmeng seizes this opportunity to write books and promote the use of these numbers, I'm afraid no one in the world will dare to mock Xianmeng's crudeness anymore!" Wang Hao hadn't expected Emperor Huizong to make this suggestion and was inexplicably moved, saying, "Your Majesty's grace is boundless; I can only devote myself to the utmost until my dying breath!" Emperor Huizong shook his head and said, "I only want to see your unwavering loyalty and unparalleled talent. As for everything else, let it go!" Emperor Huizong won the bet, and Wang Hao presented a jar of wine, while Li Shishi performed a dance. In the main hall on the first floor, merchants from all over the world mingled and socialized. From this day forward, Fanlou, in the eyes of the world, would probably no longer be the purely extravagant place it once was!

Cai Jing did not appear at Fanlou, but his spies relayed everything that happened in Fanlou back to the Grand Tutor's Mansion. Looking at the intelligence report in his hand, Cai Jing was filled with resentment. He summoned his steward and said, "Send my invitation to Grand Commandant Gao's residence, saying I have something to discuss tonight!" That night, Gao Qiu arrived as scheduled. Cai Jing cut to the chase, saying, "Grand Commandant, are you aware of what happened at Fanlou today?" Gao Qiu replied, "I know a little. Rumor has it that Wang Hao obtained over three million strings of cash. Truly impressive!" Cai Jing asked, "Do you know who won the first round of bidding?" Gao Qiu shook his head, saying, "I haven't paid attention, so I don't know yet!" Cai Jing said, "It was Chief Eunuch Chen!" Gao Qiu was surprised and asked, "Chief Eunuch Chen by the Emperor's side?" Cai Jing answered, "Indeed!" Gao Qiu said, "I didn't expect that this Eunuch Chen, who has been in the palace for so long, would also be involved in business!" Cai Jing snorted coldly and said, "When he appeared, he used the imperial regalia for conveying imperial edicts!" Gao Qiu finally understood and whispered, "Could it be that the Emperor tacitly approved of this?" Cai Jing said, "The situation is likely to worsen. This isn't tacit approval; it's the Emperor expressing his stance, warning us that he pre-approved the auction at Fanlou!" Gao Qiu said, "Wang Hao is just a subject. Would the Emperor personally intervene for him?" Cai Jing said, "I didn't want this outcome either, but Grand Commandant Gao knows better than I how many years Chief Eunuch Chen has served the Emperor! Such a shrewd person wouldn't act this way without the Emperor's permission." Gao Qiu thought for a moment and said, "He has an adopted son who is training under Wang Hao. Could that be the reason for his actions today?" Cai Jing shook his head and said, "You're talking about Chen Song, a boy about the same age as Wang Hao. Thinking back now, the Emperor might not have been completely unaware that he placed Chen Song under Wang Hao's wing. If the Emperor had his intentions from the beginning, then there's only one possibility: the Emperor is dissatisfied with us!"